Kentucky
Kentucky families describe reconnecting with their kids in Asheville, NC
LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Kentucky family is hugging their son a little tighter tonight after he got home from Asheville, North Carolina, following the deadly flooding that pushed through the mountain city.
Once the Sajadi family’s son, Will Sajadi, was back in their arms, safe, it was like a breath of relief.
Will attends Asheville School as a junior. He explains how storms began Wednesday night, picking up speed on Thursday. “When you started to see the trees kind of swaying. Then branches started flying off and then as I saw yesterday. A solar panel flew off the roof of one of the buildings.”
As winds picked up speed and flash floods set in, Will lost all contact with his parents as cell towers and power lines were downed. This was all from the remnants of Hurricane Helene, which forced floodwaters into the mountain city.
Will says there was no power, little food, two 16-oz water bottles, and no cell service for three days. Will says the toilets stopped working, and nobody could shower. The only way to make a toilet flush was to dump a bucket of water down it.
The only building on campus with a generator is the student service center. The student center offered food and activities for the students as well as the only building with cell service to contact loved ones. Will explains how the school was not flooded as badly as other areas because it sits on a hilltop. However, nobody had a way in or out of the city, and access to food and clean water was hard to find.
A majority of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee remain flood-striken. Trapping dozens of people within its cities and providing supplies by helicopter. As of Sunday, nearly 30 people have been killed in Asheville from the storm.
“It bothered me that I couldn’t tell them what was going on and that I was okay, but I knew that I was gonna be okay,” said Will.
“Saturday morning when we woke up and we hadn’t heard from him since two and we saw I-40 had collapsed,” recalls Kristin. “I was very nervous. I was ready to just start walking. I was like I don’t care if our car won’t get there, I want to get there.”
By a miracle, a random woman reached out to Kristin to let her know she will attempt to drive to Asheville to pickup her kid and would bring Will home too.
Cell service didn’t return for Will until he was two hours outside of Asheville when he could text his mom, “I’m okay.”
“Sense of relief. Just confirmation we knew he was safe. I don’t want to cry but it was a lot of relief. And stress for the people who aren’t able to get to safety like we were fortunate,” explains Kaveh, Will’s dad, and Kristin.
Both parents thank the school for keeping their son safe and going above and beyond.
Another Kentucky mom, Allison Tucker, whose daughter is still at the University of Asheville, also thanks her daughter’s school for keeping her safe. She says her daughter was able to hunker down with food and water before the storm wiped out everything. Now, one of the biggest issues is a low amount of fuel in the area.
Allison Tucker, daughter is still in Asheville, North Carolina
“Having that no communication over that time period. Not knowing, I know she was fine, but not knowing where are you, stay put just trying to get that message to them of stay put do not leave,” explains Tucker.
It’s unclear when the roads and areas will be safe again, but agencies ask that people stay off roads so they can clear them faster.
Asheville School is set to resume classes Sunday, Oct. 6.
Kentucky
Kentucky among Southeastern states receiving FEMA disaster recovery funding
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced the approval of nearly $23 million in funding to support natural disaster recovery throughout the Southeast.
Kentucky is among several states receiving funds for state-managed recovery programs after Hurricane Helene and other past disasters hit the Southeast, a news release from FEMA said.
According to FEMA, Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee will administer more than $2.1 million for disaster unemployment assistance to help those who may not be able to work as a direct result of a disaster.
Kentucky, alongside Georgia and Tennessee, was also awarded $2.4 million to fund crisis counseling and mental health support.
The funds will help pay for counselors and other services to help people with disaster-related stress and trauma, according to FEMA.
More information about state-managed recovery programs funded by FEMA can be found on the agency’s website.
Copyright 2026 WKYT. All rights reserved.
Kentucky
Kentucky mother, daughter turn down $26 million offer for their land: “It’s priceless”
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Kentucky
Key dates and a possible sneak peek for Kentucky Basketball fans
During his recent radio show, Pope offered a sobering reality check regarding the timeline for the rest of his staff overhaul.
“We’re going through a little bit of a hiring process that will be ongoing—probably for the next six weeks,” Pope explained. “We could have some closure on some things quickly, but I can’t really talk in detail about anything until it gets through the whole HR process.”
In a vacuum, a six-week HR timeline is standard corporate procedure. But in the modern landscape of college basketball, that timeline is a massive hurdle because of the newly accelerated Transfer Portal window instituted by the NCAA.
The 15-Day Transfer Portal window
Players cannot officially enter their names into the Transfer Portal until April 7th. However, anyone paying attention knows that backdoor deals are already being orchestrated, and agents are prematurely announcing their clients’ intentions to leave. It is an unregulated mess, but it is the reality of the sport.
That April 7th opening is the first major date to circle on your calendar.
Once the portal opens, it remains active for exactly 15 days. When that window slams shut, no new names can enter. There are no graduate exemptions or special loopholes for late decisions. If a player plans on transferring, they must formally notify their current school before that 15-day window expires on April 21st at 11:59 PM. If they miss the deadline, they are stuck.
Mark Pope has to have his staff aligned, his evaluations complete, and his recruiting pitches perfected before that window opens. It is indeed a very short clock as the coaching staff looks to change drastically.
Once the dust from the transfer portal finally settles, the new-look Wildcats will quickly hit the floor.
Official mid-June practices will tip off the summer schedule, but Pope recently hinted that an international offseason trip is currently in the works. Per NCAA rules, college basketball programs are only allowed to take these foreign exhibition tours once every four years.
If the trip gets finalized, BBN will get a highly anticipated, early look at this brand-new roster competing against actual opponents long before Big Blue Madness in the fall.
Needless to say, it is going to be an incredibly busy, high-stakes few months in Lexington.
Any guesses on where Pope and company plan on going? And do you like the new Transfer Portal window?
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