Yancey Times Journal

12/23/2024

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today unveiled a new program to support American wood processing facilities. USDA Rural Development is partnering with USDA Forest Service to provide funding through the new Timber Production Expansion Guaranteed Loan Program (TPEP). The program will support the processing and utilization of wood products from National Forest System lands to improve forest health and reduce the risk posed by wildfires, insects, and disease and the detrimental impacts they have on communities and critical infrastructure.

This program is funded through President Biden’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It also reflects the goals of the President’s Investing in America agenda to rebuild the economy from the bottom up and middle out, and to strengthen the nation’s infrastructure.

“Rural America is the backbone of our country, providing the everyday essentials we all depend on,” Secretary Vilsack said. “Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA Rural Development is partnering with the Forest Service to support timber industry innovations that improve forest health and reduce wildfire threats while creating good-paying jobs for people in rural, forest-dependent communities.”

Through TPEP, USDA Rural Development and the Forest Service will make $220 million available in loan guarantees for borrowers to establish, reopen, retrofit, expand, or improve wood processing facilities, sawmills and paper mills, that use trees harvested from federal or Tribal lands. The program is designed to manage up to 20 million acres of national forests managed by USDA Forest Service and complement the Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy.

USDA Rural Development will begin accepting TPEP applications on December 26, 2024, with a maximum loan amount of $25 million. USDA encourages applicants to use the TPEP Dashboard to find areas the Forest Service has identified as high or very high priority areas to address the risk of wildfires and insect infestations or disease, which have caused or have the potential to cause significant damage.

Applicants may learn more through the upcoming TPEP webinar, scheduled for January 6, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

USDA encourages applicants to consider projects that will advance the following key priorities:

Reducing climate pollution and increasing resilience to the impacts of climate change through economic support to rural communities;
Ensuring all rural residents have equitable access to USDA Rural Development programs and benefits from Rural Development-funded projects; and
Assisting rural communities recover economically through more and better market opportunities and through improved infrastructure.



Applications must be submitted electronically using Grants.gov and will be accepted until funds are expended.

Additional information will be available in the Dec. 26, 2024, Federal Register. To learn more about investment resources for rural areas, visit www.rd.usda.gov or contact the nearest USDA Rural Development state office.

USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal and high-poverty areas. Visit the Rural Data Gateway to learn how and where these investments are impacting rural America. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.

The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology– and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

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12/20/2024

12/18/2024

The 'Lighting of the Christmas Tree' on the Burnsville Town Square during the Merry Main Street festivities.

12/17/2024

U.S. 70 Bridge in Swannanoa Reopening Tonight
Expected to alleviate congestion in eastern Buncombe County

SWANNANOA – A bridge on U.S. 70 is scheduled to reopen Tuesday night and alleviate some congestion in eastern Buncombe County.

The bridge, located just east of the Asheville Veterans Affairs Hospital, will carry traffic for the first time since Hurricane Helene damaged structural elements and scoured away the eastern approach.

An average of 16,000 vehicles per day crossed the bridge prior to the hurricane. Its closure increased congestion on I-40 and I-240 east of Asheville. NCDOT officials anticipate the opening to relieve some of this congestion as drivers return to the bridge.

“From the ground up, we identified that we had to rehab the substructure, then come behind and build a reinforced retaining wall to establish the roadway again,” said Tom Veazey, a Division 13 resident engineer. “We’re finishing the paving today for the traveling public.”

The repairs cost approximately $900,000. IPC structures conducted the bridge operations and partnered with APAC-Harrison for the resurfacing.

With the reopening, no other U.S. highways are closed in Buncombe County. But several North Carolina highways remain closed in the county, including stretches of N.C. 81 and N.C. 197, plus stretches of roads on the state secondary system.

NCDOT crews and contractors have reopened more than 1,230 roads across western North Carolina that were previously closed, including more than 120 in the past week. There are less than 190 remaining closures due to Helene, according to the NCDOT dashboard.

11/27/2024

11/26/2024

I am issuing this letter to provide additional clarity regarding the requirements of the North Carolina State Building Code with respect to temporary housing constructed to shelter victims of Hurricane Helene and to address misinformation that has recently circulated on social media related to those temporary structures.
Local jurisdictions, such as municipalities and boards of county commissioners, are responsible for enforcing the North Carolina State Building Codes through their local inspections departments. Building inspectors employed by local jurisdictions often request guidance from the Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to assist them with interpreting and applying the requirements of the North Carolina State Building Code to the structures they inspect.
On November 5, 2024, David Rittlinger, the Division Chief of Codes and Interpretations, issued guidance to local building inspectors related to temporary housing constructed to shelter displaced families and other victims of Hurricane Helene while recovery efforts proceed. In the guidance he issued, Mr. Rittlinger correctly noted that temporary housing constructed for this purpose must meet the minimum requirements of the 2018 North Carolina State Building Code to ensure that they are safe for occupancy. Temporary shelters and dwellings that fail to meet minimum code requirements are particularly vulnerable to instability – especially in adverse weather conditions and in the absence of proper structural anchoring – and may not comply with life safety and weather protection standards, such as proper fire protection safety measures, sanitation, insulation, and waterproofing measures, which are essential for safety and comfort.
Since Hurricane Helene devasted Western North Carolina, OSFM has worked closely with local inspections departments to provide additional guidance on alternative means and methods for constructing temporary housing for Hurricane Helene victims in accordance with Section 105.1 of the 2018 North Carolina State Building Code: Administrative Codes and Policies. This alternative means and methods guidance for building inspectors assists those inspectors with evaluating the safety of temporary structures and streamlining approval for those structures that meet the intent and provisions of the 2018 North Carolina State Building Code.
Recently, unsubstantiated accounts of local and state authorities removing Hurricane Helene victims from “tiny homes” constructed by the Amish and other temporary structures have circulated on social media. OSFM has investigated these rumors – including by contacting the local inspections
departments alleged to have forcibly vacated North Carolinians from these structures – and determined that they are entirely without merit. As of the date of issuance of this letter, OSFM has evaluated each of the counties impacted by Hurricane Helene and found no credible evidence that any code-enforcement official has forcibly evicted any citizen of the State from any temporary structure based on its noncompliance with the 2018 North Carolina State Building Code.
Concerningly, OSFM employees have received threatening messages from individuals who believe that OSFM has participated in removing Hurricane Helene victims from temporary structures. These threats are unacceptable, especially when issued to OSFM employees who have worked tirelessly since late September to assist with recovery efforts in Western North Carolina. Members of the North Carolina Building Code Council – an agency that does not enforce the North Carolina State Building Code, but rather exists to develop changes to the code and hear appeals related to its application – have also received similar threatening messages.
I hope this letter puts an immediate stop to the further spread of misinformation related to temporary structures in Western North Carolina and the threatening messages received by OSFM staff and members of the Building Code Council, and assures the public that OSFM will continue its important work on behalf of all North Carolinians impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Respectfully,
Brian Taylor State Fire Marshal

11/21/2024

FREE FOOD EVENTS
Saturday, November 23rd

Shoal Creek Baptist Church will be sponsoring ‘Operation Joy’ beginning at Noon until 3:00 PM. We will have age and gender appropriate toys to distribute to families who have been affected by the recent disaster along with a Thanksgiving meal for your blessing and enjoyment. Shoal Creek is located a quarter mile east of East Yancey Middle School on US Hwy 19 E.

Thanksgiving Dinner – Full And Free Thanksgiving Dinner
November 23rd at 12:00 PM – 507 Upper Browns Creek Rd. Burnsville,
at: Freedom Baptist Church Fellowship Hall. See sign on left for Thankful Hearts Relief Center and Freedom Baptist Church. All Welcome. Come join us for a day of good food, Thanksgiving, and praising God.

Charity House Mission. Free Thanksgiving meal from 11:00 am until the food is gone. Charity House Mission is located on East Main Street in Burnsville across the road from Holcombe Brothers Funeral Home.

First Baptist Church Burnsville Free community Thanksgiving dinners at parking lot of church at end of town square beginning at noon on the 23rd and 28th. Everyone invited! Inclement weather inside fellowship hall)

O.C. Whitsons Store. A free community Thanksgiving Dinner will be provided Saturday November 23rd in front of O.C. Whitson’s Store in Green Mountain. Serving will start at around 11am. The whole community is invited.

11/20/2024

Yancey County Board of Election will hold an emergency meeting under G.S. 143-318-12 on November 21, 2024 at 4:30.
The meeting will be held at the Yancey County Board of Elections office, located at 30 East US Hwy 19E By-pass, Burnsville.
Any member of the public may observe.

This meeting is for the preliminary consideration of the election protest filed by Hon. Jefferson Griffin.

11/15/2024

11/14/2024