A man found dead in the Hazel Creek area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last September likely died due to a bear attack, making Patrick Madura’s death the second bear-related fatality in the park’s history. 

A man found dead in the Hazel Creek area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last September likely died due to a bear attack, making it the second bear-related fatality in the park’s history.

They say the weeks leading up to the anniversary of a loved one’s death are harder than the day itself. 

I’d say that’s true. 

It is with an extremely heavy heart that I share the news of the passing last Friday morning of Brian Power (aka: “Mr. P”) after a long, debilitating illness. 

The COVID-19 death count in Jackson County nearly doubled over the holiday season, increasing from 10 as of Nov. 25 to 18 as of Jan. 4. One of the lives lost was that of 66-year-old Darrell Woodard, a fixture in the community who led the Savannah Fire Department as chief for 36 years. 

An Alabama man is dead following a fall from an overlook in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Haywood County Health and Human Services is reporting its 38th and 39th COVID-19 deaths. 

Haywood County Health and Human Services is reporting its 37th COVID-19 death. The individual died at home and COVID-19 was listed as the primary/immediate cause of death. 

Joseph William Lomas, 25, of Cherokee, died while being detained at the Swain County Detention Center on Aug. 28. 

A COVID-19 outbreak at Silver Bluff Village in Canton has resulted in 24 deaths in the last couple of weeks, bringing the virus’s devastation too close to home as families have lost their loved ones.