Staff Report A community is rallying to support a Union County family after a deadly mobile home fire claimed the lives of two young children earlier this week. Union County Fire and Rescue confirmed that two children, believed to be ages three and six, died in a structure fire overnight on Sunday, Dec. 14 at Warren Trailer Park. Firefighters from all county stations responded and found a single-wide mobile home fully involved. The cause of the fire remains under investigatio

Cherokee County Sheriff's Office Press Release Sheriff Dustin Smith is proud to announce the addition of Deputy Christopher Baty and Deputy Michael Guffey to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office. Deputy Baty and Deputy Guffey recently completed six months of intensive law enforcement training at Southwestern Community College, graduating from the Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) program. Their training included criminal law, investigations, emergency response, firearms p

Press Release District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch today announced that a Cherokee County Superior Court jury recently found a Marble man guilty of operating a methamphetamine lab. Lars Johnson, 53, attempted to firebomb the lab to prevent detection after deputies secured the location and were awaiting the return of a search warrant. The jury found him guilty of trafficking in 400 grams or more of methamphetamine. Superior Court Judge Craig Croom sentenced Johnson to serve

Cherokee County Sheriff's Office Press Release On December 1, 2025 Deputies with Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office assisted by Officers from Andrews Police Department responded to 115 LJ Moss Ln in the Marble community. Deputies were attempting to serve a warrant for Felony Larceny on Levi Charles Moss. Upon arrival, deputies made multiple attempts to get Moss to exit the residence and a standoff ensued when Moss refused those requests. Deputies were then able to contact Moss

Defense paved the way to the state championship for the Murphy Bulldogs on Friday night as they grounded the Starmount Rams with a suffocating 14-2 victory in the Western Regional final at Murphy High School on Friday, Dec. 5. The win extends the Bulldogs’ impressive streak to ten games and boosts their record to 12-2, punching their ticket to the NCHSAA 2A State Championship next week. In a defensive showcase, Murphy’s ball-hawking secondary repeatedly frustrated the Starmou

The Murphy Power Board began replacing power meters on Monday, Dec.1, and residents may notice additional utility workers moving through local neighborhoods as the project gets underway. According to information shared from the town, crews will be operating from two white trucks — a Dodge Ram and a Ford F-150 — clearly marked as Murphy Power Board contractors. The vehicles will not have local tags, and workers will be wearing high-visibility safety vests while performing mete

Mountain Buzz Staff Report As temperatures drop and residents turn to wood stoves, fireplaces, propane heaters and oil furnaces, safety officials are reminding homeowners about the invisible danger of carbon monoxide — a gas that can be deadly without warning. Carbon monoxide (CO) is produced when fuels such as wood, coal, propane, oil or natural gas burn incompletely. Because the gas has no color, smell or taste, people often do not realize it is present until they begin exp

Mountain Buzz Staff Report With the holiday season in full swing, the Town of Murphy is preparing for two beloved traditions: the annual Christmas Tree Lighting on Friday evening and the Christmas Parade on Saturday evening. Despite forecasts calling for possible wintry weather later this week, Mayor Tim Radford says both events are currently planned to go ahead as scheduled. “We’re keeping a close eye on the weather forecasts for this Friday’s Christmas Tree Lighting and Sat

Sheriff Dustin Smith Cherokee County Sheriff On Thursday, November 20, 2025, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office hosted approximately thirty (30) students from Murphy High School. These are students who are enrolled in the Career and Technical Education program, which serves to prepare students for employment or further education in their chosen fields. The program offers students career pathways, work-based learning, industry credentials (for those who seek certifications i

Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Press Release On November 20, 2025, a jury trial concluded in the largest drug case involving methamphetamine in Cherokee County history. In July of 2022 the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at a residence on Daylily Dr. in Marble Nc. This search warrant yielded approx. 38 pounds of methamphetamine and a conversion laboratory used for making methamphetamine. Lars Prentice Johnson, age 53 of the Peachtree Community,

Staff Report Seven school systems and four individual schools across Western North Carolina are set to benefit from a major investment in STEAM education thanks to a new grant from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation. The “Bridging the Gap with STEM-E²” grant will expand access to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) learning for students from elementary through high school. The funding supports mobile science unit field trips, classroom entrepreneurship pr

Cherokee County Sheriff's Office Press Release On November 15, 2025, agents with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division successfully concluded a targeted drug-trafficking investigation in Cherokee County, NC. During the operation, agents developed information indicating that Jared Dickerson and Chelsea Taylor, both of Murphy, were routinely traveling to Georgia to acquire significant quantities of illegal drugs for resale in Cherokee County. Working in close

Cherokee County Sheriff's Office Press Release On November 14, 2025, members of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Murphy Police Department, and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol were conducting a traffic checking station at the intersection of E US-64 and Harshaw Connector when a driver attempted to evade law enforcement. As the vehicle approached the checkpoint, the driver executed an aggressive U-turn and fled at a high rate of speed. A Trooper and Deputy initiate

Clay County Sheriff's Office Press Release On 11/12/25 around 2:00 PM a be on the lookout notice (BOLO) from Cherokee County was dispatched out for a white Cadillac Escalade traveling toward Clay County. Hannah Patrice Allen, 31 years of age from Hayesville, was believed to be traveling within the Cadillac with a 6-week-old child that she had taken without authorization. Clay County Lt. Tyler Faggard and Officer JJ Wooten located and stopped this Cadillac at 3879 US Hwy 64 we

By: Staff Report Mountain Buzz Andrews High School is celebrating a group of outstanding students who recently received recognition from the Pre-ACT for their exceptional academic achievements. The Pre-ACT, a preparatory exam that helps students gauge college readiness, highlights top performers in several achievement categories. Andrews High School proudly announced the following students who earned honors for their impressive results: Early Scholars (Top 35% of High-Scoring

Photo from the John C. Campbell Facebook page. The John C. Campbell Folk School held its Forging for the Future Live Auction  on Saturday, November 8, bringing together artists, supporters, and craft enthusiasts for a night celebrating community and creativity. The event, held in the Keith House Community Room, featured one-of-a-kind works from the Folk School’s Centennial Artists Collection. Attendees had the opportunity to bid on a variety of handcrafted pieces, with procee

A coalition of environmental organizations has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to stop what they describe as an “illegal logging project” in the Nolichucky River Gorge, a scenic section of Pisgah National Forest. MountainTrue, in partnership with the Center for Biological Diversity and represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, announced Monday that it is suing the U.S. Forest Service over logging operations the group says violate federal environmental laws and the

By: Staff The Mountain Buzz Over the past ten years, crime in Western North Carolina has shifted in ways that defy simple headlines. While some communities have seen notable spikes in violent incidents, others have experienced steady declines, resulting in a complex picture of public safety across the mountains. According to data from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System, there is no consistent, region-wide in

Press Release Dr. Brian Mitchell, a beloved physician whose decades of service helped shape the landscape of healthcare in Western North Carolina, is the subject of a newly-released mini-documentary by local filmmaker Harrison Keely. Titled “Brian Mitchell – The small-town doctor who changed everything,” the film follows Mitchell’s journey from his childhood in Boston to his pivotal era at Murphy Medical Center, now known as Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital. “Dr. Mitchell’s

Newly re-elected Mayor James Reid shared this photo on social media of his celebration with his family. ANDREWS, N.C. –  Voters in the Town of Andrews made their choices Tuesday night, electing mayor and two members to the Board of Aldermen in a pair of tightly contested races. James D. Reid kept the mayor’s seat with 51.75% of the vote, narrowly defeating Brandi Smith, who received 47.66%. Two write-in votes accounted for 0.58% of the total. In the Board of Aldermen race, wh