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‘We feel blessed. We’re alive’ – one family’s story of resilience and hope in a post-Helene world • Asheville Watchdog

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avlwatchdog.org – JOHN BOYLE – 2024-12-23 06:00:00

It’s a little ridiculous to sugarcoat 2024.

Tropical Storm Helene saw to that, leaving a trail of destruction in these mountains the likes of which no one alive had ever witnessed. The Sept. 27 storm particularly pummeled Buncombe County, where 43 people died, and it really drew a bullseye on Swannanoa, a modest community of hardworking folks about 10 miles east of Asheville.

Everyone can still see the devastation along U.S. 70, but if you swing back a block off the main road into Beacon Village, named for the former blanket factory that housed its workers here, you can tell Edwards Street took it particularly hard. About two dozen houses are gutted to the studs, and little blue tarps still dot rooftops where people had to be chopped out of their homes by rescuers.

John Zara, 41, his wife Stephanie, 39, and their two boys, 2-year-old Jack and 7-year-old Luca, lived through it, somehow. 

“Around 8 a.m., 8:30, within say 30 or 45 minutes, it went from being some water in the road and a little bit in our front yard to waist high,” Zara said, standing near his home Thursday. “So it happened really quickly.”

Zara started putting computers and other valuables up as high as possible, thinking the water certainly wouldn’t top the kids’ bunk beds.

“We ended up getting my wife, our pets and two kids up into the attic,” Zara said.

When they realized the water just kept rising and they might get trapped, they decided to make a swim/dash for it. They clambered over the washer and dryer to a small back porch with a handrail, trying to get on top of the house and out of the floodwaters.

Beacon Village resident John Zara stands near the small window that he, his wife and two young children used to escape their flooded home on Sept. 27. // Watchdog photo by John Boyle

“So I’m standing on the handrail, I got one arm on that other rail up top there, and the baby in my arm,” Zara said. “We kind of make our way around the corner to the side of the house. There’s a tree there. My wife gets in the tree, she’s on the roof, and then she’s able to help get the kids up on the roof. And I get up on the roof.”

His wife and kids were rescued by kayakers about three hours later, Zara by the National Guard in the early afternoon. Their dog and three cats also survived.

Zara said he’s still amazed at how fast the Swannanoa River, which is normally on the other side of U.S. 70 and maybe 40 feet wide, was moving that morning. 

“Those gentlemen, they saved our lives,” Zara said of the kayakers. “I mean, otherwise, you know…”

The water inside their home crested near the ceiling, so everything was ruined, although the framework of the 100-year-old structure is sound. They also lost two cars in their driveway.

After a stint in the emergency shelter at the WNC Ag Center, the family has been staying with Zara’s mom in South Carolina. 

‘We feel blessed’

Zara, who works in graphic design and marketing, says they’ve been cobbling together resources to begin the gargantuan task of rebuilding the house they’ve called home for 10 years. They paid well under $200,000 for the three-bedroom, one-bath house. Try finding property at that price in Buncombe County these days.

Residents in their 80s say that that part of Beacon Village has never flooded, so Zara feels it’s safe to rebuild. He and his wife also have a mortgage, limiting their options.

“I got a guy who’s gonna donate some countertops; I got somebody that’s donated windows and exterior doors,” Zara said. “And so it’s kind of like this logistical thing of like, ‘OK, now where can I get some drywall and try to find somebody to handle some labor?”

Someone has offered materials and labor on the roof, and they’ve gotten help from the savebeaconvillage.org folks that organized after the storm. 

Right now their biggest problem is water that keeps accumulating in the backyard and around the house after it rains. A natural spring runs in the backyard, and Zara suspects a drain pipe that used to keep it in check is clogged or broken.

The moisture is making it difficult to get the 1,200-square-foot house completely dried out inside for the rebuild. He and his family hope to get back in the house by early spring, if they can tame the moisture issue.

John Zara says he and his family hope to be back in their Beacon Village home by early spring, but they’ve had to entirely gut the badly flooded home. // Watchdog photo by John Boyle

But Zara is not one to complain — about any of this.

“We feel blessed,” Zara said. “We’re alive. We have somewhere to stay. When you go out of here — and you’ve probably seen it before, there’s people in tents — so, you know, my story is pretty (bad), but there’s people out there that are a lot worse off.”

He says they’ve also been touched by how the community has pulled together. Immediately after the storm, a throng of church groups and Samaritan’s Purse volunteers arrived and helped gut all the homes and clear out debris.

“The very first few weeks, it was hot and heavy in here,” Zara said. “There were so many people here. You could hardly park. It was insane.”

Some good souls have also helped out with the holidays.

“We have been blessed by some churches and other folks that have taken care of Christmas for the kids this year,” Zara said. “So that’s one less thing for us to worry about, and we can keep saving money towards getting this thing put back together.”

The Zaras have a Gofundme page set up, too, and anything helps. They operate a small soap company, Bella & Oliver, and they have an offshoot company called Beacon Village Candles.

They lost a lot of supplies and inventory for the businesses, but Zara said they’ve rekindled the candle business and are donating $5 per candle sold to savebeaconvillage.org. So even when they’re in need, the Zaras are helping their community.

“We’ve been really fortunate to have a lot of family and friends and community support, and those kinds of things have all come together to create a bigger effect,” Zara said.

A gift bag and a prayer, and a feeling of humble gratitude

As if on cue, while we were standing under a carport behind Zara’s home, a church group walked up the driveway with a gift bag for his family and him. Zander Neuhaus and Josh Rose were from Real Life Church in Montrose, Michigan, and Vincent Scauzzo, from Washington, D.C., had met up with them in the morning to help deliver the packages.

As John Zara talked about surviving Tropical Storm Helene and how important the outpouring of support has been after the storm, a small church group arrived to bring a Christmas gift bag and pray with him. Zander Neuhaus, from Michigan, led the prayer. // Watchdog photo by John Boyle

Scauzzo noted that he met the church group in a morning carpool.

“This was not on my agenda,” he said with a smile. “I’ve been down here for about a week, and I just sort of opened myself up to spontaneity, I guess, in the spirit of Christmas.”

Zara, who’s spiritual but not a regular churchgoer, agreed to pray with the group. And Neuhaus brought the goods, with a solid three minute prayer that touched on the themes of resilience and community, and of course, Jesus and his message that’s so important to many of us this time of year.

As dusk settled over us and a light rain fell, it was a genuinely nice moment.

After they left, Zara talked about how the events of Sept. 27 and its aftermath have made him think more deeply about God and good fortune, about how so many people are truly kind and care about one another.

“We’re really super-appreciative of that community, family and friend system that has gotten us to this point where we can hopefully start putting the house back together and rebuilding,” Zara said.

Sure, Helene brought out the worst in some people, but overwhelmingly it’s brought out the best in all of us. It’s been humbling, too, but that’s come with valuable lessons about just how close we all are to losing everything.

“We’re definitely not people to ask for help,” Zara said. “Being that vulnerable — dropping that shield — has not been the easiest of things to do. It’s kind of refreshing. It feels good to feel that love.”

Not too far from where the Zaras live, an overturned trailer on U.S. 70 in Swannanoa has become something of a landmark, so locals took it upon themselves to decorate it for Christmas. // Watchdog photo by John Boyle

On my way home on U.S. 70, I passed by the overturned trailer that’s become something of a landmark since Helene. Lying on its side, debris still entwined in its wheels, it’s a reminder of  the destruction and hardship the storm visited on Swannanoa.

But now, people have decorated the trailer for Christmas, complete with lights, a gaudy tree, blowups and illuminated candy canes. If that’s not turning overturned trailers into Christmas cheer, I don’t know what is.

It’s resilience, with a dash of hope. Stay strong, everyone, and have a great holiday season.


Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Got a question? Send it to John Boyle at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org or 828-337-0941. His Answer Man columns appear each Tuesday and Friday. 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/.

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News from the South - North Carolina News Feed

NIL legislation advances, has exemption for public records laws | North Carolina

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www.thecentersquare.com – By David Beasley | The Center Square contributor – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-30 21:25:00

(The Center Square) – Authorization of sports agents to sign North Carolina’s collegiate athletes for “name, image, and likeness” contracts used in product endorsements is in legislation approved Wednesday by a committee of the state Senate.

Authorize NIL Agency Contracts, known also as Senate Bill 229, is headed to the Rules Committee after gaining favor in the Judiciary Committee. It would likely next get a full floor vote.

Last year the NCAA approved NIL contracts for players.



Sen. Amy S. Galey, R-Alamance




“Athletes can benefit from NIL by endorsing products, signing sponsorship deals, engaging in commercial opportunities and monetizing their social media presence, among other avenues,” the NCAA says on its website. “The NCAA fully supports these opportunities for student-athletes across all three divisions.”

SB229 spells out the information that the agent’s contract with the athlete must include, and requires a warning to the athlete that they could lose their eligibility if they do not notify the school’s athletic director within 72 hours of signing the contract.

“Consult with your institution of higher education prior to entering into any NIL contract,” the says the warning that would be required by the legislation. “Entering into an NIL contract that conflicts with state law or your institution’s policies may have negative consequences such as loss of athletic eligibility. You may cancel this NIL agency contract with 14 days after signing it.”

The legislation also exempts the NIL contracts from being disclosed under the state’s Open Records Act when public universities review them. The state’s two ACC members from the UNC System, Carolina and N.C. State, requested the exemption.

“They are concerned about disclosure of the student-athlete contracts when private universities don’t have to disclose the student-athlete contracts,” Sen. Amy Galey, R-Alamance, told the committee. “I feel very strongly that a state university should not be put at a disadvantage at recruitment or in program management because they have disclosure requirements through state law.”

Duke and Wake Forest are the other ACC members, each a private institution.

The post NIL legislation advances, has exemption for public records laws | North Carolina appeared first on www.thecentersquare.com



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 article primarily reports on the legislative development regarding NIL (name, image, and likeness) contracts for collegiate athletes in North Carolina. It presents facts about the bill, committee actions, and includes statements from a state senator without using loaded or emotionally charged language. The piece neutrally covers the issue by explaining both the bill’s purpose and the concerns it addresses, such as eligibility warnings and disclosure exemptions. Overall, the article maintains a factual and informative tone without advocating for or against the legislation, reflecting a centrist, unbiased approach.

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News from the South - North Carolina News Feed

N.C. Treasurer names conservative climate skeptic to state Utilities Commission

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ncnewsline.com – Lisa Sorg – 2025-04-30 15:52:00

SUMMARY: Donald van der Vaart, a former North Carolina environmental secretary and climate skeptic, has been appointed to the North Carolina Utilities Commission by Republican Treasurer Brad Briner. Van der Vaart, who previously supported offshore drilling and fracking, would oversee the state’s transition to renewable energy while regulating utility services. His appointment, which requires approval from the state House and Senate, has drawn opposition from environmental groups. Critics argue that his views contradict clean energy progress. The appointment follows a controversial bill passed by the legislature, granting the treasurer appointment power to the commission.

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The post N.C. Treasurer names conservative climate skeptic to state Utilities Commission appeared first on ncnewsline.com

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News from the South - North Carolina News Feed

‘Crypto-friendly legislation’ clears North Carolina House | North Carolina

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www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-30 14:47:00

(The Center Square) – Called “crypto-friendly legislation” by the leader of the chamber, a proposal on digital assets on Wednesday afternoon passed the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Passage was 71-44 mostly along party lines.

The NC Digital Assets Investments Act, known also as House Bill 92, has investment requirements, caps and management, and clear definitions and standards aimed at making sure only qualified digital assets are included. House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, said the state would potentially join more than a dozen others with “crypto-friendly legislation.”

With him in sponsorship are Reps. Stephen Ross, R-Alamance, Mark Brody, R-Union, and Mike Schietzelt, R-Wake.

Nationally last year, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act – known as FIT21 – passed through the U.S. House in May and in September was parked in the Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

Dan Spuller, cochairman of the North Carolina Blockchain Initiative, said the state has proven a leader on digital asset policy. That includes the Money Transmitters Act of 2016, the North Carolina Regulatory Sandbox Act of 2021, and last year’s No Centrl Bank Digital Currency Pmts to State. The latter was strongly opposed by Gov. Roy Cooper, so much so that passage votes of 109-4 in the House and 39-5 in the Senate slipped back to override votes, respectively, of 73-41 and 27-17.

The post ‘Crypto-friendly legislation’ clears North Carolina House | North Carolina appeared first on www.thecentersquare.com



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 article presents a factual report on the passage of the NC Digital Assets Investments Act, highlighting the legislative process, party-line votes, and related legislative measures. It does not adopt a clear ideological stance or frame the legislation in a way that suggests bias. Instead, it provides neutral information on the bill, its sponsors, and relevant background on state legislative activity in digital asset policy. The tone and language remain objective, focusing on legislative facts rather than promoting a particular viewpoint.

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