It usually doesn’t start with a report or a formal complaint — it starts with a conversation. A friend, a classmate or a roommate quietly says, “Can I tell you something?” and suddenly, you’re the person they trust with something heavy. 

For many college students who experience sexual assault or relationship violence, confiding in a peer feels safer than reaching out to an office or making an official report. That means students are often the first line of support in moments that matter most.

The National Park Service is requesting tips from the public to aid in an investigation of a deer poached from fields near Sparks Lane in Cades Cove.  

On the morning of Dec. 22, park rangers responded to a report of a deer that had been shot with an arrow in a field off Sparks Lane within the Cades Cove Loop Road.

The Jackson County Commission invited Library Director Tracy Fitzmaurice to come before the board and give a report on the state of libraries in the county after concerns were raised over library security last month. 

Amid ongoing restructuring, Pactiv Evergreen presented its first quarter earnings report on May 2, missing earnings targets and revealing flagging revenue at least partially attributable to the closing of its Canton paper mill last year. 

Heavy rains last week banished all but a spot of severe drought from the mountain region, with more relief likely to be reflected in next week’s drought map from the N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council.