The Highlands Biological Foundation (HBF) invites the community to the next installment of its Zahner Conservation Lecture series at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 18. 

The Macon County School Board has voted to require students to play high school sports at the school where they are enrolled beginning in the 2025-26 school year, meaning Macon Early College and Bartram Academy students will no longer be eligible for athletics at Franklin High School. 

The Western Carolina University Board of Trustees will have a bit of a different look at its next meeting. 

Kathryn Greeley, chair of the board, has been appointed to the University of North Carolina Board of Governors effective immediately.

There are some things John Hood (SMN, May 29) and his ilk don’t want you to think about in their relentless promotion of “school choice” and “educational freedom” — their feel-good euphemisms for the transfer of your taxpayer dollars to private, church-related and “charter” schools. Hood, who pops up everywhere these days, is a paid mouthpiece for the libertarian-conservative and free-market agenda of Art Pope (remember him?) — and it shows. 

Nantahala Health Foundation will launch its next competitive grant opportunity on July 1 with a focus on investing in educational, healthcare and workforce programs that benefit youth and young adults, ages 5 to 24. 

The newest members of the Occupational Therapy Assistant program recently celebrated their completion of Southwestern Community College’s program with family and friends at SCC’s Jackson Campus. 

After several lengthy discussions, Macon County Commissioners approved the fiscal year 2024-25 budget by a split vote with a couple of last-minute changes to the proposed document. 

As the July 1 budget deadline for Child Care Stabilization grants approaches, it appears the Republican-led North Carolina House and Senate are struggling to agree on how to spend the $30 billion or so taxpayer dollars slated for the upcoming fiscal year. 

On Friday, June 14, Western Carolina University’s Board of Trustees approved Chris Williams’ selection as its chief information officer. Williams, who comes to WCU after spending the last nine years as the IT director for Student Affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will begin his new position Monday, June 24. 

Museum of the Cherokee People has been awarded a major spring grant from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation.