Wednesday, April 17, 2013

N.C. Governor Proposes Closing State Trooper Dispatch Office In Asheville




The area of the map shaded in light yellow, shows the area from Asheville to Hickory, which is a distance of just over 77 miles.


Attention all who live or travel in Western North Carolina. North Carolina Governor Pat McRory has proposed closing dispatch offices of the North Carolina State Troopers (Highway Patrol), including the dispatch office on Tunnel Road in Asheville. The dispatching of state troopers for Western North Carolina would then come from Hickory, North Carolina. This can result in dangerous and potentially life threatening situations for travellers due to the inevitable delays in dispatching state troopers throughout the western part of the state.

Please contact your representatives in the state house and senate, by either email or telephone, and tell them you oppose the closing of the Asheville dispatch office of the North Carolina State Troopers. You may find your representatives contact information by clicking this link, and after finding his or her name in the list, click on their name for the contact info.

You can do the same for your state senator by clicking this link.

You can also contact the Office of the Governor by clicking this link and clicking "Email Pat"or by calling (919) 733-5811. You can also Fax the Office of the Governor at (919) 733-2120/



Saturday, July 07, 2012

Cataracts and No Insurance


Just a question for anyone who might know.

Are there any programs offering assistance for cataract surgery for people who have no insurance? Particularly in North Carolina (I live in western N.C.).I have cataracts in both eyes, and the left one is the worst of the two.

My eyesight is getting so bad, that I am afraid that in another 6 months to a year, I won't be able to drive any longer. And, if I can't drive, I can't work.

Leave any suggestions or ideas in the comments area.

Thanks!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Global Warming That Strangely Appeared as Snow

That was the view from my front porch on Friday afternoon. Thats not fog, it's snow falling


It has been somewhat rough here for the past few days. There was about 15 inches of global warming…err…snowfall here beginning on Friday, December 18, and ending on Saturday, December 19.


The global warming…oops…snowfall….was so wet and heavy, that trees and power lines went down all over the western North Carolina area. Including my area. My lights went out at about 3:30 PM Friday after noon, and then power was restored about 6:00PM, only to go out again at 8:30PM. Power was not restored until sometime after 6:00PM Sunday evening.


My heart goes out to everyone who was without lights, water, or heat, for I was in your group. Fortunately, when the lights came back on at 6:00 PM Friday, I filled the bathtub, and other available vessels and utensils with water, “just in case“. “Just in case” happened, so I had water to drink, and used the bathtub water to flush the toilet.


Having no heat source at all, I wore my insulated camouflage hunting coveralls in the house, and slept in my sleeping bag that is rated for weather as cold as 15 degrees. As for food, I was given a fruit basket for Christmas last Thursday, and I had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Meager fare at best, but better than nothing. Especially when your two wheel drive truck will not travel in snow of this depth.


I was stuck at home from Friday through Tuesday, and was finally able to get out to work today, Wednesday December 23. I was actually glad to go to work today.

The way I look at it is, it could have been worse, and what doesn’t kill ya, only makes ya stronger.


Hats off to the people from Progress Energy who were here from all over North Carolina, South Carolina, and Kentucky to restore the power. I wouldn’t have their jobs for anything. Gotta be tough to work in all kinds of weather around the clock to make sure people have lights and heat. We never appreciate the power and the people who keep it going until something like this happens. Great job people!


I have posted a pic or two of the global warming…mmmm….I mean snowfall just so you can see how it looked from here.




This was how my truck looked Saturday morning. That's my landlord's RV that once was a bus in the background.