North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson visited Canton last week, meeting with local officials and new mill site owner Eric Spirtas, who gave tantalizing tidbits of what’s in store for the 185-acre parcel and promised a bold master plan within six months. 

Members of the community, including numerous people from several law enforcement agencies, gathered on the lawn in front of Haywood County’s historic courthouse last Wednesday for an event to highlight a growing problem in our community — child abuse. 

The 22nd annual Whole Bloomin’ Thing Festival will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 10, in the Historic Frog Level District of Waynesville.

Children’s activities, local growers and artisans/crafters, flowering baskets, herbs, outdoor decor, live music and more.

Musical duo Brian Ashley Jones and Melanie Jean will perform from 5-8 p.m. Friday, May 2, at the Cataloochee Ranch in Maggie Valley.

Jones is a soulful singer, acclaimed guitarist and versatile touring songwriter, one whose guitar-driven blues and country tunes have been featured in film, television and radio.

The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) will present “Quilted Expressions: A Celebration of Block-Based Art,” an innovative exhibit that reimagines the traditional quilt, throughout the month of April. 

People can get their Lake Junaluska Summer Activity Passes now. Enjoy admission to the lakeside pool all summer long as well as discounts on recreation, shopping and dining at Lake Junaluska. Passes are valid from May 24 through Sept. 1, 2025, and are now available online at bit.ly/LJSummerPasses. 

Haywood Regional Medical Center is offering free sports physicals for local student athletes on Tuesday, May 13, at the Haywood Regional Health and Fitness Center in Clyde.

Master gardener volunteers will be on hand at a booth on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month, May through August, at Haywood’s Historic Farmers Market in Waynesville in the HART Theater parking lot. 

Rep. Mark Pless is taking heat from local paramedics and EMTs after introducing a pair of bills that first responders say will weaken their ability to provide emergency care. 

The Town of Canton is currently wrestling with one of the ugliest budget conundrums in decades due to a combination of natural and human-caused disasters, the general unsustainability of the American health care coverage system and a colossal mistake by a contracted service provider.