Deadline to apply approaching for TN governor's recovery fund
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — With the deadline fast approaching, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) is reminding victims of Hurricane Helene to apply for the Governor's Response and Recovery Fund (GRRF).
The deadline to apply is 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, May 31.
Bristol school's viral morning announcements lead to fundraiser for library
Applications can be submitted on TEMA's website.
TEMA stated in a news release that the GRRF is 'a $100 million program established to provide innovative assistance for unmet disaster recovery needs.'
The first round of grant funding from the GRRF is available to help local governments, non-profits, businesses, farmers and forest owners in the following counties:
Carter
Claiborne
Cocke
Grainger
Greene
Hamblen
Hancock
Hawkins
Jefferson
Johnson
Sevier
Sullivan
Unicoi
Washington
Applications differ based on the person or entity applying. For example, a separate application is available for local governments than for local farmers.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
WWII Veteran recalls landing on Utah Beach in Normandy
ABINGDON, Va. (WJHL) — 81 years ago, World War II allies invaded Normandy, liberating France and Western Europe, and laying the path to victory. 'We came in on a landing craft with the front down, and we jumped into the water,' Army veteran Don Parker recalled of landing on Utah Beach a few days later. 'They had some – we'll call them cannons, they may have been 88s. That's what finally hit me. Well, it wasn't exactly comfortable, I don't know how else to describe it. It was bloody, it was messy.' Landing in Normandy is something most people read about in history books, but Parker lived it. 'We crawled in front of Patton's tanks, and we probed with our bayonets to get the pressure bombs that were down under there. We had to get and disable the bombs,' he said. 'Patton brought his tanks across after that… He didn't lose any tanks there anyway.' The rifleman remembers capturing a German outpost and earning a Bronze Star. 'I didn't think the choices were very good, but I had enough patriotism that it had to be done,' he said. 'It was necessary. That's about the only sensible thing to say. We had to do it and we did it.' PREVIOUS STORY: World War II Army veteran celebrates 100th birthday He said there is a mix of emotions about his time in the 79th Division during WWII. 'I was in college, I wanted to stay there. But when they drafted me, I didn't run to Canada,' he said. 'They want me? I'll go. And I went.' Parker was later injured, almost losing his foot to gangrene. 'I was digging a foxhole, and a shell come in and [my feet were in fragments]. And then when they got me back to the surgeon, he looks at me and puts his hand on my shoulder and says, 'I'm sorry, son, but I have to cut off your left foot,'' Parker recalled. 'They were right, I was going to die, but I mean the timing was wrong because I've still got the foot and that was some years ago.' SEE MORE: Abingdon veteran celebrates 100th birthday And the 101-year-old has a message for those who are now the 'boots on the ground.' 'We did our best, that's what we'd want to see of the young soldiers now,' he said. 'D-Day | The Greatest Victory' is airing on WJHL+ at 9 p.m. on Friday to mark the 81st anniversary. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump's broadband program overhaul favors Musk tech, strips low-cost plans
Residents of western North Carolina gather near a fire station last fall to access Wi-Fi service in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The region is among the areas meant to benefit from the BEAD program for rural broadband access. (Photo by Melissa) The Trump administration on Friday released revised rules for a federal program meant to widely expand broadband access, stripping the Biden-era effort of many key requirements and making it easier for Elon Musk's company to win grants. Under the revised guidelines, the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, known as BEAD, will take a technology-neutral approach to expanding broadband access rather than focusing on fiber internet. The original program favored fiber because of its speed, reliability and ability to reach remote locations. The change opens the door for more internet providers to use BEAD grants for technologies including satellite internet service, which is provided by Elon Musk's Starlink. Under the new rules, Starlink could receive $10 billion to $20 billion in BEAD money, up from $4.1 billion the company would have received under the original rules, according to The Wall Street Journal. Groups applying for BEAD funding also will no longer be required to offer a low-cost service option for internet users in locations they are serving. Some states had proposed services as low as $30 a month. Instead, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration now encourages internet providers to propose their 'existing, market driven low-cost plans' to meet the cost requirement. A lagging broadband program faces more delays as Trump plans changes As part of the Trump administration's push to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within the government, the new guidelines also remove provisions that encouraged states to work with companies and representatives from minority communities. Requirements related to labor, the environment and climate change also were cut. And the agency eliminated a provision of the original program that encouraged states to seek out non-traditional providers, including municipalities or political subdivisions that provide internet service. Louisiana's, Nevada's and Delaware's proposals, which had been approved, will be rescinded. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick promised to launch a rigorous review of the BEAD program in March, saying in a statement that because of 'woke mandates, favoritism towards certain technologies and burdensome regulations, the program has not connected a single person to the internet and is in dire need of a readjustment.' In April, the Trump administration gave states an additional 90 days to submit their final plans for the $42.45 billion program in anticipation of the changes, further delaying an effort that's set to go back to the planning phase after more than three years. Evan Feinman, the former director of the BEAD program, said states will now have to rework their proposals again. 'For some reason, [Secretary] Lutnick, who said the program was going too slowly, wants to slow the program down much more, force states and the private sector to do a ton of extra work and spend a bunch of extra taxpayer money all so we can get worse connections to people that will cost them more every month,' he said. The Internet & Television Association, a trade association representing the broadband and cable industries, praised the new guidelines in a statement, saying, 'We welcome changes to the BEAD program that will make the program more efficient and eliminate onerous requirements, which add unnecessary costs that impede broadband deployment efforts.' But Drew Garner, the director of policy engagement at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, said in a statement that the changes will 'cement the digital divide for decades.' The Benton Institute is a nonprofit organization championing digital access for all. '[Lutnick] is hurting our economic competitiveness, our healthcare and education, and our ability to work and stay connected with loved ones,' Garner said in the statement. 'He is denying rural Americans access to the modern economy and our increasingly connected world.' Stateline reporter Madyson Fitzgerald can be reached at mfitzgerald@ SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Deputy Governor, TDOT Commissioner steps away after seven years
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — Governor Bill Lee announced Friday that Deputy Governor and Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Butch Eley is stepping away from his role in the third quarter of 2025 after nearly seven years of leadership. Eley has been a key figure in advancing infrastructure, financial stewardship and government modernization across the state, according to a news release. 'It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve Governor Lee and the people of Tennessee,' Eley said in the release. 'From building long-term systems that better serve Tennesseans, to navigating some of our state's toughest challenges, I'm deeply proud of what we've accomplished. This moment marks not an end, but a pause—a chance to ensure a smooth transition and reflect on how I can continue to make an impact in new ways.' Local agencies warn of DMV text message scam Eley described the decision as a transition to step away from government to spend more time with his family. Under his role as TDOT Commissioner, Eley reportedly launched the following initiatives: Introduced Tennessee's first Public-Private Partnership (P3) initiatives to modernize project delivery and increase innovation by engaging the private sector. Pioneered alternative delivery models to improve project speed and efficiency, improving service for taxpayers. Created the first-ever fiscally constrained 10-year project plan, bringing unprecedented transparency and accountability to state transportation investments. Secured dedicated, recurring General Fund dollars for transportation for the first time in TDOT's history to ensure an additional and sustainable revenue stream to help meet Tennessee's infrastructure needs in the decades to come. Led the single-largest infrastructure investment in state history with the I-55 bridge over the Mississippi replacement project. Commenced the state's first performance-based maintenance contract, engaging the private sector with outlined metrics to establish clear and objective standards for how our roads should look to motorists. 'Since I decided to run for Governor, Deputy Governor Eley has served as one of my most trusted advisors,' Governor Bill Lee said in the release. 'I turned to him to manage our state departments as chief operating officer after my first inauguration, and then to steward our state's finances as finance and administration commissioner during the worst global economic decline since the Great Depression. In my second term, Butch stepped into a new role to prepare Tennessee's infrastructure for generations to come, ensuring we continue to accommodate our state's extraordinary economic growth. I've entrusted him with some of the most difficult challenges facing our state, and he has consistently overachieved. Butch has served the people of Tennessee with the highest level of excellence, and God has blessed Maria and me with a lifelong friend. I thank him for his unwavering leadership.' 'None of this work has been mine alone,' Eley said in the release. 'It's been the result of an extraordinary Governor, supportive and engaged teams, and a shared commitment to making government work better for the people we serve. Leadership is about stewardship—and I believe the systems, improvements, and processes we've built are strong enough to thrive for years to come.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
