Giving up the Ghost: Last respects at Ghost Town in the Sky
Mike Withers loved Ghost Town in the Sky so much that in Spring 2015 at the age of 72, he still held out hope that the troubled amusement park would reopen for the summer.
Bryson City to keep Fry Street open
Alderwoman Heidi Woodard’s motion for the town to abandon the right-of-way on Fry Street was met with silence at Monday night’s Bryson City board meeting, but town leaders say that doesn’t mean the issue is dead.
Parents feel railroaded in Central Elementary closure
A study conducted by Haywood County Schools justifying the closure of Central Elementary School was a sham and failed to meet state requirements for a school closure, two speakers argued before the Haywood County School Board last week.
Republican legislature castigated for its role in Haywood school budget woes
State Republican lawmakers were strongly chastised for penning Central Elementary School’s death warrant during a rally prior to the Haywood County School board meeting last week.
Budget cuts to shutter Central Elementary School: Haywood School board says it was the only option
Parents, students and teachers of Central Elementary School in Waynesville made a desperate and impassioned final stand to save their beloved school last week, but to no avail.
GOP policies to blame for Central closing
By Jimmy Rogers • Guest Columnist
If Central Elementary in Waynesville is forced to close because of budget cuts and losing enrollment to charter schools, Haywood County will know who to thank — politicians like Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville, who have voted time and time again for budgets that shortchange our public schools in order to keep tax breaks for folks at the top.
Let’s ease off the throttle on Central closing
By John Sanderson • Guest Columnist
I have hesitated to make a comment about this issue, because I know personally most of the people who will be involved in making a decision about closing Central Elementary School, and I do not wish to offend or unfairly criticize any of those who bear the heavy burden of making a decision in this matter. But I was the principal at Central Elementary School for 17 genuinely wonderful years until I retired in 2008, and I have an emotional connection to this school and the families Central has served so well for so many years. I do feel a need, therefore, to offer a few thoughts about the possible closing of Central Elementary.
Central supporters appeal for solution instead of closing
Many of the speakers at a public hearing on whether to close Central Elementary School in Waynesville urged Haywood County School board members to think outside the box and find another way to solve the budget shortfall.
Central on the chopping block: who’s to blame?
Central Elementary School has become a rallying cry for advocates of public education across the state.
Central’s situation raises relevant issues
The imminent closing of Central Elementary School in Waynesville is fueling heated debate on many fronts. A small school in many ways is like a sun around which the lives of children, families, teachers, cafeteria workers and a community orbit, a center that brings purposeful togetherness to an otherwise random group of people.
That’s the human element, and most of those in that orbit are hurting badly right now. But a school is also an arm of government that is paid for by our tax dollars. That money should be spent wisely. Central is very small and losing more students each year, the economies of scale tipping out of balance as children move to other schools, as families decide to home school or go to a charter school, as kids age up and go to middle school and fewer elementary age families move into the district.
