During the pandemic, Asheville-based artist Pearl Renken wrestled with the pain, isolation and racial reckoning happening in the United States. Her first instinct during that time was to paint, very literally, the pain she was seeing, the hate that felt abundant. 

What should have been a simple contract renewal process has turned into an all-out fiasco for the Downtown Waynesville Association, as the group continues to struggle with transparency and professionalism while submitting a contract renewal proposal riddled with errors, oversights and outdated information. 

Following public complaints, the Waynesville Board of Aldermen voted to terminate the contract of its town attorney, Bill Cannon. 

Just days after a local nonprofit asked the Town of Waynesville to help fund emergency overnight stays for the unsheltered, aldermen gave them an answer.

Grabbing a seat inside Mad Anthony’s Taproom in downtown Waynesville one recent evening, Benji Boessel and Alex Tinsley can’t help but gaze around at the other tables. 

Friday morning in downtown Waynesville and Orchard Coffee is bustling. There are those entering and waiting patiently for strong coffee and freshly baked goods, those exiting with full hands and big smiles. 

A group of concerned citizens conducting a local cleanup effort intended to address the problem of homelessness in Waynesville inadvertently exacerbated the problem when they dismantled an elaborate makeshift residence, and now the man who’s been put out on the streets with nothing but the clothes on his back is pursuing legal action against those who threw away or gave away all of his earthly belongings. 

Despite being the result of a confluence of factors, the true reasons behind some abnormally high electric bills for Town of Waynesville customers still aren’t clear but should soon be — after Waynesville alderman called for an independent audit. 

A tax bill sponsored by two western Republicans that’s currently making its way through the North Carolina General Assembly has the potential to bring even more room occupancy tax money to the town of Maggie Valley, but as other municipalities across the county and the region consider asking for potential inclusion in the bill, there’s concern over implementation and administration. 

Despite more than three decades of service to Waynesville’s downtown municipal service district, the organization charged with managing it now finds itself in the fight of its political life.