TN Archives - WPTF-AM

Rescuers find body of worker swept away from Tennessee factory by Hurricane Helene flood

ERWIN, Tenn. (AP) — Rescue workers in Tennessee have recovered the body of the final person still missing after massive flooding from Hurricane Helene hit a plastics factory there. Twenty-nine-year-old Rosa Andrade was one of six employees killed after they were unable to escape the rising waters in Erwin, a small town in East Tennessee. Surviving workers have stated they were not allowed to leave Impact Plastics until water had flooded the plant’s parking lot and the power went out. The company’s owner has disputed that claim. The raging waters swept away 11 workers on Sept. 27 and only five were rescued. More than 200 deaths have been attributed to Helene.… Continue Reading

Witnesses saw an armed group harassing Helene aid workers in a small Tennessee town, sheriff says

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A sheriff says witnesses reported seeing a group of armed people harassing hurricane relief workers in a remote Tennessee community last weekend. Carter County Sheriff Mike Farley said the harassment of Federal Emergency Management Agency workers happened Saturday in the remote community of Elk Mills. No arrests were made, but he says the small group of armed people who showed up were looking to cause trouble. Meanwhile Wednesday, a North Carolina appeared in court for allegedly threatening aid workers in that state. Although there is no indication that the incidents are related, they come with FEMA facing rampant disinformation about its response to Hurricane Helene.… Continue Reading

The Smoky Mountains’ highest peak is reverting to the Cherokee name Kuwohi

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) — The highest peak at Great Smoky Mountains National Park is officially reverting to its Cherokee name more than 150 years after a surveyor named it for a Confederate general. The U.S. Board of Geographic Names voted on Wednesday in favor of a request from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to officially change the name Clingmans Dome to Kuwohi. The Cherokee name for the mountain translates to “mulberry place.” The park says Kuwohi is a sacred place for the Cherokee people and the highest point within the traditional Cherokee homeland. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is America’s most visited national park, and Kuwohi is one its most popular sites, with more than 650,000 visitors per year.… Continue Reading