Ghost Town comes to life

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Once more, for the last time — Ghost Town has sold.

The announcement came Tuesday morning as regional economic developers unveiled plans for the Maggie Valley theme park to reopen in May 2007. Hank Woodburn, owner of Adventure Landing, which has nine amusement attractions in four states, Al Harper, owner of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, and Peter Hairston, an independent venture capitalist were expected to close the deal with Ghost Town owner R.B. Coburn Tuesday afternoon.

The Moonlight shines again: Maggie lights up with Moonlight Race

Checking email has gotten a lot more exciting for Wendy Johnson lately.

As the organizer for the 28th Annual Maggie Valley Moonlight Race this year, Johnson sees a message show up in her in-box every time a runner registers on-line. It’s averaging about 15 a day, and Johnson revels in opening each one to see where the runners are coming from.

Reece’s larger-than-life presence will be missed, say friends

Wade Reece, a well-known figure in Maggie Valley civic life and the tourism industry, passed away last week, leaving a void that will be hard to fill, according to the Maggie Valley business community.

Elected officials meet to hear tourism complaints

Elected town and county leaders will be dragged into the Haywood County tourism saga this week.

They will be asked to weigh in on how much of the $600,000 in tourism tax dollars should be dolled out in the form of grants for events. The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, a nine-member board, is granted oversight of money generated by a 3 percent tax on overnight lodging by state statute.

Tourism board divided over festival funding

The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority is split over a budget for the coming fiscal year that would reduce funding for festivals and local chambers of commerce and instead put the money toward a marketing plan.

Doin’ the TDA shuffle: Haywood, Maggie Valley tourism entities ponder merger

A tug-of-war over the $600,000 in tourism tax money in Haywood County and how it is used to lure travelers reached a new level last week.

At the prodding of Maggie Valley motel owners, the Maggie Valley Town Board is calling for a joint meeting with the leaders from other towns as well as the county to strategize on a potential overhaul of the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, which oversees tourism tax dollars.

Momentum builds to challenge TDA

Dissatisfaction among the Haywood County tourism industry with the way tourism tax dollars are spent has long been a constant in the divided tourism community.

But critics from Maggie Valley appear to have reached a new momentum in a push to overhaul the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority. Last week they called for a meeting of the Council of Governments — the elected town leaders from Maggie, Waynesville, Canton and Clyde and the county commissioners — to discuss complaints over the tourism authority.

TDA proposal would eliminate corridor funding

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.

Ladies first: Cataloochee Ranch hosts skiing and snowboarding classes tailored to women

By Michael Beadle

Once again Cataloochee Ski Area will be hosting a series of once-a-week skiing and snowboarding classes this season designed exclusively for women. It’s called Women on Wednesdays, or WOW, and it targets women of all ages and abilities who are interested in learning to ski or snowboard or who want to improve their skills on the slopes.

The goose won’t keep laying golden eggs without proper care

By Lee Shelton

The town limits of Maggie Valley encompass only 1.8 square miles, and there is only one commercial strip, which also serves as the sole access road for many of the residents in the area. It is also a U.S. highway. Even with adding in the Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) together with the incorporated limits, 83 percent of what is identified as Maggie Valley falls outside that area. Thus, there are a lot of folks affected by actions taking place in the very small incorporated area of Maggie Valley.

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.