Kyle Perrotti

As unaffiliated voters have overtaken Republicans and Democrats as the largest voting group in the state, candidates running outside of the two major party apparatuses still struggle in elections, but several Western North Carolina candidates hope to change that narrative. There are four unaffiliated contenders in The Smoky Mountain News coverage area for 2028: two […]

The Appropriations Committee of the United States House of Representatives has passed its 12 bills for 2027, clearing a major hurdle toward getting the 2027 federal budget enacted. The appropriations committee has 12 total subcommittees. Congressman Chuck Edwards, who represents NC-11, encompassing the westernmost part of the state, is a member of that committee and […]

Swain County’s request for a preliminary injunction against the Fontana Regional Library System has been granted. On May 12, the FRL board voted to distribute “surplus funds” to the three member counties — Swain, Jackson and Macon. Jackson officially left the system July 1. The funds, totaling about $1.3 million, needed to be verified by […]

A skirmish between a colonial militia and Cherokee warriors was waged in Western North Carolina in 1776. But where exactly the battle was fought is a matte

Following what appears to have been a successful ban on camping and fires on the popular Max Patch Bald in northern Haywood County, the U.S. Forest Service has extended the policy another three years. Overuse at Max Patch had been a growing issue beginning around 2010. Officially added to the Pisgah National Forest in 1983, […]

Franklin’s town council has approved a one-year moratorium on the development of any new data centers. The town follows in the footsteps of a growing number of local governments, including those in the Smoky Mountain News coverage area like Canton, Swain County and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The moratorium was passed following a […]

After a turbulent year, Fontana Regional Library trustees gathered at the Nantahala Community Library for their annual meeting. Attendees may have noticed that the board seemed a bit light. This was the first trustee meeting with just six board members since three departed on July 1 when Jackson County left the system. On May 12, the board passed a measure to provide member counties, including Jackson, with a reimbursement of “surplus funds.” The plan was to nail down the exact numbers and answer some questions FRL attorney Austin Von Henner had before finalizing the distribution and getting that money out the door.

As the country becomes increasingly consumed by the debate over Flock cameras, the issue hit the Smoky Mountains as Macon County voted to let its contract with the company lapse. Flock cameras monitor traffic on public roads, taking a picture of every vehicle as it passes by and then running that information through its database. Law enforcement agencies that use Flock cameras have “hotlists” on which they place vehicles that may have been stolen or are associated with a suspected criminal. Any vehicle on the hotlist is flagged, and an alert is sent to the agency that placed it on the list. They are often used to track vehicles suspected of trafficking narcotics in lieu of using personnel to keep eyes on a suspected drug runner.

Flooding has devastated Haywood County three times in the 21st century. Local leaders are trying to prevent unnecessary loss of life. Credit: File photo

As young attorneys are increasingly drawn to urban areas to practice law, more rural counties are turning into “legal deserts,” defined as having less than one lawyer per 1,000 residents. Out of the seven westernmost counties in North Carolina, two — perhaps three — are legal deserts. An overall lack of attorneys in the area is creating barriers to legal representation and a backlog of cases. As the problem gets worse, judicial officials are trying some innovative solutions. Credit: Jack Snyder illustration