News

Government agencies, businesses, organizations and citizens across the United States will be discussing emergency preparedness in September as they participate in the 2015 National Preparedness Month. “Every year, communities across our country face emergencies from unforeseen natural disasters to deliberate acts that test our Nation’s grit and challenge us to overcome tragedy,” President Obama said as he proclaimed September as ...

Officials have released their findings in the investigation of the death of Jenny Bennett, an avid local hiker who was found dead in Great Smoky Mountains National Park earlier this year. Susan J. Bennett, known as Jenny, of Sylva, N.C., was reported missing to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office on June 6, 2015. A frequent hiker in the Smokies, park ...

Grocery retailers are pulling bread off the shelves in eleven states after a bread recall was issued for several brands of bread made by Bimbo Bakeries because they may contain broken glass. Pennsylvania based Bimbo Bakeries USA has issued a voluntary bread recall of certain products manufactured under the Sara Lee®, Kroger®, Bimbo®, Nature’s Harvest®, Great Value and L’Oven Fresh® ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers remind visitors that graffiti not only detracts from the natural beauty of the park, but can also permanently damage irreplaceable resources. Park resources including one of the best collections of log buildings in the eastern United States, backcountry hiking shelters, live trees, stone walls, bridges, and tunnels have all suffered from a range of ...

Sevier Solid Waste is planning to build a biomass gasification plant, its second major project this year in an effort to become a zero waste facility. Sevier Solid Waste has hired PHG Energy to build a new biomass gasification plant capable of cleanly converting more than 30 tons of composted material daily into thermal energy while producing a valuable high-carbon biochar. ...

The Transportation Coalition of Tennessee is holding a meeting today in Sevierville to educate Sevier County as to the need for a comprehensive reform that is a long-term, sustainable solution that will meet identified transportation needs in Sevier County and across the state. The meeting will be held at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015 at the Sevierville Civic ...

Friends of the Smokies raised $202,351 Thursday through its 21st annual Friends Across the Mountains telethon thanks to hundreds of callers, online donations and help from sponsors Dollywood, Mast General Store, Pilot Flying J, and Tennessee State Bank. Since 1995, Friends of the Smokies’ telethons have raised more than $3.2 million in support of America’s most-visited national park. The Friends ...

Ripken Baseball has announced Mike Kremblas, coach of the Knoxville Stars 9u baseball team, as one of the nine finalists in the 2015 Ripken Baseball Youth Coach of the Year Award. Together, Ripken Baseball and Baseball America are on a mission to celebrate youth coaches who represent “The Ripken Way” pillars – character, commitment, community, family, fun, integrity, passion, perseverance ...

Sevierville Police are investigating the aggravated assault of a woman that allegedly occurred late last year and while they have focused on a person of interest, are still seeking information from the public about the incident. Officers from the Sevierville Police Department, firefighters and EMS personnel responded to a call the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014 at a residence ...

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development is now giving students who left high school before graduating the opportunity to earn their high school equivalency diploma at no cost. “This is a real game changer for those who need this credential to get a job,” said Jason Beard, administrator of the Adult Education Division of the Tennessee Department of ...