Governor tours disaster areas
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on October 14, 2016 9:57 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
U.S. Rep. David Rouzer, left, state Rep. John Bell, Gov. Pat McCrory and Goldsboro Mayor Chuck Allen speak while walking in an area of Stevens Mill Road between Neuse Correctional Institute and the Old Cherry Hospital Thursday during a tour of flooding in Goldsboro and Wayne County.
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory dropped into Goldsboro by helicopter Thursday to take a brief tour of several flooded areas just outside the city's core.
McCrory was escorted in a car driven by Wayne County Sheriff Larry Pierce, stopping first at St. Mark Church of Christ at 700 W. Ash St. The church has been surrounded by water since Hurricane Matthew struck the area.
Local and state politicians, as well as members of the media, followed McCrory's journey in National Guard LMTV (Light/Medium Tactical Vehicle) vehicles.
Pastor Alton Smith was able to speak with McCrory for a few minutes while surrounded by congregation members before McCrory was shuttled off to the next stop.
James Wynn, a trustee of the church, said he had personally checked on the extent of the damage to the building.
"I went into the church yesterday morning," Wynn said. "The encouraging thing was seeing 4 feet of dry concrete at the door. I entered and went to every entrance and all the stoops were dry."
Wynn said the church was blessed to not suffer any interior damage from the flood, but had suffered exterior damage.
From St. Mark's, McCrory was taken to a point along Stevens Mill Road between the old Cherry Hospital and the Neuse Correctional Facility.
Rail workers and North Carolina Department of Transportation workers were waiting to speak with the governor, who stayed at his second stop for less than five minutes.
Waters have receded slightly from the old Cherry Hospital, but still remain high by the railroad tracks that cross Stevens Mill Road just after the old buildings.
Phillip Wilson, a railroad contractor out of Georgia, said he was called in to the area to help repair numerous washed out rail lines.
Wilson said crews had been working rapidly to repair areas in Goldsboro, Smithfield, Kinston, Pine Level and more to make sure trains can get back on schedule on their normal routes.
Many railroad beds in Wayne County have been washed out, and crews must fill them back in with stone and other materials to solidify the rail again.
"We've been working some places in mud that's waist high," Wilson said. "Whenever we get to a rail that's washed out, we have to fill it back in under it with big stones. Some places have the railroad ties and rail suspended in the air by themselves with no earth under them."
Following his visit on Stevens Mill Road, McCrory was driven out U.S. 117 to its intersection with Old Mount Olive Highway and back, affording him the opportunity to view the severe flooding on the highway and the many homes and businesses that remain underwater.
Businesses such as E-Z Bait and Tackle, Big Jim's Pizza, Studio 117 and others remain half underwater.
Parts of the highway remained impassable Thursday afternoon, and two lanes of traffic -- one going each direction -- were opened Thursday night around 8.
The path McCrory took snaked its way back and forth across the highway through the parts that have dried out since the Neuse River crested at 29.74 feet earlier this week.
McCrory stepped out of his car briefly to speak with NCDOT workers on the side of the road near Elmwood Cemetery before being taken to the Wayne County Emergency Operations Center, which was activated Friday as the storm moved in.
Alex Westbrook with Wayne County Office of Emergency Services said the EOC has representatives from the NCDOT, Goldsboro Fire Department, Red Cross, Wayne County Sheriff's Office, the Goldsboro Police Department, Wayne County Emergency Management, EMS personnel and OES.
McCrory shook each person's hand inside the EOC and thanked them for their work, spending roughly three to four minutes inside the operations center, then left.
McCrory left around 11:30 a.m. Thursday, roughly one hour after his arrival.
After viewing the destruction that has wreaked havoc on the area, McCrory could not say when federal funds for disaster relief would be made available to Wayne County, and did not know how much the county would be getting to aid with rebuilding after the water recedes.
"We're disbursing the money as quick as we can through FEMA," McCrory said.