Not every success story starts with a four-year degree from an elite university, and there are many Haywood Community College graduates to prove it.

As Haywood Community College leaders look to the future, it’s import to reflect on how far the institution has come in its first 50 years. 

What is the significance of HCC’s 50th anniversary?

The 50th anniversary celebration gives us an opportunity to reflect upon those who preceded us and had the vision and wherewithal to create the North Carolina Community College System and specifically Haywood Community College.

Swain County commissioners will hold two public hearings at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, before deciding whether to dissolve ordinances regulating meat markets and campgrounds.

Swain County Board of Elections has retained an attorney to provide guidance on an ongoing dispute between the board and the county regarding retirement benefits for Elections Director Joan Weeks.

The world can be a confusing and lonely place when you don’t know where you fit in to it and you don’t have a support system. It’s hard enough being a teenager today, but the added difficulties of struggling with gender or sexuality can easily lead youth down a dangerous path.

Beginning in January, Swain County residents will no longer have 24-hour access to the county’s trash and recycling convenience center. 

Alaska Presley has talked for years about her vision of having the tallest cross in the western hemisphere placed on top of her Buck Mountain property in Maggie Valley, but now it seems that plan will not come to fruition any time soon.

Shining Rock Classical Academy’s continued hunt for somewhere to temporarily house the fledgling charter school come Jan. 1 has inevitably landed on the doorstep of the Folkmoot Friendship Center, a seemingly natural choice since the Folkmoot Center was originally an elementary school. 

When Josh Ward was earning his bachelor’s degree in environmental health, he never thought it would lead him to running a small town government.

Less money and stiffer competition for grants means that Western North Carolina needs to have a solid plan in place to show the need in the region and stay competitive.

One day they were operating out of the community center building in Sylva and the next they were moving into a singlewide trailer in Bryson City. Some years federal grant money rolled in hand over fist, and other years they fought tooth and nail for highly competitive grants for their communities. They’ve seen years of unchecked growth and years of economic stagnation.

After hearing numerous complaints about the enormous potholes plaguing the county administrative building parking lot, Swain County commissioners agreed it was time to repave it.

Beginning Sept. 1, Swain County Sheriff’s Office will have the authority to issue citations and fines for residents who have faulty alarm and security systems. 

Swain County commissioners approved a False Alarm ordinance several months go to address the timely and costly problem of responding to vacant houses when a security alarm is set off. Sheriff Curtis Cochran told commissioners the excessive false alarms were a burden on the sheriff’s department’s limited resources. The department responded to more than 1,000 security alarm calls in 2014 and a majority of them were the result of faulty alarm systems. 

The sheriff hopes the new ordinance will encourage part-time residents to update their security systems to prevent this problem in the future. Cochran assured commissioners his deputies would use common sense when enforcing the ordinance and take into consideration the elderly who may have problems working their systems. While he said warnings would be the first step, violators could be issued a $50 fine if deputies respond to a false alarm call at their home.

Residents can appeal a citation to the county manager and commissioners. 

“About 150 letters have been sent out to people we know have these alarm systems — the same ones who have been called before,” said County Manager Kevin King.

With only three days of school under their belts, students attending Shining Rock Classical Academy were already settling into their routine on Monday morning.

Lowell Monteith, pastor of The Father’s House ministry, says the shelter has many needs right now. However, Macon County’s only homeless shelter’s most pressing need is community support.

There was barely room to breathe in Bryson City Town Hall on Monday night.

Maggie Valley leaders aren’t taking no for an answer after the North Carolina Department of Transportation said nothing could be done to improve safety conditions at the U.S. 19 and U.S. 276 intersection.

Mobile vending is no longer limited to fast food staples like pizza, hamburgers and hotdogs.

The Bryson City Board of Aldermen is formally asking for public input after mulling over the idea of closing Fry Street in downtown for almost a year.

Jackson County commissioners approved moving forward with the installation of the Locust Creek pedestrian bridge even though the cost is higher than expected.

Despite resistance from surrounding landowners, Shining Rock Classical Academy is moving forward with plans to set up Haywood County’s first charter school on the corner of Raccoon Road and U.S. 276 in Waynesville.

The mood was somber at Maggie Valley town hall last Wednesday as Alderwoman Saralyn Price called a special board meeting to order.

Allowing indoor gun ranges within the Franklin town limits is still on hold as the town planning board has been asked to re-examine its recommendations to the town board.

Plans for a new gas station on the outskirts of Franklin will be moving ahead now that the town board approved a satellite annexation for the property.

A damaged corn crop and a no trespassing order from a farmer’s lawyer could thwart Shining Rock Classical Academy’s goal of finding a permanent home for the new charter school by December.

As a public entity receiving public dollars, Shining Rock Classical Academy — Haywood County’s first charter school — is required to follow the state’s Public Records and Open Meetings laws.

Rick Bryson, a current alderman in Bryson City, has his eyes on Washington, D.C., as he plans a run to represent North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District.

A new program will enable a limited number of Macon County residents to seek primary medical care at the health department beginning this fall.

Within six months, a primary care medical clinic for Evergreen Packaging employees went from being on the chopping block to expanding its services.

Each year international groups from all over the world travel abroad to share their traditional folk dances and songs with other cultures. 

They spend hundreds of hours researching, learning and rehearsing these songs and dances. They spend a lot of money on authentic costumes to accurately represent their heritage and they spend even more to go one tour and share their work with others.

As family members and friends took turns paying tribute to Ron DeSimone at his memorial mass on Tuesday, one word kept being repeated — love.

Last Friday started out just like many other workdays for Maggie Valley Mayor Ron DeSimone.

The town of Maggie Valley is small and only an average of 300 residents vote in any given election, but this year’s race for spots on the town board is shaping up to be full of competition.

Two new candidates have signed up to run against incumbent candidates Gail Mull and Ralph Hamlett for the Canton Board of Aldermen.

Several young residents have signed up to run for a seat on the Franklin Board of Aldermen while the race for mayor will be uncontested. 

The election for the Bryson City Board of Aldermen looked like it would be a landslide for the incumbents early last week, but that had all changed by last Friday as four more people signed up to run for office.

With just days until the 32nd annual Folkmoot USA international dance and music festival is set to kick off, the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Hazelwood is a frenzy of activity. Construction projects are finishing up, fresh paint is drying on the walls, beds are being prepared for the performers and new Executive Director Angie Schwab is squelching fires left and right.

Q&A with new Folkmoot Executive Director Angie Schwab, who took the reins in March from former director Karen Babcock.

With so many roads needing to be repaved in Bryson City and so little money to do it with, the town board of aldermen has to make tough decisions and try to prioritize a short list of projects each year.

Based on public input and survey results, it appears the overwhelming majority of folks in Sylva are opposed to creating two-way traffic in the downtown area. 

Two officers with the Franklin Police Department are back on duty while the N.C. State Bureau of Investigations continues to look into a deadly shooting involving the officers.

Linda McKay, owner of N.C. Mountain Made in downtown Franklin, said her business couldn’t afford to lose another summer festival, so she took it upon herself to create a new one.

Swain County is one of only two counties in North Carolina that doesn’t have any type of animal control ordinance, but Commissioner Ben Bushyhead is hoping to change that with the help of the community.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations is conducting an investigation after a man was killed during a June 30 altercation with two Franklin police officers.

Despite aiming for a July opening, Ghost Town in the Sky will stay closed for the entire 2015 season.

Swain County Board of Commissioners approved a $14 million budget last week with little discussion or debate.