There’s a good amount of opioids in Haywood County, more than twice the national average. And apparently there’s a good number of people overdosing on the prescription medications as well. 

Manufactured homes, metal siding and unfinished concrete blocks are no longer allowed in downtown Sylva. The plywood coverings blocking out so many windows up and down Main Street, however, can stay a while longer. 

Dr. Richard Thompson is breathing a bit easier this semester. He’s not worrying about funding. Not wondering if the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching will slip into the abyss. 

Jackson County officials were recently set to discuss the possibility of joining other local governments in the region and consider an anti-fracking resolution. At least that’s what Commissioner Vicki Greene thought.

It’s about that time. Time to worry about PILT money.  

After seeing the federal payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) program receive a one-year extension early this year, local leaders are now looking out for more than the program’s continuance going forward.

Wireless communications companies could ultimately find Jackson County’s revised cell phone tower ordinance considerably more palatable than the stricter version that appeared to be shaping up this summer. The county planning board seems to be shying away from its previously discussed direction, questioning aspects of the ordinance detailing height and camouflage requirements for towers.

In an effort to assure aesthetic uniformity beyond town borders, Sylva’s commissioners have begun expanding the town’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. The first phase of the expansion was approved following a Sept. 4 public hearing, but not without some spirited back-and-forth between town board members and property owners concerned about the impact of an expanded ETJ. 

This year’s race for Jackson County commissioner chairman is a rematch between two familiar figures. Each have claimed the title for their own four-year stints. The baton was handed over following an close contest in 2010.

So close, that Brian McMahan is back for round two, hoping to reclaim his place on the board.

Sylva commissioners will hold a public hearing tomorrow, Sept. 4, on expanding its extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ. An expanded ETJ would mean that property owners within the area in question — an area not currently in town limits — would have to adhere to Sylva’s zoning regulations, although the properties would not receive services from the town and the town would not collect taxes on the properties. 

The Jarrett House has stood in Dillsboro since 1884. Since before Dillsboro was Dillsboro. 

The town of Dillsboro, established in 1889, was named after William Allen Dills, a Confederate veteran who was born nearby. The town is located on the site of Dills’ farm.

Prior to the town’s establishment, the area was beginning to grow due to the railroad and tourism. Around the turn of the century the town boasted more than 700 residents. 

Dillsboro’s relationship with Western Carolina University began in 2009, after the economic downturn and as the town struggled to regroup.

It’s been a couple of weeks since the downtown Sylva fire. And while most of downtown is humming along nicely, the handful of businesses directly impacted by the fire continue working to recover.

Malcolm graced the waters of Lake Junaluska for only a little while. He will be on its shore for much longer. 

“I think it’s gorgeous, I think it’s simply gorgeous,” said Diane Nabors, of the sculpture of Malcolm the swan. “I stop and look at it all the time.”

How can Webster be improved? What would make it more walkable? What would encourage community socialization? 

Town leaders aim to find out. Having secured a $5,000 Southwestern Commission Toolbox Implementation Fund grant — and matching it with another $5,000 — they are pursuing a planning study in an effort to map out some possible changes to consider.

A group of Vietnam veterans in Swain County have accomplished their goal. Soon, an Alarka-area bridge will bear the name of three-time Purple Heart recipient Dockie Brendle.

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Recently, U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows made the rounds in his district visiting with constituents. While in Haywood County, he made a stop at the county fair. With a table full of political schwag, the representative held court in a building sandwiched between agricultural exhibitions and carnival rides. 

The town of Sylva will not be enacting a moratorium on metal-sided buildings in its downtown area in an effort to preserve its aesthetic integrity, but an ordinance outlining such a prohibition will be explored.

In a last-minute turnaround, North Carolina lawmakers wrapped up their short session last week with passage of a bill granting Evergreen Packaging’s paper mill in Canton $12 million for natural gas upgrades.

Jackson County Manager Chuck Wooten arrived at Western Carolina University as a freshman in 1969. He remembers his college days fondly.

“My classmates and fraternity brothers all had such a great time in Cullowhee,” Wooten said. “I remember as a freshman, wearing beanies — we got to burn’em at Homecoming.”

The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority is pretty sure it needs to start searching for an executive director to help head up the organization. 

“We believe we’re at the point where someone wakes up in the morning and this is what they do,” said Clifford Meads, chair of the TDA’s marketing committee.

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“It doesn’t look salvageable to me,” Sylva Mayor Maurice Moody told a full house crowd during an emergency meeting following the fire. 

Two more local governments in Western North Carolina have passed resolutions opposing fracking this month. Franklin and Forest Hills are the most recent to formally oppose the natural gas exploration method green-lighted by state legislators earlier this year.

The type of visitors being eyed by Jackson County tourism officials fall into various categories. Each one of those “types” is being targeted through different ads.

There are advertisements featuring flyfishing. And gambling. Or how about kayaking or pottery?

The music inside Wells Event and Reception Center is noticeably different than next door at Wells Funeral Home.

Instead of reflective classical, the speakers hum with smooth jazz.

A day earlier the room was full. Wall-to-wall children and snakes.

“That was in this room,” said Swain County Librarian Jeff Delfield.

Swain County recently passed a resolution in opposition to fracking. “Are you familiar with what fracking is?” asked Swain County Commissioner Steve Moon. “That’s why we’re opposed to it.”

The North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission has scheduled a public hearing on fracking for Western North Carolina. The hearing is slated for Sept. 12 on the Western Carolina University campus in Cullowhee.

Austin Fore calls it “a blessing.”

“If I’m not there every other day I’m bummed,” the Clyde skateboarder said.

When Shirley Finger was younger, she never did too much clogging. Or dancing of any kind, really.

“Back when I was growing up you didn’t go to a dance, that was the Devil’s place,” recalled Finger. “But when I got married my husband was on a dance team and I just fell in love with it.”

Finger fell in love with clogging. She has since enjoyed spreading the gospel of clogging with the Waynesville-based Dixie Darlin’s.

The town of Sylva is now the second Jackson County locale to formally oppose hydraulic fracturing for natural gas within its boundaries. 

“I’m concerned about it,” said Commissioner Barbara Hamilton. “It’s not going to affect my life, but it will affect my children’s lives and my grandchildren’s lives, and I’m against it.”

Property owners along the fringes of Sylva may soon have to adhere to town zoning regulations. The town board is considering expanding its extraterritorial jurisdiction.

A question-and-answer session concerning fracking drew a full crowd to a recent Jackson County Planning Board meeting. Western Carolina University Geosciences and Natural Resources Professor Cheryl Waters-Tormey was invited to lay out the basic process of hydraulic fracturing and the chances of natural gas exploration in Western North Carolina in the wake of the state legislature green-lighting the practice. 

Landslide hazard maps for the Wayehutta Creek watershed in the Cullowhee area of Jackson County were unveiled recently. The mapping is a baby step toward the much loftier goal of assessing the landslide risk for all the steep slopes in the county — a goal that is currently unfunded in Jackson.

The survey provides a topographical look at the watershed. It provides an inventory of potential slides and areas where slides have occurred.

The latest development to throw down a stake in Cullowhee intends to build a 488-bed student housing complex on a two-lane stretch of road across from the community garden and near the Tuckasegee River.

It’s a place where students can “thrive” while enjoying “a much more robust amenity package.”

Candice Caldwell Day and her husband Shayne recently went to Andrews Airport in Cherokee County.

“To hold up a really big sign,” she said. 

After passing state inspections, Ghost Town in the Sky opened for the season on the Fourth of the July.  The Maggie Valley amusement park — open Friday through Monday — is reporting an opening weekend attendance total of more than 7,500. 

Negotiations between Evergreen Packaging and its union employees at the company’s Canton and Waynesville facilities are still ongoing. The talks resume July 15.

Officials in the town of Forest Hills in Jackson County recently explored the possibility of providing trash and recycling collection service to residents. It was a brief exploration. 

The Jackson County Planning Board has of late been engaged in a discussion about the revision of the county’s ordinance governing cell phone towers. That discussion is likely to attract additional voices soon, as the board also prepares to weigh in on Verizon Wireless’ request to construct a new tower in the Whiteside Cove area.

The Swain County Farmers Market recently enjoyed its final Friday alongside Main Street in Bryson City. After taking a break for the Fourth of July holiday, it will reopen on the other side of the Tuckasegee River.

The one-way stretch of Main Street running through the heart of downtown Sylva has a new traffic pattern. The left lane now sports turn arrows and solid white lines. 

Jackson County may have another community planning project on the horizon. Glenville residents have approached the county about possibly embarking on such a journey.

“That’s very initial-stages,” said Jackson County Planning Director Gerald Green, explaining that the county is currently discussing the concept with a handful of Glenville residents. “Right now, there’s probably 10 or 12 exploring it.”

Lake Sequoyah will disappear for a few months in the coming year as Highlands plans to drain the reservoir to complete a pair of projects there. Combining $1.6 million in grant money from the Environmental Protection Agency with another $950,000 of town funds, Highlands plans to install a new intake valve in a deep part of the lake and complete some much-needed maintenance on the dam itself. 

Ghost Town in the Sky, the seemingly ever-limping amusement park in Maggie Valley, did not open on June 20 as planned. Delays in running new water lines to the park’s upper levels have stalled the opening.

There’s a new option for dental care in the region.

“We call it a community service learning center,” explained Michael Scholtz, assistant dean for extramural clinical practices at East Carolina University’s School of Dental Medicine. 

Haywood County’s fledging chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is getting a little help this summer.

“I see myself as a booster pack,” said Sam Tyson. “A little summer energy.”