It was Groundhog Day again for the Maggie Valley Police Department.

Last year, Police Chief Scott Sutton defended his department and officers against claims that the force is too large and its budget should be slashed. This year was no different.

This year’s PlottFest will give hound enthusiasts from the region, across the country and around the globe a chance to celebrate their favorite breed of dog in its ancestral home.

Although the fledgling festival, only in its second year, will showcase a wide variety of mountain music, fishing and other events, this year, organizers have decided to place an emphasis on the pride of Haywood: the Plott hound, which has been deemed the state dog of North Carolina.

After two false starts, Ghost Town in the Sky theme park in Maggie Valley remains closed this week.

Ghost Town in the Sky did not open to much fanfare last weekend because, simply put, it didn’t open.

Maggie Valley’s slow and steady decline as a tourist destination comes down to aesthetics, a consultant hired to assess Maggie Valley’s economic challenges told town leaders last week.  

Maggie Valley’s appearance has declined and not kept up with the more sophisticated tastes of today’s tourists, according to his assessment. 

Even though an “overwhelming majority” of community leaders in Haywood County support a lodging tax increase, a state bill that would have done just that died in the state legislature last week.

The Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen have been mired in gridlock for nearly nine months.

With only four town board members at the moment — instead of the typical five — stalemates have ruled the day. From major issues to petty ones, the board has been marked by tie votes and split opinions. Infighting has become the typical interaction at meetings these days.

Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park is scheduled to kick off its 2013 season Memorial Day weekend, thanks to the grit, passionate and determination of its new owner and longtime champion Alaska Pressley, who has slogged ahead with her dream despite hoops and hurdles.

A state bill that would raise Haywood County’s lodging tax is still sitting idly in committee in Raleigh with no signs of going up for a vote soon in the General Assembly.

The Maggie Valley town board will soon divest itself from the role of both judge and jury for new businesses moving into the town’s commercial district.