Grace Church in the Mountains in Waynesville will host a daylong series of worship services, presentations and artistic offerings focused on peace, education and action in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine. 

Late Monday morning. While taking a sip of my coffee at the Main Street Diner in Waynesville, I scanned the room at the tables filled with faces enjoying warm meals and hearty conversation. It was at that very moment when I started thinking about this anonymous postcard I received several years ago. 

It’s Thursday. Early afternoon. In the original plan for this week, I would, in my mind’s eye, be cruising along right now somewhere in southcentral Upstate New York, probably just east of Binghamton on Interstate 88, onward to I-87 North to my parents’ farmhouse on the outskirts of Plattsburgh. 

A weekend rally organized by Hands off Haywood commenced with the presentation of a $2,500 check to Haywood Christian Ministries in Waynesville, highlighting a direct link between protest activism and local hunger relief.

Hands off Haywood organizer Mary Ford told the crowd that demonstrators have faced insults and “more middle fingers since March than we have in our entire lives” while taking to the streets on a weekly basis earlier this year but said the group’s focus has remained on democracy and community support.

If you go to a child’s birthday party and bring a book as a present, you may not win the most popular present award. 

Having been invited to the party of a little girl I know, who was six turning seven, I decided to forego the popularity part and I headed to my local bookstore.

The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles is seeking applicants for a commissioned contractor to operate a license plate agency in Waynesville. 

In North Carolina, NCDMV oversees LPAs, but the agencies are managed by private businesses or local governments. 

Thanksgiving morning. I awoke to the sounds of my upstairs neighbor scurrying about, most likely getting things together for whatever he has planned for Turkey Day. Nearby Russ Avenue is oddly quiet. Nobody is heading to work. The incessant construction has ceased for the day, too. 

A new EMS base in Haywood County is now operational. 

The base was completed earlier this year. It is part of efforts by Haywood County leaders to improve emergency services coverage and response times. The base, centrally located near the intersection of Russ Avenue and Mauney Cove Road, should do just that with close proximity to Lake Junaluska, Maggie Valley and Jonathan Creek. 

While I’m sitting and looking out the window of the local laundromat here in West Waynesville, I notice how dirty my rusty, musty, trusty pickup truck has become since I last washed it, which, I think, may have been last winter or so. One year’s worth of dirt along endless miles of unforgiving roads, both geographically and spiritually. 

Farmers, homeowners and small businesses in the region are invited to safely and responsibly dispose of unwanted pesticides at a Free Pesticide Disposal Collection Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2, at the Mountain Research Station, located at 265 Test Farm Road in Waynesville.