Each year the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce honors local businesses and leaders for their contributions to the community during its annual dinner and awards ceremony.

The Canton Town Board is considering proposals that could boost Canton’s appeal to residents and tourists alike — especially those interested in festivals and fishing.

Melanie Williams was fed up. She could no longer run her web design business from her Crabtree home with the slow DSL internet speed from a cable provider. 

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“I was working on an e-commerce website for a client and I needed to add 100 products with corresponding images but it was taking about an hour for each photo to upload,” she said. “It was becoming a huge expense because I’d have to go into town to be able to work, and I couldn’t haul all my equipment around with me.”

An alliance of business owners opposing Maggie Valley’s proposed town center master plan is growing stronger and becoming more organized as it tries to derail the project. 

Maggie Valley leaders agreed to go back to the drawing board after several business owners expressed opposition to a portion of the proposed town center master plan.

There was a palpable sense of excitement in the air when Maggie Valley first unveiled its town center master plan. But with a couple of weeks to mull it over, some business owners are concerned the plan may have unintended and adverse consequences.

Waynesville leaders are weighing whether to expand the commercial footprint of Russ Avenue, an issue that has pitted neighbors against each other along the recently widened Howell Mill Road.

Even though the money isn’t yet in place, the town of Canton is considering several options for economic development incentives for businesses willing to invest in the downtown corridor.

Change is likely coming to the ordinance outlining preference rules for tribally owned businesses. The rules come into play when bidding contracts for everything from construction projects to office supplies.

The new management at Sequoyah National Golf Club in Cherokee had hoped to start turning a profit within a year of taking the helm in the fall of 2014 — and while the course is still operating at a loss, the light at the end of the tunnel is drawing near, manager Kenny Cashwell said.