Local building permits top national, regional averages - Though the number of building permits issued in Jackson County has dropped in the past few months, local figures are above both national and regional averages. That news came from Planning Director Linda Cable March 17, who updated commissioners on the current state of construction in the county. Cable said 1,632 building permits were issued in 2007...

‘Spirit’ arrives at Balsam Mountain - Spirit Augustus, a 15-year-old American bald eagle, spreads her wings Tuesday while she perches on the gloved hand of Michael Skinner, director of the Balsam Mountain Trust. “Spirit” as she’s known around the Trust’s Nature Center, which is located at Balsam Mountain Preserve, arrived in November from the Eagle Foundation in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. The Trust engages the...

County’s longest-serving sheriff, Holcombe, dies - Fred Holcombe, who was Jackson County’s longest-serving sheriff, died Sunday at Mountain Trace Nursing Center. He was 87. Services were scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday (March 26) at Southwestern Community College’s Myers Auditorium. His family was scheduled to receive visitors for two hours prior to the service. Burial is planned at 1 p.m. today (Thursday) at Bumgarner Cemetery. Holcombe was first elected sheriff in 1962...

Hearing postponed; rock quarry opponents gain SELC’s support - Tuckasegee residents battling a proposed rock quarry in their valley will have to wait a few more months for the first court skirmish. An administrative hearing initially slated for next week has been postponed and will likely take place in June, though The Herald was unable to learn whether a specific date has been scheduled. Meanwhile, United Neighbors of Tuckasegee, the grassroots group formed in 2006 to oppose...

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TWSA adds sewage capacity; accepts bid for Racking Cove line - With sewer capacity once again available, members of the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority revised their allocation policy during their March 18 meeting. The authority recently received another 350,000 gallons per day of capacity at its North River Road treatment plant, thus ending the current moratorium on allocations. According to TWSA Director Joe Cline, state officials last week signed a revised special order of consent for TWSA’s main wastewater treatment plant that allows...