News of Sylva Mayor Lynda Sossamon’s resignation last week left the town board with decisions to make about who would fill the void. In addition to appointing one of their own to the seat of mayor, the board will need to appoint a new member to the board to fill all six seats.

Over the last eight months, three board members have either resigned or been removed from the Shining Rock Classical Academy Board of Directors, two of whom had issues with school leadership. During that time, no replacement board members have been added.

Now that the sign-up period is over, there’s a full slate of candidates running for seats on the Franklin Town Council. 

With the first two days of election filing in the books, only three people have signed up to run for elected positions in Jackson County municipalities, which have a total of eight open seats between them. 

After more than a year in flux, Jackson County’s health and social service boards are likely to be re-established within the next couple months. 

The three remaining members of the Canton Board of Aldermen/women have decided not to appoint anyone to a board seat left unexpectedly vacant by the resignation of an alderman June 13. 

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of stories on Haywood County’s public charter school, Shining Rock Classical Academy, which has been beset by a host of academic and organizational problems since opening in 2015.

As Shining Rock Classical Academy now searches for its third head of school in just four years, Interim Head of School Joshua Morgan has emerged as a leading candidate for the job.

A group of concerned parents don’t think Morgan should be the next head of school, or even working in education at all. They say he’s a bully with anger management issues who physically intimidates students and recently placed one in a martial arts hold.

Sylva commissioners voted Dec. 13 to remove former mayor and longtime Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority board member Brenda Oliver from TWSA, citing a desire for “fresh” and “out-of-the-box” ideas on the board. 

The Sylva Town Board is considering who it should choose to replace Commissioner Harold Hensley on the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority Board when the calendar turns to 2019. 

Folkmoot will say goodbye to one board president but welcome another after a late September meeting where new board members were vetted.