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Businesses in 2021 have struggled with fewer staff people
Hannah Styles
hstyles@thesmokymountaintimes.com
Real Estate/lack of housing
Swain County became a sanctuary in 2020 for those wanting to escape the city during the pandemic but the real estate market just kept booming throughout 2021. Tougher times during the pandemic left people buying second homes wanting to escape to a natural destination or seeking business opportunities with investment property. This continued to mean good news for real estate agents but presented a problem for locals and those looking to move to the county for job opportunities, leaving a giant void of affordable housing and pushing current listing prices up into bidding wars. Even vacant land that had sat on the market for years, began getting snatched up.
Some people wrestled with the idea of buying a home or building, but with supplies like lumber and steel prices dramatically increasing in the Spring from 2020, there wasn’t an easy choice. The town’s current sewer moratorium also prevented new residential builds, halting projects like Black Hill, which aimed to build more single-family homes.
The Swain County Board of Education shed light on the problems they have finding and keeping employees who can’t find affordable long-term housing in the area.
Kituwah Homes, in Cherokee, opened back in March, adding to the local market with affordable single family modular home options, with homesites on Arlington Avenue in town.
Staff, inventory storages, and increasing prices
Local businesses knew the effects of being short staffed all too well this year and many offered hiring bonuses, flexible hours, and other incentives in an attempt to get people to apply. Some restaurants began closing an extra day a week or closing early to deal with the staffing issues. Two new Dollar General stores opened in the county this year but kept weird hours for the first several months due to the lack of workers and Walgreens and Bojangles began closing earlier by the end of the year to deal with staffing problems.
Food trucks surprisingly seemed to thrive during the pandemic shutdowns and continued through 2021 with several new options popping up downtown.
Local boutiques and outdoor equipment stores saw inflation and shortages as U.S. ports backed up, making it nearly impossible to get their inventory.
With the gas shortage due to the Colonial Pipeline hacking back in the Spring to the sky rocketing price by early Fall, filling up the tank continues to be a pain in the pocket for Swain Countians. If gas prices weren’t enough, some are experiencing sticker shock at the grocery store that unpredictably offers barren shelves and shortages.
School returns to
normal schedule
In August, Swain County Schools returned to a regular schedule but before opening the board of education declared masks optional before reversing the decision to masks required for students and staff, after hearing from Swain County Health Department Director, Alison Cochran. After school started, the school has remained open for the rest of this year, but some students remain behind from the year of virtual learning.
Back in May, Swain’s West Elementary named a new principal, Lisa Sutton, who was previously the dean of students and the Swain Arts Center named Joe Holt the new executive director. Swain Middle School mourned the loss of beloved history teacher, Jason Webb.
Spotlighting local heroes
Throughout the fall, the Smoky Mountain Times did a series highlighting those in the community greatly affected by the pandemic who continue to remain selfless and push through for the sake of others. Back in September, Swain Emergency Services were responding to about 3 Covid calls a day along with a dozen other calls a day. Staff shortages and illnesses also proved difficult for EMT’s as they risked their health and families’ health to help others.
Swain County Schools bus drivers, custodians, and lunchroom workers deserved a shoutout for their exceptional work during a very difficult time as they transported kids to and from school, kept classrooms and hallways clean, and cooked nutritious meals for brain power throughout the school day.
Teachers were among another group who experienced major headaches and adjustments at the start of the pandemic and continue to face setbacks and challenges. This August teachers had to adjust from the odd schedules and virtual learning, back to the regular classroom setting, while keeping masks on kids and proper distance between desks, adding many extra tasks to their already busy daily to-do list.
It takes a special person to work in a long-term care facility, someone who puts the needs of their patients above their own and healthcare workers at Mountain View Manor continue to put smiles on residents' and visitors' faces by offering fun, dress up days and sweet treats like Hawaiian Luau days with snow cones. The facility even had a Covid breakout but managed to keep it quarantined to one wing and quickly stopped the spread.
Back in September Swain Community Hospital was averaging 12-15 patients a day, which added constant stress to nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and everyone inside the hospital. Workers were having to wear masks for 8-10 hours a day, change gloves, gowns, and wash hands thoroughly before entering each room. Talk about an already difficult job, getting 10x more tedious.
The Bryson City Police Department, Swain Sheriff’s Office, and Jail saw increased work duties with constant wellness and temperature checks and cleaning multiple times a day. They even experienced an outbreak in the jail which they quickly located the source and stopped before it spread through the entire jail.
North Shore Communities and Historical Society
In February, the Swain Genealogical Society settled into their new office on Brendle Street with a library filled with local history, perfect for family research. Stacks of books line the shelves, where people can open a window to the past.
Throughout the year, the North Shore Association held several cemetery decorations for the North Shore community, which the families lost access to during the creation of Fontana Dam. One of the biggest being Decoration Day on Memorial Day Weekend at Lauda Cemetery, where many of the North Shore communities' graves were moved to. In September, the association took any folks interested in honoring the Mitchell cemetery across the lake by boat and hiked to the top of the mountain to decorate graves that are not accessible by road.