Drop-in childcare returns to Waynesvlle Rec Center

The Waynesville recreation center has reopened its childcare rooms and has its drop-in childcare program back up and running. 

Get ready for Base Camp

Parent interest meetings for Basecamp Summer Camp in Waynesville will be held nightly at 6 p.m. Feb. 14-16 at the Waynesville Recreation Center. 

Rec center hosts after-school program

Registration is open for an after-school program at the Waynesville Recreation Center, which will kick off Wednesday, Sept. 13.

Waynesville Rec Center to close for maintenance, expand pool hours

The Waynesville Recreation Center will close for its annual maintenance week Monday, Sept. 4, through Tuesday, Sept. 12.

Understanding will come in time

To the Editor:

I appreciate the clear, factual reporting done by Cory Vaillancourt uncovering the truth regarding the Waynesville Recreation Center incidents.

A call to hate: victims speak out over false allegations

Tow people assigned female at birth who visited the Waynesville Recreation Center and followed the letter of the law but were subsequently the subject of a social media firestorm that included threats of violence are speaking out for the first time about their experience. 

Waynesville unites against hate and bigotry after false trans allegations

Claims of indecent behavior involving a transgender person at the Waynesville Recreation Center roiled this tight-knight rural community last week, even after a town investigation found no evidence that any crimes were committed and that one of the allegations was completely unsubstantiated.

But if those allegations were meant to divide, deride or dishearten the people of Haywood County, they’ve proven to be a spectacular failure after a recent meeting of the Waynesville Town Council that will be remembered as a watershed moment for LGBTQ+ rights in a small Appalachian town nestled right in the heart of MAGA country.

A rush to judgement: The mere existence of trans people is not a crime

Social media posts alleging multiple instances of improper activity by a transgender person at the Waynesville Recreation Center last week prompted outrage, violent threats and dehumanizing rhetoric from a number of people — including political candidates — who accepted the unsourced post as unimpeachable fact, but after an investigation including video evidence, it was clear that all they did was enjoy the pool and the sauna.

Waynesville to ask county to chip in on recreation costs

Citing precedent and historical trends, the town of Waynesville will request that Haywood County government resume its annual financial contribution to the town’s recreation budget. 

Waynesville Rec delays summer camp decision

In a normal year, this would be the week that parents hoping to get their kids a coveted place in the enormously popular Base Camp Waynesville Summer Camp series would rush to the Waynesville Recreation Center as registration opened, hoping to snag one of the soon-to-vanish spots. 

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