Home Care In Clyde, NC

CLYDE, N.C. (WLOS) — Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Clyde Volunteer Fire Department gathered Friday evening to honor the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives and remember those who responded in the hours and days that followed.

The ceremony included bagpipes, a color guard and a wreath-laying at Clyde’s 9/11 memorial, which has a unique connection to Ground Zero.

Two eight-foot steel beams from the World Trade Center have been part of the memorial since 2011. Each weighs about 1,200 pounds. The steel remnants were given to the Clyde Fire Department and now serve as a permanent reminder of the lives lost and the sacrifices made that day.

WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA FIRE DEPARTMENTS PRESERVE PIECES OF 9/11 HISTORY

Retired FDNY Battalion Chief Joe Krebbs was among those who traveled to New York after the attacks to help with the recovery effort. He spoke to the crowd on Friday.

“The next morning, with a heavy heart, I drove up to New York,” Krebbs said. “I would spend the next three days working on the pile.”

Retired U.S. Army Colonel Peter Champagne also shared his firsthand account of 9/11. Champagne was at the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the building.

GALLERY | ASHEVILLE FIRE CHIEF MIKE CAYSE'S VIEW OF GROUND ZERO AFTER 9/11

“When American Airlines Flight 77 struck the building, I helped evacuate the people from the Pentagon,” Champagne said.

Champagne returned to the Pentagon the following day when President George W. Bush visited to pay his respects. Champagne said he looked the president in the eye and thanked him for taking the time to be there.

“He said to me, and I'll never forget this, with tears in his eyes, ‘Colonel, that's the least that I can do,’” Champagne recalled.

RETIRED NEW YORK FIREFIGHTER SHARES HIS 9/11 STORY: 'WE SHOULD NEVER FORGET THE LOSS'

For those who lived through Sept. 11, sharing those experiences remains an important part of remembering the day.

“We pray for the families who lost loved ones that day,” one speaker said during the ceremony. “Though 25 years have passed, we know that grief doesn't follow a calendar.”

The Clyde memorial stands as a permanent reminder of the lives that were lost, the lives they lived and the people who answered the call to help.

WILSON, N.C. (WLOS) — Human remains discovered in 1977 have been positively identified nearly 50 years later with the help of advanced DNA testing, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

Cindy Marcell Blizzard has been identified as the person whose skeletal remains and clothing were found Dec. 29, 1977, in a wooded area near the Firestone plant in Wilson. The SBI said Blizzard had run away from her home in Monkton, Maryland, in spring of that year. She was 15 years old.

When the remains were found, a medical examiner determined they belonged to a white female who was about 16 to 23 years old. The SBI said it also appeared the remains had likely been at the site some time between six months and two years.

Although the medical examiner classified the victim’s death as undetermined, the SBI said the location and recovery of the remains raised questions about foul play, and the case was treated as a homicide.

24-YEAR-OLD ASHEVILLE COLD CASE BACK IN NATIONAL HEADLINES

Decades of comparing dental records against missing persons cases provided no matches, the SBI said. A DNA test on the victim’s teeth in 2010 didn’t provide any answers, either.

“The forensic tools of the time weren't enough, and the case went cold,” a Sept. 8, 2026, news release said.

In 2024, the SBI said Special Investigator Andy Murr of the Cold Case Investigative Team was assigned to review the case again. Murr found the case qualified for advanced DNA testing and sent a bone sample to a forensic DNA lab. The SBI said a genealogy service then used the single nucleotide polymorphism, or SNP, profile to trace possible relatives, leading investigators to Blizzard.

The SBI said Blizzard’s death remains unsolved, and investigators are still searching for answers.

Anyone with information about the 1977 case involving Cindy Marcell Blizzard is asked to call the SBI Cold Case Tip Line at 919-582-TIPS, email [email protected] or contact the Wilson County Sheriff's Office at 252-237-2118.

BREVARD, N.C. (WLOS) — There are several places across western North Carolina where people can visit to honor the victims and first responders of Sept. 11, 2001, all year long.

Two local fire departments have World Trade Center steel beams at the center of permanent memorials.

The memorials in Brevard and Clyde serve as reminders of the lives lost that day and of the lasting bond between firefighters across the country.

A day that changed everything

The ripples from Sept. 11, 2001, were felt around the world. For firefighters, those ripples were felt through the bonds of brotherhood.

"We heard something was going on, didn't know what," said Wentfard Henson, chief of the Clyde Fire Department.

"My oldest son woke me up and said, 'Dad, come on down and look at this,'" said Brevard Fire Department Safety Officer Craig Budzinsky.

Budzinsky said he watched the attacks unfold.

"It was heartbreaking to see that and know that they were in the building and felt frustrated that you couldn't help," he said.

'THOSE BEAUTIFUL TOWERS WERE GONE': HENDERSONVILLE WOMAN REMEMBERS SURVIVING 9/11

That connection became even more personal for Budzinsky. The husband of his cousin was a New York City firefighter.

"He worked off that morning, Ladder 15, and went to Ladder 7 and got his gear and went back in — and of course perished in the World Trade Center towers when they collapsed," he said.

Only a small piece of his equipment was recovered.

"They only found one piece of his helmet shield. That's all," Budzinsky said.

Pieces of history

The physical remnants of the World Trade Center are difficult reminders of the tragedy, but they also help preserve the stories of those who were lost.

At the Brevard Fire Department, a piece of World Trade Center steel is now part of a permanent memorial.

25 YEARS AFTER 9/11, BREVARD MUSEUM PRESERVES PIECES OF WORLD TRADE CENTER

Firefighters at the department were involved in creating the display themselves. The memorial also serves to teach younger generations about what happened.

A memorial in Clyde

The Clyde Fire Department also has a piece of World Trade Center steel on display. Its design came from an idea sketched during a meal break.

For the firefighters involved, building the memorial was about creating something that would last long after their own memories of September 11 fade.

The memorials in Brevard and Clyde give residents and visitors a place to pause and reflect on the events of 25 years ago — and to remember the firefighters, police officers, medics and civilians who lost their lives.

The goal is simple: make sure they are never forgotten.

CLYDE, N.C. (WLOS) — The Town of Clyde has acquired 36 parcels of land from Haywood County that are located in the floodplain, with the potential for the land to be opened up.

The land previously owned by the county was bought with federal money following storms like Ivan and Frances in 2004 and Fred in 2021.

"What we did was, the state would buy these properties through the federal money that they received, and the state would deed them to the county, but they would be heavily restricted; in other words, there can be no buildings put on them," said Haywood County Commissioner Kevin Ensley.

8 MONTHS LATER: CLYDE'S POST-HELENE RECOVERY SLOWED BY HOUSING ISSUES

According to Ensley, for nearly 15 years, the county has maintained the land or leased it out to residents for $1 per year to garden on, but now that's changing.

"So, when talking to the town of Clyde, we were able to deed those properties to the town of Clyde; then that way they can maintain them, they could use them for a park or whatever they can maybe use based on the restrictions that are on them now. But they're heavily restricted, so it has to be some sort of outdoor activity that doesn't have any buildings or anything like that on it," Ensley said.

Ensley says there's potential for parks and ball fields among other recreational ideas for the parcels.

Karen and Bruce Brumbaugh, who have lived in Clyde since 2019, bought their home from owners who experienced Ivan and Frances, choosing to elevate the house after the two storms.

Following the buying of their home, the Brumbaughs have experienced both Fred and Helene.

"So, on the ground floor, Fred probably came four or five feet up on the ground floor, so everything we had on that ground floor kinda got trashed. There was a lot of damage to the garage doors and stuff like that, but it really wasn't all that bad," Bruce Brumbaugh said.

Helene hit three years later, causing much more damage to the Brumbaugh home.

"That was catastrophic; we were out of the house for 10 months. We were renting different Airbnbs in the area," Karen Brumbaugh said. "Everything, it was all gone; the only thing we had left was the clothes we had cause we were visiting the beach."

In the months following Helene, the Brumbaughs say they worked with a Haywood County contractor who worked through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help get the Brumbaughs money to fix their home. The Brumbaughs say a Haywood County contact has approached them for buyouts.

CLYDE RESIDENTS GRAPPLE WITH FLOOD CLEANUP AS HURRICANE HELENE LEAVES CHAOS

"I think we go in on the next bundle of people who are waiting on buyouts. I think everything's moving a lot faster since Helene, cause some people were still waiting on buyouts from Fred, so I think things have started moving along a lot better," Karen Brumbaugh said.

The Brumbaughs are saying they would consider a buyout.

"We would consider it; I mean it would have to not be an insult what we were offered. From what we understood, the buyouts should come with an offer that was the value of the home and property the day before the event," Karen Brumbaugh said.

Until then, the Brumbaughs say they want to see the land kept safe.

"My biggest thing is the maintenance of whatever they do and the patrolling of it, so it stays a safe environment for everybody," Karen Brumbaugh said.

They would also like to see it maintained.

"If I was sitting in the middle of a greenway that was, you know, well-kept and manicured and maintained, that wouldn't be so bad," Bruce Brumbaugh said.

Ensley says the properties included in the 36 parcels do not include any properties or homes affected by Helene, as the county is still waiting for the Helene buyouts to come along and that could lead to more properties becoming available.

CLYDE FACES PROPERTY TAX SHORTFALL, LEANER BUDGET AS HELENE-DAMAGED HOME VALUES PLUMMET

"To build in Clyde now you're gonna have to elevate so high in those areas that it almost becomes unfeasible because of the amount of area you'd have to elevate, probably in some areas 12 feet," Ensley said. "So, I think a lot of people after Helene saw how high the flood was, they decided to sell."

Ensley says that the Town of Clyde's property tax revenue was decimated by the town, causing it to look for other areas outside of the floodplain to rebuild homes, and that the newly acquired parcels could potentially help.

"I think the town is actively trying to find property outside the flood areas to expand their tax base with, you know, maybe parcels that are available being able to build back on those so people can live in Clyde again, but that's one problem that they've had was the tax base, and this is not gonna help that other than it maybe have parks and other amenities that might be able to draw people to Clyde to where when these new houses are built they'll be able to get folks to come back to Clyde," Ensley said.

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Nearly two years ago, a dilapidated building, once known as Sutton Automotive, was demolished, paving the way for new opportunities in the empty lot.

"This used to be an automotive repair place. The building had gone into disrepair; it was becoming sort of a hazard, so the town and the property worked together to take down the building. We've cleaned it up to the extent that we can, and now this lot is for sale," said Elizabeth Teague, development services director for the Town of Waynesville, about the empty lot.

DEMOLITION UNDERWAY AT SUTTON AUTOMOTIVE BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN WAYNESVILLE

The demolition is all part of the town's 2035 Comprehensive Plan: Planning with Purpose. The plan that was adopted in 2020 targeted the area of South Main Street.

"This was an area in our comprehensive plan that we targeted for redevelopment and economic opportunity," Teague said.

Along with the demolition of the former automotive site, a new building housing new businesses has been built on the South Main Street corridor. The new building will feature four restaurants, a Dunkin', Jersey Mike's and an AT&T store.

Teague says the town has seen more investment in South Main Street since the comprehensive plan.

"We certainly have seen a lot of investments since the comprehensive plan in South Main Street. People are very excited with, like, Cookout and the new building that's going on just down the road," Teague said.

NEW DOWNTOWN WAYNESVILLE BUILDING AIMS TO BOOST TOURISM, ECONOMY

Teague says she believes the excitement for the projects being developed will help create a positive atmosphere for more investments.

"That, to me, will create an atmosphere where other properties such as this one create new investment that people are excited about," Teague said.

Across the street from the new building sits the local bar Assembly on Main Street. Bar manager Luke Shuping has worked in the building where Assembly on Main sits for five years, when it was BearWaters Brewing Co., and recently took over as bar manager for Assembly on Main Street. Shuping says he hopes the new developments on South Main Street bring in more foot traffic.

"I think it'll be great for our business. The more the merrier," Shuping said. "If we can get some more around here, then it'll help every business around here."

Shuping has only one concern with the project.

"The only fear I have is more traffic on the road out here. The South Main right out in front of us," Shuping said.

Teague says the former site of Sutton Automotive could create space for more housing or business opportunities on South Main Street, with the goal of the new building being finished and a few of the new businesses opened by the end of 2026.