The Western Carolina Journalist

10/10/2024

The NC General Assemby passed a relief bill for Western North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene
The bill provides funding for the election, schools, local government, and personal relief.
Read more at

The North Carolina Senate and House of Representatives unanimously passed the Disaster Relief Act 2024, granting $273 million in relief funds for the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The bill covers …

10/04/2024

WCU leadership made a decision late on Oct. 3 to not go back to classes next week and go straight to fall break until Oct. 21. Provost Richard Starnes in an interview with WCU student-run radio station WWCU said that this decision was done to provide time for students, faculty and staff and the community to concentrate on recovery and safety. Listen to the story below from WWCU 95.3 FM.

10/03/2024

The latest from WCU on classes

Important Update: Class Resumption and Fall Break Schedule

After much deliberation and considering the many ways Hurricane Helene has affected our students, faculty, and staff in Cullowhee and at our Biltmore Park instructional site, we have decided to continue suspending all classes—including distance courses—through Friday, Oct. 11.

Fall Break, scheduled for Oct. 14 – 18, will continue as planned. This will allow our faculty and staff - many of whom have experienced and continue to experience significant life disruptions - time to recover in their personal lives, revise course syllabi, and prepare to resume normal university operations.
At this time, classes will resume in Cullowhee, Biltmore Park, and online on Monday, Oct. 21. We will let you know as soon as possible if conditions dictate the need to extend class suspensions.

Real time traffic and travel information for North Carolina. Provides information about road closures, accidents, congestion, traffic cameras, weather events, and work zones.

10/03/2024

Check out our updates on the aftermath from Helene in WNC and services in Jackson County and the region in collaboration with WWCU 95.3 FM

The report provided with cooperation with WWCU 93.5 FMThe death toll from Helene continues to rise. There are around 200 confirmed death and half of those are in Western North Carolina. Majority ar…

10/02/2024

A Town-Hall style Q&A occurred tonight at 5:30 to answer students' questions.

Chancellor Brown, Provost Starnes, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Samuel Miller, and Dean of Students Betsy Aspinwell were at the Blue Ridge Conference Center answering questions about the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

They stated that the decision to restart classes would be based on the entire Western North Carolina region, to ensure the safety of faculty, staff and students. Further information about classes will be made available by Friday.

Damages to homes, roads, internet, and cell services will all affect when classes will resume. The provost announced that some off-campus students might not have internet access when classes restart.

Faculty, staff, and students should make sure that they are still checking their email for the most up-to-date information from the school.
When the announcement on classes is delivered, students who are off campus will have ample time to return before classes start.

Off-campus students are receiving information by flyers around Sylva and in their apartments, as well as having information at the University Center, the Dining Hall, and the Administration Building.

Fall break is not guaranteed, but Provost Starnes is hoping to not cancel the break, however, he said that no decision could be made at this time.

Many faculty and staff live east of campus, so communication is limited, and some faculty have not been able to contact the college.

Students are strongly encouraged to not leave campus due to road closures and gas shortages, but if they choose to leave, the provost recommends checking drivenc.gov before leaving to view road closures and delays and GasBuddy to check where gas is available.

The Dining Hall is working to make sure that all students are fed, even if they do not have meal plans. The Catamount Café takes cash, credit, debit, and CatCash if students do not have a meal plan. If students are unable to afford food, then they can still go to the Catamount Café and give their 920 student identification number to receive food.

The Student Affairs Office is prioritizing the dining hall, residential living, CAPS, and the University Center. The landline phones available in the University Center will be available for the rest of the week. The ATM in the University Center is working again if students need cash.

Cell services and Wi-Fi are slowly being brought back up, and Western is providing free internet at the University Center and the Dining Hall for the community to use.

The Hunter Library is currently closed but will hopefully open up this week if staff are available.

The Byrd Medical Building is open and acting as an urgent care. Regular appointments are being rescheduled, but if you are having a medical emergency, please call 911 or go to Harris Hospital in Sylva.

WCU officials are working with the Jackson County Emergency Management to determine when water will be safe to drink, however students are encouraged to follow the Jackson County NC Emergency Management page for the most up-to-date information.

Parking Operations are currently working but are less strict about assigned parking lots. Tickets will still be given out to people blocking fire lanes, but the department is sympathetic to students during the recovery period.

Students whose living situations off campus have been affected by the storm should contact the Dean of Students Betsy Aspinwell for assistance moving forwards.

For feedback, suggestions, and more information please go to dsa.wcu.edu/report.

If families are worried about students, they can call the non-emergency campus police number at 828-227-7301 to get a wellness check on students who cannot contact their families.

10/01/2024

Rainfall from Hurricane Helene closes WCU
by Cassidy Swanik & WCJ staff
The normally calm Cullowhee Creek was flooding, taking out bridges and paths during the rain from Hurricane Helene. Since then, water had receded but WCU public safety in email warned that event though waters are receding, but riverbanks and other areas near water are still soft and can collapse.
Western Carolina University now operate under Condition Level 3 (Closed), as defined in the Adverse Weather Policy. Conditions on campus are far better than in surrounding communities. Campus has power, clean water, and internet. Students can continue to make landline calls from the University Center from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. University officials are asking students to remain on campus because of the road closures and condition. Also, they are asking parents to not come to campus. Routes to campus can be 1 to 2 hours longer than normal due to road closures. Internet availability in the county is still spotty but improving so we hope the communication will be normal and easy in the coming days.
A town hall style Q&A is scheduled for tonight at 5:30 p.m. in the Blue Ridge Multi-purpose room with Chancellor Kelly Brown.
Classes in-person and online are cancelled until Oct. 4 and due dates on all assignments have been canceled. Faculty will issue instructions about the missed work and assignments when the university resume normal operations.
All WCU non-mandatory offices and services are closed.
There are limited dining services on campus and more are opening daily. Students were very happy when Starbuck’s opened on Sunday, Sept. 30. Check out WCU emergency information website for all the latest updates.
A temporary IT station has been set up in the downstairs of Courtyard Dining hall.
In an email message to faculty and staff Provost Richard Starnes from Sept. 30 said that the university continues to evaluate conditions in Cullowhee, Asheville, and the region as they consider when and how to restart instruction. “No decisions, beyond the suspension of classes I mentioned, have been made. We will communicate any changes as soon as possible,” Starnes said in an email.

WCU Dean of Students has an emergency student fund that could assist students in need of financial assistance to cover unexpected costs or emergencies. Students need to contact the dean of students, Betsy Aspinwall, or talk to any of your professors or deans for assistance in getting these funding.

The university is also providing information if you want to help. Here is a link to donate money to the Student emergency fund as well as donating to help the local and regional community. Devastation in Buncombe and Haywood are more extensive and still being assessed as well as in Jackson County.

A volunteer station has been set up at 115 Glance St. in Clyde, North Carolina to assist in clean-up from Hurricane Helene. Donations of water, cleaning supplies, diapers, non-perishable food, hygiene products, and dog/cat food are accepted from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 198 WBI Drive in Sylva.

Donations will be distributed from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 86 Mark Watson Park in Sylva and at Cashiers Baptist Church at 213 US-64 Cashiers, North Carolina.

WCU Director of Emergency Services, Shane Stovall, said that during the storm WCU personnel assisted in evacuation of students in Bellamy Apartments because of the potential for flooding.

During the storm WCU because of the flooding of the Cullowhee Creek closed the parking lots across from Ramsey, Camp building, the Walker/Freshman lot. Areas near Bardo Center and Ramsey Stadium were flooded.
The university canceled Mountain Heritage Day and the concert of the Old Crow Medicine Show was postponed until spring.