If you want to know whether COVID-19 infections are rising or falling, look to the sewers. Wastewater monitoring (also known as wastewater surveillance or wastewater-based epidemiology) offers a novel way to monitor the health of a population as a whole.

Autopsy results for the October death of a man in custody at the Jackson County Detention Center confirm that he died of a drug overdose. 

The immediate grief of having to bury a child seems insurmountable, and the lifetime of what-ifs seem like enough to drag a person to unimaginable depths.

But what for most is horrific speculation is a reality for others. John Chapman Sr. knows.

It’s the inevitable result of human nature.

Addiction has impacted almost every American — even those who’ve never suffered from the disease usually know someone who has. As the crisis has worsened over time, the societal impacts have become impossible to ignore as more Western North Carolina residents and businesses fall victim to property crimes committed by people looking to steal something worth enough to get the drugs they need.