By GAGE WILSON
For Glasgow News 1
Altruism was in the air at the Glasgow Municipal Airport as local pilots stocked their planes with supplies bound for North Carolina. The relief effort comes after category 4 Hurricane Helene devastated communities from the big bend region of Florida through eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.
“Basically, we are just some pilots in the area and we just wanted to do our part like everyone else,” said Calvin Wiley, one of the pilots involved in the undertaking. Many of the donations have been supplied by local businesses, ranging from chainsaw supplies and rubber boots to diapers.
Wiley gestured to the pile of items to be loaded into his plane, “A lot of community people have donated, we’ll probably be doing another load tomorrow.”
The trip is around an hour and a half, and pilots will be utilizing a small private airport in Banner Elk, N.C., where supplies will be unloaded to then be distributed by emergency management services and National Guard. The town of around 1,000 residents was ravaged by the hurricane, and is just one example of the destruction it wrought.
“They were hit pretty hard,” Wiley said. “I guess we’ll see when we fly over, but it’s probably pretty bad in the river valleys, I’d imagine.”
More than 200 casualties have been reported with over half of those in North Carolina. While federal agencies and nonprofits are working diligently to bring aid to the area, their resources are stretched, bringing to light the impact that individuals have on critical support for disaster victims.
In addition to more traditional “day-to-day” materials, Wiley also pointed out that T.J. Regional Health will be donating medical supplies. “We’re waiting right now to see if we need to go pick it up,” he said. He went on to say this included insulin, which may not be what most people think of on the subject of emergency relief, but is no less a necessity in dire situations such as this.
While supplies can be delivered in a larger bulk via roadway transports, this is not always the most efficient way to cart aid. “A couple areas down there, you can’t drive to them,” Wiley pointed out. “So we can get them some smaller scale stuff, that way they have it right there.”
Speaking on the subject of the advantages of air travel, Wiley described how a helicopter pilot peer of his assisted those displaced in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. “They were able to do a lot, they were first on with evacuating people,” he said. “I wish I had a helicopter, then I could’ve helped out earlier, but like I said everyone is doing their part.”
Six pilots from Glasgow, Tompkinsville and Bowling Green will be making these trips with the group still looking for donations.
Justin Richardson, who is also assisting in the relief effort, said donations could be dropped off at the Boys and Girls Club Glasgow-Barren County, as well as the office of Barren County Judge-Executive Jamie Bewley-Byrd and Highland Hills Community Church. The T.J. Mission Foundation will also be accepting donations through its website, according to Richardson.
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