February President's Report

Greetings from a very snowy and cold Cattail. We have had a true winter here, with extended periods of deep cold—hopefully enough to reduce the tick population for the coming seasons. Beyond that practical benefit, the winter has brought its own rewards: the natural beauty of abundant snowfall, and with it a deep sense of calm and peacefulness. There is a quiet, almost magical serenity that settles over Cattail during these months. However, on days like this Dilly refuses to go outside!

It is 12 degrees right now!

Despite the challenging weather, Heiko has made excellent progress in preparing the Community Hall for its long-awaited raising. In addition to demolishing and clearing debris from the old kitchen, storage areas, and rear deck, he is now ready to begin constructing the interior structural framing that will support the roof during the lifting process. He anticipates that the actual raising of the Hall will take place sometime in mid-March. We currently have sufficient funds on hand to complete this important initial phase, and we are working closely with Samaritan’s Purse regarding assistance with subsequent phases of the restoration. We have submitted an extensive grant proposal, which has been very well received. Details on this next month.

That said, fundraising remains more important than ever. Samaritan’s Purse has made it clear that this restoration is best understood as a faith-based partnership in the truest sense of community—one in which all parties contribute to the best of their abilities. In addition to the generous volunteer efforts already underway, particularly in areas such as landscaping and site restoration, we will also need to continue raising funds locally for essential interior items such as new folding tables, rolling storage for the chairs, new appliances, and other furnishings necessary to make the hall fully functional once again.

You will be hearing more about fundraising efforts when we launch the new Cattail Creek Community website next month, which will serve not only as a historical archive but also as a central hub for community engagement and fundraising. You might have already seen some of the oral histories Kerry Meyer and I have been doing for the web page, and we are busily lining up a whole list of other local “characters” to interview, so stay tuned!

In other news from Cattail this month, there was a lovely and well-attended dedication ceremony yesterday afternoon for the new full-service, spay and neuter clinic at the Yancey County Animal Shelter. JJ’s Fix-A-Friend Clinic is named in honor of Janicke Glynn, John Glynn’s beloved wife, who tragically died at Cattail during Hurricane Helene. Her clinic stands as a tribute to her memory and her deep love for animals, and it will benefit the wider community for years to come. Speaking of service, the Shelter is looking for volunteers to help the full-time vet with a wide variety of chores ranging from intake to actual surgery prep: jjsfixafriend@yanceyhumanesociety.org

I’ll have more to report early next month, after the Building Committee makes a final review of the website.

All the best, Worth

Oh, I forgot to say that our bears are on the prowl already – this picture was taken earlier this week on Bear Pen Road!

ChatGPT identified this as 12-hour-old bear poop!