Kyle Perrotti

Zeb Smathers checks activity in the Gulf of Mexico whenever he looks at the weather in Western North Carolina. He began this practice after Tropical Storm Fred inundated Canton in August 2021. In September 2024, he saw something concerning. A storm was developing that would soon become known as Hurricane Helene.

Trevor Lemon of NCWRC demonstrates property archery technique. Credit: Kyle Perrotti photos

Haywood County will have a new sheriff for the second time this decade. Mark Mease, a Republican, and Tyler Howell, a Democrat, are Haywood County natives whose families go back generations in Western North Carolina. Both men have also worked full-time law enforcement jobs while campaigning. Perhaps the most striking similarity is that both prefer to shun the political angling required during a campaign — at least during the General Election — saying they would prefer if the office of sheriff wasn’t even partisan. The candidates, who’ve pledged to each other and voters to refrain from mudslinging during the General Election campaign, are instead trying to run on their merits and ideas. The winner will replace current Sheriff Bill Wilke. Here’s a look at what they said during their interviews with The Smoky Mountain News.

Democrat Danny Davis, left, is squaring off against Republican Jimmy Rogers to see who will represent Haywood and Madison counties in the state House. Credit: davis4nchouse.com and rogers4nc118.com photos

Haywood County Emergency Services Public Information Officer Allison Richmond is now one of just 11 people in the state to have completed FEMA’s executive level Public Information Officer course. Richmond was instrumental in the county’s emergency response in the wake of Hurricane Helene as she used every medium possible to provide information during an uncertain time. Based on lessons learned from Tropical Storm Fred in 2021, she orchestrated setting up an emergency power supply to an FM repeater on Chambers Mountain so Canton’s WPTL could get information to those with radios. Haywood County Emergency Management Officer Zach Koontz announced the completion of the training at an Oct. 5 Haywood County Commission meeting following a discussion of a $77,500 contract commissioners approved to update the county’s emergency operations plan based on lessons learned during Helene.

Haywood County’s board of commissioners will see turnover this election cycle no matter who wins. Credit: File photo

“We can’t protect what we don’t understand.” Oft ascribed to Jacques‘ son Jean-Michel Cousteau, this is a favorite adage of Todd Parrott Witcher, who will retire at the end of this year. The search is underway for Witcher’s successor in the role of executive director at Discover Life in America, the nonprofit science partner of […]

Kit Gruelle talks with Waynesville Police Chief David Adams. Credit: Donated photo

Editor’s note: The Smoky Mountain News has on several occasions attempted to contact Jennifer Balkcom’s campaign for a profile like this one. On Sept. 17, a campaign staffer texted SMN saying they’d reach out in a week. Despite numerous follow-up phone calls and text messages, the Balkcom campaign failed to respond. Jamie Ager needed a hat, so he chose the underdog. When the Democratic congressional candidate and his deputy campaign manager pulled into Pisgah Memorial Stadium’s parking the evening of Oct. 9, he took off his green-and-white “Ager for U.S. Congress” ballcap and sported hat head as he made his way through the bustling crowd until he came upon a stand selling Pisgah Bears gear. He bought a hat with a black P in the center set against woodland camouflage. Fans may not have thought he was anything but a Bears fan, perhaps a former mill worker with some chickens and cows he raises on some family land in nearby Bethel, were it not for the fact they’ve already seen his face on mailers, television spots, and digital ads.

Coronavirus cases are rising in the region, marking a change from the typical summer and winter spikes. Credit: Stock photo