Smoky Mountain Sk8way & Fun Zone: Offering Memories for a Lifetime

Whizzing around a rink on wheels conjures feelings of nostalgia for many people. This favorite American pastime has been enjoyed since 1902 when the first public skating rink opened its doors in Chicago to a whopping crowd of 7,000 patrons. Even before that, rinks were popular in Europe. 

‘Living with Pride’

For the first time in its 45-year history, the Haywood County Arts Council is celebrating Pride month with its ‘Living with Pride’ exhibit, a collaboration with Waynesville’s own Curatory Gallery. 

Rep. Pless wants to strip Haywood municipalities of some regulatory powers

A COVID-era sports seating bill has now morphed into a pro-development bill that would hobble the ability of Haywood County’s municipalities to exercise certain zoning and development powers considered critical for directing and controlling growth.

Waynesville resolution opposes partisan elections bill

A bill filed by Haywood County Republican Rep. Mark Pless to make all local elections partisan didn’t exactly receive a warm welcome, but now one municipality has gone on record as formally opposing it.

This must be the place: Sometimes the songs that we hear are just songs of our own

Standing on the sidewalk, I leaned onto the open garage door window of Sauced in downtown Waynesville. Sunday evening right before the rainstorm rolled in. An array of the younger, service industry crowd finally sitting down to congregate and enjoy a beverage on their own time. 

Crisis pregnancy center opens in Waynesville

Just three days after protesters gathered on the courthouse lawn in Waynesville to demonstrate  their support for legal abortion, a nonprofit with a different perspective on the issue that has roiled the nation since May 2 — when a leaked draft  of a U.S. Supreme Court decision showed that the landmark Roe v. Wade precedent is in danger — opened on the other side of Depot Street in downtown Waynesville.

Waynesville rally for Roe is a sign of things to come

As it often does, the Historic Haywood Courthouse played host to a rally on May 14 that drew about 50 people, an equal number of signs and a small contingent of counterdemonstrators. Unlike in recent years, it wasn’t a rally supporting Black Lives Matter, or law enforcement officers, or local issues like the proposed jail expansion.

Reproductive Rights Rally

On Saturday, May 14, "We Are WNC" along with concerned citizens of Haywood County will host a rally in Waynesville to stand in solidarity that the right to choose an abortion be protected in the wake of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe. V Wade. The landmark decision from 1973 has given women and others who can become pregnant access to safe, legal abortions.  

Waynesville hopes to spark residential solar generation

Unlike most North Carolina municipalities, the Town of Waynesville operates its own electric service, giving it greater local control over billing, rates and policies that monopolies like Duke Energy don’t offer.

Taxes, fees may 
go up in new Waynesville budget

Declining revenues and a growing list of capital improvements are both putting the squeeze on Waynesville’s finances, but a proposed 2-cent increase in property taxes might not be enough to address them all. 

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