Missing hiker Ann Houghton, 73, was found deceased in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Feb. 2 at approximately 1:53 p.m. She was found roughly a quarter mile off of Enloe Creek Trail. 

This is my response to an article in The Franklin Press following the December 10 meeting.

The actions of John Shearl at the Dec. 10 Macon County Commission meeting opposing the hiring of a kennel attendant and chastising current staff at the Macon County Animal Shelter at best reflect ignorance and at worst reflect obstructionism and grandstanding. 

MountainTrue, in partnership with the Mainspring Conservation Trust and the Pinnacle Park Foundation, is hosting a community volunteer workday to control non-native invasive plants and restore native habitat at the Pinnacle Park in Sylva. 

Mary Garrison and her husband, Fairview Fire Department Battalion Chief Tony Garrison, awoke around 4 a.m. on Sept. 27 to a darkened home with no electricity, torrential rainfall pounding the ground and high winds from Hurricane Helene screaming through their tiny, isolated Craigtown community. 

Haywood Waterways is hosting a cleanup session for Waynesville’s Richland Creek.

The cleanup will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 7.

Meet at the Vance Street pavilion located along Richland Creek down the hill from the Waynesville Recreation Center at 550 Vance Street in Waynesville. 

Carolina Mountain Club (CMC) is gearing up for another significant trail restoration event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, in Hot Springs. 

As the recovery from the flooding disaster brought on by Hurricane Helene transitions to a different phase with more long-term priorities, housing solutions have become a major focus of volunteers still looking to lend a helping hand. 

Dan Messer would have preferred to host a livestock auction on Monday, but instead he was working one in a string of countless dawn-to-midnight days coordinating aid distribution out of the WNC Regional Livestock Center in Canton. 

It’s hard to know what to write about when my mind is swirling in so many directions, as I’m sure most of yours are as well. As someone said, not only were the effects of Hurricane Helene on a mountain region improbable, they were unimaginable.

Since Tropical Storm Helene hit Western North Carolina, there has been an outpouring of people looking for ways to support those hit hardest by the storm. Here’s a look at what options people have to volunteer or donate if they wish to contribute to ongoing efforts in the Smoky Mountain News coverage area (Swain, Macon, Jackson and Haywood counties, as well as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians).