Morgan County Sheriff’s Posse delivers supplies to North Carolina

By Wes Tomlinson 

For the Enquirer  

Answering the calls for help from communities in the mountainous region of western North Carolina after the destruction from Hurricane Helene, the Morgan County Sheriff’s Posse on Friday delivered a large trailer full of supplies to the area. 

“There’s bottled water, there’s diapers, there’s batteries, flashlights, generators, food … . You name it and it’s on that truck,” said posse member Sammy Lawrimore. “They’ve all been through donations, just through word-of-mouth, Facebook, and local news.” 

Volunteers unload supplies collected in Morgan County after arriving in North Carolina on Friday. [COURTESY PHOTO]

Cpl. Jason Haggard with the Sheriff’s Office said most roads in Fairview are inaccessible for two-wheel-drive vehicles. 

“We were going to try to meet at a Walmart there because we can’t get to the church and now, they say we can’t do it because the Walmart is gone and the parking lot next to it is gone,” Haggard said. 

Lawrimore said this is the biggest disaster relief effort the posse has been involved with, even greater than the efforts to support and rebuild communities after the April 2011 tornadoes left widespread damage in Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi. 

He said he expected the posse to spend two days in North Carolina before they come back to transport two more trailers to the same area. 

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the nonprofit Morgan County Sheriff’s Mounted Posse was officially formed by then-Sheriff Knox McRae on Oct. 4, 1963. Lawrimore said they currently have 32 members and any willing individual can volunteer. 

Mike Swafford, spokesperson for the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, said it was impressive to see all the donations come in such a short amount of time and the effort by Morgan County residents to help those in need. 

Supplies collected in Morgan County fill a room in North Carolina before being distributed to residents there. [COURTESY PHOTO]