Brevard NewsBeat

The current media outlets in Brevard and Transylvania County often overlook important details. They rarely request documents, ask challenging questions, investigate political ties, or clarify public policies. My focus is different: I won’t share club updates, cover sports, or usually report on crime. Opinions will only appear in reader comments. Instead, I will investigate topics that truly affect our community’s quality of life, economy, and environment. Plus, there's an added incentive to subscribe—it's free until I consistently deliver unique stories you won't find elsewhere.

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Articles

Bigger Budget Not "Socialism," just Necessary, Commissioners Say

1 week ago | brevardnewsbeat.substack.com | Dan DeWitt

BREVARD — Of the many false rumors and unwarranted accusations Transylvania County Commissioner Chase McKelvey said he has heard during the current budget season, this was the most “shocking”: One caller, he said at the Commission’s budget workshop on Tuesday, told him that “if we go to a one-service fire district, that’s like fire department socialism and that’s a liberal mentality.” The backlash from other commissioners was so fierce that McKelvey had to quickly remind them that the charge...
More Housing on Steep Slopes: City Wants It, Neighbors Don’t

3 weeks ago | brevardnewsbeat.substack.com | Dan DeWitt

BREVARD — Laura Rain Tree and Ron Young climbed a steep, wooded hillside bordering the site of a proposed housing development to reach a ravine with even steeper walls. “Look how it falls off over there,” said Young, pointing to an especially precipitous slope.
Opinion: Larry Chapman and Blurred Line between Patriotism and Militarism

1 month ago | brevardnewsbeat.substack.com | Dan DeWitt

BREVARD — The always-moving Gettysburg Address stirred up a new emotion when I listened to County Commissioner Larry Chapman read it at the Memorial Day ceremony in downtown Brevard. A slow-burning resentment, a feeling that this guy’s got a lot of nerve. The Address, as you no doubt know, is a distillation of the nation’s highest ideals written by a leader who embodied them.
Market-Based Reassessment Means Higher Taxes for Residents, Big Cuts for Big Businesses

1 month ago | brevardnewsbeat.substack.com | Dan DeWitt

BREVARD — Ella Jones’ tiny, 77-year-old house on North Lane has seen a lot of hard use and not enough maintenance in the last few years, she said. “It’s just gone down,” she said of the condition of the 830-square-foot home that she previously rented and that is now occupied free of charge by her son and his family. “I couldn’t make house payments on it, pay taxes on it and keep it up,” she said.
Clarification in Column About River Clearance

1 month ago | brevardnewsbeat.substack.com | Dan DeWitt

I got things turned around in one section of the story. The phrase, “proof that the damage was due to the storm rather than the cleanup,” should have read, “proof that the damage was due to the cleanup rather than the storm.”It’s been changed on the website. To share, please click on the updated version here. Thank you. Dan
Opinion: When it Comes to Clearing Storm Debris Clearance, Less is Better

1 month ago | brevardnewsbeat.substack.com | Dan DeWitt

CEDAR MOUNTAIN — Not to go all Bio. 101 on you, but in nature death begets life. Trout and salamanders thrive in streams cooled by the shade of fallen trees. Cavities in their trunks are nests for owls, woodpeckers and bluebirds. Deadfall diverts flow into intermittent wetlands, aka factories of life, and slows that flow in channels, allowing fish to rest and feed, mussels to gain purchase on riverbeds. In other words, our “debris,” is, for wildlife, habitat.
Opinion: Unlock SAFE. Nonprofit Needs to Open up to Restore Credibility. And I’ll Help

1 month ago | brevardnewsbeat.substack.com | Dan DeWitt

BREVARD — Janice Baker is taking over a broken nonprofit, SAFE Inc. of Transylvania County. And, though she apparently doesn’t believe this, I can help her fix it. As for that “broken” part, it was thoroughly documented in a story I wrote last year. Sky-high turnover and rock-bottom morale, inadequate training for workers in crucial roles, the evaporation of promising programs and the redirection of funds raised for specific purposes.
Excess Debris Removal in County Rivers Created “Ecological Crisis,” Critics Say, and Could Cost as much as $66 Million

1 month ago | brevardnewsbeat.substack.com | Dan DeWitt

CEDAR MOUNTAIN – Lauren Wilkie saw no need for debris removal at her property on the Little River near Greenville Highway. By the start of April, she and her husband, Don, had long ago removed the limbs deposited by the epic flooding of last year’s Tropical Storm Helene. The vine-draped trees arching over the river held firm during the storm and held the bank in place.
Community "Hero" Ora Wells' Latest Mission, Preventing Alzheimer's

2 months ago | brevardnewsbeat.substack.com | Dan DeWitt

BREVARD — When retired pediatrician Ora Wells first saw the MRI image showing a large, subcranial void in his parietal lobe — “a f—ing hole in my brain,” he called it — he wasn’t particularly upset. Mostly he was “amazed,” he said, during last month’s presentation at Brevard College’s Porter Center, re-enacting the scene of first seeing that image and repeating his words of reaction:“Shazam! . . . Woah! . . .
Masters Golf and the Argument for Keeping Some Things as They Are

2 months ago | brevardnewsbeat.substack.com | Dan DeWitt

CEDAR MOUNTAIN — Dogwoods and redbuds, dwarf irises and violets. Flawless blue sky and a cool morning warming into shirtsleeve weather by noon. Sunday was one of those spring days that practically demand that you head outside, breathe fresh air and soak in all the reminders that, despite everything, the world isn’t ruined yet. So, what did I do?