MNJ Photo/Mariel Williams. A chance 911 call, helpers visiting from Wake County, and quick thinking among neighborhood residents helped the victims of flash flooding in Brushy Creek get out alive. The Hurricane Helene-related flooding destroyed homes and cars in Grindstaff Trailer Park.
MNJ Photo/Eric Haggart. Mitchell County Schools is in the process of selling Deyton Elementary School to N.C. Baptists on Mission. The Baptist organization plans to use the building to house volunteers coming to help rebuild homes lost to Hurricane Helene. The organization expects to be involved in rebuilding for five to six years in areas in Mitchell, Yancey and Avery counties. Residents such as those in hard hit Relief, NC, pictured above, would benefit from the work of Baptists on a Mission.
MNJ photo/Mariel Williams. Attorney Beth Holmes, center right, is sworn in as a member of the Spruce Pine Town Council, while Mayor Phillip Hise (left) and Town Manager Darlene Butler (right) look on.
MNJ photo/Mariel Williams. Joyce, left, and J.D. Hoffman came to apply for Federal Emergency Management aid when the Disaster Recovery Center in Ledger first opened.
MNJ photo/Mariel Williams. Unsorted debris fills the parking lot next to the old Carolina Theater on Lower Street (Locust Street) in Spruce Pine. In order to get picked up and properly disposed of, flood debris is supposed to be sorted into three categories: wood/tree waste, construction debris and white goods (appliances). Those piles should be stacked on the right-of-way of state and town roads.