Dolly Parton and the Dollywood Foundation donating one million dollars each to the Mountain Ways Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) dedicated to providing immediate assistance to Hurricane Helene flood victims.
The donations help jumpstart the efforts of Mountain Ways to provide essential financial resources directly and efficiently to the most affected areas. Mountain Ways also will coordinate other relief efforts, including distributing food, water and other necessary supplies.
Walmart, Sam’s Club and the Walmart Foundation are donating a total of $10 million to hurricane relief efforts across the affected states.
Monetary donations can be made at https://mountainwaystn.org/.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation with an update on when travelers can expect I-40 to reopen in Cocke County near the North Carolina state line.
Officials say over the next two weeks, they will be working to return traffic to this roadway, one lane in each direction between the Tennessee/North Carolina state line and mile marker 447, Hartford Road.
All that traffic will be pushed over to the westbound lanes. Currently, I-40 is closed at Exit 447 for westbound drivers and Exit 440 for eastbound drivers.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation says I-40 from the state line to mile marker 20 will be closed indefinitely.