Waynesville park reopens after damage

Allens Creek Park in Waynesville is open once again after being closed due to necessary cleanup efforts following recent adverse weather conditions in the county. 

Allens Creek Park reopens

After being closed for cleanup since Jan. 11, Allens Creek Park in Waynesville is open again. 

Lakeview Drive reopens

Lakeview Drive in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Bryson City is now open, but rehabilitation work on the road is still ongoing. 

Rich Mountain Road reopens after bear scratch

After a monthlong closure enacted when a bear scratched a park visitor, Rich Mountain Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has reopened.

Western Carolina University is ready to meet the challenges of a fall semester during unprecedented times

By Kelli R. Brown • Guest Columnist | These are uncertain and challenging times. Our communities, our state and our nation are grappling with an unprecedented set of issues that affect each and every one of us. 

As Chancellor of Western Carolina University, your regional public university, I believe that institutions of higher education can help prepare our citizens to live through times like these – how to cope, how to manage and perhaps not just survive, but thrive. 

A strange back-to-school season for everyone

From my earliest memories, the back-to-school season has been a flurry of excitement. Both my parents were teachers. I worked in the field for 10 years and have two children who have been in the public education system for seven years. Shopping for new outfits and backpacks, anxiously awaiting supply lists and taking last minute summer trips have been a part of my life forever. 

University employees sue UNC System, Gov. Cooper

Seventeen employees at University of North Carolina System schools — including two from Western Carolina University — are suing the university system and Gov. Roy Cooper in a class-action lawsuit demanding a halt to plans to resume residential instruction until such instruction can take place safely. 

In narrow vote, WCU Faculty Senate opposes reopening

In a nearly split vote held during a special-called meeting Aug. 10, the Western Carolina University Faculty Senate passed a resolution opposing a residential opening for fall 2020 and calling on the state to guarantee funding for the university system should future outbreaks force its institutions to return to online-only instruction. 

Back to school plans for Swain County

Swain County will be operating this fall under a hybrid of in-person and remote learning. Parents can choose Plan B, which includes in-person instruction and remote learning or Plan C, which is entirely remote learning. 

Macon schools offer virtual option

Parents of Macon County students will have to choose their child’s learning plan for fall semester by July 31. 

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