Yancey County, NC

WLOS — A Madison County High School math teacher is under arrest after authorities say he was photographing or recording students. Deputies say child pornography was also found on the cell phone of Robert Burnette. Burnette is facing 47 felony counts. He is being held on a $325,000 secured bond and has been suspended from Madison County Schools.

YANCEY COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — Yancey County leaders are working to enhance safety measures in local schools by hiring additional school resource officers. “We want our kids and our faculty and staff there at the schools to feel safe when they go to school,” County Manager Lynn Austin said.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - School districts across the Upstate are reacting to the tragic mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas that claimed the lives of 19 elementary school students on Tuesday. Anderson District One shared an image of Texas with the message, “Always in our hearts. With Deepest Sympathy.”

Sheriff Shane Hilliard has announced that additional school resource officers will be added at the start of school in August. The sheriff’s office will be adding two additional school resource officers to give 100% coverage at all Yancey County Public schools next school year. Sheriff Hilliard proposed this idea to the Yancey County Commissioners and the Yancey County school board members following the recent incident at Blue Ridge Elementary. The commissioners’ approved unanimously to fund the additional positions.

Like mentioned in the previous comments, Yancey County has become nothing but a place for tourism and retirees. There’s nothing to do in the county, no new jobs coming in and no new attractions or activities for young people to do. So that’s causing our future to move away and on to bigger and better places. Good jobs can’t be found for young people unless their family is in the “click” or they have the right last name (yes, the political system) that require young people to commute 20-30 miles roundtrip out of the county to find work, and even requiring some to move out of the county. Yancey County Commissioners and leadership promised citizens in several press releases in the past couple years that a new economic development project was coming to Yancey County and bringing 100 new jobs, yes; Little Leaf Farms. But no Little Leaf Farms in sight. So David, Jeff, and Mark where is your campaign promise and the economic development project that you ran on?

Everyone in both counties have legit concerns but here are my personal opinions about them and many will agree. The leaders of the counties get paid less than poverty salaries for their jobs so the homes they live in is based upon their own personal work ethic. Any many of them work more than an 8 hour day. They chose to run for office to give back to the community. Anyone who is over 18 and not a criminal has the same opportunity to run for the underpaying leadership role.

Are you tired of seeing no new growth in positive changes in Yancey County?. Then I invite you to take a stand and vote for ALL NEW representatives. Don’t fall into the trap of voting for a friend or relative on the merit of so-called “loyalty”. Instead follow your heart and vote for a REAL POSITIVE change. Remember your vote can / will be private and confidential if YOU want it to be.

Yancey County is NOT Mayberry. We are NOT living in a quite , cute community. Instead Yancey County is breeding criminals due to the lack of opportunities. How can Yancey County have a future , when there is nothing here for graduates (the future)?. There is no REAL good paying...

ROXY – Tri-color beagle, white face, sweet, shy. Missing from Cane Branch area of Yancey County. A $500 reward is being offered. She is chipped, if found please call 828.284.6209 or take her to the Yancey Humane Society.

Mayland Community College, Yancey EMS, Yancey County Rescue Squad and Mountain Heritage High School partnered together to provide stop the bleed training to school faculty. On March 30, Mountain Heritage High School faculty members took part in life saving Training with 39 people receiving certifications. The class is designed to teach non-Medical personnel simple ways to control all types of bleeding. Topics range from general bleeding control up to Tourniquet application for severe injuries. Bleeding is the number one cause of preventable death in traumatic injuries. Mayland Community College hopes to train all Yancey County school faculty members.

Sheriff Shane Hilliard is excited to announce the 2nd Annual YCSO Summer Camp for Upcoming 6th Graders. This year we are expanding, there will be two 2-day camps, each hosting 20 kids. This is aimed at being able to take more kids on this outdoor adventure. The YCSO Summer Camp...

The Yancey Humane Society has announced that they have been awarded a grant for their Fence Building Project for Yancey County residents Living on Low Incomes. Funding for this program was provided by The Yancey Fund, an affiliate fund of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. The Yancey Fund is an endowment created to support the charitable needs of our community.

Tuesday was Primary election day across North Carolina. Both Mitchell and Yancey counties had local primary races. In Mitchell County, Republicans were selecting three out of five on the ballot in the County Commissioners race. The top vote getter was incumbent Steve Pitman with 2,354 votes. Incumbent Jeff Harding was 2nd with 2,172 votes. There was just a 15 vote difference between the 3rd and 4th place positions. Clayton Roberts had 1,868 votes and Dewayne McKinney with 1,853. Jerry Prosser had 685 votes.

Yancey County has retained Pearson’s Appraisal Service, Inc., to perform the Yancey County general reappraisal of real property with values to become effective January 1, 2024. The General Statutes of North Carolina mandates that Yancey County reappraise all real property at least every eight years beginning with 1976 to determine each property’s fair market value for the purpose of taxation.

Yancey County Schools received some great news from the NC Department of Public Instruction at the end of April, being awarded grant funding of $6,693,944.00 for renovations and repairs for South Toe Elementary ($1,873,944) and East Yancey Middle School ($4,820,000). “I am very appreciative of State Senator Ralph Hise, State...

Hope Through Love will be having their monthly food giveaway Wednesday May 18th from 1pm-3pm at the blue and white building beside Stephanie’s Ice Cream Shop just below East Yancey Middle School. Pull up and we will load your car for you.

BURNSVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — An assisted living facility in Western North Carolina has been closed following the arrest of two employees and an investigation by the state's health department. According to the Yancey County Sherriff's Office, deputies responded to Southern Living for Seniors on Love Fox Road in Burnsville...