Thousands without power after major power lines damaged in Western North Carolina, Duke Energy reports
BREAKING NEWS. THIS IS WYFF NEWS FOUR TODAY, BREAKING BARRIERS. HOW TWO SOUTH CAROLINA CHURCHES COME TOGETHER AFTER YEARS OF DIVIDE. PLUS A WEEKEND OF OUTDOOR MARKETS. WE SHOW YOU SOME OF THE BEST FROM OUR REGION. GOOD MORNING. I’M PEYTON FURTADO. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE WITH US ON YOUR SUNDAY MORNING. AS YOU GET UP, GET READY TO GO, LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR WEATHER. GET READY FOR THE DAY. OUR LAURENS SKYCAM IS 73 DEGREES. YOU’LL SEE A FEW CLOUDS IN THE SKY, BUT BEHIND IT IS A BEAUTIFUL BLUE SKY. SYDNEY SULLIVAN IS WITH US IN THE STUDIO TODAY. SYDNEY, I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GETTING UP AND GETTING READY FOR THE MORNING. WHAT DO THEY NEED TO KNOW TO BE PREPARED? WELL, WE’RE STILL LOOKING AT A VERY TYPICAL SUMMER PATTERN WITH MILD TEMPERATURES AND THE POSSIBILITY OF SOME SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. YOU’LL NOTICE TODAY THAT OUR TEMPERATURES ARE NOT GOING TO BE AS HOT THIS AFTERNOON, SO A LITTLE BIT OF RELIEF IS COMING OUR WAY. IT’S STILL GOING TO BE MEDIUM, SO NOT A LOT OF RELIEF, BUT HEY, WE’RE GOING TO TAKE ALL WE CAN GET. TEMPERATURES NOW 75 F IN ANDERSON, 75 F IN GREENVILLE, 74 F IN SPARTANBURG AND 72 F IN ASHEVILLE. SO STILL A BRIGHT START. NOT AS WARM AS SOME OF THE MORNINGS WE HAVE HAD THE PAST DAYS, BUT OVERALL WE ARE LOOKING AT A VERY WARM START TO OUR SUNDAY, LOOKING AT OUR LIVE SUPER DOPPLER FOUR. DRY CONDITIONS FOR THE TIME, WE HAVE A LITTLE MORE CLOUDY THIS MORNING, BUT WE HAVE SOME SUNSHINE STARTING TO SHINE THROUGH, SO IT MAKES WAY FOR A NICE START TO YOUR SUNDAY. IF YOU WANT TO GO OUT TODAY I’D SAY EARLY IN THE DAY IS THE BEST TIME TO DO IT. THERE’S STILL A SMALL CHANCE YOU’LL SEE A SPOT OR TWO OF SHOWERS, BUT THAT’S REALLY ONCE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING, WHERE WE’LL SEE A BETTER CHANCE OF MORE WIDESPREAD SPREAD SHOWERS AND STORMS. WE NEED THIS RAIN. SO THIS IS GOING TO BE VERY GOOD FOR US. COULD AFFECT YOUR SUNDAY PLAN. SO KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON OUR FORECAST IF YOU’RE GOING OUT, BECAUSE YOU’LL PROBABLY NEED AN UMBRELLA, ESPECIALLY LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING. BUT LOOKING BACK AT HOW OUR TEMPERATURES ARE GOING FROM HERE AND THE LATEST STORM TIMING. PEYTON. THANKS SYDNEY AND SATURDAY PEOPLE IN CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS, HAVE WINDOWS BROKEN DOWN FOR BARREL, WHICH IS FORECASTING HURRICANE-FORCE WIND AND A FEW INCHES OF RAIN. PEOPLE CAMPING ON THE GULF COAST ARE ALSO PREPARING, PACKING UP AND MOVING TO THE HIGH GROUNDS. HURRICANE BARREL HAS ALREADY PUNCHED THROUGH PARTS OF THE CARIBBEAN AND MEXICO, KILLING AT LEAST NINE PEOPLE. AND BACK HERE IN THE AREA, WE HAVE MORE NEWS TO BRING THIS MORNING. THIS IS IN UNION WHERE OFFICIALS ARE INVESTIGATING A SHOOTING THAT LEFT ONE PERSON KILLED. THEY SAY IT HAPPENED YESTERDAY NIGHT AT 11:30 AT A HOME ON COTTAGE AVENUE. WHEN OFFICIALS ARRIVED THEY SAY THEY FOUND A MAN IN THE GRASS WHO HAD DIED FROM A GUNSHOT WOUND. THE BODY REPORT SAYS THE VICTIM’S NAME WAS RODNEY WEIDNER. HE IS 34 YEARS OLD. HE LIVED AT THAT HOME. THERE HAVE BEEN NO ARRESTS MADE AT THIS TIME. THE UNION PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT HAS CHARGED SLED TO ASSIST WITH THAT INVESTIGATION. AND IN PICKENS COUNTY, DEPARTMENTS ARE INVESTIGATING AFTER THERE WAS ANOTHER BODY. THEY SAY THEY FOUND THESE HUMAN REMAINS YESTERDAY MORNING AT 10:00 IN THE WOODS ON SHIVERS LANE. DEPARTMENT OFFICERS TELL US THEY GOT A TIP FROM PEOPLE WORKING IN THE AREA. THEY SAY THE BODY WAS FOUND NEARBY 34-YEAR-OLD JUSTIN GASPAR, WHO WENT MISSING EARLY THIS YEAR. DEPARTMENT OFFICERS SAY THERE ARE NO SIGNS OF CRIME AT THIS TIME. THE BODILY DEPARTMENT IS WORKING TO IDENTIFY THE REMAINS AND AN ANDERSON COUNTY OFFICER HAS ARRESTED AND CHARGED A PERSON FOR A STABBING. DESHAUN JOHNSON WAS TOOK INTO ACCOUNT YESTERDAY NIGHT ON SNOW ROAD AROUND 715. OFFICERS SAY JOHNSON AND A VICTIM WERE ARGUING WHEN JOHNSON ALLEGEDLY STABBED HIM. THIS WAS YESTERDAY MORNING AT THE RAINTREE APARTMENTS ON MARCHBANKS AVENUE. OFFICERS SAY THE STABBING WAS PART OF A DOMESTIC INCIDENT AT LAST CHECK. POLICE SAYS THE VICTIM IS IN STABLE CONDITION AND REMAINS IN ANDERSON COUNTY. WILLIAMSTON POLICE ARE ASKING THE PUBLIC TO HELP IDENTIFY THIS CAR THAT WAS INVOLVED IN A RIDDLE AND DRIVE THROUGH A FAST FOOD RESTAURANT. POLICE SAYS THIS DODGE CHARGER HIT A DELIVERY BAR CAUSING $1,000 IN DAMAGE AT A HARDEE’S ON BEAVER DAM AND HIGHWAY 20. IF ANYONE HAS ANY INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT THEM. WILLIAMSTON POLICE AND SPARTANBURG COUNTY DEPARTMENT HAVE ARRESTED A TEENAGER FOR ALLEGEDLY SETTING TWO CHURCH FANS ON FIRES. DEPUTIES SAY 18-YEAR-OLD BRANDON GREEN IS ACCUSED OF SETTING BURNS ON TWO FORD TRANSIT VANS AT THE PHILADELPHIA BAPTIST CHURCH AFTER DEPUTIES RECEIVED A CALL ABOUT A SUSPICIOUS PERSON ON CHURCH PROPERTY LEAVING IN A TRUCK. GREEN IS CHARGED WITH TWO COUNTS OF ARRONS. AND TWO CHURCHES ON SOUTH CAROLINA’S JAMES ISLAND ARE BREAKING DOWN RACE BARRIERS IN A VERY REAL WAY. REPORTER SOPHIA RADEBAUGH SHARES THEIR STORIES OF HOPE AFTER DECADES OF DIVISION. THERE’S DECADES OF HISTORY BETWEEN JAMES ISLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND SAINT JAMES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. THE TWO CHURCHES WERE ONE HERE. YOU KNOW, BLACKS AND WHITES WOULD WORSHIP WITH THE AFRICAN-AMERICANS ON THE BALCONY AND THE WHITES ON THE FLOOR. BUT AFTER JAMES ISLAND PRESBYTERIAN BURNED THE CHURCH DOWN IN SPLIT, THE WHITES WENT TO ONE OF THE CHURCH’S HOUSEHOLD, WHICH WAS A PLANTATION. BUT THE BLACKS COULDN’T COME. SO THEY WALKED DOWN THE STREET AND BEGAN TO WORSHIP UNDER AN OAK TREE OUT THERE, WHERE THE CHURCH STILL STANDS. THE WHITE MEMBERS STAY AT JAMES ISLAND PRESBYTERIAN AND THE BLACK MEMBERS FORM THEIR OWN CHURCH. SAINT JAMES PRESBYTERIAN. SINCE THE SPLIT, THE CEMETERY WHERE MEMBERS OF BOTH CHURCHES HAVE BEEN BURIED FOR DECADES OF YEARS HAS BEEN SEPARATED, SEPARATED BY A FENCE. THIS IS WHERE THE BARRIER HAD BEEN ACTING. OKAY, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT HERE. BUT IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS, THE PASTORS OF BOTH CHURCHES, THE REVERENT TRICIA PETROVAN AND THE REVERENT DOCTOR BRIAN HENDERSON, HAVE DECIDED THAT THE BARRIER BETWEEN THE TWO HAD TO BE BROKEN DOWN. THE TWO CHURCH BODIES ARE COMING TOGETHER. ON A SATURDAY AND REMOVED THE BARRIER WITHIN AN HOUR. YOU HAD ALL THE POLES GONE. ALL THE CABLES WERE OUT. NOW THE TWO CHURCHES ARE PUTTING PEACE POLES WHERE THE FENCE WAS, WITH WORDS ON THE POLES LIKE REGRET, TRUTH, AND PARTNERSHIP. IT’S A WHOLE LITANY OF WORDS THAT WE THINK SHOULD CHARACTERIZE THIS RELATIONSHIP. BOTH PASTORS SAY THAT EVEN THOUGH THE PAIN OF THE PAST CAN’T BE CHANGED, THEY CAN FOCUS ON HEALING. AS PEOPLE WALK THROUGH THIS, THEY WILL SEE WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO STRENGTHEN THE UNITY THAT WE CLAIM IN OUR FAITH. THAT WAS SOPHIA RADEBAUGH WHO COVERED IT. AND IF YOU WENT TO TRAVELERS REST YESTERDAY, YOU COULD NOT MISS THE FARMERS MARKET. IT WAS A HUGE EFFORT TO ADD OVER 85 LOCAL VENDORS RIGHT ON THE SWAMP RABBIT TRAIL. LIVE MUSIC, FREE ACTIVITIES. YOU COULD SHOP FOR LOCALLY BROUGHT MEAT, VEGETABLES, FRUIT AND SO MUCH MORE. WE HAVE BAKERIES, WE HAVE FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES FROM THE FARMS. WE ALSO HAVE A REALLY COOL PROGRAM CALLED YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS, SO THEY GET YOUNGER KIDS FROM THE AREA TO SIGN UP TO BE A VENDORS. SO WE HAVE A COUPLE OF KIDS SELLING EARRINGS AND CHARCUTERIE BOARDS AND STICKERS, AND THEY’RE ALL UNDER 15, WHICH IS REALLY COOL. AND IF YOU MISSED IT, DON’T WORRY. THE MARKET IS EVERY SATURDAY FROM 8:30 TO 12:00 THROUGH SEPTEMBER, AND ANOTHER LOCAL MARKET HERE IN GREENVILLE GOT A GLIMPSE OF THE BIG TOP. CHECK IT OUT. IT LOOKS LIKE FUN. THE MARKET WAS A CARNIVAL THEME WITH MOLDS, GAMES, AND COTTON CANDY. THERE WAS A LIVE PERFORMANCE FROM AP AND SOULFUL TUSH. IT ENTERTAINED THE 20-plus FEMALE AND MINORITY ENTREPRENEURS THAT ARE ALL IN THE SPOTLIGHT. I THINK IT’S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR ECOSYSTEM. Um, TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE DOLLARS ARE GOING AROUND THE COMMUNITY. WE HAVE ENTREPRENEURS WITH GREAT IDEAS. THEY JUST AREN’T GETTING THE ATTENTION THAT THEY NEED. SO WE ARE ACTUALLY A CATALYST TO GET THEM OUT IN FRONT OF THE PEOPLE. AND THAT WAS IN GREENVILLE. A SCHOOL SUPPLIES DRIVE ALSO HELPED SOME LOCAL STUDENTS IN PICKENS COUNTY HAVE THEIR ANNUAL INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION YESTERDAY. IT WAS FULL OF EXCITEMENT AND ENTERTAINMENT. FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY. OUR JAMYA JAMYA HAS THAT DETAIL. THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE. WE LOVE AMERICA AND IT’S GREAT FOR THE COMMUNITY. IT’S THE INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION AT THE PICKENS AMPHITHEATRE. IT’S AWESOME WE LIVE JUST A MILE AWAY. I MEAN, IT’S SO FUN. THERE’S LIVE MUSIC, FOOD, RIDES FOR THE KIDS AND OF COURSE FIREWORKS. WE PICKED TODAY BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE DONE THINGS ON THE FOURTH AND WE THOUGHT, WELL, LET’S DO IT ON SATURDAY NIGHT. AND THEN WE CAN DEPEND ON THAT AND SEE HOW IT GOES. SO IT’S WORKED OUT WELL. IT’S A FAMILY EVENT THAT YOU CANNOT MISS. THIS IS TOO EASY TO DO. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? AND ALL THE PEOPLE YOU CAN’T ASK, THIS EVENT IS FOR ALL AGES. WE HAVE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE. THAT WAS OUR JAMYA JAMYA WHO REPORTED ON IT. THAT EVENT WAS FREE AND WE WERE TOLD IT WAS THE BIGGEST CROWD THEY HAVE EVER HAD. AND LATER THIS MORNING AS WE CONTINUE OUR SERIES ON FOUR WAYS WE ARE WINNING FOR THE RECORD, WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT EDUCATION. OUR NIGEL ROBERTSON IS GOING TO TALK TO LEADERS FROM THE UNITED WAY ABOUT TRACK GREENVILLE AND GREENVILLE COUNTY SCHOOLS. WE HAVE AN INCREDIBLE SCHOOL SYSTEM IN GREENVILLE COUNTY SCHOOLS, SUPPORTING ALMOST 80,000 STUDENTS. AND OF COURSE WE KNOW THAT ABOUT 60% OF THEM ARE ON FREE AND REDUCED PRICE LUNCHES AND THAT IS NOT A COMPLETE INDICATOR OF WHAT THEY MAY GET AT HOME OR IN THE COMMUNITY. WE KNOW FOR SURE THAT OUR CHILDREN COME TO SCHOOL WITH MORE THAN JUST AN EDUCATION. JOIN US THIS MORNING AT 11:30 AM FOR THAT FULL CONVERSATION ON EDUCATION IN GREENVILLE COUNTY.
Thousands without power after major power lines damaged in Western North Carolina, Duke Energy reports
Update: As of 3 a.m. Monday, approximately 100 customers were still without power. Duke Energy reports that thousands of customers are without power in Western North Carolina. (Video above: WYFF News 4 Morning Headlines) More than 3,000 customers are without power in Fletcher, North Carolina and surrounding areas. Duke Energy reports that the outages are due to damage to major power lines. According to Live Super Doppler 4, severe thunderstorms moved through the area around 2-3 p.m. on Sunday, July 7. Duke Energy estimates that power will be restored by 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
Update: As of 3 a.m. Monday morning, approximately 100 customers were still without power.
Duke Energy reports that thousands of customers in Western North Carolina are without power.
(Video above: WYFF News 4 Morning Headlines)
More than 3,000 customers are without power in Fletcher, North Carolina and surrounding areas.
Duke Energy reports the outage is caused by damage to key power lines.
According to Live Super Doppler 4, severe thunderstorms moved across the area around 2:00-3:00 PM on Sunday, July 7.
Duke Energy expects power to be restored by 7:30 p.m. Sunday evening.