Hurricane Helene
First and foremost, our hearts are broken over the devastation in and around Watauga County. There are simply no words to express our pain and sorrow. This affects literally everyone we know. Our prayers go out to everyone affected by the storm and the long recovery ahead of us. We have been diligently working to find the right source for giving to assure the money will stay locally. After several discussions we have decided to partner with Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was formed in 2009 to operate the prudently developed 700-acre portion that includes the Mile High Swinging Bridge, Wilson Center for Nature Discovery, hiking trails, Wildlife Habitats and much more.
Please Give Generously
Tina and I are stepping up today to kick off this fund-raising effort with a $10,000 donation and we challenge each of you to give as much as you can to help us help those in Watauga and Avery County. The donation is tax-deductible. If you have a sizeable donation in mind we can provide wiring instruction to their bank. You need to clearly mark you donation for Hurricane Relief. To donate please click here: https://grandfather.com/donate/
If you would rather mail a check it goes to Rick Edwards (due to the storm there is no mail service currently in Linville) Rick will deliver to them:
Hurricane Relief:
Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation
c/o Rick & Hilda Edwards
1799 Flat Top Road
Blowing Rock, NC 28605
If you would like to talk directly to the Foundation please call Magaret Thiele, VP of Development (cell) 252-414-2204.
Update from the Town of Blowing Rock
| BLOWING ROCK UPDATE Thursday, October 3rd – 11:00am There is a lot of information to clarify and report and we appreciate your patience as we navigate very unchartered territory. Our phones, emails and message boards have been filled with similar questions, so we are going to address those. Power: Blue Ridge Energy (BREMCO) is working in Phase Operations – Phase 1 being to restore the main lines. This is why you may see retail spaces and businesses with power, not because they are prioritized, but because they are on the main lines. We do not have a timeframe for the restoration of power. They are working diligently to restore power to all residents, but it is an arduous process with the amount of damage sustained in our community and beyond. 6,800 miles of line were destroyed, hundreds of poles broken, and thousands are still without power. To put it into perspective, they are essentially rebuilding 80% of the entire power infrastructure. We have a current list of all Blowing Rock residents without power and have been in constant contact with BREMCO, no one is being overlooked or forgotten. Trash: Public works is picking up normal residential trash as it is accessible. Cleanup Week has been canceled. Republic is not collecting recycling for the foreseeable future so it may be some time before they pick up, this includes commercial cardboard pickups. The Town in conjunction with Watauga County has contracted with SDR to remove debris damage from homes. The debris pickup will begin in our area on Monday – please do NOT block any drains. This pickup does not include furniture or appliances damaged by flooding – when we have more information about where everyone can take these items, we will let you know. As of now, the landfills are being overrun and are only open to the contract company SDR. Convenience Centers, like the Aho Road Site, are accepting the normal things they usually do (like household garbage, glass and cardboard). Aho Convenience Center is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: 6:30am-6:00pm and Saturday: 8:00am to 6:00pm. “When is the curfew and why?” The current curfew is 11:00pm to 7:00am. The curfew is an area wide request for the safety of our linemen and first responders who are working 24/7 to reach trapped communities and restore electricity. Progress is halted and safety is a concern when work must be paused to permit travel. We again appreciate your understanding as we keep safety a number one priority. Supplies and Resources: -Blowing Rock has free public WiFi and anyone within the Main Street area of Town can access it. -ASU’s Convocation Center has free open showers. -The Hunger and Health Coalition (H&HC) has many resources available now. They are reaching out to all areas and will provide needs where needed, please ask them! They also have an open pharmacy with insulin (prescription proof required) as well as Benadryl (yellow jackets have been an issue in the county) and EpiPens. H&HC also has baby supply needs, pet needs and shelf stable food which can be eaten without the need of power. They are accepting donations and using their resources to send donations to all local areas. They are open Monday-Friday 9:00am-4:00pm and located at 141 Health Center Dr Ste C, Boone. You can also give them a call for assistance: Main Line: (828) 262-1628, Pharmacy: (828) 264 5212. -Casting Bread and Blowing Rock Cares are organizing a resource center from the American Legion Building (333 Wallingford Street, Blowing Rock) beginning Friday, October 5th and (for now) operating until Tuesday, October 15th. The center will be open from 10:00am-4:00pm daily. Supplies available will be bottled water, nonperishable items, baby items and more. Electrical outlets will be available to charge electronics, and anyone can use our public Wi-Fi while the center is operating. Donation items can be dropped off from 10:00am to 4:00pm (donations can also be left by the front door from 6:00am-10:00am). Anyone can volunteer through www.love-give.org or make donations online through www.blowingrockcares.com or www.increasefoodsecurity.org – please make all donations payable to Blowing Rock Cares or Casting Bread. Volunteering: We have received so many calls asking how to volunteer. We are so grateful for this! You can volunteer or donate to the two resources listed above and we would also like to direct you to the main organizers of area wide volunteers. -Samaritan’s Purse is accepting volunteers on a daily basis U.S. Disaster Relief https://spvolunteer.org/ at Alliance Bible Fellowship (1035 Nc Highway 105 Bypass). -Perkinsville Baptist Church (274 Jefferson Rd, Boone) is organizing daily volunteers who have equipment – particularly chainsaws. – -The Red Cross is also accepting volunteers, you can sign up at https://www.redcross.org/vol…/volunteer-opportunities.html Activities: Art in the Park and every come-all event in the immediate future in Blowing Rock has been canceled. As this changes we will communicate it immediately. “Is Blowing Rock Open?” The main grid of Blowing Rock has power and internet access. We have water, as we never lost power to our water supplies or pump stations. Our Water Plant and Wastewater Plant ran off of generators until power was restored fully so no boil advisories were ever in place. This is thanks to the hard work of Town employees and Blue Ridge Energy. While we have many things we are thankful for, we have still been greatly impacted by hurricane Helene. There are several areas in Blowing Rock without power and many roads surrounding Blowing Rock that are not secure enough to travel on. The Parkway itself is closed and all Blowing Rock hiking trails are closed. We are currently operating on a limited staff, resources are low, and we are sustaining Town operations while also trying to support our neighbors. *We want to repeat the message that we are not in a place to accept tourism currently* We simply cannot support the use of resources for leisure that should be used for those suffering within our community. We are desperately trying to organize and support daily infrastructure in the High Country. We thank you for loving our area and wanting to enjoy it, but what we are experiencing now is not the experience you come to Blowing Rock for. When we can provide that experience again, we will ask for visitors to return. Your visits in the future will be a form of volunteering as we will benefit greatly from your tourism in rebuilding the High Country. We appreciate your continued support of Blowing Rock and all those impacted by hurricane Helene. |
We want to send a sincere “THANK YOU” to all those who are volunteering, providing financial support, first responder, our Town & County staff and to everyone pulling together to help each other thru this disaster! God Bless!
Tom & Tina Barrett