Tag: Concert for Carolina

#OnThisDay: Statue of Liberty Dedicated, 1886 & a Hurricane Helene Update

Lots of Americans have Statue of Liberty stories. It was a welcome sight for many immigrants coming into the port at New York City. It was a welcome sight for one of my first cousins when he came home from serving in the US Army in Europe during World War II. And it was a thrill when I saw it from a Staten Island Ferry back in the mid-1980s.

The statue was being restored and prepared for its centennial when I saw it from afar. It was closed to visitors and completely encased in scaffolding. I could barely tell Lady Liberty was in there, yet it was still a thrill to see this national landmark and prized gift from the people of France.

The Statue of Liberty was dedicated by President Grover Cleveland 138 years ago today. Imagine the excitement on that day and the days leading up to the event as people watched the progression of the construction process!

Never having seen it close up, it’s difficult for me to grasp the size of the 151-foot- tall statue. I read that the American people paid for the granite foundation and pedestal, while the people of France paid for the statue itself.

Photo of the Statue of Liberty
Photo by Vinayak Sharma on Unsplash

The statue was sculpted by a Frenchman, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, who consulted with Gustave Eiffel about structural issues.

In doing research for this blog post I also learned that William Tecumseh Sherman of American Civil War fame (though more infamous here in The South!) selected the site for the statue.

The statue is made of copper sheeting over an iron framework. The flame of the torch held by Lady Liberty is coated in gold leaf. The seven spikes on her crown represent the seven seas and seven continents. The tablet she holds represents knowledge and is inscribed with the date of our country’s Declaration of Independence.

The Statue of Liberty is an international symbol of liberty and the freedoms we enjoy as citizens of the United States of America.

Hurricane Helene Update on Western North Carolina

I hoped today’s update would be shorter than the previous ones I’ve given, but there is a lot to report. If your time and interest are limited, please take advantage of the headings in bold print. Much of today’s update is positive, while some of it is daunting.

Governor Roy Cooper announced that first responders and others have come from 39 states to help with rescue and recovery efforts in western NC! Thank you to each of you!

Hay bales: Last week I reported on hay bales coming from farmers in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Add Kentucky to that list… and no doubt other states I just didn’t hear about. I read a report online from the newspaper in Boone that more than 50 tractor trailer loads of hay bales came to Watauga County from Ohio! They also brought feed for various farm animals, tarps, baby supplies, and posts and barbed wire for fencing.

Photo of a field dotted with big round bales of hay
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

I read a report from Haywood County, about 100 miles south of Watauga, on smokymountainnews.com,. That county’s Agricultural Extension Office knew hay was coming and worked out the logistics of storage and distribution. The agent there said some farmers lost more than 300 bales in the flood.

Farmers helping farmers…. It’s what they do!

Precision Grading:  I’ve been following a small grading company, Precision Grading, in Saluda, NC on Facebook, and I’m just blown away by what this man is doing. He has worked free-of-charge with his bulldozer and backhoe 12 hours a day since the storm to help individuals with debris pickup on their land, cutting new driveways for them, and literally cleaning out the Green River.

If you’ve ever driven I-26 between Asheville, NC and Greenville, SC, you probably remember the section that traverses the Green River Gorge. The bridge is so high, you can’t see the river below. There are runaway truck ramps along the southbound lanes. That area is more isolated than Asheville, Chimney Rock, and Bat Cave, so it is not getting any media attention. This man is not charging anyone for his work, except for the occasional job that insurance is paying for. He says the work is gut wrenching because everything he pulls out of the river was someone’s car, house, or prized possession.

If you would like to support Jake Jarvis’ work, you can send a check to Precision Grading, 99 Polaris Drive, Saluda, NC  28773. He did not want to take donations but finally concluded that donations will enable him to do more work for people in need without charging them. Fuel and maintenance on his heavy equipment is not cheap. I do not know him personally, so do your own research about him.

It is heart-warming, especially in today’s political environment to see that a disaster brings out the best in most people.

Brother Wolf Animal Rescue is still accepting monetary donations to enable the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization to rebuild on higher ground in Asheville. They lost all physical assets in the flood. Here’s the link to their website (https://www.bwar.org/) where you can donate and read about their work. There’s a touching story about Gandolf, a dog rescued from the flood waters.

Statistics: The death toll from Hurricane Helene in NC now stands at 98.

The estimated damage from Hurricane Helene in North Carolina is a staggering $53 billion.

Roads: The storm severely impacted approximately 5,000 miles of state-maintained roads in western North Carolina. Interstates 26 and 40 are still closed near the TN line. A total of 404 roads remain closed.

Electricity: I’ve seen videos online of power poles being brought in by helicopter to places inaccessible by vehicle. One Duke Energy representative said the helicopters make it possible to set a pole in an hour instead of what would be a 10-hour job. The terrain is challenging under the best circumstances, so the helicopters have been a game changer.

Water system in Asheville: My sister learned from a friend there last week that they can flush toilets now, which is a huge milestone for the residents. Here’s the link to an informative briefing by City of Asheville Water Resources on October 25: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6EH3zKjaGE). You’ll learn in this 6.5-minute briefing how the Hurricane Helene flood catastrophe could have been “exponentially worse” if the government had not put in an auxiliary/emergency spillway as a safeguard less than four years ago!

(If you’re a nerd about such things, as I am, here’s a link to a document about the planning and construction of that spillway by McGill Associates: https://www.mcgillassociates.com/north-fork-auxiliary-spillway-and-embankment-improvement-project/.

Blue Ridge Parkway: There is no estimated reopening date for the beautiful parkway. Portions of it that are used by residents to get from one side to the other for work or school are receiving top priority in reopening efforts. A 20-mile stretch near Grandfather Mountain opened last Wednesday. The other 250 miles in NC remain closed.

Public School Systems: Just to give you an idea about the recovery situation 32 days after Hurricane Helene hit western NC…

Avery County. Schools are scheduled to reopen on November 6.

Ashe County. Schools are scheduled to reopen on tomorrow.

Buncombe County. Schools reopened on Friday.

Watauga County. Schools reopened on Thursday.

With so many roads still closed, the school systems have had to scramble to work out bus routes and designated pick-up and drop-off locations.

Colleges and universities:

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College: Classes resume today because the campus now has power, non-potable water, and internet.

Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk: Classes will be conducted online through November 4.

Warren Wilson College: In-person classes resume today. Still under a boil water order, the college has secured potable water for meal preparation from their food provider.

IV Bag Manufacturer:  Through the US Department of Health and Human Services, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act so Baxter International will have priority access to specific material needed so it can get back to production. One production line is scheduled to start operations this week.

World Central Kitchen (WCK) is still serving the people in western NC and eastern TN. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden volunteered at their walk-up meal, fruit, and water distribution site in Asheville on Friday. According to the WCK website (https://www.worldcentralkitchen.org/en-us/news/jill-biden-visits-wck-asheville-north-carolina) , since the September 25 flood, “With 84 restaurant partners in North Carolina and Tennessee, we’ve served 979,976 meals to date in the southeastern US. Given the ongoing challenges with water access, we’ve also channeled our efforts to distribute more than 768,000 gallons of potable water in North Carolina alone…. In areas like Swannanoa, Hendersonville, Burnsville, Marshall, Yancey County, and more, power and water restoration is slowest, and we expect our support to be needed there for longer.”

Fundraising Concert

Ironically, the “Concert for Carolina” at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Saturday started at 7pm after a two-hour rain and lightning delay… the first rain the area has had since Hurricane Helene in September. I got to watch the live stream and heard/saw portions of it mixed in with a lot of buffering. It was the best concert ever!

Organized by Luke Combs and Eric Church, all artists (including the Avett Brothers, James Taylor, Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, Billy Strings, Scottie McCreery, Chase Rice, and Parmalee) donated their time and talents so all proceeds and donations could go to help specific organizations in western North Carolina.

The concert raised $24,513,185, included $1 million donated by Dolly Parton. A surprise during the concert was when Nicole Kidman joined her husband on stage and announced that it was his birthday. Then, Eric Church led the 82,000 people in attendance in singing “Happy Birthday to You” to Keith Urban.

Tourism: I found a list online last Thursday of 10 towns in western NC that were still “closed to visitors” and four towns (including Asheville) that were “open with limitations.” Towns are beginning to open back up to visitors, but many rural areas are still very much in recovery mode… and will be for months, if not years. Check reliable sources before making travel plans.

Maybe next Monday’s update will be shorter!

Until my next blog post

Don’t forget to sign up for my e-Newsletter by visiting https://janetmorrisonbooks.com/ and clicking in “Subscribe.” You’ll receive a free downloadable copy of my “Slip Sliding Away” short story. My next e-Newsletter will be sent to you during the first full week of November. Teaser: My “field trip” report this time is Boone’s Cave Park on the Yadkin River.

I hope you have a good book to read. I have several I’m trying to finish by Thursday, so I can blog about them next Monday.

Remember the people of Ukraine and Western North Carolina.

Janet

My DIY Writer’s Retreat & a Hurricane Helene Update

I read about various writers’ retreats and they sound wonderful, but I don’t have the money or necessarily the energy to participate in them. Therefore, I decided to have my own private Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Writer’s Retreat a couple of weeks ago.

It went so well that I intend to do more DIY retreats in the future.

I planned a schedule for it to last on a Thursday through Saturday. It was going to be three days for me to do nothing but write. Specifically, except for writing a blog post, I planned to work on my historical novel, The Heirloom (tentative title).

As I blogged on September 30, 2024 in Best laid plans…, life happens. None of the three days went exactly as planned, but overall, it was a productive time for me.

I learned on Day 1 that by the time I had written an hour that morning and five hours that afternoon, it had been a big mistake for me to schedule three more hours of writing that night. Hence, my schedules for Friday and Saturday were amended. Lesson learned!

Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash

On Day 3, I needed to take a break from writing and burn some of the limbs picked up after Hurricane Helene. My writing and that project are both works in progress. Such is life when one lives on several acres of big trees out in the country.

However, in those three days I added 6,000 words to my 35,000-word manuscript in addition to writing a 2,100-word blog post for October 7. Not bad for me, after accomplishing very little on the novel so far in 2024.

I took a Resilient Writers “Book Finishers Boot Camp” online class leading up to my DIY Writer’s Retreat. The class emphasized the importance of writing consistently and measuring writing goals on a weekly basis by whatever measuring stick one chooses.

Word-count goals never worked well for me, so I took a suggestion from the class and have started setting scene goals for myself. They are flexible and based on looking ahead at my calendar. Some weekly goals are higher than others, but the point is to have an end date insight for completing the first draft. In fact, the class instructed participants to have a projected completion date and a “life happens” completion date additional weeks or months down the road.

My ideal rough draft finish date set on September 18 is November 30, 2024. My realistic rough draft finish date set on that same day is January 11, 2025. So far, I’m just one scene behind schedule, with seven of my remaining 30 scenes completed. I admit, though, that no weeks since September 18 have gone as planned. These dates aren’t deadlines, they are self-imposed goals.

It has been fun (and hard work) to get back into the heads of my characters. I “talk” to Sarah, my main character, during my daily walks and ask her what she has for me that day. The great thing is that sometimes she answers!

Hurricane Helene Update on Western North Carolina

Since I live in North Carolina, I decided to give western NC recovery updates in my weekly blog. I hoped today’s update would be much shorter than last week’s, but the recovery efforts are still beyond comprehension 25 days after the disaster.

Weather conditions: Parts of the mountains received the season’s first snow last Tuesday and freeze warnings as some people are still sleeping in tents.

Statistics: As of last Tuesday, 92 people were still unaccounted for in NC. The death toll from Hurricane Helene stands at 95 in the state, but that number will surely rise.

Roads: As of Friday, October 18, 670 roads in western NC had been reopened, but more than 500 remained closed, according to WNCN in Raleigh. There are more than 6,900 sites where roads and bridges were destroyed, according to the NC Department of Transportation.

Electricity: As of last Thursday, 8,400 homes and businesses were still without power in five counties. Helicopters and off-road vehicles are being used to install power poles in some otherwise inaccessible areas.

Water system in Asheville: Water is slowly being restored in Asheville. Due to low water pressure where the system is in operation, residents are still under a Boil Water Notice. As of Saturday, the city reported that the treatment of water in the North Fork Reservoir will be a long process to deal with the high level of sediment resulting from the flooding.

The Rocky Broad River in Chimney Rock was restored to its original channel last week with the help of the US Army 101st Airborne Division.

Blue Ridge Parkway: The Blue Ridge Parkway remains closed in North Carolina, with tens of thousands of trees down and across the roadway and more than 30 rock and mudslides. There is no estimated reopening date for the beautiful parkway.

Public School Systems: Just to give you an idea about the recovery situation 25 days after Hurricane Helene hit western NC…

Avery County. Schools are scheduled to reopen on November 6.

Ashe County. Schools are scheduled to reopen on October 29.

Buncombe County. Schools are scheduled to reopen on October 25.

Watauga County. Schools are scheduled to reopen on October 24.

Colleges and universities:

Appalachian State University in Boone: The campus reopened for students to return as of 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Classes resumed in all but one classroom building on October 16.

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College: Closed until at least October 28.

Blue Ridge Community College: Reopening today.

Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk: Classes will be conducted online through November 4.

Montreat College: Started welcoming students back to campus yesterday.

Warren Wilson College: As of last Thursday, planning to welcome students back to campus on October 27. Roof and other repairs will continue over the coming months.

IV Bag Manufacturer:  Through the US Department of Health and Human Services, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act so the company will have priority access to specific material needed so Baxter can get back to production.

Convoy of Farm Supplies from Ohio

A convoy of trucks pulling trailers of hay and other farm supplies from Ohio arrived in Deep Gap, Watauga County, on Tuesday! Thank you, Ohioans! The videos were heart-warming! I read of hay bales also coming in from Pennsylvania. Thank you, Pennsylvanians!

Fundraising Concert

The Avett Brothers from here in Cabarrus County and another North Carolinian, Scotty McCreery, have been added to the lineup for the October 26 “Concert for Carolina” at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The concert is sold-out, but can be live streamed for $25.

Tourism: Autumn is the peak tourism season in the mountains. Some towns are accessible now and encouraging tourists to come and support the local economy. Those invitations are accompanied by words of caution to travel to the towns you know are ready for you and don’t venture out in the countryside where your presence will be a hindrance to recovery efforts. If you want to visit our beautiful mountains, do your research online or call your destination to learn about current conditions.

The Biltmore Estate announced on Friday that it will reopen for visitors on November 2

Until my next blog post

I hope you have at least one good book to read this week.

Don’t take family and friends for granted.

Remember the people of Ukraine and western North Carolina.

Janet

By the way… if you have not signed up for my e-Newsletter, please visit https://www.janetmorrisonbooks.com, click on “Subscribe,” and enjoy a free downloadable copy of my “Slip Sliding Away” short story which is set in the Appalachian Mountains. Then, look forward to my November e-Newsletter!