Bald eagles make a comeback in N.C., Jackson County

Story originally published in the Sylva Herald, publication from March 3. Bald eagles, once endangered, have become easier for the public to watch and learn about. The bird that symbolizes freedom in the United States has been the focus of years-long efforts to keep it from going extinct. In recent years, North Carolina has become […]

Election Day – Decision time

Finally the Election Day is here! That doesn’t mean that we will know the results who won by the end of the night. The Western Carolina Journalist election team will have updates during the election day so make sure to follow us on Twitter at @theWCJournalist and read our updates on the site. North Carolina […]

Election 2020: Super Tuesday in Jackson County

A version of this story was published in The Sylva Herald March 4, 2020 edition with a shared by-line with Dave Russell  Super Tuesday 2020 came and went in Jackson County, across North Carolina and in 13 other states and American Samoa. Jackson County saw 9,243 residents (of 27,786 registered voters, or 33.26 percent) cast […]

N.C law pushes Jackson county to update voting system

North Carolina General Assemble passed Session Law 2013-381 (HB 589), VIVA Election Reform, requiring all 100 counties to use a voting system that produces a paper ballot, ‘an individual paper document that bears marks made by the voter by hand or through electronic means.’ Prior to 2020, Jackson and the 34 other counties used Direct Record […]

“Stop The Bleed” to help save lives in Jackson County

Originally published in The Sylva Herald on Feb. 7, 2019. More than 500 teachers and school personnel in Jackson, Swain, and Graham counties will be trained to be immediate responders by the 2019-20 school year and will utilize small medical kits that will enable them to do so. Executive director of the Great Smokies Health […]

2018 Election results: Democrats successful on local level; easy win for Mark Meadows; Voter ID amendment passes

There was a feeling of anxiety and excitement in the air at Highland Brewing Company for the Buncombe County Democratic watch party on Election night. A big screen in the front of the room projected the national coverage and a smaller screen beside it showed the numbers from the Buncombe County races. The room would […]