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Banner Elk works to fix sewer main after damage from Helene

The Avery County town of Banner Elk is making progress on rebuilding its infrastructure after severe flooding and wind damage from Helene.

Both the county and town remain under a state of emergency and a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. is still in effect.

Getting safe running water back to Banner Elk has been a priority. Repairs on the town’s washed-out sewer main are expected to begin this week now that the road has been rebuilt enough for crews to reach it, town officials say.

In an update on Banner Elk's website, Town Manager Rick Owen says some water is being pumped through the system to flush out lines, but it’s not safe for residents to drink.

Banner Elk officials still want people to stay off the roads unless travel is essential, and they are asking those who planned to visit in October to reschedule.

They add that nighttime temperatures are expected to drop below freezing this week and there is a need for cold-weather donations such as sleeping bags, blankets, heaters, generators and propane.

 

Paul Garber is a Winston-Salem native and an award-winning reporter who began his journalism career with an internship at The High Point Enterprise in 1993. He has previously worked at The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The News and Record of Greensboro and the Winston-Salem Journal, where he was the newspaper's first full-time multimedia reporter. He won the statewide Media and the Law award in 2000 and has also been recognized for his business, investigative and multimedia reporting. Paul earned a BA from Wake Forest University and has a Master's of Liberal Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Master's of Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He lives in Lewisville.

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