It's 5.05 and welcome in to a Wednesday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour on Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM, WBT, I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you. North Carolina officials marked a major milestone in Hurricane Helene recovery efforts as the Department of Environmental Quality has recently announced it has awarded more than $1 billion in grants for water, wastewater, and resilience projects across western North Carolina. The announcement came during a July the 17th visit to Burnsville, North Carolina, where Democrat Governor Josh Stein joined DEQ Secretary Reed Wilson, Yancey County Sheriff Shane Hillard, and Burnsville Mayor Russell Fox to highlight ongoing recovery efforts nearly two years after the storm devastated many of those mountain communities, including Burnsville. Officials emphasize that while billions in recovery funding have been committed to this point, rebuilding remaining incomplete and communities continue to face long-term challenges.
According to Wilson, said this is An important milestone, but it's really important to remember that in some ways, this is just the beginning of the work that we're going to do with communities out here. This funding includes more than $906 million for drinking water, wastewater, and septic system repairs and improvements. According to Wilson, the money supports 222 projects across 28 counties in western North Carolina with the goal of not only repairing storm damage, but improving infrastructure resiliency against future natural disasters. Wilson continued by saying, for us, resilience is really important. We're trying to make sure that everything we do, every dollar we spend, helps make sure that we are stronger when future floods and other disasters come.
Burnsville water system became one of the town's most visible examples of Hurricane Helene's destruction. The mayor in Mayor Fox said that the town's water intake, located about 500 yards upstream from the event site, was destroyed during the storm. The mayor recounting that saying it was completely washed away. There was absolutely nothing left of it. Floodwaters rose several feet above the roadway, damaged critical infrastructure, and left the town without its normal water system and its normal water infrastructure system.
Fox credited local workers, the North Carolina National Guard, volunteers, and private landowners with helping restore the system. The mayor said, We worked tirelessly, had a lot of good help, and we got water restored to our customers in 17 days as opposed to probably 45, which was our initial estimate. Still, however. 17 days to get water restored just highlighting some of the unbelievable amounts of devastation and destruction in western North Carolina. The Department of Environmental Quality awarded $18 million specifically for Burnsville, which is in Yancey County.
That funding will help construct... new pump station, replace the destroyed drinking water intake, build additional wells and storage capacity alongside replacing some of the main sewer lines that run through the town and the county. The governor said that the investments are intended to strengthen communities before future disasters occur. The governor said at the July the 17th event, we must build better systems to try and keep this kind of damage from happening in the future. The governor also highlighted the human impact of Helene, including the loss of life and the destruction of homes and businesses across western North Carolina.
Yancey County, which hosts Burnville, experienced some of the most severe impacts from the storm. Stein said that the county received more rainfall from Helene than any other county in the state. They experienced more than 600 landslides. Unfortunately, 11 residents of Yancey County dying during the storm, and more than 1,400 homes and buildings were washed away and destroyed. Sheriff Hillard said that Helene was personal for him and his family.
He says, my parents lost their homes, my grandmother, my aunt. I know what it's like to lose a lifetime of memories. The sheriff said that the storm damaged homes, businesses, roads, bridges, and infrastructure. But he said that the response showed the strength of the entire community. He said, but it didn't take our faith.
It didn't take our determination. It didn't take our willingness to help one another. And it certainly did not take the mountain spirit that makes Yancey County such a special place. He credited law enforcement, emergency responders, utility crews, churches, volunteers, and neighbors, really everybody, stepping up for working together in the aftermath, saying during the July the 17th event, no one stopped. I asked whose job it was.
They simply jumped in and helped.
However, the sheriff noted that recovery does remain very much. An ongoing process saying we've made tremendous progress, but it isn't finished. There are still families trying to rebuild homes, businesses working to recover, and debris that needs to be cleaned up. Governor Josh Stein said that the state has also committed additional resources through the recently enacted state budget. That is a $34.4 billion budget in all, which includes $700 million in additional Hurricane Helene recovery funding.
That money will support temporary housing assistance, nonprofit home repairs, local government recovery efforts, wildfire response, that's a big one out west, private road and bridge repairs, and resiliency programs. The budget also includes a million dollars for mapping landslide risks to critical infrastructure. With the governor saying if we know where the risks are, we can do a better job of keeping people informed and keeping them safe. The governor also said that North Carolina needs additional federal resources and is seeking some $10 billion in federal funding for Helene recovery, with the governor stating, We know as a state government we can't do it alone. We know as towns and communities that Burnsville and Yancey County can't do it alone.
We need federal support. Wilson said that the state's recovery work will continue for years as officials focus on rebuilding stronger infrastructure. With Wilson saying in part, we're going to be out here for years to come working on the ground with Burnsville and other communities to make sure these projects are completed as quickly as possible so that our mountain communities can rebuild stronger. He said that the goal is not only recovery from Hurricane Helene, but preparation for future storms, saying in part, we're just very excited about this milestone, but also committed to being out here for whatever it takes for the long haul to help all of these mountain communities that were so damaged by this storm. This is one of many stories that we have been keeping a very close eye on.
Out of western North Carolina, as it will be two years coming up here in September, that Hurricane and Tropical Storm Helene unleashed unimaginable amounts of devastation on western North Carolina. More than 100 people dying in the western half of the state in the wake of that storm. The unimaginable pictures. And images that you have seen all over the internet of entire towns being washed away by the raging of floodwaters after 30, 40, 50 inches of rain fell in some areas with high winds, creating complete and total havoc in western North Carolina. The recovery work does continue on a variety of different factors.
Just earlier this week, we talked about the single-family housing program. We talked about work that's going on with the North Carolina DOT Department of Transportation as they continue the progress of rebuilding roads in western North Carolina, infrastructure dealing with things like water and sewer, all of these critically important to the success in western North Carolina and many of these projects ongoing. You can read some additional coverage of this story by visiting our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com. Look for the story with the headline, NCDEQ, Helene Recovery Spending on Water Infrastructure Reaches $1 billion. Lots of places can expose you to identity theft.
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Terms apply. It's 520. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk 107.9 FM, WBT. Don't forget, if you miss any portion of the program, to check out the Carolina Journal News Hour podcast in your favorite app, favorite podcast app that is. You can also watch the show live or on demand over on our Carolina Journal YouTube channel.
We are continuing the discussion on Western North Carolina this morning. Just brought you some information about nearly a billion dollars in spending from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to work on water and wastewater infrastructure in western North Carolina. We've also got some movement on the federal level this week as well. Earlier this week, Representative Pat Harrigan, the Republican out of North Carolina's 10th congressional district, introduced the Safe Rule Act, which will help rural communities prepare for impacts of flooding before the next storm. hits.
Harrigan spoke to the Carolina Journal exclusively and said, after Hurricane Helene, we saw the same problems play out in western North Carolina. Rural communities weren't just fighting floodwaters, they were fighting a federal system that too often rewards the places with the biggest grant writing teams instead of the greatest needs. My Safe Rule Act changes that by giving rural communities a dedicated way to invest in flood mitigation and resilient infrastructure before the next storm hits. That's a smarter use of taxpayer dollars, and it will leave our communities stronger long before FEMA ever has to show up. The legislation would create within the Federal Emergency Management Agency a fund dedicated to flood resilience using a formula to ensure that funding for smaller communities rather than requiring them to compete with larger Communities for federal fundings.
These streamlines in the process of this grant process for critical infrastructure projects will include things like roads, bridges, culverts, and drainage systems. John Sanders, the director of the Center for Food, Power, and Life at the John Locke Foundation, said the worst flooding from hurricanes Florence, Matthew, and Helene hit some of North Carolina's unprepared and poorest communities the hardest. Shocking waste and neglect of hundreds of millions of dollars of federal recovery funds under former Governor Roy Cooper made it worse, with not a single home built being rebuilt after six years. This bill would help poor rural communities deal with major flooding events by automatically setting aside federal disaster funds beforehand so that they can deal proactively with aging infrastructure and be better prepared for when a storm comes. Carolina Journal followed up in 2025 with some of the communities that have been hardest hit by Hurricane Helene, and many of them were struggling to come up with resources to recover from the damage.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has reimbursed Chimney Rock for most of its recovery expenses, including $600,000 in security costs. Stephen Duncan, the village administrator for Chimney Rock, told the Carolina Journal back late last year, private investors raised about $500,000 through a give-send-go campaign and $475,000 was distributed to community members. Duncan said FEMA has regulations which we believe are not in the best interest of the community. He explained that FEMA's restrictions limit the land use to mainly public parks. While they welcome private investments, buyers would need to pay the land's pre-Helene value, which the town manager or the town administrator, excuse me, for Chimney Rock acknowledged is a pretty risky potential endeavor on land that has been largely or areas that have been largely destroyed by Hurricane Helene.
Black Mountain, North Carolina sustained between $25 and $30 million in damages assessed as well as infrastructure. Town manager Josh Harrell told the Carolina Journal late last year. He said it's a slow process and we're going to keep working through that probably for the next number of years because I think it's going to take that long. At this point, we are continuing to work with FEMA, the federal emergency management agency. And Daniel Steins, the town manager for Spruce Pines, told Carolina Journal that the town hired a full-time grant administrator to handle anything related to the FEMA grant programs when he realized very early on that that would be a full-time job.
Officials reported receiving $34 million in FEMA reimbursements during a June the 9th Asheville City Council meeting and outlined ongoing recovery efforts to secure additional federal funds and mitigation funding.
So this is one of the other, one of the very many threads. That we are keeping a close eye on as it relates to Western North Carolina recovery. This new legislation being introduced at the federal level from Representative Pat Harrigan, the Republican out of North Carolina's 10th congressional district, would give some areas across not only North Carolina, but the rest of the United States, more rural communities, the ability to have access to some of these federal funds, some of these federal dollars ahead of a major storm so that they can make progress on critical infrastructure projects before a storm hits. This has been introduced. We'll keep an eye on some of the details and bring you the latest as we get it right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
In some other statewide news this morning, sad news over the last couple of days, as we have learned about two U.S. service members stationed at Fort Bragg that have died overseas as it relates to the ongoing war between the United States and Iran. President Donald Trump later on today will attend the dignified transfers of four U.S. service members that have been killed in the Middle East, two of those serving at Fort Bragg. The president will be at Dover Air Force Base when the remains of the troops killed in action are returned to their family, according to an announcement from the White House.
Two U.S. Army soldiers killed in Iranian missile and drone strikes in Jordan will be returned during the dignified transfer, according to administration officials. The soldiers killed in Jordan were identified as Defense Department, as Tyler James Freeman, 25 of Iwah Beach, Hawaii, and Elizabeth Gonzalez, 19 of Carleton, Texas. Freeman was assigned to Fort Bragg. The remains of another Fort Bragg soldier killed in Iraq, Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton, will also be returned on Wednesday.
Swinton died during a controlled detonation of a Downed Iranian drone. Very sad stories out of the Middle East that has now had a major impact here on the state of North Carolina. Families in the Tar Hill State, as two of those brave service members were stationed at Fort Bragg. Those dignified transfers will be happening a little bit later on today. We keep these families and everybody associated in our thoughts and prayers this morning, right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
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I'm Nick Craig. Good Wednesday morning to you. As we get closer to the November midterm election, we are keeping a close eye on the North Carolina State Board of Elections as they go through the process of approving a variety of different rules that will be relevant for voters who are making their way to ballot boxes starting in mid-October of this year. To walk us through a recent meeting of the State Board of Elections, Teresa Opeka, CarolinaJournal.com, joins us on the news hour. Teresa, we've recently talked about some of the voter ID rules coming out of a North Carolina State Board of Elections meeting last week.
Earlier this week, on Monday, the board met once again to discuss some of the things as it relates to absentee ballots. What's the latest that you're following over there? Sure, good morning, Nick. Thanks for having me.
So, similar to last week with the vote, they voted along party lines 3 to 2 on new permanent absentee ballot rules. It's got some critics saying it's going to be making it easier for ballots to be thrown out. But of course, Republican members who voted in the majority say, no, that's not the case. Again, it's all about having good and proper and correct elections.
So they were talking about this at this meeting. Associate General Counsel Adam Steele said they got about 650 comments through the website portal and many more through email. They also had hearings, mail, all of that.
So basically, there were six rules that were voted on at the meeting on Monday, including definitions, also review for deficiencies, different things specifically, also a photo ID exception form. Basically, it says, you know, if anybody who's assisting a voter who is unable to sign due to their disability, that person would sign an affidavit on their behalf. There's also a few other ones, non-curable deficiencies, something like saying a zip code is missing, that would be okay. It wouldn't alter the validity of the application. Also, another is when a voter shows up to an early voting site or a county board office to submit their absentee ballot.
And this is the one that kind of again had a sticking point with the Democrat members. And it means if whenever it's not in an outer return envelope, when they just show up with their container return envelope and they need to seal it right then and there, and another with irregularities as well.
So, you know, this was all discussed at this meeting on Monday. But we also had Democrat board member Jeff Carmen who did raise concerns about the photo ID exception. He said that rule might impact the elderly who don't have access to email. And maybe overwhelmed because of it. But we did have, you know.
Steele was saying that the rule would apply to anybody, regardless of age, even if they had something like spotty phone service or they didn't provide a phone number.
So, you know, it it started out that way.
So it was plenty of rules to go over and plenty of disagreement as well. Yeah, no question about the disagreement there. I want to focus in on a couple of things as it relates to absentee by mail with these envelopes. This is something that's been up for debate and discussion over the last couple of years, Teresa. For those that have never voted by mail, there are multiple envelopes.
There's a process in which certain pieces of information, like your ballot, is in one envelope, then the supporting documentation, things like a photocopy of your ID and any other sort of forms. I believe that you either have to have it notarized or get a couple of witnesses. That stuff needs to be in a different envelope, and it's all kind of in this one container. That was one of the big discussions. And I know that that's been an issue in the past.
We saw this with some of the recounts earlier this year during the primary up in Guilford and Rockingham County with voters that returned some of the envelopes, but not all of it. All the paperwork was there, but all the envelopes were not.
So that's been something that's been a little tricky for not only the state board, but county boards to deal with over the last couple of years. Yeah, that's correct. That's correct. You know, that was a lot of the points that were made at this meeting too. We had, again, Jeff Carmen, he said he had significant concerns with individuals in the rural part of the state receiving notice via mail.
Um, going on about that in addition to the envelopes, um, but yeah, the envelopes was a definite concern, and that was the two um. Carmen and Siobhan Millen, the other Democrat member, she was saying she was confused as how this is gonna be a quicker system versus how it used to be done, where if the ballot was not in a sealed container return envelope, they would just contact the voter, and the voter said they didn't think it had to be sealed. Then the ballot would be counted, and that the person would be done.
So basically, she's saying there's more work for the voter to do now at this point. But, you know, they're saying that it really there isn't any more work to be done. And it was Angela Hawkins, who's a Republican board member, who also worked for Wake County Board of Elections for many years. She disagreed. She said the word container return envelope shows up 37 times in one of the state statutes and ballot envelope doesn't.
But what she said, you know, kind of makes sense. If anybody is having any trouble, they can gladly contact the state board of elections or their local county board of elections. They're all there, happy to help. Uh also board member and um The Secretary, Republican Stacey Fore Edgars IV, agreed with Hawkins. He says that spoil and return approach is the most accommodating to the voter and that an unsealed envelope is a security issue for the ballot and the voter.
So plenty of different definitions, plenty of back and forth between an extra step versus maybe a security issue.
Well, and that's exactly the point that I was just going to jump into, Teresa. You're talking about returning a ballot either through the United States Postal Service or dropping it off at a county board of election office during the timeline that is prescribed in state law. And if you've got an unsealed ballot, it does open the possibility for somebody to maybe take a look at who you voted for or potentially change who you voted for if that is not sealed and secured when election officials in all 100 counties are going through the process of sorting through those absentee-buy mail ballots. That's a major security concern. Oh, absolutely.
It definitely is. I mean, they had a right to say that, that it is a security issue for that vote, that voter. I mean, you could even. You know, Jeff Carmen saying he had concerns about the mail system being what it is. How people getting their mail, which you can attest to, the mail is a little bit slower these days, but you can also say, But exactly the same thing.
Someone can go through the mail and change something in it so that you know. They want to have everything to be above board and integrity. I mean, this is what this board has been doing, why they're. They're having all these different, they're updating all the different technology, the same system, all the, you know, looking at voter roles, seeing who's maybe been deceased for a long time. We just, as you mentioned earlier, there's people who were registered illegally or illegal voters in the state.
That was found out from what the president released that as well, or a little bit later last over the weekend or late last week.
So it's all about election integrity and making sure these envelopes are sealed is part of that. Yeah, and you're talking about somebody that is not voting for those that typically vote in person. Of course, you walk into a voting location, go through the process, and you are there filling out all the little bubbles, all the little dots on your sheet, and then you feed it yourself into this tabulator, this scanning machine, for somebody that is returning a ballot either by mail or dropping it off. It's not like Teresa, you can go to the North Carolina State Board of Elections website and see exactly to make sure all of the votes that you cast were counted. There's really no way to reconcile that as a voter if somebody wanted to manipulate your ballot if it wasn't sealed properly.
That's right. That's right. So, this is the next best way is just to make sure that that is all taken care of. The ballot's sealed. If you have a question about it, not quite sure, you know, maybe you're just not sure about it.
Whether you're elderly or you're just, you have these questions, you can definitely contact your county board of elections or call the state board of elections and ask them, you know, hey, what does this mean? Or what, you know, I want to make sure my votes count. I want to make sure that nothing has been tampered. And right now, there isn't any other way to do that. Let's go back to one of the other sticking points here as you watched or were at this meeting earlier this week on Monday.
Some of the concerns here about County Board of Election officials trying to contact voters about deficiencies over the phone or email. What exactly is going on there? Uh sure. We had a Jeff Carmen raised concerns about cell phones and the mail system, emails. Basically, saying that maybe someone is not too sure about how all the different rules have changed.
As I'm going through all of this, you know, basically. The If the phone number or email address is included, and this is what the solicitor, assistant solicitor said, Steele, they would be used to contact the voter if the email address or phone number is included, but they're not required by statute or the rule whenever somebody is submitting their absentee request. Um, but as far as you know, uh, going through that, it it Basically, Jeff Carmen had a lot of different questions about the different ways. It was either about mail, it was about email, it was about phone service. You know, and we had Republican board member Secretary Stacey Eckers say, you know, how else can we really do this if it's not reliable to contact voters by mail or not by email, and it's not reliable to contact them by phone and they can't follow their instructions?
I'm not quite sure what else we could really do basically to help the voter and cure that information. But Carmen disagreed with him, and this is his quote: He says, Clear instructions to someone who is an experienced attorney, a very accomplished attorney, I like to add. It's very different from the remainder of our population. Everyone has not been blessed with the amount of education that we have. And saying that instructions are clear, I would disagree.
I would say the instructions are confusing. It's out. Yeah, yeah, I don't know what that is uh necessarily saying about the good people of North Carolina, who I guess I have a little bit more confidence in than some members of the North Carolina State Board of Elections. But great point there by the Secretary, Teresa. How else can you contact?
I mean, I guess the alternative is you need to start paying Board of Election officials to drive around counties and knock on people's doors and just hope that they're home when you need to get in touch with them to cure information. I mean, that doesn't seem practical, does it? No, I, but there's a hundred counties right in the state. That would take a Take a lot of mileage and a lot of extra meals, and well, not being facetious, but yes, I mean, I don't know clearly what Mr. Carmen was saying on that, but like, I don't know how well she could really spell it out.
And again, we, this is like the third time I've said it. If there is a question you have, you could definitely contact your county board of elections or the state board and say, I have a question, I really want to, I have concerns, and they're going to help you. Don't be afraid to call and pick up the phone. But I love what Republican member Chairman Francis deLuca said: the most secure and secret way of doing this. It is to vote on election day and then you don't have to worry about all this other stuff.
But he said, that's not what we're doing, where we have to do this now because they do. Change the rules and every time they add complications to the system, and that's what they need to do to fix it. But the best way, he says, to avoid all that. It's just go vote on Election Day if you can. If you can't, we understand.
I mean, like, we just, that's the whole thing about voting by absentee. But a very good statement by Mr. Delbuca. But yeah, it was a very contentious meeting.
Well, and if Election Day doesn't work, early voting kicks off here in North Carolina. October the 15th, Teresa. How about that? You got about three and a half, almost four full weeks of early voting ahead of Election Day.
So plenty of opportunities for those that want to vote in person during early voting, wait until Election Day, or of course, go through the process of requesting an absentee by mail ballot. I am sure there will be some more questions and some more disagreement over the next couple of months as we get closer to the election. You can read more coverage of Teresa's story over on our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com. We appreciate the update. Teresa Opeca joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
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Save up to 30% with promo code News at lifeblock.com. Terms apply. Yeah. Good morning again. It's 5:54.
Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM, WBT, and some business news this morning. Governor Josh Stein has recently announced that American Eagle Outfitters is planning to invest more than $41 million into a new distribution hub in Rowan County, potentially creating more than 200 jobs. The governor said in a recent press release: American Eagle Outfitters will be a welcome addition to Rowan County. As one of America's top states for business, year after year, North Carolina continues to offer the stable economy, skilled workforce, and business-friendly environment that growing companies need to thrive. According to the press release, the company operates stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and through a worldwide network of licensed partners in over 30 additional countries.
Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of American Eagle Outfitters said in a recent press release, North Carolina offers the workforce, infrastructure, and strategic location needed to continue powering our brands and connecting us to customers. We're proud to have a presence in Rowan County and are excited what this facility means for long-term growth of our supply chain and distribution network. A $150,000 One North Carolina Fund performance-based grant will be awarded to the American Eagle Regional Distribution Facility to assist the company in locating to North Carolina, according to the press release. The One NC Fund offers financial support to local governments to help recruit new businesses, encourage investments, and create jobs. Companies do not receive the money upfront and must meet job creation and investment targets to qualify for payments.
And with that, the American European Union is a good American Eagle must create 70 jobs to receive that grant payment of $150,000. Brian Valfour, the senior vice president of research at the John Locke Foundation, said American Eagle Outfitters is a massive corporation with $5.5 billion in annual revenue. It's absurd to think that a $150,000 government grant was needed to ensure that they opened a distribution hub in Rowan County. That's barely a rounding error in their bottom line. Our state already has one of the best business climates in the country.
This grant is most likely just an excuse for Governor Stein to issue a press release and try and take credit for the announcement. Whether the taxpayer handout is big or small, however, the principle remains the same. The government should not be in the business of taking money from hardworking North Carolinians and handing it to politically connected corporations. We've got more on this announcement this morning over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. That's going to do it for a Wednesday edition.
WBT News is next, followed by Good Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5 to 6, right here on Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM, WBT. Yeah.
