The Jackson County Public Library in Sylva has received the Outstanding Facility Award for new libraries in North Carolina over 26,000 square feet in size. The award is given annually by the North Carolina Public Libraries Directors Association (NCPLDA).

Jackson County Librarian Dottie Brunette accepted the award on December 1st in Greensboro, where she presented a PowerPoint slideshow about the building at a showcase of NCPLDA awards given for facilities, programs, staff development, and service innovation.

The Jackson County Public Library Complex was designed by McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture and celebrated its Grand Opening on June 11, 2011.

Tillis looking to establish network of communication.

Thom Tillis, a Mecklenburg County Republican and Speaker of North Carolina’s House of Representatives, made a visit to Macon County last Thursday, Dec. 8, hosting a roundtable discussion with county business leaders and local public officials at Southwestern Community College’s (SCC) Cecil Groves building. The visit marks the first time North Carolina’s Speaker of the House has visited Macon County since Liston B. Ramsey’s tenure as Speaker in the 1980s.

WNC preparing for globally competitive 21st century.

Economic Development Director Tommy Jenkins and other officials across the state believe that expanding broadband internet access in North Carolina will better prepare Tar Heels for the globally competitive 21st. century economy. Scott Hamilton, President and CEO of AdvantageWest Economic Development Group, and Macon County EDC Director Tommy Jenkins managed to bring together some key players last Thursday, Dec.1, at Southwestern Community College’s Macon campus, where the discussion centered on how to expand broadband internet access to Western North Carolina’s rural areas.

Committee may validate Sen. Davis’ concerns.

North Carolina state Senator Jim Davis (D – 50 District) took a lot of heat after introducing SB 638, a potential law that aimed to modify the Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA) agreement granted to Asheville’s Mission Hospital in the mid ’90s. The bill was introduced in the General Assembly last spring in response to an economic analysis report that evaluated the COPA agreement, and later discerned that the agreement gave Mission Hospital an unfair advantage over competitors in the region.