Former Maggie Valley Police Chief Russ Gilliland is suing the town for wrongful termination following what he alleges was the unlawful “cover-up of criminal activity.” 

It’s tough for a person to get back up on their feet, no matter how well they may have done in the past. Such was the case for Jeremiah Moynihan, a Florida man who after living in Western North Carolina for the last several years found himself sick and homeless with nowhere to turn. 

The historic Shook-Smathers House in Clyde has seen significant improvements in recent years, and this weekend folks will have a chance to see all the museum has to offer as part of the Pioneer Heritage festival. 

Superior Court Judge Bradley B. Letts has confirmed he has the intention of vacating his seat on the bench to become the Chief Supreme Court Justice for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.  

It’s been almost a decade in the making, but anyone over 21 with a valid ID can purchase THC products in Western North Carolina. 

Sales began last Saturday morning, Sept. 7, at 10 a.m. at the old bingo hall on the western end of the Qualla Boundary. The dispensary is owned by the Great Smoky Cannabis Co., operated by Qualla Enterprises, LLC, an Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians-owned company that also operates a 22.5-acre cannabis farm.

It’s been a long time coming, in a sense, but frustrations have finally reached a boiling point as Bryson City raised water rates ahead of what promises to be a few expensive municipal projects. 

Waynesville Police Chief David Adams had all of his law enforcement instructor certifications suspended by the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission; however, he told The Smoky Mountain News late last week that he plans to appeal the commission’s ruling. 

Beginning this Saturday, Sept. 7, anyone over the age of 21 will be able to purchase and use marijuana on the Qualla Boundary.  

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has approved a plan to use money from a settlement with opioid distributors and manufacturers to provide a boost to an up-and-coming transitional living home on the Qualla Boundary that will help those in rec overy get back on their feet.

Over a decade after Marie Walkingstick Pheasant’s body was found in a burned-out vehicle in Cherokee, the community has finally received a modicum of closure as her husband, Ernest Dwayne Pheasant, has pleaded guilty to committing the murder. 

Pactiv Evergreen has filed a request with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to make “major” modifications to the discharge permit for its wastewater treatment facility in Canton.  

After a spring lull, the coronavirus has returned with a vengenance, leading to a surge in Western North Carolina that experts didn’t expect. 

Beginning, Sept. 7, anyone over the age of 21 will be able to purcha se and use marijuana on the Qualla Boundary.  

While the official announcement was made at 10:22 a.m. in the form of a post on the Great Smoky Cannabis Company’s X page, the news actually broke about an hour earlier during an Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council meeting. At the end of that meeting, Council Rep. Richard French, of the Big Cove community made it official. 

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein spoke to members of Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council Monday, during which he touted some of his accomplishments over the last eight years while also laying out a vision for the future of the state. 

Bryson City’s Evy Leibfarth is now an Olympic medalist after finishing in third place and taking home the bronze medal in the women’s canoe slalom event in Paris.

Most folks who get into fly fishing do it despite the fish, which seldom cooperate and sometimes get in the way of an otherwise perfectly enjoyable morning standing out in the creek. 

Members of the public interested in Western North Carolina court cases now have better access than ever to criminal and civil files. 

The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council (DMAC) expanded its severe drought classification and classified two counties as in extreme drought in the latest advisory issued Thursday. 

In 2026, the United States Census Bureau is conducting three field tests in “American Indian Areas” to prepare for unique challenges presented in those areas ahead of the 2030 census. Last week, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council voted to approve the field test. 

Following a lengthy closed session during the Swain County Board of Commission’s July 2 work session, commission chair Kevin Seagle said the board had reached a consensus that it would obtain the advice of a lawyer to draft a code of conduct. 

Western North Carolina’s regional DWI taskforce has renewed its push to pass several new drunk-driving bills into law during next year’s long session in Raleigh. 

EBCI Tribal Council has reversed its decision to ban “hemp shops” not “wholly owned by the tribe … or one of its wholly owned subsidiaries.”

Following the Atlanta Braves’ recognition late last month of several groups in Georgia recognized by that state as Native American, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians officials issued multiple statements decrying the inclusion of multiple Cherokee tribes that are not federally recognized. 

The public in Western North Carolina is about to have more access to the courts than ever before, assuming all goes to plan. 

Cherokee is moving one step closer to full adult recreational cannabis use.

The newest advance will come July 4 when the Great Smoky Cannabis Company will be allowed to legally sell marijuana to adults over the age of 21 who are enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians or any other federally recognized tribe. 

Following a heated exchange with another county commissioner during a closed session, Swain County Commissioner David Loftis was expelled from the board’s June 18 meeting. 

Old Edwards Inn — the historic Highlands landmark and premier worldwide travel destination — has been sold, but little is expected to change at the level that residents, visitors or even employees will notice. 

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Census results have been finalized for the first time in over two decades. 

As the July 1 budget deadline for Child Care Stabilization grants approaches, it appears the Republican-led North Carolina House and Senate are struggling to agree on how to spend the $30 billion or so taxpayer dollars slated for the upcoming fiscal year. 

Less than six months after her death at just over two years old, Charlotte Joy Norris is posthumously receiving an award for her courage in the face of a dire situation she wasn’t even old enough to understand.

Last week, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians welcomed Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to the exhibit hall at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino to speak to a delegation of members from tribes across the United States as part of the National Conference of American Indians mid-year retreat. 

About nine months after members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians voted overwhelmingly to legalize the sale of marijuana and other cannabis products for adults over the age of 21, Tribal Council made it official during its June 6 meeting.

A lawsuit filed against Kituwah LLC that was initially dismissed is heading back to court after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that the tribally owned corporation waived its sovereign immunity.

As the Bobby N. Setzer Fish Hatchery in Transylvania County readies to shut down for a lengthy renovation, local anglers, guides and outfitters have amped up their effort to raise awareness around what may be a massive blow to their business.

When my wife told me she’d signed me up for a fly-fishing class, I probably let out an audible groan. I almost didn’t go — hell, Friday is usually my day to stay home and write. Why infringe on that?

In the hours following the announcement that Pactiv Evergreen’s paper mill property in Canton may have a new owner in the coming months, news came and fast and furious.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.