“Our house was just destroyed,” she said. “The water line was inches from the ceiling, and it had tossed around our appliances like they were nothing.”
Many Appalachians lean on their faith for strength during a crisis, but one family along the Pigeon River near Clyde found echoes of their spirituality all around after they watched their home destroyed in recent flooding brought on by Hurricane Helene.
“The good Lord left us here for a reason,
The moment Romulus Meares, IV, 31, of Clyde, realized his home was flooding beyond repair, with water rising to his knees, he sat down in his living room and played a final song on the piano that had been an anniversary gift to his wife and would soon be destroyed.
Community Action was created on the heels of a March 1964 message to congress from President Lyndon Johnson during which he urged the body to pass his Economic Opportunity Act. Ultimately, the act created the Office of Economic Opportunity, including the creation of Community Action Agencies (CAAs) to “strike poverty
“No matter what your age is, as long as you have breath in your lungs and a heartbeat, you’re not done,” Keffer said. “What I hope to show people is that you can finish your degree at any age. I encourage single moms to push for it – I was
“Affordable housing is something that’s needed in Haywood County and all over the US,” said Melonie Gross, chair of the Mission Team at First Presbyterian Church of Waynesville. “Anything that helps support that only does good.”
Davis’s commitment to the cause is driven by her memory of a news story she read about in which a family lost their life while trying to stay warm in Haywood County.
“I am forever reminded of that tragedy and about how important it is to keep people with heat
“These funds are essential in our effort to support the wellbeing of underserved households in Jackson County and will assist with the independence and self-sufficiency of local seniors,” says Mountain Projects Executive Director Patsy Davis. “This project would not have been possible without this support from Nantahala Health Foundation.”
“I thought I was prepared after Ivan,” she says, “but this was way more than a 100-year flood.” Hurricane Ivan, in 2004, caused serious, but not catastrophic damage to the campground, and she’d made some infrastructure changes since. Also, she was insured then, but insurance covered very little of the
