Every year the Franklin Town Council struggles to meet the needs of the community with only $40,000 to spend on nonprofit requests.

Macon County will receive $100,000 to be used for “community purposes” thanks to help from Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin.

After three failed attempts, the Bryson City Board of Aldermen is once again applying for a Community Development Block Grant to make much-needed water and sewer improvements to its wastewater system.

Advanced manufacturing and machining in Western North Carolina just got a huge boost from a Fortune-500 multinational conglomerate with more than $127 billion in yearly revenue.

Jackson County is hoping that grants will offset the $847,000 cost of extending water and sewer connections to a piece of land being eyed for a new outdoor adventure park in Dillsboro, and last week commissioners gave the county the go-ahead to apply for just such a grant — $50,000 from the N.C. Department of Commerce.

Shining Rock Classical Academy will be able to construct an outdoor classroom on its campus this year thanks to a $10,000 grant from Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina — the state’s leading parental school choice advocacy organization.

Bryson City Bicycles will use a $20,000 grant to expand its online presence and to provide a fleet of bicycles for Swain County High School.

Even before BearWaters Brewing announced its intentions to leave Waynesville for nearby Canton, the town has touted itself as Haywood County’s most desirable place in which to locate a business. 

Last month, the town of Canton’s highly anticipated municipal pool project hit an unexpected snag when it was learned that a 40-year United States Department of Agriculture loan would not be available as part of the complex, 10-part financing package town leaders created to pay for the project.

The Canton Board of Aldermen was in high spirits Aug. 25 even before Town Manager Seth Hendler-Voss walked in to the meeting five minutes late.