The Catawba River Soccer Complex, and (at top left), the back of Freedom High School’s campus including the football and baseball fields, were inundated by Friday’s flooding along the Catawba River.
The Catawba River Soccer Complex, and (at top left), the back of Freedom High School’s campus including the football and baseball fields, were inundated by Friday’s flooding along the Catawba River.
Debris from flooding lines the fence at the Catawba River Soccer Complex in this September 2024 file photo.
Debris from flooding lines the fence at the Catawba River Soccer Complex in this September 2024 file photo.
Editor Emeritus
The Burke County Relief Center will be open until 8 p.m. Monday and will reopen at 8 a.m. Tuesday.
A Burke County Relief Center has opened in the Foothills Higher Education Center on South Sterling Street near Interstate 40 in Morganton.
In addition to bottled water, the Center offers canned foods, staples such as rice and spaghetti, toilet paper and paper towels, diapers and baby wipes, feminine hygiene products, cleaning supplies, snack food items, children’s toys, children’s clothes, and small copies of “The New Testament.”
The center is operating under a “take what you need but take no more” honor system with most folks choosing carefully the items they want to take home.
The center will be open until 8 p.m. today and reopen at 8 a.m. Tuesday. Donation hours Tuesday will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Center is staffed primarily by Burke County government employees augmented by a host of volunteers from the Sheriff’s Office, other local agencies, and community folk.
Ramrodding the operation is Deana Gates, of the Burke County Parks and Recreation Department.
Gates, dressed for action in a park department polo, white shorts, and sneakers, took time to answer a few questions while standing in the midst of the cavernous facility, even as she calmly fended requests from volunteers and from those picking up items.
“It’s nothing short of amazing, all of the volunteers who have turned out, and all of the supplies that have been donated,” said Gates. “This really demonstrates how Burke County can come together in a time of crisis.”
Gates credited Burke Sheriff Banks Hinceman with arranging for one of the largest contributions — two truckloads of donated materials from Person County, a rural county located between Orange County and the Virginia border.
“I’m good friends with Sheriff Jason Wilborn,” said Hinceman, who was at the Center at the same time as a Paper reporter. “I told him the fix we’re in up here and he certainly came through for us.”
Large donations have also been received, Gates said, from Elizabethton, Tenn.; Durham; Raleigh; Concord; and Charlotte.
One of the many volunteers helping out at the center this morning was Shane Prisby, trails program director for Foothills Conservancy.
“This really is a shining moment for Burke County,” said Prisby as he looked out over the sea of volunteers and the folks picking up items. “This is one of those occasions when our community really bonds.”
In response to long-duration power outages due to Hurricane Helene and to support the community, Burke County Government is offering free ice to all residents at four designated locations throughout Morganton. This service is provided at no charge, and ice will be available on a self-serve basis. Ice is bagged, so you need a way to keep it cold while traveling back to your location.
Residents can pick up ice at the following locations:
Please bring your containers or coolers to collect the ice. These locations are available 24/7 while supplies last.
Bill Poteat may be reached at 828-445-8595 or bill@thepaper.media.
A fallen tree sits near the road at Sanford Drive behind the sign for the Morganton Aquatics Center. The center has been closed since Friday's storm.
A fallen tree sits near the road at Sanford Drive behind the sign for the Morganton Aquatics Center. The center has been closed since Friday's storm.
