The Waynesville Rotary Club has been caught up in the fallout following the forced resignation of Haywood County Manager Jack Horton.

Horton is president of the Waynesville Rotary Club. Commissioner Kevin Ensley, who voted for Horton’s resignation, is a member of the same Rotary Club.

Two years ago, the future of Waynesville’s electric system — a lucrative cash cow for the town — was turned on its head by a single email that popped up in the inbox of an energy consultant in Raleigh.

Waynesville’s residents have long reaped the benefits of the town’s electricity enterprise — a sideline business that was making $1.2 million a year.

The money paid for the Waynesville Recreation Center — a $6.5 million fitness center with indoor pool, gym and weight and workout rooms. And when talk of a downtown parking deck came up, town leaders pledged $2.5 million toward its construction, thanks to electricity revenue.

A new cycling shop opened in Waynesville just in the nick of time for Bob Gatis.

The notion recently struck him to take the parts of his Trek road bike and put them on a bare Jamis frame — a project that counts as building a bike from scratch.

Anyone approaching Waynesville from Russ Avenue has likely appreciated the distant view of downtown, its quaint brick skyline marked by steeples and nested in the surrounding mountains — along with the less appealing gigantic yellow “M” superimposed over the scene.

An effort to install wireless Internet service throughout Downtown Waynesville is making a year-end push for donations.