The room tax hike being sought by Haywood leaders needs to pass and deserves the support of the legislative delegation in Raleigh, and we hope that Sen. Jim Davis in particular will get on board and shepherd this bill through the Senate.

The hike, an additional 2 cents on each dollar spent on overnight lodging, would bring the room tax up to 6 cents. It would net about $450,000 each year in additional revenue that could be spent on attracting tourists.

The town of Waynesville has hired a consultant to help create mandatory design standards for buildings in historic districts.

Without support from the Maggie Valley Lodging Association, a bill to increase the room tax in Haywood County could die in the N.C. General Assembly.

It’s been said that people are more afraid of public speaking than they are of death, but for Donald Davis, he couldn’t imagine doing anything else. 

Talk of cutting the historic courthouse maples in Waynesville has come and gone during the years.

Reasons varied. It was hard to get grass to grow underneath. The trees masked the grandness of the historic courthouse. Heavy equipment parked under the trees during courthouse renovations damaged the root systems.

Main Street merchants are used to answering tourists’ questions: how do you get to the parkway, what’s the best place for dinner, and where are the public restrooms? But lately, Waynesville’s downtown store keepers have also become purveyors of news.

A parade of Haywood County department leaders went before county commissioners during a budget work session Monday, each pleading their case for why their department needs an additional employee or two next fiscal year.

The lone evergreen tree left standing on the lawn of the historic courthouse in downtown Waynesville will soon be coming down.

Maggie Valley leaders on opposing sides of the tourist tax hike both claim to have the majority in their corner.

Maggie Mayor Ron DeSimone presented a stack of letters of support from hotel owners to state legislators during a trip to Raleigh last week, urging them to shepherd the room tax increase to passage. DeSimone spent several days visiting lodging businesses in Maggie to see where they stood.

Joyce Porter had just finished cleaning her house in Jonathan Creek and was planning to hop in the shower, but when she turned on the faucet, no water came out.