Cory Vaillancourt

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The presence of multiple vehicles and a decontamination tent in downtown Canton today prompted tips to The Smoky Mountain News about a possible hazmat incident at Pactiv Evergreen’s shuttered paper mill — however, that’s not the case.

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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. 

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The upcoming race for two alderman seats in Maggie Valley is sure to be exciting, but one Republican candidate is already drawing attention after allegations by a neighbor of voter registration fraud. 

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The field got just a little bit smaller in the race for Waynesville Town Council last week, as one of the nine candidates seeking four available seats withdrew.

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Hardister seeks important labor post 

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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.

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Employees at Pactiv Evergreen’s Canton paper mill knew a health care coverage crisis  was coming, and many of them did exactly what the company told them to do to ward off a coverage gap, but some are only just now getting the coverage they’re entitled to — and paid for — and they’re pointing the finger at Pactiv for the expensive and potentially life-threatening delays. 

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The slates are now set for November’s municipal elections in Western North Carolina, and although a number of surprise candidates ended up filing — making some races very competitive — participation is lacking in several others, indicating a general lack of interest. 

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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.

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Students in rural America already face many of the challenges experienced by their urban cousins — albeit with fewer resources to overcome them — but a group of Swain County teenagers want to change that by asking commissioners for a youth center. 

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Waynesville native, retired DEA agent and unsuccessful 2019 Waynesville aldermanic candidate Joey Reece will run for mayor of Waynesville, Reece told The Smoky Mountain News on the afternoon of July 17.

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After closing its paper mill in Canton early last month, Pactiv Evergreen is reportedly now engaged in discussions with potential purchasers or developers about the future of the site.

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The Haywood County Town of Maggie Valley has lost significant authority to exercise development powers after a bill promoted by its Republican representative passed on the afternoon of July 12 — despite a last-ditch effort for compromise. 

A week ago,  Pless held a press conference  decrying Maggie Valley’s Mayor, Mike Eveland, and two aldermen — John Hinton and Jim Owens — calling them “depraved” in a written statement.

At issue was a 2021 moratorium enacted on new campgrounds, shortly after four RV parks were approved within town limits. The moratorium extended not only to RV parks but also to RV Planned Unit Developments and RV storage facilities.

Pless opposed the moratorium and last week went so far as to offer any property owners who feel that they’ve been unjustly affected by the town’s development decisions a nuclear option: de-annexation from the town.

If enough people took Pless up on his offer, it would impact the town’s bottom line to disastrous effect. Currently, Maggie Valley’s tax rate is 40 cents per $100 in assessed value, but the town has less than 1,700 residents. 

De-annexed parcels with existing sewer and water connections could continue to use them by paying slightly higher rates as out-of-town customers, but property owners would no longer pay both county and town property taxes — only county.

That philosophy carries over into another aspect of Pless’  HB 184 , which not only disallows Maggie Valley from adopting, extending or renewing any temporary moratoria on development approvals but also prohibits the town from enforcing its rights to its extra-territorial jurisdiction.

Extra-territorial jurisdiction refers to parcels of land outside of municipal boundaries where cities and towns can exercise certain powers like zoning. Residents of ETJs don’t get to vote in municipal elections, thus having no say in how they’re governed by those municipalities, but they’re not on the hook for municipal taxes, either.

Eveland, Hinton and Owens have vehemently opposed Pless’ effort to tie the town’s hands, but two other aldermen, Phillip Wight and his wife, Tammy, have allied themselves with Pless on the issue.

Together, the Wights own the Clarketon Motel, the site of Pless’ earlier press conference, and say the moratorium affects their business.

“I can rent a room to who I want for the rest of my life, but I can’t create a PUD and have a nice high-end RV park that sells timeshares,” Phillip Wight told The Smoky Mountain News at the press conference.   

The bill, however, didn’t exactly sail through its final test.

Pless made a motion for the House to concur with the Senate version of the bill; however, a Buncombe County Democrat, Rep. Eric Ager, rose to ask Pless a question but Pless declined to yield.

When Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) pressed Ager on what he wanted, Ager asked for a compromise.

“It seems like there’s an option here to have the community come together and figure out a solution as opposed to just pushing one way or the other,” Ager said. “It seems like we have a small-town dispute. There’s people on both sides, and I think we could do a much better job of mitigating that dispute.”

Ager also asked for a recorded vote, rather than a voice vote. Pless didn’t respond to any of it, but Moore postponed action on the bill for about 15 minutes until it was again brought for a vote. It passed by a margin of 61-40.

Eveland told The Smoky Mountain News shortly after the vote that he’d sent emails to legislators in Raleigh opposing the bill, and that Ager was one of several who responded favorably.

Now, Maggie Valley will move forward under the restrictions for at least the next four years, unless something changes.

“I guess tomorrow we’ll start to see exactly what this means for us and get with our lawyer to see what we can do,” Eveland said. “I think it’s a blow to the Town of Maggie Valley — the folks that work there and the taxpayers of Maggie Valley. We got voted into office based on what voters wanted done. Pless has made clear we’re being punished for something we did 18 months ago.”

Eveland said the town recently hired a lobbying firm to advocate for its interests in Raleigh.

“Now we have to spend taxpayer money to protect ourselves,” he said. “We’ll just continue to roll on.”

The bill sunsets on Jan. 1, 2028.

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The issue of requiring voters to present identification at the polls before casting a ballot has been contentious in North Carolina — with competing claims that it would disproportionately affect minorities and crack down on nearly non-existent voter fraud in the state — but like it or not, it’s now the law of the land, and now voters of all political persuasions need to do their homework to ensure they’re not left without a voice. 

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The candidate filing period for November’s municipal elections that opened on July 7 ends this coming Friday, July 21, at noon, and although things are starting to solidify in some races, there have been and may continue to be some surprises. 

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Waynesville’s consideration of a social district in its downtown core took an interesting turn on June 27, when members of the Town Council voted 4-1 to halt discussion of the issue — in effect, killing it. 

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What does a Senate bill giving the Apex Town Council the power to hire the town’s clerk have to do with partisan elections in Haywood and Madison counties? Everything, if you’re Rep. Mark Pless.

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Open container alcohol consumption in cities and towns across North Carolina has met with positive results, according to local administrators and police officers — which is why opponents of Waynesville’s proposed “social district” are resorting to misinformation and sensationalism to impose their minority viewpoint on the majority of downtown stakeholders who overwhelmingly support such a district.

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As questions continue to swirl over what Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-Henderson) did to prevent the loss of around 1,000 jobs at Pactiv Evergreen’s paper mill, Edwards is now coming under fire for politicizing a town hall held June 1 at Canton’s Pisgah High School, for rejecting help from Buncombe County legislators and for ridiculing them in the process.

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On Thursday, June 8, the Haywood County Republican Party will host an elections “integrity” event featuring a discredited activist with a long history of making false claims about election legitimacy in Western North Carolina.

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It took all of about 25 minutes for the Haywood County Board of Equalization and Review to reject Pactiv Evergreen’s request to reduce the assessed value of its $19.8 million parcel in Canton.

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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.

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Nearly three months ago, Pactiv Evergreen unceremoniously announced that after more than a century in operation, the paper mill at the heart of Canton would close. Since then, Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers has repeated an analogy comparing the community’s reaction to that of a death in the family.

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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.

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Pactiv Evergreen’s announcement that it would shutter its century-old paper mill was devastating enough for the tiny mountain town of Canton, but now the company is demanding a $14 million reduction in the assessed value of its real property — in essence, a tax break.

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There won’t be a tax increase, and there won’t be any borrowing from fund balance, but that doesn’t mean the Town of Waynesville’s proposed budget is flush with cash — with inflationary pressures outpacing revenue growth and substantial borrowing on the horizon, administrators are looking to keep the town’s financial house in good order.

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As first reported in The Smoky Mountain News, Haywood County Schools has proposed a multi-million dollar consolidation of several auxiliary services on a 28-acre parcel off Ratcliff Cove Road. For that to happen, the parcel must first be rezoned.

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Strong growth across multiple revenue streams will help Haywood County government balance increasing costs for staffing, schools and vehicles in its proposed 2023-24 budget; however, commissioners will also weigh a 1.5-cent property tax increase that just might help prevent yet another national tragedy right here at home.

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Absent any meaningful gun legislation by the North Carolina General Assembly or by Congress, the cost of protecting Haywood County’s children from being gunned down at their desks will now fall squarely upon county taxpayers, once a tax increase in next year’s proposed budget gets the final OK from commissioners.

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Less than two weeks after a story in The Smoky Mountain News revealed that a real estate marketing flyer along with correspondence between the town of Waynesville and Aldi indicated that the German grocer was eyeing a spot in the old Kmart plaza on Russ Avenue, the plaza has found a new owner.

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It’s been a little over a year since a draft of the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling was leaked, and a little under a year since the ruling was issued, overturning Roe v. Wade. Now, North Carolina’s Republican-dominated General Assembly will finally have its abortion bill — if they can get past Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s promised veto.

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Haywood Republican Rep. Mark Pless is closer than ever to getting partisan local elections in his district — part of a growing trend by North Carolina conservatives hoping to “out” Democrats at the polls this coming November, or sooner.

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The relatively recent rise of cryptocurrency, its associated strain on utility infrastructure and its potential to disrupt the peace and quiet of rural communities have all caused quite a ruckus in the Western North Carolina mountains. Elected officials in Haywood County are now looking for ways to prevent similar problems before they begin.  

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A real estate marketing flyer along with correspondence between Waynesville’s Land Use Administrator Byron Hickox and an Asheville sign company both point to the conclusion that German grocer Aldi is eyeing a spot in the old Kmart plaza on Russ Avenue.

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A relatively routine rezoning request for a parcel off Ratcliff Cove Road has inadvertently revealed multi-million dollar plans by Haywood County Schools to consolidate several of its auxiliary services in one central location — a move that could affect multiple facilities and have a ripple effect on several other ongoing county issues.

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New details from the Haywood County Tax Collector’s office show that Haywood Republican Commissioner Terry Ramey, who until recently hadn’t paid his property taxes since 2012, also failed to pay property taxes for at least five years before that, resulting in nearly $1,600 in taxes being deemed uncollectible.

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Across the state of North Carolina, the public’s right to know what its elected leaders are doing remains foundational to the principles of open government. But when elected officials— especially those suspected of wrongdoing — are asked for copies of their government-related communications, there’s absolutely no way to ensure that true and accurate records are being provided, and there’s absolutely nothing anyone can do about it.

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Canton’s 115th annual Labor Day Festival — the oldest in the South — could take on a more somber tone this September in light of the impending June closure of the paper mill at the center of town, but organizers hope to keep the mood festive with today’s announcement of a major headliner.

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Nearly two years after rains from Tropical Storm Fred inundated Haywood County and flooded parts of Bethel, Canton, Clyde and Cruso, important infrastructure projects are continuing with significant help from the North Carolina General Assembly.

On April 17, Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) brought legislators from across the state to show them firsthand the work that remains.

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The town of Canton won’t quite look, feel or smell the same once the century-old paper mill finally closes later this year, but after a surprise announcement by Mayor Zeb Smathers on April 12, there’s some hope that in the future it will at least sound the same.

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As the man behind the controversial North Carolina-based American Muckrakers PAC, David Wheeler’s had an outsized impact on at least one recent congressional campaign, but in 2024, he’s looking to have that same impact on a race of his own.

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Last week, Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers hosted Gov. Roy Cooper and a panel of elected Democrat and Republican leaders along with economic development officials, workforce analysts and environmental policy officials, all trying to prepare for the inevitable closing of the venerable old mill at the center of town.

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