Eleven months ago, on Dec. 17, 2025, Scenic Rivers Industries – Dent County’s Sheltered Workshop burned to the ground in a devastating overnight fire. Our building was a complete loss. The only things salvageable were the lawn care equipment that was kept in a shed, the semi that we use to transport materials, and our box truck that our recycling crew uses to collect cardboard from local businesses. Everything else, from important records to equipment to inventory to personal items, was gone.
But that wasn’t all that was lost. Twenty-seven employees with disabilities and eight staff members lost their jobs that day. Thirty-five people who considered each other family lost not only their livelihood, but also their sense of security—their second “home”—and were left with a heartbreaking feeling of uncertainty just eight days before Christmas.
