Jackson County Commissioner Jenny Lynn Hooper made a rare appearance at a Jackson County Tourism Development Authority meeting last week — only her third of 2025 — after echoing former Chair Robert Jumper’s claims that the attendance policy didn’t apply to her. County Attorney John Kubis, however, says Jumper and Hooper are both wrong. 

Minutes from the Dec. 3, 2024, meeting of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners show that newly elected Commissioner Jenny Lynn Hooper “stated her willingness to serve on the Tourism Development Authority, Transit Board and the Mountain Projects board.” Records from those three boards show she’s missed at least 13 of 16 meetings this year. 

I get asked about it after every protest I’ve been to, from Andrews to Asheville, from Chicago to Washington, D.C., and everywhere in between. 

Rally attendance is one of the most debated aspects of any public gathering — be it left, right, center, secular or spiritual. At outdoor venues that don’t use ticketing and don’t have fences or walls to contain the crowds, estimates can be even more difficult. 

After weeks of consideration and input from public, students and staff, the Jackson County Board of Education has decided to keep Jackson Community School in its current location and has committed to recruiting more students to the school and revamping campus offerings. 

The Macon County Board of Education approved revisions to student and staff handbooks for several schools at its July 22 meeting, with the most significant changes coming for students at Franklin High School. 

Great Smokies Mountain National Park has seen new changes in recent years, from soaring record attendance placing it head and shoulders above the field for the most visited national park to a first-of-its-kind parking tag program designed to generate revenue while also protecting visitors and natural resources that has generated the ire of some surrounding communities. 

The North Carolina Arboretum is heralding spring’s arrival with the return of “Bloom with a View,” May 4-19. 

In 2023, the Blue Ridge Parkway saw its highest visitation since 2007, according to preliminary figures from the National Park Service, representing a 6.1% increase over 2022.

Jackson County Commissioners unanimously passed a policy change last week that makes it clear that sitting commissioners are expected to show up at board meetings.