L. Douglas Wilder, the first African-American elected governor in the United States, told a group of Western Carolina University students, faculty and staff on Wednesday, Jan. 20 that there is still progress to be made in terms of race relations, despite the historic election of Barack Obama as president in […]
News
Jackson Residents Peacefully Urge for Healthcare Reform
About 55 residents from Jackson County peacefully assembled last night (Sept. 2) at the county’s historic courthouse on main street Sylva to urge Congress to reform the nation’s current healthcare system. The residents held a vigil to honor those who they said are suffering under the current health care system […]
H1N1 Flu Cases Still Being Seen at WCU
Two weeks after classes began at Western Carolina University, cases of the flu are still spreading rapidly across campus. Classes started on Monday, Aug. 24 and WCU’s Health Center had already seen 20 suspected cases of the flu and more than 65 cases at the end of the week on […]
Back-to-Back Police Investigations Surface in Area
Back-to-back discoveries, one involving a death and the other an injury, opened two investigations for area police departments on Saturday, Aug. 8 and Sunday, Aug. 9.The first investigation involves a Cherokee woman who was charged on Aug. 8 with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with intent to […]
Ways to Voice Your Opinion, Express Concerns on Campus
If you you’re passionate and opinionated, you’ve spent years—maybe even decades—telling yourself that you’ll probably never see the kind of society you want, because people would never go for it. Maybe it’s time to break the habit and get your opinion out. No question, it’s not easy in figuring out […]
North Carolina May End Vehicle Inspections
North Carolina lawmakers may repeal the state’s required annual motor vehicle safety inspections. The Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday, July 28 debated a measure its sponsor said would save owners more than $12 a year on each vehicle. Sen. Charlie Albertson of Duplin County said residents spend more than $80 […]
Estabrooks Named Smith Distinguished Professor at WCU
One of the nation’s top experts in the area of adult neurological communication disorders, Nancy Helm-Estabrooks, has been appointed the first Catherine Brewer Smith Distinguished Professor of Communication Disorders at Western Carolina University. Helm-Estabrooks moves into the professorship from an adjunct professor position she had held since May in WCU’s […]
Hurricane Probability Downgraded in United States
A near- to below-normal Atlantic hurricane season is now expected as the calming effects of El Niño, a periodic warming of central and eastern tropical Pacific waters, continues to develop. But scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) say the season’s quiet start does not guarantee quiet times […]
N.C. Racial Justice Act Passed after Senate Votes
The General Assembly has approved a milestone bill that will now allow death-row inmates to oppose the death penalty by arguing that there is particular racial bias in the way that capital punishment has been applied. Under the bill, a prisoner will be able to bring to life statistical evidence […]
Salamander Named After WCU Professor
Western Carolina University has a rather small claim to fame to the Urspelerpes brucei, a recently discovered species of salamander. Named for WCU professor Emeritus Richard Bruce, the amphibian is only 2 inches long—and the second smallest known species in the U.S. This salamander was discovered in Stephens County, Ga., […]