Gov. Josh Stein announced that the Dogwood Health Trust, the Duke Endowment and the State of North Carolina have distributed $55 million to 2,812 small businesses through the Western North Carolina Small Business Initiative. These grants are supporting Western North Carolina businesses impacted by Hurricane Helene and bolstering regional economic recovery. More than 7,300 businesses applied.  

The N.C. Department of Information Technology’s Division of Broadband and Digital Opportunity announced a $1.2 million Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program fiber project to connect 359 households and businesses in Haywood County to high-speed internet.

This is not the end of our story in Western North Carolina. Far from it. It’s an opportunity for a new beginning, a reshaping of this place that has always been so good for the soul. As I stand on my front porch steps and pause to look at and smell the trees, see leaves slowly spiraling earthward, feel the crisp bite of autumn in the morning air, take a deep breath and know that all will be healed in time.