Last week, reports obtained exclusively by The Smoky Mountain News revealed that Canton’s Pactiv-Evergreen Packaging would scale back production by idling one of its four paper-making machines. The company cited a decrease in demand, but as more information becomes available, it appears the “curtailment” of PM20 could be a tactic employed by Evergreen for leverage in a long-simmering contract dispute with the company’s unionized workforce.

A leaked, undated internal memo from Evergreen Packaging’s Canton General Manager John McCarthy says that the mill will idle one of its paper-making machines, citing reduced demand for its particular product.

Commissioners in Haywood County will move forward with pursuing a bank loan to finance the jail expansion after Davenport and Company, the county’s financial advisor, issued a request for proposals for installment financing contracts and explained the nuances of the ones they received.

On the same day her concerns about a parking issue were published, a Waynesville Cemetery Committee whistleblower resigned after the committee’s chair chastised her via email and made problematic comments about the First Amendment, public records laws and open meetings statutes.

A controversial education bill making its way through the Republican-dominated North Carolina General Assembly proposes granting parents a slate of “rights” they already have while taking more power from locally elected school boards and prohibiting instruction on a topic that doesn’t currently exist in state educational standards.

Two weeks after it was pulled from the consent agenda to allow more time for research and discussion, a $75,735 grant reimbursing Haywood County for money it had already spent on vaccination services was approved unanimously by Haywood County commissioners despite objections from more than 25 people who spoke out against it for nearly two hours — many of whom peddled vaccine misinformation similar to that heard at the previous meeting.

More than a year after announcing plans to open a location in Waynesville, popular tool retailer Harbor Freight Tools said via press release on Feb. 7 that construction has begun inside an 18,000-square-foot space vacated by Kmart in 2019.  

Chief David Adams and the Waynesville Police Department will begin implementing a motorcycle program and hope to have bikes on the streets this summer, thanks to a steal of a deal from an old friend in the city of Hendersonville.

The town that refuses to stay down made another big move toward getting back on its feet last week, selecting architects who will design replacements for municipal buildings that were damaged or destroyed during flooding in August 2021.

Haywood County residents have always been very protective — and particular — about Waynesville’s historic Green Hill Cemetery, but at least one member of the Waynesville Cemetery Committee is looking to head off disaster before it becomes another public relations nightmare.

When the old Downtown Waynesville Association imploded back in 2021 due to mismanagement and a general lack of enthusiasm, it left behind only a soiled legacy that unfortunately overshadowed three decades of transformative work.

Haywood County real estate agent Lynda Bennett, a 2020 candidate for the Republican nomination in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, will plead guilty to violating the Federal Campaign Act of 1971, according to documents filed in federal court on Jan. 27.

According to the filing, on or about Dec. 31, 2019, Bennett “on behalf of her campaign did knowingly and willfully accept a contribution made by one person, Individual A, which aggregated $25,000 in the calendar year 2019, in the name of another person.”

The complaint further identifies “Individual A” as a relative of Bennett.

Bennett, who was backed by President Donald Trump, retiring incumbent Congressman Mark Meadows and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, among others, won the first round of Republican Primary Election voting but lost in the runoff election to future congressman Madison Cawthorn.

That year, the maximum donation allowed from an individual was $2,800 per candidate, per election, meaning Bennett could have legally accepted up to $5,600 for her Primary Election and for the runoff.

Sentencing guidelines for violations of 52 USC 30122 list maximum penalties of five years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $50,000.

This story was first reported in Politico.

Haywood County’s Tourism Development Authority will enter a new era with the announcement of an executive director to replace the retiring Lynn Collins.

“I am extraordinarily excited to move to Haywood County, learn more about what makes the destination special and immerse myself in the community as I work to bring national attention to the region,” said Corrina Ruffieux (pronounced “roof-E-air”). 

With long-term debt rolling off the books and a number of high-dollar, high-profile projects on the horizon, Haywood County commissioners will have some tough decisions to make following a presentation by the county’s financial advisor.

Asheville-based McGill Associates will begin work to provide emergency watershed protection in areas affected by Tropical Storm Fred after Haywood commissioners approved an $800,000 contract on Jan. 17, but at least one commissioner thinks it may not be enough.

It may be a new year with a new county commission, but anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists are still offering the same old falsehoods about COVID vaccine.

Republican Haywood County Commissioner Terry Ramey attempted to quell the uproar over his decade-old delinquent tax bills last week, but in doing so offered up at least two completely false assertions.

North Carolina’s General Assembly convened last Wednesday, beginning a new session with new dynamics that will come into play as members seek to resolve a host of long-lingering issues.

Western North Carolina voters — and legislators — often complain about the feeling of being ignored by Raleigh, but as the new session begins, Macon County’s Republican delegation is brandishing some serious clout.

An awkward Hazelwood intersection could be scrapped ahead of planned North Carolina Department of Transportation improvements to South Main Street, as long as there’s no opposition from area business owners.

A Waynesville resident who wants to buy a parcel from the town may or may not get their way after alderman approved the sale, but discussion surrounding the deal revealed continuing concerns over the availability of housing in the area.

Republican Commissioner Terry Ramey should pay his taxes and stop threatening the media for reporting on the issue, according to a rare joint statement issued by the other four Republicans on the Haywood County Board of Commissioners.

Flitting about her apartment on Vancouver Island, Melissa McDevitt had already packed her bag in preparation for the long journey from Canada’s west coast back to Haywood County. 

It took more than four months, 62 federal counts and a lengthy period of pretrial detention in Buncombe County, but Darris Moody has finally acknowledged the legitimacy of the United States justice system — by signing a plea agreement related to the threats she sent to elected officials last summer.  

After the implosion of the 36-year-old Downtown Waynesville Association back in 2021, much of the progress made by its successor organization has been organizational in nature and has taken place behind closed doors.

Leaning against a wall in the basement of the train station right about midnight, they were cold and tired and broken, and it quickly became clear that they wished to go no further.

Since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine millions of people have left the war-torn country, with millions more driven from major cities and small villages in the east by the fighting.

Subzero temperatures over the Christmas holiday wreaked havoc with municipal water systems across the region, leaving many customers without service. But as Town of Canton employees worked overtime to repair their own lines, they quickly found the town’s reservoirs still weren’t filling up.

The case against a Haywood County woman accused of threatening elected officials by sending phony writs from a sham court has now grown into a multistate conspiracy, according to a superseding indictment filed by the U.S. Attorney’s office on Dec. 14.

The highly anticipated red wave hit Western North Carolina hard on Nov. 8, with Republicans retaining several crucial legislative seats and knocking off some longtime Democratic incumbents on the local level.

Hendersonville’s three-term Republican Sen. Chuck Edwards is moving up in the world, from Raleigh to Washington, after defeating his Democrat and Libertarian opponents in the Nov. 8 General Election.

No matter how it all shakes out in the end, Nov. 3, 2022 will be looked upon as a historic day in Western North Carolina as regional leaders took the first few tenuous steps towards creating an enduring partnership to combat the opioid epidemic.

Although little-known, there’s an agency within the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer that has a tremendous impact on everything from local water quality to municipal property taxes — and it got its start because of a bad situation right here in Western North Carolina, nearly 100 years ago.

Just four years after gaining their first-ever majority on the Haywood County Board of Commissioners, Republicans succeeded in booting the last remaining Democrat, to put the commission at 5-0. 

Private investigator, retired Army colonel, former Asheville police officer Bill Wilke will be sworn in as the first elected Republican sheriff in Haywood County since at least the early 1960s — if not ever — after a convincing victory Tuesday night.

The state of North Carolina’s only elected tax collector and one of Haywood County's few elected Democrats will lose his seat after being defeated by his Republican challenger.

Hendersonville’s three-term Republican Sen. Chuck Edwards is moving up in the world, from Raleigh to Washington, after defeating his Democrat and Libertarian opponents earlier this evening.

Republican Rep. Mike Clampitt will return to the Republican majority in Raleigh after defeating Transylvania County Democrat Al Platt in today’s election.

Haywood County Republican Mark Pless may have produced his share of controversy during his first term in the General Assembly, but he also produced results, bringing tens of millions of dollars in flood relief to Haywood County. Voters rewarded him with another term, over Democratic challenger Josh Remillard.

Incumbent Republican Sen. Kevin Corbin, of Macon County, will go on to serve another two years in North Carolina’s General Assembly after securing yet another electoral victory in his long history of public service.

The Haywood County woman charged with 59 counts of interstate threats and conspiracy to kidnap after sending threatening letters to public officials will now await her trial in jail, after admitting on Oct. 26 that she’d violated the conditions of her pretrial release.

The life story of Hendersonville resident Marge Cullen isn’t much different than that of many other retirement-aged Americans.

Western North Carolina’s last two Republican congressmen, Mark Meadows and Madison Cawthorn, have left behind them a combined decade-long legacy of deceit, inaction and possible criminal activity.

A Haywood County woman arrested by the FBI on Sept. 7 for making threats to public officials is back in custody after she failed to show up for her arraignment last week on 59 counts of interstate threats and conspiracy to kidnap.

Although it may look lopsided by the numbers, the race for North Carolina’s 118th House District could be a bit more competitive this cycle — not only because of the personalities involved in partisan political wranglings over an odd mix of local and national issues, but also because of the statewide implications of a potential Republican supermajority hanging in the balance.

North Carolina’s 50th Senate District remains a bastion of Republican power in the west; nonpartisan mapping site davesredistricting.org puts it at more than 62% red, utilizing a composite of actual vote counts from 2016 through 2020, rather than simple voter registration totals.

In North Carolina politics, some things change, while others stay the same. 

A General Assembly-backed initiative to prevent opioid overdoses, provide linkages to care and stem the spread of communicable diseases through the use of syringe service programs (SSPs) is being undercut by local law enforcement officers, according to a recent report published by the Harm Reduction Journal.

After a marathon misinformation session at an August Haywood County Commissioners meeting during which commissioners fought back against comments from the public that were not based in fact, the misinformation hasn’t stopped — and neither has county government’s fight against it.