Sinquarious Graham, a 16-year-old Job Corps student from Alabama, was pulling on his coat to go to breakfast at 6:30 a.m. last Thursday when his roommate came in and told him class was canceled, he could go back to bed.

The federal government has long been aware of run down buildings at the Oconaluftee Job Corps Center but failed to provide the center with funds to fix the problems, according to multiple reports, inspections and annual assessments conducted by the government.

Local leaders and employees of the Oconaluftee Job Corp Center are questioning the motives behind a sudden shutdown of the site by the federal government last week.

The Swain County Board of Commissioners has formally asked the district attorney to investigate spending practices by former sheriff Bob Ogle.

Tourism leaders in Swain County want county commissioners to withdraw state legislation requesting a 1 percent increase in the room tax to allow time for study.

A push to move the Swain County Chamber of Commerce into a vacant bank building is meeting resistance from some lodging owners because of a proposed room tax increase.

One Swain County resident expressed concern last week that developers and speculators will rush to break ground on mountainside subdivisions in the next few months to beat out development regulations coming down the pipe.

When Commissioner Glenn Jones pulled into the Stillhouse Branch trailer park in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Swain County last October, he’d strayed far from the campaign path of most candidates.

Swain County leaders took the first step toward regulating unchecked growth and development this week by appointing the county’s first-ever planning board.

The North Carolina Election Board says it could be another month or two before someone can make the trip from Raleigh to Bryson City to look into complaints of illegal voter intimidation and improper handling of absentee ballots associated with November’s election.