Waynesville Town Manager Marcy Onieal was fired last week in a 3-2 split vote by the town board following a nearly two-hour closed-door discussion among board members.

SEE ALSO:
• The full version: Alderman Jon Feichter's explanation behind his vote
• The full version: Town Manager Marcy Onieal's address to the town board

Waynesville Town Manager Marcy Onieal was fired Tuesday night in a 3-2 split vote by the town board following a nearly two-hour closed-door discussion among board members.

Barring any unexpected circumstances, Howell Mill Road should be open to vehicle traffic in a couple of weeks.

The $11.7 million North Carolina Department of Transportation project began back in May 2015 with road closures beginning in July. The original completion date was set for October 2016, but Nathan Tanner, NCDOT District 14 assistant resident engineer, said some hard work and cooperative weather helped keep the project way ahead of schedule.

Pet owners in the western counties will soon have a shorter drive to tackle when their furry charges are in need of emergency medical care. Junaluska Animal Hospital plans to open the first after-hours clinic west of Asheville in Waynesville on March 28.

Marcy Onieal had mighty big shoes to fill when she walked through the doors of Waynesville’s town hall four years ago as the new manager.

A move afoot by two Waynesville aldermen to push out Town Manager Marcy Onieal might seem incongruous with their campaign message in last month’s town election.

SEE ALSO: Waynesville’s Marcy Onieal faces a double-edged sword daily

Plans are underway to relocate Waynesville’s disc golf course from the sprawling recreation park along Richland Creek to a more secluded forest setting, eliminating the risk of a wayward disc hitting a hapless jogger.

It’s been a dream come true for Kelsie Baker.

“This first year has really been a whirlwind of learning and getting our feet under us,” she said. “The public reception has been beyond what we could have hoped for, and we want to do everything we can to keep people excited and proud to have us here.”

Leaders of Lake Junaluska and the town of Waynesville are weighing whether to try once again to push a merger bill through the General Assembly next year, or whether they are better off staying outside the political arena for a while.