For decades, college athletes generated millions of dollars in revenue for universities in exchange for a full tuition scholarship, at best. But a series of lawsuits beginning in the late 2000s — and a cultural shift toward athlete equity — paved the way for a monumental National Collegiate Athletic Association decision. The policy change, effective July 1, 2021, allowed these players to profit from any promotional use of their name, image and likeness, known as NIL, in company marketing. 

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality is awarding another $1.91 million for new public electric vehicle chargers across North Carolina, filling gaps in the state’s charging network along highways and in rural communities. 

Haywood County commissioners have adopted a resolution and corresponding ordinance that lays out how nearly $3 million in opioid settlement funds will be spent over the next 14 years, focusing heavily on treatment, recovery and mitigation within the criminal justice system. 

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has approved a plan to use money from a settlement with opioid distributors and manufacturers to provide a boost to an up-and-coming transitional living home on the Qualla Boundary that will help those in rec overy get back on their feet.

As fiscal year 2024-2025 begins, North Carolina’s county governments are receiving their third installment of the Opioid Settlement Fund. This year, Swain County received $236,111. 

Macon and Jackson County commissions signed resolutions this month enabling the governments to receive funding from the Kroger opioid settlement, the third settlement of its kind for both counties. 

Jackson County will receive more than $3 million as part of an opioid settlement. The timeline for collecting that money, 18 installments over 18 years, makes meaningful use and allocation complicated. 

Millions in opioid settlement money is coming to the state, to most counties and even to some municipalities.

All indications show Swain County has a prosperous future ahead, but county leaders are looking for community input to determine what their top priorities should be moving forward. 

If you can’t understand why people in Swain County are distrustful of the federal government, then you are among those unfamiliar with the history of the infamous Road to Nowhere.