HENDERSONVILLE – Joey and Brooke McNeely, displaced a year ago from their Hendersonville apartment, are settling into a new house that they started moving in to just a few weeks ago. They're in the middle of finishing their basement, building a garage.

Their 22-month-old toddler Lilah was laughing, babbling and running across the yard, where she bumped her head on a picnic table on a recent September afternoon when the Times-News stopped by to talk about the past year since Helene.

A lot has changed for many people since Helene tore through Western North Carolina nearly a year ago. By many accounts, recovery has been brutal. But for some, like the McNeelys, life feels like it's returning to normal.

On Sept. 27, 2024, Joey, 42, had to dangle a then 10-month-old Lilah out the second-stor

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