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Prescription drug industry needs to be reined in

op frWhat’s deadlier than a crazed maniac in a kindergarten class with a loaded assault weapon?

In the most horrifying massacre in the history of the United States, a few days before Christmas, 20-year-old Adam Lanza walked into a classroom of 5- and 6-year-old children, opened fire and killed them all plus six teachers and staff including the highly respected principal and then himself.

Prescription drug scourge claiming dozens of lives in Haywood

coverThe numbers are unforgiving.

One in three unexpected deaths in Haywood County are likely prescription drug overdoses. This year alone, there have been eight drug-related deaths — out of 25 unexpected deaths in all. And that doesn’t include two deaths last week that the county medical examiner suspects are overdoses as well. 

Honest hunters have little tolerance for renegade tactics

out bear2Shock waves rippled through the mountain hunting community last week as word spread of a sweeping undercover investigation targeting dozens of illegal rogue hunters.

“Operation Something Bruin:” Dozens of rogue hunters busted in illegal mountain poaching ring

coverLast week, state and federal wildlife officers began rounding up dozens of suspected poachers in Western North Carolina, bringing to fruition an undercover investigation that spanned several years across several rural mountain counties and penetrated the heart of an illegal hunting ring that targeted black bears.

Parents urged to use diligence when in public with children

When a strange man approached an 11-year-old girl in Waynesville’s Walmart more than a week ago and asked her to take off her clothes, police say the young girl did the right thing — she refused.

Candler man arrested in Walmart stalking case

Ryan Scot Davis, 48, was charged with taking indecent liberties with a child following an incident at the Waynesville Walmart on Saturday, Nov. 24.

Off-color graffiti hits Swain recreation area

A riverside park in Swain County was plastered with graffiti two weeks ago, with several cans of spray paint unleashed on the public outdoor recreation area.

Nothing went un-tagged, even the trees were spray-painted at the Old N.C. 288 park, where picnic tables, a shelter, boat launch and fishing docks overlook the Tuckasegee River as it flows into Lake Fontana.

Online database holds the key to reining in stolen goods black market

A $12,000 tractor stolen in Macon County and sold as scrap in Georgia for a fraction of the price; rusting automobiles yanked from lawns in the middle of night; copper wiring stripped from construction sites — rising scrap metal prices and subsequent thefts have prompted a new state law to counteract an increasingly attractive black market.

Blowgun, knives and traditional items stolen from Cherokee historical village

fr theftThe Oconaluftee Indian Village in Cherokee was broken into recently. Sacred and traditional items used by re-enactors who portray early Native American life at the living history site were stolen.

Former Bryson Fire Chief and wife charged with embezzlement

Former Bryson City Fire Chief Joey Hughes and his wife, Cylena, were arrested and indicted on embezzlement, fraud, and other charges last week for allegedly purloining money from the volunteer fire department’s fundraising arm.

More than $200,000 was taken over several years, according to the charges brought by the State Bureau of Investigation. The Hughes were indicted by a grand jury last week on 48 counts.

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