As of 10 a.m. this morning, the Kitchens Branch fire in Sylva is 94 acres and 60% contained.

To the Editor:

The other night I dreamed I heard hoofbeats on Main Street in Sylva. At first, I paid them no mind. Maybe a member of the wagon train that lumbers through Western North Carolina each summer. Yet, the hoofbeats got louder and louder as the rider approached the red light in the middle of town. He was bellowing out, “The billionaires are here.” 

Eddie Huffman will share his new book, “Doc Watson: A Life in Music.” and also be accompanied by musician Jerad Davis at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 27, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. 

A Jackson County commissioner brought up the issue of library security during the commission’s March 4 meeting, citing safety concerns for staff at the Jackson County Library in Sylva.

Amid changing federal regulations regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement, one Jackson County group is making the rounds at public meetings in an effort to remind both elected officials and community members that it is there to support the Hispanic community. 

With the impending sunset of grants that have sustained the Community Care Program in Sylva Police Department, town officials have made clear that continuing the program will be a top budget priority. 

Kristen Gentry and Halle Hill will read from and discuss their story collections, “Mama Said” and “Good Women,” at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, at Western Carolina University’s Hunter Library (Room 186) in Cullowhee.  

After a surprise move by Commissioner John Smith at a meeting on Feb. 18, Jackson County is one step closer to partisan school board elections. 

But the move, which was approved unanimously by the commission, was not on the agenda, which means the public, and members of the Board of Education, were left in the dark on the issue and the fact that commissioners were even considering the move. 

Sylva Commissioner Mark Jones tendered his resignation from the board through a letter during the Feb. 13 meeting, citing health-related reasons. 

Jackson County Commissioners appointed Dale Collins to the county’s Tourism Development Authority Board, filling a vacancy that had been left open since before December.