Mitchell County Schools

Hurricane Helene: This Is Our Story Story submission by Anthea Biddix, PreSchool Director for Mitchell County Schools On September 27th, I sat in my living room, eyes squeezed shut, fearing the windows would blow in. I watched waves of rain sweep across the mountain before us, listening to the sounds of snapping trees, praying none would fall on our house. At one point, our utility trailer was starting to be pulled away by raging water flowing down our property, so Justin and I rushed outside to move it before it slammed into the barn. After securing the trailer, we decided to walk down our driveway to see the extent of the damage and check on our neighbors. All we could say was, “It’s bad, so bad,” as we looked around at our property, driveway, and our neighbors’ places. There was water everywhere—raging, roaring water. I’ll never forget that sound. My husband and I had to shout just to hear each other over the noise. Our two ponds at the end of the driveway had turned into a torrent, sweeping everything in its path. We could hear rocks tumbling down the creek beds, and we watched in fear as water rushed under a neighbor's barn, certain it would give way any moment. Thankfully, our neighbors were safe, so we returned home to wait out the storm. Around 2:00 pm that afternoon, the rain finally slowed, and the wind began to calm. We cleared a path through my aunt and uncle’s yard with the side-by-side because there was no way any other vehicle could get through. We made it to the main road, trying to check on others, but couldn’t get far—there were trees down everywhere, and it would take heavy machinery to clear them. After the roads were passable, we went to the high school to help others. Honestly, the first few days are a blur. I remember grabbing flashlights from backpacks, checking the school for damage, and setting up a supply area in the cafeteria. Later, we moved donations to the new school, and from there, it was boots on the ground. For the first few days, it was disheartening because we didn’t see many people, and we wondered if others knew just how bad things were. Seeing familiar faces was overwhelming—we hadn’t heard from each other and couldn’t call or text. When we finally saw each other, we just hugged, grateful for their safety. Then support started flooding in: trailers, trucks, semis, carloads, and helicopter drops. People came from everywhere, some we’d never met. They’d drop off supplies and hug us, not knowing how much that hug meant. Soon after, the Virginia Task Force arrived, setting up outside the school. They praised this community’s strength, thanked us, and sought no recognition—they just wanted to help us rebuild. Supplies kept coming, sometimes until 10 or 11 at night, from New York, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, California, eastern North Carolina, and beyond. Troyer’s brought in hundreds of Mennonites and Amish volunteers from all over, and they were incredible. They thanked us for letting them serve, providing three meals daily and staying for three weeks to make sure people in our community were fed. One thing I will never forget is how God showed up. He provided everything we needed to care for everyone. He connected us with people we could call if we needed a camper for a family or if someone’s home or business needed cleaning out to start over. These people didn’t hesitate to help; campers came from all over, and support arrived from many states and all walks of life. While feeding the community, there were moments when we thought we’d run out of food, only to find six more trays in the oven or warmer. It was incredible. My family has been so blessed through all of this, and our children have had the chance to serve our community in ways they’ll remember for the rest of their lives. I know this won’t be “over” anytime soon, but I’ve never been more proud to say I’m from Mitchell County. This community came together like I’ve never seen before. #MountaineerStrong

Mitchell County Schools will have a remote learning day tomorrow, Tuesday, December 3. Snow has started to fall in areas of our county and is forecasted to continue throughout the night. Students, please follow instructions from your teacher for remote learning.

Mitchell County Schools will be have a remote learning day on Monday, December 2 due to snow in areas of our county last night. Students, please follow the instructions your teacher has given you for remote learning.

Mitchell County Schools is hiring the following positions: Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or equivalent School Counselor Exceptional Children- Autism Teacher (Elementary) Application : https://mcsnc.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx

Hurricane Helene: This Is Our Story Poem written and submitted by Jamie Jennings Johnson, Mitchell High English Language Arts Teacher Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote that “nature never wore a mean face” Though Helene came through like a wild chase, Her winds a howl, a screechin' song, That shook the hills, but didn’t stay long. She swirled through hollers, bent the pines, Tore through the ridges, crossed the lines, With her breath hot and heavy as fire That don’t burn, but spits and tires. We watched the sky turn slate and black, The trees all moanin’ like they’d crack. But deep in the woods, there’s a quiet hum, A rhythm older than the storm could drum. She snarled and her teeth gnashed With wicked tendrils did she snatch. Like thunder that don't ask or wait, With rivers floodin' past pearly gates. In the after, the mountains sighed, With half-torn leaves where many had died, But still the holler breathed again, Like the land was fightin' through the pain. Helene ain't wicked, just wild and free, Like a mountain wind or a Scotch-Irish settler's plea. She wears the face of old-time rain, A mother, a daughter, feelin' the strain. A storm’s just another kind of prayer, An askin' for what ain’t fair, But the land knows how to heal, Even when it all just “don’t seem real”. Nature never wore a mean face, But wore the strength of this old place, Where winds may rage and trees may fall, Yet still a mountaineer beats it all.

Hurricane Helene: This Is Our Story Submission by Taylor Hughes, Mitchell High Business and Marketing Teacher After ten years of an obsession with cast iron, about a year ago, my husband began making a product to season cast iron skillets. Together, we launched his side business to season and restore cast iron. When we were looking for stores to carry our product wholesale, we thought of Troyer's Mountain View Country Market— a store we frequented often with our girls, and one that had been introduced to us by some of our best church friends. We were shocked when, fairly quickly, we received an email and an agreement from Troyer's to sell Iron Revival. Fast forward ten months, and our county was hit by Hurricane Helene. Through what I can only describe as a God thing, the Troyer's crew had been at the middle school feeding our community. We emailed Rachel to thank her, amazed at the incredible work these amazing people were doing. During most of the disaster, I was working at our church. One day, after helping at the school, I went there to lend a hand. Our pastor asked me to run outside and see what had been delivered on pallets that afternoon. One of the pallets contained sweet potatoes. Boxes and BOXES of sweet potatoes. I stood there trying to figure out how we were going to distribute this entire pallet and then reported back to him and Jennifer Dillinger (who was running our distribution/communication center). By this time, Kody had returned to the church, and when I mentioned my concern about the pallet of sweet potatoes, he just looked up and said, “Troyer's.” After speaking with Mr. Calhoun and getting the go-ahead, we delivered the sweet potatoes to Mitchell Middle and finally met Rachel Troyer, who we had known previously only through email for the better part of a year. In the conversation, she couldn’t believe how many people from the community had shown up but said, “It’s okay, loaves and fishes.” As the days and weeks progressed, our church also received a meat truck full of various foods... and A LOT of turkey. We talked to Rachel about the turkey, and what started as “I’m not sure” ended with them having the ability to give out smoked turkeys to the Poplar community and to families who came to pick up their dinners on 10/25. Looking back, I am immensely thankful that God has a plan— for loaves and fishes, and for a pallet of sweet potatoes.

Seniors....this is a great opportunity for help with applications for UNC system colleges and universities.

Hurricane Helene: This Is Our Story Submission by Dale Blevins, 3rd Grade Teacher at Mitchell Elementary Worked at Mitchell Elementary/Middle School and Deyton Elementary Distribution Centers, made home visits to those hit hard, and to those who lost family members to the flood.

Mitchell County Schools will be on a 2 hour delay tomorrow, Thursday, November 14th. Heavy rain is predicted to move into the area during the overnight and early morning hours with up to an inch or more of rain. A two hour delay will allow time for road checks in case of slides, downed trees, etc. If we need to cancel school for a remote day, a decision will be made before 8:00am. The school buildings will open for student drop-off at 8:30am. We apologize for this inconvenience, but we want to keep our students and staff safe.

Some of our heroes from the Virginia Task Force 2 Urban Search and Rescue are coming to the home game THIS FRIDAY NIGHT, Nov. 15, 2024! This is the wonderful team that stayed in the new school and left notes on the white boards for the students! They have been huge supporters since being deployed here and have connected with so many of our staff and students. One of the members said he has been on the team for 13 years and this is the first time they have ever returned to an area to visit and see the people. They have raved about Mitchell County and how inviting we made it for them. Please plan to come out to support the team and to thank the VTF2 for their service, kindness, concern, and love they have for our area.

Thank you, Veterans. We appreciate your service to our country.

School Calendar for Week of November 11th, 2024 Monday- Veterans Day Holiday- No School Tuesday-Friday - One Hour Delay

Hurricane Helene: This is Our Story Submission by Mitchell High School FCS Teacher, Katie Boone During the first few days, our family found that we were trapped by downed trees and a washed out culvert. We quickly got to work with chainsaws and strong backs to clear paths for our side by side to go through the woods to the main road. There were many memorable events during Helene. I'd say my most remarkable one was feeding so many emergency relief workers and the national guard 3 meals a day. Some nights over 150 men and women were fed. One night I used Macie's deer backstraps and butter balls (that were quickly going bad) to make a deer stew. I had no idea the Speaker of the House would be eating what I'd prepared. He personally came and thanked me for the delicious meal! I was a little panicky about feeding so many people game meat, but they loved it! And....no one got SICK!

Thank you to Woodbrook Elementary in Edison, New Jersey for supporting our students as we return to school from Hurricane Helene. Woodbrook students bought tickets to be entered into a raffle to be staff member for the day and donated the money to Mitchell County Schools. Also, thank you to Woodbrook staff member and Mitchell High School alumni Mollie Hanlon for connecting our schools and the pictures. We appreciate your kindness and believe your students did an outstanding job in their new roles as staff members.

We are not taking anymore Mountaineer Strong T-shirt orders. There will be a few left over from stock after all the orders have been finalized. We will post colors and sizes in a few days. If you have already ordered, be on the lookout for an email from thughes@mhslive.net. Thank you!!!

Hurricane Helene: This is Our Story Submission by Mitchell Elementary Teacher, Rindie Carter When we were told on Wednesday, September 25th, that we would be not having school for the rest of the week, I was relieved. As a first-year teacher, I was exhausted and ready for what I believed to be a 4-day weekend. I expected to lose power, have it restored by the evening, and see my student's faces on Monday morning. However, this is not the reality I hoped for. On Thursday we lost power, but got it back by noon. We still had service and connectivity to the world around us. We still had no idea what was to come. Thursday night I tossed and turned, listening to the whips of the wind and the cracks of trees falling. I ran to my window several times to check to make sure a tree didn't fall on my parent's house. I know we lost power at around 3 in the morning because my fan shut off. I still wasn't scared. I thought it was just a bad storm. I woke early on Friday morning and saw some trees down as I let my dog out. I thought to myself, "wow, this might take a couple of weeks to clean up." Still, not understanding the devastation our community endured overnight. I live in a holler on Cane Creek. The holler saved my family and I. It is what kept our land "normal looking" when Helene chewed everything else up and spit it out. I went back to sleep and woke again to my grandfather in panic shouting, "This is a federal disaster! We won't have power for weeks. This is really really bad." Verbatim. These words come through my mind over and over. Still, in disbelief, I agreed to ride to the end of the road with him to see the damage. When we arrived, the first thing I noticed was that I could see more of Cane Creek than ever before. Usually, I couldn't see cars coming up or down. When turning off Nora Lane, it was a blind spot. Not anymore. You can now see every single car, person, animal, passing by. Then I noticed the water. We couldn't see our bridge or connecting road because it was all completely underwater. I was speechless. I decided to get home and get dressed to work. My grandpa, dad, mom, sister, and Doug Young cut a back way out so we could get to McKinney Cove. Then, for the next three days we spent cutting Pan Wiley out of her driveway, thanks to a huge oak tree. We had no cell-service unless we went to Tennessee. We traveled a few times to get supplies, do laundry, and have a warm meal. We craved normalcy. We craved connection. We craved hope. I remember the first time I felt like we were going to be okay was when we were on our way home from Johnson City. “Sunshine on My Shoulders” by John Denver played on the radio. I felt peace. I finally felt that there was light at the end of the tunnel, and maybe, it wasn’t as far away as it seemed. My spirits were low. Depression set in, and I decided to go volunteer and discovered that helping my community was the best medicine. After feeling so helpless for a couple of weeks, seeing my colleagues, students, and members of the community work so diligently to get back to normal restored my faith in Jesus and humanity. Witnessing the volunteers coming from all over the country from all walks of life was nothing more than a blessing. In the past month, my community has proven to be the resilient, proud, and strong Appalachians that I have always heard stories of. Throughout the disaster, we became more united than ever. Neighbors have been helping neighbors regardless of politics, race, religion, or anything else that appears to seperate us. I hope we will continue to put each other first. Now, I sit here writing this from my classroom desk, the lights are on, the internet is working. I am clean and trying to prepare for my students to return. I never thought that this would be a reality a month ago. I didn’t think that I would be able to enjoy the simple modern-day luxuries without the help of a generator. I didn’t think that I would be able to reach my loved ones in the comfort of my own home. I didn’t know if my students would get to come to school until January. We have rebuilt way ahead of schedule and I am forever grateful to the men and women who have worked so hard to allow us to have these privileges again.

Mitchell County Schools Trunk or Treat- Part 4

UPDATE: APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH THIS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15th!! THE GOFUNDME WILL CONTINUE TO REMAIN OPEN. With the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, we know that many families are having a difficult time meeting their monthly budget needs! As the holiday season begins to approach, we are aware of the extra financial strain that can be placed on families. Every year we have civic organizations, churches, and individuals who offer to help families in need during the holiday season. Due to the extreme devastation to Mitchell County, we are planning to use the Joyful Hands Project to meet the needs of our children and families through the entirety of the 2024-2026 school years. If your organization would be willing to support Mitchell County School students and families, please click on the QR Code to link you to our Google Form. This will allow you to share with us information about the ways you would like to support Mitchell County children and families, Please complete this form by Wednesday, November 6th. You will be receiving a follow-up email with more specific dates and processes as we coordinate the needs of our community. We will be streamlining communication through the following email address: joyfulhands@mhslive.net Thank you for supporting the children and families of Mitchell County, we are blessed to have your partnership and look forward to working with you! Blessings, Angela Atkins, MSW School Social Worker Jennifer Miller, Student Support Services Director Sponsorship Google Form Link - https://forms.gle/xhYZzpFU6jyVLzkh8 GoFund Me Link - https://gofund.me/4c894ad6

Free medical clinics at Mayland Community college. Temporary tents are set in the parking lot staffed by doctors with the ability to write prescriptions. Hours of operation 8:00 am to 7:00 pm.

****ATTENTION**** We have ordered more MITCHELL STRONG purple shirts in Adult Medium and Adult Large. The only pickup/buy day this week will be Wednesday (10/30) 11:00-12:30 at the County Office. This will ONLY be for pickup on orders who did not include Purple M,L, or larger shirts and Gray L,XL, or Larger shirts. We will have the other shirts ready to go by next week and will update the pickup day as soon as possible.