New river gauge installation begins in Haywood County

The first of eight planned new river gauges will be installed in Haywood County this week. When complete the project will greatly enhance Haywood County Emergency Services’ ability to monitor upstream river levels. 

NC launches Haywood Homeownership Assistance Program

UPDATED April 29: NCORR has received over the program budget in interested applicants for the Homeowners Assistance Program. NCORR is pausing the application to ensure current applicants were eligible and submitted all required documentation.

The N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) is supporting Haywood County in the April 22 launch of its Homeownership Assistance Program (HAP) to assist homebuyers displaced by Tropical Storm Fred or first-time homebuyers that are income qualified. 

Finishing the job: Canton budgets for the future 18 months after Fred

When Canton officials and administrators met for their annual budget retreat last year, Town Manager Nick Scheuer’s presentation was riddled with question marks — signs of uncertainty after widespread flooding caused more than $18 million in damages to town infrastructure and killed six.  

Canton selects architects for municipal buildings

The town that refuses to stay down made another big move toward getting back on its feet last week, selecting architects who will design replacements for municipal buildings that were damaged or destroyed during flooding in August 2021.

Emergency watershed protection coming to East Fork

Asheville-based McGill Associates will begin work to provide emergency watershed protection in areas affected by Tropical Storm Fred after Haywood commissioners approved an $800,000 contract on Jan. 17, but at least one commissioner thinks it may not be enough.

The truth about climate change is staring us down

The truth, even when it’s staring you down Clint Eastwood style, is easier to ignore than to act on. Just human nature, I guess, but something has to give.

Canton announces plans for new town hall, police department

Almost immediately after deadly flooding swamped downtown Canton for the second time in less than 20 years, town officials began talking about building back smarter. Last week, the town took a big step — two, actually — toward that goal.

‘It can’t be like that all the time’: Farmers recover from Fred amid inflation, weather worries

When Gary Griffith woke up a rainy Tuesday on Aug. 17, 2021, he never imagined that by the next morning, the 12 acres of green peppers he’d grown along the Pigeon River in Bethel would rest in drifts miles downstream, the unofficial symbol  of the catastrophic tragedy that was Tropical Storm Fred.  

This must be the place: Ode to the flood, ode to Cruso, Bethel and Canton

Sitting on a barstool at The Water’n Hole in Waynesville last Monday afternoon, I took a pull from the cold Budweiser bottle and let out a slight sigh. Stories and tales were being exchanged all along the bar counter about where folks were and what they were doing during “The Great Flood of 2021.” 

A year later, there is still much to be done

Earlier this week, I had started writing a column about the progress made in the year since the flooding from Tropical Storm devastated parts of Haywood County. Then, as I started talking to our writers about the stories they were preparing for this week’s edition — one year after the flood — I could tell they had the recovery efforts well covered. 

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