Fish Return to Swannanoa River & New Weaverville Pickleball
Fish return naturally to the Swannanoa River above Lake Craig Dam, while Weaverville prepares for a new indoor pickleball club. Across Western North Carolina, community events include public art on the Reed Creek Greenway, a Waynesville memorial sculpture, and local gatherings in Brevard and Maggie Valley.
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Episode transcript
Maggie: This is Good News Asheville, your daily dose of good, for Monday, October 12, 2026.
Ben: I'm Ben, alongside Maggie, and we've got a great dose of optimism from the mountains today.
Maggie: Good News Asheville is made possible by Dylan Lennon, Realtor with Unique: A Real Estate Collective, helping neighbors buy and sell homes all across Western North Carolina.
Ben: Nature is finding its own way forward on the Swannanoa River. Smallmouth bass and russet darters have naturally returned to a stretch above Lake Craig Dam for the first time in decades after recent storm damage opened a path upstream.
Maggie: Oh, I love that. And in Weaverville, Ballcrank Pickleball Club is opening twelve indoor courts on October twenty-fourth, complete with food trucks, music, and a cafe.
Ben: Over on Patton Avenue, Western Carolina Rescue Ministries held its annual twenty-four hour bench talks to encourage dialogue about homelessness.
Maggie: And for drivers, NCDOT reports no major new disruptions expected next week for the I-26 Connector project.
Ben: Let's check out a few more microdoses.
Maggie: A playable art sculpture featuring community-made tiles unveils on Reed Creek Greenway October twentieth at five p.m.
Ben: Waynesville is planning an eight-foot steel sculpture memorial at Fire Station One to honor first responders.
Maggie: Brevard College hosts its Homecoming weekend October sixteenth through eighteenth.
Ben: And Brevard residents can also visit a traveling Green Book history exhibit through November twentieth.
Maggie: In the River Arts District, local painters Elise Okrend and Amy Massey are showing new artwork all month long.
Ben: And Maggie Valley hosts the Appalachian Fly Tyers Gathering on October seventeenth at Town Hall Pavilion.
Maggie: Get your daily dose of good right in your inbox by signing up for the free newsletter at good news asheville dot com.
Ben: Have a wonderful day, Asheville!
Adapted from Good News Asheville - October 12, 2026 - Issue #144.
Good News Asheville is made possible by Dylan Lennon, REALTOR® with Unique: A Real Estate Collective, helping neighbors buy and sell homes across Western North Carolina. dylanlennon.com