A bipartisan collaboration to bolster critical communication resources during natural disasters is gaining momentum in Congress after lessons learned during the devastation of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina last year. 

Nearly six months after Hurricane Helene killed 106 people and caused more than $60 billion in damage across Western North Carolina, the General Assembly is set to approve another storm-related relief bill. 

Highways, roads and bridges weren’t the only components of transportation infrastructure impacted by Hurricane Helene last fall. Now, a pair of Western North Carolina legislators have filed a bill in the North Carolina General Assembly to help a pair of railroads get back on track. 

Early Tuesday morning. Sitting in the dentist chair, I stared blankly out onto the parking lot, only to then notice the bustling traffic on nearby U.S. 276. It was at that moment when the nice dental hygienist asked if a date and time in mid-September 2025 would be ideal for my next teeth cleaning.  

Amid changing federal regulations regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement, one Jackson County group is making the rounds at public meetings in an effort to remind both elected officials and community members that it is there to support the Hispanic community. 

The WNC Nature Center will reopen to the public March 17, five and a half months after closing due to the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene, which caused significant flooding that destroyed roads and the main bridge to the Nature Center. 

It has been months since Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina and recovery is still ongoing throughout the region. Many residents and growers had devastating losses, but work is under way to rebuild and move forward in 2025. 

The North Carolina Arts Council has awarded $915,000 to nonprofit arts organizations in Western North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene.

The grants utilize funds from the North Carolina Arts Foundation’s North Carolina Arts Relief Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts and South Art’s Southern Arts Relief & Recovery Fund. 

Last week, Haywood County Republican Rep. Mark Pless filed a bill that would strip the county of its ability to levy room occupancy taxes. Now, he’s revealed that the impact of tourism on public safety and tight county budgets are also a motivating force behind it. 

Saying 2024 was an “eventful” year for the Waynesville Fire Department may have been an understatement by Chief Joey Webb, Sr., but so is saying the department “made many great strides forward.”