We Are Mitchell

Downtown Spruce Pine is starting to see signs of life return as businesses are repairing the damage from Helene and are making plans to reopen. In the midst of all this activity, singer Oliver Anthony has started the Rural Revival Project, and he is coming to Spruce Pine to do his first concert of 2025 on Lower Street on April 5th. Spencer Bost with Downtown Spruce Pine is our guest and he talks about all the good things happening in Spruce Pine, plus he has complete details on the concert and how to get tickets.

North Carolina has a burn ban in place as of 8 AM Friday, March 21 due to dry, windy conditions. County Fire Marshal Andrew Brewer joins us to discuss the burn ban along with providing information about a new county ordinance that strengthens Mitchell County's burn ban capabilities in extreme conditions.

Mitchell County Government will hold its fourth Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, March 27, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the former Bowman Middle School in Bakersville. Kelly Jones joins the podcast to discuss the meeting and some of the topics that will be covered.

You can submit questions to be answered at the Town Hall here.

The Volunteer Resources Center is on the move from its location at the Mitchell Senior Center in Ledger to the campus of the former Bowman Middle School at 410 Mitchell Avenue in Bakersville. Stephanie Pittman, Director of the VRC, joins us to talk about the move plus she goes over the services available to county residents through the VRC.

We are squarely in the middle of one of the times each year that wildfires stand the greatest possibility of happening, and in 2025 that danger is multiplied tremendously with the downed trees and vegetation from Helene. Andrew Brewer, Mitchell County Fire Marshal, is our guest and he talks about the fire in Loafer‘s Glory that burned 133 acres last week, and discusses why this year is so dangerous and how you can help during the spring season to prevent wildfires.

David Goodfred, a biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, joins us to discuss what happened to the aquatic life in our rivers and streams after Helene hit, the health of these systems at this time, and what the Commission plans in the way of stocking streams in the area for recreational fishing in 2025.

The February 20, 2025 Town Hall meeting was cancelled due to weather, but information that was to presented at the session is available on this podcast. This is Part 2 of the meeting information, and it focuses on debris removal and stream debris cleanup. Allen Cook, County Manager, shares information on these topics and introduces private property debris removal which is becoming available to county residents.

The February Town Hall meeting was cancelled due to weather on February 20. This is the first of two podcasts featuring information that was going to be presented at that meeting. Gabriel Johnson with the North Carolina Department of Transportation discusses road closures and other DOT projects underway in the county; Stephanie Pittman of the Volunteer Resources Center gives an overview of the Center and the services available to citizens at it; and Allen Cook, Mitchell County Manager, concludes the first podcast with a discussion of long-term housing in Mitchell County, including information on reconstruction or mitigation of properties damaged by Helene, including a detailed discussion of applying for FEMA funds.

More good news! The North Carolina Rhododendron Festival will make its 78th appearance in Bakersville this June. Misti Silver with the committee organizing the event joins us to share what’s happening and the new locations of some of the events due to damage from Helene.

The 19th Annual Blacksmith Festival is returning to Lower Street in Spruce Pine April 26th. Spencer Bost with Downtown Spruce Pine joins us to discuss why the festival is coming back even with the damage to the buildings on Lower Street.