Motorcycle Accident Injury Attorneys in Asheville, NC

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - UNC Asheville Baseball secured a weekend series win with a 17-7 victory in eight innings over Stonehill on Saturday (Mar. 1) at Greenwood Field.

Stonehill scored one run in the top of the first, before Asheville put up five runs in the home half. Logan Lowe started the inning on a walk, before advancing to second on a ground ball for the first out. Lowe would score on a RBI single to right field by Owen Michelson, before Rylen Stockton doubled to right field to advance Michelson to third. Ben Hemphill would bring home a run with a groundout, before Coleman McGinnis brought home a run with a RBI single to right field. Caiden Chilausky would draw a walk to advance McGinnis to second, before Jake Minarik brought McGinnis home on a single up the middle that moved Chilausky to third. Jake Pereira would single home Chilausky to put a cap on the home half of the first. Stonehill would get one back in the top half of the second, before Asheville stretched its lead with three runs in the home half. Corbin Lanowitz led off the inning with a walk, before Michelson pushed him to second being hit by a pitch. Both runners would move up on a wild pitch, before Lanowitz would score and Michelson would move to third on another wild pitch. Stockton would draw a walk to put runners at the corners, before Hemphill reached on a fielder's choice to score Michelson. McGinnis would draw a walk to push Hemphill to second, before Chilausky singled to right field to load the bases. Hemphill would score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Minarik for the third run in the frame. Asheville would add one run in the home half of the third when Stockton brought home Lowe on a sacrifice fly, before Stonehill would score two in the top of the fourth and one in the top of the fifth. A well-executed double steal in the home half of the fifth resulted in Pereira scoring for Asheville, before Stonehill would score twice in the top of the sixth. Asheville would strike for three runs in the bottom of the sixth, with the inning starting with a Charlie Stogner single to right center. McGinnis was hit by a pitch to move Stogner to second, before Chilausky laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. Pereira would reach on a two-out infield single to score Stogner, before stealing second and getting into scoring position for Lowe. Lowe would lace a single to left to score both McGinnis and Pereira in the inning, before Asheville would keep Stonehill off the board and score four more runs over the next two innings to bring the game to its final score. McGinnis would launch his second career long ball in the seventh to score Stogner, before Asheville would finish off the game with two runs in the eighth. A double to right by Lanowitz would bring home Pereira, before Stockton would bring home Lowe on a sacrifice fly to right as the game's final run.

Asheville's 17 runs in the game are the most since scoring 20 against Bellarmine back on Feb. 23, 2024 while Asheville's 17 hits are the most since recording 18 hits against Bellarmine the following day. Lowe had a career day at the plate, going 4-5 with three runs scored and two runs batted in. Pereira also had three hits in the game while scoring three times and driving in two runs, along with Lanowitz, McGinnis and Chilausky each recording two hits in the game. Michelson, Stockton, Stogner and Minarik each posted one hit in the game including the first of Stogner's career, while McGinnis drove in a career-high three runs in the game. Stockton, Hemphill and Minarik each drove in two runs in the game, while Lanowitz and Michelson each brought in one. McGinnis also scored a career-high three runs, while Michelson and Stogner each scored twice and Lanowitz, Stockton, Hemphill and Chilausky each scored once. Colby Guy (2-1) went five innings from the start allowing five runs on six hits with four walks and five strikeouts, before being relieved by two innings from Nick Bruno. Bruno allowed two runs, one earned on three hits with three walks and two puchouts, before Sam Thompson fired 0.2 scoreless innings allowing one hit with one walk and one strikeout. Cal Barna would also contribute 0.1 innings of relief in the game.

The Bulldogs return to action tomorrow (Sunday, Mar. 2) going for the sweep. First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m. from Greenwood Field, with live stats available at www.uncabulldogs.com.

A reminder that admission to all UNC Asheville Baseball games at Greenwood Field is free courtesy of Ingles!

JONATHAN CREEK - Driving west along Interstate 40 in the Pigeon River Gorge, the cliffs adjacent to the road have been covered in a gray concrete and soil nails that look as if they were pressed into a pin cushion.

Crossing the Tennessee line from North Carolina, a vista of the gorge opens up as excavators and dump trucks bustle below the road as cars pass in a "sneak peek" Feb. 27 for media, ahead of the highway's much anticipated March 1 reopening.

After months of emergency work in the deep-walled gorge of Haywood County, I-40 is reopening under "unusual conditions" after Tropical Storm Helene rendered more than 4 miles of the road impassable in September.

The road's public reopening comes with a substantially decreased speed limit and motorists will only be able to travel in one lane both ways. Given damage from Helene, motorists return to the road will be a red letter day as a critical corridor through the mountains finally reopens. It will come with a couple of caveats.

With the one lane setup lasting approximately 12 miles from Exit 7 in North Carolina to Exit 447 in Tennessee, N.C. Department of Transportation Construction Engineer Nathan Tanner set expectations for those who are planning to travel the highway.

"Expect longer travel times, possible delays due to traffic backups and queuing," Tanner said, describing the layout of the road as "precarious."

The road will reopen with a 35-mph speed limit along the damaged section in the Pigeon River Gorge. The highway has been shifted to westbound lanes, where travelers will be tightly wedged together in a one-lane pattern going each direction. Lanes are separated by a 9-by-9-inch traffic light yellow concrete curb. Travelers headed east will have more width on the roadway, as NCDOT has established an additional travel lane for emergency services.

Only standard tractor trailers are allowed, as the stretch of highway does not currently support wide loads.

The impacted stretch of I-40 from Waterville on the North Carolina border to Harmon Den Road in Haywood County supports about 7,610 trucks daily and a total average daily traffic of over 26,000 vehicles, according to NCDOT Annual Average Daily Traffic statistics.

More:I-40 section collapsed by Helene in Pigeon Gorge to reopen; What to know

The highway will reopen "sometime in the morning" on March 1, Tanner said. While construction will continue, Tanner emphasized that the roadway was safe. Even on Feb. 27, dozens of workers bustled along the road as heavy trucks and machinery made it's way between North Carolina and Tennessee.

"We would not open this road if we did not feel confident that it was safe for people to travel it, and we're going to be working every day to get it repaired," Tanner said.

Some worked on Christmas to get the job done

Helene washed away 3 million cubic yards of dirt, rock and road material from I-40 in September. To bring the road back online, NCDOT signed an emergency contract with Wright Brothers Construction estimated to cost between $12 million and $15 million, Tanner said.

To stabilize the road, contractors installed a "soil-nail wall" that essentially pinned the slopes of the road against the side of the Pigeon River Gorge. The process involved drilling the soil nails into the rock below the road, placing a wire mesh over it and then spraying a concrete, known as "shotcrete," on top of the nails. Around 90,000 square feet of grayish "soil-nail wall" was installed.

Contractors, led by NCDOT engineers like Tanner and assistant engineers like Isaac Jones, who said some chose to work on Christmas Day to help get the project across the line, describing the work as "physically hard." When asked how many people worked on the road, Tanner didn't have a number but jokingly said "very many."

"It's just unreal. Everybody came together to finish the common goal," Jones said.

The team had also faced some setbacks, primarily in the form of an additional slope failure in December. If that slope failure had not happened, the team likely would have made their original goal of reopening by New Year's Day, Jones said. He encouraged motorists to be prepared for unexpected delays.

"There's no issue about the safeness of it, but just be prepared for delays," Jones said. "Make sure you have a full tank of gas, because you just want to be prepared for anything."

Long-term I-40 repairs fuzzy

While the emergency repairs have reopened the road, I-40's return to four lanes is likely to take between two to three years, Tanner said. NCDOT is currently working with Ames Construction as the contractor, RK&K as the designer and HNTB as the project manager to develop the long-term repairs, but the agency does not have accurate cost estimates, Tanner said.

In an early February visit, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy suggested that the process to repair the road might be expedited if NCDOT is able to use "local rock," which was later clarified to be river rock. NCDOT is currently working with the U.S. Forest Service to use deposited rock from the site near the Pigeon River.

"There is a possibility to utilize local deposited rock from the site to incorporate into causeway construction, which is a small piece of the overall construction of the permanent repair," Tanner said.

The contract, which is a Construction Manager/General Contractor contract, "accelerates the timeline and reduces costs," a Feb. 27 NCDOT news release said.

Alternate routes and traveling notes

While I-40 has reopened, the narrow mountain pass may take longer than usual to travel. There are other ways to pass between Tennessee and North Carolina.

Tractor trailer drivers should note that while they will be allowed to travel on I-40, no alternate routes are available beyond Exit 20, despite some GPS devices and mobile phone apps suggesting they can take an exit in the gorge. Wide loads must utilize I-77 and I-81 to travel between the two states.

Knoxville News Sentinel reporter Allison Kiehl contributed to this report.

More:More than $70M in loans approved for local governments impacted by Helene

More:US Forest Service worker firings threaten Helene recovery in WNC, workers say

Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

ASHEVILLE – Some area U.S. Forest Service workers who received a notice of termination from the agency have had their firings rescinded, according to current and former employees.

The Citizen Times previously reported that an estimated 3,400 U.S. Forest Service employees received termination letters in February, including several employees in Western North Carolina who worked on wildfire response and Tropical Storm Helene recovery efforts.

The firings came amid the Trump administration’s purging of the federal workforce, led by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and its head, billionaire Elon Musk. The effort started soon after President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, with a hiring freeze and buyout offers sent to more than 2 million federal workers.

Caroline Becker, a 23-year-old GIS specialist at the U.S. Forest Service’s Asheville headquarters, received a notice of termination from the agency on Feb. 14. Like many other federal employees who received termination letters, she was a probationary worker, having worked for the agency just shy of a year.

But after spending a week frantically applying for jobs and unemployment benefits, Becker said she received a call from her supervisor on Feb. 22 who told Becker that her termination had been rescinded.

“I really thought that it couldn’t be real,” Becker told the Citizen Times on Feb. 25.

It's unclear how many workers across the U.S. Forest Service had their terminations rescinded, but multiple current and former U.S. Forest Service workers told the Citizen Times that five of the 17 area employees that received a notice of termination had their jobs reinstated. The agency manages more than 1 million acres of forest land in North Carolina, including the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the U.S. Forest Service, did not respond to questions the Citizen Times sent the agency Feb. 26.

Becker, who compiles data and mapping for engineers rebuilding roads destroyed by Helene, said she believes she was reinstated because her job was deemed “mission critical,” meaning her work was necessary for the agency’s ongoing operations.

Still, she had to take some time to consider returning to the agency.

“Obviously, I wanted my job back so badly,” Becker said. “I love what I do, but I was just so worried, because what happens if they decide next week, ‘Oh, actually, you’re not mission critical. You’re fired again?’”

Becker’s fear might be well-founded.

On Feb. 26, the Trump administration ordered head of federal departments and agencies to prep for more “large scale reductions in force” by March 13, USA TODAY reported. Also, the head of the U.S. Forest Service, Randy Moore, announced his retirement from the agency noting the federal government’s “significant transformation.”

“If you are feeling uncertainty, frustration, or loss, you are not alone,” Moore wrote. “These are real and valid emotions that I am feeling, too.”

Even amid the uncertainty, Becker decided returning to the job she loved was worth the risk.

NPS reverses course on seasonal workers

Despite the federal hiring freeze, the National Park Service is preparing to hire seasonal workers, an agency spokesperson told the Citizen Times in a Feb. 27 email.

The Citizen Times previously reported that the National Park Service had rescinded job offers to thousands of seasonal workers across the system, which would have compromised some basic services within the system, like restroom cleaning, visitor center staffing and tree removal.

In Western North Carolina, a region devastated by Helene and where the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway draw in millions of visitors each year, critics feared the effect could be even more pronounced, especially on communities recovering from the storm.

In a Feb. 27, a National Park Service spokesperson said the agency “is hiring seasonal workers to continue enhancing the visitor experience as we embrace new opportunities for optimization and innovation in workforce management.”

Given that hundreds of agency workers accepted buyout offers and other permanent positions go unfilled because of the freeze, hiring seasonal workers won’t be an easy task, said Jeff Hunter, the Southern Appalachian Director with the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit advocacy group.

“I’m concerned that parks might not have the capacity to higher seasonals as efficiently as they have in the past,” Hunter said.

More:Trump-ordered hiring freeze could threaten Smokies and Parkway operations post-Helene

Jacob Biba is the Helene recovery reporter at the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jbiba@citizentimes.com.

ASHEVILLE - Fire departments from across the state and South Carolina have deployed to multiple wildfires burning over 500 acres throughout Western North Carolina. Though specific causes of each fire have not been announced, officials say significant debris from Tropical Storm Helene has left the region vulnerable to spring wildfire season.

Careless debris burning remains the leading cause of fires throughout the region, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Four active wildfires have burned 484 acres of national forest land over the weekend, including the two in WNC — Pisgah and Nantahala.

A combination of dry fuels, limited rainfall and very low humidity will bring an elevated risk of increased fire behavior throughout Monday, March 3. However, officials are hopeful that a cold front will bring rain overnight Tuesday, March 4, into March 5.

So far this year in North Carolina, 1,830 fires have burned 4,925 acres of land throughout the state, according to approximated data from N.C. Forest Service.

"People are urged to avoid outdoor burning today," the U.S. Forest Service said on social media March 3.

Evacuation ordered while nearly 500 acres burn in Polk County

A large, uncontained fire broke out over the weekend in Polk County near U.S. 176, burning on the right side of the highway going toward Saluda. The fire ignited in the Warrior Mountain area after wind blew a tree into power lines, Tyron Mayor J. Alan Peoples said. Officials ordered a voluntary evacuation of the area March 2, which may be lifted March 3 after back burn operations are complete, according to the Polk County Fire Marshal's Office.

"We have had to evacuate people on both sides of the mountain with an estimate of 100 to 200 structures and an estimated several hundred people," the mayor wrote on social media March 2.

As of 9 a.m. March 3, the Melrose Fire is burning on 481 acres with 30% containment, according to N.C. Forest Service estimates. Crews will begin back burn operations for the day and reinforce fire lines, Polk County Emergency Management said on Facebook. Crews are still protecting homes in the area. The public is asked to avoid the area while crews are at work.

Officials are asking the public to avoid Harmon Field Road, U.S. 176 and Howard Gap Road. An emergency shelter was set up at the Polk County Senior Center located at 75 Carmel Ln. in Columbus.

Wildfires burning in Pisgah, Nantahala forests

The McClure Road Fire in the Nantahala National Forest has held steady at 20 acres in Cherokee County. The fire is burning about six miles southwest along U.S. 64, according to the U.S. Forest Service. A couple of structures were threatened by the fire March 2, but crews have now protected those areas, according to spokesperson Lynn Mcaloon.

The Hicks Cemetery Fire in the Pisgah National Forest grew from 20 to 50 acres on March 2, according to the forest service. The fire is in the Appalachian Ranger District in Haywood County near the Pigeon River, west of Interstate 40 at Cold Springs Creek Road.

Crews battling fires in Nantahala and Pisgah national forests have increased containment and the fires are not expected to grow significantly. Mcaloon said they do not have an update on the percent of containment for these fires yet, though crews have many containment lines and areas in place.

"We're still gathering that information from this morning," Mcaloon said. "The priority kind of goes, get the field the resources they need, then learn what's going on."

National Weather Service's Hazardous Weather Outlook

The National Weather Service issued a special weather statement as of 6:50 a.m. on March 3. The statement warns that "another very dry day" is expected with a minimum relative humidity of 20 to 25% in the afternoon. This will lead to increased fire danger from 11 a.m. through the evening.

"While winds are expected to be light and temperatures still on the cool side of normal, dry vegetation due to lack of recent rainfall combined with the dry air will once again result in increased wildfire danger," the alert said.

When is rain heading to the region?

In its hazardous weather outlook, NWS noted that a strong, low-pressure system from the Great Plains will pass through just north of the region this week, bringing a "robust cold front" through the area on the morning of March 5. The front will likely bring widespread showers and possible thunderstorms.

Some of the storms may bring damaging straight-line winds or hail and brief tornadoes "cannot be ruled out," according to NWS. A wind advisory is possible toward the end of the week as very gusty winds will likely spread over the region after the cold front, the outlook said.

Which counties are under burn bans?

Hazardous fire conditions, fueled by low humidity and unseasonably warm temperatures, has triggered multiple counties in Western North Carolina to issue burn bans. The bans apply to all open burning within 100 feet of a structure.

Counties with ongoing bans include:

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is also under a burn ban as of Saturday, March 1, until further notice. This includes all campfires and charcoal use in the park. Campers, backpackers and visitors using picnic areas may continue to use cookstoves with compressed gas canisters and gas grills that have an on/off switch, the park said in a March 1 news release. Stoves and grills should be attended at all times.

There are no active fires in the Great Smokies park as of 10 a.m. March 3, according to spokesperson Katie Liming.

More:Crews battle wildfire near NC 9 in Buncombe County; burn ban due to 'extreme' danger

This story will be updated.

Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - UNC Asheville Baseball rode Clay Edmondson's career day to a 7-5 win on Sunday (Mar. 2) and a three-game sweep of Stonehill for the weekend.

Edmondson tallied five straight scoreless frames to start the game as Asheville built a 5-0 lead on offense. Charlie Stogner collected his first career hit on a RBI single to left field to score Corbin Lanowitz to open the scoring, before Ty Martinez would add to the lead scoring from third on a successful steal attempt at second by Jake Pereira. Asheville would add two runs in the fourth, starting with a leadoff walk to Martinez before he advanced to second on a wild pitch. Logan Lowe would rip a one-out single to center to score Martinez, before stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch. Rylen Stockton would drop a bunt down as Lowe was able to score on a Stonehill error on the play. Asheville would add another run in the fifth as Blaize Johnson would launch his first career home run over the right field wall for a 5-0 lead, before Stonehill would strike for three runs in the top of the sixth to make it a 5-3 ballgame. Asheville would get two runs back in the bottom of the sixth on Rylen Stockton's first career home run that also scored Corbin Lanowitz, before the teams would trade scoreless frames in the seventh. Stonehill would score two runs in the top of the eighth to ultimately bring the game to its final score.

Asheville totaled its seven runs in the game on nine hits, led by the first two career hits from Johnson and one hit each from Lowe, Lanowitz, Stockton, Stogner, Coleman McGinnis, Caiden Chilausky and Pereira. Lanowitz and Martinez each scored twice, while Lowe, Stockton and Johnson each scored once. Stockton paced the Bulldogs with three runs batted in for the game, while Lowe, Stogner and Johnson each drove in one run. Edmondson (2-0) totaled three runs, one earned matching a career-high seven innings allowing five hits with a career-high eight strikeouts. Daylinh Nguyen-Brown finished off the last two innings, allowing two runs on two hits with three strikeouts.

The Bulldogs (6-5) return to Greenwood Field on Tuesday (Mar. 4) to host the University of Pittsburgh in non-conference action. First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m., with video and live stats available at www.uncabulldogs.com.

A reminder that admission to all UNC Asheville Baseball games at Greenwood Field is free courtesy of Ingles!