DOT negotiates buyouts for Haywood interchange
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is in the middle of buying nearly 40 Haywood County properties that stand in the way of its plans for redesigning “malfunction junction” — the interchange where Lowe’s and Shoney’s are — but there are still a few holdouts.
A small but important investment in public transit
It may seem a relatively unimportant issue, but in truth it is very symbolic because it recognizes a reality that is upon us.
I’m talking about a request that will come before the Waynesville Town Board this month concerning public transit benches and shelters at large retail centers. Mountain Projects transit director Susan Anderson hopes the town will pass an ordinance requiring stores to install waiting areas for public transit patrons.
Confederate group refuses to surrender
The ongoing Confederate flag tug-of-war in Haywood County took an unusual turn last week.
Fate of liquor stores in Maggie Valley in holding pattern for now
Maggie Valley’s ABC Board has put any plans to close one of its two liquor stores on the backburner for now.
“It is doing better than we thought it was initially,” said Colin Edwards, an ABC Board member.
ABC store diverts money that schools once got
Haywood County Schools will lose about $30,000 in yearly revenue now that the Waynesville ABC Board has decided build a second liquor store.
The town shares a cut of profits from liquor sales with the county and law enforcement. Haywood County in turn shares its cut of ABC profits with school system.
Parents urged to use diligence when in public with children
When a strange man approached an 11-year-old girl in Waynesville’s Walmart more than a week ago and asked her to take off her clothes, police say the young girl did the right thing — she refused.
Haywood to sort its own recycling again — this time with machines
Haywood County is making plans to bring recycling operations back in-house — a move that would eventually mean dollar signs for the county.
Student shuffle creates space crunch at Pisgah High
A $2.5 million expansion at Pisgah High School in Canton will relieve chronic overcrowding and a classroom shortage that forces some teachers to spend their days as “floaters.”
From down-and-out to up-and-coming, former factory town undergoes transformation
Patty Atkinson took a short break from helping the constant flow of customers at a local family pharmacy in the heart of Hazelwood to talk about the evolution of the community around her — from a bustling blue collar factory town to a mostly deserted streetscape to a quickly changing, thriving pocket of Waynesville.
Lack of shelters leaves transit riders out in the cold
For the elderly, disabled and carless residents of Haywood County, the public transit bus is an indispensable resource that keeps them mobile.
