A blanket freeze on federal hiring is having a local impact as the agencies tasked with managing Western North Carolina’s roughly 1.5 million acres of public land halt the hiring of seasonal employees responsible for keeping the area’s national parks and forests safe, clean and educational for the millions of visitors who seek them out each year. 

A second decision made during last week’s Cherokee Tribal Council meeting could affect how council’s decision to order a third-party investigation into Principal Chief Patrick Lambert’s administration fares on veto. 

Some members of the Cherokee Tribal Council are saying that something’s amiss in how hire-fire decisions are being made in tribal government, and in a narrow decision the council voted to order a third-party investigation into those issues. 

Canton’s new budget includes a provision making it the first living wage certified government in Western North Carolina, but at the town board meeting June 23, aldermen took that measure one step further. 

Budget cuts are forcing Haywood County Schools to lay off 10 teachers and staff at the end of this school year.

While most people are mourning the coming of another Monday, Rob Russell will be rejoicing as he returns to his job at Western Carolina University Feb. 15. 

After a former employee won a lawsuit claiming that Western Carolina University had fired him without cause, the university is appealing the decision.

In his 38 years at the helm of Haywood Vocational Opportunities, George Marshall has seen his share of change in the regulations and trends surrounding the intersection of worlds in which HVO deals. 

HVO, a not-for-profit social enterprise that produces medical supplies, is Haywood County’s fifth largest employer and the nation’s largest producer of custom medical drapes.

A former Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing justice following an Oct. 25 party that involved underage drinking and led to charges of statutory rape against two other men.

A Jackson County detention officer was fired this summer after firing a Taser gun on a coworker.