For the past few months, downtown Canton’s long-awaited repaving and streetscaping projects seemed to be cruising right along in the fast lane. But now, residents and businesses alike are concerned that there’s a wheel in the ditch, and a wheel on the track.

Canton Town Board Member and Mayor Pro-Tem Carole Edwards had a hard time concealing her dismay at news that Canton’s downtown resurfacing projects weren’t proceeding according to plan.

When Alderman Zeb Smathers opened the Canton Board of Aldermen meeting on May 26 with an invocation decrying the “venom and negativity” in the national political climate, one could almost interpret it as the ominous foreshadowing of what was expected to be a tempestuous meeting.

It is the word of Southern Appalachia.

For over a half a century, writer Fred Chappell has captured the essence of not only Western North Carolina, but also of mountain folk, and of humanity itself, for good or ill. As a poet, short story writer and novelist, he has dabbled in as many genres of the written word as there are topics to delve into.

Heading up the stairs at the historic Imperial Hotel, there’s an electricity in the air, a vibe that’s familiar, yet dearly missed in downtown Canton. With several people running around, attending to last minute details for a wedding party that evening, Nathan Lowe emerges from the depths of the enormous, beloved structure on Main Street.

Piece by piece, Canton is setting the stage for future economic success through a number of new initiatives.

The Community Kitchen in Canton works hard to make sure no one in the community goes hungry, and now the organization needs help from the community it serves to expand its food ministry.

Now that the North Carolina Department of Insurance issued the Canton Fire Department a Class 4 rating this week, Canton homeowners should see a little savings on their fire insurance premiums.

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.

When Canton town officials were notified that the North Carolina Department of Transportation would be repaving all of Main Street starting in May, they knew it was the right time to complete some much-needed pedestrian improvement projects in downtown.