Latest news with #Dotts
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
North Carolina students building tiny home for Helene victim
BURNSVILLE, NC (WGHP) — At Mountain Heritage High School in Yancey County, the sounds of saws and hammers fill the air. To those in that part of Yancey County, it's the sound of hope. Students in Jeremy Dotts' Advanced Carpentry class are building a tiny house that will go to help a victim of Hurricane Helene. Find out What's Right With Our Schools! Says Dotts, 'We literally started in January on the very first house and that's what you see right over there.' This house is special for a number of reasons. Hurricane Helene hit their community hard, so they all felt and saw the loss firsthand. According to Dotts, 'The floodwaters were really what hit me and see more than anything because we have really two major rivers that flood that come through. Yancey County, that just wiped-out whole areas. So it's been it's been devastating.' Jesse Taylor, a senior advance carpentry student, remembers it well. 'There was trees down all over the roads. Driveways were destroyed. A lot of my neighbors' driveways . We live next to a Creek, rocks everywhere in the yards. Just a lot of damage. It was really sad to see,' he said. But knowing they are a part of the rebuilding and healing process helps. 'They (the students) have bought in completely to what they're doing. Their hearts are in it. They know who this house is going to. They know that the foundations that they're working with, like rebuilding hollers is, you know, their hearts in the right place with doing this to help our community members,' said Dotts. And while they are raising the walls, their level of experience has gone up as well. 'I have 18 kids in here building 3 individual projects, so they're not always able to get to me right away,' Dotts says. 'They have to figure that out and make those mistakes and in the process of making those mistakes, they really learn.' Plus, he says they are also learning something that can't be taught in any book: empathy and compassion. 'That is something that you it's very difficult to teach kids to do, but if you instill it in them. They really get it. And they love it. They really do buy into it.' For the students it makes them feel useful in the clean up and rebuilding. 'It's great being able to get the experience and give back to the community just to help someone that's needing it,' said senior Carter Tabor. Jesse Taylor added, 'Yeah, it's brought back, you know, lot of hope getting back in here after the hurricane. It's pretty nice getting able to work and give back to the community.' A community that recognizes and needs their help. This house was paid for with donations to the Rebuilding Hollers Foundation. They are hoping to build many more homes in the future as they try to regain what once was. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Yancey County high school students build tiny home for Helene survivor
BURNSVILLE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – The carpentry program gives Mountain Heritage High School students a building block for their future. But because of urgent circumstances, their help is needed right now. 'Most of them have already been accepted to a college for project management. Several want to become contractors,' says instructor Jeremy Dotts. Long before the chorus of power tools begins on each project, the foundation of construction is planning. But what they're working on is in response to something catastrophic that no one in western North Carolina could've planned for: Hurricane Helene. Nearly six months after Helene slammed into the mountains, causing historic flooding, mudslides and loss of basic resources, many people are still without homes. The class is pitching in by hammering away at a vital project. 'I like seeing the project go to someone that has lost a house,' said student Hensley England, who has seen so much suffering since last September. 'All of the students have been impacted some way by this storm,' Dotts told Queen City News. The storm left hundreds of houses in Yancey County unlivable. At a time of such enormous need, it takes many hands to do the work needed to help the area recover. That's where Mountain Heritage comes into play. The teens are building a 600-square-foot tiny home for a woman who lost everything. It's a partnership with Rebuilding Hollers, which continues to raise money to cover construction costs. 'Right now we're putting in the walls, we already have the floor system done,' says senior Sawyer Silver. 'One bedroom, one bath with a loft,' Dotts said, describing the structure. 'It's going to have a good-sized living room. It's going to be plenty of space for one person.' With more donations, the nonprofit wants to work with Mountain Heritage on more small homes. 'So, I think it's the perfect blend, because we need these kids to learn everything and build,' says founder Stephanie Johnson. 'And they'll be rebuilding our community for years to come.' 'It's really amazing to be able to supply for the community the way we are, especially at a time of need,' Silver said. The tiny home is part of a bigger mission to not only teach job skills but also give back. 'The mission statement for this program has always been to build a house and donate a house,' explained Dotts. The carpentry program earns revenue through contract work. Dotts says the idea is to invest the cash earned back into the community. 'We have built the house, sold it, taken the proceeds from that house and donated it to someone in need,' he said. The blueprint that was in place long before Helene, now gives the Cougar Carpenters something to build upon. 'Not only are we learning along the way, but we're also driven because we're helping someone,' Silver says. 'Knowing that they are participating in the rebuilding process of their community is absolutely something that they bought into and are thrilled to be a part of,' said Dotts. The goal is to finish the tiny home by this fall. With additional funds, Dotts hopes the carpentry class can build several more. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
