Overwhelmingly, municipal officials take pride in their nonpartisan service, but once they’re elected, they don’t just leave their party hats at the chamber doors.

Goosebumps. A slight tear in my eyes.  

Pictured in this week’s column is my most favorite place in the entire universe. The Grand Teton Mountains straddling the Wyoming/Idaho border. I’ve been coming to these ancient peaks since 1992, when I was seven years old and made my first trip West with my family from our native Upstate New York.  

It was one of those moments that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.

A moment just to myself, where when the moment was unfolding in real time, you feel an immediate and deep gratitude for, this intrinsic connection to the universe. 

Just months after Jackson, Macon and Swain counties reached an agreement to approve a new version of the Fontana Regional Library interlocal agreement following more than two years of controversy, an email originating from the account of a Macon County Library Board member plots a path for dissolution. 

Members of the public interested in Western North Carolina court cases now have better access than ever to criminal and civil files. 

The public in Western North Carolina is about to have more access to the courts than ever before, assuming all goes to plan. 

Jennie Ratcliff was only 21 years old when she met Jackson, a 16-hand-tall horse with a chestnut coat that matched her own auburn locks. Not much is known about Jackson’s life before he was purchased at auction by a horse trader to prevent him from being slaughtered. 

Drought has re-entered the western region, with the most recent drought conditions map labeling Transylvania and Henderson counties as experiencing moderate drought.

Western North Carolina courts are about to get a leg up, but it isn’t all that everyone hoped for. 

With the Fontana Regional Library agreement up for its 10-year review, Jackson, Macon and Swain county commissions are taking a look at the document.