Smathers: ‘We will fight’ Pactiv’s tax break request

Officials on both the local and the state level have been adamant in demanding Pactiv Evergreen be held accountable for a number of unresolved issues since shortly after the company announced it would halt operations in Canton. But now, a week after the mill’s final whistle blew, they’re adopting a more forceful tone.

A health care coverage crisis is unfolding at Canton’s paper mill

That the American health care coverage system is broken shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, even proponents of the 2010 Affordable Care Act who thought Obamacare would make coverage affordable for everyone. But as long as workers with employer-subsidized health care are forced to rely on the generosity of capitalists for their health and well-being, there will continue to be crises like the one currently unfolding with soon-to-be unemployed workers at Pactiv-Evergreen’s Haywood County facilities.

HCC opens new Dahlia Ridge Trail System

When A.L. Freedlander issued the 1966 fundraising challenge that birthed the Haywood Community College campus in Clyde, he envisioned a space dedicated not only to learning, but also to natural beauty. Freedlander gave $250,000 in seed money to the project, but with conditions attached: that the campus become “the most beautifully landscaped area in Haywood County” and that its grounds should contain “a good collection of dahlias,” Freedlander’s favorite flower. 

Eating an elephant: Canton, county will solve huge mill problems by taking small bites

No one living can remember a time when there wasn’t a paper mill at the heart of Canton. Now, after 115 years in operation, it all comes down to three months.

HCC opens new health sciences building amid statewide nursing shortage

At a time when North Carolina faces a serious nursing shortage, Haywood Community College has invested in its nursing program with a new Health Sciences Building. Full of the latest educational technology, it will expand, enhance and modernize the nursing student experience, preparing the next generation for a career in healthcare.

Special project grants awarded by Haywood TDA

Although the indirect benefits of the unprecedented tourism boom that’s enveloped Haywood County over the past few years are readily apparent in the form of increased sales taxes and steady work for hospitality industry professionals, locals are finally about to get something out of it besides soaring housing costs and crowded attractions.

The maker and the mare: Haywood artisan combines love of horses, jewelry

Raised on a family farm just outside of Greensboro, Jean Osborne was surrounded by hundreds of cows and thousands of acres — a place where she roamed freely and in her own time on her horse. 

Hands-on approach key to HCC program

When Dylan Brooks first started his college education, he began in a business program. It didn’t take long to figure out that sitting in a classroom or eventually in an office was not what he wanted to do. 

Masks back at college

With case numbers surging and fall semester beginning, local colleges and universities are reinstituting indoor masking requirements that had been lifted for the summer months. 

Forestry student awarded for academic excellence

Brandon Light, a student in Haywood Community College’s Forest Management Technology Program, has been named the college’s Academic Excellence Award winner. 

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