Asheville Watchdog is bringing you the stories behind the staggering loss of life from Helene, the children, parents, grandparents, multiple generations of a single family, all gone in one of the worst natural disasters to hit the mountains of western North Carolina. This is the second installment.
As Tropical Storm Helene barreled through on Sept. 27, Jesse Craig and his wife hunkered in their basement in Fletcher while trees fell on and around their house, flattening one vehicle and severely damaging another.
Craig spoke to his father, Ronald Craig, in Fairview and told him he may need his help. ‘ “I’ll talk to you when this thing clears up,’ ” he told his dad.
Late that afternoon, as Craig and his wife, Mekenzie, made their way out of their neighborhood, he received a brief call, the first and only one he got for days with cell service virtually disabled by the storm.
“It was my brother. He asked if I was sitting down,” Craig recalled. “And he said, ‘Mom and Dad are gone.’ I’m like, ‘What? Where would they go? What do you mean?’ He said, ‘They’re dead.’ ”
Over the next tortuous hours, Craig made his way to his parents’ home in the Garren Creek community in a hollow called Craigtown, named after his family who settled there decades ago. He dodged fallen trees and walked the last two miles, impassable by car, in tennis shoes and shorts to a shocking scene.
What was once the home of Jesse Craig’s parents is now a giant pile of debris. // Photo provided by Mekenzie Craig
The valley that had been home to multiple generations of his family had been obliterated by four successive landslides. And his parents were not the only victims.
Craig had lost 11 of his family members: his father and mother, Ronald and Sandra Craig; aunt and uncle, Lois and James Souther; great uncle and aunt, Daniel and Evelyn Wright; and cousins Freddie and Teresa Pack, Angela Craig, Tony Garrison and Brandon Ruppe.
Garrison, a battalion chief with the Fairview Fire Department, and his nephew, Ruppe, died attempting to rescue a survivor after one landslide when another one swept away the ground beneath them.
Jesse Craig describes the devastation in Craigtown. The loss of lives, 13 total, accounted for the largest cluster of deaths from Helene in Buncombe County, more than one quarter of the 42 in the official count of fatalities. // Watchdog video by Starr Sariego
Two other residents unrelated to the family perished, Chase Garrell, and another victim who has not been officially identified.
The loss of lives, 13 total, made the Garren Creek landslides among the deadliest in North Carolina history and accounted for the largest cluster of deaths from Helene in Buncombe County, more than one quarter of the 42 in the official count of fatalities.
“Everybody’s lost someone over there that we’re related to and and just the horrificness of it, how It happened, is devastating,” said Cyndi Williams, daughter of Daniel and Evelyn Wright. “I feel blessed that they are together, that they left this cruel world together, but it’s still heart-wrenching for us.”
Williams had been in New York visiting her son during the storm and began seeing Facebook posts about the catastrophe in Craigtown, fearing the worst for her parents.
“I just held out hope that they were just missing and that someone had got them, or they had gotten out and gotten to safety but just didn’t have the phone service to get in touch with anybody,” Williams said.
Her hope faded as the devastation became clearer. ‘It was just like their house exploded,” Williams said. “Everything was just destroyed, and so then we knew that probably nobody could have survived that.”
The debris flow hurtling down the mountain shattered everything in its path, mangling steel beams, crumpling cars and demolishing brick houses.
A metal gun case belonging to Jesse Craig’s father was found more than a mile from his home.
Craig spent the days following the disaster searching the mud and debris from early morning until after dark.
“We were looking for our family,” he said. “We just wanted to find them and find their belongings. We wanted to try to get keepsakes for everybody.”
Search and rescue crews found his mother’s body Oct. 5, eight days after the landslides, and his father’s remains Oct. 7, about a half mile from their house.
The survivors of the deceased have been burying their loved ones in a painfully familiar routine. By month’s end, Williams will have attended seven funerals, including one scheduled Friday for her parents.
“They were always good people, good Christian people,” Williams said. “We know where they are, and we have the hope of seeing them again…I think that’s what’s got us through.”
Ronald and Sandra Craig
Ronald “Ronnie” and Sandra “Sandy” Craig lived in Craigtown most of their lives, Jesse Craig said.
“My dad, he loved to hunt and fish. That was his life,” his son said.
Sandra and Ronald Craig // Courtesy: obituary
A retired brick mason, Ronnie, 68, “was a good craftsman” and approached projects and most everything “slow and methodical,” he said. “If you wanted it up fast, you might as well not even waste your time, but it was right.”
Craig said his father had “the greenest thumb of anybody I’ve ever met. I mean, he was an unbelievable gardener.”
He grew vegetables and fruits. “We had apple trees, peach trees, plums, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes,” Jesse Craig said.
Sandy, 69, had been an administrative associate for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, according to her death certificate.
“She retired several years ago, but she loved the ladies that she worked with, and she loved her job,” her son said.
“She was a great cook,” he said. “Her kitchen was her domain, and I got that from her… It was a habit for me to… go in the kitchen and start messing around. Boy, buddy, she would kick me out of there so fast.”
The couple enjoyed beach trips with their family. Married 49 years, they were lifetime members of Chestnut Hill Baptist Church.
Lois and James Souther
James and Lois Souther // Courtesy: obituary
Ronnie’s sister, Asheville native Lois Souther, 73, worked for electronics manufacturers for more than 45 years before retiring. She “was a loving wife, mother, and Granna. She found great joy in hummingbirds and flowers and was a devoted member of Chestnut Hill Baptist Church,” her obituary said.
Her husband, Jimmy, 73, worked at one of the same manufacturers, where he met his wife.
“His real joy was working on cars and lawnmowers,” an obituary said. “Jimmy was a loving husband, father, and Paw. He was also an avid hunter and fisherman.”
“One of their greatest joys together was supporting their son and grandchildren in the stands at AC Reynolds [High School] by attending all softball, baseball and football games,” the obituary said.
Daniel and Evelyn Wright
Daniel and Evelyn Wright // Courtesy: obituary
Daniel and Evelyn Wright, married more than 65 years, cherished their relatives and church family at Cedar Mountain Baptist Church, where Dan served as deacon and Evelyn played the piano and sang, according to their obituary.
Dan, 82, owned Daniel Wright Masonry and was a brick and block mason. An avid outdoorsman, he enjoyed working in his yard and garden, hunting, and fishing, according to the obituary.
Evelyn, 81, loved cooking and “was the best biscuit maker,” the obituary said.
“They loved to garden. They did a lot of canning,” said Williams, their daughter. “They loved all of us and all their grandkids; they just doted all over us. They were just genuinely amazing people, kind sweet people.”
Freddie and Teresa Pack
Freddie Pack, 66, was an electrician and owned Fred’s Electric. He was a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, who enjoyed being outside, playing with his grandchildren, hunting and fishing, his obituary said.
His wife, Teresa “Terri”, 60, worked as a pharmacy technician and taught children at Chestnut Hill Baptist Church, where she coordinated the Christmas play. She enjoyed Asheville Tourists baseball games and taking her grandchildren to Dollywood, her obituary said.
The remains of a car crumpled by a landslide debris flow sits along Flat Creek Road. // Watchdog photo by Starr Sariego
Angela Craig
Angela “Angie” Craig, 64, worked as a regional program representative for the state of North Carolina and was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by the governor for “significant contributions to the state and their communities” when she retired in 2022.
“She loved animals, gardening in her beautiful yard, her church and most of all, her family,” her obituary said.
At the time of the landslide, Angie and her husband, Don, were sitting on their front porch, Williams said. “They both were swept away, but Don was rescued,” she said.
Tony Garrison and his nephew, Robert Brandon Ruppe, rescued a person from this home but then perished in another landslide. // Watchdog photo by Starr Sariego
Tony Garrison and Brandon Ruppe
Among the rescuers that day were Tony Garrison and his nephew, Robert Brandon Ruppe.
In addition to being a battalion chief at Fairview, Garrison volunteered at the Garren Creek Fire Department, located adjacent to the homes buried in the landslide.
Tony Garrison, battalion chief with the Fairview Fire Department. // Courtesy: North Carolina Department of Insurance
Garrison, Ruppe and Garrison’s son, Dylan, had rescued one person in a house and were attempting to reach another in a truck when a landslide once again swept through the valley. Only Dylan survived.
“The only thing that we really know is that he was attempting to help the individuals in that community,” said Landon Miller, EMS coordinator with the Fairview Fire Department.
“The torrential rainfall that we’d had and the rain prior to the actual hurricane event taking place had just weakened the mountain, and it slid down to the bedrock and shifted down through that valley,” Miller said.
Garrison, 51, died of drowning and “compression asphyxia,” and Ruppe, 37, of landslide injuries, according to death certificates.
Garrison, affectionately known as “Bones” or “G,” dedicated his life to “serving others with bravery, humility, and an unwavering love for his community,” his obituary said.
“He was very supportive of his community, his family,” Miller said. “He was a church-going individual, just overall a good person, very humble, willing to help in any way he could.”
Garrison enjoyed woodworking, fishing, and his family, his obituary said.
“He had a great sense of humor,” Miller said. “He was always wanting to try to keep the mood light.”
Ruppe was generous, loyal and brave, his obituary said, with “an enormous heart, and a wonderful sense of humor that could light up a room.” He worked in sales for Goodwill Industries, according to his death certificate.
Chase Garrell
Chase Garrell, a 28-year-old auto mechanic, “touched the lives of so many people including family and friends in Florida, his Expertech Family, along with his Saturday cookout family,” his obituary said.
Though he wasn’t related to the Craig extended family, his obituary described him as the adopted son of Terri Pack.
“Chase could always light up a room and make everyone smile,” his obituary said. “He was a fierce and loyal friend and would have your back no matter what. He was selfless and always willing to help.”
An American flag discovered among the rubble stands where landslides devastated Craigtown. // Watchdog photo by Starr Sariego
Faith and family aid survivors
Jesse Craig never felt endangered in the peaceful valley, where he grew up fishing in streams and ponds.
“I would have felt safer here than anywhere because there were no trees that were going to get the house,” he said. “These streams were never big enough. They’ve never been out of the bank.”
Jesse Craig stands beside the remains of his parents’ home in Fairview. // Watchdog photo by Starr Sariego
The overwhelming grief sometimes overcomes him. “We just try to stay busy, lean on one another,” he said. “We’re all very strong in our faith, and our little church is up on top of the hill, and we were all members up there.”
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Sally Kestin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter. Email skestin@avlwatchdog.org. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-09-05 09:01:00
State Sen. Bobby Hanig announced his Republican primary candidacy for North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, aiming to challenge Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson and incumbent Democrat Rep. Don Davis. Hanig filed with the Federal Elections Commission, while Roberson plans to run. Hanig emphasizes conservative leadership aligned with the America First agenda. The district, covering 22 northeastern counties, was highly competitive in 2024, with Davis narrowly winning. Hanig, an Army veteran and former state representative, chairs key legislative committees and runs two Outer Banks businesses. He supports tax cuts, border control, pro-life policies, and Second Amendment rights, aligning with former President Trump’s agenda.
(The Center Square) – State Sen. Bobby Hanig will enter the Republican primary for North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, hoping to defeat Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson and eventually second-term incumbent Democratic Rep. Don Davis.
Rep. Bobby Hanig, R-Currituck
Michael Lewis via NCLeg.gov
Filing with the State Board of Elections is in December. Hanig has filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission. Roberson said he would run in April.
“I’m running because northeastern North Carolina deserves true conservative leadership that will fight for our community and the America first agenda,” he said in a release.
The seat was the most competitive between Democrats and Republicans in 2024 and figures to again be so in the 2026 midterms. Davis outlasted Republican Laurie Buckhout 49.52%-47.84%, winning by 6,307 votes of more than 376,000 cast.
Twenty-two counties are touched in the northeastern part of the state.
Hanig, R-Currituck, is a veteran of the Army. He has served the Board of Commissioners in Currituck County, and was in the state House of Representatives for two terms. By trade, he began as “the pool guy” and operates two businesses serving nearly 400 properties across the Outer Banks.
He’s chairman of the State and Local Government Committee, and serves as chairman within the Committee on Appropriations for General Government and Information Technology. He’s vice chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Local Government.
Four other assignments are Agriculture, Energy and Environment; Education/Higher Education; Regulatory Reform; and Transportation.
“I believe in President Trump’s America First Agenda and my record in the Legislature backs it up,” Hanig said. “I’ve cut taxes for North Carolina families, toughened border control in the state, stood up for life, and defended our Second Amendment rights.”
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The article largely reports factual information about the candidates entering the North Carolina 1st Congressional District race, including their backgrounds, election filing status, and statements of political positions. It mainly quotes Sen. Bobby Hanig’s own words and campaign messaging, especially his alignment with “America First” and conservative values. The coverage uses neutral language without editorializing or explicitly endorsing any viewpoint. However, the focus on Hanig’s quoted statements about tax cuts, border control, pro-life stance, and Second Amendment rights, along with an absence of equivalent direct quotes from the Democratic incumbent or the other Republican candidate, subtly frames the narrative from a conservative perspective. This leads to a slight center-right tilt, as the piece highlights Hanig’s positions without presenting counterpoints or Democratic viewpoints in comparable detail. Overall, it functions as informational content about the race rather than overt advocacy, but the emphasis on conservative policy references indicates a modest center-right leaning.
SUMMARY: Laura Leslie, a veteran North Carolina political reporter with 21 years of experience, will become the new editor of NC Newsline on September 29. Leslie, currently WRAL’s capitol bureau chief, led the innovative NCCapitol project covering state politics across multiple platforms. Previously, she was capitol bureau chief at WUNC public radio and authored the award-winning blog “Isaac Hunter’s Tavern.” An Emmy winner recognized nationally, Leslie replaces Rob Schofield, who retired in August. She expressed gratitude to WRAL and enthusiasm for joining NC Newsline, part of the expanding States Newsroom nonprofit network. Leslie’s last day at WRAL is September 5.
North Carolina’s 2025 crop season shows promise with healthy corn, soybeans, cotton, and apples, a major improvement from 2024’s drought and storm damage. However, challenges remain: Tropical Depression Chantal caused flooding, wet conditions hurt tobacco, and relief payments from last year’s disasters are delayed. Farmers face financial stress due to low crop prices, rising input costs, trade tariffs impacting exports, and labor shortages exacerbated by strict immigration policies and higher wages. The USDA relocating operations to Raleigh raises hopes for better local support. Despite struggles, a bountiful harvest is expected, supporting the state’s agricultural resilience and fall agritourism.
by Jane Winik Sartwell, Carolina Public Press September 4, 2025
The news about crops out of North Carolina farms is good this year: the corn is tall, the soybeans leafy, the cotton fluffy and the apples ripe.
Compared to last year’s disastrous summer, when it seemed flooding was the only relief from extreme drought, this summer has left farmers feeling hopeful. In Wayne County, extension agent Daryl Anderson says this is the best corn crop the county has seen in 50 years.
That’s a major turnaround from last year, when dry conditions decimated cornfields from the coast to the mountains.
Still, no year in the fields is free of struggle. Rainy weather, delayed relief payments, market conditions and dramatic federal policy shifts have kept farmers on their toes.
Crops lie ruined in fields in Person County after Tropical Depression Chantal, which passed through the area on July 6, 2025. Provided / Person County Cooperative Extension
It’s been a wet year — at times, too wet. Tropical Depression Chantal flooded fields in Central North Carolina in early July. Unusually wet conditions all summer hurt the tobacco crop across the state.
Plus, state relief money for the tribulations of 2024 is coming slow. The legislature just approved an additional $124 million to address last year’s agricultural disasters, but farmers still haven’t received the money originally allocated to the Ag Disaster Crop Loss Program in March.
For Henderson County extension director Terry Kelley, the money is an urgent matter. In Kelley’s neck of the woods, apple farmers are still recovering from the devastation Helene wrought on their orchards. Finances are starting to spiral out of control for many.
“Our farmers are really anxious to get that money,” Kelley told Carolina Public Press.
Rains and flooding from Tropical Storm Helene create a massive washout in a Mills River tomato field in Henderson County in 2024. Provided / Terry Kelley / Henderson County Extension
“They’ve got bills due from last year. They’ve used their credit up to their limit and beyond. We need that money. It’s been a long summer of waiting.”
Though Helene upped the ante in the West, Kelley’s anxieties are felt across North Carolina. In Bladen County, where many 2024 crops were devastated by Tropical Storm Debbie, extension agent Matthew Strickland says there’s been a dearth of information about how the program works.
“We are not sure when those payments will be issued and exactly how they will be calculated,” Strickland said. “We were told they’d go out mid-summer. There’s been no update. Who knows when they’ll go out? Nobody really knows.”
The financial pressure extends beyond those delayed relief payments. North Carolina farmers find themselves at the whim of unexpected shifts in both the market and federal policies.
Though both quality and yield are high for field crops this year, the price of those crops at market is low. Meanwhile, input costs continue to rise. This makes for an unsettling financial equation for farmers.
Plus, President Donald Trump’s tariffs have made American crops less desirable overseas, according to Strickland. Before recent tariff hikes, lots of North Carolina corn, soybeans and tobacco made its way to China. Now, not as much.
“With the political trade wars, we’re really worried when it comes to our soybeans and tobacco,” Surry County extension agent Ryan Coe told CPP. “A lot of farmers are still waiting to see what’s going to happen. We don’t have a crystal ball.”
The tariffs haven’t been all bad, though. While some crops suffer, others have found opportunities. Kelley says the lack of Mexican tomatoes on the market has created a higher demand for local Henderson County tomatoes, for example.
Labor, too, is giving farmers pause. Many rely on legal migrant workers, but the Trump administration’s strict immigration policies have tightened the market.
“It’s more difficult now to get labor, even with legal workers,” Kelley said. “It’s not available as it once was, and it’s terribly expensive.”
That’s because wages for migrant workers on legal H-2A visas continue to rise. In North Carolina, farmers must now pay migrant workers $16.16 per hour. This number is called an Adverse Effect Wage Rate, and it’s designed to ensure that wages for American workers don’t fall.
A cornfield at Trask Family Farms outside Wilmington on Aug. 29. Jane Winik Sartwell / Carolina Public Press
There’s a chance, however, that going forward, North Carolina farmers may have a bigger say in American agricultural policies.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is moving major operations to Raleigh, in an effort to bring the department closer to the nation’s farming hubs. Some North Carolina farmers are excited about it.
“Having the USDA in this area will be good for all farmers in North Carolina,” said Mikayla Berryhill, an extension agent in Person County, where farms were flooded by Chantal’s heavy rains. “We will be able to show them what specific problems we have here in North Carolina and get help with those.”
In the meantime, it looks like it will be a bountiful harvest of crops here in North Carolina. This fall’s agritourism attractions, from corn mazes and county fairs to hay rides and apple markets, should reflect that agricultural resilience.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The content presents a balanced and factual overview of agricultural conditions in North Carolina, highlighting both challenges and positive developments without evident partisan framing. It discusses impacts of federal policies, including tariffs and immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, in a straightforward manner without overt criticism or praise. The article focuses on practical issues affecting farmers, such as weather, market conditions, and government relief efforts, maintaining a neutral tone throughout.