Summary: July - December

July

Thousands turned out for downtown Sylva's annual Fourth of July celebration, while similar numbers attend the 100th anniversary celebration for the Sylva Volunteer Fire Department. That event featured one of the largest fire truck parades on record, with departments from all over the state and southeast participating. Leading the parade was a 1940 American LaFrance pumper, named "Old Red," which had been refurbished for occasion. The day's program also included words of praise from state and local dignitaries, live music, a fire department patch swap, children's games and craft displays.

County Manager Jay Denton outlined a plan for school board members that called for the county to borrow $11 million for school repairs provided the school system turn over ownership of Smoky Mountain High School to the county for collateral purposes. Funds would be dispensed as follows: $1.8 million for two elementary school projects; $5.5 million for SMHS; and almost $1 million for Blue Ridge School. The remainder of the funds would be earmarked for a public library expansion, recreation improvements and an addition at the Community Service Center. School leaders reluctantly accepted the deal after a month-long negotiation with county officials.

Jackson County native Amanda Dills returned from the Miss North Carolina Pageant in Raleigh after earning the Joe Sam Rooth Award.

SMHS HOSA students earned successful marks at a national competition in Nashville, Tenn., bringing home several gold medals and top-10 finishes.

"Unto These Hills," an outdoor drama that tells the story of the Cherokee people, celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Nancy McMurray of Bradford, Va., was named principal at Scotts Creek Elementary School.

August

Jackson County students returned to school for another year of learning opportunities.

Department of Transportation officials informed a Pisgah Forest billboard company that their new sign near Dillsboro is illegal and must be removed. The sign's construction caused tempers to flare in the tiny tourist town, with several Dillsboro business owners requesting the county Board of Commissioners to do all it could to see that the sign was removed. Responding to the pleas, board members adopted a moratorium against all off-premise sign construction pending the passage of an ordinance geared toward controlling such advertisements.

By a vote of 3-2, county officials agreed to transfer $31,250 to the school board to be used to complete the Smoky Mountain High School field house project. Construction was planned to be completed by January 2000.

Sylva officials authorized their zoning administrator, Jim Aust, to investigate the steps toward establishing an extraterritorial jurisdiction for zoning protection for outlying Sylva neighborhoods.

County leaders continued their investigation into restoring the old Jackson County Courthouse using state funds under the guidance of the Division of Archives and History.

A ribbon-cutting celebration was held for The Community Table, an effort several area organizations to address the problem of hunger.

Cullowhee Valley seventh-grade science teacher Carolyn West was named the state's Conservation Teacher of the Year.

September

With the aid of more than 1,700 volunteers, Sylva's Poteet Park received a facelift Sept. 6-12. Under the leadership of the Sylva Rotary Club and the town of Sylva, and with funding from a state recreation grant, the park was transformed into every child's dream of fun and creativity. Volunteers worked 14-hour days to put in place what Leathers and Associate architects had drawn on blueprints. Playground equipment that had been around for some 50 years was replaced with castles, mazes, obstacle courses, a theater and more. While parents worked, more volunteers entertained children away from the hammering, sawing and measuring. And just when volunteers began to hear the rumble of hunger, even more volunteers set the table with food and drinks.

Leon Jones was elected chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, defeating incumbent Joyce Dugan with 1,699 votes to her 1,285. His election gave Jones the distinction of serving on all three branches of tribal government.

Gov. Jim Hunt presided at the first-ever Western Cabinet meeting in Cullowhee, with most of his remarks centering on education and hurricane relief in eastern North Carolina.

Sylva officials, close on the heels of a countywide moratorium on billboards, took similar action to stop sign construction in the city limits. Though town leaders stopped short of an outright ban on billboards, they did enact limits to heights and sizes of signs with a 3-2 vote to amend their original ordinance. New restrictions call for no less than 800 feet between signs and a maximum height of 30 feet. Billboards were also required to remain at 300 square feet in viewing area.

Groups too large to fit inside Dillsboro Town Hall protested town leaders' plans to establish an ETJ around their city limits at two public hearings. Those speaking against the move complained that the town's proposed ETJ and zoning restrictions should not apply to them since they would not be permitted to vote in town elections.

Jackson County heeded the call for help from eastern North Carolina victims of Hurricane Floyd flooding. Everyone, from county emergency officials to church and civic organizations, seemed to pitch in either by providing director relief to collecting needed items for transport.

Eight local individuals and groups were among the 140 regional winners of this year's Governor's Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service.

Carrie Stroup was crowned Smoky Mountain High School homecoming queen at half-time of the football game against Avery.

Doc Watson performed at the 25th Mountain Heritage Day celebration at Western Carolina University, and the Mary Jane Queen family received the Mountain Heritage Award.

October

A confirmed case of rabies was reported by the Jackson County Department of Public Health after a fox tested positive for the disease. A Blantons Branch resident alerted animal control officials after observing the animal acting strangely and chasing cars.

County planners, after completing a draft sign ordinance, requested commissioners extend their moratorium on billboards in order to hold a public hearing on the document. The request was granted. The company that started the county's effort to restrict billboards, PNE AOA of Pisgah Forest, sued county officials, claiming the moratorium was denying their right to earn income from advertising.

Sylva attorney Eric Ridenour filed a motion for summary judgment, which asked for resolution to a lawsuit he filed in February against R.J. Humes, who erected an Exxon sign not in compliance with the town's sign ordinance. A judge's decision on the matter was expected in November.

The late Jake Parris, chief of the Balsam-Willets-Ochre Hill Volunteer Fire Department, was honored as a fallen hero during the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend in Emmitsburg, Md. Parris suffered a heart attack during a first responder call in May 1993, from which he never recovered.

The Sylva Police Department launched its bicycle patrol in the downtown area.

SPIR hired Karen Armel, a Jacksonville, Fla., event planner, to its executive director position, which had been vacant since Jim Bosworth left after two years to take a similar position in Fuquay-Varina.

The Hooper House Preservation Foundation unofficially began collecting donations to save the 95-year-old home of the late Dr. D.D. Hooper. County officials gave the group of interested citizens until the end of the year to raise enough funds to restore the house or they planned to remove it to make room for an expansion of the adjacent public library. In order to fully recognize their dream of restoring the house and using it for a variety of tourism-related functions, foundation members requested the county turn over title of the property.

November

The discovery of a Sylva man shot to death sparked a manhunt for a Massachusetts couple suspected in the case. Jason and Jennifer Graybill, both age 26, were taken into custody in New Hampshire and charged with the first-degree murder of Steven Lloyd Jones, age 34. Also charged in the case was Jones' girlfriend, Jeannie Ann O'Connor, 26.

After meeting with their planning board, county commissioners made several changes to a proposed sign ordinance. The changes mirrored requests made by Allison's Outdoor Advertising and significantly lessened proposed restrictions.

Writing on a bathroom wall at Smoky Mountain High School caused school officials to request extra security Nov. 22, the day indicated when "history" would be made. Even with the heightened security, nearly three-fifths of the student body stayed away from school that day.

Cherokee tribal officials extended their management contract with Harrah's Casinos through 2004. The Cherokee casino also claimed the title of the state's largest tourist attraction, with more than 3 million visitors this year.

Sylva officials announce plans to cooperate with other municipalities and the county for the development of a greenways project. The goal of the project is to use walking and bicycle paths to connect Sylva, Cullowhee, Webster and Dillsboro.

The town of Sylva and a local business man met in court to receive a ruling concerning an Exxon sign constructed contrary to town zoning regulations. Judge Steve Bryant ruled in favor of the town on four out of five issues, but he declined to say whether the town was retaliatory and discriminatory in its enforcement of its sign ordinance.

Tuckaseigee Mills announced plans to close its Sylva and Bryson City sewing plants by the end of the year.

Irene Hooper was re-elected mayor of the Village of Forest Hills.

Phyllis Foxx of Sylva received the Outstanding Fund-raiser Award for 1999 during the eighth annual National Philanthropy Day Celebration held Nov. 10 at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville.

Forest Hills village board member Jim Pearce, instrumental in obtaining the town's charter, died at the age of 51.

December

Seven Jackson County teens were charged with exploding bombs on the new Scotts Creek school site. Charges against Joshua Earl Haddock, Peter Thomas "P.T." Parker, Andrew Joseph MacRae, Matthew Wayne Breedlove, Travis Shane Shepard, Jennifer Parker and an unidentified minor included possession of weapon of mass destruction, destruction of personal property and possession of a weapon on school campus. All but one, MacRae, are students at Smoky Mountain High, and school officials were considering disciplinary action against them as the year ends.

Despite concerns on the part of county Manager Jay Denton, commissioners voted 4-1 to transfer title of the Hooper House to a volunteer group dedicated to preserving the 95-year-old structure. Expanding the adjacent public library would be all but impossible, Denton told his board. But preservation won out, and the library project was put on hold. With deed in hand, preservationists said they plan to restore the house beginning in April.

County school officials adopted a resolution asking the General Assembly to grant taxing authority to local school districts. The move is necessary, school board Chairman Martha Queen said, because of accountability issues coming from both the state Legislature and parents.

Following a public hearing during which a majority of the speakers were in favor of adopting an unaltered billboard ordinance, county commissioners voted 3-2 for a weakened version of the document. But the document remained unapproved until a vote two weeks later rendered the same results.

County commissioners voted 4-1 in favor of purchasing Western Builders property in Dillsboro for $500,000. WB owner Roger Bartlett first requested help from county officials in May 1998, when he discovered his business property was contaminated by the adjacent county landfill. County officials plan to use the site to alleviate overcrowding problems at the Community Service Center by moving both the Cooperative Extension Service and the Soil and Water Conservation Office.

Savannah Fire Chief Darrell Woodard was named Jackson County's first Volunteer of the Year during the first-ever Volunteer Emergency Service Appreciation Dinner.

Challenges 2000

January through June

July through December