Crime in Haywood County appears to largely mirror national trends, according to a brief report Sheriff Bill Wilke gave to county commissioners. 

As Wilke explained the stats, he offered insights as to what may be driving certain changes in trends; however, as he did so, he occasionally lamented the lack of immediate data to further explain correlations to national trends. 

Historically, Haywood County Schools has run a tight ship in the face of slim county appropriations. Last year, it pulled from its own fund balance to finance operations; in 2022, it cut 36 positions. 

But for the coming academic year, Superintendent Trevor Putnam made a dire case for additional funding. Any further cuts, he said, would deny HCS students a quality education.

Brad Hoxit has filed a notice of appeal following a removal order submitted earlier this month by Superior Court Judge William T. Stetzer. 

Hoxit was initially suspended from office Jan. 29 after District Attorney Ashley Welch filed a petition for his removal on the basis that he improperly used his power to investigate his wife’s ex-husband, Jacob Nelms, a sitting county commissioner. 

Brad Hoxit made history last month, but not in a way he’d ever have hoped.

Hoxit appeared in Graham County Superior Court from March 24-27 for a hearing to determine whether he would be permanently removed as sheriff of the small Western North Carolina county. Last week, Superior Court Judge William T. Stetzer did indeed bar Hoxit from returning to office, and now his attorneys say an appeal is imminent. 

The stories came in waves, each more graphic than the last, until the room itself seemed to tighten under the weight of them — a dog so badly abused she could not walk, a horse found dead in a dry creek bed, another starving animal that did not survive despite last-ditch rescue efforts. By the time public comment ended March 16, Haywood County commissioners were left facing a stark question residents had repeated in different ways all night: how had so many warnings gone unanswered? 

Few Primary races across the region have drawn the attention that the contest for Haywood County Sheriff has seen. 

Squaring off for the position in the Republican Primary are incumbent Sheriff Bill Wilke, who has made reform a cornerstone of his first term in office, and Mark Mease, a former HCSO captain who promises to bring back a level of integrity and professionalism he said has been absent the last three-plus years. 

Following his first four years as Macon County’s sheriff, Brent Holbrooks is facing a primary challenge as he seeks a second term. 

Following former Sheriff Robbie Holland’s announcement that he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2022, Holbrooks emerged from a crowded Republican primary field that included multiple candidates who worked in high-level positions in Holland’s office.

To the Editor:

I recently sent this letter to North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein.

I fear that the current deployment of ICE, CBP, a federalized National Guard, the FBI and the DEA is actually practice for the Trump administration’s seizure of voting machines in historically Democrat voting areas in the 2026 General Election.

To the Editor:

I wrote this letter to Congressman Chuck Edwards and thought it might be of interest to some others.

First of all, let me say that I am writing you because I am appalled at the killing of another American citizen on American streets by members of federal ICE and/or Border Patrol forces in Minnesota. This does not represent any sort of “immigration enforcement” I voted for. 

The most powerful person in any North Carolina county is the sheriff, an elected position mandated by the state constitution. 

County elections determine who will don the badge and serve the four-year term in office. Such a system ostensibly ensures sheriffs are accountable to voters, but a 2024 Ballotpedia analysis of all United States’ elections excluding the presidency found that 7 8% of law enforcement races had only one candidate.