Sylva's Town Manager, Adrienne Isenhower, announced that Sylva native Paige Roberson, 24, will serve as the Town's new Main Street Economic Development Director for the Town of Sylva and Director for the Downtown Sylva Association (DSA).

“I am excited about getting to work. Last week I went to a main-street managers meeting in Concord and got some really great ideas that I am excited to begin working on,” Roberson said. “I am most excited about the Mill Street [also known as back street] renovations and encouraging small business development and retention in the downtown area.”

Roberson, a third-generation Sylva native, whose family owned and operated Sylva’s former Roberson Supply is personally invested in the economic development of the town and values the importance of continuing the tradition of engaging community activities, historic preservation, and downtown revitalization.

Western North Carolina residents can anticipate heavy rain and gusty winds starting later today and lasting through Tuesday. There are flood watches for Cherokee, Graham, Clay, Macon and Jackson counties and flood warnings for Swain, Haywood, Buncombe, Madison, Henderson and Transylvania counties.

Fred Alexander, the district Duke Power representative, said that widespread power outages are expected from such high winds. Alexander also said that even after the storm is over with, trees can still fall on power lines.

Read more...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of North Carolina and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by Hurricane Irene beginning on August 25, 2011, and continuing.
 
The President's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Dare, Hyde, Pamlico, and Tyrrell.

Read more...

Although Western North Carolina avoided falling victim to Hurricane Irene, the rest of the state is starting the week trying to recover from the devastating storm.

The death count for Hurricane Irene is an estimated 42 and rising, with six North Carolinians dead as a result of Hurricane Irene; two in Pitt County and one each in Nash, Onslow, Sampson and Wayne counties. Three of the six were killed in motor vehicle crashes, two were killed by falling trees and one suffered a heart attack while preparing for storm. The death toll has risen to a reported 40 on Wednesday, up from the estimated 25 causalities reported on Monday, as recovery efforts started to reveal bodies in flood waters in the counties affected by the storm.