Sylva librarian closes book on career

fr brunetteStanding on the balcony of the historic Jackson County Courthouse and Library, high above downtown Sylva, Dottie Brunette begins pointing.

Jackson still ‘economically distressed’

Jackson County retained its status as one of the economically distressed counties in North Carolina according to just-released rankings, but county manager Chuck Wooten thinks some of the factors in that ranking are improving and others are “distorted.”

Cullowhee advocates seek to sharpen vision of community plan

fr cullowheeplanningJake Flannick • SMN Correspondent

Building consensus among the increasing number of residents and business owners in Cullowhee is critical to shaping the identity of the area. Growth is outpacing steps to establish a long-term plan for building and economic development, community planners and advocates here agree.

Jackson leaders search for equity in fire tax debate

fr jaxfiretaxSome Jackson County commissioners expressed trepidation this week over changing the way the county’s seven volunteer fire departments are funded.

Sylva getting pretty good at filling empty town board seats

The Sylva town board will appoint a new leader to an empty seat on the board in coming weeks — the fourth time the town board has gone through this in as many years.

Cullowhee planning initiative out of the gate at last

People who live and work in Cullowhee are being invited to share their opinions on growth and planning with a task force that is trying to crystallize a collective vision for the college-centric community.

Sylva leaders adopt streetscape plan for Main Street, N.C. 107

The Sylva town board has unanimously approved a streetscape plan for N.C. 107 from the Ingles grocery store to Dillsboro.

The plan indicates where sidewalks and landscape buffers must go, according to the town’s current zoning ordinance, but also shows places were future transit stops, crosswalks and bike paths could go.

New checkpoint procedures implemented in Jackson

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and North Carolina Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union have reached an amicable settlement to allegations that the sheriff’s office racially profiled Latinos.

WNC native tapped for EDC post in Jackson

Jackson County is hoping the third time’s the charm as it aims to jumpstart its floundering economic development efforts. 

After years of thrashing and political setbacks, Jackson County once more has a board of economic development advisors in place and has hired a full-time economic development director — a position that has mostly been vacant for the past eight years.

Whittier sewer line on the slow road to bankruptcy

A rural sewer system in Jackson County is headed toward bankruptcy unless it can drum up 200 customers in the sparsely populated Whittier area. 

It’s a tough sell though, witnessed by the paltry 40 customers along the sewer line now.

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