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. 

The Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department recently earned national accreditation through the Commission for Accreditation of Parks and Recreation Agencies. 

Canton native Eric Hill was 18 when he decided to join the military. It was a quick decision. He wanted to get married and needed a way to provide support. What sprang forth from that decision was more than he could have envisioned.

A routine housekeeping measure intended to clarify who, exactly, can declare a State of Emergency on behalf of the Town of Waynesville — and, for what reasons — devolved into a disruptive shouting match over a non-existent “mask mandate.” Town officials, including Mayor Gary Caldwell, attribute all the fuss to a sensationalized story containing multiple inaccuracies.

I awoke to the hammering of nails and the sound of a cement mixer. Opening the front door, it was a steep drop of a few feet to the cold dirt below. The old front porch was long gone. The new front porch now in the midst of construction.

A policy adopted by the Town of Waynesville that was designed to alleviate financial hardship during the early stages of the Coronavirus Pandemic is about to end, and town officials want to be sure no one’s caught by surprise. 

It’s the kind of street – lined with modest, well-kept houses flying U.S. flags – where neighborhood children haphazardly cast their bicycles in piles on a playmate’s lawn to tear off and play in the woods or on a backyard Slip ‘N Slide.

The work groups tasked with assessing different aspects of the Waynesville homelessness situation gave their reports on possible practical solutions for both homeless individuals and the community at large, and there was one  consensus — the pressing need for a low-barrier shelter.

The Folkmoot International Festival has overcome many obstacles in its 36 years of existence, but it couldn’t withstand the pressures of a global pandemic. 

A three-decade tradition, Waynesville’s Apple Harvest Festival, will indeed take place this year but as with all things coronavirus-related it will look very different than in any of those previous years.