With accountability data released from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, all charter schools in the Smoky Mountain News’ four-county coverage area showed an increase in the percentage of students passing state exams during the 2022-23 school year compared to 2021-22 school year. 

Halfway through the season for its weekly E. coli sampling program in Western North Carolina swimming holes, MountainTrue reported 11 sites in the Hiawassee and Little Tennessee river basins that passed all seven tests and six locations that failed all tests.

Through at least fall 2024, applicants to University of North Carolina System schools won’t have to sit for SAT or ACT testing to be considered for admission, following a vote of the UNC Board of Governors Thursday, April 7. 

On Aug. 21 the Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation announced it would fund a weekly COVID-19 testing program for Highlands School, Summit Charter School and Blue Ridge School. 

RALEIGH — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) selected 13 businesses to join its pool of qualified vendors to support the state’s response to COVID-19, bringing the total number of vendors to 39.

As more tests for COVID-19 pour into laboratories across the state, the time taken to get results continues to increase. 

Mercy Urgent Care is now offering two types of COVID-19 testing, viral testing and antibody testing, at all eight of its urgent care facilities across Western North Carolina, including Waynesville. By offering both tests, Mercy hopes to improve tracking of the virus and slow its spread throughout the region.

Jackson County saw a modest increase in COVID-19 cases this week, with the disease confirmed in 25 residents as of Monday, May 18, compared to 22 residents on Tuesday, May 12. An additional two part-time residents and 22 non-residents who saw Jackson County health providers have been diagnosed — the part-time figure has held steady for some weeks, while the non-resident category increased by two over the past week. 

Several hundred workers lined up by car at Haywood Community College April 28 to receive drive-through testing designed to gauge the level of asymptomatic, undetected COVID-19 cases in Haywood County, and if all goes well the results will soon help county decisionmakers evaluate the feasibility of reopening parts of Haywood County’s economy. 

The public is struggling to understand the details surrounding protocols for COVID-19 testing and those standards have been changing almost daily. 

People want to know why more people aren’t being tested for the virus, where they should go if they think they have symptoms and a host of other questions they want answered to have some small peace of mind during such an uncertain time.