Click for more information
Blacksmith Exhibition at Toe River Arts Kokol Gallery
Soaring Hawk…photo by April Truitt
Winter Shows Back Up…Photo by Shayna Harris
Signs of Spring
Parkway Playhouse Jr. Production
Flowering Tree
Sunset Over West Burnsville…photo by Ayla McKinney
Cardinal…photo by April Truett

Local News

Bill Passes, Mitchell Joins Others with Partisan School Board Elections

Mitchell County has joined Yancey and other counties that will hold primary partisan elections for the Board of Education. Mitchell County Commissioners voted last month to adopt a resolution to include  Mitchell County  on NC House Bill 88, which was originally for Guildford County,  but had already added Ashe and McDowell counties. The HB88, which passed March 16th, calls for partisan ...(more)

Kitsbow Will Shut Down

Kitsbow, an employee-owned company in Old Fort, will close in 3 weeks. The company made 17,000+ garments during 2022 and was on track to make at least 25,000 this year.  This closing will affect 41 employees. The 11 year old company was restructured in January 2022 and became an employee-owned company. During the pandemic they were one of the first companies to design and manufacture face ...(more)

Mitchell Sheriff’s Report 3/12 – 3/19/23

(Press Release from Mitchell County Sheriff’s Department.  Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.) Arrest: William Dyer, 43 of Spruce Pine, NC. Lieutenant D. Holmes arrested Dyer felony probation violations. He was issued $5,000.00 bond and scheduled to appear in court on 4/12/2023. Bryan Scott McFalls, 50 of Spruce Pine, NC. Lieutenant D. Holmes arrested McFalls for failure ...(more)

Locust Cove Wildfire Contained

The North Carolina Forest Service reported yesterday that the Locust Cove wildfire in Marion, which started Thursday evening, is now 100% contained. Officials said the fire, in a rural area of McDowell County, burned 92 acres. It was up to 40 acres Friday, but the rain Friday helped crews battle the fire, as the precipitation greatly lessened the amount of smoke as they continued efforts to ...(more)

Community News

The 12th Annual Burnsville Fit Families 5K is Saturday, April 22nd!

Registration is open! Early bird registration ends on March 31st. Until then, the cost for registration is $30 for adults and FREE for children! Starting April 1st, registration fees increase to $35 for adults. T-shirt quantities are limited, so register soon to secure yours! Register online here. Join the BFF 5K Practice Day this weekend! Saturday, March 25th marks 5 weeks until the BFF 5K! ...(more)

Afterschool Parent/Caregiver Engagement Event

Focusing on community resources supporting mental health, substance abuse, and food insecurity. Welcoming any community providers such as DSS, the health department, mental health providers, sheriff’s department and anyone else who might correspond with this focused outreach. Event at both After School Program locations: Deyton and Gouge Elementary schools. Students in grades K-5 ...(more)

Food Giveaway at Mt. Pleasant Food Pantry

The Mount Pleasant Baptist Church Food Pantry will be hosting another food giveaway Friday March 24th from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church at 151 Scronce Creek Road in Burnsville.  Anyone who wants the food is welcome to come. Just call 828-536-0130 when you get there to let them know you’re there and someone will load the food in your car without you having to get out ...(more)

TRACTOR Update

FARMER SPOTLIGHT Cedar Johnson, Goldfinch Gardens Nestled in the South Toe Valley of Yancey County, Cedar Johnson and Ben McCann run Goldfinch Gardens, a 2 acre Certified Naturally Grown farm. Cedar and Ben use no-till, sustainable farming practices to grow a wide variety of vegetables. With over 20 years of experience in sustainable ...(more)

School News

Brinkley Hodshon Appointed to State Board of Education Student Advisory Council

Congratulations to Brinkley Hodshon for her appointment to the NC State Board of Education Student Advisory Council.  Brinkley was chosen from over 700 applicants to serve on this council with Superintendent of Education Catherine Truitt. The Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council (SSAC) is a strong and diverse group comprised of 12 high school students from across the state’s eight ...(more)

Business News

Mercy Urgent Care Partners with WNC Bridge Foundation to Provide MercyMe Memberships to Area Families

ercy Urgent Care is pleased to announce it has received partnership support from WNC Bridge Foundation to provide yearlong MercyMe healthcare memberships to 32 families in Western North Carolina. The recipients are primarily employees of nonprofit organizations in the five counties where Mercy Urgent Care’s eight facilities are located. “Mercy Urgent Care launched MercyMe in 2022 to provide ...(more)

Buladean Community Health Clinic Open House

Friday evening, March 17th  The Center for Rural Health Initiative opened the new Buladean Community Health Clinic, located within the Buladean Community Center. The public was invited to tour the clinic, meet the staff, learn about the Telehealth program and enjoy refreshments.  Vicki Garland is the Clinic Coordinator and Beverly Acuff is the Telehealth Clinical Coordinator. ...(more)

Yummi Yarns Modifies Store Hours

Beginning this Sunday, March 5th, until Friday, April 28th our store hours will be changed so that I may attend an eight week class at Penland School. A very generous anonymous donor has made this dream a reality for me. I still want to be available to help you (and be able to make enough sales to pay store rent and utilities) so the plan is this. Our hours will remain the same on Saturday ...(more)