Local

Submitted photo. Victory Baptist Church Elevation 4:12 youth group members Savannah Currie (left to right), Sarah Lawson (leader), Kinsley Hyatt and Adison Shuler worship at Fort Bluff Camp in Dayton, Tennessee in July. Victory Baptist Church youth learned about love, life and purpose.

Submitted photo. Victory Baptist Church Elevation 4:12 youth group members Savannah Currie (left to right), Sarah Lawson (leader), Kinsley Hyatt and Adison Shuler worship at Fort Bluff Camp in Dayton, Tennessee in July. Victory Baptist Church youth learned about love, life and purpose.

Elevation 4:12 goes to camp

Sara Eisinger
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Elevation 4:12 faithfully journeyed to Fort Bluff Camp in Dayton, Tennessee Monday, July 7 through Friday, July 11. “They came back with a purpose, knowing who God is to them and knowing how God wants to use them,” said Tanner Lawson, youth pastor at Victory Baptist Church.
SMT photo/ Sara Eisinger. Water Treatment Plant Supervisor Russell Ball displays raw water samples from the lab Monday, July 14. Yellow indicates Chloroform and the black light indicates E.coli, which is why Ball advises people not to drink raw river water.

SMT photo/ Sara Eisinger. Water Treatment Plant Supervisor Russell Ball displays raw water samples from the lab Monday, July 14. Yellow indicates Chloroform and the black light indicates E.coli, which is why Ball advises people not to drink raw river water.

Water woes

Sara Eisinger
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
The Town of Bryson City has rescinded a boil water advisory issued in response to a punctured waterline under the Tuskasegee River behind Valley Village Shopping Center July 9. The advisory was cancelled on July 12.
SMT photo/Sara Eisinger. Swain County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Brian Kirkland (left to right), Lt. Det. Kevin Bryson, North Carolina Gang Investigators Association Region 1 coordinator, Assistant District Attorney James “Jim” Moore and NCGIA Vice President Jenni Holste hold a short award presentation for Moore who was nominated Region 1 Prosecutor of the Year.

SMT photo/Sara Eisinger. Swain County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Brian Kirkland (left to right), Lt. Det. Kevin Bryson, North Carolina Gang Investigators Association Region 1 coordinator, Assistant District Attorney James “Jim” Moore and NCGIA Vice President Jenni Holste hold a short award presentation for Moore who was nominated Region 1 Prosecutor of the Year.

Jim Moore named Prosecutor of the Year

News Staff
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
It was a typical morning for Assistant District Attorney James “Jim” Moore, casually strolling into a room filled with Swain County sheriff’s deputies last Thursday. Moore had no idea he was about to receive the North Carolina Gang Investigators Association Region 1 Prosecutor of the Year Award.
SMT photo/Sara Eisinger. Friends of the Marianna Black Library volunteers Patricia Gott (front, center); (middle, left to right) Carolyn Allison and Rilyn  Anderson; (back, left to right) Joia Goforth, Marcia Mycko, Helen Holman, Monte Dunten, Hannah Anderson and Deanna Booth get together at Friends of the Marianna Black Library Used Bookstore on Everett Street July 27. The bookstore is 100% run by dedicated volunteers.

SMT photo/Sara Eisinger. Friends of the Marianna Black Library volunteers Patricia Gott (front, center); (middle, left to right) Carolyn Allison and Rilyn  Anderson; (back, left to right) Joia Goforth, Marcia Mycko, Helen Holman, Monte Dunten, Hannah Anderson and Deanna Booth get together at Friends of the Marianna Black Library Used Bookstore on Everett Street July 27. The bookstore is 100% run by dedicated volunteers.

Friends of Library set $25K goal

News Staff
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Friends of the Marianna Black Library Used Bookstore donated over $18,000 to the Marianna Black Library (MBL) last year. This year’s goal is $25,000. The bookstore is 100% run by volunteers, who put hours of time and energy into reaching that goal.
SMT photo/Sara Eisinger. Lim sisters Uhura, 11, and Cosima, 8, of Washington, D.C. bravely ride through the mountainous Nantahala National Forest with their mother and Nantahala Village Riding Stables guide Saturday afternoon. The girls visit the riding stables when vacationing in Western North Carolina every year.

SMT photo/Sara Eisinger. Lim sisters Uhura, 11, and Cosima, 8, of Washington, D.C. bravely ride through the mountainous Nantahala National Forest with their mother and Nantahala Village Riding Stables guide Saturday afternoon. The girls visit the riding stables when vacationing in Western North Carolina every year.

An equestrian gem

News Staff
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
The Lim sisters, Cosima, 8, and Uhura, 11, of Washington, D.C. bravely saddled up and rode through the mountainous Nantahala National Forest with their mother and Nantahala Village Riding Stables guide Saturday afternoon.
SMT photo/Sara Eisinger. Upward of 30 residents, county employees included, attend a Swain County Commission meeting July 15. Adjustments to the pay schedule were based on a salary study completed by The Archer Company, a contracted company out of Ohio that provides compensation and pay classification plans.

SMT photo/Sara Eisinger. Upward of 30 residents, county employees included, attend a Swain County Commission meeting July 15. Adjustments to the pay schedule were based on a salary study completed by The Archer Company, a contracted company out of Ohio that provides compensation and pay classification plans.

Swain County makes pay adjustments

Sara Eisinger
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Swain County employee salary adjustments for 2025/26 summoned more than 30 residents, county employees included, to a regular commission meeting July 15.
SMT photo/Sara Eisinger. Location approximate to where the line break occurred near the Valley Village Shopping Center

SMT photo/Sara Eisinger. Location approximate to where the line break occurred near the Valley Village Shopping Center

Town issues boil water advisory

News Staff
Thursday, July 10, 2025
The Town of Bryson City is issuing a boil water advisory.  The Town has been made aware of a potential leak in one of our main lines under the Tuckaseegee River. As a precaution, the Town is recommending that all water for consumption be boiled.
Photo/Marie VanDervoort. John and Marie VanDervoort take over as McKinley Edwards Inn innkeepers in Bryson City April 1. Together, the couple has a combined 50 years in hospitality management.

Photo/Marie VanDervoort. John and Marie VanDervoort take over as McKinley Edwards Inn innkeepers in Bryson City April 1. Together, the couple has a combined 50 years in hospitality management.

Heart behind hospitality; introducing McKinley Edwards Inn

News Staff
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Perched on scenic Schoolhouse Hill, near downtown Bryson City, McKinley Edwards Inn is a tranquil, charming boutique motel bed and breakfast that blends rustic mountain character with cozy comfort.
County seal

County seal

County to appoint sheriff

Sara Eisinger
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
On July 1, Curtis Cochran, 72, notified the Swain County Board of Commissioners that he would retire from his position as sheriff effective July 1. Cochran’s notice followed a request for suspension by Superior Court Judge Tessa Sellers on June 27.
SMT photo/Sara Eisinger. Swain County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Scott Barnes makes a traffic stop after noticing no plates on the afternoon of Friday, July 4. A citation was issued.

SMT photo/Sara Eisinger. Swain County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Scott Barnes makes a traffic stop after noticing no plates on the afternoon of Friday, July 4. A citation was issued.

On duty with Swain Co. Sheriff's Office

Sara Eisinger
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Smoky Mountain Times rode along with Swain County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Scott Barnes from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. during the 2025 Bryson City Freedom Festival Friday, July 4. The shift started with only two other sheriff deputies on road patrol despite numerous calls throughout the day.