At midnight Tuesday, funding for the National Park Service ran out. By 10:00 a.m., rangers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park were erecting barricades and telling campers and hikers to go home. More than 300 park service employees were sent home shortly thereafter. Tuesday afternoon, WUOT’s Christine Jessel and Brandon Hollingsworth went to the park to hear from the people the federal shutdown is affecting right in our own backyard.
You'll hear the voices of Fred and Drema Johnson of West Virginia, Alyssa and Rachel Miller of Ohio, Florence Gibson from Missouri, Don and Rebecca Whittington of Alabama, and Zack Neubert of Maryville. All were recorded at Great Smoky Mountains National Park and in Townsend.