For locals in East Tennessee, Dolly Parton's death is personal. Here's how local news covered the story.

There are no shortage of tributes and obituaries pouring in from all corners of the country honoring the life and legacy of Dolly Parton this week after news of her death broke on Tuesday. But news of the country music legend's passing hit especially hard in Sevier County, the East Tennessee county where Parton was from. 

She never lost sight of Sevier County over her nearly 70-year career, and contributed millions to the county over decades. She gave money to help start a local hospital in the county, which opened in 2010 with a women's health center named for Parton. She started her beloved Imagination Library in Sevier County, hoping to increase childhood literacy rates there, and her scholarships for high school and middle school students caused the dropout rate to decrease from more than 30 percent to less than 10.

Here's how outlets in Tennessee covered the news this week:

WZTV in Nashville reported that Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters and Mayor-Elect Bryan McCarter declared Aug. 26 a day of mourning in the county.

WATE in Knoxville offered a list of Parton's "major impacts" on East Tennessee, reporting that "her impact on her East Tennessee community and the world beyond is a large reason why she is loved by so many."

The Mountain Press, Sevierville's local newspaper, reported reflections from local city and county officials who had direct ties to Parton outside the connections made through her charitable giving. Pigeon Forge City Manager David Wear told the paper that Pigeon Forge, where Parton's theme park Dollywood is located, has "lost one of our own," and that "Dolly loved these mountains, she loved this community, and she never forgot where she came from." 

And the Knoxville News Sentinel offers a list of Sevier County "landmarks that pay tribute to the Queen of Country back where her story began." Included are a statue of her in downtown Sevierville where a public memorial to Parton began on Tuesday, and several locations in town that Parton frequented or performed.