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Into the Tall Grass
An inexplicable darkness beckons from across a wooden footbridge over the Oconaluftee River in Cherokee. Several hundred feet of canopy stretch along the far edge of a sandy island: a thicket of 40-foot-tall bamboo. Stepping into the otherworldly tall grass feels like striding from the Blue Ridge Mountains onto another continent as the temperature drops in the dense shade.
Suspect in North Carolina murder commits suicide in victim’s vehicle
MURPHY, North Carolina (WDEF) – Investigators are closing the book on a murder in the North Carolina mountains. Cherokee County deputies found a woman’s body at her home in the Andrews area on Monday. Windy Thompson’s vehicle was also missing. They quickly identified a South Carolina man...
Deputies investigating shooting death on Pryor Road
Blount County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a shooting death that took place at approximately 10:30 p.m. Friday on Pryor Road. According to BCSO, a suspect is in custody and charges are pending. There was no other information available by press time.
Cannabis in Cherokee: D.A. Ben David explains what this means in other parts of the state
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — April 20 marked a historic day in North Carolina with the first medical marijuana dispensary opening on tribal land in the mountains. Friday WWAY spoke with New Hanover and Pender County District Attorney Ben David to clarify what this means in other parts of the state, including here at home.
Grandma Bonnie shares her story ahead of 104th birthday
She was born June 9, 1920, in Swain County, inside of an abandoned railroad car parked by the side of a creek being used as a temporary shelter. Bonnie was raised in Bryson City. She tells stories of having to wash clothes in the creek while the clothes would freeze in her hands from the ice-cold water and gathering wood for the cookstove from the shed in the snow and having to use an outhouse year-round.
Man gives up after trailer gets stuck in road
A man apparently tried to steal a trailer April 17, but gave up and left it sitting in the middle of the road. Monroe County Sheriff’s Detective Doug Mills said James Douglas Franklin had gone to a home on Community Drive and hooked up a trailer belonging to another man and started driving away with it. Mills said the trailer had chains holding the wheels in place, but Franklin still...
Man arrested year and a half after setting fire, cutting tire
It took a year and a half, but a man has been arrested after he allegedly assaulted a man in 2022 and tried to set a fire near a rabbit habitat. On Nov. 26, 2022, Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy Coby Webb said he was sent to Moat Sewell Road where somebody was reportedly making threats over money. Webb said he talked to a man who said the night before Phillip...
Consultants behind Blount County growth plan seek public input
A study that could reset the guidelines for growth in Blount County is approaching its final stages, but before it’s finished the writers want more input from the public. Nearly a year ago a team of consultants publicly introduced a project to update recommendations for how Blount County develops. Now, staff members with Inspire Placemaking Collective have reactivated a feedback section on their Blount growth plan website. Components of the...
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