Some water restored in Western NC (10-10-2024--Hour3)

[00:00:04] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content, like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepetekalendershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, right to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:28] All right, let me get through some of the updates on the disaster response and relief efforts underway in Western North Carolina. Today, Governor Cooper was in Marshall. He was there to survey the damage, to thank volunteers, did media availability at the Marshall Town Hall that was scheduled for 1130 this morning.

[00:00:51] And then at 345, he is set to join the EPA Administrator Michael Regan, who is from North Carolina, to assess the ongoing response to Hurricane Helene and discuss ongoing federal support to test drinking water sources and to restart critical drinking water infrastructure in the impacted areas.

[00:01:14] This is one of the things.

[00:01:41] TV in Asheville.

[00:02:11] run into the facility.

[00:02:13] We're 25 feet underground.

[00:02:17] And they were exposed.

[00:02:20] And ripped out.

[00:02:23] That's the kind of devastation that the mudslides and the the what the floodwaters caused 25.

[00:02:32] I mean, think about that.

[00:02:33] That's as that's as deep as a two story house.

[00:02:37] And.

[00:02:39] And.

[00:02:39] They were buried.

[00:02:40] And all of that dirt around it got scooped out and the pipes ripped out of the ground.

[00:02:49] So all of that's got to be replaced.

[00:02:53] And.

[00:02:53] A lot of the piping had been installed and reinforced after a storm about 20 years ago, but it was still no match for Hurricane Helene.

[00:03:03] There is no timeline.

[00:03:06] For.

[00:03:08] For.

[00:03:09] For.

[00:03:11] For.

[00:03:11] For.

[00:03:13] For.

[00:03:16] For.

[00:03:22] For.

[00:03:23] For.

[00:03:26] For.

[00:03:29] For.

[00:03:32] For.

[00:03:36] For.

[00:03:37] Charlotte Mecklenburg does.

[00:03:39] So.

[00:03:40] You know, years ago, I guess it was like 30 years, 40 years ago, whatever it was.

[00:03:44] Uh.

[00:03:45] The city of Charlotte and the county of Mecklenburg.

[00:03:48] Consolidated service.

[00:03:50] Not governance.

[00:03:51] So you still have the city council and the county commission.

[00:03:54] But they.

[00:03:55] Consolidated services.

[00:03:58] Like.

[00:03:58] Charlotte Mecklenburg police.

[00:04:00] Because there used to be a Mecklenburg county police.

[00:04:03] So now there's not.

[00:04:04] They combined it into CMPD.

[00:04:06] And you also have the sheriff's office.

[00:04:08] And the sheriff was given, you know, the sheriff's office.

[00:04:10] They.

[00:04:10] They handle certain things like.

[00:04:13] Running the jail.

[00:04:15] Not well.

[00:04:16] Under this administration.

[00:04:19] But.

[00:04:19] Still like that's.

[00:04:21] Courtroom security.

[00:04:23] They serve warrants and stuff.

[00:04:25] So there are things that they are designated to do.

[00:04:28] And then there are things that CMPD does.

[00:04:30] And so they allocated in this consolidation effort.

[00:04:34] They consolidated different programs and services.

[00:04:39] Water was one of them.

[00:04:41] Charlotte Mecklenburg utilities department.

[00:04:43] Right.

[00:04:43] With the stormwater and drinking water stuff.

[00:04:46] So all of that runs through city of Charlotte.

[00:04:51] The county got the parks, schools, health and human services stuff.

[00:04:56] Right.

[00:04:56] City of Charlotte got zoning and development.

[00:05:00] Which.

[00:05:00] That bugged a lot of county commissioners at the time.

[00:05:03] And even after.

[00:05:04] Because.

[00:05:06] The developers.

[00:05:07] Give you the donations.

[00:05:09] When.

[00:05:10] When you're running for reelection.

[00:05:12] And if you're not doing anything with zoning.

[00:05:14] Then.

[00:05:16] Well.

[00:05:16] But now you can use.

[00:05:17] You can use like.

[00:05:18] Water quality stuff.

[00:05:20] They.

[00:05:20] They have control over water quality.

[00:05:22] Kind of stuff.

[00:05:23] So.

[00:05:24] Anyway.

[00:05:25] Asheville doesn't have that.

[00:05:27] Asheville's water system has been a point of contention for like a hundred years.

[00:05:31] I mentioned some of this history last week.

[00:05:35] Not going to go into it again.

[00:05:37] But.

[00:05:37] It has been a focal point of a lot of battles between the city.

[00:05:40] And its surrounding neighbors and counties.

[00:05:43] And.

[00:05:44] The better part of a hundred years.

[00:05:47] Because.

[00:05:48] The city uses the water access.

[00:05:52] To.

[00:05:53] Get its way.

[00:05:54] To push people around.

[00:05:55] And.

[00:05:56] The.

[00:05:57] A lot of the surrounding towns.

[00:05:59] And communities.

[00:06:00] And counties.

[00:06:01] Don't agree.

[00:06:02] With Asheville's politics.

[00:06:04] You know.

[00:06:04] It being a blue dot.

[00:06:06] In a sea of red.

[00:06:07] Dead.

[00:06:08] And so that's another layer to.

[00:06:10] The fighting that occurs.

[00:06:13] But these.

[00:06:15] The towns around the city of Asheville.

[00:06:17] Because Asheville controls.

[00:06:18] The North.

[00:06:20] Fork.

[00:06:21] Reservoir.

[00:06:22] And the B.

[00:06:23] Tree.

[00:06:24] Reservoir.

[00:06:25] Where the water.

[00:06:27] Intakes.

[00:06:28] Are they.

[00:06:29] And that's where the drinking water comes from.

[00:06:30] And by the way.

[00:06:31] Those.

[00:06:31] Lakes are.

[00:06:32] You know.

[00:06:32] Way up higher in the mountains.

[00:06:34] And that's why.

[00:06:34] They got overwhelmed.

[00:06:36] And all of that water.

[00:06:37] Comes down the mountains.

[00:06:38] Mountains.

[00:06:39] And you got.

[00:06:41] Elevation changes.

[00:06:42] Of about 4,000 feet.

[00:06:44] From.

[00:06:45] The top of Mount Mitchell.

[00:06:46] Down to say.

[00:06:47] Swan and Noah.

[00:06:48] Right.

[00:06:49] And that's why you saw the kind of.

[00:06:51] Ferocious.

[00:06:52] Devastation.

[00:06:53] That the.

[00:06:53] The floodwaters did.

[00:06:55] Was because.

[00:06:55] The water picks up so much velocity.

[00:06:58] As it comes down the mountain.

[00:07:00] And then of course.

[00:07:01] The.

[00:07:01] You know.

[00:07:01] The slopes fail.

[00:07:03] You get mudslides.

[00:07:04] Landslides.

[00:07:04] Rock slides.

[00:07:05] All of that.

[00:07:06] Um.

[00:07:08] So.

[00:07:09] Black Mountain is connected to.

[00:07:12] The city of Asheville's water system.

[00:07:15] And.

[00:07:16] Um.

[00:07:17] They announced.

[00:07:18] The.

[00:07:18] The mayor announced.

[00:07:19] Or the.

[00:07:19] Sorry.

[00:07:20] The.

[00:07:20] The town manager announced.

[00:07:22] I saw his video.

[00:07:23] Um.

[00:07:24] That.

[00:07:24] Uh.

[00:07:25] They were reconnecting now.

[00:07:26] To the city of Asheville's water supply.

[00:07:28] However.

[00:07:29] This is very important.

[00:07:31] It is still not drinkable.

[00:07:33] Okay.

[00:07:35] Not even if you boil it.

[00:07:37] So.

[00:07:38] Do not use.

[00:07:40] The water.

[00:07:42] For.

[00:07:43] Any kind of consumption.

[00:07:45] The only thing.

[00:07:47] You should be using the water for.

[00:07:49] Is flushing toilets.

[00:07:51] That's it.

[00:07:53] Do not use it for anything else.

[00:07:56] Shut off the water.

[00:07:58] To your.

[00:07:58] Uh.

[00:07:58] Water heater.

[00:07:59] Like you don't.

[00:08:01] You don't need hot water.

[00:08:02] You don't need that water.

[00:08:03] Getting heated up.

[00:08:05] Um.

[00:08:05] And this warning is going to be in effect.

[00:08:07] Until further notice.

[00:08:08] There is a lot of sediment.

[00:08:10] And debris still in the water.

[00:08:12] So it's going to be discolored.

[00:08:14] Um.

[00:08:15] And so now.

[00:08:15] Once they reconnect though.

[00:08:16] They'll be able to.

[00:08:17] Uh.

[00:08:18] Be go.

[00:08:18] They'll be able to go through.

[00:08:20] And.

[00:08:20] Uh.

[00:08:20] You know.

[00:08:21] Identify.

[00:08:22] Uh.

[00:08:22] Broken parts of the pipeline.

[00:08:24] To repair.

[00:08:25] That they right now.

[00:08:26] Don't know were broken.

[00:08:27] Maybe because.

[00:08:28] It.

[00:08:29] They may still be buried.

[00:08:31] And they're broken under the ground.

[00:08:32] You don't know that.

[00:08:33] Because there's no water going through it.

[00:08:34] So once you turn the water on.

[00:08:35] You're going to be able to know.

[00:08:36] Okay.

[00:08:36] We got leaks going on.

[00:08:37] In these various places.

[00:08:39] So.

[00:08:40] The water service is probably going to be shut off.

[00:08:42] At various points.

[00:08:43] Various locations.

[00:08:45] Right.

[00:08:45] There's a lot of work to be done.

[00:08:47] And they.

[00:08:47] They're talking months.

[00:08:50] Months.

[00:08:50] And that's just one system.

[00:08:52] There are other.

[00:08:54] Municipalities and such.

[00:08:56] All around the area.

[00:08:57] That.

[00:08:58] Are not part of the Asheville system.

[00:09:01] And some of them.

[00:09:03] Are gone.

[00:09:04] Like the entire.

[00:09:06] Water treatment facility.

[00:09:09] Was swept away.

[00:09:10] Just destroyed.

[00:09:13] Because it's located on a water.

[00:09:15] Tributary.

[00:09:16] On the.

[00:09:16] On a river.

[00:09:17] And it got.

[00:09:18] Swept away.

[00:09:19] So there's.

[00:09:21] Yeah.

[00:09:21] They're going to be needing.

[00:09:22] A lot of water resources.

[00:09:24] Delivered into the area.

[00:09:25] For.

[00:09:26] A long time.

[00:09:27] To come.

[00:09:27] Also.

[00:09:28] I have information.

[00:09:30] On.

[00:09:31] Um.

[00:09:32] Feed.

[00:09:33] For.

[00:09:34] Uh.

[00:09:34] Livestock.

[00:09:35] Stay tuned.

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[00:10:40] All right.

[00:10:40] Here is the update.

[00:10:41] Because the other day we got a call.

[00:10:44] And there was a need expressed for feed.

[00:10:49] Livestock feed.

[00:10:51] For farm animals and such.

[00:10:53] Into Western North Carolina.

[00:10:54] And so I do have some information on that front.

[00:10:58] The Western North Carolina Regional Livestock Center.

[00:11:02] Is trying to get the word out.

[00:11:04] That they have tons.

[00:11:06] Of donated supplies.

[00:11:09] We're talking stalls.

[00:11:12] For horses and livestock.

[00:11:13] Livestock.

[00:11:16] You can get hay.

[00:11:18] Grain.

[00:11:19] Etc.

[00:11:21] I'm going to give you some information.

[00:11:23] And then the center is going to help figure out how to get the supplies out to the people who are cut off.

[00:11:32] Text only.

[00:11:34] All right.

[00:11:34] So because the phone calls are difficult to make.

[00:11:38] You can send a text.

[00:11:39] And when the.

[00:11:40] When comms allow.

[00:11:42] Then the text can go through.

[00:11:44] So text only.

[00:11:45] Here's the number.

[00:11:47] 828.

[00:11:50] 216.

[00:11:52] 4496.

[00:11:54] 828.

[00:11:55] 216.

[00:11:57] 4496.

[00:11:59] This again is from the WNC.

[00:12:01] WNC Regional Livestock Center.

[00:12:04] And they have.

[00:12:05] They have supplies that they can help you.

[00:12:09] You know.

[00:12:09] Keep your animals fed and sheltered.

[00:12:12] Governor Roy Cooper.

[00:12:13] Yesterday.

[00:12:15] Vowed that the state government will continue to provide the resources.

[00:12:19] Western North Carolina communities need to recover.

[00:12:22] He called it an all hands on deck moment.

[00:12:26] He did a briefing.

[00:12:28] With other officials.

[00:12:29] They went over a number of topics.

[00:12:30] And the one that the media really.

[00:12:32] Really.

[00:12:32] Really.

[00:12:32] Really.

[00:12:33] Really.

[00:12:33] Really.

[00:12:33] Really.

[00:12:34] Really.

[00:12:34] Really.

[00:12:34] Really.

[00:12:34] Really.

[00:12:34] Really cares about is misinformation.

[00:12:38] He called out the effects of wide-reaching disinformation.

[00:12:41] That has been spreading in Helene's wake.

[00:12:44] FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.

[00:12:47] Vowed to keep significant assets in North Carolina.

[00:12:50] Even as the agency responds to Hurricane Milton's impending landfall in Florida.

[00:12:55] Florida.

[00:12:56] And Roy Cooper called for direct assistance for small businesses impacted by the storm.

[00:13:02] Let me take a moment here and explain as best I can in what I think is going on here with this constant focus in like virtually every media report on misinformation and disinformation.

[00:13:16] Number one is that there is a shorthand that gets adopted by lazy people whether they are journalists or politicians or commenters on Facebook or whatever.

[00:13:30] And like this is the power of narratives.

[00:13:35] Right.

[00:13:36] That's why like memes work.

[00:13:38] Narratives work.

[00:13:40] Right.

[00:13:40] Coming up with catchy slogans and such.

[00:13:43] Right.

[00:13:43] Advertising campaigns rely on this very same kind of thinking.

[00:13:47] So.

[00:13:48] This misinformation disinformation stuff has been ramping up, you know, every year, probably since.

[00:13:57] Donald Trump came on the scene.

[00:13:59] And now it's just sort of a shorthand where you just say that like the science and data and you could just say that and then you don't have to actually explain anything.

[00:14:09] And look, I have been dealing with this.

[00:14:11] I just went over one of the latest pieces, which is, you know, people are extrapolating out when when word went out last week.

[00:14:20] Hey.

[00:14:21] Don't just drive up into the mountains.

[00:14:24] We know you want to help, but don't just drive up there and, you know, look around for someplace to volunteer.

[00:14:29] You're better off joining an organization that is mobilizing to volunteer to help.

[00:14:36] It's a better use of your time and resources.

[00:14:39] But there are also all sorts of nonprofits and such that have been that have been mobilized as well.

[00:14:46] It's the same idea.

[00:14:48] Do you think that you are?

[00:14:49] Do you think you're more helpful driving a carload of toilet paper up to the mountains, making that trip, driving up there and then trying to find some place to drop off these these supplies?

[00:15:02] Do you think that is a better use of your time and effort and is more helpful to the people up there than it is to say, drop it off at a collection point where it gets loaded into a truck that then gets driven up and then dropped at a location where it's distributed?

[00:15:17] And there's a whole operation already in place.

[00:15:21] I would say the latter is a better use of your time.

[00:15:24] Also, you're not on the road and now you're you're you're no risk.

[00:15:29] You're no encumbrance to any of the emergency response and rescue efforts.

[00:15:33] Right.

[00:15:33] They don't have to worry about you jamming up the the the the the interstate and stuff.

[00:15:39] Right.

[00:15:40] But people people want to now automatically jump to this conclusion that they're trying to stop supplies from coming in.

[00:15:47] And that's not what they said.

[00:15:51] Part of the reason for this, though, is that people have lost all faith and trust in these institutions that they used to trust.

[00:16:00] And now when you don't have trust in these institutions to play fair, to do right by the people and to tell the truth about stuff, this is where we are.

[00:16:10] This is what we get.

[00:16:11] And the institutions that have so besmirched themselves did it to themselves.

[00:16:17] The other part of this is that the media's hyper focus on this misinformation stuff is because their incentives align to promoting that narrative.

[00:16:29] Why?

[00:16:30] Because they want to be the source that you go to.

[00:16:34] That's their incentive.

[00:16:36] So if they can discredit everybody else and make you come to them, they benefit.

[00:16:41] That's part of the incentive structure here.

[00:16:44] I'm not saying you don't need to listen to the media reports.

[00:16:47] I'm not saying that at all.

[00:16:48] I'm just saying recognize the incentives.

[00:16:50] All right.

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[00:18:05] I got a message here regarding the latest outrage being generated over some screenshots of advice that was sent out amongst Blue Cross Blue Shield workers that advised them,

[00:18:19] hey, we are working with the state government and don't just head on up to the mountains and, you know, do some random volunteering, you know, do it through an organized effort.

[00:18:31] And people are like, oh, see that Cooper was slow walking responses.

[00:18:36] He was trying to stop them from volunteering.

[00:18:40] And that advice was given out.

[00:18:43] We were talking about that last week.

[00:18:49] I got a message from Andy who says, I agree with your point about it being better to take supplies to a supply depot if it has been organized and set up with a purpose.

[00:18:59] Well, yes.

[00:19:01] I mean, that would be the point.

[00:19:04] I thought that was to be assumed.

[00:19:06] Is that like that you're dropping it off at a central location locally, like here in Charlotte or in Raleigh or at Wilmington,

[00:19:12] and people are organizing a donation drive to load up, you know, some 18 wheelers or something and then bringing the supplies up.

[00:19:18] That's a better use of your resources than to drive from, you know, Albemarle all the way to Asheville to drop off a carload of toilet paper.

[00:19:29] Right.

[00:19:30] Because that's you're you're creating obstacles by going up there.

[00:19:36] And because then once you drop everything off, you're like, oh, well, what can I do to help?

[00:19:39] And I am a random person.

[00:19:40] What can I do to help?

[00:19:41] And like the the the Blue Cross Blue Shield people in the state agencies were saying rather than do that, deploy with these with organized efforts.

[00:19:52] And we are organizing efforts.

[00:19:55] And I'm sure some people didn't listen to it.

[00:19:58] I look, I don't read that as and look, I know people want to ascribe motive.

[00:20:03] I know this.

[00:20:04] I understand this.

[00:20:05] I try to give people the benefit of the doubt.

[00:20:07] I honestly it would be like I would need to see some evidence to the claim that Roy Cooper, as much as I don't like him and I don't think he knows what he's doing when he's managing disasters.

[00:20:22] I don't think that he had some level of malevolence.

[00:20:26] To try to stick it.

[00:20:28] To the people of Western North Carolina that you can believe that that's fine.

[00:20:33] But that to me is a claim that that needs evidence.

[00:20:39] Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

[00:20:43] And what is it called?

[00:20:45] Is it Hale's razor?

[00:20:46] I think what it's called, where it's like never a tribute to malice.

[00:20:49] What can be explained by incompetence?

[00:20:52] Anyway, back to Andy's message here.

[00:20:55] He says the first week that wasn't the case.

[00:20:58] There was little organization, which is why Lee's towing took 12 trucks up to the volunteer fire departments and churches the first week.

[00:21:07] In week two, he dropped at warehouses, quote unquote, unless somebody reached out to him directly for a load of something specific, like the assistant superintendent of Buncombe County Schools.

[00:21:20] So, again, like I have no problem with people going up and dropping off supplies and delivering things like that.

[00:21:28] But from an organizational standpoint, if you're organizing stuff like Blue Cross Blue Shield was apparently doing, then they're telling their people, hey, we're going to have something.

[00:21:40] This is the way we're going to do it.

[00:21:42] So, if you want to help, this is the way to do it.

[00:21:44] We would recommend you do it this way.

[00:21:46] I don't view that as trying to impede life-saving operations.

[00:21:53] I view it as a different approach.

[00:21:56] And we need all approaches.

[00:21:58] We need all of the above.

[00:21:59] See, I am an all of the above kind of guy.

[00:22:02] I'm not trying to prevent you from doing the thing that you want to do.

[00:22:05] But I am saying there are other options that are available.

[00:22:08] So, you know, we're organizing this big effort.

[00:22:12] So, rather than you making your solo trip, why don't you just make lots of little trips around town, collect a bunch of stuff, drop them here at our location, and we'll run them up there.

[00:22:21] Michael says, people need to realize that there will be more opportunities to go help when the cleanup is finished.

[00:22:26] When rebuilding starts, they will need more able bodies to help.

[00:22:31] Samaritan's Purse and NC Baptist on Mission are two groups that will be big in the rebuilding.

[00:22:37] Thanks for all you are doing.

[00:22:39] That is true.

[00:22:40] Samaritan's Purse.

[00:22:41] I've been touting Samaritan's Purse from the get-go.

[00:22:43] Like, that would be wise to do, right?

[00:22:46] If you really want to get up there.

[00:22:48] And Christy and I had this conversation last night about when do we go up to help and who do we go help through and with and for and all that.

[00:22:55] And, you know, right now, I feel like I could better help doing what I'm doing than to go up there and get in people's way.

[00:23:08] And when we do go up, it'll either be we know somebody that needs our help directly and we're going to go to their house or we're going to go to their property.

[00:23:16] We're going to do something like that.

[00:23:18] And or we will go and hook up with organizations to go help people.

[00:23:23] So this way, we know exactly what it is we're going to go do.

[00:23:27] We know that the need exists.

[00:23:29] And we have the tools and the operations to get something done.

[00:23:33] That's but look, you can do whatever you want to do.

[00:23:36] See, I'm a libertarian.

[00:23:38] Like you do what you want.

[00:23:40] Do we have a name for line one?

[00:23:42] Hello, unnamed person.

[00:23:45] Thank you, unnamed person.

[00:23:46] Thank you, Pete.

[00:23:47] Thank you for not coming up here to use a chainsaw.

[00:23:51] Your skills are better where you are, my dear.

[00:23:54] Well, I appreciate it.

[00:23:55] I know my limits.

[00:23:56] But I'm trying not to prejudge, as you always tell us not to do.

[00:24:04] But misinformation, I don't know yet what's misinformation or not.

[00:24:08] One of the things we ran into yesterday was a lineman up on Ox Creek.

[00:24:12] And he was furious because he hadn't seen a FEMA truck yet.

[00:24:16] He can't.

[00:24:17] He said, I'm here to put up telephone poles and string electrical lines.

[00:24:23] I can't.

[00:24:24] I'm not.

[00:24:25] And it was like they were expecting him to cut brush and trees and their bridges he can't go across.

[00:24:33] And he said he had been all over the country working.

[00:24:35] And he had never seen anything like that anywhere else he'd worked in the country.

[00:24:39] Right.

[00:24:39] So the first thing...

[00:24:41] Is that misinformation?

[00:24:42] No.

[00:24:43] And so, like, my question there is, is that a FEMA issue or is that a North Carolina Department of Public Safety governor's office response issue?

[00:24:53] You know, like, who's...

[00:24:54] I'm telling you because you have access to more information than I do.

[00:24:58] But it is a terrible situation up here.

[00:25:01] Just the volume of the trees.

[00:25:04] I mean, it is terrible.

[00:25:05] And the Chainsaw Boys that Mark Starling is working with, they're wonderful.

[00:25:12] Yep.

[00:25:12] Other tree companies that could come in and work with them because they know that business would be a blessing.

[00:25:20] And coordinate through Mark Starling and through those other guys.

[00:25:24] That would be a blessing.

[00:25:26] You know, it appears there's a lot of water.

[00:25:28] And it appears there you can find a mill somewhere.

[00:25:31] Right.

[00:25:31] But right now, it's extremely difficult still for the debris and the roads.

[00:25:39] And I'm used to hearing about national contracts being let to preferred vendors for disaster relief and where they're supposed to come in and clear this stuff out.

[00:25:49] And does FEMA have their own trucks?

[00:25:52] Or are these trucks up here working?

[00:25:55] Shouldn't they have a FEMA tag on them?

[00:25:56] I haven't seen one yet.

[00:25:58] I don't know.

[00:25:59] I don't know if there are FEMA tags.

[00:26:01] I think they...

[00:26:02] I don't know.

[00:26:03] Right.

[00:26:03] I think they contract with vendors.

[00:26:06] And then, of course, they get attacked for doing that.

[00:26:10] Because...

[00:26:11] And all of the relief organizations have deals with particular vendors where they get better rates.

[00:26:16] And they can get access to stuff for cheaper and more quickly.

[00:26:21] It would not surprise me if FEMA and the state have certain things like that.

[00:26:26] Where they've got people that have already been vetted.

[00:26:29] You know, so you're not getting some yokel coming in with, you know, with some faulty equipment or whatever getting injured and then suing the state.

[00:26:37] You know, like...

[00:26:38] Well, for example...

[00:26:39] Yeah.

[00:26:40] In years past, Davy Tree Company, or DTS, I think they're calling out of Greenville, South Carolina, was given a lot of national contracts.

[00:26:48] I haven't seen any of their trucks up here.

[00:26:50] I haven't seen a Splunda up here.

[00:26:52] I haven't seen people that may have been here on a normal basis.

[00:26:56] They're not here.

[00:26:58] So where is here?

[00:26:59] Is that just...

[00:27:00] Is that your...

[00:27:01] In western North Carolina, in Henderson County, Buncombe County, Haywood County, you name it.

[00:27:07] You've been all over those and not seen any tree services?

[00:27:12] We're seeing...

[00:27:13] We're not...

[00:27:14] All they do, as my understanding, is they go for disasters.

[00:27:19] They're...

[00:27:19] And they're, I guess, one of those FEMA preferred vendors.

[00:27:22] But I guess what we're not seeing is that kind of thing.

[00:27:26] But then...

[00:27:27] I'm not everywhere, but I'm in a lot of places.

[00:27:30] Right.

[00:27:31] But I'm hoping you can help figure it out, because if they're really here and we don't know it,

[00:27:36] it would be nice if somebody said, well, we've got crews up here.

[00:27:40] They do have crews up there.

[00:27:41] I mean, I don't know which company...

[00:27:43] Yeah.

[00:27:43] I mean, well, look, I mean, they are clearing...

[00:27:46] I mean, they've got thousands, tens of thousands of trees that are down, right?

[00:27:50] They've got...

[00:27:52] They have, like, for example, the DOT stuff.

[00:27:54] They've got 5,800 sites that have sustained damage, road damage.

[00:27:59] 500 bridges.

[00:28:00] 600 culverts.

[00:28:02] 100 bridges need to be absolutely replaced.

[00:28:06] NCDOT's got more than 2,000...

[00:28:07] I've seen them every day.

[00:28:08] Yeah.

[00:28:08] NCDOT's got 2,100 employees there.

[00:28:12] They got hundreds more of contract employees.

[00:28:15] So, like, because of the size of the geographical area that was hit, I mean, like, coordinating, you know, that scale of a disaster response, like, part of me keeps coming back to this idea that this is unprecedented.

[00:28:29] Nobody has ever dealt with the challenges that this disaster is presenting.

[00:28:35] And, you know, I want to try to give people that are on site the benefit of the doubt that they are working as best they can, but I also recognize that there are people in government that are probably impeding some of those efforts.

[00:28:48] Both of those things can be true, you know?

[00:28:51] But I just, I try not to paint with this broad brush that nobody is there, nobody is anywhere, because I know there are people around all of the 25 affected counties.

[00:29:03] I just don't know where exactly they are and what precise work they are doing.

[00:29:07] Now, that being said, I am also aware of reports that people are up there waiting to do work, and they haven't been given the green light or the order to go work someplace.

[00:29:16] So they're just sitting around waiting for orders.

[00:29:19] Like, that's a problem, too.

[00:29:20] There needs to be an autopsy done on the disaster response at the state level to identify these shortcomings.

[00:29:28] But I appreciate the call.

[00:29:29] So when I was a kid, my grandpa died with Alzheimer's.

[00:29:32] And before he died, my mom and my dad and all of us really helped take care of him as he got progressively worse.

[00:29:38] 40 years ago, there were no treatments and not much support for caregivers and family.

[00:29:43] Things are different today because of the work of so many people, including the Alzheimer's Association of Western North Carolina.

[00:29:49] It's a great organization with awesome people.

[00:29:52] They've got huge hearts.

[00:29:53] I've been a supporter for like 25 years.

[00:29:55] This cause means a lot to me.

[00:29:57] I participate in the annual walk to end Alzheimer's, and I am leading a Charlotte team this year.

[00:30:03] It's called Pete's Pack.

[00:30:04] You can sign up and join the team and walk with me.

[00:30:07] It's on October 19th at Truist Field in Uptown.

[00:30:10] Sign up at alz.org slash walk and then just look for my team, Pete's Pack.

[00:30:16] And there's also a link in the podcast description here.

[00:30:18] Also, I'm going to be emceeing the Gastonia Walk on October 5th.

[00:30:22] So make a team and join us or make a donation to help me hit my goal.

[00:30:25] I would really appreciate it.

[00:30:27] There are a bunch of other walks around the Carolinas, and you can go to alz.org for all of the dates and locations.

[00:30:34] We are closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer's, and if you can help us get there, we would really appreciate it.

[00:30:41] Will you come walk with me for a different future, for families, for more time, for treatments?

[00:30:47] This is why I walk.

[00:30:51] Let me get Mike on.

[00:30:52] Mike, I have about a minute for you.

[00:30:55] What's up?

[00:30:55] Okay.

[00:30:56] All right.

[00:30:57] I've got a friend.

[00:30:58] I'm from Kings Mountain, and I've got a friend that owns a trucking company that has about 40 trucks.

[00:31:05] He got a call from someone from the state and wanted to know if he would go up and help.

[00:31:11] And his question to them was, who is going to pay him?

[00:31:16] And he said, well, this will be the work from FEMA.

[00:31:18] And he said he'd be glad to do the work if the state said to pay him but not from FEMA because he knows some other companies out west that had dental work for FEMA

[00:31:29] and said they still haven't been paid, and it's been over a year.

[00:31:32] So he elected not to go help.

[00:31:34] So that may be some of the problems where we haven't got some of the debris at all cleaned up there that they just don't know when they're going to get paid.

[00:31:44] No, yeah.

[00:31:45] And look, I am not a defender of the government response to any of this, right?

[00:31:51] And what you've outlined to me would be something that is fixable if identified, right?

[00:31:57] Why were crews not paid?

[00:32:00] Like, first off, is that true?

[00:32:02] To what extent is it true?

[00:32:03] How many crews were affected?

[00:32:05] How many companies affected?

[00:32:06] All of that.

[00:32:07] Find that information out.

[00:32:08] Not you personally, Mike, but lawmakers should be requiring that level of inspection and accountability on the back end.

[00:32:17] I appreciate the call, Mike.

[00:32:19] And in order to then improve on the response.

[00:32:23] And part of the problem with all these large government agencies is that, right, when they start doing more and more and more,

[00:32:29] they start mission creeping all over the place and they don't do the thing that they're actually established to do.

[00:32:34] So I am not saying I'm defending the FEMA operations or the state operations.

[00:32:39] I just bristle at the generalization that or the sweeping statements of there's nothing happening.

[00:32:46] Nobody's helping.

[00:32:47] There's no help coming from, you know, anything like that's because I know that's not the case.

[00:32:52] Now, is it adequate?

[00:32:53] Is it according to plan?

[00:32:55] That I cannot tell you.

[00:32:57] But I also know we may have never, we have never seen something like this before.

[00:33:01] It is a unique challenge.

[00:33:03] All right.

[00:33:03] I'll see you on Monday.

[00:33:04] Don't break anything while I'm gone.

[00:33:06] All right.

[00:33:06] That'll do it for this episode.

[00:33:07] Thank you so much for listening.

[00:33:09] I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast.

[00:33:14] So if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here.

[00:33:17] You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepcalendorshow.com.

[00:33:22] Again, thank you so much for listening and don't break anything while I'm gone.

[00:33:27] Thank you.