With elections, a plethora of new businesses and continued population growth, 2017 was a busy year. Some stories standout, not for their impact, but for what they say about the people involved. Here’s six stories from 2017 in which people overcame personal hardship or heartbreaking tragedy with either community support, or by themselves helping others.
When Wilmington Christian Academy senior Lindsay Benton died from injuries she received in a car accident, her family set out to “turn tragedy into triumph, honoring her life by helping others. READ MORE
https://portcitydaily.com/2017/09/27/leland-family-turns-grief-into-action-to-honor-their-daughters-life-nws/
The police report said Steven Robert Barton, a homeless man, was found dead from a gunshot wound in a downtown alley. Two suspects were arrested. But for his friends, his death was not the way they thought he should be remembered. Instead, they told the story of a former EMT, a church-going man who was always there to help others, even as he fought his own inner demons. Through their grief, they wanted everyone to know his was a life that mattered to many. READ MORE
https://portcitydaily.com/2017/04/30/this-homeless-man-was-murdered-in-downtown-wilmington-thats-not-the-end-of-the-story/
News agencies typically do not identify the victims of sexual assault. But in this case, the victim came forward, while still in high school, because she wanted to make sure what happened to her did not happen to anyone else. READ MORE
https://portcitydaily.com/2017/06/05/feds-investigate-allegations-new-hanover-county-school-neglected-and-harassed-a-sexual-assault-victim-news/
Just 21, Brian Davis was a seasoned dive master and spear fisherman with many friends. When he died in a diving accident, his friends decided his memory needed to live on in a permanent memorial, placed in a spot he would certainly have loved — underwater. READ MORE
https://portcitydaily.com/2017/07/07/local-community-comes-together-to-sink-a-ship-in-memory-of-brian-davis-our-ht/
And the follow up story …
https://portcitydaily.com/2017/08/15/the-brian-davis-will-sink-fundraiser-closes-the-gap-on-new-memorial-reef-nws/
Not too long into 2017, Wilmington’s Mayor, Bill Saffo, told state legislators that the opioid epidemic was one of the most “frightening issues of our time.” According to the North Carolina Department of Health, in the tri-county area of Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties, overdose rates have increased by close to 1000 percent in the past 15 years. But, for one group of people, that number did not come as a surprise. They are the friends and family of overdose victims, and they decided to take a stand against heroin. READ MORE
https://portcitydaily.com/2017/06/13/growing-by-the-hundreds-this-group-wants-to-get-the-h-out-of-wilmington-our-hometown/
Collin McClearn, 23 and a new father, was working when the car accident that changed his life happened. But, his friends and family rallied behind him and his recovery efforts, and they got the community involved too. READ MORE
https://portcitydaily.com/2017/07/14/after-devastating-accident-hampstead-family-puts-the-pieces-together-nws/
