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. 

To the Editor:

I was finally able to get through the travel hazards back to Western North Carolina six days after Helene’s historic fury had torn through our region devastating roadways, major infrastructure, entire communities and thousands of lives.

Like much of Haywood County, Waynesville wasn’t affected by Hurricane Helene as badly as many other Western North Carolina communities, but businesses, residents and the town still incurred millions in costly damages that will take time to fix. 

Solid numbers on damage from Hurricane Helene are finally coming into Haywood County, along with a state plan to repurpose federal funds that will help speed recovery. 

Helene tore through many people’s lives in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Some lost homes, as well as the very soil on which their homes were built. Even for those whose homes were spared, the effect of being near such devastation reverberates.