LATEST NEWS

McDowell County -- October 19, 2024: McDowell County Sheriff's Office On Wednesday, October 16th, 2024, McDowell. County Sheriff’s Office arrested Hunter Dakota Kelley, of Kentucky, with (2) counts of Attempting to Obtain Property by False Pretense, (2) counts of Possession of Weapon on Educational Property (Not Gun) and (1) Possession of Open Container of Alcohol.

We understand this is a very difficult time for our students and community. We hope that all of you have safely weathered this storm. With that, we are eager to hear from you and ask that you contact your class instructor to update them on your status. We are tentatively restarting some classes on October 21, 2024, and the remaining classes, including GED and Life Skills, as well as all services, by October 28, 2024. Our plan aims to provide multiple opportunities for students to move toward their goals, as their situation allows, and for Mayland Community College to offer continued support to our community. We know each student has unique circumstances, so please discuss your situation with your class instructor at your earliest convenience. It is our hope that every student is able to complete their classes, and we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure student success.

Glenwood Baptist Church has been providing food, clothing, and shelter to residents in McDowell County since the immediate aftermath of Helene.

In the hills and valleys of rural Yancey County lies one of the spots Hurricane Helene hit the hardest.

A joint operation conducted by the Lenoir Police Department, Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office and the NC SBI led to a large seizure of US currency. The month long investigation led to the seizure of over $175,000 and two firearms from a local drug dealer. The investigation is ongoing. The...

SNAP households (with children) and Families First (TANF) households in the impacted counties will automatically receive Emergency Cash Assistance.

SPRUCE PINE, N.C. (WLOS) — In the wake of Helene, restoration efforts have faced obstacles, particularly in mountainous areas that are difficult to reach. A total of 3.6 million Duke Energy customers across North and South Carolina were without power in the direct aftermath of the storm. Now, in...

On October 12th, Northampton Co. Sheriff’s Office sent deputies to Western North Carolina (Mitchell County) to help with Hurricane Helene relief efforts after receiving a request for additional assistance on October 11th. Northampton Co. Sheriff’s Office previously sent Capt. M. Bishop and Sgt. A. Eaton to assist with relief...

NEWLAND, N.C. — Thousands of people are helping western North Carolina communities from neighbors to first responders to volunteers from all across the state. In an area where electricity is scarce and most restaurants are closed, one chef is feeding the thousands still in need. As the smell of spicy jambalaya and freshly baked cornbread drifts out of this trailer, first responders and volunteers who have been hard at work with hurricane recovery flock to the table.

MARSHALL — In the postgame huddle after his team’s first game since Tropical Storm Helene ravaged Yancey County and Western North Carolina, a 44-7 win over Avery County, Mountain Heritage coach Joey Robinson did something a little different. As fans and parents came down from the bleachers at Madison High School, the neutral site for Saturday’s game, Robinson invited them into his team’s huddle for a prayer before they broke down with a Mountain Heritage chant. ...

The landscape of Avery County completely changed three weeks after Hurricane Helene hit, and many people in the area are still without power and utilities.

The following arrests have been reported by the Carter County Sheriff’s Office: On Oct. 11, Transport Officer Kevin Kemp met with Washington County deputies at Sinking Creek Baptist Church and took Anthony James Hale into custody due to multiple warrants issued by the Carter County Juvenile Court. Hale is charged with two counts of failure […] The post Carter County Sheriff’s Office arrest reports appeared first on www.elizabethton.com.

FRENCH BROAD EMC – (10/19 P. rogress Update from 10/18) French Broad Electric Membership Corp. (From French Broad Facebook) Here are some of the poles we have replaced in the Popular area of Mitchell County. In this particular stretch of line, we replaced 14 of 15 structures in a row! None of these were reachable with a truck so we had to either use a track machine or hand set them. The crews have made a tremendous physical effort to get these poles replaced and now have power to the end of the three phase line. Unfortunately, there’s still over 20 poles to be changed out on popular creek road! This is what we have faced throughout Mitchell and Yancey County for the last three weeks. Most of the tap lines we are fixing now require, two, three, or four poles to be replaced to get 2-3 customers energized. Everywhere we go there are multiple poles destroyed by the wind and fallen trees or they have been washed away by the creeks and rivers. We now have over 50 crews in both counties working 16 hours a day. They are changing as many as 100 poles each day and getting more customers on each day but we still have a ways to go to get everyone on. There are multiple areas that our previous power line right of way is gone, washed away with the road bank. We are having to re-engineer the line and build it from scratch. In other areas, we still do not have a viable road to get our equipment in position to work or carry material. French Broad EMC crews have come along way in the last several days and restored power to over 94% of our membership and we will keep working until we get everyone electricity that is reachable. We continue to work with the NCDOT to get access to places that were washed away and where bridges were destroyed.

In some good news for Avery County, Cartner’s Christmas Tree Farm in Newland has been chosen to supply the tree for the White House this year. On Monday, October 28th officials will gather at the farm at 1721 Spanish Oak Road, to select that special tree. The tree to be placed in the Blue Room of the White House will be selected by White House staff. Cartner’s were named the 2024 Grand Champion growers at the National Christmas Tree Contest.

LENOIR, N.C. (WBTV) - A federal inmate in Lenoir escaped and was recaptured within the span of a few hours Friday morning. The Department of Adult Corrections confirmed that Christopher Greer escaped Caldwell Correctional Institution early Friday morning, which is a minimum-security prison. Greer was recaptured by 7:25 a.m. nearby.

"He's doing fine, playing and doing all the normal stuff,” the cat's owner, Nan Collins, said

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. (WBTV) - A man died after a car hit his moped in Burke County on Thursday evening, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said. The crash happened just after 5:30 p.m. along Highway 70 near Lockee Street, between Icard and Hildebran. Troopers said the moped driver, 57-year-old...

Armed with a small backhoe, chain saws and grit, teams of area men cut trees and limbs and removed debris from homes in western North Carolina last weekend. William Figueroa, a co-owner of Wilson’s Providence Funeral & Cremation Service, was one of a dozen men on two teams to deploy in the Spruce Pine area of Mitchell County to help […] The post Wilson teams help western NC storm victims first appeared on Restoration NewsMedia.

SWANNANOA, N.C. (WLOS) — It has now been three weeks since Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, and News 13 spoke with one Swannanoa family who barely escaped from their home during the storm. On most days, their neighborhood is a peaceful street. But on the morning of Friday,...

A North Carolina family's journey from war-torn Ukraine to the U.S. was tragically cut short. They were killed not by the familiar threats of artillery and rocket barrages, but by a more insidious force of nature.