Cleanup crews clear a section of roadway in Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area following storms that swept the park May 26.  National Park Service

Search came as Big South Fork cleans up after May 26 storm that brought May rainfall total to 12 inches

WARTBURG — Searchers found the body of a man that was the subject of a search that began Memorial Day after he was swept away by high water in Daddy’s Creek in the Catoosa Wildlife Management Area in Morgan County. 

Morgan County emergency management director Ethan Webb late Friday identified the victim as 57-year-old Wade Davis, originally identified by authorities as a Cumberland County resident. National Park Service personnel recovered the body about a mile downstream from Devils Breakfast Table near the Obed River. It is a rugged, steep area traversed by the Cumberland Trail.

Daddy’s Creek is a popular kayaking destination featuring class III and IV rapids that flows into the Obed River. Heavy rain had swollen the creek out of its banks, Webb said. Davis was with a family member when he lost his footing while wading and was swept downstream.

Multiple agencies were involved in the search “by air, by water and by land,” Webb said. “There wasn’t a day we didn’t search.” Drones, inflatable boats and a Highway Patrol helicopter were used. At least 25 people were involved at some point during the search, which was complicated by the speed of the water and rapids.

“We were in constant contact with the family,” he said. On Friday, the family received at least a measure of closure.

The honor continues Hellbender Press’s tradition of excellence in journalism.

KNOXVILLE — Hellbender Press: The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia, was honored with a first-place award by the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists (ETSPJ) for its probe into a controversial municipal airport proposed by the city of Oak Ridge.

Reporters Wolf Naegeli and Ben Pounds and Hellbender Press editor and publisher Thomas Fraser accepted the award during ETSPJ’s 2023 Golden Press Card awards, held May 16 at Maple Hall in downtown Knoxville. The honors, which are bestowed upon television, radio, print and digital media, “strive to honor the best journalism in the eastern region of Tennessee from the past year,” according to ETSPJ.

Hellbender Press was honored with first place in the digital space for its investigation into the proposed airport, which the city maintains would juice economic development, especially in the high-tech business realm. 

Gerry Moll is seen in the native garden of his home in the 4^th and Gill neighborhood of Knoxville in this file photo. Moll tends to his natural habitat in keeping with city codes protocols.  Ben Pounds/Hellbender Press

City: Overgrown lots don’t automatically qualify as wildlife habitat

KNOXVILLE — City government wants people to know that though “No Mow May” is a worthy observation there are still some protocols residents have to follow to avoid codes violations and potential fines.

The month of May is hyped as a prime time to refrain from cutting your grass or portions of your lawn to allow pollinating plants and the pollinators they support to get six legs up late spring and early summer nectar season. It’s also an occasion to consider the fact that traditional lawns are largely ecological deserts.

“No Mow May” is a quick and catchy name for a movement that aims far beyond not mowing the yard for a month,” according to Bee City USA, a proponent of keeping your yard real and wild when and where it is practical.

“It’s more than long grass and dandelion blooms. It’s a gateway to understanding how we share our lawns with many small creatures.”

It goes beyond bees and butterflies and other pollinating insects. Many ground-nesting birds are on the decline due to loss of grassy habitat. Native grasses also serve as habitat for small mammals such as rabbits and mice, which in turn provide a buffet for raptors such as owls, hawks and eagles.

Hellbender Press has reported on cultivation of such natural landscapes and habitats within the city limits. Groups such as the Native Plant Rescue Squad can also provide plants and guidance.

OAK RIDGE — Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning and the North Ridge Trail maintenance volunteers invite everyone to our 2024 National Trails Day work project on the North Ridge Trail.

Work on the Orchard Lane access trail will begin at 9 a.m. June 1.

The access trail is located along a water drainage route. Erosion along the ditch has made the trail difficult to follow. We will work to relocate the first 130 feet of the access trail away from the water route.

Bring drinking water, sunscreen, insect repellent and good gloves. TCWP will provide some work tools, but feel free to bring any of your personal tools, including grubbing tools such as mattocks, Pulaskis, fire rakes, rogue hoes and/or McLeods fire tools. After the work is completed, a pizza lunch will be provided a short drive from the work location.

GATLINBURG — A missing man who was the subject of a search in Great Smoky Mountains National Park was found on Wednesday.

Jacob Riggs was located in the vicinity of Tremont by a park visitor who recognized that he was in need of care. The visitor brought Riggs to the Incident Command Post near the Townsend Wye. Riggs had minor injuries and exposure to weather. He was evaluated onsite and taken to a local hospital. 

The previous story is below:

Park rangers are searching for a 35-year-old man near the Townsend Wye, Tremont and Cades Cove areas of the park. Jacob Riggs was last seen in Maynardville, Tenn. on April 7. His vehicle was found in the park on April 8. 

Riggs is a white male, with black hair and a dark beard, and brown eyes. He is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 185 pounds.  

KNOXVILLE — People across 13 counties in East Tennessee are urged to record animals, plants and fungi they observe for four days in late April.

City Nature Challenge 2024 is international, but the Knoxville-area challenge includes anyone in Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, Roane, Scott, Sevier and Union counties. It will run April 26 through April 29 via the iNaturalist app, which is available on Google play or the App Store. While the focus is largely centered on urban areas, participants don’t have to live within a city or town to record their observations.

Participants can upload photos from a digital camera to the iNaturalist website even if they lack a smartphone. Zoo Knoxville, Tennessee Butterfly Monitoring Challenge, the city of Knoxville, Ijams Nature Center, Sierra Club, South Doyle Middle School and Discover Life in America are partnering to support the project. No experience is needed to participate. Results will be announced on May 6.

The central, dark image shows the total eclipse on March 9, 2016 from Earth, with the central pupil created by the sun covered by a dark moon as seen from the NASA and ESA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. Faint structures in the sun’s corona extend outward from this disk with the corona imaged in white light, easily visible from the ground only during an eclipse.  NASA 

GATLINBURG — A total solar eclipse will be visible across a swath of the United States on April 8, stretching from Texas to Maine. Great Smoky Mountains National Park lies outside the path of totality but will experience an 86 to 87 percent obstruction of the sun during the event.

In the Smokies, viewers will experience a partial eclipse, when the moon only partially blocks the sun. In the national park, the moon will begin its intersection of the sun’s orbit at 1:49 p.m., the obstruction will reach its maximum extent at 3:08 p.m., and the event will conclude at 4:23 p.m. 

A total eclipse is lineup of the sun, the moon, and Earth. The moon will be directly between the sun and Earth, casting a shadow on Earth. A total eclipse occurs when the moon covers the entirety of the sun except for the corona, or sun’s atmosphere.

Viewing a solar eclipse without proper eye protection is dangerous and can result in long-term vision impairment or blindness. Regular sunglasses — no matter how dark — are not safe for viewing the eclipse. To ensure safe viewing, park staff will make available one free pair of glasses per family/group at the viewing locations listed below while supplies last. If visitors wish to have enough glasses for everyone in their group to view the eclipse at the same time, they will need to bring eclipse glasses along or purchase them. The park’s retail partner, Smokies Life, will have the glasses available for sale ($1.50 each) at park store locations.

Park staff and volunteers will be available to provide eclipse information and safe, facilitated viewing at the following locations from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.:

• Newfound Gap parking lot

• Various locations around Cades Cove Loop Road, including near the John Oliver Cabin and at the Cades Cove Overlook

• Outside the Oconaluftee Visitor Center

The 4^th annual Great Smokies Eco-Adventure, based at Camp Atagahi, promises you a unique, memorable experience

The event is hosted by Discover Life in America (DLiA) and A Walk in the Woods Guide Service. This exciting fundraising event features “glamping” (glamorous camping), gourmet food and drink, as well as guided nature hikes in the Smokies — including an excursion on the Appalachian Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, during peak wildflower season.

The Eco-Adventure will be held Sunday, April 21-23 near Gatlinburg, and all proceeds support DLiA’s mission to conduct biodiversity research in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Tickets are limited.

Discover Life in America’s mission is connecting communities and scientists in discovering, understanding and conserving the natural world. DLiA’s flagship project, the ATBI (All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory), is a joint effort with the National Park Service to identify and understand every species within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. To date, DLiA has helped add 12,083 species to the inventory of life in the park, including 1,079 that are new to science. Learn more at dlia.org.

Cody Gentry

KNOXVILLE — Transportation Engineering Specialist Cody Gentry is the city’s first Vision Zero coordinator.

As the city’s first Vision Zero coordinator, Gentry will oversee efforts by multiple city departments and community groups, including Bike Walk Knoxville, to improve roadway safety and meet the Vision Zero goal, which City Council unanimously endorsed in 2021.

Gentry has worked in the city’s engineering department for 17 years, most recently as a key member of the Neighborhood Transportation Safety Program. The neighborhood-driven program seeks solutions to vehicle speed and traffic safety concerns on residential streets. 

“I’m eager for Cody to lend his significant experience to our Vision Zero efforts and find multi-modal solutions to road safety across Knoxville,” said Mayor Indya Kincannon. “We must work together across multiple city departments and community groups in order to reach our goal of ending deadly crashes by 2040. Cody is the person to bring those components together.”

GATLINBURG — Laurel Creek, Cherokee Orchard, Greenbrier and Upper Tremont roads and some sections of Foothills Parkway remained closed early Wednesday after a Tuesday storm packing 85 mph winds downed trees and damaged vehicles and structures across Great Smoky Mountains National Park. No injuries were reported.

The closures were still in effect as of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to park officials. Newfound Gap Road is open. Current road closures are listed on the park website.