Latest news with #DaysInn
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How many Helene refugees temporarily called Haywood home?
May 28—The Federal Emergency Management Agency program that housed displaced Helene victims in hotel rooms has drawn to a close. As of May, there were no FEMA hotel vouchers being used in Haywood County — following a January peak of 7,669 hotel room nights in Haywood County being filled by homeless flood victims. A family staying in a hotel all month would count as 30 room nights. Another family may stay in a hotel for only a week, say if their temporary living arrangements with a relative wore thin. That would count as seven room nights. So the 7,669 room nights during the month of January could account for as few as 300 to 400 individual families staying in hotel rooms for various durations. One thing is clear, however: the flood victims filling hotel rooms here weren't all from Haywood. Many came from other ravaged counties, seeking shelter in Haywood. Nor were displaced flood victims the only ones filling Haywood hotel rooms after Helene. Some hotels were so full of the recovery workers who poured in, they had no space or limited space for flood victims initially, let alone room for tourists. "As much as we are a tourism-based economy, we were doing the right thing in housing construction workers, linemen and folks who were here to help rebuild Haywood County — plus sheltering families in need," said Patrik Shaw, a long-time hotelier in Haywood County and owner of Days Inn. "That is the benefit of having multiple hotels be able to open their doors in time of need." The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority was a key player in getting hotels enlisted to house flood victims. The TDA put out the call to its database of lodging owners that FEMA needed hotels willing to participate and created a spread sheet of interested hotels for FEMA. "They answered a lot of questions about how FEMA transitional housing worked. It helped us figure out if it was something we wanted to participate in and what this process would look like," Shaw said. Interestingly, the presence of the Helene refugees in Haywood's hotels and motels artificially inflated the key tourism metric of overnight stays, suggesting tourism was up after Helene when in fact the bump was attributed to flood victims staying in hotels — not tourists. The numbers Hotel stays in October got off to a slow start, then rose dramatically in November, stayed roughly level in December, and rose sharply again in January. February saw a huge fall-off, followed by a more gradual decline in March. This curve reflects a combination of factors: weather, the availability of other housing solutions and news that the program would be ending chief among them. —In October, 1,679 total room-nights were rented for flood victims. —In November, that number jumped to 5,000. —December saw another bump, up to 5,461. —Another large increase came with January and the new year, with 7,669 room-nights recorded. —In February, the number dropped to 2,712. —In March it dropped again to 1,216. By the end of April, there were no flood victims staying in Haywood County hotel rooms, at least not on FEMA's tab. The large jump between October and November is due in part to displaced flood victims staying with friends and relatives immediately following the storm before turning to hotel rooms. Numbers continued to climb as more people quit couch surfing or could no longer stay in tents and campers as temperatures dropped. Meanwhile, the drop-off after January is likely due to displaced flood victims finding more permanent housing solutions. Others victims lost their eligibility for the hotel housing program. How it worked The FEMA program that housed flood victims in hotels is called the Transitional Shelter Assistance program, also referred to as TSA. Participation by Haywood's lodging businesses was voluntary, and not every business participated for the entire six-month stretch. Some didn't participate at all. It was up to flood victims to call participating hotels and find if any had room. FEMA then paid the hotels directly. The program was extended twice, once to Jan. 11, 2025, and again to May 26. The TSA program did not cover short-term vacation rentals, providing payments only to hotels and motels. Complicating an analysis of how many flood victims were using hotels, FEMA only knows total room nights for the month — not individual families. Because of the migratory nature of families involved in the program, obtaining an average nightly number was also impossible. Similarly, FEMA had no record of which hotels and motels within the county had TSA-booked rooms on any given date. It's difficult to say how many were from outside Haywood County — places like Chimney Rock or Spruce Pine where there wasn't nearly as much hotel inventory for flood victims to tap. During their time here, the county's hotel and motel proprietors did the best they could to make the storm victims feel comfortable in a less-than-ideal situation. At the Days Inn, the hotel staff held a Christmas party for flood victims, complete with presents brought in by a charity that had conducted a toy drive down east for Helene victims. "There were multiple kids that had a wonderful Christmas even away from their traditional homes," Shaw said. Shaw also reached out to First United Methodist Church, which was a clearinghouse for flood relief, to get supplies brought directly to the hotel. "Twice a week, they went to hotels and stocked water and snacks and dry food. It was really neat, because I would tell them what the need was for our guests, and they would leave a stack of it in the lobby," Shaw said.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Clayton County police investigating deadly shooting at hotel
Clayton County police are investigating a deadly shooting. On Friday at about 10:27 p.m., officers responded to a report of a shooting at the Days Inn Hotel at 7385 Hannover Circle in Stockbridge. When they arrived, officers found an unconscious man suffering from a gunshot wound. He died from his injuries. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Investigators say the shooting began as a fight that escalated into gunfire. Police detained several people at the scene for questioning. Detectives are interviewing witnesses and reviewing evidence. There is no word yet on any arrests or motive for the shooting. TRENDING STORIES: Officer who arrested Ximena Arias-Cristobal resigns from department North GA man shoots, kills wife, girlfriend before turning gun on himself, police say Viral food critic Keith Lee awards metro Atlanta pizzeria $50,000 for community engagement [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Winnipeg Free Press
21-05-2025
- Climate
- Winnipeg Free Press
Relief, gratitude on faces of residents, workers allowed back in Falcon Lake area
FALCON LAKE — The tears welling up in John Wanke's eyes revealed the toll the past week had taken on the Falcon Lake resident. Provincial officials, concerned about the risk of spreading wildfires forced Wanke, his wife and their dog out of their home last Thursday. By Wednesday afternoon, he was nearly done unpacking his SUV when the emotions finally overcame him. 'It's nice to be home,' he said after spending the last six days at a friend's house in Kleefeld. 'They took us in, and they have newborn twins and a five-year-old. So it was a big household for a few days.' MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Falcon Lake resident John Wanke returned to the community he's called home since the early 2000s. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2012, Wanke shared how the Falcon Lake community — where he's lived since the early 2000s — has rallied around him, raising thousands of dollars for the annual MS Bike Ride in Gimli. 'My kids grew up here… and I couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if our homes burned down,' he said, as he pointed out neighbours' homes and recounted how long each had lived in the area. A small portion of Whiteshell Provincial Park, including Falcon Lake and its roughly 800 dwellings, reopened to some residents Wednesday. The rest remains closed as wildfire conditions persist, though crews have made progress battling fires in eastern Manitoba. The province said parts of the Whiteshell that remain under a mandatory evacuation order will be reopened in a phased approach when it is safe to do so. A few streets over, John and Audrey Hill were in the process of unloading their minivan at the cabin they've owned for 25 years. 'It's great (to be back),' Audrey said. 'It's nice not to have to drive by and see a barricade on the road. 'Everything's fine. The birds are singing, and the grass needs cutting.' The province placed the couple, their large dog, Atticus, and other residents from the area at the Days Inn in Steinbach with others from the area. Audrey said they received wellness calls every day. 'We don't resent being evacuated,' she said. 'They need people out of the way. The last thing they need is traffic on the roads.' At the hotel, she said, it felt like an expat community. 'You'd meet in the lobby and talk about what you had heard and what you had seen in the reports,' she said. 'I'll tell you what I said to my kids in Alberta — it's a little bit tense, a little bit boring and it's a little bit like a holiday. You don't have to do dishes. You don't have to make your bed. But you're trying to fill in the time, and you're worried about the park.' Reports that a cottage once owned by disgraced fashion mogul Peter Nygard had gone up in flames on the south side of the lake sparked new concern among residents, many of whom feared the wildfires had reached Falcon Lake. 'That raised alarms again,' said Audrey, who later heard reports the fire may have been deliberately set. RCMP had yet to confirm arson as of Wednesday, though a spokesperson said it was 'quite possible' it was intentionally set. The Hotel at Falcon Lake, which was fully renovated in 2023, became a resting place for emergency workers in the area over the long weekend and was designated as an essential service. The Victoria Day weekend, hotel owner Sandra Romani said, is one of the busiest times for local businesses and the unofficial kickoff to the summer season. 'It's been challenging and interesting, but everyone in our part of the park has been safe,' she said. 'We're grateful for that, that the wildfire didn't make it to this side of the park.' Romani described moments of fear, saying they were forced to live minute by minute, unsure of how close the fire was to the community or how bad the situation might get. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Falcon Lake resident Audrey Hill (with dog Atticus) unloads the car after returning following the wildfire evacuation order. As soon as they reopened to the public at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Romani said the phones began ringing. 'People are really excited that they didn't have to cancel for this upcoming weekend,' she said. 'We had to disappoint a lot of people (last weekend), but to be honest, 99.9 per cent of people were very understanding, that it was a force of nature that everyone had to deal with and that no one could control.' Just west of the hotel, at the Falcon Lake Shell Station, owner Cassandra Lewis was relieved to call back the six employees who had been sent home last week. The May long weekend typically marks the first major training period for new summer staff. 'It wasn't normal,' she said. 'Lost income. Lost wages for our employees. May long weekend is our busiest weekend.' Attached to the gas station is Falcon Beach Auto & Towing, where manager Manny Demata said they had called three of their employees to come back to work Wednesday. 'They were ecstatic,' he said. Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. As other businesses switched their 'open' signs back on and traffic slowly returned to the park, Ken Pickering, president of the Whiteshell Cottagers Association, said it symbolized hope for the area — a light at the end of the tunnel. 'Even though (the green light to return) only affected a certain number of people, it was a bit of sunshine,' he said. 'That's important for folks to start to get that news rather than it looking like it would be closed for a lengthy period of time.' Pickering, who owns a cottage at Falcon Lake, said there's also been an element of guilt. 'Just for the people that can't,' he said. 'There are a lot of people who can't get back just yet. It's a little bittersweet.' Scott BilleckReporter Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade's worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. Read more about Scott. Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Yahoo
Man pleads guilty to killing security guard trying to break up argument at Milwaukee hotel
A Milwaukee man is now taking responsibility for the shooting four years ago that killed a hotel security guard, sparing him the prospect of spending the rest of his life behind bars. Arrick Adams initially was charged with first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the Dec. 6, 2021, killing of Jose Stanton, a 28-year-old security guard at the Days Inn hotel at North Sixth and West Vine streets. In Wisconsin, first-degree intentional homicide is a Class A felony that carries a mandatory life sentence upon conviction. More: Milwaukee man gets 45-year prison sentence for fatally strangling Emily Rogers, hiding body However, Adams, 39, pleaded guilty to amended charges of first-degree reckless homicide and first-degree recklessly endangering safety on April 21, the same day jury selection was slated to get underway in his trial. A third charge, accusing him of being a felon in possession of a firearm, was dismissed by Assistant District Attorney Daniel T. Flaherty. That charge will be read into the court record at Adams' sentencing on July 11. More: Milwaukee man, 20, charged in 2022 shooting deaths of 2 Brown Deer brothers According to the criminal complaint, Adams and his girlfriend were having an argument at the hotel, when Stanton told them to leave. Court papers say Adams left the hotel, but returned a short time later with a gun and started shooting. A medical examiner's report indicated Stanton suffered six gunshot wounds. More: Jury finds Milwaukee officer negligent for running over man with squad car after chase Prosecutors say Adams fled the area after the shooting, but was arrested Dec. 10, 2021, in Georgia after a high-speed chase there with authorities. Court records show authorities in Wisconsin contacted the sheriff's office in Henry County, Georgia, after tracking the cellphone of Adams' girlfriend. The location reportedly was a residence in Henry County, just south of Atlanta. Adams surrendered after deputies boxed-in his black Hyundai Sonata on Interstate 75 in Georgia. A 9 mm pistol was recovered from the vehicle, the complaint says. More: '(He) just kept killing': Milwaukee man gets 95 years in 2021 shooting spree that left 3 dead This isn't the first homicide reported at that Days Inn hotel. Jahara Kennedy, 20, was fatally shot on Jan. 4, 2015, during a party at the hotel. Kennedy was celebrating her sister's birthday when four men tried to rob them. Kennedy barricaded herself behind a closed door. One of the men shot through the door, and a bullet hit Kennedy in the head. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee man admits he killed hotel security guard in 2021
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Yahoo
Police hunt for woman with knife after stabbing at Rockford hotel
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Police are searching for a knife-wielding woman who stabbed a man at the Days Inn hotel on Lyford Road. According to the Cherry Valley Police Department, officers were called to the hotel, at 220 S. Lyford Road, around 9:02 a.m. Tuesday for a reported stabbing. Police said the victim's injuries were not life-threatening, and the man refused medical treatment. Authorities said the suspect left the area in a black Jeep. DEVELOPING… Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
