Edwards Visits Mill Town In N.C. Hit by Flooding
John Edwards toured this flood-ravaged mill town in his home state Sunday, meeting with local leaders and business owners and workers hit by last week's flooding from Hurricane Frances.</br></br>The visit was recently added to Edwards's campaign schedule, and was the sixth campaign trip Edwards has made here since Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) chose him in July as the Democratic vice presidential nominee.</br></br>Kerry and Edwards hope to put North Carolina's 15 electoral votes in the Democratic column in November even though the state has voted for the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 1976, when Jimmy Carter beat Gerald Ford.</br></br>The senator toured the town's main commercial district, within sight of the Blue Ridge Paper Products mill, which employs many residents. Damaged by flooding on the Pigeon River, the mill is closed, and officials said it may not open for some time.</br></br>Edwards shook hands with workers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and volunteers helping to dig the town out of flooding damage that left hundreds of roads closed, many businesses shut down and crops ruined. With rolled-up shirt-sleeves, Edwards walked through the muddied main street with Mayor Pat Smathers and Jerry Walker, mayor of nearby Clyde. The area, in the mountainous western part of the state, received nearly 18 inches of rain last week.