Fire managers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park plan to conduct a series of prescribed burns of fields in Cades Cove on Tuesday through Friday, November 1st through 4th if weather conditions permit.  Park managers plan to burn several tracts totaling about 550 acres. The fields selected are being burned as part of a strategy to cost-effectively prevent the open fields from being reclaimed by forest.   The Park contracts to mow about 950 acres   Read More ...

The Anna Porter Public Library, located at 158 Proffitt Road, will be hosting economic development specialist Jacqueline Merritt from the U.S. Small Business Administration who will be conducting a class on small business loans. The training covers SBA loan options including which loan program meets a specific entrepreneurial need. The session will begin with the 5 C’s of credit including character, cash flow, collateral, capitalization and conditions. It then transitions   Read More ...

Well, this past week I was looking down into the holler toward Webb’s Creek thinking about the only two personal treasures I chose to save when our mountain caught on fire a few days ago. It was a large fire that totally destroyed two cabins and made both TV and newspaper news. Our roller coaster ride of emotion began as my wife and I were returning home from a birthday   Read More ...

Well, this past week I was looking down into the holler toward Webb’s Creek thinking about the best and worse places to wait. I have rated some popular waiting areas using my five star system, but have wisely excluded any waiting circumstances involving my wife, Kat. I’ll begin with the lowest rated waiting area of them all, the driver’s license bureau. My driver’s license expired and I was forced to   Read More ...

Our secret is out folks, the travel industry has voted the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as one of the top family destinations for 2012. Of course we all know how fabulously lucky we are to live here and enjoy the beauty of the National Park any time we get the notion. It seems that the splendor that we all know and love has been widely discovered and now celebrated   Read More ...

Sevierville (TN) – Sevierville will be the first to kick off Smoky Mountain Winterfest with the annual Music, Lights & Magic event on November 7 at the Sevierville Municipal Complex. This completely free event annually draws around 7,000 spectators who enjoy entertainment, free food, kids’ games, fireworks and plenty of great surprises. The event runs from 3-8pm at the Sevierville Municipal Complex located at 110 Gary Wade Blvd. in Sevierville.   Read More ...

 NASHVILLE, TN— International icon Lionel Richie will release Tuskegee, his much-anticipated Country duets album, in March on Mercury Nashville, after debuting songs on the national broadcast of “The 45th Annual CMA Awards,” airing live Wednesday, Nov. 9 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.    During the broadcast Richie will perform select duets of his runaway hits with Little Big Town, Darius Rucker, and Rascal Flatts. Richie is no stranger to   Read More ...

Sevierville, TENN – The 2011 Sevierville Harvest Fest Decorating Contest Winners were honored during a special ceremony on October 26 at the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce.  Awards were given in the following categories: Pinnacle Award (Best Overall): Oak Haven Resort & Spa Service: 1st Place Mountain National Bank Main St. / 2nd Place Mountain National Bank Hwy 66 Restaurant: 1st Place T.G.I. Friday’s / 2nd Place Taste of Tennessee Lodging:   Read More ...

Here’s the big news: You and your family can actually find peace and solitude in America’s most-visited park. With some 520,000 acres, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, is one big, welcoming tent. You and your family can cocoon yourselves in true wilderness, hike a trail in utter silence, and camp out in the hush of a hardwood forest — all in   Read More ...

The Breast Center at LeConte Medical Center has been designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology (ACR). There are 192 ACR registered mammography facilities in the state of Tennessee, but only 17 have earned the distinction of being Breast Imaging Centers of Excellence.  By awarding facilities the status of a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence, the ACR recognizes breast imaging centers that have earned   Read More ...