The Haywood Community College Board of Trustees has given preliminary approval for the construction of a training facility for law enforcement and emergency service workers.

Dana Dowdy raised a razor-sharp axe above her head, let it hover a moment and then slammed into her competition with the first of many swift, deft blows. 

The throngs of cheering people on the sidelines became background noise. The other lumberjills looking on weren’t her concern either. Today, her beef was with the large, stubborn block of wood between her feet.

Haywood Community College trustees cited leadership, community rapport and deep local roots as key factors when naming Dr. Barbara Sue Parker the next college president last week.

The Haywood Community College Board of Trustees has decided not to release the names of its finalists for president of the community college — even though it did so during the first round of searching last year.

Three finalists have been chosen, but only the person who is ultimately chosen as the next president will be publicly named, said Chairman Bob Morris Monday.

With her hands fluttering like a hummingbird, Dana Claire loops skeins of colored yarn around a large pegboard.

Claire has been interested in fiber crafts her entire life and now, in her retirement years, has she decided to pursue her true passion of working with her hands by going back to school. Offering a nationally recognized professional crafts program, she found herself at Haywood Community College in Clyde. This semester, she’s learning and engaging in the new Creative Arts facility constructed on campus.

Haywood Community College leaders are collecting donations to give its lumberjack club a facility worthy of its prestige.

The remnants of Haywood Community College’s old sawmill were still smoldering Tuesday after a fire the night before destroyed most of the building.

Haywood Community College employees earlier this month presented the board of trustees with a list of concerns about the college’s protracted search for a new president.

The community college began looking for a president after retiring president Rose Johnson announced her resignation last year. The search made it all the way to three finalists, who visited the college and met with community members as well as HCC employees.

Haywood Community College trustees have picked an interim president to replace current leader Rose Johnson who will retire at the end of this month.

William Aiken will start as interim president at HCC on Nov. 1. He served as president of Sampson Community College in Clinton for more than a decade.

Haywood Community College has not only expanded its search for a new president, but is now on the hunt for an interim president as well.

It’s the second bump in what was initially mapped out as a smooth transition following the retirement of HCC President Rose Johnson.