To The Editor:

I was pleased to see the November 1 article “Former Newtown Resident Now Living In Asheville, N.C. Reflects On Hurricane, Grateful For Support.” I too am a former Newtown resident living in the Asheville region. I know Robert Wright, and his depiction of the tremendous neighborly support in this area after the storm was spot-on. I’ve passed along my copy of The Newtown Bee to him as a keepsake.

My neighborhood was also flooded. Neighbors offered their canoe and kayaks to essential workers so that these individuals could leave our neighborhood and paddle to higher ground near a major route where colleagues could pick them up.

It didn’t matter what identities, religious views or politics neighbors held — people were truly heroic with each other, in ways both small and large.

What Robert Wright was too modest to mention is that he himself went out into the floodwaters in his kayak when he spotted a person getting trapped by flash floodwaters, rescuing that person and then helping with first aid before first-responders arrived. May this letter help complete the narrative!

Robert F. Renjilian

Etowah, N.C.