SCC launches Heritage Arts Endowed Fund Jeff Marley.
Over the past decade at Southwestern Community College, serving as Heritage Arts Department Chair has become much more than a fun job for Jeff Marley it’s a passion.
Marley’s desire to see the program continue to flourish is the main reason he recently took steps to create the Heritage Arts Endowed Fund through the SCC Foundation. The scholarship will be used to financially support visiting artists, equipment, travel and salaries associated with the Heritage Arts program, which is housed at the SCC Swain Center.
“Unlike a scholarship for an individual student, this fund will benefit all students and the community through events and classes we offer,” Marley said. “I wanted to begin developing this fund to ensure the Heritage Arts program would have the fiscal means to be able to provide a wide variety of events well into the future. I want to sustain our program and provide many more opportunities to ou
Defer to sheriff on need for jail
To the Editor:
There has been a bit of discussion and controversy over the proposal for Haywood County to spend in the neighborhood of $15 million to build a new jail. One of the arguments is that there are other needs that could be addressed for that amount of money. The problem is that some of the arguments don’t address the issue for the need of a new detention facility.
Some groups and individuals have correctly pointed out that mental health and substance use disorders appear to contribute to criminal behavior and recidivism. This is partially based on a study conducted in the Haywood County Detention Center showing high prevalence rates for these conditions and associations with recidivism.
NAACP task force to mentor teachers on equity work
NAACP chapters in Jackson and Haywood counties have created a joint task force to help mentor public school teachers who want to learn about racial equity work. The project is possible thanks to a $25,000 grant awarded to the Jackson County branch of the NAACP.
This pilot program grew out of a one-day workshop for Haywood County teachers in November 2019 and a community-based workshop in Jackson County in December 2019 that focused on identifying strategies to achieve racial and ethnic equity in Western North Carolina. Among 25 key strategies workshop participants identified, the NAACP members decided to focus their first efforts towards achieving racial and ethnic equity in public school classrooms.
Macon Leaders Encourage Vaccine Registration
The supply of COVID-19 vaccine from N.C. DHHS to Macon County remains limited at this time and a waitlist was established in late January. Currently, only individuals in Group 1 (Health Care Workers with in- person Patient Contact) and Group 2 (Individuals age 65 and over) are eligible to receive the vaccine at this time according to the NC DHHS schedule. However, Macon County leaders urge residents to register to receive the vaccine regardless of eligibility criteria.
A description of the groups is listed below.
In preparation for the receipt of future vaccine, Macon County has opened registration to all individuals regardless of what eligibility criteria they fall within. Please note that if you are not in the 1 or 2 eligibility categories, the time between your registration and you receiving an appointment could be several weeks or months.
On Tuesday, Feb. 9, Haywood County Sheriff’s Office deputies stopped a vehicle on North Canton Road around 4 p.m. A search of the vehicle p.