An Old World delicacy tied to myths of the supernatural, the truffle is often construed as a rare exotic, likely to grace only the most expensive of culinary creations.

But truffle cultivation is seeing a surge in North Carolina, with more than 200 truffle growers popping up across the state since word began spreading in the 1990s.

Pristine and nearly untouched by the hands of humans, the Town of Waynesville’s watershed has been hailed as a visionary acquisition by the town since its establishment around 1913.

The Town of Waynesville solved one problem Nov. 28 by deciding where, exactly, video gaming parlors may in the future be located, but by denying local gambling establishment Nudge City the opportunity to remain in its current location on Dellwood City Road, the town has “created a solution looking for a problem,” according to the business’s attorney, Mark Melrose.

An oral history project documenting African American history in the far western reaches of North Carolina is now a book, thanks to Waynesville’s Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center.

“I guess the motivation was because Haywood County just doesn’t have very much documented history of African Americans,” said Lyn Forney, the director of the Pigeon Center.

Although honoring veterans each Nov. 11 is a substantial gesture by the grateful citizens of this country, a new program at the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center seeks to recognize that the rest of the year is just as important as well.

Ka-chunk, ka-chunk … Ka-chunk, ka-chunk….

For over a century the sound of wheels on wood have greeted residents of and visitors to the Lake Junaluska Assembly alike as cars, trucks, people and pets cross the bridge over the Lake Junaluska Dam.

If you don’t like what you hear, get a second opinion — at least, that’s what the Waynesville Board of Alderman is doing with a report on the town’s aging wastewater treatment plant.

After a series of contentious public hearings almost a year ago resulted in outcry from nearly all quarters of Waynesville, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has officially backed off designs that would have changed the character of one of the town’s most historic and aesthetically significant streets.

The obtuse angles of the intersection at Waynesville’s North Main and Walnut streets may soon become graceful curves — or even a roundabout — by 2020, depending on what happens with the now-underway public involvement phase of the project.

The Balsam Center in Waynesville will now be able to better meet the mental health and substance abuse needs of Haywood County residents following an extensive renovation and expansion.