The investigation into an off-the-books account kept by the former Haywood County Schools maintenance director at Haywood Builders Supply has shed light on an unspoken creed practiced among many government workers: use it or lose it.

Turmoil surrounding the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority has landed the entity a regular slot on the government television station where anyone with cable soon will be able to watch the board’s monthly meetings.

Haywood County commissioners are examining a slope development ordinance that would regulate the safety of cut and fill slopes for home sites and roads in mountainside subdivisions.

Haywood County schools could go tobacco free starting in the fall of 2007, banning smoking and chewing not only for students, but also teachers, janitors, cafeteria workers, parents, sports fans, and anyone setting foot on a school campus or attending a school-sponsored event off-campus.

Haywood County Manager Jack Horton was dismissed from his post in early January by a 3 to 2 vote of county commissioners.

(Editor’s note: Haywood County Manager Jack Horton tendered his resignation to the board of commissioners on Jan. 3. The three commissioners who wrote this letter supported his resignation.)

This letter to the citizens of Haywood County sets forth our views of events that led to the resignation of former county manager Jack Horton.

Turf divisions in the Haywood County tourism industry are melting away on more than one front these days.

At the same time the Maggie Valley Visitors Bureau and the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce have committed to a merger, the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority is poised to do away with a controversial system of dolling out tourism dollars to promote individual sections of the county.

Board members on the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce and the Maggie Valley Area Visitors Bureau voted unanimously to pursue a merger last week, a monumental move given the historical tug-of-war between the two entities.

It’s 11 a.m. on Friday at the Haywood County Public Library in Waynesville, and that means Story Time, a regular date for parents and their children to have some fun reading.

The children, who range in age from 2 to 5 years old, sit on carpet mats in a corner just outside the children’s library area and settle around Youth Services Librarian Jennifer Prince. Prince has a collection of colorful books to read, but before reading, she invites parents and kids to join in a brief sing-along.

A small business incubator in Waynesville has failed in it mission to nurture entrepreneurs and start-up companies, and instead has devolved into little more than a building to house a handful of companies for the long haul, according to critics.