The initial shock of Pactiv Evergreen’s announcement that its Canton paper mill would soon cease operations hasn’t quite worn off for some, but the various parties affected by the closing have begun to take actions to mitigate the impact that has only just begun.

The Town of Waynesville’s municipal governing board has taken steps to modernize its operations by proposing amendments to its charter — changing both the terms it uses to refer to elected representatives, and how those representatives are elected to their terms.

Despite strong opposition last year, Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) has again filed a bill that if passed would bring partisanship into some of Western North Carolina’s municipal governments.

All the world’s a stage, Shakespeare wrote, and all the men and women merely players. But with the recent uptick in bad actors consistently providing misinformation to Waynesville’s Board of Aldermen, a proposal to increase transparency by broadcasting meetings got bogged down over concerns that the videos would simply end up as food for trolls.

When is an alderman not an alderman? When that alderman happens to be a woman. 

Waynesville is Haywood County’s only municipal government that elects all of its members at once, but that will likely change — just in time for this year’s election.  

The Town of Waynesville’s municipal expenditures and revenue streams have all come in as expected during the 2022-23 fiscal year, but with a long and growing list of deferred maintenance needs and purchases, aldermen are looking for places to save money while once again raising the specter of a general obligation bond initiative.

Two years after a nonprofit affordable housing developer was granted incentives by the Town of Waynesville, the project is finally moving again but the developer has now returned to the table, asking for more incentives amidst rising construction costs.

Waynesville is Haywood County’s only municipal government that elects all of its members at once, but that will likely change — just in time for this year’s election.  

Like a lot of Americans, Lyn Forney remembers exactly what she was doing when the whole world shut down.