Voice of the 'Whee since 1933
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
An exhibit at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center explores the culture and history of North Carolina barbecue—where it came from, why North Carolinians argue about it and how it brings people together. “Feeding the Social Fire: Slow-cooked Culture through North Carolina Barbecue” will be on display until Oct. […]
Graduate students from Western Carolina University’s communication sciences and disorders department worked with Julie Ogletree, a speech-language pathologist in Jackson County, to develop a social skills group for children with autism. Children with autism have difficulty with communication and social interaction, and have trouble reading social cues and being sensitive […]
Western Carolina University student Shaneé Sullivan went with a hearing-impaired seventh-grader to lunch after tutoring him for the first time and was moved when he started signing words for their food—words they had just covered. “Without being prompted, he took the lesson I taught him and applied it,” said […]
Western Carolina University is proud to be having one of our own starting his fifth term as the state Senate representative for Davie and Rowan counties. Andrew Brock won the primary election in early May, and will continue his political career in January 2011. Brock graduated from Western in […]
22 year-old Sylva native, Mandi Smith, was murdered early Tuesday, May 18. Shortly after midnight, a 911 call was placed at 1:18 am reporting that a woman was dead after being shot. The call came from a townhouse community in the Rough Branch area of the Cherokee Indian […]
An atmosphere of academic accomplishments and new beginnings was in the air at Western Carolina University’s Ramsey Regional Activity Center on Saturday, May 8 as the university held a pair of commencement ceremonies to honor nearly 1,600 current and former undergraduate students. WCU’s spring class includes about 1,000 undergraduates […]
Parts of Western North Carolina could see systematic blackouts if Duke Energy doesn’t build a tie station as planned near a sacred Cherokee site, the company says in a filing with the state. According to Duke Energy Spokesperson Jason Walls, the blackout severity would depend upon the company’s available equipment. […]
Just when you thought Western Carolina University had suffered enough from state budget cuts, think again. The 2009-2010 school year at Western sustained many budgets cuts in the past year and it may be quite some time until this changes. The UNC school system’s budget was cut nearly $300 million […]
Citing slow sales and another company’s broken commitment to buy product, Stonewall Packaging LLC closed its manufacturing plant in Sylva on May 15. The closing put 43 employees out of work. In a news release, Stonewall said it “was forced to cease operations because it was unable to sell enough […]
North Carolina’s state budget cuts are continuing to threaten not only the quality of education, but the amount of students that can receive that education as well. The governor’s proposed budget already includes a near $150,000,000 cut. The budget plans have left some North Carolina officials pondering about the idea […]
