Special Announcement on Hurricane Helene

Hey folks, Scott here. We've been getting a lot of emails from you who know that I live in North Carolina wondering about how I'm doing. The first thing I want to say is thank you so much for your concern. It's heartwarming and I really appreciate it. The city I live in is well east of any significant damage from Hurricane Helene, so I am doing just fine. However, as of this moment, over 140 people in six states have died as a result of Helene, and many hundreds are still missing in North Carolina alone. Power and cellular service are slowly and sporadically being returned to western North Carolina. As that happens, hopefully some of the missing will turn up. Many water treatment plants were damaged beyond repair in the Asheville area, so drinking water is one of the biggest issues for Asheville. Also, washed out and blocked roads are hampering rescue efforts. The damage from Helene is widespread, as you know, but if you have friends or loved ones in the Asheville area, I would strongly recommend visiting the r slash Asheville subreddit. There are new megathreads being posted there daily with tons of useful information. Just go to reddit, r-e-d-d-i-t dot com slash the letter r and then slash Asheville, a-s-h-e-v-i-l-l-e. Some of you will no doubt be familiar with our dear friend Micah Hanks, who has been on the show many times. He is the co-founder, creator, and editor-in-chief of thedebrief.org, as well as a prolific podcaster with the Micah Hanks Show and others. More importantly, though, he's a good friend, and he lives just outside of Asheville. While I was unable to reach him for the first 24 hours, he did eventually make contact with me to say he was okay, although he is facing some adverse conditions. But for those that know him or are concerned, I can say that I've heard from him twice now, and both times he seemed well. I know there was a landslide near him, but he implied that he was hanging in there. He's a borderline Indiana Jones, so I feel like he's going to be fine. He's probably out helping people dig out or stay safe. Lots of folks are looking for ways to donate and help victims of the storm. It's important, in a time like this, to be wary of charities that might not be honest or are poorly managed. We've put together a couple of resources that we feel can be trusted. The first place on the list is Blue Ridge Public Radio in Western North Carolina, and it has a variety of options on their website for those wishing to help. Just visit bpr.org. Secondly, you can visit umcmission.org, which is a part of the United Methodist Church. They have a link on their front page that will take you to places you can donate to victims of Helene. They have an endowment that pays for their operational expenses, so you can rest assured that 100% of your donation gets to the people who need it, which is critical in a disaster like this. Finally, the United Way is another good place to donate. Visit support.unitedway.org slash page slash Helene to donate that way. Again, that's support.unitedway.org slash page slash Helene. So to recap, that's bpr.org, umcmission.org as in United Methodist Church or support.unitedway.org slash page slash Helene. Astonishing Legends will be back on October 12th with the first of three new shows in a row for the spooky season. Thank you again for checking in on us.