Latest news with #post-Helene
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Politics
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Marshall American Legion taking submissions for community art project for building
MARSHALL - A team of local veterans and community members are working together to help bring back the Davis-Sexton American Legion Post 317 in Marshall. The American Legion building has been a part of downtown Marshall for decades, but hadn't been used much in recent years. But after Tropical Storm Helene devastated much of downtown Marshall, including the building, which sits at the corner of Bridge Street and Back Street/Jerry Plemmons Way, a number of organizations are working to make the building better than ever. Marshall resident and U.S. Army veteran Sarah Scully is organizing an art contest to raise funds for the nearly 100-year-old building, the only American Legion building in Western North Carolina that was severely impacted by Helene's floods. The art contest is designed to help transform the American Legion building into a cultural hub and event space, including potentially hosting music performances, according to Scully. The roughly 1,500-square-foot structure is needing a complete rebuild. The team is currently constructing a 400-square-foot party deck, and plans also include a catering kitchen, two bathrooms, a green room and a stage. The project, costing $260,000, has received roughly $80,000 in donations from volunteers and labor from various organizations, including the Three Rivers First United Methodist Church in Three Rivers, Ohio, who helped reframe the building. Every Angle Construction, located just across the street, plans to work with the Legion to help perform construction, as they quoted the buildout at $260,000. "What's really beautiful is, you can see the potential of it," Scully said. "You have six picture windows. You can see the island, the river, everything." Scully said the Post 317 team wanted to rebuild the Legion in the same spirit in which the community, volunteers and military, including the Army's 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions, rallied together in the Helene rebuild. Joe Schmidt is Post 317's shift commander. "We would like to be more interactive with the community, and what better way than to have local artists paint murals on our building?" "We hope visitors and veterans alike will come and enjoy one of the best views of the river." According to Scully, the rebuilding efforts have already helped to revitalize the Post as a whole, as attendance at meetings and participation in the group has increased since the Post held its first post-Helene meeting in November. "If you look at where the Legion is and the parking that it has, it's like the best location in downtown," Scully said, adding that membership numbers and attendance meetings have both increased post-Helene. The suggested requirements for the artwork are to be military and patriotic in nature, showing American Legion & Post 317, showcasing one or all six branches of the military. But Scully said they can be either subtle or overt representations. "The artwork doesn't have to be overtly patriotic," Scully said. "It can be subtle and have the town and the river and the mountains." The artwork at the Post 317 building will not only offer local artists a chance to showcase their talents, but will also allow the artists' work to be on display in Marshall and inspire current and future Legion members. "We want to keep that spirit alive and open up our Post for events in the future. We thought, 'Why not create beauty out of the destruction?' "Why put in some tile when you could put in a mosaic? Why put in a regular wall when you can do something artistic? Why not bring beauty back into the building now that we have a clean slate?" But for Scully, who spoke with The News-Record in November, the artmaking process can provide breakthroughs for the creators and the community at large. A survivor of sexual trauma while serving in the U.S. Army, Scully suffered from PTSD as a result of her military sexual trauma. "I first did art therapy at the VA, and it was so beneficial. All of these alternative types of therapy, rather than just sitting in a therapist's office and talking about your problems, when you can look around and see the beauty that other people have put into the world, it really helps," Scully said. "I think it will help not just the veterans but the people that have been through so much with Helene, for people to enjoy this space." Scully said she hopes the contest can become a community art project. Ideas posed by Scully include four murals, one on each exterior wall. Another option is two murals, one on each side of the barn door in the event space opening to the stage. Other ideas for projects include the potential for glass blowers to supply lighting fixtures in the bathrooms, hallway or office. The Legion team will take submissions related to mosaics, woodworking, ironwork, textiles, photography and mixed media as well. "The whole thing will become an art piece, not just little bits of art. That's the vision - for the whole thing to become a piece of art," Scully said. More: Marshall native Sarah Scully's new weekly news broadcast a program for and of the people The Legion team plans to announce contest winners around June 16. "Everybody talks about 'Build back better,'" Scully said. "We can bring beauty back at the same time." Johnny Casey is the Madison County communities reporter for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel. He can be reached at 828-210-6074 or jcasey@ This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Marshall American Legion taking submissions for building art project
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amish group brings volunteers to help rebuild Chimney Rock
It's been eight months since Hurricane Helene destroyed the town of Chimney Rock, and many businesses are still in need of repair. But a group of Amish people has been a mainstay in the rebuilding effort. The group has been working with Spokes of Hope, which has had over 2,000 volunteers come through since the flood. Chimney Rock Mayor Peter O'Leary had predicted that downtown Chimney Rock would open in time for Memorial Day weekend, but now realizes that was too ambitious. SPECIAL SECTION >> Hurricane Helene stories Local businesses say they've appreciated the support of volunteers. They've also been leaning on one another throughout the rebuilding process. 'You know, you can't help but think what's next. But, you know, we're all still here. We've got each other, we've still got our community, and as long as you stick together, there's nothing stronger than that,' said Kristen Sottile with the Broad River Inn. Some of the Amish were spotted helping build a new foundation for the Broad River Inn. While the town has a ways to go before fully reopening, O'Leary says he hopes some businesses will be able to reopen this summer. (VIDEO: 'Monumental': Campground celebrates post-Helene reopening)
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
‘Monumental': Campground celebrates post-Helene reopening
A campground in Boiling Springs celebrated its post-Helene reopening just in time for Memorial Day weekend. Several campgrounds in the area were shut down by damage caused by Hurricane Helene when it swept through western North Carolina in September. Many of the affected campgrounds were in remote areas near rivers. Boiling Springs, winner of a national Glamping award, suffered heavy damage, even though it only lost power for a week. 'There was a lot of data about closed roads, which concerned people about getting to campgrounds that were even open,' co-owner Tyler Watts told Channel 9's Ken Lemon. But, like many other campgrounds, Boiling Springs was packed for Memorial Day weekend. 'Monumental for us on the weekend to be fully booked and have people here still showing up,' Watts said. 'Very big for us.' READ: FEMA offers to sell temporary housing units to WNC families displaced by Hurricane Helene One campground owner cried tears of joy as she spoke with Lemon about how grateful she was to reopen Rose Creek Campgrounds in Morganton with no vacancies. But after Helene, it wasn't so easy to have hope. 'I was ready to throw my hands up and walk away,' she told Lemon. 'We put our heart and soul into this campground.' For Boiling Springs, it was Charlotte residents turning to outdoor life that made a difference. Scott and Shay Costin were out camping during the holiday weekend. They said they were glad to help a business in recovery. 'We try to help small businesses, local businesses, family-owned,' Scott Costin said. Watts said he knows how lucky he is. He said some of the campgrounds that were wiped out are still rebuilding. WATCH: FEMA offers to sell temporary housing units to WNC families displaced by Hurricane Helene
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Answer Man: Fires, fields and gardens: What to do with the giant mulch piles from Helene debris?
Editor's note: The Asheville Citizen Times and Times-News will answer your Helene-related questions in our Sunday column. Email Executive Editor KChavez@ Your question and answer could appear in an upcoming issue. Question: What are the plans for the mountains of wood chips left over from (post-Helene) cleanup efforts? I drove by Mills River Park just today and the wood chip piles look to cover acres. Are there plans to sell the wood chips, use them on state and county projects, give them to residents to control erosion or for other projects? Collecting the debris is only part of the effort, disposal is the next step. Answer: As anyone in Western North Carolina is aware, Tropical Storm Helene uprooted and toppled countless trees last fall with its catastrophic flooding and severe high winds, sometimes topping 100 mph according to the National Weather Service. Local governments have been making steady progress toward cleaning up the pervasive debris, from brush to entire trees that fell on cars and houses. After it's collected it's often fed through woodchippers to reduce its volume and more efficiently store it. The Times-News spoke with Henderson County Engineer Marcus Jones, who's in charge of the debris removal effort. He had updates on how that massive, 'unprecedented' undertaking is moving along and offered some answers to what will happen to all the material from the county's three debris removal programs: removing debris from the roadside, from waterways and from private property. He said the county has handled more than 750,000 cubic yards of debris, much of which has been chipped. There's around 5% left to be collected and processed, he said, 'but that's 5% of a whole lot, there's not (just) a few sticks out there.' The Asheville Citizen Times reported in April that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had removed 4.12 million cubic yards of Helene debris in Western North Carolina. Most of that, 2.1 million cubic yards, was removed from waterways in Polk, Buncombe and McDowell counties, the towns of Chimney Rock and Lake Lure and the City of Asheville by disaster remediation contractor Ash Britt. Another 1.9 million cubic yards were collected from the sides of roadways as part of the Army Corps of Engineers' right-of-way debris removal program. Asheville and Buncombe's private property debris removal program ended April 15, the Citizen Times reported. The towns of Woodfin and Weaverville had their own independent debris removal programs, which wrapped up their application process in March and April. There is 'many times more than the normal routine appetite for (mulch) in this region,' Jones said, so some will need to be shipped somewhere else. 'We're finding a home for it,' slowly but surely, he said. 'The only problem we're having is finding enough people to haul it.' One issue that the county's been dealing with is maintaining the woodchip piles once they're mounded up. Jones said that there have been several fires from spontaneous combustion — when moist, decomposing wood generates heat, like a compost pile, to the point that it catches on fire. 'You should be concerned about big mulch piles catching on fire,' he said. 'It does ignite' of its own accord. But, he said, those fires are manageable with the same heavy equipment used to process and mound the chips, which can also be used to put it out. Jones said that, as far as environmental impact, the piles aren't perfect, but that they're all permitted by the Department of Environmental Quality and are a strictly temporary measure. FEMA contractor Southern Disaster Recovery is tasked with collecting and disposing of Henderson County's debris. To answer one seemingly obvious solution: no, the material can't simply be sent to a landfill as garbage. 'Wood chips are banned from landfills,' Jones said. That said, they can be used in a landfill as 'daily cover,' or the layer, usually of dirt, that landfills are required to bury a day's deposit of garbage under. That's only making a dent, though. Jones said the county was burning mulch, using a method called air curtain burning where wood is burned in a metal container or a pit and air is blown onto it with a 'huge' fan. This makes the wood burn hotter and produce much less smoke that open burning. It 'eliminates a good bit of the pollutants,' Jones said. Still, the county shut that operation down after neighbors of the Edneyville-area site raised concerns about the still-significant amount of smoke. Some of the woodchips will be sold to wholesalers, who will turn it into your normal, garden-variety landscaping mulch. The county's also giving loads of mulch to farmers 'for rehabilitating their fields that … lost topsoil from the storm.' Clearing the backstock of woodchips could take 'months and months,' Jones said, but said that he's been happy to be wrong about that kind of estimate before. 'I thought we would be doing the roadside debris program for 12 months, and it's turned out to be seven, eight.' May 1 was the deadline to put debris out along the roadside for pickup, but the county is still in the thick of picking up all of it. Jones said in a May 21 Board of Commissioners Meeting that he hopes to finish that process by the end of June. More: 4.2 million cubic yards of Helene debris has been removed. What to know about debris deadlines More: Henderson County shares storm debris update, spending concerns, at Board meeting Citizen Times reporter Will Hoffman contributed to this report. George Fabe Russell is the Henderson County Reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News. Tips, questions, comments? Email him at GFRussell@ This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Answer Man: Where is Hurricane Helene debris going?
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Augusta Riverwalk cleanup continues after storm damage
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – The Augusta Riverwalk is now temporarily closed to allow for post-Helene clean up. The cleanup is expected to take 2 weeks due to large items like tree stumps, large limbs and root balls along the Riverwalk. The Deputy Director of Augusta Parks and Recreation Maintenance, Alphonza Williams, says they are in the final 2 phases of getting the Riverwalk ready for people to enjoy again. 'Tody started the first phase, that'll be the 14th through the 20th . Then we'll be back on the 23rd through the 26th finishing up the second phase where we'll finalize getting all of the stuff from the 5th street bridge, marina area, all the way down to 13th street getting all of that stuff accessible and out of the way,' said Williams. He went on to say that the public has never been in any danger at the Riverwalk prior to the clean up. I also asked about updates on Oglethorpe Park that has been closed since Helene. Williams said, 'We've already been in contact with our vendors to try to get that equipment replaced, I don't have a time frame on that yet but we have to be able to get a total assessment to see what has actually been damaged that was under the rubble that we couldn't get to.' He said they will also be in talks with the Director and Administrator about the replanting of trees in the park and other areas. Williams said they community has been wonderful during this process and they are excited to finally open full time. 'We appreciate all the patience from the citizens and working with us and our parks throughout the cemeteries and all, this clean up has been a process and it's been something that I know my crew is ready to get back to a normal schedule,' said Williams. The Saturday Market will be open and operate its normal hours during this closure. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
