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By: Kevin Eddings

Patryk Battle, news team correspondent, sat down with Eric Smythers, development coordinator at Working Wheels on the January 22nd edition of the Asheville FM News Hour. They discussed the effects of Hurricane Helene on the nonprofit sector.

For the past few years Working Wheels has been dedicated to those who are not able to get to work, school, and doctor’s appointments because they do not have a source of transportation, or those who struggle to afford car repairs. According to Smythers, everything has changed because of Helene, which forced the organization to pivot in their approach to helping people.

Smythers shares that Working Wheels was quite fortunate during the storm. “We had some water in our mechanical bay, and we lost some cars to flood-related damage, but we didn’t have any major damage to our workspace.” he said. With the nonprofit coming back, Smythers said they have two new initiatives.

In the first initiative, vehicles like pickup trucks or box trucks that are actively being used in relief efforts will be repaired for free. Smythers said, “If you’re from Mana Food Bank we have an application online. Please fill it out and we will be excited to help you get repairs to your vehicles.”

Regarding the second initiative, Smythers said, “We are taking raised money…and directly purchasing used vehicles to get [them] into the hands of people who have been most affected by the floods.” 

Helene making national news had a positive impact on donations. According to Smythers,Money is better than cars because it is easier to use, rather than transporting a car from out of state. “We had people from California calling us up saying they wanted to donate a car,” Smythers said. “I tell them that’s a wonderful idea but if they want to sell the car and send us the money [that would be best], because that’s a very specific thing they can do.” 

When asked if there’s an end goal in sight, Smythers said that they started GoFundMe for $500,000 and they have already raised over $300,000, which will help them buy thirty used cars for people who need them.

If you wish to donate to Working Wheels, you can go to their website, where there’s a link to the GoFundMe page. And if you’re local with a working car, Smythers says they will accept it if the title is in your name.

Listen to the full interview at the AFM Newshour Archive page.

For weeks on the AFM News Hour, we have followed the ongoing story of Jefferson Griffin’s lawsuit challenging ballots across all 100 North Carolina counties. Griffin lost by 734 votes his bid to become a North Carolina Supreme Court justice.

Griffin, a Republican Court of Appeals judge, has argued that the ballots of nearly 60,000 overseas and military voters, and other registered voters should be nullified based on technicalities.

This week TheGriffinList.com launched. The new website, searchable by name and county, can help over 60,000 registered voters see if their November ballot is among those being contested.

The free tool also allows voters to access contact information for their county Board of Elections and learn how to verify and update their voter registration information. Voters who find their names on the list are encouraged to contact their county Board of Elections to understand why their ID numbers may be missing from records and to ensure their votes are properly counted.

Buncombe County alone has 1,578 voters whose ballots are in question. To see if your name is on the list, or to help a neighbor, colleague, friend, or acquaintance find out if their name is listed, visit TheGriffinList.com.

Patryk Battle sat down this week with Maria Wise, executive director of the Mills River Partnership. They discussed the health of the Mills River riparian system post-Helene.

Maria explained that parts of the river are still beautiful and look nearly unaffected by the storm. Other parts, just a few hundred feet away from the untouched riverbanks, are “areas of near-total devastation.” She considers this to mean that the riverbanks have no riparian buffer left. Maria said that farm fields by the river have lost 90% of their topsoil. The destruction will need “years and years of recovery to come.”

Patryk asked Maria about one species in particular that contributes to the health and vitality of the riparian system: the hellbender salamander. Noting that the hellbender is an amazing sight as the largest salamander in North America, Patryk feared that this precarious population might be wiped out. Maria confirmed that the Mills River Partnership has been seeking stories of sightings to track the hellbenders. The Forest Service Pisgah Rangers recently told the Partnership of finding 43 hellbenders—an encouraging sign! But Maria guesses that about 75% of the Mills River hellbender population has been wiped out. Patryk and Maria discussed some advantages of the hellbender being put on the endangered species list, as well as some upcoming volunteer days to help revegetate the riparian areas of the Mills River. To learn more about helping, visit the Mills River Partnership’s website or listen to the full interview in the archives.