Grisly photos show North Carolina runner who narrowly survived bear attack

Published

1 year ago

July 25, 2023

Grisly photos show North Carolina runner who narrowly survived bear attack

A North Carolina jogger narrowly avoided being badly mauled by a mother bear defending her cub earlier this month — and there are photos showing he survived with just gnarly scratches to prove it.

Bill Palas of Asheville says he was running on the trails in Pisgah National Forest, which borders his yard, on the morning of July 7 when he crossed paths with a bear cub, according to WLOS.

“When you see a cub like that, there’s usually a mom around,” he recalled.

“So I go and I turn around real quick – and all of a sudden, there I see the momma bear.”

The experienced trail runner waved his hands and yelled as the large female bear charged him, he told the outlet.

She diverted down a hill before returning with her claws in full force.

Bill Palas was hospitalized after being confronted by an angry mother bear.

Courtesy Bill Palas

“She stands up on her back legs, and here’s this head – her head must have been the size of a basketball – and it’s right here,” Palas said of the terrifying moment.

“She takes her claw, and she rakes it across my face and chest.”

Photos from after the encounter show Palas reclining with his face covered in bloody gashes.

Palas' bloody hand and arm. — At one point, Palas’s arm ended up in the bear’s mouth.

He said the bear’s claws felt like razor blades slicing into his flesh.

Ever after getting a few swipes in, the bear wasn’t done.

When Palas tried to use his arm to shove her away, his limb ended up in the mother bear’s mouth, he said.

Finally, the animal knocked him on his back and sauntered over to her cub – leaving Palas the perfect window of escape.

Palas with stitches. — A plastic surgeon took three hours to stitch all of Palas’s wounds.

“I was running on adrenaline and shock. I got 20 yards or so down the steep hill, and I surveyed myself. You know, ‘How bad am I?’ All I know is blood is just gushing out everywhere,” he recalled.

Palas eventually made it back to his house, where his wife rushed him to the hospital.

“They brought in a special facial plastic surgeon, you know, ’cause they saw I was all tore up on the face,” he said of the ordeal.

Bill Palas. — Palas has been jogging the trails near his house for over 30 years, he said.

“He spent three hours sewing on me.

“I just feel so lucky that I’m together. I mean, seeing these 3-inch razor claws, I could see them this close to my face. Man, it’s just surreal,” he continued.

Palas added that his near-miss will not deter him from enjoying the trails in the future – and that his experience might even become a sort of superpower.

Bill Palas' house. — Palas’s home backs up onto the nearby wilderness.

“It’s kind of like lightning rarely strikes someone — but it struck me this time,” he said.

“I definitely have some wilderness street cred now ’cause, how many people do you know that’s been attacked by a bear?”

Palas’ survival story is welcome news after the horrifying death of a beloved Kansas teacher who is believed to have been mauled by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park over the weekend.

Amie Adamson’s remains were found in the Buttermilk Trail area Saturday.

Park officials confirmed that grizzly trackers were spotted near her body.

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‘Sexiest Collard Farmer’ contest sows drama as competitors wilt under new, strict photo considerations

Published

14 mins ago

November 25, 2024

Press Room

‘Sexiest Collard Farmer’ contest sows drama as competitors wilt under new, strict photo considerations

They’re feeling a little hot under the collard.

Come-hither cultivators vying for the title of North Carolina’s “sexiest collard farmer” are wilting with disappointment because they got down and dirty entering steamy pictures — only to be told they should have put some dressing on that salad.

“I’m a little disappointed that this year they did not post my picture,” said farmer and defending champion Lee Berry, referring to the contest organizer’s Facebook page.

Berry, 54, submitted a photo of himself wearing what he thought any true sex symbol of collard greenery should wear – nothing but collard greens themselves – and was sure he would clinch the crown again.

But the competition’s organizer – who holds voting for the contest on his Facebook page, “The State You’re In” – said he feared Berry’s photo might get flagged by Facebook’s censors and bring the entire contest crashing down.

“You don’t want to lose your account for posting nudity or things like that,” said the organizer, who asked to remain unnamed, to the Telegraph.

“There’s three photos that I didn’t even want to post on social media,” he added.

Though Berry’s photo remains in the running, rather than being featured at the top of the page along with more than 20 other competitors he was asked to post his photo in the comments below the vote.

Since the winner is determined by the photo that get the most “likes,” Berry thinks his chances of reclaiming the crown are seriously limited by his photo’s reduced exposure.

“I’m not whining and b—hing and griping, but I just, I would have loved to have known beforehand that that wasn’t going to be displayed,” he said.

And Berry isn’t the only entrant with a leaf to pick.

David Correll, 50, went all out to take down Berry this year and stripped down for a candle-lit photoshoot in a bathtub full of collard greens.

But his photo was bumped into the comments section, too, over fears it could be flagged by Facebook — leaving him somewhat baffled by the decision.

“My picture showed a lot less skin than a lot of pictures you can find on Facebook, so I’m not really sure why they decided to censor it a little bit, but that’s OK,” he said.

Facebook’s community standards bar sexually explicit or suggestive photos and specifically name “visible genitalia” or sex acts as being banned — none of which Berry, Correll or anybody in the running submitted.

But the organizer said he didn’t want to run the risk and plans to amend the entry rules for next year’s competition to keep things more deliberately PG.

“I think next year we’re going to make it where it’s a little more family friendly,” he said.

With voting due to close by Tuesday, the current favorite to take home the 2024 crown is Patrick Brown, of Brown Family Farms, whose photo of himself looking cool-eyed into the camera alongside a green bushel has garnered a commanding lead of more than 3,500 votes.

A website — http://www.CollardsOnly.com — has been set up to help organize the competition, which will turn the entrants’ photos into a calendar and raise funds to donate to Hurricane Helene victims.

Even though the crown may elude Berry and Correll this year, both know it’s all about fun at the end of the day.

“It’s all for fun, you know, just for laughs, and I’ve had a lot of phone calls from friends and some of my customers that got a real kick out of it, so that’s the main reason to do it, just to have a little fun,” Correll said.

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North Carolina

NC State, North Carolina have interesting recruiting histories

Published

8 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Press Room

NC State, North Carolina have interesting recruiting histories

NC State and North Carolina usually battle for in-state recruits up to a certain point, but some consider both schools until the end.

NC State travels to play at North Carolina at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, and this year’s contest has a twist. The Wolfpack will play against former teammates Joshua Harris, a 6-foot-4, 325-pound senior nose tackle, and senior safety Jakeen Harris, who have no relation to each other.

Harris is the starting safety and has 55 tackles, one tackle for loss and three passes broken up. Joshua Harris is on the second string and has 19 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble.

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North Carolina

NC Lottery Lucky For Life, Pick 3 Day results for Nov. 24, 2024

Published

16 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Press Room

The NC Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024 results for each game:

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Nov. 24 drawing

07-11-14-26-48, Lucky Ball: 15

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Nov. 24 drawing

Day: 2-7-2, Fireball: 8

Evening: 8-0-3, Fireball: 9

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Nov. 24 drawing

Day: 3-1-6-5, Fireball: 8

Evening: 6-9-0-6, Fireball: 9

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 5 numbers from Nov. 24 drawing

02-12-20-22-29

Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Double Play numbers from Nov. 24 drawing

07-19-21-31-35

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All North Carolina Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599.

For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at North Carolina Lottery Offices. By mail, send a prize claim form, your signed lottery ticket, copies of a government-issued photo ID and social security card to: North Carolina Education Lottery, P.O. Box 41606, Raleigh, NC 27629. Prize claims less than $600 do not require copies of photo ID or a social security card.

To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a prize claim form and deliver the form, along with your signed lottery ticket and government-issued photo ID and social security card to any of these locations:

Asheville Regional Office & Claim Center: 16-G Regent Park Blvd., Asheville, NC 28806, 877-625-6886 press #1. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
Greensboro Regional Office & Claim Center: 20A Oak Branch Drive, Greensboro, NC 27407, 877-625-6886 press #2. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
Charlotte Regional Office & Claim Center: 5029-A West W. T. Harris Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28269-1861, 877-625-6886 press #3. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
NC Lottery Headquarters: Raleigh Claim Center & Regional Office, 2728 Capital Blvd., Suite 144, Raleigh, NC 27604, 877-625-6886 press #4. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Greenville Regional Office & Claim Center: 2790 Dickinson Avenue, Suite A, Greenville, NC 27834, 877-625-6886 press #5. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
Wilmington Regional Office & Claim Center: 123 North Cardinal Drive Extension, Suite 140, Wilmington, NC 28405, 877-625-6886 press #6. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://nclottery.com/.

When are the North Carolina Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky for Life: 10:38 p.m. daily.
Pick 3, 4: 3:00 p.m. and 11:22 p.m. daily.
Cash 5: 11:22 p.m. daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Carolina Connect editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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