Kyle Perrotti
One of the four nonprofit partners of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Smokies Life, now has a new home — The Great Smokies Welcome Center — a space to call its own that after recent rounds of renovations feels perfectly tailored to the organization’s mission.
Great Smokies Mountain National Park has seen new changes in recent years, from soaring record attendance placing it head and shoulders above the field for the most visited national park to a first-of-its-kind parking tag program designed to generate revenue while also protecting visitors and natural resources that has generated the ire of some surrounding communities.
Summer camp. Memories of the great outdoors, new friends, fun adventures. But around Misfit Mountain in Haywood County, the rescue’s Summer Camp Program means something entirely different, and that vital service may have just saved Frankie Scott’s life, if not his dog, Koda’s.
The path to cannabis legalization on the Qualla Boundary has been riddled with roadblocks, some of which the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians painstakingly navigated around, some of which it has bulldozed.
The Stoner’s Ball is coming to Haywood County, but it may not be quite what people think.
Gov. Roy Cooper has appointed a new Superior Court judge in Western North Carolina.
Swain County now knows who will appear on the November General Election Ballot for county commissioner.
The Museum of the Cherokee People has opened a new attraction focused on the sovereignty of the Eastern Band.
Former Cherokee Indian Police Department Chief Josh Taylor has now made it clear that he stands behind a push from at least one tribal council member to dissolve the Cherokee Police Commission.
Pactiv Evergreen’s paper mill in Canton has been hit with its fifth-straight notice of an environmental violation following the failure of a quarterly discharge toxicity test.
The owner of Long House Funeral Home, himself facing decades in prison, has hired a convicted felon to be funeral home’s director.
Canton is paying homage to some of this nation’s most vital founding documents through the installation of Charters of Freedom settings at the town’s museum next to the former town hall building.
A lawsuit filed last month in a Washington, D.C., federal court alleges the U.S. Forest Service’s practice of setting “timber targets” puts the climate at risk, undermines the Biden administration’s climate goals and violates federal law.
Once Pactiv Evergreen’s Canton paper mill shut down for good, people wondered how the Pigeon River and the aquatic life it supports would change.
Macon County attorney Virginia Hornsby will be a district court judge at the end of the year.
Incumbent Kenneth Parton and newcomer Tanner Lawson have won the Swain County Commission Republican primary.
Attorneys in Western North Carolina now know who will likely hold the farthest west superior court seat.
When Superior Court Judge William Coward announced his retirement late last year, it caught many in the Western North Carolina legal community off guard and set in motion a process with little precedent.
For the first time in almost two decades, Western North Carolina is getting a new district court judge, and with no one from any other parties running the contest will be decided by the March 5 Republican Primary.
At a time when natural foods and medicines are becoming more prevalent, the popularity of honey has soared to record levels.
Two seats are open on the Swain County Board of Commissioners in 2024, and while three Republicans squaring off in the Primary Election are probably treating this like a General Election since no Democrats filed, one unaffiliated candidate is trying to muster enough support to appear on the November General Election ballot.
Haywood County hadn’t logged a coronavirus-related death in the better part of a year. But since Dec. 19, 2023, it has seen five.
At a time when emergency services agencies across the country are facing a dire staffing shortage, here in Western North Carolina, Southwestern Community College has revamped an innovative program that can take a bite out of the problem here at home.
Challenges and trauma impact people in different ways. For Haywood County native J.J. Singleton, who has battled cancer for about nine years now, it presented an opportunity for personal growth, growth he feels would have never otherwise been possible.
Most people don’t contribute to the world over a lifetime what Charlotte Joy Norris did in just two short years.
The Haywood County Sheriff’s Office has been ordered by a judge to provide dash and body cam footage to a man who claims his Fourth Amendment rights may have been violated.
The Haywood County Sheriff’s Office has been ordered by a judge to provide dash and body cam footage to a man who claims his Fourth Amendment rights may have been violated.
The disloyalty card is here and it’s, in a sense, exactly what it sounds like.
The holiday season is among the toughest times in the animal rescue world. Adopting pets isn’t always front of mind for people, and harsh weather can create a sense of urgency when rehoming furry friends.
As technology evolves, every entity and industry finds new and innovative ways to use those advances to improve their operations.
It’s a great time to be a Catamount basketball fan, certainly the best in a while.
After several months of filling gaps in court calendars with visiting judges, Western North Carolina will finally fill its District Court vacancy with Swain County native Justin Greene.
Maggie Valley will retain two of its incumbents, including its mayor, for the next four years.
When Hamas hit Israel with a massive terrorist attack on Oct. 7, there were an estimated 600,000 Americans in the country. While many were residents, there were also plenty who were tourists and had planned to head home within just a few days.
As the war between Israel and Hamas continues, folks around the world have become more divided in their support for one side or the other as misinformation fuels the fires of confusion.
Maggie Valley will retain two of its incumbents, including its mayor, for the next two years.
There’s an old mantra in law enforcement: don’t take credit for the good times unless you’re willing to take equal responsibility for the bad.
With more contentious development on the horizon, residents of the small town of Maggie Valley have plenty to consider at the ballot box this year.
A week after Amy Elizabeth Curry was charged in federal court with wire fraud and money laundering, search warrants reveal how the Waynesville woman allegedly embezzled at least $1.5 million from a Haywood County senior living and care facility.
New bill includes 2% occupancy tax increase
Western North Carolina courts are about to get a leg up, but it isn’t all that everyone hoped for.
District Attorney Ashley Welch will seek the death penalty in the odd and heinous murder case of Tina Walkingstick Frizsell.
Group was met with energy and an award from congressman but few in uniform
Nonprofits gear up for implementation but still have concerns
Gone are the days of backroom poker tournaments where players peer through a haze of smoke just to see their cards.
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is one step closer to drafting its new action plan following a series of seven regional meetings.
It was one of the best opportunities I’d been given since I became a journalist and moved to Western North Carolina about seven years ago.
For the first time since 9/11, the Tennessee Valley Authority opened up Fontana Dam to a tour by members of the public and I was lucky enough to go along and write this story.
The first thing anyone likely sees when they walk into Amanda Seay’s Haywood County Courthouse office is her quote of the month.
What does Jason Aldean have to do with the recent uproar over a transgender person using the swimming pool at the Waynesville Rec Center?
Everything.
It’s been a long road for Bill Wilke to become Haywood County’s sheriff, and now that he’s got the job, he’s made some changes.
