Ella Adams

Oct 31, 2024 | inc.com | Ella Adams

October is usually peak tourism season in the High Country of North Carolina; mountain towns like Asheville are typically crowded with visitors who come to see the fall foliage (locals call them “leaf peepers”) and take part in outdoor activities like hiking, corn mazes, pumpkin patches, and fly-fishing. Visitor spending in 2023 reached a combined $1.17 billion in the seven High Country counties: Watauga, Ashe, Allegany, Wilkes, Yancey, Mitchell, and Avery.

Oct 29, 2024 | yahoo.com | Ella Adams

BOONE - A quarter-mile from downtown Boone, Junaluska Road weaves in between the homes of one of Appalachia’s oldest Black communities. After Tropical Storm Helene, the steep and windy road is now a creek. Water steadily flows down the asphalt. About 7 miles long, Junaluska Road is washed out in places with fallen trees and gaping sinkholes in its path. “You know, I thought we were gonna blow off this mountain,” Junaluska resident Lisa Foster said.

Oct 10, 2024 | spotlightonpoverty.org | Ella Adams

A Historic North Carolina Church Gathers After The Storm Since late last year, Spotlight has enjoyed a content sharing partnership with The Assembly, a new, digital-first magazine in North Carolina that is now producing remarkable coverage of the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene in the state.

Oct 8, 2024 | upandcomingweekly.com | Ella Adams

The following article about the devastation in the small town of Meat Camp provided by The Assembly is an excellent report by Ella Adams. She describes Hurricane Helene’s massive carnage, and one family’s race for survival. This article describes the horrid devastation and loss of life currently being experienced by tens of thousands of people in countless dozens of towns and cities across Western North Carolina, Eastern Tennessee and Georgia.

Oct 7, 2024 | theassemblync.com | Ella Adams

The Junaluska Gospel Choir band riffed upbeat tunes as congregants of the Boone Mennonite Brethren Church greeted each other and settled into the wooden pews on Sunday morning. It was the first service since Hurricane Helene swept across Western North Carolina, causing widespread flooding and landslides. The church is in the heart of Junaluska, one of the oldest historically Black communities in Appalachia. This 200-year-old neighborhood is located half a mile up the mountain from downtown Boone.