Canton native, NC business owner finds hope after Helene [Video]

HOT SPRINGS, N.C. — Karen Howard-Goss is a Canton gal through and through.

“I’m very, very proud and will tell anyone that I’m from Northeast Ohio,” she says. 

Karen and her husband Gary, himself a Streetsboro native, have lived down south for decades. But for the last six years, the tiny town of Hot Springs, North Carolina, has captured their hearts. 

“Very, very small this town, and it’s 100% tourism driven,” she describes. “So we just work together as a team. There’s zero competition here.”

But there is plenty of love, which makes it especially heartbreaking to see the utter devastation to their beloved town by Hurricane Helene. 

“Catastrophic. I mean, the town is decimated,” Karen says. 

The decimation includes dozens of businesses, such as Karen and Gary’s Iron Horse Station, a landmark inn and tavern in the community. 

“The foundation …