#mcdowell county

[kimberly40]

[hope-resurrected]

We begged my wife's grandmother to evacuate on Thursday morning and now her main route into town is totally destroyed.

appalachia is devastated. towns i loved, towns i visited all the time, are gone. not damaged, GONE. they are leveled to the ground. there is nothing left but rubble and ruin. people are dead. appalachia is poor to begin with and relies on tourism for a lot of its income, and multiple of those tourist locations are just...gone.

my town is okay, but it's flooded and wrecked. trees are blocking all but one way out of our neighborhood. power lines are hanging limp in the roads. we've been without power for over 24 hours and will continue to be without power for likely another 24+. disabled people and poor people are GOING to die from this. gods save appalachia.

[concertphotos]

Dobson Knob Mountain Lit with Autumn Colors in the Mountains of Western North Carolina by David Oppenheimer Via Flickr: Dobson Knob mountain lit with Autumn Colors in the mountains of Western North Carolina taken on October 14, 2022 aerial view - © 2023 David Oppenheimer - Performance Impressions aerial photography archives - performanceimpressions.com

[timeisancestral]

wind chimes. photo by me, feb ‘25.

[ivovynckier]

Now that we have a mugshot, we can look forward to a cavity search.

[no27-chilis-honda]

political violence is bad full stop but that said someone needs to knock out Jefferson griffin’s teeth

[timeisancestral]

our “into town” was Marion, NC, about 10-15 minutes away. this was church, groceries, school, etc. our “city” was Asheville, NC, about an hour away, where we had restaurants, the mall, work, etc. our “big city” was Charlotte, NC, about 2 hours away, where you had concerts and the airport. vacations were in Pigeon Forge, TN, about three hours away, where you had Dollywood, go-karts, waterparks, and all that jazz.

If you grow up in an American rural area or very small town you probably have Into Town, which is where you go for large grocery trips and maybe clothes shopping, The City, where you go for specialty shopping and special events, and The Big City, which is the closest place you can see major concerts and sporting events etc. (If you’re in the Midwest it’s probably Chicago)

[intheholler]

mcdowell county, west virginia

[victusinveritas]

Photos and words taken from various Facebook posts:

Appalachia was never prepared for this.

I’m sharing in hopes to raise more awareness and also to encourage any type of support that can be provided to Appalachians.

Entire towns have essentially just been washed away. So many people have lost everything they had, some even losing loved ones.

Below are some organizations I have been seeing locals share to help with the recovery efforts:

-RISE Erwin https://gofund.me/bad8e5ab

-American Red Cross https://www.redcross.org/donate/dr/hurricane-helene.html

-Unicoi County Animal Shelter https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=QRXK7CAJK2GCE

-Report Missing Persons 1-800-824-3463

-United Way of East TN Highlands https://unitedwayetnh.org/help/

There is a lot more to the NC Mountains than Asheville.

Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, Vilas, Sugar Grove, Elk Park, West Jefferson, Black Mountain, Swannanoa, Sylva, Cullowhee, Brevard, Bryson City, Hendersonville, Cherokee, Waynesville, Burnsville, Candler, Canton, Spruce Pine, Chimney Rock, Lake Lure, Linville, Marshall, Maggie Valley, Newland, Grandfather, Beech Mountain, Sugar Mountain, Old Fort, Morganton, Marion are just a few of the cities and towns that have been flooded and/or destroyed. The counties of Yancey, Mitchell, Avery, Ashe, Watauga, Transylvania, Burke, Caldwell, Alleghany, Madison, Buncombe, McDowell, Rutherford, Polk, Henderson, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Clay, Cherokee, and Swain are devastated and in need of the same help, some even more.

Other counties that fall under various definitions of Western North Carolina include: Alexander County, Catawba County, Cleveland County, Surry County and Yadkin County. When these counties are added, they form a total regional area of roughly 11,750 square miles (30,400 km2). This makes the region roughly the size of Massachusetts. Western North Carolina holds 11% of the state's population.

There are millions of people up there with no electricity, no communication, no water, and no way to get out or let rescue teams even know where they are. I am not taking anything away from Asheville and the utter destruction there or any other areas in NC that have damage. The level of destruction is unimaginable. But it's not one or two cities or towns that are in need of help.

This does not include the destroyed areas in the Tennessee mountains, Western Virginia, Georgia, or South Carolina.

[humming-fly]

North Carolina Relief Masterlist

One of my close friends is currently living in North Carolina and took the time to put together this really nicely organized list of organizations currently taking donations after Hurricane Helene, and I thought it'd be nice to share it on tumblr as well since I know some folks like these kinds of organized lists! All links and descriptions come from her and her experiences with the orgs below. 👍

Foundation

The Community Foundation of WNC - Read no further if you want a catch-all, one stop donation spot for WNC long-term Helene response. CFWNC is a permanent pool of charitable capital for the 18 counties of Western North Carolina including the Qualla Boundary (land of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians). They are an amazing source of consistent support to many WNC nonprofits via grant opportunities. They have financially supported so many of the non-profits I have encountered or worked with. Donate to the cause of your choice via CFWNC (including the Helene response specifically) here.

Food Security, Farm Support & More

Bounty & Soul (Swannanoa Valley, Black Mountain, and Asheville) - decade-old non-profit currently typically focused on health and food insecurity now working in partnership with World Central Kitchen, MANNA, Hearts with Hands, and many others to distribute food, hot meals, and supplies. They are also working to resume purchasing and distributing fresh produce from farmers in WNC who still have crops to harvest and sell. Donate to their disaster relief here.

Annie’s Culinary Garden - I often frequent this small but mighty Black Mountain restaurant, which is closely partnered with Bounty & Soul. Annie’s was already embedded in health and food justice work pre-Helene but the last 2 weeks, Annie and her team have been working around the clock (using a generator to power their restaurant) to provide free vegan, vegetarian, and other diet-specific hot meals to retirement homes, distribution hubs, and also to feed the staff and volunteers at these hubs. This has been a huge need expressed to me by community members because much of the food available at distribution sites is not able to be eaten by those requiring special diets. Donate to their effort here.

Haywood Christian Ministry (Waynesville) - WNC’s largest food pantry has partnered with MANNA (WNC's largest food bank?) and is distributing food on the ground and requesting donations to help with the emergency disaster response. They are also directly purchasing from WNC farms to distribute fresh foods for folks cooking bulk hot meals and for families who can cook at home. For info and to donate, go here. 

Food Connection(Asheville-based) - I first encountered this org at a food waste solutions summit and thought their concept was brilliant. They rescue high-quality, chef-prepared meals and deliver them to neighbors in need (often those who can’t afford to participate regularly in Asheville’s expensive foodie culture). I have since seen them out in Asheville and beyond to rural communities doing exactly what they do best and delivering delicious, no-cost hot meals to Helene victims. Donate to them here.

Foothills Food Hub (McDowell County) - McDowell was hit really hard and this hub is working to source water and shelf-stable goods to distribute. They will continue to feed vulnerable populations and to support farmers with direct purchasing and a reliable market. Requesting monetary donations, which can be made online here.

TRACTOR Food & Farms (Spruce Pine*, Mitchell County) - In another hard-hit county, this hub is also working, much like the Foothills Food Hub, on connecting local farmers with folks in a system of equitable healthy food access in rural communities. Donate to this local food hub here.

*Interesting aside: Spruce Pine and its quartz mines were extremely damaged by flooding and this threatens the global tech industry. This rural town is home to one of the world’s only sources of high-purity quartz. The mines are currently trying to re-open.

MANNA FoodBank (Asheville) - This very large organization is still doing what they do best and distributing food, water, and more, despite having their warehouse/headquarters were destroyed in the flooding along the Swannanoa River. Donate online here.

Farmer Support & Advocacy

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) (WNC) - this wide-reaching farmer advocacy org is currently reestablishing communications with WNC farmers and getting aid to them. They also have healthy food programs that, once operating again, will serve tangentially in the relief effort. I have worked adjacent to this org for the last year and am a dogged cheerleader of them and their work. Donations can be made here.

Center for Environmental Farming Systems (Qualla Boundry and WNC) -  CEFS works closely with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, NC State, extension services and more to support food and farm initiatives across WNC. I previously worked adjacent to this org and was extremely impressed by their commitment and effectiveness. Donate (ideally to “Friends of CEFS” for more flexible funding) here. 

Tierra Fértil Coop (Hendersonville) - social and economic farmer cooperative formed by a group of Hispanic community members living in Henderson County that grows and provides culturally-specific foods but also has community programs to support the Latinx community in Henderson county. I have attended some of their educational events and have worked adjacent to them. I am ever impressed by their work. Donate to them by emailing tierrafertilcoophv@gmail.com.

Economic Justice & More

Pisgah Legal Services (all over WNC) - these folks do just about everything “life admin” for WNC's most vulnerable populations and have done so for over forty years. They provide pro bono civil legal aid, health insurance enrollment, and more. I have worked adjacent to them over the last year and could not be more impressed by their broad scope of bi-lingual legal work that maintains incredible efficiency and effectiveness. Donate to them here. 

Just Economics (WNC) - JE works on shaping the economic development of WNC in a way that benefits everyone and promotes a sustainable future. I have attended some of their workshops and found them to be powerfully educational. I am also grateful for their political advocacy for living wages for all in WNC. They are not directly working on the Helene response (as far as I know), but the road to recovery is long and their economic justice advocacy will be especially crucial as WNC rebuilds. Donate to JE here. 

BeLoved (Asheville) - Org working on improving the well-being and quality of life for individuals, families, and communities through our focus areas of Home, Health, Equity, and Opportunity. On-the-ground volunteers are currently collecting and distributing a wide array of supplies and BeLoved will continue to play a significant long-term role in housing and more. Donate to BeLoved here.

Health Services & Equity

Blue Ridge Health (WNC) - Blue Ridge Health is a federally qualified health center that is continuing to provide accessible & affordable medical care and mental health care to vulnerable populations (now including Helene victims) with their sites around the region and mobile clinics. Donate here.

Vecinos (WNC) - This rapidly growing org provides direct healthcare services to underserved, uninsured communities with a focus on WNC's farmworkers at their clinics and with mobile clinics on site at farms. Donate to their continuing services here. 

Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (Asheville based) - The ABCCM helps run and provide shelter in Asheville and is partnered with the Red Cross. Donations help pay for motel and food vouchers for local residents and long-term support for those displaced. A personal aside: ABCCM also has an awesome medical clinic serving uninsured folks and they were the only medical service I could find that would treat a tick born illness that I had when I first arrived in the US from Canada (I did not yet have health insurance). To donate to their Helene response, go here.

Schools & Youth

FernLeaf Community Charter School (Fletcher) - FernLeaf was partially destroyed by Helene (one of the school buildings was entirely lifted off of its foundation then dropped several feet away in a truly remarkable display of the power of water from a small nearby creek). Donate to FernLeaf here. 

United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County - The local United Way typically works on youth/child food security, educational support, and physical and mental health care services. The org is helping with immediate natural disaster response and long-term support for flood victims. Donations can be made online here.

Other

Blue Ridge Public Radio - obviously these NPR folks have been working around the clock to keep people informed in the old-fashioned way, over the airwaves. You can support them here.

[kimberly40]

Summer in Appalachia is magical. The land simply comes to life. Summer makes me think of barefeet, slamming screendoors, katydids, lightning bugs, warm tomatoes, canning jars, swimming holes, sweet iced tea, sunning, watermelons, blackberries, flip flops, cotton night gowns, warm dirt, baseball, sun kissed faces, corn on the cob, fried squash, fresh cucumbers, guitar picking on the porch, clotheslines, campfires, and honey bees.

Sweet Summertime Memories.

•The Rom English Farm in the Ashford-North Cove community in McDowell County, North Carolina.

[youremarvelous]

NC voters:

if you live in one of the following counties, you are in a federally declared major disaster area and DO NOT need to supply a copy of a photo ID with your absentee ballot:

Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey Counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. All you need to do is complete this form provided with your ballot and check "exception 3: Victim of a Natural Disaster"

you can request an absentee ballot here you can track your absentee ballot here additional resources regarding what to do if your absentee ballot was sent to a location you had to evacuate, if your polling place was destroyed, or if your voter registration was lost, etc. can be found here from your friend in Asheville, we won't let this storm beat us into submission. get out there and let your voice be heard!

[1264doghouse]

Merida Combs, singing while Virginia Dobbs plays the guitar. Southern Coal Corporation, Bradshaw Mine, Bradshaw, McDowell County, West Virginia. Date 27 August 1946.

[offender42085]

Post 1389

Patrick Rene McDowell, Florida inmate H70491, born 1986, incarceration intake July 2024 at age 37, sentenced to death

Murder, Injury or Killing of a Law Enforcement Service Animal, Aggravated Assault to an LEO

In July 2024, a man who confessed to killing a Nassau County Sheriff's Office deputy during a traffic stop in 2021 was sentenced to death. 

McDowell pleaded guilty to killing Deputy Joshua Moyers on March 10, 2023. Eleven jurors (out of twelve) voted for him to be put to death, while just one recommended a life sentence in prison for him during the penalty phase of his death penalty trial.

McDowell’s defense attorney, Alan Chipperfield, commented on McDowell’s service in the Marines.

“It’s a sad day when somebody who served in the United States Marines honorably and was a sergeant and served for four years and went to a war zone and came back with PTSD, it’s a sad day when he’s sentenced to death having made those sacrifices for all of us,” Chipperfield said.

The Defense argued in a memorandum for a life sentence, which cited McDowell's service in the Marine Corps in Iraq and private contractor Triple Canopy, and subsequent PTSD. It refers to "the violence against Deputy Moyers as an aberration of his behavior." The document also refers to his substance abuse prior to the deadly traffic stop and McDowell's relationship with his teenage son. The document says McDowell is "extremely remorseful."

After fatally shooting Moyers on Sept. 23, 2021, McDowell was captured about five days after the shooting following an extensive manhunt.

5m

[timeisancestral]

the end of the rainbow. north cove, nc. jan ‘25. photo by courtney driver on facebook.

[wildliferehabstudent]

https://gofund.me/a0a870c8

I know water crises are global these days, but the coal miners in west Virginia are getting chemical burns from their water.

And before all the "anti-fossil fuel" people come at me- coal miners are not your enemy. All the creatures that depend on this water are dying. The government is claiming it's safe because they're only testing for bacteria- it's too toxic for most of the bacteria that they test for to survive. You can't boil the smell of paint thinner out of water.

This isn't just a human rights and welfare issues, it's also an extreme environment crisis. These are impoverished, exploited people desperate for help.

Explanation of the GoFundMe is under the cut

This fundraiser is raising money to purchase safe drinking water for people in Wyoming and McDowell Counties in West Virginia's coal camps. All proceeds will go directly to Sweet Springs Institute, Inc, a West Virginia local 501(c)3, and 100% of funds raised will be used to purchase water for local residents.

Currently, thousands of people in these two counties, the poorest counties in the United States, are without access to safe water. Their water comes out in shades of gray, black, and brown, smells like paint thinner, and causes immediate rashes and lesions on the skin. It is not safe to be consumed or even touched.

Independent tests show lead, arsenic, and aluminum levels hundreds of parts per million over the legal safe limits. Local residents have had stream water tested to reveal the water has surfactants in it-- an industrial chemical used to separate coal from impurities.

Residents are collecting water from roadside streams because they cannot afford to purchase water from grocery stores.

The coal and natural gas industries have created horrifying living conditions for West Virginians who have suffered exploitation and poverty to power the country and keep the lights on for over 150 years.

If we end up raising more money than is necessary for the local demand for water, or if state or federal emergency efforts finally respond by providing water, then we will use remaining funds to provide other emergency response provisions to locals that may include food, clothing, water filtration, or independent testing of soil and water safety.