WCU sees high retention rate, notable increase in enrollment for spring 2025

The spring semester is underway at Western Carolina University and that means looking at how the university’s enrollment is shaping up for the first few weeks of the new year. 

Jackson TDA board seat remains vacant

Jackson County commissioners chose to delay an appointment to the county’s Tourism Development Authority Board for the third month in a row, leaving a board that has had difficulty filling seats in the past one member down when there are multiple applicants that have been vetted and are ready to serve. 

Get in on the Great Backyard Bird Count Walk

As part of the Great Backyard Bird Count initiative, a global community science project that helps researchers understand how birds are doing before they undertake their great spring migration, Mainspring Conservation Trust is hosting its own event. 

State intends to spray Spongy Moth treatment over Haywood, Jackson

Residents of western Haywood County and eastern Jackson County will have the chance to learn about the Spongy Moth infestation that has hit several areas of the region, as well as what the N.C. Department of Agriculture plans on doing about the problem. 

Local youth renew Sylva skatepark conversation

Residents of Jackson County have long voiced their support, organized and fundraised for a skatepark with little to show other than a temporary half-pipe that stood behind Motion Makers in Sylva for just over one year. 

WCU kicks off $100 million ‘Fill the Western Sky’ fundraising campaign

Western Carolina University officially kicked off the largest comprehensive fundraising campaign in the university’s 136-year history, an effort to secure $100 million in philanthropic support with a focus on increasing the financial resources necessary for long-delayed upgrades in facilities used by Catamount student-athletes. 

Jackson County seeks lifeguards

The new Jackson County Aquatics Center is hiring five full-time lifeguards. Employees are entitled to full benefits other Jackson County employees receive.

MountainTrue hosts plant workday

MountainTrue, in partnership with the Mainspring Conservation Trust and the Pinnacle Park Foundation, is hosting a community volunteer workday to control non-native invasive plants and restore native habitat at the Pinnacle Park in Sylva. 

HERE of Jackson County requests funding for homeless shelter

HERE of Jackson County, the county’s primary homeless services provider, is requesting half a million dollars from the county to purchase and renovate a facility that would become Jackson’s first and only permanent homeless shelter. 

Jackson seeks solutions in childcare gap

Jackson County has been working to develop a plan it hopes will mend the multigenerational workforce issue that is impacting communities around the country — childcare, and the lack of availability — on the local level. 

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.