News from the South - North Carolina News Feed
Has pollution made local rivers a blue-green color? Mission and the VA Medical Center used their own water after city’s was restored? Who is Cowboy Dave? • Asheville Watchdog
Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers:
Question: My question is related to the waterways around western North Carolina and their health. I live near the Swannanoa River. The past few weeks the river has been a blue/green color. It’s almost glacial looking. Some are saying this color is a result of all the toxins from Hurricane Helene. Can you please weigh in? Is there active testing on our rivers like the French Broad, Swannanoa, etc?
My answer: I mean, beyond the pickup trucks, semi trailers, plastic pipes, broken trees and Dumpsters still lodged in the rivers, they seem pretty healthy.
Real answer: The experts I talked to agree that it’s most likely a natural phenomenon related to the flood, scouring of rocks and removal of waterway sediment, and not to pollutants.
Philip Prince, a geologist and adjunct professor at Virginia Tech University, has been studying Helene’s effects in western North Carolina. While he hasn’t specifically covered the water color issue, he has a theory why it’s happening.
First, he surmises that all of the work being done in and around the water channels continues to cause rocks to be ground up. The storm also scoured the rocks, creating a similar effect.
“If you take rock and you grind it up or joggle it around, that dust that you get, if it gets suspended in the water, it makes that color,” Prince said. “Which is why the comparison to a glacial (waterway) is probably pretty apt, because glacier movement over rock essentially does the same thing — it takes pieces of rock and it grinds them against each other, and it makes, basically, rock powder. And when that rock powder gets in the water, it will turn it sort of like a bright, milky blue or green.”
Helene rearranged the rocks in a lot of streams and rivers, which resulted in a lot of heavy equipment being used, sometimes in the streambeds, to rearrange them or even reroute the waterways some.
The natural scouring effect that occurred during Helene also may play a role.
“The stream beds where they haven’t had an excavator drive around in them, they were really scoured by this event,” Prince said. “The rocks that were left, they normally have oxidation and scum on them, so they’re dark. Many rocks were just brilliant ghost white after this — it was literally like they got pressure washed.”
That can create a different reflection scenario.
“If the water is clear — if the water does not have a lot of suspended material in it — the sunlight coming down hitting that white rock on the river bottom and reflecting off and coming back up through the water, that will change the color of it,” Prince said. “That will make the water look different.”
It could also be somewhat of a combination of the two — brighter bottom rocks and some suspended rock dust that creates the colorization.
In some rivers in America, suspended limestone particles create a green-blue effect. But Prince said in our mountains there is “a near complete absence of limestone rocks around here, unless it’s brought in as crush.”
There is a limestone quarry in Fletcher, but that’s unusual. Most of the rock here is gneiss or schist, which are both very similar to granite.
Anna Alsobrook, the French Broad watershed science and policy manager at MountainTrue, an Asheville environmental nonprofit, said she has noticed the blue-green coloring. She surmises that the coloring is “due to all the scouring from the hurricane.”
“Flood waters moved tons of sediment, exposing more bedrock, and wiping it clean,” Alsobrook said. “So, maybe there’s more mineral deposition since there’s more contact with the actual rock (versus sediment), or maybe it’s more of a light reflection thing, since the light is bouncing off rock rather than sediment.”
Alsobrook said she doesn’t think “it has anything to do with any particular influx of pollutants in the waterways.”
Regarding those pollutants and testing, French Broad Riverkeeper Hartwell Carson, who also works at MountainTrue, told me the organization received another round of water and sediment samples from around the French Broad Watershed in mid-December.
Samples came from the Nolichucky River in Erwin, Tennessee; the Nolichucky downstream of Erwin; the Swannanoa River in Swannanoa and Biltmore Village; and the French Broad River at Westfeldt Park, Woodfin, Marshall and Hot Springs. They also tested Mud Creek downstream of Hendersonville and the North Toe River downstream of Spruce Pine.
“We found a variety of pollutants but feel encouraged about what we found and the levels of the pollutants,” Carson said, noting MountainTrue has analyzed the results with the help of other water experts. “We continue to find a host of metals in the samples, but for the most part these metals are not above background levels, are metals that are not very problematic to human health or the environment and are at fairly low levels.”
They did find “some pollutants with higher concerns around toxicity, such as trichloroethene (TCE), pyrene, and diesel range organics (a type of petroleum hydrocarbon).
“Trichloroethene, or TCE, was found in the sediment at Charles D. Owen Park along the Swannanoa River in Swannanoa,” Carson said. “TCE is volatile, meaning it readily evaporates into the air at room temperature, where people can sometimes smell it.”
TCE is a solvent used to strip paint, remove grease from metal and spots from clothing.
“The results found in our sample were 7.19 micrograms per kilogram, which is much lower than most state regulatory limits,” Carson said.
Carson said pyrene, a natural component of coal tar, crude oil and fossil fuels, was found at 286 micrograms per kilogram in the Woodfin sediment sample along the French Broad River.
“The health effects of brief exposures to pyrene are unknown,” Carson said. “Longer-term animal studies show that pyrene can cause nephropathy (kidney disease) and decreased kidney weight. Based on the regulatory levels we studied, this level does not appear to be an alarming level.”
MountainTrue also found acetone in several samples, including from the Nolichucky downstream of Erwin, Swannanoa sediment at Charles D. Owen Park and Biltmore Village, and sediment samples from the French Broad in Marshall and Woodfin.
“Because of the low level of acetone found and toxicity of acetone, we aren’t terribly concerned about the exposure this pollutant presents,” Carson said.
MountainTrue also tested for the impact of any fuel remaining in flood waters or sediment.
“None of the samples we tested showed gasoline range organics, but five samples were present for diesel range organics,” Carson said, noting they were all in sediment samples.
They were from these locations: the North Toe at Penland (5.7 milligrams per kilogram, or mg/kg), French Broad River at Woodfin (37.4 mg/kg), French Broad River in Marshall (16.9 mg/kg), the Swannanoa River at Charles D. Owen Park (69.7 mg/kg) and Biltmore Village (74 mg/kg).
“According to an N.C. State Extension article about diesel range organics in soil for gardening, these levels would be classified as low or moderate,” Carson said.
Question: If Asheville City water has been deemed potable since Nov. 18, why as of late November/early December were Mission Hospital and the VA Medical Center still bringing in water in tanker trucks? Is there something that the hospitals know that the city hasn’t shared with everyone else?
My answer: I suspect the lead in the water was messing with the X-ray machines.
Real answer: Mission Hospital spokesperson Nancy Lindell explained the hospital’s decisions surrounding this issue.
“After the City of Asheville lifted the boil water advisory, our team began the process of transitioning back to municipal water,” Lindell said in early December. “While we have continued to rely on the wells HCA Healthcare drilled in the storm’s aftermath and water brought in via tanker trucks, Mission Health conducted independent testing of the water at our sites within the City.”
Lindell said then that its test results “concur with the City of Asheville that the water is potable,” Lindell said.
“As the tankers that have been supplying water for the past two months move out and municipal water is turned back on, there should be no noticeable effects for our patients, visitors or colleagues,” Lindell said. Mission resumed using city water the first week of December.
At the Charles George VA Medical Center, spokesperson Kathie Ramos said the facility went back on city water Dec. 16, as the VA received water quality testing results Dec. 13.
The VA had been using water tankers before that.
“Before the storm, our Facilities Management Services disconnected the campus’s 200,000-gallon water tank from the city water system as a precautionary measure,” Ramos said. “After Hurricane Helene, the municipal water system suffered severe damage, preventing the medical center from using city water immediately. Since our water system remained uncontaminated, we continued the water tanker operation to provide a safe and reliable water supply to our customers.”
Ramos said the VA prioritizes “meeting all federal water standards” before it transitioned back to municipal water.
“After the city declared the water safe for consumption, we implemented our plan to return to the municipal system, which includes flushing and testing the water,” Ramos said, noting that the hospital had sent out samples for water quality testing. “As a healthcare facility, we must follow this deliberate approach to safeguard the well-being of all our patients, staff, and visitors.”
Question: In front of the Shell station in Swannanoa, at the corner of Patton Cove Road and U.S. 70, a guy has been standing out there all day waving a cowboy hat and giving drivers a thumbs up. Who is this guy? And why is he doing this?
My answer: Clearly, his horse broke down and he needs help.
Real answer: This would be Cowboy Dave, whose full name is Dave Graham. He hails from Newark, Ohio, and travels the country offering support and a friendly wave of his white cowboy hat after natural disasters and other traumatic events.
Graham, 65, told me he’s been at this for more than 20 years, and he just wants to offer people a pleasant distraction and a kind word, whether they’re a truck driver, a volunteer or just a hardworking person with a tough job who’s on their way home.
“They deserve to be honored, so show honor where honor’s due,” Graham said. “So everybody gets a look in the eyes, right? And I let them know that they’re flipping important, because they are. How important is that?”
As I talked with Cowboy Dave last Tuesday evening, he gave just about every motorist a friendly wave of his hat, a thumbs up and maybe some encouraging words. Many responded with horn honks and thumbs ups of their own.
Initially after the storm, he said motorists were a little frosty, maybe suspecting he was up to something or looking for money. He’s not — Graham and his wife actually operate a nonprofit, heartshurt.com, that offers support to those in need, and locally he’s been coordinating assistance for people hit by the storm, delivering fuel to campers and inviting people to share fellowship near his camper.
Now the reactions are much more positive.
“To get somebody to toot the horn or or do something other than wave, something audible — say, ‘Hello cowboy,’ or whatever — that was about one out of 60, and I count in all the directions,” Graham said. “Now it’s about one out of 20.”
As we were talking, Hunter Preston, the chaplain at Givens Highlands Farms in Black Mountain, stopped by to thank Cowboy Dave for praying with him that morning. The area has a real need for people who can work on donated trailers and campers to make sure they’re operational this winter, and Preston told Cowboy that after they prayed he got a solid lead on workers who can help.
“This is Christmas,” Preston said about what Cowboy Dave is doing. “Absolutely, this is Christmas.”
Preston said Graham’s work is not affiliated with a particular denomination or organization, and Graham’s not looking for glory.
“All the credit is going to the glory of God, because that’s the word of the Gospel. The Lord shows up for the most needy, the hurting, in the most broken places, for the woundedness,” Preston said. “And this is the kind of love that just continues to come into this area.”
He noted that Cowboy Dave plans to host folks under a nearby illuminated tree by the Shell station on Christmas Eve for a Bible reading.
Graham lit up like the tree at the mention of this.
“Christmas Eve day at noon, Cowboy will have the PA system out,” Graham said with a laugh. “People can pull in in their car, and it will be the Christmas story from Matthew and Luke.”
He’ll be doing that every two hours throughout the day, into 2 a.m. Christmas.
“And I’ve got 20 people committed to 2 a.m. Christmas morning who are gonna be here,” Graham said.
I might miss that one, Cowboy Dave, but Merry Christmas!
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Got a question? Send it to John Boyle at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org or 828-337-0941. His Answer Man columns appear each Tuesday and Friday. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
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News from the South - North Carolina News Feed
‘Substantial evidence’ Gaetz paid for sex with minor, U.S. House Committee says • NC Newsline
SUMMARY: A U.S. House Committee on Ethics report alleges that former Congressman Matt Gaetz, nominated by President-elect Donald Trump for attorney general, engaged in sex with a minor and committed other offenses. The 42-page report claims Gaetz regularly paid for sex, used illegal drugs, and obstructed investigations. It states he had sex with a 17-year-old girl in 2017, violating Florida’s statutory rape laws. Gaetz denies the allegations and has not faced criminal charges. He sued the committee, arguing its report lacked jurisdiction after his resignation. The committee debated the report’s release, with some members opposed to it.
The post ‘Substantial evidence’ Gaetz paid for sex with minor, U.S. House Committee says • NC Newsline appeared first on ncnewsline.com
News from the South - North Carolina News Feed
Trump chooses two-time congressional candidate Hines | North Carolina
SUMMARY: President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Bo Hines as executive director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, also known as the Crypto Council. Hines, who was previously endorsed by Trump in his congressional bids, will work with David Sacks to foster growth in the digital assets industry. Hines, a former football player and Ivy League graduate, has run for Congress in North Carolina multiple times, with mixed results. His platform focused on issues like immigration reform, free speech, and election integrity. Hines also owns and operates several businesses.
The post Trump chooses two-time congressional candidate Hines | North Carolina appeared first on www.thecentersquare.com
News from the South - North Carolina News Feed
‘We feel blessed. We’re alive’ – one family’s story of resilience and hope in a post-Helene world • Asheville Watchdog
It’s a little ridiculous to sugarcoat 2024.
Tropical Storm Helene saw to that, leaving a trail of destruction in these mountains the likes of which no one alive had ever witnessed. The Sept. 27 storm particularly pummeled Buncombe County, where 43 people died, and it really drew a bullseye on Swannanoa, a modest community of hardworking folks about 10 miles east of Asheville.
Everyone can still see the devastation along U.S. 70, but if you swing back a block off the main road into Beacon Village, named for the former blanket factory that housed its workers here, you can tell Edwards Street took it particularly hard. About two dozen houses are gutted to the studs, and little blue tarps still dot rooftops where people had to be chopped out of their homes by rescuers.
John Zara, 41, his wife Stephanie, 39, and their two boys, 2-year-old Jack and 7-year-old Luca, lived through it, somehow.
“Around 8 a.m., 8:30, within say 30 or 45 minutes, it went from being some water in the road and a little bit in our front yard to waist high,” Zara said, standing near his home Thursday. “So it happened really quickly.”
Zara started putting computers and other valuables up as high as possible, thinking the water certainly wouldn’t top the kids’ bunk beds.
“We ended up getting my wife, our pets and two kids up into the attic,” Zara said.
When they realized the water just kept rising and they might get trapped, they decided to make a swim/dash for it. They clambered over the washer and dryer to a small back porch with a handrail, trying to get on top of the house and out of the floodwaters.
“So I’m standing on the handrail, I got one arm on that other rail up top there, and the baby in my arm,” Zara said. “We kind of make our way around the corner to the side of the house. There’s a tree there. My wife gets in the tree, she’s on the roof, and then she’s able to help get the kids up on the roof. And I get up on the roof.”
His wife and kids were rescued by kayakers about three hours later, Zara by the National Guard in the early afternoon. Their dog and three cats also survived.
Zara said he’s still amazed at how fast the Swannanoa River, which is normally on the other side of U.S. 70 and maybe 40 feet wide, was moving that morning.
“Those gentlemen, they saved our lives,” Zara said of the kayakers. “I mean, otherwise, you know…”
The water inside their home crested near the ceiling, so everything was ruined, although the framework of the 100-year-old structure is sound. They also lost two cars in their driveway.
After a stint in the emergency shelter at the WNC Ag Center, the family has been staying with Zara’s mom in South Carolina.
‘We feel blessed’
Zara, who works in graphic design and marketing, says they’ve been cobbling together resources to begin the gargantuan task of rebuilding the house they’ve called home for 10 years. They paid well under $200,000 for the three-bedroom, one-bath house. Try finding property at that price in Buncombe County these days.
Residents in their 80s say that that part of Beacon Village has never flooded, so Zara feels it’s safe to rebuild. He and his wife also have a mortgage, limiting their options.
“I got a guy who’s gonna donate some countertops; I got somebody that’s donated windows and exterior doors,” Zara said. “And so it’s kind of like this logistical thing of like, ‘OK, now where can I get some drywall and try to find somebody to handle some labor?”
Someone has offered materials and labor on the roof, and they’ve gotten help from the savebeaconvillage.org folks that organized after the storm.
Right now their biggest problem is water that keeps accumulating in the backyard and around the house after it rains. A natural spring runs in the backyard, and Zara suspects a drain pipe that used to keep it in check is clogged or broken.
The moisture is making it difficult to get the 1,200-square-foot house completely dried out inside for the rebuild. He and his family hope to get back in the house by early spring, if they can tame the moisture issue.
But Zara is not one to complain — about any of this.
“We feel blessed,” Zara said. “We’re alive. We have somewhere to stay. When you go out of here — and you’ve probably seen it before, there’s people in tents — so, you know, my story is pretty (bad), but there’s people out there that are a lot worse off.”
He says they’ve also been touched by how the community has pulled together. Immediately after the storm, a throng of church groups and Samaritan’s Purse volunteers arrived and helped gut all the homes and clear out debris.
“The very first few weeks, it was hot and heavy in here,” Zara said. “There were so many people here. You could hardly park. It was insane.”
Some good souls have also helped out with the holidays.
“We have been blessed by some churches and other folks that have taken care of Christmas for the kids this year,” Zara said. “So that’s one less thing for us to worry about, and we can keep saving money towards getting this thing put back together.”
The Zaras have a Gofundme page set up, too, and anything helps. They operate a small soap company, Bella & Oliver, and they have an offshoot company called Beacon Village Candles.
They lost a lot of supplies and inventory for the businesses, but Zara said they’ve rekindled the candle business and are donating $5 per candle sold to savebeaconvillage.org. So even when they’re in need, the Zaras are helping their community.
“We’ve been really fortunate to have a lot of family and friends and community support, and those kinds of things have all come together to create a bigger effect,” Zara said.
A gift bag and a prayer, and a feeling of humble gratitude
As if on cue, while we were standing under a carport behind Zara’s home, a church group walked up the driveway with a gift bag for his family and him. Zander Neuhaus and Josh Rose were from Real Life Church in Montrose, Michigan, and Vincent Scauzzo, from Washington, D.C., had met up with them in the morning to help deliver the packages.
Scauzzo noted that he met the church group in a morning carpool.
“This was not on my agenda,” he said with a smile. “I’ve been down here for about a week, and I just sort of opened myself up to spontaneity, I guess, in the spirit of Christmas.”
Zara, who’s spiritual but not a regular churchgoer, agreed to pray with the group. And Neuhaus brought the goods, with a solid three minute prayer that touched on the themes of resilience and community, and of course, Jesus and his message that’s so important to many of us this time of year.
As dusk settled over us and a light rain fell, it was a genuinely nice moment.
After they left, Zara talked about how the events of Sept. 27 and its aftermath have made him think more deeply about God and good fortune, about how so many people are truly kind and care about one another.
“We’re really super-appreciative of that community, family and friend system that has gotten us to this point where we can hopefully start putting the house back together and rebuilding,” Zara said.
Sure, Helene brought out the worst in some people, but overwhelmingly it’s brought out the best in all of us. It’s been humbling, too, but that’s come with valuable lessons about just how close we all are to losing everything.
“We’re definitely not people to ask for help,” Zara said. “Being that vulnerable — dropping that shield — has not been the easiest of things to do. It’s kind of refreshing. It feels good to feel that love.”
On my way home on U.S. 70, I passed by the overturned trailer that’s become something of a landmark since Helene. Lying on its side, debris still entwined in its wheels, it’s a reminder of the destruction and hardship the storm visited on Swannanoa.
But now, people have decorated the trailer for Christmas, complete with lights, a gaudy tree, blowups and illuminated candy canes. If that’s not turning overturned trailers into Christmas cheer, I don’t know what is.
It’s resilience, with a dash of hope. Stay strong, everyone, and have a great holiday season.
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Got a question? Send it to John Boyle at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org or 828-337-0941. His Answer Man columns appear each Tuesday and Friday. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
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