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Sandwich boards: if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em

Judge not lest ye be judged.

The Waynesville Planning Board is delving into the town’s sign ordinance to create more uniform, yet more permissive signs in its three downtown shopping districts — greater Main Street, Frog Level and Hazelwood — something that can appease at least most business owners.

Painting the town orange

fr sidewalkA slap-happy spray paint job by a utility contractor has tarnished the quaint brick sidewalks in downtown Waynesville with obtrusive and excessively large orange stripes.

Long time street cleaner replaced by work crew

Foot traffic undeniably brings dollars to Waynesville’s downtown businesses. But what the passerby also brings is trash.

Landslide forces family into unsettled lifestyle

fr landslidehomelessFor more than a month, 25-year-old Slyenia Rhein and her three children lived in a single hotel room with her mother, her father, her sister, a dog and a cat.

Haywood soda company aims to change palettes

coverHaywood County just got a little sweeter.

Specializing in “handcrafted, locally produced, artisan beverages,” Waynesville Soda Jerks is a new business that has opened at the Waynesville Historic Farmer’s Market. At the center of it all are founders Megan Brown and Chris Allen.

Waynesville proposes to hold line on taxes, hike water rates and licensing fees

Waynesville officials are looking under a different couch cushion for additional revenue after losing income from sweepstakes operations and its ABC store.

Waynesville’s wish of tourist railway derailed out of the gate

Since the advent of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, tourists flocking to Bryson City and Dillsboro to ride the scenic passenger train have been the envy of neighboring communities.

The sticky wicket of downtown sandwich boards

fr waynesvillesignsSigns are businesses’ equivalent to nuclear weapons.

“Everybody wants them, but you have to agree to live with them,” said Waynesville Town Planner Paul Benson. “I think what we need is a consensus on what is a reasonable approach.”

Segway tours make debut in Waynesville

out frThe train was the first to arrive in Waynesville back in 1886; then, the rise of the automobile; but, this spring, there’s a new human transporter in town: the Segway.

The owners of a bed and breakfast began offering guided and narrated Segway tours last month, allowing visitors or locals to see town from a new perspective on the upright, two-wheeled people movers.

Walking the dog: The trials and tribulations of being homeless in Haywood

fr louieStanding next to Louis “Louie” Bing, you’d never know he was homeless.

While waiting for a cup of coffee at City Bakery in Waynesville, the 65-year-old stands patiently alongside tourists, retirees and locals. His clothes, shoes and beard are well kempt.

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