Commissioners approve single‑county designation for child-fatality team and appoint Waynesville fire chief

The Haywood County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a county recommendation on June 16 to operate the Community Child Protection Team and the Child Fatality Prevention Team as a single‑county team, per recent state legislative changes.

Public-health staff said the new legislation merges the two teams and gives counties the option to form single‑county or multi‑county teams; Haywood’s consolidated board recommended remaining a single‑county team because the two bodies have long met back‑to‑back with overlapping membership. "It doesn't really change the way we do business," Dr. Sarah Banks said, describing the county’s preference to remain single county.

The board also approved the appointment of Waynesville Fire Chief Chris Mahaffey to serve as the firefighter representative on the combined county team, replacing Joey Webb Sr., who retired. Commissioners voted on the designation and the appointment during the regular meeting; both measures passed without roll-call dissent.