Cory Vaillancourt
Last week, students across the country walked out of classrooms to acknowledge the 17 people shot to death at Marjorie Stoneman Douglass High School in Parkland, Florida.
Two weeks ago marked the 53rd anniversary of a watershed moment in the civil rights movement — the Selma to Montgomery marches, where civil rights leaders including current Georgia Congressman John Lewis were badly beaten by Alabama State Troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Outside the Haywood County Justice Center in downtown Waynesville, Haywood County Tax Collector Mike Matthews stands with a slim manila folder in his hands while an attorney nearby reads off a boilerplate legal notice required when the county offers a foreclosed property at auction.
Columbine, Sandy Hook, Stoneman Douglas — those names ring out like the bullets that once flew through their hallways, stark reminders of a perplexing and tragic problem that simply hasn’t gone away.
Right about the time this newspaper hits the stands on Wednesday, March 14, students at Haywood County’s two public high schools, Tuscola and Pisgah, will be hitting the bricks as part of a national school walkout to protest gun violence in schools.
Haywood County’s high-performing public schools will see a small budget increase for the FY 2018-19 school year, but at the same time takes care of some critical needs, including teacher supplement pay that helps attract and retain the best instructors.
The $100,000 grant to Haywood Community College from the Appalachian Regional Commission wasn’t the first made by the ARC in the area, but since the election of President Donald Trump in late 2016, there’s been an ongoing fear that any grant from ARC could be the last grant from ARC.
The type of traditional manufacturing that put many small towns on the map and provided a decent living to generations of Americans is long gone; it’s been in decline sine the 1970s and will never fully disappear, but the massive economic benefits of large-scale industrial production for the most part have.
The five men — three Democrats, a Republican and a Libertarian — hoping to unseat Asheville Republican Congressman Mark Meadows in November will now be joined by one woman, if she can get the signatures she needs to make the ballot.
For the first time in a decade, citizens in much of Western North Carolina will have the chance to vote for a Libertarian congressional candidate in the November General Election.
After a 13-year tenure as Western Carolina University’s head Men’s Basketball coach that also saw him notch his 700th career win, Larry Hunter will step down at the end of this season.
Only seven active NCAA coaches have more wins than Hunter, who this morning said that he’s glad to have been part of the growth he’s seen at the university.
“In the 13 years that I’ve been associated with Western Carolina University, I’ve seen a tremendous positive change at both the university and within the athletics department – and it’s been fun to be a part of some of that change,” Hunter said in a statement issued by CatamountSports.com Mar. 4. “With regards to the men’s basketball program, I was brought here to add some stability and do things the right way. I feel during my time in Cullowhee, we’ve done just that."
Just 40 NCAA men’s basketball coaches have reached 700-win mark; a Feb. 3 home win over Samford put Hunter in elite company.
“Larry Hunter knows what he is doing,” said Tar Heels coach Roy Williams earlier this year. “He is a big-time coach, and I’ve known him for a long time.”
And Hunter’s coached a long time – 47 years, to be exact. He served as an assistant at Marietta College starting in 1971, became head coach at Wittenburg (Ohio) in 1976 and then moved on to Ohio University in 1989, departing in 2001. Hunter became a Catamount in 2005.
At Cullowhee, Hunter claimed a pair of Southern Conference North Championships and guided his squads to two appearances in the SoCon Championship game. According to the statement, a national search for the next Western Carolina head men’s basketball coach will begin immediately.
For more on Hunter, check out Todd Vinyard’s Feb. 14 story, A life in coaching: WCU’s Hunter earns career 700th win.
“First, congratulations. Second, why are you here?” he asked.
The airy hotel conference room fell silent, nearly 200 eyeballs glancing up from tablets, phones, laptops, coffee, muffins and bacon.
Despite being called “a shameful person to deal with” and “obsessed” in highly unusual comments directed at him by a county official last week, Waynesville resident Monroe Miller shows no signs of halting his crusade to dig up some dirt on what he supposes are irregularities surrounding a Haywood County earthmoving project.
Growing up in Haywood County, Sheriff Greg Christopher certainly learned the value of hard work at his family’s farm and roadside produce stand, located just off U.S. 276 between Waynesville and Bethel. But that’s not all he learned there.
As someone who’s spent 13 years as a school superintendent and four decades as a teacher and administrator fostering the personal achievement and enrichment of others — all in Haywood County — it’s finally time for Dr. Anne Garrett to focus on her own goals and dreams.
“I think 40 years is a long time to do this, and it was just a good time for me. I think our school system is in really great shape. We’ve got good academics and a sound budget right now, we’re not having to close any schools or do anything negative,” Garrett said. “I think it’s just a good time to make that transition.”
School administrators around the state have been crying foul since late 2017 over the way the North Carolina General Assembly implemented a new smaller class size requirement that was essentially an unfunded mandate.
Local government watchdog Monroe Miller is well known to many in county government circles; he attends most Haywood County Board of Commissioners meetings and publishes his opinions — usually meticulously researched — on his blog, Haywood County Toeprints.
Although recent economic development efforts by Haywood County, including a highly anticipated partnership with the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, focus on drawing new business to the area, Haywood County Commissioner and Economic Development Council Board Member Mike Sorrells says devoting effort to retention and expansion of existing businesses is just as important.
A week’s worth of wintry weather in mid-January resulted in the cancellation of meetings by both the Haywood County School Board as well as public charter school Shining Rock Classical Academy, but while both entities violated open meetings laws in rescheduling those meetings without proper notice, only one of those public bodies has now admitted it and made amends for it.
North Carolina is a huge state with tremendous climactic, economic and geographic diversity, but after a wicked bout of weird weather, including hurricanes in the mountains and blizzards on the beaches, the state’s one-size-fits all school calendar law still leaves many western counties singing the summertime blues.
Sticks and stones may break some bones, but according to a lawsuit filed by one local politico, the memes can sometimes hurt, too.
A controversial video gaming parlor that opened on Dellwood City Road last summer will cease operations and remove all signage by March 9, according to a consent agreement between the town of Waynesville and Nudge City owner Tami Nicholson.
Asheville Republican Congressman Mark Meadows’ extreme partisanship, attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and hypocritical fiscal responsibility make him a prime target for electoral defeat this year, according to three Western North Carolina Democrats who plan to challenge Meadows for his 11th District seat.
First, though, those candidates will square off against each other in a Democratic Primary Election for the right to face Meadows in November; others may yet come as well –- the filing period for candidates doesn’t end until Feb. 28.
Election season is right around the corner, as candidates begin filing paperwork to run for a variety of partisan offices from the federal level on down to state and local races in North Carolina.
For generations, the people of Waynesville looked to the auto repair shop at the intersection of Branner Avenue and Depot Street as a place to get oil.
Haywood County Schools’ administration recently admitted it may have violated North Carolina’s Open Meeting laws by not properly noticing a board meeting that had to be rescheduled due to inclement weather.
To the traditional topics of a legislative town hall meeting — economic development, fake news and even the morality of abortion — was added a new topic last week that could signal an upcoming legislative push on the equally controversial topic of medical cannabis products in North Carolina.
Officials in the town of Canton have been throwing around the term “Canton Comeback” for a few years now, noting the very visible progress made in economic development and administration.
Duke Energy isn’t the only utility company raising its electric rates this year amidst rising energy costs, but some local electric customers will see a better deal than others.
Duke Energy is proposing a $62 million solar rebate program designed to help its North Carolina customers with the upfront cost of installing solar panels on their property.
On the west side of Jonathan Creek Road in Haywood County sits a parcel of land where crops and cows are being rapidly replaced by bulldozers and cones and piles upon piles of dirt.
A North Carolina Open Meetings Law expert says Shining Rock Classical Academy’s School Board once again violated state laws regarding the notification of meetings.
The day after I stood before the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and watched Missouri Senator Roy Blount introduce “for the first time, ever, anywhere, the 45th President of the United States of America,” on Jan. 20, 2017, I joined half a million people in the day-long Women’s March on Washington.
Disillusionment with the two-party American political system has been around for a long time, but with a polarizing President in the White House and gerrymandered districts that tend to push major party candidates towards more extreme primary election positions, it’s rarely been higher.
“The fastest growing group in North Carolina is neither Democrat nor Republican, but it’s unaffiliated,” said Dr. Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University. “There’s actually more unaffiliated voters than Republicans in the state right now.”
Just one month before candidates start signing up to run for the 2018 elections, a three judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit struck down North Carolina’s congressional districts as partisan gerrymanders that violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Haywood County’s new emergency alert system startled many Jan. 11 with a “shelter in place” notification just after 6 p.m., related to shots fired on Biodome Drive.
A series of water line breakages in Canton during a recent period of extreme cold provoked unusually lengthy complaints from residents determined to point out the obvious, while also pointing fingers.
It was déjà vu all over again in Maggie Valley, where the Board of Aldermen once again passed the controversial Brunch Bill ordinance by a vote of 3-2, just like it was on Dec. 11.
A North Carolina State Bar complaint filed against Waynesville attorney and Mayor Gavin Brown Oct. 11, 2017, that had accused him of violating the organization’s rules of professional conduct has now generated a pair of indictments from District Attorney Ashley Welch.
After receiving 20 applications from candidates hoping to succeed founding School Director Ben Butler at Shining Rock Classical Academy, the Waynesville public charter school’s board has narrowed its options down to four people.
Last week, Shining Rock Classical Academy held an event for “parents and community supporters” to meet the top four candidates in the running to be the charter school’s new director, but there seemed to be some confusion over whether the hiring process would be public or private.
By coincidence, Haywood County Schools has, since about the same time as Shining Rock Classical Academy been readying itself to hire a new key employee as well, but the circumstances couldn’t be more dissimilar.
A years-long effort to find some use for the Historic Haywood County Hospital on Waynesville’s North Main Street appears to be moving forward with renewed vigor, as the building continues to deteriorate.
One of Zeb Smathers’ earliest memories is sitting in the cereal aisle of his grandfather’s downtown Canton grocery store, which wasn’t open on Sundays and didn’t sell booze.
“When the movie Ghostbusters came out there was a Ghostbusters cereal and I remember pleading with granddad,” Smathers said. “Mom would never allow us sugary cereal.”
Last year it was still just a quaint, silly little term — fake news.
Brendan Bishop is more than just the manager of Haywood Vapor, located at the corner of Dellwood City Road and Russ Avenue in Waynesville.
For all of its bluster and bikers and bling in the summertime, Maggie Valley can be one sleepy little town in the winter.
Traditionally, many businesses in the tiny settlement close during the off-season, a habit no doubt acquired during the heyday of Ghost Town in the Sky, the mountaintop amusement park that since 1965 closed every winter as well, until it closed for good a few years ago.
Pristine and nearly untouched by the hands of humans, the Town of Waynesville’s watershed has been hailed as a visionary acquisition by the town since its establishment around 1913.
Employee turnover in local governments is nothing new, but Haywood County’s recent rash of retirements and resignations has resulted in a lingering lack of leadership that hasn’t yet disrupted county operations, but could affect long-term planning if it persists.
In a statement issued by Haywood County moments ago, the resignation of Assistant County Manager Talmadge “Stoney” Blevins was announced.
No effective date was given for the resignation in the statement, which reads in full:
Interim Haywood County Manager, Joel Mashburn, announced that Haywood County Health and Human Services Director Talmadge “Stoney” Blevins is resigning to take a similar position in Buncombe County. Since 2014, Mr. Blevins directed the newly consolidated Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency to better serve all citizens of Haywood County.
On behalf of the Haywood County Board of Commissioners, “We thank Stoney for his service to the citizens of Haywood County for his guidance and leadership,” said Kirk Kirkpatrick, Chairman of the Haywood County Board of Commissioners. “His contributions to Haywood County will have a lasting impact for years to come.”
“I will leave behind many talented and dedicated colleagues; these men and women are true community heroes who make life better for the citizens they serve,” Mr. Blevins said.
Look for more on this developing story in The Smoky Mountain News in the coming days.
