Putting the truck into park, my girlfriend, Sarah, and I finally returned to our quaint apartment in downtown Waynesville Monday evening. After a long journey from the North Carolina coast back to Haywood County this weekend, it’s been a whirlwind of emotions.  

District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch today said a Haywood County jury recently convicted a Bryson City man on seven criminal charges in connection with trafficking in illegal drugs. 

A growing tropical storm that’s expected to become a major hurricane is tracking through the Gulf of Mexico and appears to be headed right for Western North Carolina. Local officials aren’t taking any chances.

The historic Shook-Smathers House in Clyde has seen significant improvements in recent years, and this weekend folks will have a chance to see all the museum has to offer as part of the Pioneer Heritage festival. 

The old paper mill in the heart of Canton will have a new owner by the end of the month — if everything remains on track — according to a three-page letter filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Aug. 30.

Haywood Waterways is calling for volunteers to take part in a county-wide cleanup event that removes tons of trash from local waterways and roadways. 

Classic rock legends The Marshall Tucker Band and Haywood County bluegrass sensation Balsam Range will headline the 116th Canton Labor Day gathering, which will take place Sept. 1-2 at Sorrells Street Park in downtown. 

Pactiv Evergreen has filed a request with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to make “major” modifications to the discharge permit for its wastewater treatment facility in Canton.  

Tourism remains a critically important component of Western North Carolina’s economy. To ensure it remains strong well into the future, the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority is fine-tuning a forthcoming destination master plan that focuses on underutilized assets and what visitors seem to really want — authenticity. 

Since unceremoniously announcing its exit from Canton early in 2023, Pactiv Evergreen, owner of the now-shuttered 115-year-old paper mill, has had very little to say — except which bills it refuses to pay. On July 29, the $6 billion multinational company did it again.