Once again, Smoky Mountain Times continues the tradition of reflecting on the biggest news stories and recurring stories of the previous year with this year's annual Year in Review. Stories compiled by Jessica Webb and Larry Griffin.
Firefighter pay
The issue of firefighter pay has been batted around at county commission meetings and workshops all year. Fire chiefs argue that a paid staff would help response times and ensure peoples’ lives and property were safer. It would also bolster insurance ratings and save homeowners money. The decline in volunteers, and the aging of the current volunteers, only makes the issue more urgent, they said.
The commission has been split on the issue, with Commissioner David Loftis outspoken that he didn’t think people would volunteer if there was the possibility of having a paid firefighting job instead.
Commissioner Philip Carson, himself a firefighter in years past, disagreed, saying the modern work environment is less friendly to volunteer work as people have busier schedules and less time.
Despite going back and forth about the issue over the course of several workshops, no final plans have been made, but it could come to something with the upcoming budget season in the early months of 2024.
Park passes
Much to the chagrin of many Swain County residents, the National Park Service went ahead and implemented the controversial Park It Forward program, mandating anyone who parks in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park buy a pass if they’re there for longer than 15 minutes. The passes are $5 for the day, but visitors can spend $15 for a weekly pass or $40 for the whole year.
The Park Service maintains that the money will go towards maintenance and new hires for the park, but locals, used to being able to park there any time for free, have been incensed, and Swain County commissioners have been outspoken about their discontent with the changes.
Several people were vocal about their unhappiness and some said they would not be frequenting the park anymore because of the paid parking requirements.
Everett and Depot Road work in town
For many business owners on Everett Street, the biggest news story for 2023 was utility work that disrupted the flow of traffic. With sewer lines crumbling and a need to upgrade water connections, Town of Bryson City Aldermen made the tough decision this summer to move forward with utility work that closed sections of the road during the height of the tourism season— work began mid-summer and lasted through leaf season.
Why? The NC Department of Transportation has its own plans to upgrade intersections on the road and then pave it and the town wanted to get ahead of that and not be saddled with having to repave the road later.
To ease the process, Town Manager Sam Pattillo and Engineer Nate Bowe held weekly meetings- partnering with Adrien Litzou of Anthony’s Pizza- to provide updates.
Tourism normalizes after
pandemic era boost
Labor challenges linger
Swain County proved a top destination for families when traveling reopened after the shutdowns in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Wide open spaces, check, private cabins, check, family friendly, check. This led to a boost in visitation and occupancy tax revenue for the county.
This year, things have leveled off, according to both reports from Swain County Tourism and Development Authority and business owners, who say visitation is comparative to 2019 numbers.
Even as tourism levels seemed to normalize, the economy has chugged along. Labor participatation rates are high and Swain has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state—just over 2%. While this is good in a way, it’s also been a challenge for local business owners who have had to adjust to the tight labor market.
Hicks returns as EBCI Chief
In September, Michell Hicks won by a landslide to return to the position of Principal Chief for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. With more than 65 percent of the vote, he returned to the position to serve for the next four years. He previously served 2003-2015.
Alan B. Ensley returned to serve another term as Vice Chief.
During the inauguration, held before a packed gymnasium, Hicks spoke of a unified, strong government in a changing global economy.
New leadership was also sworn in for Cherokee’s School Board and Tribal Council.
Board of Elections
terminates director
It was an unusual year for Swain County Board of Elections— the year began with the board filing a petition to the state BOE to terminate then-Swain County director Judy Allman, who had worked for the office for 18 years and was named director in 2020.
The move followed questions over the filing process for write-in candidates during the 2022 election, according to meeting minutes.
Some questions arose through the process at to the board’s fulfillment of open meetings and open records laws— with SMT running into trouble with the board regarding stating the required statutes for closed sessions and releasing public records around personnel. Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-119) addressed some concerns and filed for changes in state laws.
Anna Fuller, deputy director filled the role of director on an interim basis until the board hired Adam Byrnes, a recent graduate from Emory University, to fill the director role in a meeting held April 17.
Murder trial
Murder suspects Daniel Sutton and Jeremy Solomon finally got their day in court over the 2019 killing of local resident Jackie Thomason, after years of sitting in the county jail. In May of 2019 the two men went to Thomason’s residence on McCracken Road to talk about a truck title Thomason reportedly owed Solomon. An altercation ensued, ending with Sutton bludgeoning Thomason several times with a stick.
Thomason survived the altercation, but died a few days later after falling into a coma from the injury.
The two men were arrested shortly after. But due to the limited amount of room on the court calendar and other delays, they sat in jail for the next several years, denied bond due to the severity of the case.
The trial unfolded over a week around Labor Day, and the state was the only party to present a case. Numerous law enforcement officers and medical officials testified, as did witnesses who’d been privy to the murder as it was happening. After only about an hour deliberating, the jury decided Sutton was guilty of first degree murder.
A few weeks after that, Solomon’s case was brought in front of the court with a plea deal. As Solomon had not actually touched Thomason, his lawyer argued that he should get a reduced charge. The judge charged him with accessory after the fact to murder.
School security
No one can fault Swain County Schools for not trying to keep their security up – this year they’ve added new security cameras to cover their blind spots at all the schools. High-tech computer systems allow personnel to keep track of any person or vehicle on any of the campuses. Superintendent Mark Sale said it is an attempt to keep everyone as safe as possible.
But further problems arose with several incidents of individuals sleeping on the Easy Elementary campus at night, visible running away in the early hours by employees arriving. Sale said some of them might be homeless, but school employees also found evidence of illegal drug transactions there, including needles on the ground.
Because of that, Sale and the school board lobbied for funding from the county to install fences around both elementary schools. Sale said he wanted to put fencing around West Elementary to extend the same security equally to both schools.
That found controversy among the commissioners as well, with Commissioner David Loftis and Kenneth Parton voting against it, Loftis reasoning that they could just ask law enforcement to patrol more at East Elementary instead.
Bryson City municipal
A municipal election was also held in 2023— making no changes to the status quo for Town of Bryson City’s leadership, with all the candidates running uncontested. Re-elected were Mayor Tom Sutton, aldermen Heidi Ramsey-Woodard, Chad Smith and Tim Hines.
The town did have a few other changes in 2023, however, hiring Nate Bowe as town engineer, Sam Pattillo as manager, as well John Henning Jr. as attorney, after the unexpected passing of former attorney Fred Moody.
Land swap – new middle school
Facing mounting issues with Swain County Middle School, the school board decided it was time to go ahead and build a new school on land purchased from businessman Mark Fortner. The land swap got the green light over the summer, but there was still uncertainty as to whether the county could get a Critical Needs grant from the state to build the school at all. Furthermore, the County Commissioners heard about issues with the town’s water and sewer pipes that could add more difficulties in building a new school. Heading into 2024, it remains to be seen what will happen with the new school, though county officials remain optimistic.