As Carter’s work was again getting prominent attention on Thursday’s National Day of Mourning, Smith said he hopes more community members will follow in his footsteps.

“What we’re hoping is that in reflecting on the life of Jimmy Carter, people would think about his life of service and consider how they could get involved with our organization,” he said. “There’s lots of volunteer opportunities — it’s not just about building houses but finding ways to be in service to others, there’s lots of other ways to volunteer and be in service with us.”

Gov.-elect Matt Meyer echoed those sentiments as he reflected on the best way to honor Carter’s legacy.

“About a week ago, someone on my team called and said, ‘President Carter’s funeral is going to be in D.C., and we think we can get you in,’” Meyer said. “I thought about it for 24 hours and said, ‘What am I going to the funeral for?’ The best way to honor the former president is to get out and do something. And I know there’s nothing closer to President Carter’s heart than Habitat for Humanity.”

Meyer also emphasized Carter’s enduring influence on addressing poverty and housing challenges.

“We live in a world today that’s pretty different than the one in 1981 when President Carter left the White House,” he said. “Yet, poverty doesn’t seem to be going away. We have to redouble our efforts, get our hands a little dirty like Jimmy Carter did time and again, and see what we can do to help fix the problem.”

As Carter was being remembered at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., Thursday morning, Habitat continued to expand on his vision with 12 new homes under construction on Wilmington’s East Side as volunteers, leaders and homeowners donned hard hats and picked up tools to help in the work.

“On a day like today, [we] get our hands a little dirty, like Jimmy Carter did time and time again,” Meyer said.

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Residents in parts of Mercer County, New Jersey have been urged to limit their water use following frigid overnight temperatures that caused ice to build up in the Delaware River.

Trenton Water Works customers were advised Wednesday evening to only use their tap water for essential purposes. The utility was unable to draw its water supply from the Delaware River because of frazil ice — a collection of ice crystals known to block water intakes.

The Delaware River Basin provides drinking water for more than 13 million people across Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.

Trenton Water Works recently spent $9 million to prevent water intake blockages, and a design flaw is likely to blame for the rare incident, said spokesman Michael Walker.

“This has never happened before. We have had issues with low river levels, but we haven’t really had an ice issue,” Walker said. “Frazil ice is unique in its geometry and what’s happening is that the frazil ice is clogging the screens of the intake, which is underwater and not allowing water to flow from the river into the intake which then enters the plant for treatment.”

Trenton Water Works is currently purchasing bulk water from New Jersey American Water through an interconnection.

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The U.S. Coast Guard is attempting to free a cargo ship that ran aground Wednesday night along the Delaware River in Philadelphia.

The 623-foot motor vessel, named “Algoma Verity,” became stuck outside the main shipping channel about a mile north of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The cause of the incident is currently unknown, according to the Coast Guard.

The ship was carrying about 45,000 tons of solar salt, which is commonly used for water softening. There have been no reports of pollution, and the Coast Guard is monitoring the situation.

The Coast Guard is working on a plan to safely move the vessel to a nearby terminal. Vessel traffic is currently restricted between the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and the Tioga Marine terminal.