Broadband survey needs more rural responses

Haywood County leaders are still in the process of collecting data on broadband Internet service, but they need help from residents living in rural parts of the county. 

Maggie Valley Mayor Ron DeSimone sits on the Haywood County Economic Development Commission and is heading up the effort to bring better broadband service to the county.

Haywood GOP insider charged with cyberstalking party volunteer

fr GOPinternEditor's note: The cyberstalking allegations against Monroe Miller were dismissed by a judge following court testimony on March 24, 2015.

Monroe Miller, a watchdog and critic of county government and member of the so-called “patriot faction” of the Haywood County Republican Party, was charged with the misdemeanor of cyberstalking last week.

The charges were taken out by Savannah Tedesco, a 24-year-old woman. She was a volunteer precinct chair in the Haywood GOP but was in the mainstream of the party and not part of Miller’s faction.

Haywood GOP members draw the line over inflammatory emails

coverMonroe Miller is no stranger to the inbox.

Hundreds of emails from Miller have peppered the email accounts of people in Haywood County over the past five years, targeting those he believes have misstepped.

SEE ALSO:
GOP insider charged with cyberstalking party volunteer
To snag a cyberstalker

His targets are accused of being inept or under-handed — and sometimes both. Miller summons large audiences to the email chain, roping in spectators through the cc line to witness the latest attack.

Maggie moves forward with recreation plan

fr playgroundMaggie Valley resident June Johnson wants the town’s recreation plan to go far beyond fixing up an old playground behind town hall. She envisions the park renovations as just the beginning of greater things to come in the valley.

Haywood tourism board loses experience, gains fresh faces

Three new members have been appointed to the tourism board in Haywood County that guides tourism marketing, promotions and development.

The recent round of appointments to the Tourism Development Authority continues a changing of the guard on the tourism board that’s been playing out for two years now. Of the 12-member board, eight have been appointed in the last two years.

Finding its way: Foundation severs formal ties to hospital, forges new mission

fr healthcarefoundThe most affluent, prominent charity in Haywood County has reinvented its mission but hopes to remain on donors’ radar as it moves toward a larger goal: improving health care in the community.

Haywood School board split on state lobbying

The Haywood County School Board was divided this week on whether to join forces with school systems around the state in a lobbying campaign to back pro-education legislation in Raleigh.

The school board ultimately voted 5-to-4 to support the political advocacy arm of the N.C School Board Association. The county will pay annual dues of $3,000 to the cause.

From prison to platter: Haywood Pathways Center kitchen serves up first meals in Hazelwood

fr pathwaysDinnertime came a little late at Haywood Pathways Center Sunday night (Jan. 4), but for all the right reasons. It was the inaugural night for The Open Door’s Hazelwood kitchen, the final piece in turning the dream behind the Pathways Center into reality. 

“It might be a few minutes before we get to the pork chops,” said Jeremy Parton, Haywood Pathways’ newly hired kitchen and shelter director. “They might be a little cold, but that’s going to be OK, because there’s not going to be another night like this.”

New animal shelter gains traction in Haywood

fr animalshelterA movement to build a new animal shelter in Haywood County is in the early conceptual stages.

Animal lovers say a modern, more spacious animal shelter is needed, despite a daunting price tag and a sizeable drop in animals taken in to the shelter each year.

Shouldering the cost of Haywood’s old landfill contamination

Underground contamination leaching from an old, closed-down landfill in Haywood County will cost millions to clean up, a burden homeowners countywide will be forced to bear through higher trash fees over the coming decade.

County commissioners got their first glimpse this month at how much each household will have to chip in over the next 10 years to pay for the cleanup.

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