Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park is scheduled to kick off its 2013 season Memorial Day weekend, thanks to the grit, passionate and determination of its new owner and longtime champion Alaska Pressley, who has slogged ahead with her dream despite hoops and hurdles.

Twice in one week, the mountainside along Holder Branch Road in Canton slid away — and that was twice too many for 34-year-old mother of three Dara Parker.

The tragic death of a railroad worker investigating a fresh landslide along a rail line last week highlighted the hidden, yet inherent, risks for workers who are first on the scene in the aftermath of a slide. 

Joseph Drewnoski, 33, of Waynesville, was buried and killed by a landslide in the middle of the night while surveying tracks for storm damage near Black Mountain following a weekend of unrelenting rains. Norfolk Southern Railway got a report of a landslide on the tracks in the middle of the night and sent Drewnoski and another worker to check it out.

Haywood Community College has asked for more than $1.4 million from the county for building and renovations projects on campus in the coming fiscal year.

Standing next to Louis “Louie” Bing, you’d never know he was homeless.

While waiting for a cup of coffee at City Bakery in Waynesville, the 65-year-old stands patiently alongside tourists, retirees and locals. His clothes, shoes and beard are well kempt.

The Haywood County Board of Commissioners have made it clear that without a property tax increase, funding is unlikely for additional school resource officers and guidance counselors.

The 10-person Haywood Regional Medical Center board will now include an 11th member.

The Haywood Board of Commissioners Monday approved a change to the hospital board’s bylaws to up the number of members and appointed Neil Budde to the 11th seat.

A new landscape plan for the Haywood County historic courthouse is mostly devoid of large shade trees, in stark contrast to the many stately sugar maples that graced the lawn until recently. Instead, it opts for just a handful of midsized trees.

A landslide east of Canton took out a dirt road early Monday morning following two solid days of unceasing rains, blocking about 40 people in their homes who had no other way to get out of their neighborhood.

If the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority is footing the bill for a magazine ad, brochure, sign — you name it — the tourism agency deserves recognition, tourism board members reaffirmed last week.