Kyle Perrotti

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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.

Comment

True freedom isn’t attainable without economic freedom. This was the central theme of the 2024 North Carolina Community Action Association’s annual convention held at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino last week.

Comment

Adults may soon be able to purchase marijuana for recreational use from Cherokee’s new dispensary. 

At a work session last week, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian’s Tribal Council discussed several questions they had regarding a potential ordinance that would legalize sales of cannabis to any adult with a valid ID.

Comment

Pactiv Evergreen, owner of the shuttered papermill in Canton, has been working to clean up two separate seeps leaking toxic substances into the Pigeon River under an administrative order of consent (AOC) with the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Comment

There have been a lot of questions regarding the future of Western North Carolina’s judges over the last year or so, but the final piece may have just fallen into place. 

Comment

Western North Carolina courts were saddled with a sizable backlog of cases following the shutdowns related to the COVID pandemic, and while much of the overload has abated, especially in Haywood and Jackson counties, there have still been problems. 

Comment

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. 

Comment

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. 

Comment

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. 

Comment

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. 

Comment

The Stoner’s Ball is coming to Haywood County, but it may not be quite what people think. 

Comment

Gov. Roy Cooper has appointed a new Superior Court judge in Western North Carolina. 

Comment

Swain County now knows who will appear on the November General Election Ballot for county commissioner. 

Comment

The Museum of the Cherokee People has opened a new attraction focused on the sovereignty of the Eastern Band. 

Comment

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. 

Comment

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. 

Comment

The owner of Long House Funeral Home, himself facing decades in prison, has hired a convicted felon to be funeral home’s director. 

Comment

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. 

Comment

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. 

Comment

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. 

Comment

Macon County attorney Virginia Hornsby will be a district court judge at the end of the year.

Comment

Incumbent Kenneth Parton and newcomer Tanner Lawson have won the Swain County Commission Republican primary.

Comment

Attorneys in Western North Carolina now know who will likely hold the farthest west superior court seat. 

Comment

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.

Comment

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. 

Comment

At a time when natural foods and medicines are becoming more prevalent, the popularity of honey has soared to record levels. 

Comment

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. 

Comment

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.  

Comment

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. 

Comment

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. 

Comment

Most people don’t contribute to the world over a lifetime what Charlotte Joy Norris did in just two short years.   

Comment

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. 

Comment

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.

Comment

The disloyalty card is here and it’s, in a sense, exactly what it sounds like. 

Comment

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. 

Comment

As technology evolves, every entity and industry finds new and innovative ways to use those advances to improve their operations.

Comment

It’s a great time to be a Catamount basketball fan, certainly the best in a while. 

Comment

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. 

Comment

Maggie Valley will retain two of its incumbents, including its mayor, for the next four years. 

Comment

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. 

Comment

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. 

Comment

Maggie Valley will retain two of its incumbents, including its mayor, for the next two years.

Comment

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. 

Comment

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.

Comment

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. 

Comment

New bill includes 2% occupancy tax increase

Comment

Western North Carolina courts are about to get a leg up, but it isn’t all that everyone hoped for. 

Comment

District Attorney Ashley Welch will seek the death penalty in the odd and heinous murder case of Tina Walkingstick Frizsell. 

Comment

Group was met with energy and an award from congressman but few in uniform 

Comment

Nonprofits gear up for implementation but still have concerns 

Comment

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.