The redrawing of flood maps for North Carolina has made one of Jackson County’s million-dollar properties a tough sell.

The Jackson County Industrial Park, which was formerly the Drexel furniture factory in Whittier, sits along the Tuckasegee River. But starting in 2010, when the new flood maps were drawn largely based on aerial photography, the property was flagged as being in a floodway — the most severe of floodwater classifications.

Jackson County officials are mulling over several ways to improve compliance with the county’s ordinances, especially those which are enforced by the Planning Department.

County Attorney Jay Coward said currently the county’s legal language is inconsistent in its book of codes as to whether it can use criminal misdemeanors to charge violators.

If you want to protest, you have to protest by the rules — that’s the message the Jackson County commissioners are poised to send to unruly social dissidents.

For the first time in Jackson County, the commissioners may pass an ordinance limiting the scope of how groups may protest on county property. County officials are using an ordinance from Catawba County for the basis of drafting their own.

Jackson County commissioners voted last week to take out a $10 million loan for the construction of a gymnasium and auditorium at Smoky Mountain High School in Sylva.

County commissioners’ unanimous support of the project did not come as a surprise. Last year, they authorized $500,000 for design work on the project, which is now complete.

Housing developer Scott Austin did a little simple math before deciding to pursue an $8 million dollar project to build two four-story apartment complexes in Cullowhee, right on the front doorstep of Western Carolina University.

He looked at the number of dormitory beds provided by the university for student housing — about 4,000. Then he researched the number of available, quality units in the area around the university and came up with another 1,000.

Undocumented workers staged a sit-in at the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office last week to protest the sheriff’s alleged targeting of Latino immigrants through deliberately placed traffic stops.

Delinquent property tax payers beware — Jackson County is coming for you.

For more than a year, county tax collectors, with the help of contracted private attorneys, have been aggressively targeting property owners who owe substantial back taxes — and they are wielding foreclosure as a tool to force payment.

When it comes to Southerners, there are a few topics that get their blood pressure elevated — and one of those topics is flags.

They represent everything from historical ties, bloodshed, peace, pride and Nascar. They’re flown everywhere from government buildings to front porches to Wal-Mart.

A nature discovery trail along Scott’s Creek in Dillsboro has been two years in the making and the Watershed Association of the Tuckaseigee River is now urging the public to come see the fruits of their labor.

The mayor of Sylva, Maurice Moody, was first to receive a violation notice for an allegedly illegal sweepstakes establishment in one of his rental properties along U.S. Highway 441. And Jackson County Commission Chairman Jack Debman may be next.