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Commissioner Gasperson chosen to be on Hometown Strong video

COLUMBUS—Polk County Commissioner Ray Gasperson will be the face of Polk County soon for a Hometown Strong Initiative video for the state of North Carolina. 

The Polk County Board of Commissioners met last week and chose Gasperson to speak on the video, with him discussing landscape mapping and how important that initiative is for the county. 

Polk County Manager Marche Pittman said Carolina Jimenez, with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Office of Public Engagement reached out to the county concerning the landslide mapping effort in Polk County. 

The Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources are planning to produce a short video as part of North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s Hometown Strong Initiative. 

Gasperson will be on the video offering his perspective on the importance of the landslide mapping program. 

Polk County is currently working with the North Carolina Geological Survey to map landslides in the county. 

The most recent update showed that Polk has had 265 landslides, with many of those occurring during the May 2018 rain event that took the lives of three people along U.S. 176 in Tryon. 

The geological survey is working with the University of North Carolina-Asheville and is going to have all the data available online once the maps are complete. 

The geological survey plans to have the work complete by this spring or early summer and have the maps available by the fall. 

Another update is expected soon by Rick Wooten with the geological survey, who has been attending commissioner meetings over the past several months. 

Gov. Cooper began Hometown Strong in February 2018, which is an initiative to partner with local governments across the state to support local economies, improve infrastructure and strengthen rural communities. 

Hometown Strong is working with local leaders to stimulate economies and help businesses thrive in the rural communities by focusing on projects, including infrastructure improvements, broadband access and workforce training. Polk County has met with state officials with Hometown Strong.