Elementary school students in Haywood County will return to school full-time beginning Oct. 5. 

At 5 p.m., the August sun is hot and high overhead as my husband and I walk through the hodgepodge of parked cars at The Ten Acre Garden. It’s more crowded than I expected, but then again, I didn’t really know what to expect — I’ve never been here before. 

By the end of the night, I’ll be wondering why it took me so long to arrive. 

Continuing what has thus far been an aggressive push toward economic development, Haywood County and the Town of Canton have teamed up to make a long-vacant industrial site more attractive to potential developers. 

Students in Haywood County will return to in-person learning Monday, Sept. 28, after being fully remote since the beginning of the Coronavirus Pandemic in mid-March. 

By Boyd Allsbrook • Contributing writer | Since its opening in 2014, the Haywood Pathways Center has become a life-changing place for people in Haywood County. Originally founded as a shelter for people experiencing homelessness or getting out of jail, it is now a holistic care and rehabilitation program. Residents are given warm beds, good food, and most importantly, resources for returning to the workforce. 

Haywood County Public Health received notice of 19 new cases of COVID-19 in the last week. As of 5 p.m. Aug. 27, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has recorded 493 cases in Haywood County.

Haywood County Schools is scheduled to reopen for remote instruction on Monday, Aug. 31 after a significant cyber attack last Monday forced the school system to take down most technology services in order to stop the corruption of school system servers and computers.

By Boyd Allsbrook • Contributing writer | Internet technology has become the backbone of schools in the time of COVID-19. E-learning has allowed students to carry on their studies while safely at home on a historic scale. However, this reliance on technology has its pitfalls; school systems are now more vulnerable than ever to cyber attacks. 

A COVID-19 outbreak at Silver Bluff Village in Canton has resulted in 24 deaths in the last couple of weeks, bringing the virus’s devastation too close to home as families have lost their loved ones. 

At the Aug. 10 Haywood County Schools Board of Education meeting the school board heard the last round of introductions from new members of HCS administrative staff, and those staff members moving to new positions.