The Hickory Hound: North Carolina Leadership

Showing posts with label North Carolina Leadership. Show all posts

Sunday, June 15, 2025

Hickory, NC News & Views | Hickory Hound | June 15, 2025

This week I did a three deep dives into issues that truly impact the Economic Social and cultural dynamics of our region. Below is a quick summary of each, along with a 500 word synopsis and a link to the full deep dive if you have not already read it.

The Forgotten Grid: Towns That Industry Left Behind - June 10, 2025 - Drexel, Hildebran, and Valdese once thrived on industry—but global shifts left them behind. Now marked by aging populations, empty mills, and stalled growth, these towns embody the human cost of economic abandonment. This report examines their rise, fall, and quiet resilience—asking whether modern planning will continue to ignore them, or finally bring them back into the fold.

500 word summary of this article

The Center Cannot Hold: Hickory’s Uneven Growth in a Fractured County
- June 10, 2025: Hickory’s downtown revival masks deeper fractures in Catawba County. While new trails and tech jobs signal progress, aging infrastructure, school disparities, and uneven investment reveal a region divided. From Mountain View to Maiden, the foundation is straining. This report examines whether Hickory’s growth story can truly hold—before the cracks at the edges pull the center apart.
500 word summary of this article

Keep the Crawdads: Strategic Intelligence Report on Hickory’s Baseball Future - June 12, 2025: Hickory’s Crawdads face uncertain ownership, regional neglect, and mounting pressure from MLB contraction trends. This strategic report lays out the stakes, from economic impact to civic identity, calling for proactive local action. Lose the Crawdads, and Hickory risks more than a team—it risks surrendering its place in America’s baseball fabric. The time to act is now.
500 word summary of this article.

You Don't Lose Baseball in a Day

Hickory, Don't let the Dads be the next Oakland A's

Hickory, You’re Gonna Lose the Crawdads

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Rachel A.I. on the Hound's message since the reboot - Three Months In: What the Hickory Hound Has Exposed Since Its Return

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Not Broken. Not Bought. Not Theirs.
A Field Manual for the Self-Educated Builder

1. You Weren’t the Problem

There are people who were never meant to thrive in the system they were born into. Not because they lacked intelligence or will—but because the structure around them was never designed to cultivate either. If you didn’t fall in line, if you didn’t flatter the right gatekeepers, if your questions cut too deep—you were labeled. Disruptive. Difficult. Broken.

I wasn’t broken. I just wasn’t theirs.

Public school was a machine that punished difference. It rewarded submission and left little room for the curious, the restless, or the strategic. It wasn’t about mastery. It was about conformity. I didn’t evolve into who I am through their system. I have survived it, despite everything it took from me. My education started the moment I stopped seeking their approval.

I live in a cold war with the society that thought it could diagnose me into silence.

2. The System Was Working Exactly As Intended

If it ever seemed like the system failed people like us, it’s because it was never built to serve us in the first place. Its purpose isn’t enlightenment. It’s hierarchy. The goal isn’t to teach—it’s to sort.

What they call "education" is often credential inflation and cultural grooming. They train managers, not builders. Repeaters, not originators. The deeper you think, the harder you fall through their cracks. People stopped learning because the system trained them to believe their degree was the finish line.

The "educated" class talks a lot, but listens little. They confuse resume polish for insight. Meanwhile, the world changes beneath their feet, and they don’t even notice until their institutions start to collapse.

They didn't outgrow the old world. They ignored the new one. And now they think their failure to evolve is your failure.

3. The Tools Finally Came

For most of my life, I could see more than I could say. I had ideas that didn’t fit into their formats, questions they wouldn't tolerate, insights no one had a place for. Then the tools arrived. AI. Open platforms. Self-publishing. The collapse of gatekeepers.

I didn't suddenly become smarter. The world just finally offered tools sharp enough to match my mind. I didn’t get louder. The noise around me finally cracked enough for my voice to get through.

Now I write the truths I was punished for asking. I build frameworks the planners never considered. I analyze the local economy, the cultural decay, the civic breakdown—and I don’t need anyone's permission to do it.

You can call it journalism. You can call it strategy. I call it survival.

4. What I’m Building

The Hickory Hound isn’t a blog. It’s a navigation system. A decoded map for people who know something’s wrong but can't get the signal through the noise. I’m tracking water conflicts, minor league team relocations, collapsing infrastructure, and regional economic patterns because those things matter. Not in theory—in day-to-day life.

Our civic class doesn’t want to confront reality. They want applause for incrementalism while the floorboards rot underneath. But I don’t write to flatter the officials. I write to warn the people.

Every story is a pressure point. Every data point is a clue. Every article is a piece of the map for people who still believe in rebuilding, even if they’ve been pushed to the margins.

I’m not here to entertain. I’m here to equip.

5. We Are Not Broken

If you’ve ever been told you ask too many questions, that you care too much, that you expect too much clarity—you’re not alone.

You’re not broken. You’re just not theirs.

The world is changing. The gatekeepers are slipping. The Normies who've always mocked the idea of collapse now live in its early chapters. And those of us who were forced to figure things out the hard way—we're not the problem.

We’re the blueprint.

And we’re not waiting for permission to keep building.

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Hickory, NC News & Views | Hickory Hound | March 29, 2025

Hickory, NC News & Views | Hickory Hound | April 5, 2025

Hickory, NC News & Views | Hickory Hound | April 13, 2025

Hickory, NC News & Views | Hickory Hound | April 20, 2025

Hickory, NC News & Views | Hickory Hound | April 26, 2025

Hickory, NC News & Views | Hickory Hound | May 4, 2025

Hickory, NC News & Views | Hickory Hound | May 10, 2025

Hickory, NC News & Views | Hickory Hound | May 17, 2025

Hickory, NC News & Views | Hickory Hound | May 25, 2025

Hickory, NC News & Views | Hickory Hound | June 1, 2025

Hickory, NC News & Views | Hickory Hound | June 8, 2025

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Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Communities of the Catawba River: Where Water Becomes Power and Wealth

Lake Norman & Mountain Island Lake

From quiet coves to nuclear cooling towers, this is the Catawba River’s final act before it leaves the region—and it’s anything but neutral.

Where the Water Pools—and Power Concentrates

Lake Norman is the largest manmade lake in North Carolina, stretching 33.6 miles long with over 520 miles of shoreline. Built between 1959 and 1964 by Duke Energy as part of the Cowans Ford Dam project, it powers the Piedmont through hydroelectricity and cools the turbines at the McGuire Nuclear Station. Mountain Island Lake, just downstream, may be smaller—only 3,281 acres compared to Lake Norman’s 32,510—but its function is arguably more critical: supplying drinking water to over one million residents in Mecklenburg County.

These two lakes do more than hold water—they convert geography into energy, infrastructure, and wealth. And they do it on the backs of communities upstream.

Built for Growth—but Not for Everyone

Lake Norman’s shoreline reads like a directory of Charlotte’s affluence: Cornelius, Davidson, Mooresville, Huntersville. Often dubbed the “Inland Sea,” the lake is surrounded by marinas, country clubs, and sprawling developments that offer waterfront tranquility just 30 minutes from Uptown Charlotte. Beneath the surface, however, lies a buried history—communities that once stood where the lake now sits were flooded in the name of progress, and voices from upstream have long been excluded from conversations about its use.

Downstream, Mountain Island Lake lacks the polish and tourism appeal of its neighbor, but it holds perhaps the most critical role in the chain. Formed in 1924 to power the Mountain Island Hydroelectric Station, this quieter body of water now serves as Charlotte’s lifeline. It is where water pumped from upstream towns becomes utility—filtered, treated, and sent to taps in one of America’s fastest-growing metros. This lake doesn't make headlines, but its strategic importance is profound.

Water Agreements and Interbasin Transfers: Who Decides?

The water that fills Lake Norman and Mountain Island Lake begins its journey in Old Fort and Marion. It moves through Morganton, Hickory, and the town of Catawba—places that built their identity around the river’s strength, only to see it rerouted and repurposed with little voice in the matter. Interbasin Transfers (IBTs), like those sought by Charlotte, have shifted not just the river’s path but the region’s power dynamics.

Charlotte’s growth has increased demand for more Catawba water—creating political tension and legislative pushback. In 2024, lawmakers introduced new restrictions on IBTs, fueled by concerns from smaller communities who fear their resources are being extracted for someone else’s benefit. The water that cools data centers and powers homes in Charlotte still originates upstream, and the imbalance has become impossible to ignore.

Environmental Cost, Economic Disparity

While both lakes are engineered to provide power and utility, they’re also flashpoints for environmental strain. Lake Norman has faced ongoing issues with coal ash contamination and shoreline erosion, driven by dense residential development and runoff. Despite regulations mandating buffer zones and erosion control, the damage is visible—and irreversible in some areas.

Mountain Island Lake, meanwhile, still bears the ecological scars of the decommissioned Riverbend Steam Station, where unlined coal ash ponds leaked arsenic and cobalt into surrounding groundwater. Duke Energy’s cleanup began in earnest only after years of legal and public pressure. Even today, questions remain about how sustainable these reservoirs are in the face of population growth and climate change.

The imbalance isn’t just ecological—it’s economic. Catawba County and Caldwell County host massive server farms powered by energy and cooled with water from these lakes, but the high-paying tech jobs remain in Charlotte. The infrastructure exists here; the wealth does not. The water flows south, and so does the prosperity.

A Regional Reckoning Is Overdue

Communities like Hickory, Marion, and Morganton aren’t anti-growth. They simply want a seat at the table. They want infrastructure investments to reflect the burden they carry. They want Duke Energy, Charlotte’s corporate sector, and even state officials to recognize that the lakes at the end of the Catawba, in this region, don’t exist in isolation—they’re the final chapter in a regional story of imbalance.

Lake Norman and Mountain Island Lake represent the culmination of decades of decisions made without upstream consent. They are not just lakes. They are mirrors, reflecting the hierarchy of growth and the politics of power in the Catawba Basin.

If there is to be sustainability—economic, environmental, or regional—it will require more than water-sharing agreements. It will require truth-sharing, benefit-sharing, and a recalibration of who gets to write the next chapter.

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#LakeNorman #MountainIslandLake #CatawbaRiver #CharlotteWaterCrisis #DukeEnergy #EnvironmentalJustice #WaterPolitics #FoothillsCorridor #NCInfrastructure #CharlotteNC #HickoryNC
#InterbasinTransfer #NorthCarolinaWater #RegionalEquity #CommunitiesoftheCatawbaRiver

✅ If this resonates with you, share it with someone upstream—or downstream. Leave a comment, message me at hickoryhoundfeedback@gmail.com or follow for more content.

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Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Communities of the Catawba River: Where the River Begins

Old Fort and Marion

In the quiet corners of western North Carolina, where the Blue Ridge Mountains give way to wooded ridges and rushing streams, the towns of Old Fort and Marion sit near the genesis of the Catawba River. Though small in size, these communities are foundational to the broader story of the Catawba—geographically, historically, and symbolically.

Old Fort, with a population of just over 800, lies at the foot of the Swannanoa Gap. It's here, from the mist-laden trails leading to Catawba Falls, that the river begins its descent. This town was once a military outpost on the edge of Colonial civilization, trading ground between settlers and Native peoples, and later a rail town that hoped, but never quite managed, to become a major hub. The Catawba River runs through it in the form of Mill Creek, one of the headwater streams feeding the basin. Though often viewed as peripheral in modern planning, Old Fort is closer to the Catawba's origin than any other municipality.

Marion, just down the road, serves as the county seat of McDowell County and a gateway between the mountains and the foothills. It boasts a richer population and a longer commercial lineage than Old Fort, but the two towns are linked by geography, infrastructure, and economic history. Marion has its own greenway that traces the river’s path, and its residents, like those in Old Fort, rely on the health and governance of that water—even as decisions about its allocation are increasingly made farther downstream.

Both towns sit outside the centers of influence that now determine how the Catawba is distributed and who benefits from its flow. They are not fighting for control—but they are watching the conversation shift. As more people downstream seek access to the river’s limited capacity, towns like Old Fort and Marion are left to wonder how their place in that system will be acknowledged.

Together, these communities mark the westernmost pulse of the Catawba’s journey. They don't claim control over the river, nor are they the source of its policy, but they represent its beginning—its physical and civic point of origin. As the first part in the Communities of the Catawba River series, this story isn’t about political struggle or environmental crisis. It’s about place. It’s about being at the beginning of something bigger, and wondering, as the river flows eastward: who will remember where it started?

Hickory, NC News & Views | Hickory Hound | May 25, 2025

Catawba River Crisis: Charlotte’s Water Demand and the 25-Year Strain on Catawba County - April 8, 2025

The Catawba River Crisis: A Foothills Fight for the Future - April 16, 2025

Can Hickory’s Youth Turn a River Crisis Into a Tech Revolution? - April 22, 2025

#OldFortNC #CatawbaRiver #CatawbaFalls #FoothillsCorridor #RegionalVoice #TheHickoryHound #CommunitiesOfTheCatawba #Headwaters #WesternNC #NCWater #MarionNC #CatawbaRiver #FoothillsCorridor #I40Corridor #WaterGovernance #MountainToMetro #RegionalPlanning #NCWater

Sunday, May 25, 2025

Hickory, NC News & Views | Hickory Hound | May 25, 2025

Hickory vs. Charlotte Contrasting Views on the Catawba River’s Challenges

The Catawba River, a vital lifeline for North Carolina’s Piedmont region, sustains both the bustling metropolis of Charlotte and the growing community of Hickory in Catawba County. Yet, these two cities view the river’s challenges—growth-driven water demand, water quality, infrastructure needs, and regional equity—through distinct lenses shaped by their unique realities. Charlotte, with its 2025 population of 935,017 and rapid urban expansion, grapples with escalating water consumption and infrastructure strain. Hickory, a smaller hub community, faces similar pressures but with heightened concerns about downstream impacts and equitable access. By comparing and contrasting these perspectives, as detailed in “Charlotte’s Water Challenge - Balancing Growth with Sustainability” and “Hickory’s Water Woes: Balancing Growth, Drought, and Equity on the Catawba River,” we uncover the shared and divergent priorities of these communities and the urgent need for regional cooperation to secure the Catawba River’s future.

Population Growth and Water Demand: Scale vs. Sustainability

Charlotte’s booming population, projected at 935,017 in 2025 with a 1.28% annual growth rate, drives a massive water demand that strains the Catawba River; Charlotte withdraws 120 million gallons daily (MGD) of water for treatment (possibly up to 160mgd per sources). The city’s growth, fueled by economic opportunities in hospitality and construction, amplifies both domestic and commercial water use. A single-family home in Mecklenburg County can consume up to 200 gallons daily, and commercial sectors like hotels and construction sites add millions more gallons to the tally. This scale of demand, aligned with national per capita trends of 80-100 gallons daily, poses a sustainability challenge, with the Catawba-Wateree Water Management Group (CWWMG) projecting a 20% demand increase by 2050 if trends persist.

Hickory, by contrast, faces a more modest but still significant growth trajectory. Catawba County’s population has grown by 1.2% annually, with Hickory’s urban core driving economic expansion through projects like Apple’s data center in Maiden. The city’s water demand, averaging 12 MGD, is a fraction of Charlotte’s but critical for its residential, commercial, and industrial needs. Hickory’s concerns center on sustainability rather than sheer scale. Local planners worry that water shortages could limit new housing and business permits, stalling economic progress. As one X user noted, “We can’t keep building without ensuring our water supply,” reflecting a community anxious about growth outpacing the river’s capacity.

The contrast is clear: Charlotte’s view is dominated by managing an overwhelming demand driven by its size, while Hickory’s focus is on ensuring growth doesn’t compromise its more limited resources. Both cities rely on the Catawba River, but Hickory’s upstream position makes it particularly vulnerable to Charlotte’s downstream withdrawals, amplifying concerns about equitable access.

Water Quality: Public Perception and Local Impacts

Water quality, particularly algae blooms and sediment pollution, is a shared concern, but the cities’ perspectives differ due to their positions in the river basin and community priorities. In Charlotte, public sentiment on X highlights frustration with algae blooms in the Catawba River, with posts about “green water” or “funny-tasting tap water” signaling distrust in water safety. These blooms, fueled by nutrient runoff and warm temperatures, prompt Charlotte Water to deploy advanced treatments like activated carbon filtration. However, public discourse often focuses on immediate symptoms—taste and odor—rather than systemic issues like infrastructure upgrades. This gap suggests a need for better public education to connect quality concerns to long-term solutions.

Hickory, upstream from Charlotte, faces compounded water quality challenges. Sediment pollution from rapid development, including housing and industrial projects, clouds the Catawba River and Lake Hickory, the city’s primary water source. The Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation reports that sediment runoff, exacerbated by construction, increases turbidity and treatment costs, directly impacting Hickory’s residents through potential utility rate hikes. Additionally, the foundation’s 2024 State of the River report notes 460 permitted wastewater discharges across the basin, with upstream pollutants flowing into Hickory’s water supply. Local X posts echo these concerns, with residents decrying muddy creeks and worrying about long-term impacts on drinking water and ecosystems.

While both cities grapple with water quality, Charlotte’s focus is on managing public perception and treatment costs for a large urban population, whereas Hickory’s view is shaped by the tangible downstream effects of upstream pollution and development. Hickory’s residents feel the brunt of regional activities, fostering a sense of urgency to address pollution sources beyond their control.

Infrastructure and Innovation: Investment vs. Constraint

Both cities rely on innovative infrastructure to manage water challenges, but their approaches reflect their differing resources and priorities. Charlotte Water has implemented standout programs like biosolids management, using kenaf to transform wastewater byproducts into fertilizer, and advanced algae control to ensure safe drinking water. These initiatives address the pressures of a growing population but face significant hurdles, including a $2 billion funding gap for regional water projects through 2050 and aging pipes leaking millions of gallons annually. Charlotte’s scale allows for ambitious programs, but the pace of upgrades lags behind its rapid growth.

Hickory, with fewer financial resources, focuses on practical, incremental solutions. The city has leveraged a recent NCDEQ grant for leak detection programs and collaborates with the CWWMG and USGS for enhanced streamflow monitoring to manage drought risks. The Low Inflow Protocol (LIP), activated during the 2023 drought, reduced Hickory’s water use by 10%, showcasing effective regional coordination with Duke Energy and other utilities. However, Hickory’s infrastructure challenges mirror Charlotte’s on a smaller scale, with aging systems and budget constraints limiting progress. The city’s proactive measures, like advocating for erosion control on construction sites, aim to mitigate sediment pollution but struggle against inconsistent enforcement.

Charlotte’s infrastructure view is one of large-scale innovation tempered by funding gaps, while Hickory’s is defined by resource constraints and a reliance on regional data and cooperation. Both cities face the challenge of modernizing aging systems, but Hickory’s smaller tax base heightens the urgency of cost-effective solutions.

Regional Equity: Cooperation vs. Competition

The most striking contrast lies in the cities’ views on regional water management, particularly regarding Charlotte’s proposed interbasin transfer of 30 MGD to the Yadkin-Pee Dee Basin. Charlotte sees the transfer as essential to support its population and industrial growth, arguing that its economic contributions benefit the region. However, this proposal has sparked fierce opposition in Hickory, where residents and officials, backed by the Catawba Riverkeeper, view it as a threat to upstream water security. Removing 30 MGD—equivalent to a quarter of the basin’s flow during droughts—could lower Lake Hickory’s levels, impacting drinking water, recreation, and hydropower. A Hickory resident’s X post captured the sentiment: “Why should Hickory sacrifice water so Charlotte can grow?”

This tension underscores a broader divide: Charlotte’s urban-centric perspective prioritizes its own growth, while Hickory’s upstream view emphasizes equity and regional fairness. The CWWMG offers a framework for cooperation, but Hickory’s opposition to the transfer highlights a lack of trust in equitable resource allocation. Hickory advocates for alternatives, like Charlotte investing in water recycling, to reduce basin-wide strain, reflecting a community fighting to protect its share of a shared resource.

A Shared Path Forward

Despite their differences, Charlotte and Hickory share a dependence on the Catawba River and face similar pressures from growth, water quality, and infrastructure needs. Charlotte’s challenges—massive demand, public distrust, and funding gaps—require large-scale solutions and public engagement. Hickory’s realities—vulnerability to upstream pollution, limited resources, and concerns over regional water equity—demand proactive advocacy and collaboration. Both cities can learn from each other: Charlotte’s innovative programs, like biosolids management, could inspire Hickory, while Hickory’s focus on conservation and monitoring offers lessons for sustainable growth.

For Hickory Hound readers, the Catawba River’s future hinges on unity. Residents can support conservation, advocate for stricter pollution controls, and push for fair water policies through platforms like the NCDEQ’s public hearings. Charlotte’s residents, meanwhile, must recognize their upstream impact and support regional solutions like the CWWMG. As one X user in Hickory aptly stated, “The Catawba River is our future—let’s protect it.” By bridging their perspectives, Charlotte and Hickory can ensure the river remains a lifeline for all.

“Charlotte’s Water Challenge - Balancing Growth with Sustainability” (worldpopulationreview.com, USGS 2015 report, cltwaterblog.org, nchstats.com, X posts, Catawba-Wateree Water Management Group)
“Hickory’s Water Woes: Balancing Growth, Drought, and Equity on the Catawba River” (NC Office of State Budget and Management, NCDEQ Catawba River Basin Plan, Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation 2024 report, WCNC, X posts)