Bill cunning in the Great American Welcome this Flora. It's Monday after in the Tri State, we have crises all over the country, especially North Carolina. Red Spaseball concluded they're not in last place. That one game out of last place, so I guess this season was a moderate success. Bengals one and three. On Sunday they play the Ravens here, we'll see what happens. But until then, we have literal crises happening all over the country, especially now in North Carolina.
It appears that Florida is somewhat prepared for these events. Terrible damage in Florida. But let's face it, Florida's prepared for hurricanes. But I can't be said about North Carolina. We have so many friends and family from this area that have homes and places outside of the Tri State,
including North Carolina. Yours truly has spent quite a bit of time at Maggie Valley, North Carolina, which is in the mountains right over the line going up twenty six and I four, beautiful scenic, but that has been destroyed because of the kindness of Richard K. Jones, the sheriff of Butler County. He has relationship with Sheriff Sam Page of Randolph. I'm sorry of Rockingham County, North Carolina, and
Sheriff Page, welcome to the Bill Cunningham Show. And first of all, Sheriff, can you describe as this storm was developing in the south and North Carolina? Normally done prepare for hurricanes, that's that's a Florida difficulty. But in the day or two before what happened Thursday, Friday and Saturday, what was the what was the availability of warnings and things of that character in your section of North Carolina.
Well as I understand and plus what I observed is you know, we had tornado warnings throughout most of Friday, owned it off Friday, Uh, there were a lot of warnings of potential a lot of rain coming, particularly in the western part of the state.
I'm in the Piedmont area and then to our west is.
The area that was a highly affected, horrific situation and damaged and loss of lives, terrible, terrible situation. But a lot of a lot of winds and a lot of rains coming from the hurricane at Leen.
And as the storm hit on Friday and Saturday. We're going to talk about Monday afternoon in a moment or two. But as the storm hit, was there some was there some indication that there are things was gonna be literally a disaster for western North Carolina? Was there a sense this is almost a biblical what's happening. Was there a sense just as the storm was hitting, You're about to have something that never happened before in Nashville? Was there that was there that level of apprehension.
Well, I think everybody was responding to this u the oncoming storm, but nobody expected. I don't think anybody expected to this to this level of damage. I mean, you've got dams that were uh were damaged, You've got uh
extensive flooding from rivers and roadways destroyed. It's it looks like somebody went in, you know, like the town of Jimmy Rock, I understand, was was totally leveled by the by the extensive amount of water that came through there, from the from the floods and from the from the rain and everything coming together in the winds and everything. So it was just a terrible situation. I feel so feel so bad for everybody up there. You know what happened in course, you know, there was a lot of
loss of lives and IM understand it. There's some people that are still missing up there in the actual area.
And as far as I forty and I twenty six, I had a report from the AP a few hours ago that there are bridges, small little bridges that are out. There's massive mud slides up and down I forty and I twenty six. It's impassable. And if you would have wanted to get you and your mind, you're only about three hours away from Ashville, and you're in the little you're east of that in the Piedmont. But if your guys wanted to get there to Asheville, North Carolina, how would you do it?
That's a good question.
Through the North Coline Sheriff's Association, we got a program Sheriffs Helping Sheriffs, So throughout the day, I know we'll be receiving additional information if we if we can send some help, what they'll tell us exactly what is needed and where it's needed at and then we'll be able to be provided a route of travel. But you know you, like I said, normally Interstate forty we can make it
to ash with a good three hours. But with all the damage on outer State forty on and off in the bridges and then coming you know, I understand coming into Tennessee into forty and also Interstate twenty thick, which is a major north south route Interstate U.
With all that damage and all the water damage.
Again, we will have to wait for some instructions to tell us which way is the route. I was speaking with our Mercy Management director just a while to go, and he's in the area in McDowell County near Marion, and he was explaining that, you know, it is passable on forty to get up to that point.
But again, like I said, beyond that, you know, we don't we don't.
Have an additional information by understanding with all the rain and damage that you know, the communications A lot of you say the communication is out up there also, so we kind of we're watching our news reports and and of course as we get more information to the association, we'll see what we need to do. We're doing food collections right now in our in our agec across our county.
There's several churches that are putting together supplies such as drinking water is very important, UH understand, fuel for generators, non perishable food products, flass flights and batteries and personal hygiene items.
So all those items are important.
So if you've got a church you know, you know in your area that want to help, UH, you need to. You'll need to connect up with the either emergency management here in North Carolina UH to get information or here locally.
UH You'll check, you'll you'll check with it.
You'll see some of the local churches listing where they're doing collection points. And then like I said, you know, we're we're gonna be a collection point from the.
Next two weeks here in our county.
And of course as we go throughout the day and the next few days, we'll see what the needs are if we can send some of our staff with a small agency, but you know, we'll do our part working with other law enforcement to help where we can.
And so I understand that it's accessible only by air because there are routes that have been completely destroyed. I had a report earlier that will take years for I forty to be repaired because of the bridges and the mudslides. Interstate Highway several bridges are out of those will take
a long time. IGH twenty six the same way. If it's unreachable by the ground the only way to get there is through the air, and the needs are great, whether it's cell phone tires, whether it's hygiene products, whether it's water, whether it's food. There's no communication. Is that section in North Carolina at this point, Sheriff Sam Page largely inaccessible? And are they by themselves and a loan?
I'll say this is I know that a lot of your major roads, like we just stated, have been damaged. I haven't personally been up there, and I'm just getting missing piece of information right now. But the best way is to keep posted just to see what's coming out on the on the local news, uh, what's being broadcast about you, if someone's trying to help somebody. The State Mercy Management is probably gonna be your best source of information about if you're trying to get up in the area.
But you know, if you if you don't need to be up in an area, it probably do not need to travel because there's still a lot of dangers with the water and with the swift waters is going down and and you know, like I said, it's just a lot of it's a lot of destruction up there, and that probably you know, only people that need to be up there and and if the people are going up there to help need to be up there at this time.
Sheriff Sam Page or North Carolina? Where's FEMA? You would think the Federal Emergency Management? Where is FEMA?
I can't.
I can't speak to FEMA. I was seeing I'm watching on TV just a little bit ago, uh, from the Office of the President. But I haven't seen the broadcast yet. But I'm sure FEMA will be brought online uh in working with Emergency Management shortly. I assume they will be just I. I just haven't seen any broadcast. Received the information through our sources.
Have you ever you've been around a long time, Sheriff Sam Page, have you ever seen this level of destruction in western North Carolina in your career?
I don't think I have in my I've lived in I've lived in Rockham County most of my life, and with exception of being in the military now, I never have.
Katrina. Is is one's going that comes to mind?
You know? Uh, Hurricane Andrew, you know, destroyed one of the as I was stationed a down in Miami area back when I was in service. But and the enforced Mount Conetuba Manetubo in the Philippines that exploded and erupted and destroyed the base where we were stationed at. So those are some areas that you know that that come to mind. But no, I don't think in North Carolina we've ever seen anything to this level.
And in fact, North Carolina doesn't get ready for hurricanes. In the Piedmont up in the mountains, it doesn't. It doesn't equate. I spent time in Naples, Florida, and we were you know, Florida's kind of ready for this, They're ready to go. But North Carolinians aren't ready for hurricanes generally, unless you might be on the coast. But even that's a very very rare event. So this is a shock. Well, uh is there. I'm gonna Matthew twenty five Ministries is
located here and they have trucks rolling. We're going to communicate through the website to let people know where to give money. Matthew's twenty five is going to focus there are a great charity to focus on North Carolina because Florida can largely take care of itself. Although big problems are in Florida. What they know what they're doing with hurricanes, I can same camp Be said about Asheville, North Carolina. And for those who have not been there, it's in
the mountains at the bottom of a valley. There's rivers all over the place. The dams are gone, the rivers have overflowed, cities have been wiped out. One media reporter head over a thousand people missing, with cars and trucks and fans floating away houses going down the river. And at this point, what's the weather condition this afternoon right now? What's going on in western North Carolina?
Weatherwise?
From what I watched on the local news and weather, we maybe get a little bit of rain, but that had that shouldn't uh nowhere near what would came in on uh, you know, Thursday and Friday. So I would ask everybody to say a prayer for all of our first responders and all the persons are coming here and helping. And there's the American Purse or Red Cross and another other agencies and Mercy Manager, a lot of a lot
of people responding. It's the location to help. Just keep them in your prayers, you know, because this is a tough time for North Carolina. But you know, we're resvant, we'll we'll we'll get through this. But it's gonna be it's gonna take a long time, and so just keep everybody in your thoughts and for and look for safety.
Sara sam Page of Rockingham, North Carolina. Please get back to work, and thanks for calling into the Bill Cunningham Show to let the residents of Trice they know what they can do.
Bill.
I did want to stay one thing that Also, I want you to keep the two deputies and one in Madison County and one in Making County lost their lives responding to work during the storm. They both lost their lives with the water event. So I keep them in your prayers also from Madison and Making County.
Also, we'll do that and I'm gonna look online get their names. Say a prayer for those two deputies who gave their life and service to others. There's no greater sacrifice a man or a woman can make to give your life for your friends and family, and cops and sheriffs and CEOs do it all the time. And we'll offer prayers of hope for those that remain in prayers of thanks for those who gave their lives. Sheriff sam Page,
thank you for coming on the Bill Cunningham Show. I want to thank again Richard K. Jones of Butler County for hooking me up with you. He's part of the National Sheriff's Association, does a great job there. But Sheriff Sam Page, thank you very much for coming on this afternoon. Thank you, yeah, thank you. All right, let's take some telephone calls five one, three, seven, four, nine, seven thousand.
Understand.
North College Hill is back online and we'll come back online soon. Parts of the tri State itself has been devastated by the storm and whether or not we can help, we want to do that. Bill Cunningham with you every day. You're home of The Reds have now completed their season in the Bengals Big Game on Sunday. Kind of irrelevant compared to these kind of issues, but it's important to have diversions from the reality of life. Bill Cunningham, News Radio seven hundred WLW.
Meanwhile, in the unchetted forest, Eddie and Rocky, you are at blacked by a ferocious forest monster.
Oh no, is this the end of Eddie and Rocky? Will we ever laugh along with him?
I'm a radio again, the Announcered guy.
Relax. Yeah, it's just a cheap radio sound.
I see so you two were never in peril, not for a second. So now I look like a giant d bag. Thanks a lot.
You're welcome Eddie and Ruckie this afternoon at three on seven hundred WLW