This month the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction released performance and growth data for the 2023-24 school year, and for another year in a row, Haywood County dominated regional rankings with the top two high schools in the western region. 

Last week the North Carolina General Assembly passed a conference report, also referred to as a mini budget that includes $463 million to clear the waitlist of families that have applied for the Opportunity Scholarship Grant Program and provide voucher money for those attending private schools. 

Haywood Community College will hold the second annual Dahlia Ridge Trail Run on Saturday, Sept. 14. This 5K is a timed, family-friendly walk/run event open to all levels of runners, walkers and hikers.

Jackson County Schools is taking a stab at a traditional middle school and applying for a state grant to fund the potential project.  

“It is just the right thing to do for our kids,” said Superintendent Dana Ayers in a presentation to the Jackson County Commission last week. 

Celebrate the change of seasons with your friends and neighbors at a farm-to-table dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center in Waynesville. 

Finding enough bus drivers to operate all necessary routes has become a common issue for school systems across North Carolina and districts in the westernmost part of the state are not immune.

Members of the Blue Ridge School community showed up to the Jackson County Board of Education’s August meeting to express concerns regarding the state of the school. 

Less than a year after starting their studies, the very first Dental Assisting students in Southwestern Community College history earned their diplomas and are addressing the labor shortage in their chosen career field. 

Clingmans Dome Road will be closed the mornings of Sept. 10, 12 and 16 to facilitate special educational programs for students at schools in Cherokee.

The road will be closed at midnight the night before each event and will re-open at 1 p.m. 

Editor’s note: Bob Clark coached the Tuscola boys and girls discus and shotput athletes for the past three seasons. Prior to that he coached the boys and girls throwers for four seasons at Waynesville Middle School. Six of those seven years he was a volunteer.

This spring Tuscola High School’s principal, accompanied by the athletic director (AD), threw $30,000 of taxpayer money away to change the color suggested for the new Tuscola track.