Last September, my family was gearing up for our first “leaf season” (and apple season, and hayride season, and football season) in Haywood County. As recent transplants from another state, we had heard about how beautiful the mountains are in early fall, and we were looking forward to experiencing it.

Hurricane Helene may not have been so devastating for Western North Carolina were it not for the half foot of rain that dumped on the region just ahead of Sept. 27, 2024. Getting ahead of what promised to be a monumental disaster, on the afternoon of Sept. 26, only about 12 hours before flooding began in some WNC communities, the National Weather Service office in upstate South Carolina issued the following statement: 

Nearly a year after Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, the federal government still hasn’t delivered on the money it promised to local governments. With the one-year anniversary looming, towns and counties say most of their needs remain unmet, forcing them back to Washington yet again, to beg for help. 

When it comes to the rich, vibrant history of Haywood County Fair, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone as passionate and knowledgeable on the subject as Alex McKay. 

“I think what people here now take for granted is that, for so long, Haywood County was farming and agriculture,” McKay said. “And a lot of that is physically disappearing.” 

Accessorized with purple-rimmed glasses, dangly beaded earrings and a well-worn Café Du Monde apron, Denise Teague brings the humility and unwavering tenacity needed to sustain Clyde United Methodist Church’s community kitchen since the earliest days following Hurricane Helene.  

Haywood County will mark the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene this week with a series of commemorations beginning during the opening ceremonies of the annual Haywood County Fair. At 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25, a proclamation will be read at the Smoky Mountain Event Center, and attendees will have the chance to recognize first responders, volunteers and partner organizations who have played a role in recovery.

Two Haywood County water systems will benefit from a combined $15 million in funding for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects as part of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program for disaster-affected states. North Carolina is the first state impacted by Helene to award grants from this program. 

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has awarded a total of $3 million to two local partners in Haywood County to support ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene and to strengthen the region’s resilience to future storms. 

Since Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, residents have learned countless lessons and encountered unforeseen circumstances, even long after the initially recovery phase began. 

Another year, another set of numbers, and once again the mountains tell a complicated story of educational achievement. 

As in years past, Haywood County set the regional pace, with the highest-performing high school (Haywood Early College), the highest-performing middle school (Bethel) and the highest-performing elementary school (Riverbend) based on achievement scores issued by the Department of Public Instruction for schools in The Smoky Mountain News core coverage area of Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties.