Supplies for those in western North Carolina, South Carolina and parts of Tennessee affected by the devastation of Hurricane Helene have been arriving from Gilmer County by plane and truck.
A team of local residents affiliated with a local distillery has been among those making the supply runs.
“I posted on Facebook that I was running some stuff up there if anybody wanted to donate anything, and all these volunteers started coming out of the woodwork. I started it on Tuesday, and by that next Saturday, we had five planes leaving from Gilmer County making airdrops,” said James Sturgeon, owner of White Path Creek Distillery, who was one of those piloting the planes. “There were several airdrops made from Gilmer County, and several planes got involved.”
Sturgeon said some of the items that have been taken include water, diapers, toiletries, shelf stable food and baby formula. So far, the supply runs have been made to Gatlinburg and Johnson County, Tenn.; Greenville, S.C. and Asheville, Hickory and Spruce Pine, N.C.
“As soon as we parked the plane at the airport, a truck pulled out there, and said we got somebody that needs this stuff right now. They unloaded my plane, and the truck was gone,” said Sturgeon about one of the air drops.
Now that more roads are open, the supply runs are being made by truck and trailer. Sturgeon said he is still collecting donations at the White Path distillery and events center on Old Northcutt Road, and the runs are being made every couple of days.
“We started off with a lot of water and MREs, but now they have water. What they’re asking for now is canned goods, meals ready to eat, shovels, propane for grills, jackets, blankets and stuff like that,” Sturgeon said.
There is also a truck and trailer at Ronnie Thompson Ford where donations can be left. Sturgeon said he doesn’t know how long the runs will continue, but it will probably be for at least the next week or two.
“There (is) a lot of hurting people up there needing that stuff,” he added.