It snuck up on me.

I stepped out of the airport and into the afternoon sunshine.

Tony Lossiah was a good man, a quiet guy with a caring heart. He loved his family and worked hard on the job, say the friends and family still mourning his loss in the tightknit Cherokee community. 

No charges will be filed following suicides at the Jackson County Detention Center in November 2014 and March 2015, District Attorney Ashley Welch announced last week.

The alarm went off on my phone. Monday morning. 6:45 a.m.

Rescue crews recovered the body of Sean Kasey around 1:30 p.m. Sunday from the Cullasaja River after conducting a search for nearly 24 hours.

When inmates of the Jackson County Detention Center committed suicide on Nov. 21, 2014, and March 13 of this year, the same two male jailers were on duty both days. One of those jailers has taken a voluntary demotion.

The mood was somber at Maggie Valley town hall last Wednesday as Alderwoman Saralyn Price called a special board meeting to order.

There are two types of mayors — the ones who show up to shake hands and kiss babies and the ones who take an active role in their town to make it a better place. 

Maggie Valley Mayor Ron DeSimone certainly fell into the latter category.

SEE ALSO:
• Family and friends honor DeSimone’s memory
• DeSimone dies in construction accident
• Write-in likely to run for mayor in Maggie following tragic death

As family members and friends took turns paying tribute to Ron DeSimone at his memorial mass on Tuesday, one word kept being repeated — love.