Rebecca Fitzgibbon hasn’t breathed easy since her 11-year-old son was put in the back of a police car by his school principal in the parking lot of Shining Rock Classical Academy. Since then, as she’s looked for accountability — or at least answers — she’s faced public scrutiny, legal threats and even criminal charges. 

Public frustration boiled over at the July 1 Jackson County Board of Commissioners meeting, where speaker after speaker condemned the board’s recent decision to withdraw from the Fontana Regional Library system, urged reconsideration and asked for a public statement from commissioners. 

Citizens and constituents of Sylva, I’d like to offer you an apology. In fact, I owe you two.

All Sylva residents are also Jackson County constituents — Sylva is the county seat, and county-level decisions affect us directly. The Jackson County Public Library is a clear example. 

Haywood County Schools is moving ahead with plans for a new “innovative middle school,” aimed at addressing longstanding concerns from families who feel traditional middle school offerings don’t meet every student’s needs. 

The Haywood County Farm Bureau Board of Directors announced the four recipients of its scholarship, given at the May 19 meeting held at the bureau office.

On May 2, 2024, a brief, awkward moment inside a women’s restroom at Western Carolina University was recorded, uploaded to social media and sparked a flashpoint in America’s ongoing culture wars.

To the Editor:

Have you noticed how quietly our basic freedoms can disappear? Right now in Jackson County, a small group of commissioners is on the verge of dismantling our entire library system — not because it’s failing us, but because it’s succeeding at something they fear: exposing people to ideas beyond a single worldview. 

Anyone who thought that two years, dozens of meetings, thousands of dollars and hours of public comment to reach a new interlocal agreement between Jackson, Macon and Swain counties for the Fontana Regional Library would spell the end of the controversy over local libraries thought wrong. 

With a new middle school on the horizon, Jackson County Public Schools is budgeting for a changing school system. On May 6, JCPS made its official request for local funding from the Jackson County Commission.  

Fairview School kindergarten teacher Anna Woods was named the Jackson County Public Schools District Teacher of the Year during the Excellence in Education Awards Evening on May 8th, 2025.