Latest news with #MaggieValley
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Man Wins Over $300,000 Lottery Prize from $1 Ticket: 'I Was Kind of in Shock'
A North Carolina man had to do a double take when he saw his winning lottery numbers called during a live drawing. 'I was kind of in shock,' Michael Mancuso Jr. of Maggie Valley told the NC Education Lottery of the July 3 moment that changed his life. 'I'm still in shock,' he added. Mancuso Jr. spent just $1 on a Quick Pick ticket from Maggie Valley Mart on Soco Road and ended up winning the $318,544 jackpot after matching all five numbers from a live Cash 5 drawing. The odds of matching all five balls are one in 962,598. Once the required federal and state tax withholdings were taken out, he went home $228,556 richer after claiming his prize on Tuesday, July 22. He was also thrilled to share the news. 'I told everybody,' Mancuso Jr. confessed while laughing. 'They were all just excited.' The lottery winner said he already has plans for how he will spend his earnings. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 'I'm going to give a lot to my sister and my brother,' Mancuso Jr. said. 'I want to spread it around to my family.' Whatever he has left will go toward purchasing a new motorcycle. For details on how $3 million raised by the lottery made a difference for education programs in Haywood County last year, visit and click on the 'Impact' section. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Maggie Valley aldermen get free pass to re-election
Jul. 23—MAGGIE VALLEY — Two incumbent Maggie Valley aldermen will face no challengers in the November election in what is a rare uncontested election since the town was incorporated in 1974. Barring a successful write-in campaign, Aldermen John Hinton and Jim Owens will both return for another four-year term. Only two of the five seats on the board are up for election this year. Historical election stats available as far back as the 1990s show there hasn't been an uncontested race in recent history. Both Hinton and Owens were first elected in 2021. That race was defined by festering controversy over development and RV parks, which attracted a more crowded field of candidates. The two bested an incumbent and another challenger to snag seats. Unlike the dynamic four years ago, both Hinton and Owens said they were not surprised that no challengers surfaced during the filing period that ended last Friday. "I think it is further proof that the people like the direction that the town is headed with the things that we have done the last four years," Hinton said. "I think 70% to 80% of the people are behind us and they like what is going on." Owens echoed those words while stating a list of board accomplishments that includes finally adopting a new Unified Development Ordinance and Land Use Plan, installing new crosswalks in town and building Veterans Park. "We have had an excellent three-and-a-half years and we have overcome some huge obstacles," Owens said. "John and I had a list of things we wanted to get done, we have accomplished a lot." One issue that Hinton said has resonated positively with residents is the town's response to Tropical Storm Helene. The town suffered around $4 million in damage — much to the town's sewer infrastructure — from last September's storm and many of those recovery projects are underway or have already been completed. "The proof in the pudding is the way the Helene recovery has been handled," Hinton said. "We are eating that elephant one bite at a time." Owens said it would be difficult to fault what the current board of alderman has accomplished the past several years. "If someone had chosen to run against us, I don't know what their platform would be," Owens said. "Our track record is pretty good." Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP throws their own Spirit of America event on Flag Day
Jun. 18—MAGGIE VALLEY — Last fall, Haywood County Republican Party events were drawing around 1,500 as the party faithful worked fervently to support the election of Donald Trump. Fast forward eight months, and the momentum appears to be shifting. This Saturday, the "No Kings" anti-Trump rally drew over 2,000 attendees. A GOP Spirit of America fundraiser on the same day was less than a quarter of that size, a crowd that was dwarfed by the vast venue of the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds. Most of the 500 attendees at the GOP event showed up for the 11 a.m. Wrestling for Christ event. By early afternoon the crowd was down to about 50. There was a $5 entrance fee for the event, and an array of food vendors offered plenty of choices for the crowd. Some stayed for the mid-afternoon results of the car/truck show, then moved on. There were just a handful of supporters who stayed to the end of the live music performances held during the day. Michael Loomis, newly elected chairman of the Haywood Republican Party, had a ready explanation for the changed numbers. Those who pulled out all stops to help elect President Trump are no longer frustrated, he said. "I think Trump is more popular than ever," Loomis said. "He's doing exactly what he said he was going to do." When asked about the issues being protested on the other side of the county, the Spirt of America crowd easily dismissed them. There should be no concern about martial law as long as protests are peaceful, said Joshua Mashburn, who was staffing the emergency medical station at the event. "If it was a peaceful protest, no, there shouldn't be troops, but with what was happening in Los Angeles, it was pretty clear Trump was just doing what Eisenhower did in the 1950s," Loomis added. As for tardiness in following judicial rulings, Loomis expressed support of the Trump Administration viewpoint, arguing federal judicial rulings should have no power beyond the district to which they were appointed. Loomis and Mashburn thought it was ironic that Democrats were now speaking out about first amendment rights after federal efforts under the Democratic administrations pressured social media companies to crack down on what one side considered misinformation. "Now they're wanting to protect freedom of the press?" Mashburn asked skeptically. Terry Ramey, one of five Republican Haywood County Commissioners, said he was curious about how Democrats were late to the game when it came to defending the U.S. Constitution. As for protests in general and calling in federal troops, none were concerned. "They were blocking traffic and causing civil unrest," Mashburn said. Betty Pumphrey, who lives along Jonathan Creek, made no secret about her feelings on the downtown Waynesville protest rally. With extended family in town, she said there was no way her relatives would be visiting the place where they spent a lot of money on each visit. She also objected to holding the rally on the courthouse steps, saying they should have gone to a ballpark or somewhere. "We don't want to see it," she said. "This is a family event," she said of the Republican gathering. "We used to be in the Democratic Party, but the party left us." Pumphrey and her husband, Sonny, are charter members of the Defenders of Law Enforcement North Carolina club and were the 13th charter members of the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley. "I'm 100% Trump because he's a businessman. If he could run the country like he did his businesses, we will do fine," she said. She also objected to the doors of the country being thrown open to all, including criminals, she said. When several Spirit of America goers heard about the number of people protesting, their response was to wonder how many of the protesters were paid or bussed in.
The Sun
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Cursed ‘ghost town in sky' could soon reopen after rotting away with 1,050m-high rollercoaster & abandoned empty saloons
A CURSED "ghost town in sky" could soon reopen after rotting away for 15 years. The rundown attraction includes a death-defying 1,050m-high rollercoaster and abandoned empty saloons. 4 4 4 4 Ghost Town Village, formerly known as "Ghost Town in the Sky", is an abandoned Wild West-themed amusement park in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, United States. It sits atop Buck Mountain, with a top elevation of 4,650 ft. The land to build the park was purchased from a local land owner named Uncle Dan Carpenter in 1960. Folklore says that R.B. Coburn had overheard a story of Uncle Dan Carpenter losing his sheep in a large cavern on top of Buck Mountain. R.B. approached Carpenter so he could show him the caverns and his dreams grew for a western tourist town. Over two hundred locals help construct the 40 replica buildings that comprised the Western Town, located at the Mountain's peak. nails. The park opened on May 1, 1961, and quickly became one of Western North Carolina 's most popular tourist attractions. The park hosted several stars of TV Westerns, such as Laramie and Wagon Train. Hourly staged gun fights on the main street were a huge draw for visitors. It used the mountainous terrain it sat on to its advantage and guests would plunge out of the station and directly into a vertical loop before setting off for twists and turns along the mountainside. However, as the years went by, the park faced challenges under new management and a lack of real maintenance. Frequently broken roller coasters and rides started to deter visitors, leading to a decline in attendance. Use these tips on your next theme park trip Next time you visit a theme park, you may want to use our top tips to make the most of your adrenaline-inducing day out. Go to the back of the theme park first. Rides at the front will have the longest queues as soon as it opens. Go on water rides in the middle of the day in the summer - this will cool you off when the sun is at its hottest. Download the park's app to track which rides have the shortest queues. Visit on your birthday, as some parks give out "birthday badges" that can get you freebies. If it rains, contact the park. Depending on how much it rained, you may get a free ticket to return. Infrastructure issues like water, power, and sewage problems also plagued the park's owners. And employees began to complain about not receiving their salaries. These issues sadly led to the park's closure at the end of the 2009 season. However, the park may see a revival, according to the National Amusement Park Historical Association. Regional travel guide Blue Ridge Mountain Life noted that some refer to Ghost Town Village as a "cursed amusement park." The gloomy title refers to the many failed attempts to reopen the park over the years. But the NAPHA made a Facebook post on May 9, stating that a potential buyer from Florida expressed interest in buying the defunct amusement park. The same post said that current owner Jill McClure aims to sell it for entertainment purposes rather than to a buyer who will use it for housing. The buyer envisions "a venue featuring country music, rodeos, and festivals, aiming to keep the park family-friendly." Meanwhile, one of Europe's biggest theme parks has opened a new Wild West themed holiday village with wagon huts and cowboy bars. And this top European theme park is getting a brand new ride as well.
Daily Mail
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
I inherited a troublesome property in my aunt's will - it led to a bitter dispute but is now worth $6.4million
It's not your typical item to be left in a will from a loved one. Jill McClure inherited a theme park in North Carolina from her aunt Alaska Presley after she died in 2022. Ghost Town Village in Maggie Valley, a town outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, was once a tourist destination, but a tumultuous history had left the rides untouched for 15 years. The park has been riddled with bad luck from rides malfunctioning, being hit by a mudslide, closing down twice and attempting multiple unsuccessful re-openings in the past decade. After being locked in a legal battle for more than two years McClure has revealed that the park, that was recently appraised for $6.4million, finally has an interested buyer who plans to revitalize Ghost Town. McClure hasn't revealed the buyer's identity but said they were based in Florida and wanted to keep the western family-friendly theme of the park. 'It will be a totally different venue. They love country music, rodeos, convention-type events, festivals,' McClure told local ABC affiliate, WLOS. 'It's my intention to sell the park for something for entertainment that will help Maggie Valley's tourism industry. I don't want to see housing put all over the top of it,' McClure added. She said that the buyer's vision aligns with her late aunt's desire to help merchants and the people of Maggie Valley to make the area a buzzing tourist hub once again. Ghost Town has sat gathering dust for 15 years as the water line deteriorated and the rides were vandalized Sue Heise, who operates a store near the park, told WLOS that the news of a potential buyer was 'wonderful'. 'The tourism has been down. It will bring a lot of revenue into the town. I can't wait to hear the next edition of this,' she added. The community of Maggie Valley rejoiced on social media when news broke that a potential buyer was interested. 'I'm praying for this to happen and for our town Maggie Valley. 'I grew up with going to Ghost Town once a week being a season pass holder and working there a bit,' one comment read on the Ghost Town in the Sky Facebook group. 'I loved it and the waterside also go cart tracks we had. Maggie was thriving and so much wonderful memories which I pray to share with my grandchildren.' 'Absolutely loved that place and would really like to see it open again,' a second agreed. 'It's a great idea, everybody misses it just like it was no changes needed,' another added. Dismal history The park was fittingly named for its abandonment in recent years. Ghost Town has a long history of unfortunate events dating back to its inception in 1960, when Virginia businessman R.B. Coburn purchased Buck Mountain as the location of the park. It took $1million to construct the theme park, and Ghost Town became a fixture of the community throughout the '60s. However, the glory days of the North Carolina amusement park were short-lived as Ghost Town soon generated a reputation for being poorly maintained and operated. In 2002, the chairlift to the top of the mountain malfunctioned, leaving passengers stranded for hours in the rain. The failure was the last straw for Coburn, who decided to sell it later that year. The park rotted for years and filed for bankruptcy in 2009. The park's owner attempted to secure loans to reopen without any luck, until an anonymous donor put up the money. After years of abandonment, the park was a 'ghost town' no longer, and the public piled back onto Buck Mountain for the grand reopening. Unfortunately, the park's bad luck didn't end there as just one year later, the property's retaining walls gave way, resulting in a massive mudslide. A month after the shocking disaster, Ghost Town foreclosed and shuttered its doors once again. Presley bought the property in 2012 for $1.5million, but issues with the park's water line and years of neglect delayed. Then in 2014 water line problems prevented the park's opening, the Asheville Citizen Times reported at the time. Presley then placed the property into a limited liability corporation, Ghost Town in the Sky, and worked with the company to reopen the park. She died two years later and never got to see the reopening of the park. Frankie Wood was named managing member of Ghost Town in the Sky LLC, and McClure took over her aunt's share, The Mountaineer reported at the time. Legal woes Wood and McClure entered into a years-long legal battle over how the property's assets should be distributed. McClure's attorney alleged in a motion for summary judgment that Wood, 'member sits at the helm of the company like a parasite waiting for it to deteriorate further and further while he bears no risk'. Her attorney argued that McClure has been paying a bulk of the property taxes while receiving no income from the park for years Wood then died in 2024 after a construction accident, but his attorney, Russell McLean, told The Mountaineer, that the two had already 'buried the hatchet'. 'He said he realized the land deeded into the LLC is mine,' McClure told the publication. 'He never put any money into the LLC and in his deposition, he said he had no investors or prospective buyers. He asked me if I had prospective buyers, and I said people had expressed interest, but had no buyers.' After a long history of enthusiastic efforts, Ghost Town may finally once again see the light of day.
