Human traffickers are trickling into western North Carolina to exploit the trail of vulnerability that Hurricane Helene left in its wake, a law enforcement representative warned at a recent North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission meeting.

A low-pressure system is bringing rain and flooding to coastal North Carolina. Meanwhile, parts of western North Carolina will see the most rain since Hurricane Helene's flooding.

It was the regionality and subject matter but also the steel underneath the quiet tale that called it to mind when I spoke to Jennifer Greene, the Executive Director of the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association recently,