It appears the DOT was mistaken and misunderstood in its ambition to build a bypass around the booming metropolis of Sylva, maybe. The Jackson County Commissioners supported residents in opposing it. They had decided to hold a public hearing this month to try to kill the project, but they learned recently the plans were just, as us Southerners say, a “figment,” or maybe not. Plans for what is referred to on the DOT’s web site as the Southern Loop are not considered a priority by the department; the DOT only wants to improve NC 107, maybe.