There are few, if any, occasions that take place in a Haywood County courtroom that are as joyous as a celebration for someone who graduates from the Adult Accountability and Recovery Court program. 

Last Friday, the program honored its third and fourth graduates. Both individuals were joined by family and friends who knew too well how addiction had derailed their lives.

Last Friday wasn’t Mark Beam’s first time facing a judge at the defendant’s table in Haywood County District Court, but it seems like it may have been the last. 

Beam’s defense attorney, Jake Phelps, stood to address District Court Judge Monica Leslie. Phelps’ voice wavered as he evoked his client’s case number, and many in the gallery and the jury box wiped away tears. 

As the executive director of the nonprofit Pearl Institute here in Waynesville, I wanted to express my gratitude to The Smoky Mountain News for the feature story written by Cory Vaillancourt about the recent decision by the FDA to request more research into using the drug MDMA in combination with therapy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The first thing anyone likely sees when they walk into Amanda Seay’s Haywood County Courthouse office is her quote of the month.