News

The Dollywood Foundation’s My People Fund continues to provide for the local community, with Dolly Parton most recently presenting $200,000 to the fire chiefs of the eight volunteer fire departments located in Sevier County. The money, which Parton donated on Saturday, will be used to support the volunteer fire departments in multiple ways. Each department receives $20,000 of the money ...

The Jefferson County Sheriff says the body found in a bag along the shoreline of Douglas Lake last weekend was a victim of homicide and is asking the public to help identify the remains. About 4:30 p.m. on March 10, 2019, deputies were dispatched to a home on Lake Ridge Drive in Dandridge after the resident reported seeing a suspicious ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that the Appalachian-Piedmont-Coastal Fire Management Zone staff plan to conduct a 240-acre prescribed burn along the park boundary near the Lake in the Sky and the Top of the World communities in Blount County, TN. The prescribed burn operations are expected to last up to two days between Tuesday, March 12 and Sunday, ...

A man shot by Pigeon Forge police officers after a chase through Sevier County on Friday has been charged with the murder his mother inside her Alcoa apartment. Alcoa Police Chief David Carswell says 18-year-old Johnathon Alex Sellers, of Doll Avenue in Maryville, has been charged with criminal homicide in connection with the death of his mother Kelly M. Brackin, ...

Pigeon Forge police officers shot a man early Friday morning after an attempted traffic stop resulted in a chase and ended when the man exited his vehicle with a shotgun. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, a preliminary investigation found that officers with the Pigeon Forge Police Department attempted to stop a suspected DUI driver on the Parkway just ...

The team at NASCAR SpeedPark Smoky Mountains is pleased to announce its upcoming job fair. In preparation for the 2019 spring and summer season, NASCAR SpeedPark will be hiring about 75 to 100 team members with wages starting at $9.50 to $10 an hour. The park has seasonal, part-time and full-time positions available across all departments. Available positions include go-kart ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that Lisa Hendy has been selected as the new Chief Ranger. In April, Hendy will oversee employees in the Resource and Visitor Protection Division who perform law enforcement duties, wildland fire operations, emergency medical services, search and rescue operations, backcountry operations, and staff the emergency communications center. Hendy brings a wealth of experience ...

A man was shot in Sevierville last week and authorities are searching for the shooter. Detectives with the Sevierville Police Department are asking the public to come forward with any information about a shooting that reportedly occurred about 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019 near the Country Meadows neighborhood. The department said officers responded to LeConte Medical Center after ...

Two students at Seymour Junior High have been charged with harassment after they allegedly threatened other students. The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office was notified of alleged threats made by students on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019 toward other students at Seymour Junior High School. Officers responded to the school and called investigators to look into the threats. Two male students, age ...

A man illegally hunting ginseng last year in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park died as a result of methamphetamine overdose, not a bear attack. 30-year-old William Lee Hill, Jr., of Louisville, Tenn., and his companion Joshua Morgan split up shortly after they allegedly entered the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to illegally harvest ginseng in the area off Rich ...