NEWLAND, N.C. — Students in Avery County Schools will have to wait a little longer before they can return to classes. The district now says classes won’t resume until November.
HELENE COVERAGE IN AVERY COUNTY:
- ‘Everybody has needs’: Parts of Avery Co. remain without power after Helene
- 14 of 19 polling locations in Avery County unusable after Helene
- Helene aftermath: Inside the urgent search for survivors in Avery County
Avery County is one of the areas hit hardest by Helene in our region. One of the biggest challenges the county is still facing has been getting water and sewer back to the high school, middle school and at Banner Elk Elementary School.
Channel 9′s Dave Faherty was at the high school Monday morning where just down the street, he could see crews working to fix the road. They were removing debris on a bridge that crosses the Toe River.
In Newland, Faherty spoke with Betsy Ross and her three children, who have been out of school for three weeks. Flooding not only damaged homes there, but a landslide tragically killed two of their family members near Plumtree.
“This has been hard on my kids,” she said. “They actually lost their grandpa and great-grandpa during the flood and just being without school and being around friends has really upset their balance and how they do everything through the day.”
Across the county, there’s widespread damage. On Monday, Faherty visited Pineola, where debris sits out in front of homes and a church flooded along the Linville River.
Faherty learned that 1,800 students attend school in Avery County. There are signs posted at some of the schools, including the middle school in Newland, about the lack of water and sewer.
They’re able to still have football practice at the high school, but the road nearby was badly damaged during the storm.
“Avery, Yancy, Mitchell, Madison — all of those counties if you drive around, it’s unreal it’s unbelievable what damage was done,” Tom Evaul said.
The superintendent says the state legislature is working with mountain districts to forgive some of the lost time. Even before Helene, students already went to school for more hours a day to prepare for cancellations during the winter months, so that will help with the amount of class they’re missing.
One mother said families in the area are still struggling and she’s not worried about when school will restart.
“It doesn’t really matter to me. I’m just glad to have my family together and know that everyone is OK,” Lauren Hoilman said.
The tentative plan now is to get students back by Nov. 6, which is more than a month after the storm hit.
When school starts back, they’ll be on a two-hour delay and there will be limited bus routes due to damaged roads.
(WATCH BELOW: Students return to school in Burke County following major flooding by Helene)
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