More than 18 months after its creation and just over 12 months since its first meeting, Waynesville’s Task Force on Homelessness finally has some answers on the status of homelessness in Haywood County, and the steps they’d like to take to address it. 

Some employers are having trouble attracting or retaining qualified employees, but those businesses could likely learn a thing or two from one Haywood County employer that isn’t facing that problem. 

By Harmony Robin • Guest Columnist | As I sit and gaze out my window, the summer breeze cools my face. Listening to the sounds of a summer night and typing away what I hope will have significance or meaning to someone, somewhere, someday. 

The Waynesville town attorney serves at the pleasure of the board. Elected officials can fire or terminate him for any reason they see fit.

During a rare special-called meeting on the morning of June 16, aldermen shaved another 1.5 cents off the proposed ad valorem tax rate but couldn’t quite meet demands from citizens to bring the budget down to a revenue-neutral level, due to long-term ramifications on the town’s emergency savings. 

Ashten McKinney is the new kid on the block, but already she’s making friends with her neighbors and offering a welcoming, safe space for her community. 

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with transparency and professionalism while submitting a contract renewal proposal riddled with errors, oversights and outdated information.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.