A Haywood County woman who has dedicated the past dozen years to a crusade against driving while impaired was honored for her relentless advocacy with The Order Long Leaf Pine award in a surprise ceremony this month.

Allen Newland with A Shot Above aerial photography took these shots on Sunday, Jan. 24, showing the aftermath of Snow Storm Jonas in Haywood County.

Alert: A public meeting on the possible closure of Central Elementary School has been moved from Tuesday to Wednesday due to concerns over lingering hazardous road conditions. The new meeting time is 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 27.

The potential closure of an elementary school in Haywood County has become a poster child for those decrying funding cuts faced by traditional public schools.

News that a beloved elementary school might close next year grabbed headlines last week, but shuttering Central Elementary School in Waynesville won’t be enough to make up for the $2.4 million budget shortfall Haywood County Schools is facing next school year.

REPORT: Feasibility study for the closure of Central Elementary by Haywood County Schools

The sudden announcement this week that Central Elementary School in Waynesville could be closed in Haywood County has prompted a swirling litany of questions for both parents and the public at large.

SEE ALSO:
• Parents shocked over Central Elementary closing
• Closing Central Elementary emotional for school officials
• Cuts widespread as Haywood faces $2.4 million shortfall

Parents of Central Elementary School students were shocked Tuesday morning when they heard the Haywood County School Board was considering closing down the longstanding Waynesville institution.

Haywood County School Board members were grave and sober Monday night as they confronted the ominous prospect of closing down one of the county’s nine public elementary schools.

A proposal to close Central Elementary School in Waynesville is only one piece of a sweeping and wide-reaching plan to close a $2.4 million budget shortfall being faced by Haywood County Schools next year, including the elimination of more than 30 staff and teachers.

Two Haywood County men have been apprehended while one woman is still at large in connection with the stabbing of a 33-year-old Clyde man on Jan. 3.

Members of a tranquil farming community with deep roots in Haywood County fear their way of life will be ruined by a massive indoor shooting range and gun store proposed in their midst.