Dillsboro Dam starts to come down - Duke Energy has begun removing the Dillsboro Dam. Work began at 9 a.m. Wednesday (Feb. 3) as a hoe-ram (right), an attachment on the end of a trackhoe arm that works like a large-size jackhammer, began notching the north (powerhouse) side of the 12-foot-high, 216-foot-wide dam. While the dam is removed – only by mechanical means – water samples will be taken above and below the dam, and Duke will be allowed to work only when the sediment level is acceptable, according to Fred Alexander, Duke’s district manager for government and community relations. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will monitor dam demolition, which Alexander said is expected to be completed by March 31. Duke will lower the reservoir level through a series of notches in the dam that will draw down the pond about 3 feet at a time. Duke has agreed to dismantle the current concrete...

Storm disrupts travel, leaves thousands without power - Snow that began falling around 3 p.m. Friday (Jan. 29) in Sylva stranded motorists and left thousands of local residents without power for up to four days. Accumulations in Jackson County ranged from 6 inches in Sylva to 14 inches on Soco and 17 at Balsam, according to Department of Transportation county maintenance engineer Wes Jamison. “It was a rough weekend, but we made it through,” said Jackson County Emergency Management....

Groves announces he’ll step down as SCC’s president - Cecil Groves, Southwestern Community College’s president since 1997 will retire June 30. Groves informed the board of trustees and college faculty and staff Jan. 26 that he will retire at the end of this academic year. “As for everything and everyone, there is a season. My season has now come,” Groves said. Groves thanked the SCC family for its “support, encouragement and, most of all, friendship. As a professional ‘last stop,’....

Political filing begins Monday - The filing period for political offices up for election in North Carolina this year will begin at noon Monday, Feb. 8. Filing will end at noon Friday, Feb. 26. Local offices up for grabs include sheriff, register of deeds and clerk of court. Three seats will be open on the Jackson County Board of Commissioners. They are the chairman’s position as well as Districts 1 and 2. District 1 includes Barkers Creek, Dillsboro, Greens Creek and Qualla precincts. District 2 is made up of Sylva...

Forest Hills OKs CTP, finalizes draft of zoning amendment - Forest Hills officials followed the lead of the county’s other three towns and adopted the Jackson County Comprehensive Transportation Plan Jan. 26. The unanimous vote came during a special meeting of the town board. Approval of the CTP gives the N.C. Department of Transportation the town’s endorsement to begin a series of feasibility studies on proposed road projects in the county. The most controversial item on the plan is a proposed connector between N.C. 107 and U.S. 74 – the remaining portion of what was once known as the Southern Loop. The other half of the....

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