Tennessee
Food, water, shelter, roads: Where to get help in Tennessee after Hurricane Helene
Need information in Tennessee about Hurricane Helen devastation? Knox News is here to help sort things out.
We’re sharing information as we find it below.
Stay safe from floods by checking the weather warnings (we’re not out the woods yet)
Flood warnings are still in place at various locations for various reasons, and they expire at different times.
We have compiled them in one place so you can stay abreast of the changes.
Seriously: Stay off the roads if you can
North Carolina officials are continuing to advise that drivers do not go out on the roads due to the floods and the structure damage the rising water may have caused, and some of the same advice is true in Tennessee as well.
“We’re still urging people to stay at home,” said Kelse Edwards, a Communications officer for the North Carolina Department of Transportation. “There’s no good ways to travel around that area, basically in the western part of the state.”
A worry is that floodwaters have destabilized the ground under roads and bridges.
Tennessee State Troopers are on duty on Interstate 40 and other roadways across East Tennessee to stop drivers from entering flooded areas.
“You do not ever need to attempt to drive across a roadway that’s flooded, turn around and don’t drown,” said Lt. Bill Miller, a public information officer for the Tennessee Highway Patrol. “Your vehicle will be swept away very quickly in current swift moving waters.”
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Where to get food and water in Newport
There are still some areas without power, but officials are trying to restore all power as quickly as possible, according to Newport City Administrator James Finchum.
Water access is a more challenging issue. Intake for the water system is on the French Broad River. The operations building that powers the pumps is under water. Until the water recedes, officials cannot determine how long running water will be unavailable. This is the longest time access to water has been limited, Finchum said.
Drinking water and food supplies are being passed out to those who need it at the Professional Development Center in Newport at 601 W. Broadway St.
Hospital in Newport is at a limited capacity
Newport Medical Center is open and operating, though at a limited capacity due to the lack of water.
The emergency department, medical surgical unit, intensive care unit and labor and delivery unit are fully operational, according to Scott Williams, chief executive officer of Newport Medical Center.
Need shelter tonight in Cocke County?
The Cocke County Superintendent Manney Moore said Parrottsville Elementary School at 1901 Old Parrottsville Highway is still open as an emergency shelter. There are currently 20-25 people there and there is room to house 30 people comfortably.
Centerview Elementary School is closed. All occupants at that emergency shelter have been able to return to stay with friends or family.
The Newport Community Center at 426 Cosby Highway is also open as an emergency shelter for anyone displaced.
Check for school cancellations
Classes are canceled Monday at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, an East Tennessee community hit hard by floods.
The university campus itself will be open for other functions, but classes will not be held.
Greene County Schools will be closed all next week, Monday through Friday.
TBI establishes hotline for missing people
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has a hotline for reports of missing people: 800-TBI-FIND.
“Callers should be prepared to relay as much identifying information as possible, including names, phone numbers, vehicle identification, and last known whereabouts,” the TBI said in a news release.
TBI will coordinate with local police on any reports sent in.
Do not call about property, the TBI said.
Tennessee
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Tennessee
Childhood friends reunite during cancer treatments 50 years after serving in Tennessee National Guard together
A pair of childhood classmates who served together in the Tennessee National Guard reconnected during their cancer treatments nearly 50 years after they fell out of touch.
Billy Taylor, a two-time cancer survivor, wasn’t entirely surprised when he found himself back at the Sarah Cannon Cancer Center at TriStar Natchez in Dickson, Tennessee, for yet another round of radiation, WSMV 4 reported.
At the same time, Randy Duke was riding his motorcycle to the same center for daily radiation and chemotherapy treatments as he fights an aggressive throat cancer.
For weeks, neither knew that they were incidentally crossing paths with an old friend.
Duke and Taylor attended school together in White Bluff, Tennessee — just 10 miles outside of Dickson — and were in the same training unit in the Volunteer State’s National Guard.
They lost contact in 1979 when Taylor left the guard to pursue his own business, and figured that was the end of things.
Taylor recognized Duke’s name immediately when he heard a nurse call for him while they were both in the waiting room at the center. Physically, though, Duke looked like a stranger — and vice versa.
“I didn’t know for sure that was him because we changed so much. I wouldn’t have known him if I hadn’t heard his name. I would have never guessed in a million years who he was,” Taylor told WSMV 4.
Taylor didn’t say anything until he got a closer look at Duke in the parking lot three days later.
“Drake, is that you?” Taylor recounted shouting at Duke.
Duke always went by his middle name, Drake, in school because there were so many other students named Randy.
“Oh my goodness, yeah. I can see it now, Billy Ray, and I was glad to see him,” Duke remembered replying while Taylor reintroduced himself.
The pair have been inseparable ever since. They spent hours catching up and reflecting on “all the crazy stuff” they did in the Guard — effectively filling a gaping hole in Duke’s life.
When Duke first started his cancer treatments, he knew it would be difficult, but he told the outlet that the lack of real connection was even harder.
“We used to know everybody in White Bluff. Now, we don’t hardly know anybody. We go to a restaurant and I’m searching for somebody I know up there,” he said.
Now, he and Taylor are leaving for their morning appointments a little earlier so they can carve out extra time to chat in the waiting room.
“We could sit out there and talk. It got our mind off things too. It was just a good feeling to see him again. You don’t see many people that you’ve not seen in 48 years,” Taylor told the outlet.
“As you get older, you’ve got less and less time to meet them. So, it might be a good time to do it,” Duke added.
When Taylor completed his treatments, he rang the center’s chemo bell with Duke by his side. Taylor said he plans to do the same for Duke when he finishes his treatments in June.
Duke, meanwhile, is hoping to secure a part-time job with Taylor when he’s well enough so they can work side-by-side as they did in their youth.
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