Not every success story starts with a four-year degree from an elite university, and there are many Haywood Community College graduates to prove it.

As Haywood Community College leaders look to the future, it’s import to reflect on how far the institution has come in its first 50 years. 

What is the significance of HCC’s 50th anniversary?

The 50th anniversary celebration gives us an opportunity to reflect upon those who preceded us and had the vision and wherewithal to create the North Carolina Community College System and specifically Haywood Community College.

The senior with the highest grade point average will no longer be crowned valedictorian at high school graduation in Haywood County.

The state budget was 78 days overdue last Tuesday night when a group of more than 20 public education supporters packed the Macon County commissioners meeting in support of more state funding.

Shining Rock Classical Academy’s continued hunt for somewhere to temporarily house the fledgling charter school come Jan. 1 has inevitably landed on the doorstep of the Folkmoot Friendship Center, a seemingly natural choice since the Folkmoot Center was originally an elementary school. 

Shining Rock Classical Academy, a new charter school in Haywood County, has not given up on the idea of building a school in the Francis Cove area of Waynesville, despite a groundswell of opposition from residents in the community.

With only three days of school under their belts, students attending Shining Rock Classical Academy were already settling into their routine on Monday morning.

The guessing game of how many students will jump ship from Haywood County Schools to attend a new charter school, Shining Rock Classical Academy, won’t be known until the first day of school next week.

Neighbors who live near the proposed site of a new charter school in Haywood County plan to oppose a special use permit that would allow the school to be built in their community.