Ashe County officials report ongoing hurricane recovery needs, ask state to restore NCWorks funding for case management

Ashe County leaders told the Board of Commissioners Feb. 17 that recovery from recent storm damage remains active and that state and federal funds are flowing unevenly to affected households.

During public comment, Lou Zeller of Glendale Springs said hundreds of local households were still in need. “As you all know, during [the storm] 77 homes in Ashe County alone were destroyed. People are still hurting and need help,” Zeller told the board, and urged the board to prioritize the most needy as federal block-grant funding is distributed.

Tracy McMillan, director of the county Department of Social Services, gave an operational update and asked the board to use its contacts to restore Ashe County’s access to an NCWorks grant that has been cut. McMillan said the county’s disaster case-management team had transitioned 23 households into alternate housing by December and that donations of campers have grown that number to 42 people living in campers. She said the case-management team has opened 73 active cases…