Flourishing in a fading art form

fr clyderaysIt’s Monday morning, and Mary Lou Rinehart is taking a moment to relax.

Owner of Clyde Ray’s Flower Shop in Waynesville, Rinehart spent most of the weekend putting the final touches on innumerable corsages and arrangements for the two high school proms that were on back-to-back nights.

Keeping it real: Waynesville ponders historic district guidelines

The town of Waynesville has hired a consultant to help create mandatory design standards for buildings in historic districts.

Lake Junaluska merger with Waynesville sails through Senate

A state bill that would bring Lake Junaluska into Waynesville’s town limits has cleared the N.C. Senate and is now headed for passage in the N.C. House of Representatives.

The Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center and the 760-home residential community surrounding it would then be absorbed into Waynesville’s town limits by late summer.

Serving up a taste of Appalachia

coverWhen Doug Weaver looks around Haywood County, he sees potential. 

“We’re on the fence, right in the middle of where it’s almost a scene,” he said.

Head chef and co-owner at The Sweet Onion in Waynesville, Weaver is at the forefront of a pioneering movement within the county and greater Western North Carolina to make his backyard a culinary destination.

How the axe fell

fr courthousetreesTalk of cutting the historic courthouse maples in Waynesville has come and gone during the years.

Reasons varied. It was hard to get grass to grow underneath. The trees masked the grandness of the historic courthouse. Heavy equipment parked under the trees during courthouse renovations damaged the root systems.

Merchants field queries over missing courthouse trees

Main Street merchants are used to answering tourists’ questions: how do you get to the parkway, what’s the best place for dinner, and where are the public restrooms? But lately, Waynesville’s downtown store keepers have also become purveyors of news.

Changes at dog park gets owners riled up

fr dogparkDog park patrons have issued a collective howl over recent changes to the fenced in canine play yard along Waynesville’s Richland Creek recreation complex.

Another one bites the dust: ax beckons to the last of the courthouse trees

The lone evergreen tree left standing on the lawn of the historic courthouse in downtown Waynesville will soon be coming down.

Jonathan Creek water interruptions leave some residents high and dry

fr waterJoyce Porter had just finished cleaning her house in Jonathan Creek and was planning to hop in the shower, but when she turned on the faucet, no water came out.

Waynesville skateboard park to ramp up by summer

fr skateparkAfter years of stops and starts, construction is now imminent on a long-awaited skateboard park in Waynesville.

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