-
1 week ago | 
eu.blueridgenow.com | Jacob Biba
Tropical Storm Helene, which hit Western North Carolina in September 2024, cause nearly $60 billion in damage and displaced thousands of residents. According to the state, Helene damaged 31,782 owner-occupied single-family homes and 6,505 rental properties across North Carolina. When Tropical Storm Helene swept through Western North Carolina, it left a trail of devastation and destruction.
-
1 week ago | 
citizen-times.com | Jacob Biba
North Carolina has launched an $807 million program to repair and rebuild single-family homes damaged by Tropical Storm Helene. The program prioritizes low-to-moderate income families but is open to homeowners earning up to 120% of the area median income. An intake center has opened in Marion, with plans for additional centers in Buncombe and Watauga counties to assist applicants.
-
1 week ago | 
yahoo.com | Jacob Biba
ASHEVILLE – Richard B. “Dick” Wynne, Asheville Citizen Times’ former president and publisher who helped found the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, serving as its second chairman, died June 5 at Elizabeth House, a Henderson County hospice care facility. He was 97.
-
2 weeks ago | 
citizen-times.com | Jacob Biba
Ret. Air Force Col. Moe Davis announced his candidacy for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District. Davis previously ran for the same seat in 2020, losing to one-term Congressman Madison Cawthorn. ASHEVILLE – Democrat Moe Davis, a retired Air Force colonel-turned author and podcaster, has officially announced his bid to represent North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Davis announced his candidacy in a June 10 news release.
-
2 weeks ago | 
eu.blueridgenow.com | Jacob Biba
This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, call or text the national suicide and crisis lifeline at 988. Asheville Academy, a now-shuttered Weaverville residential treatment center where two children died by suicide in May, has voluntarily surrendered its license, according to a June 4 letter the facility’s executive director sent to the state’s health department.
-
2 weeks ago | 
yahoo.com | Jacob Biba
A report from the North Carolina state auditor’s office has found that a Buncombe County community care station set up to assist residents in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene cost an estimated $27.4 million to operate. The care station, which opened at Owen Pool in Swannanoa, provided showers, laundry services, bathrooms, water, cell service and WiFi, and access to counseling services.
-
3 weeks ago | 
citizen-times.com | Jacob Biba
Buncombe County Commissioners approved the county's FY2026 budget at their June 3 regular meeting. The approved budget allocates nearly $122 million to education but falls short of funding requests from the county’s two school systems. Commissioners passed a resolution to use a special sales tax to restore school funding to pre-Helene levels, if use of that tax is approved by state lawmakers.
-
3 weeks ago | 
blueridgenow.com | Jacob Biba
Asheville Academy, the residential treatment center in Weaverville where two children died by suicide in May, has closed, Asheville Academy said in a June 3 statement. “Asheville Academy has made the difficult decision to voluntarily close its doors,” the facility said. “We informed families of this decision and prioritized a smooth departure for all students by Saturday, May 31.”In May, two children who attended Asheville Academy died by suicide, the Citizen Times previously reported.
-
3 weeks ago | 
citizen-times.com | Jacob Biba
Asheville Academy, the residential treatment center in Weaverville where two children died by suicide in May, has closed, Asheville Academy said in a June 3 statement. “Asheville Academy has made the difficult decision to voluntarily close its doors,” the facility said. “We informed families of this decision and prioritized a smooth departure for all students by Saturday, May 31.”In May, two children who attended Asheville Academy died by suicide, the Citizen Times previously reported.
-
4 weeks ago | 
yahoo.com | Jacob Biba
Another child who attended Asheville Academy has died by suicide, according to the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office. It’s the second death of a child who attended the Weaverville residential treatment center this month. Asheville Academy in Weaverville, May 28, 2025. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is currently on site investigating, the agency told the Citizen Times in a May 30 email.
