Judge swears in town council

About 40 people squeezed into the tiny, main room of Hayesville Town Hall Monday. The group gathered to see the oath of office administered by Judge Willis Whichard to Mayor Harry Baughn and Town Councilmen Austin Hedden, Will Penland and Joe Slaton.

Whichard, the only person in North Carolina's history who has served in both houses of the state legislature and on both state appellate courts, spoke to the group prior to administering the oaths. He compared Hayesville to what Daniel Webster said about Dartmouth College. "'She's a small school, but there are those who love her,'" Whichard said. "Much the same can be said of the Town of Hayesville. It's a small town, but there are those who love it. I am among them. My roots run deep."