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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Pisgah Class of 2025 embodies resiliency
Jun. 4—Resiliency. It's a word that has defined Haywood County's easternmost town, particularly over the last few years. Between catastrophic floods only three years apart and the closure of the town's mill, folks from Canton have faced it all. While the whole town has faced those struggles, this year's graduating class from Pisgah High School has been particularly challenged. While struggling to get through high school is difficult enough, having these disasters thrown on top only made it tougher. Those students celebrated that resilience during commencement ceremonies Friday evening, May 30, at Western Carolina University's Ramsey Center. "We made it. It might sound like a simple phrase, but after everything we've been through, those three words carry a lot of weight," graduate Carter Francoeur said. "We went through things most schools and classes can never dream of facing." Even before these seniors reached high school, they were facing the COVID pandemic that had plagued the world. Then their first year of high school was marred by Tropical Storm Fred's floodwaters, which devastated their community. "We really never knew what normal meant because the first flood was our freshman year. We had to show perseverance and make sure we had our ducks in a row," Francoeur said. Outside of floods, the graduates missed time at one point when a hacker compromised the school system's network and demanded the district pay a ransom. "Through a global pandemic, devastating floods and even that random Russian who shut down our school for a week, we learned to adapt, to overcome and to keep moving forward," graduate Mable James said during her commencement speech. Then, in the group's senior year, it happened again with Helene bringing heavy rainfall and flooding to the mountains — causing devastating results and forcing students to miss school days once again. "It was a little different, especially with missing a month of school because of one flood and two months of school because of another flood," said graduate Samuel Payne. While students might not have been at school, they were still staying active in the community they hold dear. "Me and my church did a lot of flood recovery and helping people with their houses," said Payne, who plans to major in fish and wildlife management at Haywood Community College. "I saw a lot of these same guys I'm out here with graduating today out there too. It just shows how much the community means to these guys." While everyone faced challenges as a community, most faced challenges in their personal lives, as well. Some of those moments turned into humorous memories for the graduates looking back. "When we did my first chorus concert, I got up there and played guitar and started in the wrong key," Payne said. "My friends all turned and looked at me like, 'What the heck are you doing man?' We ended up playing that whole song in the wrong key. It was a good moment. Nobody knew it but us." Making it through all of that made reaching graduation that much sweeter for this year's class. "We've been through more than most other graduating classes and still made it. It felt good," said graduate Eli Turner. It also proved to the graduates that they can overcome whatever obstacle is in their way. "To me, graduation meant proof," said graduate Rebecca Terrell. "Proof that I could commit, endure and succeed, even when it was hard. It was a moment to acknowledge how far I'd come, both academically and personally. It meant that the version of myself who started this journey had evolved into someone stronger, wiser and more capable." Through all of this, the class of 2025 built on an already strong sense of camaraderie, not only among themselves but within their community. "I am so proud to be a black bear, and I know that Pisgah High School will always be a part of us, no matter where life leads," James said. For some, that's a feeling of togetherness that has been building since the day they were born. "It's meant a lot," said Francoeur, a Goodnight Scholarship recipient who plans to major in pre-med biology at N.C. State University. "All my family has been at Pisgah for years and years. I grew up going to all the football and basketball games with my grandfather." All that hard work in the classroom and away from it has paid off in a big way. As of May 21, the graduating class had racked up nearly $2 million in scholarship money. While that money is impressive, even more of the students will be going straight into the workforce or into the military — helping the community in ways outside of higher education. When asked what was next for him, Turner said "probably work." "I don't have to wake up and go to school every day and can work and make money and be more," Turner said. Beyond that, the graduates were molded into young adults by the four years of hardships, adaptability and fond memories. "That resilience became part of who we are," Francoeur said. Pisgah seniors recognized their most influential teacher during commencement, awarding the honor to W.C. Godfrey, who works in career and technical education. Math teacher Kristy Sorrells was named the school's teacher of the year by her fellow instructors. About 220 Pisgah graduates received their diplomas during the ceremony.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
No property tax hike planned in austere county budget proposal
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways May 7—There's both good news and bad news in the Haywood's budget for the coming year, one that's balanced at $111.9 million, but the good news for county property owners is that there is no planned tax increase. The bad news is that it's a very tight budget, and that work to recover from Helene means services will expand little, if at all. Under the budget proposal for 2025-26, the tax rate will hold steady at 55 cents for each $100 of property value. Part of that is because commissioners relied heavily on the county's fund balance to offset budget needs. Haywood County Manager Bryant Morehead presented his recommended county budget at the Monday morning commissioner meeting. Budget figures indicated the county is growing, despite the double whammies sustained in the past several years. The total value of property in Haywood — which is the basis for property tax collections — actually rose by $250 million this year, but that growth was offset by property value losses of $230 million from the paper mill closure where reduced values just hit the books and from losses due to Hurricane Helene. Where Haywood will be spending more Here's a breakdown of the major cost increases required or planned in the 2025-26 Haywood County budget. —3% cost of living hike for employees, plus a possible 2% merit increase, a $3 million budget increase. —18 new vehicles, half of them going to the sheriff's office. Morehead said the county rolling vehicle replacement schedule means between 16 and 20 vehicles are updated each year. —Operating costs up 3% for an extra $631,000. —Capital outlay of an extra $871,000, mostly to be used for repairs, roof replacements, library carpeting, a forklift and jail appliance replacements. —Haywood County Schools — an additional $445,000, an amount in line with the automatic school funding formula tied to enrollment, bringing the total appropriation to $18.4 million. —Haywood Community College — up $103,000, upping the total appropriation to $3.5 million. —Insurance and bonding — an extra $272,000 Of those projected losses, $190 million in value is from the paper mill, and $39 million is projected from Helene. The nominal overall growth in property values and other revenues led to a relatively flat county budget that restricted any bold new initiatives but will allow the county to continue services at the current level. New ways to spend The 2025-26 fiscal year budget reflects new funding in two areas. One is to provide financial support for the ongoing recovery work in the county. Haywood County budget: where the money comes from Here's how the revenue projections stack up for the proposed 2025-26 Haywood County budget. —Property taxes — $56.6 million, a $60,000 increase from last year —Sales tax — $16.4 million, same as last year —Restricted government revenue — $15.5 million, up $1.5 million —Other revenues — $12.4 million —Fund balance appropriation — $11 million Total general fund revenues — $111.9 million, up $5.8 million from last year. Since Tropical Storm Fred hit in 2021, the county has employed a grants writer. As Morehead explained, there are no direct state or federal grants to counties struck by disasters. "You have to apply for everything," he said. "We set up our own recovery and resiliency office after Fred, but this is the first time we're putting it in the budget." Workers for recovery Garron Bradish, who heads the county development services office, will now oversee a new grants person, a flood mitigation specialist, and a new building inspector. "We still haven't closed on any properties under Fred," Morehead said of the disaster funding available to flooded homeowners willing to sell their property and relocate to higher ground. "There's a lot of work to be done." The new funding amounts to $735,000. New funds for recovery court The other initiative is funding recovery court efforts in Haywood that began with a two-year state grant. Under the contract terms, the county was to pick up the funding when the grant expired. The county's cost is $140,000. Recovery court is an alternative program for nonviolent offenders that offers a lifeline toward helping addicts become productive citizens. The program currently has 16 participants. Revenue The county budget's general fund includes basic government operations. There are separate funds for services such as solid waste, fire and road service districts or the tourism occupancy tax collections. The county receives funds to operate from multiple sources. One is federal funding primarily for health and human services. A second is revenue from property taxes, and a third comes from sale taxes. These three sources provide 79% of the county's revenue. Investments, fees or licenses are other revenue sources. Sales tax This year's budget anticipates both property and sales taxes to remain at the same level as last year due to the economic and disaster losses. Construction work on I-40 and the Blue Ridge Parkway to repair damage from Helene could also hinder visitors and therefore hold back increases in sale tax revenue. Only the federal revenues are expected to increase, but that is largely due to more children in the foster care program. A $1.4 million increase in federal payments is anticipated, with the county shouldering $175,000 of added foster care costs. Property tax forecast The property tax projections are based on a tax collection rate of 98.18%, down from last year's 98.29% rate. The proposed budget expects revenue losses because of less activity in the Register of Deeds office which collects revenue based on the value of property changing hands, and a decrease in building fees due to a lower level of construction in the county — all tying back to damage from Helene. On the flip side, increased revenues are projected from services such as ambulance charges, library and recreation fees, vaccinations, well/septic inspections and the sale of maps through Geographic Information Services, or GIS. Fund balance This year, the budget relies on a nearly $11 million transfer from fund balance, or money left from previous years, to make ends meet. Last year, the board approved a $6.8 million transfer. Morehead said the county's healthy fund balance has not only allowed the county to maintain service levels during difficult years but provides the needed operating funds to pay for disaster needs upfront as it waits for federal or state reimbursement, which are only available once projects are complete. "We have a history of a fund balance that's fiscally conservative," Morehead explained. "If we had all the issues to address at an 11% fund balance we had in 2006, I'm not sure how we could have made it. We build the fund balance during good years for times like this." The county's fund balance amount is a moving target where a snapshot is taken once a year on June 30, Morehead said. The latest unassigned balance available was $44 million. Expenses When beginning the budget process this winter, Morehead worked with each department head to review needs for the coming fiscal year. After that, he met with each commissioner. As Commissioner Jennifer Best noted, the board members had the opportunity to go over each department request, line item by line item, during the budget preparations. Trimming to fit The budget requests amounted to $117 million. From that amount, $5.6 million was trimmed primarily by eliminating requests for additional employees, all 22.5 of them. Approving the added staff would have cost $2 million, budget documents note. Overall, the general fund expenses increased by $5.8 million for the 2025-26 budget. Debt The county's non-education debt increased by $600,000 this fiscal year as balloon payments were being met. While old debt will begin dropping off next year, the $31 million jail project more than doubling the jail capacity is anticipated to cost the county $2 million annually to service the debt and interest costs. That is roughly the equivalent of an added 2 cents per $100 of value on the tax rate, but reduced debt for other projects is expected to temper the amount of additional revenues needed once the jail comes online in 2026. Haywood County Schools debt will continue to rise until 2028, when annual payments reach $2.3 million and will then begin decreasing. Haywood Community College debt payments are $1.5 million annually and falling. Local governments need approval of the N.C. Local Government Commission to enter long-term debt, and the levels obligated in Haywood County were well within the approved limits given by the commission. Once commissioners approve a budget, it will go in effect on July 1, for a fiscal year than runs through June 30 of 2026. A copy of the draft budget is available at the county administration offices in the county courthouses, the Waynesville library or at the county website at
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Welcome to Fines Creek: newcomer-turned-firefighter is loving every minute of it
Feb. 10—After less than 18 months with Fines Creek's Fire Department, new arrival Baylor Lopez has made an impact — enough that he was named its Firefighter of the Year for 2024. "He's one of our top call runners. He has pretty much devoted most of his spare time to the fire department and its cause," said Fines Creek Fire Chief Marion Ferguson. The 23-year-old said he was surprised to receive the honor, and gave him even more motivation to give the fire department his all in the weeks since. "It was a huge deal to me," Lopez said. "I've wanted to play a bigger role in the community because of it. It put me in overdrive to be a bigger help and a bigger part in the community and for the community. I love those people." Lopez is recognized as a volunteer who sees a problem and figures out a way to solve it. At one point, the water heater at the fire department went out. Before knowing if he could be reimbursed, Lopez went out and bought a new water heater. "He's done that on several things," Ferguson said. "He's took it upon himself to get it because it was needed. If the fire department was able to pay him back that was fine, and if we weren't, that was fine, too." Lopez moved to the Fines Creek community in the summer of 2023. The Arlington, Texas, native said he was looking for a "change of scenery." "It's a very, very big difference, for sure," Lopez said. "It takes a lot longer to get anywhere. I live about 30 minutes from civilization. I enjoy being out in the middle of nowhere. It's a lot more peaceful." Despite his lack of Haywood roots, Lopez said he was quickly welcomed to the community. "They've been very kind to me, very welcoming," Lopez said. Wanting to serve Not long after getting settled, Lopez was ready to give back. "I went (to the fire department) and introduced myself," Lopez said. "I had just moved out here and wanted to give back to the community because they've been so good to me. It's a very vital and viable way to give back to the community." In the time since joining, Lopez has quickly become a crucial piece of the department. "He's not been with us very long, but he has really latched onto the whole public service concept," Ferguson said. "He's stepped into the department and took off from there. He has been very proactive in seeking any and all kinds of training that he can get. Training and serving Lopez has received emergency medical technician training and is now in the fire academy at Haywood Community College. "There are other classes I'd like to take in the future to expand what I can do for the community and the department," Lopez said. Lopez's willingness is something that Ferguson praised. "In a lot of ways, you can say that is everything," Ferguson said. "When you have a volunteer organization, it hinges on those people that are willing to jump in at any time for any reason." Through the storm Lopez's availability was vital during Hurricane/Tropical Storm Helene. "When Hurricane Helene came through here and even recently through the bad weather and cold, he took it upon himself to stay at the fire department to be there for whatever needed to happen," Ferguson said. "Especially through the hurricane, that was huge in of itself. That was a huge asset." Typically, most calls and work being done at the fire department happens during the day when people are active. That wasn't the case when Helene hit. "Through the hurricane, that was a 24-hour-a-day ordeal," Ferguson said. "It didn't slow down much at night through all of that. People's needs were more than most of us have seen at any time. He was there to satisfy those needs." Drawing him out The chief said when Lopez first came to the department, the young firefighter was still feeling things out a bit. "From my standpoint, his biggest challenge when he came into the fire department, he was really quiet. He was ready to do whatever, but he didn't jump into conversations to start with. We had to drag a lot of the conversation out of him," Ferguson said. But Lopez has come out of his shell. "He is a people person. He has a love for people and a desire to help people," Ferguson said. "He's a very versatile guy on a social level. He can interact and get along with anybody. With him, it doesn't matter the background. He can jump right in there and he enjoys jumping in there." Those social skills have quickly blossomed into one of Lopez's most valuable qualities. "He's there to do whatever needs to be done," Ferguson said. "That's not just on a physical workload. That includes those social interactions. If someone needs to talk, he's there to listen. He's an all-around guy."
