Last month, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians swore in Bradley B. Letts as the tribe’s new chief supreme court justice. 

While the move installs an experienced jurist at the head of the tribe’s highest court, it created a vacancy in a judicial district that has seen a lot of change over the last couple of years. 

Among the most important races in North Carolina is the contest to see who will become the state’s next attorney general, the office that represents the state in legal proceedings while also offering legal advice to prosecutors and law enforcement across the state. 

There are two seats open on the Swain County Board of Commissioners this year, and voters will see four candidates on the ballot. However, in a slightly unusual turn, two of those candidates are unaffiliated. 

As the rain from Hurricane Helene mercifully subsided around noon on Sept. 27, smaller creeks in Haywood County receded fairly quickly, the extra water from each flowing into larger tributaries before combining into the Pigeon River as it heads through a narrow gorge into Tennessee. 

Dan Messer would have preferred to host a livestock auction on Monday, but instead he was working one in a string of countless dawn-to-midnight days coordinating aid distribution out of the WNC Regional Livestock Center in Canton. 

After discussions and consulting with the Town of Waynesville and partner organizations, The Haywood County Chamber of Commerce’s 36th Apple Harvest Festival will be taking place as scheduled, Saturday, Oct. 19, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

On the morning of Sept. 27, as rain fell steadily from the pre-dawn sky, Travis Donaldson took a drive around the eastern end of Haywood County. Donaldson, the county’s emergency services director, made a lap around all the appropriate areas, finishing up in Cruso with the intention of turning around and heading back toward Waynesville, where an emergency operations center had already been set up. 

The head of FEMA, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, Republican Haywood County Sheriff Bill Wilke and Republican Haywood County Commission Chair Kevin Ensley flatly denied rumors and conspiracy theories circulating on social media alleging a lack of government response to the catastrophe left in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene.

The comments came during a Friday afternoon press conference at the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office. Cooper began by praising emergency response professionals who are on the ground and in the water rescuing people, but he also thanked volunteers aiding in the recovery.

Former Maggie Valley Police Chief Russ Gilliland is suing the town for wrongful termination following what he alleges was the unlawful “cover-up of criminal activity.” 

It’s tough for a person to get back up on their feet, no matter how well they may have done in the past. Such was the case for Jeremiah Moynihan, a Florida man who after living in Western North Carolina for the last several years found himself sick and homeless with nowhere to turn. 

The historic Shook-Smathers House in Clyde has seen significant improvements in recent years, and this weekend folks will have a chance to see all the museum has to offer as part of the Pioneer Heritage festival. 

Superior Court Judge Bradley B. Letts has confirmed he has the intention of vacating his seat on the bench to become the Chief Supreme Court Justice for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.  

It’s been almost a decade in the making, but anyone over 21 with a valid ID can purchase THC products in Western North Carolina. 

Sales began last Saturday morning, Sept. 7, at 10 a.m. at the old bingo hall on the western end of the Qualla Boundary. The dispensary is owned by the Great Smoky Cannabis Co., operated by Qualla Enterprises, LLC, an Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians-owned company that also operates a 22.5-acre cannabis farm.

It’s been a long time coming, in a sense, but frustrations have finally reached a boiling point as Bryson City raised water rates ahead of what promises to be a few expensive municipal projects. 

Waynesville Police Chief David Adams had all of his law enforcement instructor certifications suspended by the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission; however, he told The Smoky Mountain News late last week that he plans to appeal the commission’s ruling. 

Beginning this Saturday, Sept. 7, anyone over the age of 21 will be able to purchase and use marijuana on the Qualla Boundary.  

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has approved a plan to use money from a settlement with opioid distributors and manufacturers to provide a boost to an up-and-coming transitional living home on the Qualla Boundary that will help those in rec overy get back on their feet.

Over a decade after Marie Walkingstick Pheasant’s body was found in a burned-out vehicle in Cherokee, the community has finally received a modicum of closure as her husband, Ernest Dwayne Pheasant, has pleaded guilty to committing the murder. 

Pactiv Evergreen has filed a request with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to make “major” modifications to the discharge permit for its wastewater treatment facility in Canton.  

After a spring lull, the coronavirus has returned with a vengenance, leading to a surge in Western North Carolina that experts didn’t expect. 

Beginning, Sept. 7, anyone over the age of 21 will be able to purcha se and use marijuana on the Qualla Boundary.  

While the official announcement was made at 10:22 a.m. in the form of a post on the Great Smoky Cannabis Company’s X page, the news actually broke about an hour earlier during an Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council meeting. At the end of that meeting, Council Rep. Richard French, of the Big Cove community made it official. 

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein spoke to members of Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council Monday, during which he touted some of his accomplishments over the last eight years while also laying out a vision for the future of the state. 

Bryson City’s Evy Leibfarth is now an Olympic medalist after finishing in third place and taking home the bronze medal in the women’s canoe slalom event in Paris.

Most folks who get into fly fishing do it despite the fish, which seldom cooperate and sometimes get in the way of an otherwise perfectly enjoyable morning standing out in the creek. 

Members of the public interested in Western North Carolina court cases now have better access than ever to criminal and civil files. 

The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council (DMAC) expanded its severe drought classification and classified two counties as in extreme drought in the latest advisory issued Thursday. 

In 2026, the United States Census Bureau is conducting three field tests in “American Indian Areas” to prepare for unique challenges presented in those areas ahead of the 2030 census. Last week, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council voted to approve the field test. 

Following a lengthy closed session during the Swain County Board of Commission’s July 2 work session, commission chair Kevin Seagle said the board had reached a consensus that it would obtain the advice of a lawyer to draft a code of conduct. 

Western North Carolina’s regional DWI taskforce has renewed its push to pass several new drunk-driving bills into law during next year’s long session in Raleigh. 

EBCI Tribal Council has reversed its decision to ban “hemp shops” not “wholly owned by the tribe … or one of its wholly owned subsidiaries.”

Following the Atlanta Braves’ recognition late last month of several groups in Georgia recognized by that state as Native American, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians officials issued multiple statements decrying the inclusion of multiple Cherokee tribes that are not federally recognized. 

The public in Western North Carolina is about to have more access to the courts than ever before, assuming all goes to plan. 

Cherokee is moving one step closer to full adult recreational cannabis use.

The newest advance will come July 4 when the Great Smoky Cannabis Company will be allowed to legally sell marijuana to adults over the age of 21 who are enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians or any other federally recognized tribe. 

Following a heated exchange with another county commissioner during a closed session, Swain County Commissioner David Loftis was expelled from the board’s June 18 meeting. 

Old Edwards Inn — the historic Highlands landmark and premier worldwide travel destination — has been sold, but little is expected to change at the level that residents, visitors or even employees will notice. 

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Census results have been finalized for the first time in over two decades. 

As the July 1 budget deadline for Child Care Stabilization grants approaches, it appears the Republican-led North Carolina House and Senate are struggling to agree on how to spend the $30 billion or so taxpayer dollars slated for the upcoming fiscal year. 

Less than six months after her death at just over two years old, Charlotte Joy Norris is posthumously receiving an award for her courage in the face of a dire situation she wasn’t even old enough to understand.

Last week, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians welcomed Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to the exhibit hall at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino to speak to a delegation of members from tribes across the United States as part of the National Conference of American Indians mid-year retreat. 

About nine months after members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians voted overwhelmingly to legalize the sale of marijuana and other cannabis products for adults over the age of 21, Tribal Council made it official during its June 6 meeting.

A lawsuit filed against Kituwah LLC that was initially dismissed is heading back to court after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that the tribally owned corporation waived its sovereign immunity.

As the Bobby N. Setzer Fish Hatchery in Transylvania County readies to shut down for a lengthy renovation, local anglers, guides and outfitters have amped up their effort to raise awareness around what may be a massive blow to their business.

When my wife told me she’d signed me up for a fly-fishing class, I probably let out an audible groan. I almost didn’t go — hell, Friday is usually my day to stay home and write. Why infringe on that?

In the hours following the announcement that Pactiv Evergreen’s paper mill property in Canton may have a new owner in the coming months, news came and fast and furious.

After pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault in federal court last August, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council Member Rep. Bo Crowe — who represents Wolfetown — has been sentenced to two years’ probation for an incident that occurred in January 2023.