North Carolina
Man jumps into raging North Carolina river to save woman as home swept away by Helene
Eddie Hunnell was in Holly Springs, NC for his son’s wedding at the peak of Helene’s wrath when they got word a woman was trapped in a flooded home down the street, and the situation was becoming more dire by the second.
GRASSY CREEK, N.C. – Eddie Hunnell jumped head-first into a raging North Carolina river to save a woman who was swept into the current by powerful Hurricane Helene floodwater.
The daring rescue occurred in the mountainous town of Grassy Creek, where heavy rainfall from Helene sent the New River surging over its banks.
Hunnell was in town for his son’s wedding. He and family members were getting ready for the rehearsal dinner when the storm continued to intensify, with trees falling and river waters rising.
Through the trees, the home could be seen floating down the river.
(Eddie Hunnell / FOX Weather)
As Hunnell and his family were waiting to see whether the storm would need to cancel the dinner, Hunnell said he saw multiple homes caught in the surging river.
“And somebody came in and said, ‘There’s a woman trapped in the house right up the road.’ And so the entire group of us that were there, about 15 people went up to see if we could help,” Hunnell said.
In one of those homes, he saw a woman standing on the second floor and wearing a lifejacket.
“We had tried to figure out how we could get her out, but the water was 10 feet deep and just roaring by the house,” he said.
Then the situation became even more desperate.
“The house started moving, floating down the river and falling apart,” Hunnell said. “I didn’t want her trapped in it.”
Hunnell, along with the people he was with, urged the woman to jump into the river – and she did.
“I couldn’t get to her in that canoe there,” he said. “And I didn’t see another option. I didn’t want her to see her drowned. And so I jumped in to get to her.”
Hunnell hugging the woman he saved.
(Eddie Hunnell / FOX Weather)
Video of the incident shows Hunnell swimming towards the woman.
“The biggest concern other than the fast water was the debris in it,” he said. “I didn’t want that house to come down on us. We went through that 150 yards of really fast water, and there were obstructions on both sides. And we just had to ride that out. After that 150 yards or so, I was holding on to the back of her life vest and the river spread out a little bit, got wider, and those obstructions ended.”
He was able to side swim with her out of the rapids and eventually back to shore where she had an emotional reunion with her husband.
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“We got out, reunited her with her husband and then, you know, it was over. And then it was back to thinking about the wedding,” he said. “We invited them to the rehearsal dinner,” though he added the rehearsal part was canceled.
The wedding did go as planned on Saturday with reminders of nature’s destructive powers.
“And so we had had a nice wedding – in that picture… you can see the debris in the grass,” he said.
“Behind that debris is from, you know, some of it from their house, from the worst house. It was the hardest thing watching somebody lose their house right in front of them. That was very hard. I had seen four other houses that day go down the river. So I saw at least five houses, you know, five people’s lives torn apart.”
North Carolina
North Carolina couple accused of causing vulture invasion sued by furious town: ‘Not good neighbors’
A North Carolina couple accused of luring hordes of vultures to their home and unleashing chaos on neighbors for years is being hauled to court by fed-up town officials desperate to end the feathered frenzy.
The Town of Hillsborough slapped residents Kenneth and Linda Ostrand with a civil petition, seeking a court order to shut down their relentless bird-feeding habit, blamed for allegedly drawing dozens of winged scavengers to their home and terrorizing their small town for the past two years.
“They’re a little spooky to be frank,” concerned neighbor Holden Richards told WTVD.
“Everybody thinks they’re ugly and stuff but they’re not good neighbors. They have sharp talons, so they’re not great animals to have perching on your house. I watched them pick tiles off my neighbor’s roof and I found tiles from my roof in my front yard, so I have a feeling that’s exactly where they came from.”
The bird-brained couple is accused of leaving out food scraps for vultures, allegedly reeling in the feathered predators that have swarmed and roosted near their house, leaving foul-smelling droppings on neighbors’ homes and vehicles and causing widespread property damage deemed a risk to public safety.
The complaint, filed in March, also claims the twisted pair named the birds of prey – with eerie photos submitted to the court showing dozens of vultures circling their Queens Street home, the outlet reported.
“I’m pretty sure that every one of my neighbors has probably called,” Richards said, pointing to a flood of complaints made to town officials since May 2024.
The Ostrands reportedly filed a motion to dismiss the town’s case last month, denying the accusations.
Linda Ostrand, a longtime wildlife rescuer, told WTVD she is being unfairly targeted by her community and claimed the circling creatures were already an issue before she moved into the neighborhood.
“It’s sort of, it’s ridiculous, is what it is,” Linda said, noting the town changed an ordinance after the initial wave of complaints to ban wildlife feeding beyond standard feeders.
“If people didn’t have vultures around here you would hear them screaming bloody murder about the town not cleaning up the animals that have been hit by cars, because that’s what they do, they are nature’s garbage disposal,” she continued.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, tell the vultures that this is a no-feed zone. I just don’t know.”
No court date has reportedly been scheduled for the couple’s fight with the town.
North Carolina
Businesses worry of potential impacts as Marion tightens water restrictions amid drought
MARION, N.C. (WLOS) — The City of Marion is tightening water restrictions as drought conditions persist across western North Carolina, prompting local businesses to prepare for possible impacts on daily operations.
The drought monitor released on Thursday, May 14, shows that extreme drought now covers 90% of western North Carolina.
ASHEVILLE IS MORE THAN 7 INCHES BELOW AVERAGE RAINFALL THIS YEAR, DATA SHOWS
As the region continues moving into a hotter and drier pattern, the City of Marion officials announced Stage Two water shortage restrictions less than a month after issuing a Stage One Water Advisory.
Businesses in Marion said the quick escalation is raising concerns about what could come next if drought conditions persist.
“They put us in stage one at the end of April and already it’s not through, it’s not the end of May and they’re already putting us in stage two,” said Barbara Brown, owner of Bruce’s.
Under the Stage Two restrictions, watering lawns, gardens and golf courses will be prohibited. Washing cars, filling residential swimming pools and serving water in restaurants except upon request will not be allowed.
Brown said her restaurant is already taking steps to conserve water.
“We check the bathrooms often to make sure people have turned the water off because we have found from time to time, people leave them running,” she added.
She said she worries stronger restrictions could eventually force businesses to make bigger operational changes.
“I’m concerned that eventually we might have to go to paper plates, paper cups, silverware,” Brown said.
Other businesses are also considering adjustments.
Kat Garner, a tattoo artist at Blue Ridge Tattoo, said water shortages could affect how the shop operates day to day.
LEADERS URGE WATER CONSERVATION AS DROUGHT DEEPENS ACROSS WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
“We would definitely be reduced to using distilled water for everything, which would become harder if everyone’s buying it out, so that would definitely make things a little bit more difficult,” Garner said.
The Stage Two water restrictions are set to begin Friday, May 15, at 8 a.m. and will last until further notice.
North Carolina
Police: North Carolina man charged after high-speed chase in Erie County, arrested in the Town of Perry
PERRY, N.Y. — A North Carolina man is in custody after a chase that started in Erie County and ended with an arrest in Perry.
Wyoming County Sheriff’s deputies say Ericson Vasquez-Moran, 22, rammed a Border Patrol vehicle in Erie County around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday before taking off. The suspect was spotted in Warsaw on Route 20A, but a chase was called off due to high speeds.
Then around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, deputies say Vasquez-Moran called 911 from Perry to surrender.
He’s charged with speeding, failure to keep right, unlawful fleeing a police officer, reckless driving, and reckless endangerment in the second degree.
Vasquez-Moran was given an appearance ticket for the Village of Warsaw Court and was released to the custody of the United States Border Patrol.
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