The Haywood County Arts Council (HCAC) in Waynesville has announced the launch of the HCAC Helene Support Grant.

Designed to provide financial assistance to HCAC artist members who have been significantly impacted by the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, the application process is currently underway.

After Tropical Storm Fred moved through Western North Carolina in 2021, litter cleanup throughout the East Fork and downstream along the Pigeon River was an unfunded effort, leaving local responsibility on the backs of property owners, volunteers and programs like Adopt-a-Stream.

N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler encourages communities impacted by Hurricane Helene to apply for the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program, which responds to emergencies created by natural disasters. It is not necessary for a national emergency to be declared for an area to be eligible for assistance. 

Facts, once unassailable, have become, well, difficult to quantify. People make up or repeat lies, especially on social media platforms and other online spaces, and people believe them, think what they read or hear is true, is a fact. As it turns out, those lies can be dangerous. We’ve all witnessed it at the national level, but it’s also happening right here in Western North Carolina. 

A couple of people from Canton were recognized by Attorney General and incoming governor Josh Stein for their actions during the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene on Sept. 27. 

It was quiet, so damn quiet. Wednesday evening. Myself flying solo, exiting Interstate 240, merging onto Patton Avenue and rolling into the heart of downtown Asheville. No traffic. No cars. No people. It was odd. 

Mary Garrison and her husband, Fairview Fire Department Battalion Chief Tony Garrison, awoke around 4 a.m. on Sept. 27 to a darkened home with no electricity, torrential rainfall pounding the ground and high winds from Hurricane Helene screaming through their tiny, isolated Craigtown community. 

The number is $53.6 billion. That’s the estimate from the N.C. Office of State Budget and Management for the damage Helene inflicted on Western North Carolina. Those are just dollars; in the bigger picture, lives have been lost, transformed and forever changed. 

Homeowners and renters in North Carolina may be eligible for FEMA Rental Assistance if they cannot live in their homes because of damage due to Tropical Storm Helene. 

Carolina Mountain Club (CMC) is gearing up for another significant trail restoration event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, in Hot Springs.