Due to COVID-19, Clay County Department of Social Services will be completing applications for the Energy programs (heating and cooling assistance) by phone. To make an application for these programs, please contact the Clay County Department of Social Services at (828) 389-6301. The Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) is a Federally funded program that provides for a one-time vendor payment to help eligible households pay their heating bills. Households including a person aged 60 or older or disabled persons receiving services through the NC Division of Aging and Adult Services are eligible to sign up for assistance from Dec. 1 – 31. All other households may apply from Jan. 1 – March 31 or until funds are exhausted.” The Crisis Intervention Program (CIP) is a federally funded program that assists individuals and families who are experiencing a heating or cooling related crisis. A household is considered to be in a crisis if it is currently experiencing or is in danger or experiencing a life threatening or health related emergency and sufficient, timely and appropriate assistance is not available from any other source.

Clay County Hearts for Kids would like to extend a HUGE thank you to Janice and Doobie White (and their crew) for hosting a benefit concert on Saturday, June 2020 at the Clay County Rec Park featuring the Steve Bryson Band. Thank you also to Darryl Mathis, Adam McClean with Coca-Cola, Liza Sena, Sheila Gordon, Kim Freeman, Theresa Waldroup, Phil Evans, Earl Bradshaw, Ingles of Hayesville, and all the other volunteers and campers at the Clay County Rec Park that made this event a success. The music was awesome, the food was delicious, and the event was run flawlessly. Thanks to the generosity of all that participated, over $5200 was raised to go towards Clay County Hearts for Kids. The Clay County Hearts for Kids organization is a group that supports foster children/youth and at-risk children/youth by funding activities and needs, which include events such as camps, sports/registrations, school trips, yearbooks, school pictures, prom, tutoring, birthday celebrations and various other needs that arise. Janice and Doobie White and their crew worked tirelessly to promote, organize, and orchestrate the event – THANK YOU ALL!!

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides heating, crisis and weatherization assistance. States are given broad latitude under block grant funding to design and operate their own programs, under certain restrictions. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is seeking public comment on the Revised Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program Block Grant Plan, which outlines how the federal LIHEAP block grant funds will be spent in North Carolina in federal fiscal year 2020-2021. The Administration of Children and Families allowed North Carolina a one-time option to revise the 2020 block grant plan for federal fiscal year 2020-2021. The revisions include: · Updated Federal Poverty Guidelines which are effective October 1, 2020 · Removing the requirement for Crisis Intervention Program applicants to have a disconnect notice · Explanation of how the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funding will be spent · Adding online Crisis Intervention Program and Low Income Energy Assistance Program application to ePASS effective January 1, 2021 · Adding the acceptance of telephonic signatures for Crisis Intervention Program and Low Income Energy Assistance Program applications The plan may be viewed from August 20- 26, 2020 at the following locations: · Online on the Division of Social Services website DSS Public Notices Website · On all 100 Counties DSS websites County DSS Directory Comments will be accepted until 5 pm on Wednesday, August 26, 2020. Comments can be emailed to Jasmyne Simmons at Jasmyne.Simmons@dhhs.nc.gov

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has begun mailing reminder notices to Medicaid beneficiaries that open enrollment for NC Medicaid Managed Care ends on May 14. The notices are being sent to encourage beneficiaries to choose a primary care provider and a health plan for their families’ care in preparation for the launch of NC Medicaid Managed Care on July 1. “We are pleased to see North Carolina families enrolling with health plans and providers as we prepare for the state’s transition to managed care in July,” said Deputy Secretary for NC Medicaid Dave Richard. “With open enrollment ending in less than a month, I want to encourage Medicaid beneficiaries who have not yet enrolled to act now to make choices about the health care that best meets their specific needs.” Beneficiaries can enroll online, by calling the NC Medicaid Enrollment Broker Call Center at 833-870-5500 (TTY: 833-870-5588) or through the free NC Medicaid Managed Care mobile app available on Google Play or the App Store. They can also use the mail-in forms sent to them in the enrollment packet in March. The NC Medicaid Enrollment Broker website offers a wide variety of tools and information to assist beneficiaries in choosing a primary care provider (PCP) and a health plan for their families’ care. Tools include frequently asked questions, a chat function, the Medicaid and NC Health Choice Provider and Health Plan Lookup Tool with four categories of search capabilities, advanced search based on specialty and the ability to view all providers within an organization/location and by practice name. Open enrollment ends May 14, 2021. Beneficiaries who enroll with a health plan during open enrollment will have the opportunity to select a PCP from a list of contracted providers. If they do not choose a health plan before May 14, one will be assigned to them to ensure continuous coverage of Medicaid health services. In the first 90 days after their coverage effective date, beneficiaries can change health plans for any reason. After that, unless there is a special reason, beneficiaries cannot change health plans until their next Medicaid recertification date. For more information, beneficiaries can reference the enrollment packets that were mailed to them, visit the NC Medicaid Enrollment Broker website or call the NC Medicaid Enrollment Broker Call Center at 833-870-5500 (TTY: 833-870-5588).

UPDATE: LIEAP funds have been exhausted and applications are closed. Due to COVID-19, Clay County Department of Social Services will be completing all applications for the Energy programs (heating and cooling assistance) by phone.  To make an application for these programs, please contact the Clay County Department of Social Services at (828) 389-6301. The Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) is a federally-funded program that provides for a one-time vendor payment to help eligible households pay their heating bills. Households including a person aged 60 or older or disabled persons receiving services through the NC Division of Aging and Adult Services are eligible to sign up for assistance from Dec. 1 – 31. All other households may apply from Jan. 1 – March 31 or until funds are exhausted.

With the shift toward warmer weather (which will also, hopefully, be a little less wet!) and bringing forward the clock, it’s time to focus on the tourism season ahead. The County has just approved a hotel feasibility study, which will be conducted by the University of North Carolina School of Government’s Development Finance Initiative (DFI). The County believes the time is ripe for a hotel to establish itself in the region – with the renovation of the Old Courthouse and a variety of restaurants opening around the Hayesville Town Square, the area is fast-becoming a year-round tourist destination with first-class locations for fun, weddings, special events and corporate meetings. All around, Clay County can boast great restaurants and breweries, and has numerous events and shows throughout the year – all resulting from the amazing energy and achievements of our local residents and business people. The feasibility study will officially begin in May 2019, but a Task Team has already been identified to begin gathering the data needed for the analysis of the region’s potential. Another important development relates to the Clay County Recreational Park Campground. I’ve already mentioned previously that the electricity improvements at the campground will take many campsites to 50amps, which is needed by newer and larger recreational vehicles. The campground will also undergo an ambitious landscaping overhaul under the supervision of the County’s Master Gardeners Association. A special thanks goes to Susan Patterson, Jan Kowalsky, and May Atkinson who are busy with the plans and recommendations for indigenous plants to be planted during the month of March. The County has also ended the old reservation lottery system and has set up its booking system on Reserve America. You can still call us at the County offices, however, if you need assistance in finding the right spot. Along with the NC Works Career Center, the County is planning a Jobs Fair and Career Day, which will take place on the 2nd of April from 12:00 noon until 5:00pm at the Beal Center/Old Courthouse. The aim is to help local job seekers learn more about opportunities and careers at companies in the area, hopefully keeping more of our young people busier and ultimately financially independent. We will be hosting a range of companies in manufacturing and trades, but also in the hospitality industry and health care. Schools in the area are all invited to send students to learn about summer work and part-time jobs that may be of interest to them, as well as permanent jobs they can take up after graduation. If you’d like to know more about the event and how to set up a table to promote your business, please contact me by email or call me at the office on 828 389 0089. As most of you are aware, the roads projects along Routes 69 and 175 will start this year and bring millions of dollars of investment into the area, as well as creating numerous job opportunities. While this may pose some challenges from a traffic standpoint, there is a silver lining in everything – with more people working in the area, this will mean more people eating out at our restaurants, shopping at our stores, and using our services. But, let’s still try to support our local businesses throughout this period and make them the first choice when looking for food, entertainment or buying goods. The plans for the new Primary School are well underway with the process to approve the financing of the school, which is the next step before the contractors can be appointed. The County will be raising $3,404,000 in financing to match the $10,212,000 grant from the State Lottery Fund. If all goes as planned, the new Primary School will be completed by the start of the 2020 school year and will comprise a 62,373 square foot building designed for a core of 432 students. It will include 24 general classrooms, a Computer Lab, a Music classroom, an Art classroom, three Resource Rooms, and a two-classroom Day Care Facility. The new building will also house a gymnasium with a wood sports floor, a 74’-0 x 42’-0” basketball court, and seating for 138 spectators on bleachers. In addition, the building will include a full administration suite to serve the school, and a cafeteria/kitchen with the capacity to serve up to 383 students at a time. A Media/Tech room will also be equipped to serve as the Media Center for the school. A “litter pick-up campaign” will be launched starting on Thursday, the 7th of March, and will encourage local citizens and businesses to do their part to beautify the area by picking up the unsightly litter that lines the main and arterial roads around the County. People who want to join with us to collect the litter are welcome to pick up free orange bags from the Transfer Station (Dump) and/or the new County offices at the government complex by the new Courthouse. Two orange bags of litter can be taken to the Transfer Station for free, or two bags can be left by the dumpster behind our old offices in town. We hope everyone who can will join in and help us get our beautiful county ready for the upcoming tourism season!

Highway Improvements Coming to Clay County SYLVA – A state highway in Clay County will receive upgrades starting next month. The N.C. Department of Transportation recently awarded a $19.7 million contract to improve a four-mile stretch of N.C. 175 from U.S. 64 to the Georgia state line in order to enhance safety and improve mobility. Watson Contracting of Franklin earned the contract and may begin working on April 1. The work involves grading, adding drainage, widening shoulders and paving the existing road in order to bring N.C. 175 up to the current design safety standards. All work shall be completed on this four-mile stretch by the spring of 2022. This is one of 21 highway and bridge projects awarded recently by the NCDOT. Per state law they went to the lowest bidder among qualified contractors. They are worth $331.5 million, more than $57 million under engineer estimates. ***NCDOT*** Last updated 9:03 a.m. on Mar. 20, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 27 Mar 2019 Contacts: Clay County Progress Clay County Announces Priority Health Issues for the Next Three Years Priority Health Areas are Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Hayesville, N.C. 27 MAR 2019 – Clay County has worked since September of 2018 to prioritize key health issues as part of the community health assessment (CHA) process, and welcomes additional community input in the next phase, which is community health strategic planning. Every three years we pause our work to improve community health so that we may step back and take a fresh look at all of the current data from our county that reflects its health. We then use this information to help us assess how well we’re doing and what actions we need to take moving forward. Our newest Community Health Assessment is now available to the public, and it highlights the process our county undertook to determine our health priorities for the next three years. The 2019-2021 health priorities are: · Chronic Disease Prevention and Control · Mental Health · Substance Abuse “These three topics have been pressing issues around the nation, so there is not a quick fix. That being said, we have designed various programmatic approaches for each of these areas in which we will begin the implementation stage over the next year. We have developed partnerships with key players outside of the health department to ensure success, and we are looking forward to the strides and progress we KNOW we will achieve TOGETHER!” – Stephanie Johnson, MPH, MBA – Clay County Health Director” All of this information is now available in our county’s Community Health Assessment, or CHA report that is now available to view online on health departments website and social media platforms or for print at the health department or library. If you’re interested in helping our community take action on one of these issues, contact: Alex Gilpin at 828-389-8052, get involved by joining Healthy Carolinians, or keep informed by following Clay County Health Department on Facebook. Our county is part of a larger community health assessment and improvement effort taking place in the region called WNC Healthy Impact. WNC Healthy Impact is a partnership and coordinated process between public health agencies, hospitals, and key regional partners in western North Carolina. This regional effort is supported financially by all the hospitals in the region, and is housed and coordinated by WNC Health Network. Further Resources: · Read the full Community Health Assessment Report here: https://www.health.claync.us/community-health-assessment · For more information on Clay County, visit https://www.claync.us/ · For more information about the Community Health Improvement Process, view a WNC Healthy Impact fact sheet here. Substance Use/Misuse Listening Session: pictured left to right Lorrie Ross, Stacie Ledford, Sheriff Bobby Deese, and Haven Phillips.

Release: IMMEDIATE Date: 5/20/19 Contact: Valerie Flanagan, Clay County Government Phone: 828 389 0089 Hayesville, N.C. – On May 20, 2019, the official groundbreaking ceremony for the new Hayesville Primary School took place at the old high school ballfield where it will be constructed over the next 15 months. The school will be comprised of 24 general classrooms for a core of 383 students, and include a computer lab, a music classroom, an art classroom, three resource rooms as well as a two-classroom day-care facility. It will also include a gymnasium with seating for 138 spectators on bleachers. There will be space for a full administration to serve the school as well as a cafeteria/kitchen with the capacity to serve up to 383 students at a time. Chairman of the Board of Commissioners, Dr. Rob Peck, indicated that the total cost for the project is expected to come to close to $14 million with $10,212,000 having been received from the North Carolina State Lottery Fund. “Nearly half of the eligible Tier One counties applied for the funding with requests totaling $230 million. With only $30m available from the Lottery Fund, Clay County received over a third of this.” During the ceremony, Dr. Peck thanked members of both the Board of Commissioners and Clay County School Board, past and present, the previous School Superintendent, Mark Leek, as well as the County Manager, Mark Pullium. Dr. Peck said, “The primary school project began as a vision for the future over ten years ago and, in the end, it was the result of the persistence and hard work of County officials who had not wavered in their determination to make the school a reality.” He also acknowledged the recent efforts of the many County staff and executive team members who had labored over the financing and contracting process, which had taken months to complete due to the rigorous review process mandated by the Local Government Commission. He was particularly appreciative of County Attorney, Merinda Woody, who had spent many long and valuable hours ensuring that there were no hiccups in the process. Acting School Superintendent, Scott Penland, who is also a member of the Board of Commissioners, thanked the architects and contractors for their thorough work in ensuring that they had the best school possible for the community’s young people. He said, “the Clay County School administration will ensure that the builders are able to do their work as expediently as possible. We are confident that traffic complications will be minimal for parents and students commuting to and from school. Routes have been established to allow for delivery of building materials, which will not get in the way of normal driving patterns.” He indicated that it was their hope that the school will be completed by September 2020, but possibly sooner if work can go more quickly than planned. “This would be exciting for the primary school students and teachers who are looking forward to moving to their new facilities.” The contract for the construction of the school was awarded to Wells and West of Murphy, North Carolina. Chuck West said, “we are excited to get going on this project and believe that the school will not only benefit the community’s young people and their quality of education, but will also help to create numerous jobs for local people. The work will also contribute to more money coming into the local economy, which is good for businesses based in the County.” Boomerang Design will be the overall managers of the construction project and will ensure that the quality and standards are met by the builders. Stan Anthony said, “we are proud to have been involved with such a dedicated community and local government. We are excited about the start of the building work and we look forward to our continued association with the County.”

Immediate Press Release for July 1, 2019 From the office of the Public Health Director 345 Courthouse Drive Hayesville, NC 28904 828-389-8052 WATER SAFETY AND CHILD FATALITY PREVENTION EFFORTS Every day, about ten people die from unintentional drowning. Of these, two are children aged 14 or younger. Drowning ranks fifth among the leading causes of unintentional injury death in the United States.1 More than 50% of drowning victims treated in emergency departments (EDs) require hospitalization or transfer for further care (compared with a hospitalization rate of about 6% for all unintentional injuries).1,2 These nonfatal drowning injuries can cause severe brain damage that may result in long-term disabilities such as memory problems, learning disabilities, and permanent loss of basic functioning (e.g., permanent vegetative state).(3,4) The Clay County Health Department (CCHD) recently received a grant for child fatality prevention efforts, and an allocated amount of $3,000 was used to purchase lifejackets for Clay County infants, youth and teens. A partnership was developed with the local Coast Guard Auxiliary to assist with general safety education, proper jacket fitting assistance, and other technical supports. As of 29 June 2019, 98% of the jackets purchase were distributed to families within our community. The first point of distribution was at the Clay County Sheriff’s Office Summer Camp after campers were given intensive water and boater safety lessons. The second push focused on Clay County children that are in the foster care system along with county employee families. The final distribution was an all call for remaining community families that had not had the opportunity to pick theirs up from the health department. The push behind such aggressive distribution was a result of the statistics on holiday weekends and water safety incidences in our area, with CCHD wanting to assure as many jackets were available before the 4th of July lake and pool festivities. In a report from accessWDUN, over the three-day Memorial weekend in 2019 there were three drownings and 2 deaths on North Georgia lakes. (5) There are 10 top tips for water safety recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 6 ; 345 Courthouse Drive Hayesville, NC 28904 (828) 389-8052 DO learn to swim. If you like to have a good time doing water activities, being a strong swimmer is a must. DO take a friend along. Even though you may be a good swimmer, you never know when you may need help. Having friends around is safer and just more fun! DO know your limits. Watch out for the “too’s” — too tired, too cold, too far from safety, too much sun, too much hard activity. DO swim in supervised (watched) areas only, and follow all signs and warnings. DO wear a life jacket when boating, jet skiing, water skiing, rafting, or fishing. DO stay alert to currents. They can change quickly! If you get caught in a strong current, don’t fight it. Swim parallel to the shore until you have passed through it. Near piers, jetties (lines of big rocks), small dams, and docks, the current gets unpredictable and could knock you around. If you find it hard to move around, head to shore. Learn to recognize and watch for dangerous waves and signs of rip currents — water that is a weird color, really choppy, foamy, or filled with pieces of stuff. DO keep an eye on the weather. If you spot bad weather (dark clouds, lighting), pack up and take the fun inside. DON’T mess around in the water. Pushing or dunking your friends can get easily out of hand. DON’T dive into shallow water. If you don’t know how deep the water is, don’t dive. DON’T float where you can’t swim. Keep checking to see if the water is too deep, or if you are too far away from the shore or the poolside. 1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online]. [cited 2012 May 3]. Available from: URL: http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars. 2. CDC. Wide-ranging online data for epidemiologic research (WONDER). Atlanta, GA: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics; 2016. Available at http://wonder.cdc.gov. 3. Cummings P, Quan L. Trends in Unintentional Drowning: The Role of Alcohol and Medical Care. JAMA, 1999; 281(23):2198-2202. 4. Spack L, Gedeit R, Splaingard M, Havens PL. Failure of aggressive therapy to alter outcomes in pediatric near-drowning. Pediatric Emergency Care 1997; 13(2):98-102. 5. https://accesswdun.com/article/2019/5/798729/dnr-traffic-up-on-state-patrolled-waterways-for-memorial-day-so-are-buis-other-problems 6. https://www.cdc.gov/bam/safety/h2o.html

Release: IMMEDIATE Date: August 29, 2019 Contact: Mark Pullium Phone: 828-389-0089 On Friday, August 23, 2019 the joint building subcommittee consisting of Clay County two Clay County Commissioners, County Staff, two Clay County Board of Education Members, and their staff met to review the progress of Hayesville Primary School and the High School Sports Complex. During the meeting, the subcommittee reviewed draft plans for the new High School Baseball Field and Softball Field complex with Larry Lackey the designer for this project. As part of the meeting, plans are to let the bids for this project by the first of October, 2019. Immediately following the joint discussions, the Chairman of the Clay County Board of Commissioners, Dr. Rob Peck, and County Manager, Mark Pullium, toured the job construction site for the Hayesville Primary School. Mr. Kelly Luther, Project Superintendent, of Wells and West, Inc. gave the tour of the job site and provided explanations of some of the details for the project. According to Mr. Luther, the project is on the targeted timeline and every effort is being made to stay on track. Further, Mr. Luther explained the objective of Wells and West, the general contractor for this project, is to get the building in the dry before the cold winter months arrive. By doing so, work can continue inside the building and give the project a much better chance of being done on time. Hayesville’s Primary School will include some very nice amenities including a cafeteria, gymnasium, and playgrounds that are age appropriate for primary school students. Dr. Rob Peck, Chairman of the Clay County Board of Commissioners, complimented Wells and West, Inc. “for keeping the job site so neat and orderly.” During the tour, Mr. Luther indicated that all of the workers on this job are from the local area. Lastly, Dr. Rob Peck, Chairman, said, “We will work and are working diligently to complete this project on time and within budget. And, that part of doing that is visiting the job site to review how the work is progressing.” For questions regarding this press release, please call or email Mark Pullium at (828) 389-0089 or mpullium@claync.us

On August 2, 2019, Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital held a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Hayesville Clinic site. Dr, Rob Peck, Chairman of Clay County’s Board of Commissioners, said, “The Clay County Board of Commissioners identified the need for better access to medical care several years ago. In fact, the Board of Commissioners believes it to be in the best interest of the citizens of Clay County to have local access to high quality medical care right here in Clay County. As Chairman of the Board, I am glad to see Erlanger Western Carolina expand its presence in Clay County. I extend a heartfelt thank you to Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital for making this commitment to provide accessible health care available here in our community.” Mark Kimball, Chief Executive Officer – Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital, along with the medical providers and staff for the new facility greeted visitors and gave them a tour of the new Hayesville Clinic. According to Mr. Kimball, “Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital’s goal is to provide our community with more access to exceptional healthcare, closer to home. These new Hayesville services will do just that by offering extended hours, a fast and efficient walk-in clinic and a primary care medical home, all in the same facility and with local Hayesville providers.” As part of his opening remarks, Mr. Kimball thanked County Manager, Mark Pullium for helping secure grant funds used to open this facility. Many citizens of Clay County and surrounding communities attended the ribbon cutting. Some of the important officials who came to celebrate the ribbon cutting ceremony include, Scotty Penland, Commissioner – Clay County Board of Commissioners, Mark Pullium – Clay County Manager, and Mayor Harry Baughn – Town of Hayesville. Dr. Karen Davis, a primary care physician, will be joining the Hayesville Clinic and will be accepting new patients beginning in September of 2019. Dr. Davis was among the medical providers who came to the ribbon cutting ceremony. For questions regarding this announcement, please call or email Mark Pullium at (828) 389-0089 or mpullium@claync.us