Recreational therapy instructors and students gathered at Western Piedmont Community College’s Alpine Tower and ropes course prior to Hurricane Helene.
Hurricane Helene severely damaged the Recreational Therapy program’s Alpine Tower and ropes course at Western Piedmont Community College in September 2024.
Nearly two years after Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic floods, Western Piedmont Community College (WPCC) will soon tackle its final repair project funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The last repair on WPCC’s list is the Alpine Tower and ropes course for the college’s recreational therapy program. Congressman Tim Moore’s office recently announced that WPCC would receive $156,600 from FEMA for the project.
Recreational therapy instructors and students gathered at Western Piedmont Community College’s Alpine Tower and ropes course prior to Hurricane Helene.
Photos FOR THE PAPER
Recreational therapy uses activity-based interventions to help people with illnesses, injuries, and other disabling conditions address psychological and physical health, recovery, and overall well-being, according to the American Therapeutic Recreation Association.
Hurricane Helene severely damaged the Recreational Therapy program’s Alpine Tower and ropes course at Western Piedmont Community College in September 2024.
FOR THE PAPER
WPCC Chief Financial Officer Sandra Hoilman said this is an initial deposit, and the project is actually approved for $174,000.
The college has already received $223,977 from FEMA to cover previous repairs, plus $319,270 from insurance, Hoilman said. Debris cleanup, replacement of water-damaged ceiling tiles and damaged light poles, and repairs to washed-out roads have been completed.
The Alpine Tower and ropes course was a specialty construction project because of its components, which include a zipline, Hoilman said.
“What FEMA always said to us was … you’re just replacing what Hurricane Helene damaged or destroyed,” Hoilman said, meaning any expansions or lofty improvements would not be funded.
Storm and natural disaster mitigation could be funded though, Hoilman said, and one of the things WPCC requested was stronger, sturdier poles for the zipline.
The release from Congressman Moore’s office said the money was for “deck, boardwalk, fencing, and related repairs.”
“That’s just a category FEMA has,” Hoilman explained. “Because (the tower and ropes course) is not a building or a structure, it fell into that category. We’re really not replacing any deck or boardwalks or anything like that.”
Hoilman said the repairs should be complete near the end of the year.
“We’re hoping for mid-fall semester — like September, October — but realistically, I’m thinking November,” Hoilman said.
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