Haywood scores touchdown on stadium capacity limits The annual Pisgah-Tuscola rivalry game will take place on Friday, Feb. 26. Cory Vaillancourt photo
It’s not something that happens all that often, but a late fourth-quarter drive by Western North Carolina’s state and local elected officials helped them find pay dirt in the end zone in this case, raising the coronavirus-related capacity limits on outdoor high school athletic events.
“I would just like to say thank you to everyone who worked so diligently with the governor to make this common sense decision,” said Chuck Francis, chairman of the Haywood County School Board.
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It’s a rivalry that runs as deep as the waters of Lake Logan and as wide as the Pigeon River that snakes its way through this county of 60,000, but this year the annual Pisgah-Tuscola football game has already taken on a significance that extends far beyond the borders of Haywood County.
“In normal years at Pisgah, we would be expecting anywhere to 13,000 to 15,000 fans from across Haywood County and across the region,” said Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers, a Pisgah graduate. “This is the best high school rivalry in the state.”
Last fall, the annual game was cancelled due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. It’s been rescheduled to the night of Feb. 26, however highly restrictive rules implemented by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association mean that an outdoor stadium that can comfortably accommodate more than 10,000 spectators will be limited to just 100.
School board undergoes bias training
The Haywood County School Board and central office administration will undergo unconscious bias training on Tuesday, Jan. 26. The training has been scheduled as part of the plan, created by Superintendent Dr. Bill Nolte in response to the situation created by a Facebook post of Nolte’s last year.
In July 2020, Nolte posted a meme on his Facebook page that many community members found to be offensive. The post was quickly taken down, and Nolte issued an apology. On July 12, the school board voted to relieve Nolte of his duties until July 22. The board also stipulated that Nolte was to create an action plan to address the situation created by his post.
School board to borrow county funds for office renovations
At a school board meeting Monday, Dec. 14, Haywood County School Board members were split on how to pay for renovations to the new central office building.
Administration recently vacated the old hospital building on North Main Street in Waynesville, as it is soon to be redeveloped into low-income housing by Landmark Realty Group. Haywood County Schools had to be out of the building by the end of December and have temporarily relocated offices to the old Central Elementary building until renovations on the old medical arts building are complete. That building is the future permanent home for central administration offices.