News

The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) Division of Consumer Affairs is warning Tennessee consumers to be wary of mystery shopping scams. Sometimes retailers hire consumers to secretly evaluate their stores’ customer service – a practice commonly known as “mystery shopping” or “secret shopping.” But unscrupulous mystery shopping scams can leave consumers holding the bag. In Tennessee, the Division ...

Less than a year after re-election, Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Gary R. Wade announced Friday he will retire later this year. The retirement of Justice Wade in September will leave a seat open on the Supreme Court that places the balance of power in the hands of Gov. Bill Haslam. Following fifteen years in private practice, Wade sat on the ...

The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in identifying two female subjects in connection with a stolen credit card case. On July 20, 2015, the two females allegedly went into several convenience stores in Sevier County and bought merchandise with the stolen credit cards. Security cameras captured images of the women and their silver or gray compact ...

Visitation to Great Smoky Mountains National Park is up eight percent through the first six months of 2015. Between January and June over 4.3 million visitors have enjoyed the nation’s most visited national park. In May 2015 alone over 1 million visitors entered the park, the most ever for May since the National Park Service began tracking monthly visitation in ...

Risk of fire has prompted the recall of certain Metalux, Portfolio and Utilitech brand fluorescent light fixtures manufactured by Eaton’s Cooper Lighting. Cooper Lighting LLC of Peachtree City, Ga. has issued a recall of several models of retail fluorescent light fixtures after receiving seven reports of sockets overheating, melting or arcing, which poses a fire hazard. The fixtures are white ...

State and local officials were on hand this week to celebrate the completion of a building that will soon house Sevier County’s new recycling hub. The facility was made possible through a $300,000 Recycling Hub and Spoke Grant from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, which are awarded for the development and expansion of regional facilities to collect, transport ...

Local Sevier County retailers are preparing for the annual Tennessee Sales Tax Holiday. The State of Tennessee has scheduled the 2015 Sales Tax Holiday weekend from 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 7 until Sunday, August 9 at 11:59 p.m., and with Sevier County being a major shopping destination for residents of east Tennessee and vacationers, retail stores are preparing for ...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has strengthened the warning on prescription and over the counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to indicate that use of these drugs, even short term use, carries a risk of heart attack and stroke which may lead to death. Most NSAID pain relievers are available only by prescription. However, ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) and naproxen (Aleve) ...

The City of Sevierville advises motorists to consider alternate routes when the city temporarily closes sections of area streets this month to facilitate two events. Bruce Street in downtown Sevierville, from the Parkway to Gary Wade Blvd. will be closed from approximately 1:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 12, 2015 to accommodate the production of the “Rootin’ 4 ...

A Tennessee law went into effect on July 1, 2015 that allows citizens to break into a locked car to rescue a pet in distress without being held liable for damages. Every summer, stories of pets left in a hot car populate news feeds and social media. A new law in Tennessee, the first of its kind in the nation, ...