A YMCA camp in Swain County specifically caters to youth in Western North Carolina by offering an affordable weeklong outdoor adventure experience. 

Six candidates for Swain County commissioner — three Republicans and three Democrats — will appear on the May 8 Primary Election ballot. 

The packed Swain County courtroom broke into thunderous applause as the newly seated board of elections unanimously dismissed a candidate challenge against incumbent Sheriff Curtis Cochran Monday evening. 

After serving as chairman of the Swain County Board of Commissioners for two terms, incumbent Phillip Carson will be challenged by fellow Democratic commissioner Ben Bushyhead. 

School systems in Western North Carolina continue to deal with a multitude of threats in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead. 

The Swain County candidate challenge against Sheriff Curtis Cochran is at a standstill until a new Swain County Board of Elections is seated in the coming weeks. 

Even though the Swain County Board of Elections can’t proceed with hearing a candidate challenge filed against Sheriff Curtis Cochran, Cochran’s lawyer recently filed a response to the challenge asking for it to be dismissed. 

Around the same time people were packing into the board of elections office in Swain Monday afternoon, a three-judge panel issued an order that will prevent the two-person elections board in Swain from hearing and making a ruling on the candidate challenge against Sheriff Curtis Cochran. 

Cars lined the sides of U.S. 19 in Bryson City Monday night as people tried to find their way inside the small Swain County Board of Elections office to attend a public hearing regarding Sheriff Curtis Cochran’s eligibility for office. 

Following a social media threat that led to a countywide school lockdown and an early dismissal on Thursday, Feb. 22, many students at Swain County High School staged a walkout on Friday, Feb. 23, to advocate for change.