Shelter proposal moves forward

fr animalshelterIf you’re for the proposed new Haywood County Animal Services facility, it’s called an “animal shelter,” deadpanned Haywood County Commissioner Bill Upton.

Stakes high in tax dispute with Haywood hospital

haywoodA dispute over how much Haywood Regional Medical Center owes in county property taxes is headed for a showdown this month.

Will the row over hospitals’ property taxes go the distance?

medicalHaywood and Jackson counties could have a long road ahead in their property tax disputes with Duke LifePoint, which owns Haywood Regional Medical Center and Harris Regional Hospital.

Shining Rock focuses on year two improvements

fr shiningrockWhile Shining Rock Classical Academy students are already out of class enjoying their summer vacation, school leaders are busy assessing the charter’s first year and already planning for students’ return in August.

Broadband master plan in the works for Haywood

haywoodFinding a solution to the lack of high-speed internet in rural Western North Carolina has been on the minds of economic development officials for some time now.

Skyrunner offers wireless solutions for rural communities

coverMelanie Williams was fed up. She could no longer run her web design business from her Crabtree home with the slow DSL internet speed from a cable provider. 

SEE ALSO:
• Skyrunner helps rural neighborhoods get connected
• Broadband master plan in the works for Haywood

“I was working on an e-commerce website for a client and I needed to add 100 products with corresponding images but it was taking about an hour for each photo to upload,” she said. “It was becoming a huge expense because I’d have to go into town to be able to work, and I couldn’t haul all my equipment around with me.”

The phoenix rises: Haywood County’s real estate market gets back in the game

fr realestateAfter years of a sluggish real estate recovery, the home market in Haywood County is on a noticeable upward swing. Houses are selling quicker, the inventory glut is finally shrinking and home prices are inching upward again. Second-home buyers and retirees are returning, and overflow from the red-hot Asheville real estate market is leading younger buyers to Haywood’s doorstep to boot.

Trying times for school leaders in Haywood

op frHaywood County Schools has been a part of my life for 24 years now — as a journalist, the husband of a teacher, and the parent of three children who were each students for 13 years in the system — and never has there been a time when I have heard more criticism about its leadership. 

I sort of get it — you close a school, that’s what happens. Understandably, people get emotional. But the larger, more important issue for parents and taxpayers, though, is whether the school system is in good hands. Is there any validity to the voices critical of Superintendent Anne Garrett and the school board’s leadership through these trying times?

Contract commits county to pay for central office move

fr schoolboardA little-known contract crafted in 1980 will take center stage in coming months as Haywood County school officials and county leaders sort out who owes who what if the school system gets the boot from its central office location.

Haywood’s central office move contingent on fate of old hospital

fr schoolboardDSSHaywood County School officials could be ousted from their central office by early spring 2017 to make way for an affordable housing project.

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