The Jackson County Department of Social Services has faced incredible challenges over the past year associated with placing children in foster care. Now both the state and the county are providing funding to try and alleviate that problem. 

When Pactiv Evergreen announced it would close its Canton paper mill last year, Haywood County Schools was already facing a host of other challenges, among them a declining student population, costs incurred from damages caused during the Pigeon River flood in 2021, and the impending end of COVID-era relief funds. 

Although concerns about Canton’s post-mill wastewater treatment remain front and center, the town’s recovery from devastating flooding in 2021 continues to move forward with a project budget meant to shore up the town’s aging water infrastructure. 

Capital needs are at the center of Macon County’s budget process for fiscal year 2024-25 and the county is in a good position to fund several big-ticket items. Even so, commissioners are considering another look at the quarter-cent sales tax option. 

Sylva began its budget process last week with presentations from department heads about what they need in the budget, as well as what they want to see in the budget.

The Town of Canton has been through some difficult budget discussions in the past, but this year’s effort, the first to reckon with the full impact of Pactiv Evergreen’s exit from the community after more than a century, looks to be the most trying. 

Western Carolina University is gearing up to take its first bite out of an estimated $130 million in needed upgrades to its athletic facilities, with the Board of Trustees recently hiring a construction manager to oversee the first chunk of projects, worth at least $30 million. 

Jackson County Tourism Development Authority (JCTDA) will reopen its cycle for tourism capital projects Jan. 1, 2024. $600,000 is available for projects that benefit visitors and residents alike. Applications for this cycle are due June 1, 2024. 

To the Editor: 

Regarding the Oct. 25 article, “The heart and soul of Waynesville is on the ballot,” I was born in Hazelwood, am a lifelong resident of Haywood County and owned a small business on Main Street for many years.

After months of back and forth, the Macon County School Board has approved a lease agreement for the Higdon property, purchased by the county earlier this year for use by the school system.