Holly Kays
Celebrate Earth Day noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 22, at Highlands Nature Center in Highlands.
D During its April 6 meeting, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council unanimously approved an ordinance change exempting police car and body cam videos from the tribe’s public records law. The vote comes on the heels of a Dec. 13, 2022, Cherokee Indian Police Department SWAT response in which officers fired at Murphy resident Jason Harley Kloepfer after he opened the door to his home with his hands held above his head, according to a home security video Kloepfer posted Jan. 18.
OO Over the next two years, Haywood Waterways Association will implement a $2 million grant aimed at protecting Canton, Clyde and Cruso when the next flood comes. The grant is by far the largest in Haywood Waterways’ 25-year history.
Go birding
Join birding expert Howard Browers at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, April 6, on the Waynesville Greenway to look for returning songbirds. Loaner binoculars are available. Sign up at haywoodcountync.gov/recreation .
Spur Tunnel reopens for Easter week
The Spur Tunnel in Sevier County, Tennessee, will be open to two lanes April 7-16 in anticipation of high demand the week of Easter. It will return to one lane April 7 through the end of the month as contractors finish installing new lights and pavement striping. The tunnel is expected to fully reopen by the end of April.
Waynesville playground closed for repairs
The all-abilities playground in the Waynesville Recreation Park will be closed for about three weeks for drainage repairs. The playground will reopen to the public as soon as repairs are finished. For more information contact 828.456.2030 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
A new book by Jim Costa, executive director of Western Carolina University’s Highlands Biological Station, showcases the life of a Victorian-era scientist who was arguably just as important as Charles Darwin.
A lecture series focusing on foraging will extend through May at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee.
Due to increased demand leading to frequent busy signals and long hold times, overnight permits for the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area will now be available online rather than through the Grandfather Ranger District Office.
Friends of Panthertown is hosting a series of trail work days and guided hikes this month.
The annual Tuck River Cleanup will commence on Saturday, April 15, inviting hundreds of volunteers to raft or walk 20 miles of the Tuckasegee River between Cullowhee and Whittier in search of litter.
Learn how to indulge your love of gardening despite age or mobility level during a two-hour program at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 19, at the Haywood County Cooperative Extension Office on Raccoon Road in Waynesville.
Learn about soils and composting at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 8, at Bicentennial Park in Sylva.
During the wildflower season at Whiteoak Sink in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which extends through Sunday, May 7, visitors will be limited to groups of eight or fewer people.
The Strawberry Jam Half Marathon/5K will return for its second year Saturday, May 20, in Bryson City. The half marathon will start at 7 a.m. and the 5K at 7:15 a.m.
Mainspring Conservation Trust has purchased two new properties that will add to ongoing conservation projects in Macon and Jackson counties.
The N.C. House of Representatives has filed a budget bill that includes $5 million for infrastructure to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions across the state, earning applause from the Safe Passage Fund Coalition.
T The U.S. Attorney General’s Advisory Committee’s Native American Issues Subcommittee is meeting in Cherokee this week, bringing together leaders from across the country to spend three days discussing issues that are important to both the Department of Justice and Native American tribes.
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This story has been updated from the original version published Wednesday, March 29, to include reporting from additional public records related to Sheriff Dustin Smith's whereabouts the night of the shooting and a proposed law in Cherokee that would exempt police body cameras from the tribe's public records law.
As the State Bureau of Investigation continues its probe into the Dec. 13, 2022, police shooting that severely wounded Murphy resident Jason Harley Kloepfer, District Attorney Ashley Welch is seeking to recuse herself from handling the fallout — because statements members of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office made to Welch and one of her assistant district attorneys mean they are now witnesses in the investigation.
When Katelynn Ledford McCoy stood in front of her Cherokee High School classmates in June 2009, the class valedictorian was so high that, later, she wouldn’t be able to recall a word she said in that long-awaited speech.
In a divided vote Thursday, March 2, the Cherokee Tribal Council appropriated $275,000 to buy out the lease of a Painttown Road business, paving the way for a future mixed-use development.
Pactiv Evergreen has received a notice of violation from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality after a water quality measurement taken Sept. 20, 2022, came in nearly 50% over the limit.
For most people, the word “snorkeling” conjures images of blue Caribbean waters, pink coral reefs and a rainbow of tropical fish. But witnessing a world of aquatic beauty doesn’t require a flight to the Florida Keys.
A total of 43 candidates have been certified to run for 17 offices up for election in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians this year, nearly 20% fewer than the 53 candidates certified during the last chief’s election year in 2019. The final list contains some expected contenders and a scattering of surprises.
North Carolina fourth graders are testing proficient in reading at the lowest level since 2009, and the University of North Carolina Board of Governors is concerned that its schools aren’t equipping future K-12 teachers to reverse that trend.
For decades, concern about water quality has been the central tension between Canton’s paper mill and the environmental advocates monitoring it. When the plant closes this year, those issues are likely to fade with the final whistle — but even the mill’s longtime critics aren’t rejoicing.
Visitation for 2022 to the Blue Ridge Parkway dipped by 1.5% compared to 2021, with the biggest drops coming from the Ridge District in Virginia and Pisgah District in Western North Carolina.
Jason Harley Kloepfer left his home near Murphy on Dec. 13, 2022, with bullets in his body and criminal charges in the courthouse. Now, more than two months after an officer-involved shooting that made international headlines, misdemeanor charges accusing Kloepfer of communicating threats and resisting a public officer have been dropped.
During a special election Thursday, March 2, Wolfetown and Big Y voters chose Mike Parker to fill the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council seat vacated by former Wolfetown Rep. Bo Crowe — selecting the only candidate from the field of six with previous Tribal Council experience.
When the Pactiv-Evergreen packaging plant in Canton closes this spring, 1,000 people who thought they’d secured steady work to last a lifetime will be looking for new jobs.
Antoine Fletcher’s love affair with podcasts blossomed back in middle school when he made his first one with his best friend. The project didn’t make them millionaires, but it was “the start of something that was really cool,” Fletcher said.
George Ellison, a writer and naturalist whose home and inspiration was on Lands Creek in Bryson City, died Sunday, Feb. 19, at the age of 81.
Starting March 1, any vehicle parked in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for more than 10 minutes must display a valid parking tag as the “Park it Forward” program takes effect.
On Thursday, March 2, Wolfetown voters will head to the polls for a special election to replace a Tribal Council member who resigned mid-term — for the second time in three months.
After owning Caesar’s Southern Indiana Casino for a year and a half, EBCI Holdings LLC will increase the share of annual profits sent back to tribal government from 25% to 50%.
After 11 years of work, the U.S. Forest Service released the final, revised Nantahala and Pisgah Forest Plan Feb 17, which will now go into effect to guide future management of national forest land in Western North Carolina.
It’s 4 p.m. on Thursday, which for a growing subset of Haywood County residents means only one thing — it’s time to play pickleball.
Six people will run to fill the seat vacated by Wolfetown Rep. Bo Crowe during Cherokee’s second special election in three months.
Appearing in Tribal Council chambers for the first time since facing criminal charges in October, former Wolfetown Rep. Bill Taylor gave an emotional testimony Wednesday, Feb. 1, to set the record straight on what did — and did not — happen the evening of Oct. 6, 2022.
A pair of reports investigating issues at the Tribal Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission has resulted in turnover on the board and turmoil in Tribal Council chambers.
Wolfetown/Big Y voters will cast ballots Thursday, March 2, during their second special election in three months, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council decided last week.
In October, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council approved $324 million for Kituwah LLC to control a “worldwide” brand and invest in multiple resorts. Now, Kituwah LLC has revealed the brand in question — Sports Illustrated Resorts.
When officers shot Murphy resident Jason Harley Kloepfer, 41, while responding to a disturbance call Monday, Dec. 12, a press release from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said it happened because Kloepfer “engaged in a verbal altercation with officers” and confronted them as he emerged from his camper trailer.
Less than a year after owner Kent Cranford sold his three Motion Makers Bicycles stores to Specialized Bicycles, the company announced a sudden decision to pull out of the Cherokee location it had shared with Bryson City Outdoors since 2020.
When Cherokee Nation member Brit Hensel got hired for the camera department of FX’s Reservation Dogs, her resume was short and her list of film industry connections even shorter. She’d never worked on a show of that caliber before, but its creator Sterlin Harjo took a chance on her.
Wolfetown Rep. Bo Crowe has announced his resignation from the Tribal Council seat he’s held since 2013. The announcement follows a Jan. 6 incident that resulted in Crowe facing three criminal charges, two of which are felonies.
In January, Principal Chief Richard Sneed made the unusual move of nominating a man who is attempting to unseat him in the September 2023 tribal election for a position on one of the tribe’s most powerful commissions — but Robert Osley Saunooke has turned down the appointment.
Starting March 1, Great Smoky Mountains National Park visitors will have to pay to park. As the date approaches and annual parking tags go on sale, park management is working to iron out the details and communicate them to the public.
The U.S. Forest Service has completed its review of 891 objections to the Pisgah-Nantahala forest management plan it released a year ago, clearing the final hurdle to implement the first new forest plan since 1987.
