Mountain Xpress 01.18.23

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Story fails to highlight UNCA’s strengths

[ Regarding “From Asheville Watchdog: Enrollment, Retention Plunge at UNCA as Leaders Depart,” published on Xpress’ website, Dec. 26:]

I recently read your story on UNC Asheville and, as a longtime Asheville resident, became very concerned that what I believed was a hidden gem has become a school that is falling apart at the seams, losing students, teachers and administration and is being challenged for the viability of its unique liberal arts education.

After talking to a current professor and a student I mentor, I am convinced that the story is extremely biased and has neglected to highlight many positive aspects of the school by not giving equal air time to students, teachers and administrators who are proud of many aspects of the school and also committed to addressing its shortcomings.

I appreciate that “investigative reporting” by definition is looking to uncover hidden issues and bring them out into the open. However, when it is biased, it can cause additional damage to the reputation of a school, reducing its appeal to prospective students, teachers and administration, as well as its donors, creating a vicious cycle.

Can I please ask that you do some additional research and interview others who understand all the benefits that UNCA brings to its population as well as our community? You can then present a more balanced report on the school. Thank you for your consideration.

— Ayla Ficken Asheville

Editor’s note: Xpress contacted Asheville Watchdog reporter Barbara Durr with the letter writer’s comments, and we received the following response: “UNCA has, according to its own top administrators, been underfunded by the UNC system for more than a decade. Its dramatically declining enrollment and retention are important signals of poor institutional health. These issues had not been brought to light by any publication, and they merited attention by the community.

“I spoke extensively to UNCA leadership, UNC system leadership, and faculty both still at the school and those who left. Even faculty who love the school and want it to succeed were still concerned with the enrollment decline and leadership turnover. It is also worth mentioning that liberal arts education has been in decline for more than a decade, and consequently schools such as UNCA are having a harder time than they once had. I

hope that UNCA is able to recruit a first-rate chancellor who can help put the school on a healthy path.”

Downtown salon break-in shatters sense of security

A committed customer at Salon Dragonfly on Patton Avenue, I arrived at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, for a routine haircut only to discover a broken front door indicating someone robbed Dragonfly.

I carefully navigated through the fractured glass, careful not to slip on the shattered glass or agitate a fragile front door that was about to crumble to pieces at any second. Inside Dragonfly, the front desk was overturned, along with the computer, cash register and personal business belongings.

Janice Jones and Jen Dragon, co-owners, moved quickly to restore the chaotic scene. A kind and professional policeman made a report. His response was timely. A typical workday quickly turned into necessary phone calls, insurance reports, police reports and an urgency to replace the front door. Their goal was before sundown.

I have been frequenting Dragonfly long enough to observe the negative effects this local business has suffered, thanks to the influx of homelessness, violence and drug addiction in downtown Asheville.

There was a time several years ago when the front door remained unlocked throughout the day. Clients like myself came and went without

looking over our shoulders or watching where we stepped. But that is a memory.

We can read about these unpleasant and distressing violations from the safety of our own homes. Still, when we experience a violation firsthand, it registers deeper. It shook me and heightened my concern for the security not just of these women working hard at this long-standing hair salon but also myself.

Like many who depend on Asheville and business owners to keep their doors open, I want to continue to support local businesses. At the same time, who wants to risk danger to meet basic needs? Asheville, what gets in the way of your beautiful mountain town changing for the positive? What’s missing is A Currency for Caring.

— Tricia Collins Burnsville

Let’s discuss principles for land use and development

On Dec. 16, a small group of local citizens representing Reject Raytheon AVL went to the Biltmore Farms LLC office in Biltmore Park. We delivered a letter signed by 40 of us asking CEO Jack Cecil for a meeting to discuss his plans for the development of 900 of his privately held acres.

Our understanding is that he has been working with the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce to follow up the recent establishment of the Pratt & Whitney plant with a full-fledged aerospace industrial park.

In this day and age, the aerospace industry is an integral part of the military-industrial complex, heavily fueling the climate emergency and making enormous profits from the business of war.

Reject Raytheon AVL finds these plans completely antithetical to the idea of working toward a peaceful, just and sustainable future for our children and grandchildren. It is this that we want to discuss with Mr. Cecil. This was our third attempt to have a meeting with him about it.

In our letter, we listed the following nine principles we have formulated for local land use devoted to economic development in Western North Carolina:

1. Commit to just, equitable and sustainable development that prioritizes the needs of communities of color and other historically marginalized and disenfranchised people.

2. Mitigate the climate emergency.

3. Protect the Earth by exceeding the state environmental protections regarding water, air and soil quality, and maintaining green spaces.

4. Oppose recruitment of and investment in war or fossil fuel corporations.

5. Invest public money equitably in local and regional businesses, not multinational corporations.

6. Generate jobs with a living wage that guarantee workers’ right to organize.

7. Focus on essential community needs, such as deeply affordable housing, health care, education, social services, infrastructure and renewable energy.

8. Hold new industries accountable to the community by requiring contributions to essential community needs in exchange for tax incentives.

9. Make no secret deals — engage the public in meaningful and transparent decision making from the very beginning of the economic development process.

Once again, we have received no response from Mr. Cecil. It is time for a wider community discussion about this. If interested in having this discussion, please contact rejectraytheonavl@protonmail.com.

— Ken Jones Swannanoa

Editor’s note: Xpress reached out to Jack Cecil with a summary of the letter writer’s points but did not receive a response.

Where is help for people with disabilities?

I’m trying to get the story out there to help sick people.

Asheville is spending $73,000 on a study to help homeless people instead

CARTOON BY RANDY MOLTON

of spending the money to help people. They want to sue HCA instead of the feds. The feds haven’t been enforcing the antitrust laws. That’s why we have one power company and one hospital. They waste money instead of building sidewalks on every state and city road.

I called again and tried to get Medicaid, and they still say I make too much money. I make $22,000 a year. My meds cost $7,500. My house payment is $1,159 a month. That leaves me $11,000 a year left to live on.

I have filed ADA laws complaints against the N.C. Department of Transportation for not building sidewalks on every state road. I’ve filed ADA laws and bar association complaints against the N.C. Attorney General’s office and Josh Stein for not following ADA laws. I’ve filed ADA laws complaints against North Carolina, Buncombe County and the city of Asheville for not following ADA laws. Not helping people with disabilities.

I have an email from the mayor of Asheville trying to lie and make excuses about why they can’t fix and build new sidewalks for people with wheelchairs to get down the road.

I spent almost 21 years working for NC DOT’s Division 13, Buncombe Maintenance, before I got sick, and they are supposed to have short-term and long-term disability, but they

don’t. When you get Social Security Administration disability and get your check, they make you pay back any money they paid you. The more you get from SSA, the less the state pays employees if they get sick.

Buncombe County offered people with disabilities $300 to fix a house up. That’s B.S. I paid $20,000 for a new HVAC alone to fix my house. They give you a discount on property tax, but they want you to get another doctor’s exam to get it. They won’t take a federal disability letter as proof you are disabled. I’m sick and tired of these crooks getting away with treating old and sick people like dirt.

— Gary Simpson Asheville

Editor’s note: Xpress reached out to city and county officials with the letter writer’s points. We received the following response from Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer: “The city is retrofitting older sidewalks to include upgraded ADA curb ramps and building new sidewalks to include ramps. The city’s new greenways, road repaving projects and other routine sidewalk maintenance incorporate ADA curb ramps as well. The NCDOT also constructs and improves curb ramps on state-maintained roadways within the city. And private development projects are often required to construct or upgrade curb ramps when constructing new buildings.

“Additionally, on Oct. 25, Asheville City Council adopted an Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plan that provided an outline of the necessary improvements to curb ramps throughout the city. The city will begin implementing the plan this year and is scheduled to spend roughly $3.8 million on ADA improvements to existing sidewalks through projects already budgeted. More information about the plan can be found here: [avl.mx/cbc].”

We received the following response from Buncombe County spokesperson Kassi Day, which said in part: “[The Homeowner Grant Program] is not aimed at people with disabilities specifically, but instead offers up to $300 to homeowners who meet the residency and income requirements in unincorporated Buncombe County and up to $500 in the city of Asheville and Woodfin. Those dollars can be put toward your property tax bill or other housing costs like a mortgage payment or homeowner’s insurance.

“When it comes to tax-relief programs, we have heard that this can sometimes be confusing and different from some social security programs; however, our assessment office is bound by N.C. General Statutes to administer those programs in the way the state has set forth. It is true that property tax exclusion and the circuit breaker program require a physician’s certification of disability be filled out for the state of North Carolina.

“Health & Human Services offers a variety of programs to help our residents, and your reader should certainly reach out to our call center at 828250-5500 to see what assistance they might be eligible for. Additionally, the Board of Commissioners has committed to dedicating affordable housing funds to our community partners like Mountain Housing Opportunities and Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity to help income-eligible homeowners with emergency housing repairs. Your reader can learn more about those programs here: [avl.mx/cbd].” X

Safe at Home?

BY JUSTIN M c GUIRE

jmcguire@mountainx.com

The sun was shining, the temperature was in the 70s, and the crowd of over 2,000 was in a festive spirit at McCormick Field the afternoon of April 16, 1959. After a three-year absence, professional baseball was back in Asheville.

Playing their home opener, the Class-A Tourists fell to Georgia’s Columbus Pirates that day. But the loss didn’t seem to dampen the community’s mood.

“The fans came to see a game and they saw a good one,” sportswriter Richard Morris wrote in The Asheville Citizen the next day. “In the main they were pleased with what they saw and they’ll be back again.”

That sunny afternoon 64 years ago marked a milestone in Asheville sports history. Every season since 1959 that minor league baseball has been played, McCormick Field has been home to a team, usually called the Tourists. The city has hosted multiple franchises across multiple leagues during that span, but it never has been without a professional ball club.

That could change in 2024.

The Tourists’ ownership group is seeking about $30 million from the city of Asheville, Buncombe County and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority to pay for renovations to McCormick Field. The upgrades are needed, club officials say, because Major League Baseball implemented a rigorous set of facility standards for minor league stadiums in 2020.

Without a financing plan in place by the start of April, the team says, the Tourists will relocate to a new city after the upcoming season. The Tourists are owned by the family of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and DeWine Seeds Silver Dollar Baseball and lease McCormick Stadium from the city for $1 a year.

Those parties continue to talk, and Asheville City Council is scheduled to take up a resolution regarding McCormick Field funding on Tuesday, Jan. 24. Council member Sage Turner is optimistic an agreement can be reached.

“I get concerned that we are losing family amenities,” Turner says. “My inbox has been filled with hundreds of emails of families recalling outings they’ve enjoyed over the

years. This is obviously a community asset in the most communal, celebratory way.”

The specifics are new, but the story is familiar. Over the past six decades, Asheville has come close to losing a minor league team several times, with the condition of McCormick Field often cited as the reason.

Time after time, a combination of private investors and civic leaders has led the charge to make sure the city has a team. City and county governments have spent money on improvements to the ballpark over the years, says Bill Ballew, author of A History of Professional Baseball in Asheville. But the most significant investment they’ve ever made, he argues, was building the original McCormick Field in 1924.

1950S: MEET THE NEW TOURISTS

Professional baseball in Asheville dates back to a team called the Moonshiners in 1897; the Tourists name was first used in 1915. In 1924, a team by that name started playing at McCormick Field, which was built into a downtown hillside by the city for $200,000 (about $3.5 million in today’s dollars). For 18 of the next 19

A look back at Asheville’s precarious pro baseball history

seasons, the stadium was home to a club called the Tourists.

Asheville had no white minor league team from 1943-1945 due to World War II — although the segregated Asheville Black Tourists and Blues continued to play pro ball — but in 1946, yet another iteration of the Tourists started competing in the Tri-State League.

By 1955, the Tourists were one of just four teams left in the league, later described by Asheville Citizen sports editor Bob Terrell as “a flyby-night operation.” The league folded after that season, leaving Asheville without professional baseball. Few people in town mourned the loss.

“For the past few years operation of the Tourists has been a sadly losing proposition,” Terrell wrote in 1956. “Attendance declined steadily; fans found other entertainment at their fingertips; even the special night attractions failed to lure enough cash customers through the gates.”

With no professional team in town, the city built a quarter-mile, dirt-surfaced oval track around the baseball diamond and began holding weekly stock car races. But the national pastime was never far from

the mind of Fleming Talman, president of the Asheville Chamber of Commerce. Talman also headed up nonprofit Community Baseball Inc., a group of business leaders that had first banded together in 1955 to try to keep the Tourists in town.

Through the efforts of Talman and others, Asheville was awarded an expansion team in the Class-A South Atlantic League in late 1958. The new team initially was dubbed the Ridge Runners, but public outcry forced a change. The Tourists lived again.

The city first had to terminate its lease with the racing promoters and make McCormick Field playable after three years of stock car races. City Council agreed to make the necessary changes, which City Manager J. Weldon Weir said were “not a great financial burden.”

Asheville landed the team mostly by default, says baseball historian Ballew. The Sally League was expanding, and few other cities in the region had a viable ballpark.

“McCormick Field wasn’t in terrible shape; it wasn’t in great shape,” he explains. “It was just a ballpark. But that’s what things were back then. They weren’t these palaces that a lot of the teams have nowadays.”

ROOT FOR THE HOME TEAM: McCormick Field has been home to multiple minor league baseball teams in Asheville for nearly a century. Photo courtesy of the Asheville Tourists

1970S: BIRDS FLY THE COOP

Minor league baseball’s future in the city was once again in jeopardy when the Chicago White Sox moved their Class-AA farm club from Asheville to Knoxville, Tenn., following the 1971 season. And once again, local baseball was saved through the efforts of Talman and private investors.

Al Harazin, a former lawyer from Cincinnati, paid $10,000 for a controlling stake in the team, while Talman and local banker George Chumbley Jr. organized a stock sale of $10 per share to match Harazin’s investment. In 1972, Harazin’s team became affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles, and its name was changed to the Asheville Orioles.

“Frankly, if you want a straight opinion, the name is for the Birds!” Terrell wrote in the Citizen-Times in January 1972. “A new identity is not what the team needs. What it really needs is more law enforcement and better lighting around the park during games to protect fans and their automobiles.”

As part of its lease with the Orioles, City Council did agree to several improvements to McCormick Field, including upgraded lighting and refurbished right field bleachers. “Those improvements alone would have been necessary to get any major league outfit to take a second look at Asheville,” Citizen-Times Sports Director Larry Pope wrote at the time.

From 1972-74, the Class-AA Asheville O’s were managed by Cal Ripken Sr., whose son, Cal Ripken Jr., served as bat boy and starred as a pitcher and infielder for the Matthew’s Ford team in the West Asheville Little League. The younger Ripken would go on to a Hall of Fame baseball career in Baltimore.

But by the end of the 1975 season, the Orioles were ready to leave the mountains. Asheville AA Baseball

Inc., the group headed by Chumbley that owned the team, had $18,000 in debt, and the big league Orioles had no intention of absorbing it. The franchise moved to Charlotte.

“It is difficult to find fault with the Asheville operation,” Pope wrote on Nov. 6, 1975. “The local leadership was energetic and McCormick Field had become a fine place to spend a family evening, comfortable and colorful. The [Baltimore] Orioles had everything a club could want at a pittance. Asheville paid for a new clubhouse. Asheville paid for maintenance. Asheville paid for rebuilding the infield.”

Asheville was without a team for the first time since the 1950s — only for a month or so.

In December 1975, Chumbley struck a deal to bring South Carolina’s Anderson Rangers, part of the Class-A Western Carolinas

League, to Asheville. City Council approved a lease agreement for the team to move to McCormick Field for $2,000 annually, with the Texas Rangers paying up to $700 a month for water and lighting. The team was renamed the Tourists.

Once again, Asheville was in the right place at the right time. Anderson’s ballpark was in terrible shape, and the struggling Western Carolinas League was happy to move into a bigger market with a viable stadium, Ballew says.

199OS: TEAR IT ALL DOWN

By the early 1990s, McCormick Field was on its last legs.

“It is rusted and rotted beneath patchwork repairs and cosmetic coats of paint,” Pope wrote in the Citizen-Times on Feb. 24, 1990. “It

is an archaic structure in terminal condition.”

At the time, Buncombe County controlled the stadium because of a complex deal struck with the city in the 1980s. County commissioners were faced with the reality that major changes were needed if Asheville hoped to keep the Tourists, by then an affiliate of the Houston Astros.

Officials mulled the idea of building a new stadium on a 30-acre site in Arden. Eventually, however, commissioners approved spending $2.5 million to tear down McCormick Field’s rotting wooden grandstand, along with the rest of the ballpark, and replace it on the same site with a brick-framed concrete structure. The cost eventually rose to $3 million (about $6.3 million in today’s dollars).

Among the features of the new stadium were more comfortable and less obstructed seats, expanded concession areas, brighter lighting, a large plaza area, nine 22-foot arches over the plaza walkway and a cantilevered roof covering the middle portion of the grandstand.

When it opened in 1992, many praised the new stadium, but Ballew says corners were cut during construction. He says the facility was obsolete almost from the moment it opened because a slew of minor league parks with “all the bells and whistles” were constructed soon after.

“Most people will tell you it’s absolutely terrible; it’s one of the worst facilities in baseball,” Ballew says. “With these draconian demands Major League Baseball is making, it’s kind of a difficult situation for Asheville. But whether MLB had done these things or not, [the Tourists] still needed to have improvements made to McCormick Field in order for them to stay there.”

Editor’s note: Peculiarities of spelling and punctuation are preserved from the original documents. X

BOYS OF SUMMER: After a three-year absence, minor league baseball returned to Asheville in 1959 when the city landed an expansion team in the South Atlantic League. Photo courtesy of Buncombe County Special Collections, Pack Memorial Library

Winter’s tale

Family shelter lands at church instead of vacant school

BY JESSICA WAKEMAN

On a recent rainy Tuesday, the scene looked like an evening in any other West Asheville home. Kids, including a boisterous, barefoot toddler, gathered around a wooden puzzle on the floor. A mother kept an eye on her children as “Puss in Boots” projected on a big screen in the background. Dinner that night would be ribs.

The space was the West Asheville Presbyterian Church — a temporary home for 12 individuals staying in a new winter shelter. The guests when Xpress visited included six children, among them a 2-month-old infant, two sets of parents and two single adults.

Although Asheville has numerous shelters for the homeless population, its organizers say this particular shelter fills gaps in the city’s current system. “The focus is on intact families,” explains shelter worker Gene Ettison. “And if families don’t fill the beds, we’ll offer safe spaces to other individuals — [LGBTQ people and people of color] that face barriers or feel unsafe in traditional shelters.”

Grace Episcopal Church employs the shelter workers through funding from several groups, including Vaya Health, the Rotary Club of Asheville, Tzedeck Social Justice Fund and the WNC Bridge Foundation; the city of Asheville also provided around $6,000 in funding. The church has partnered with Asheville-based nonprofit Counterflow on logistical planning, and the effort is supported by volunteers from Grace Episcopal, Grace

Covenant Presbyterian Church and Trinity United Methodist Church.

It’s “hopefully going to create this familylike community, where we’re able to come up with out-of-the box solutions and innovative ways to really help the families we’re serving with more permanent solutions,” says Counterflow co-founder Anna Pizzo

The shelter at West Asheville Presbyterian opened to guests Dec. 21. However, the collective effort to open a winter shelter had been in the process for months; the three churches backing the project had each volunteered space for a shelter in their facilities for one month each from Jan. 4 to March 31. Given the freezing temperatures this season, the organizers also hoped to open another suitable shelter space earlier, but they faced numerous obstacles to finding a location.

STAYING TOGETHER

Organizers say the winter shelter improves on the emergency overflow space activated when the Asheville Homeless Coalition calls Code Purple in freezing temperatures. (The first Code Purple went into effect Oct. 15.)

Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry is providing all Code Purple beds this year. The nonprofit’s Veterans Restoration Quarters offers 50 for single men,

while Transformation Village provides 45 for single women and women with children. But because Code Purple shelters are separated by gender, family members can be separated overnight: For example, a mom would stay in the women’s shelter, while her teenage son would stay in the men’s shelter. A family setting provides “consistency,” explains shelter worker Tracey Childers

On the evening Xpress visited the site, the guests shared one large room containing six mattresses, a cot and a bassinet. The space contains a communal kitchen and bathroom, and two tables are set up for meals and art projects.

All dinnertime meals are provided by donation. Ettison is a chef and food truck owner, and he’s leveraged his contacts at local restaurants Chestnut, Corner Kitchen and Tastee Diner, as well as the food donation nonprofits Equal Plates Project and Food Connection Asheville, to keep everyone fed.

The shelter is open and staffed 6:30 p.m.-8:30 a.m. Its organizers intentionally prioritize hiring people with lived experience of homelessness; Ettison, who is also certified as a peer support specialist, notes he once lived out of his vehicle for 13 weeks. Those staff members are joined by volunteers, usually from the participating church congregations, who drop off donations of paper towels or toilet paper and cook and share meals.

Some guests have already transitioned into permanent housing, including a mother with a toddler who stayed for a week. After departures, new guests arrive from a waiting list of referrals from groups like Haywood Street Congregation and BeLoved Asheville.

The winter shelter hopes to stay at West Asheville Presbyterian through the end of March to ensure consistency for the guests. The Presbytery of Western North Carolina, which manages the church, met Jan. 10 and agreed to allow the shelter to operate there through March 31, Pizzo says. Additionally, on Jan. 6, the city confirmed it would issue a temporary use permit for West Asheville Presbyterian, as well as the other three churches for one month each.

ROADBLOCKS

Asheville Primary School, which closed as an elementary school in the spring, nearly became the shelter’s location after support from the Asheville City Board of Education during a Dec. 15 meeting.

Pizzo says she had the support of Asheville City Schools

SHELTER IN PLACE: Tracey Childers, left, Gene Ettison, center, and Kat Sullivan, right, began working at the winter shelter for families in West Asheville Presbyterian Church when it opened Dec. 21. Photo by Jessica Wakeman

DRIVEN BY FAITH: Trinity United Methodist Church’s pastor, Nancy Dixon, left, and Dustin Mailman, director of family ministries and missions at the church, right, say they’re drawn to help the unhoused population of Asheville because they have a calling as faith leaders to respect the dignity of every human being.

Photo by Jessica Wakeman

Superintendent Jim Causby for a memorandum of understanding that addressed safety and liability issues with the possible use of the building. Several winter shelter organizers also toured the facility with school board members and representatives of the East West Asheville Neighborhood Association prior to the vote. “We as a group have tried to be as open and transparent and considerate as possible and engage neighbors and neighborhood groups in EastWest Asheville,” says the Rev. Mike Reardon of Grace Episcopal Church. Not all of those neighbors supported using the vacant school for a shelter. Causby tells Xpress he received a copy of an email sent to Asheville Board of Education Chair James Carter “from the chair of the community organization East West Asheville [Neighborhood Association] about their concerns on the use of the building as a shelter site.”

In an interview with Xpress , EWANA board Chair Billy Doubraski said that he understands the city’s need for shelter space. But he questions the appropriateness of APS as a location. “That’s not what we’re looking for in that space. … That’s a contested space,” Doubraski says, because the building previously held a beloved school. “People less than a year ago were out in droves trying to keep that school open. … It feels a little bit like a slap in the face

that this is the spot that you guys want to utilize for a shelter.”

Ultimately, however, the city of Asheville determined that zoning regulations prohibited the use of the school as a shelter. The school’s address, 441 Haywood Road, is zoned in the Haywood Road Form District - Core, and multifamily dwellings, dormitories, group homes and hotels are not permitted there by city ordinances.

Pizzo says the winter shelter organizers sought clarity from the city in November about zoning regulations for shelter space, but those questions weren’t answered. Instead, City Attorney Brad Branham conveyed that information to Asheville City Schools in a Dec. 19 statement. “Given the current zoning, specifically that which encompasses the buildings, and the fact that the property currently has no active use, the city believes that a rezoning for the site will be necessary to accommodate the proposed shelter use,” Branham wrote.

LAST-MINUTE PIVOT

With the school option unavailable, the organizers turned to Plan B: West Asheville Presbyterian.

The church is currently not in operation, but the building has a caretaker and is managed by the Presbytery of Western North Carolina. The Rev. Marcia Mount Shoop of Grace Covenant Presbyterian, who is on the administrative team for the Presbytery, tells Xpress she initially believed the church was unusable for sleeping overnight because its sprinklers don’t work.

But after taking a closer look at the church’s fire code, Shoop realized guests would be permitted to stay if a worker stayed awake overnight and a fire extinguisher was on hand. That came as welcome news to shelter worker and certified peer support specialist Kat Sullivan: “I kept saying, ‘I feel like I’m on a roller coaster!” due to the shifting plans.

With a location chosen, the hustle to “throw some things together and make this work” kicked into gear, explains shelter worker Childers. Ettison immediately arranged the downstairs space, which will be used for the shelter, to be cleaned. Shelter workers coordinated donations of mattresses, sheets, towels, toiletries and items like tea kettles and board games; one of the first parents to stay contributed a Christmas tree.

“We all just feel grateful that we made it happen together,” says Shoop. “It took doing it together to make it happen.” X

P&Z approves new Enka Commerce Park plans

Due to rescheduling of meetings around the winter holidays, this month’s development roundup appears after both the city of Asheville’s Planning and Zoning Commission and Buncombe County’s Board of Adjustment meetings took place. The minutes from these meetings are summarized below. The regular schedule will resume in February.

City of Asheville

The public provided input on the Enka Commerce Park project before it was unanimously approved at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting Jan. 4. Commissioners also heard an update from Buncombe County planners regarding the county’s comprehensive plan and discussed the commission’s 2022 annual report. The latter document is expected to be finalized by the end of this week.

PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION

Enka Commerce Park (264 Enka Heritage Parkway, 28715)

The commissioners voted 6-0 to approve the conditional zoning sought by Enka Partners of Asheville LLC for 45.5 acres in Enka. Xpress first covered this project in its August development roundup ( avl.mx/byl), but the item has been repeatedly delayed. (Commissioner Jennifer Bubenik was absent from the January meeting.)

The new plans call for three buildings with a combined total of 585,360 square feet, as well as 463 parking spaces and truck loading docks. The original plans called for a 129,859 square foot distribution center, along with parking for nearly 700 delivery vans and over 280 employees.

At least 15% of the site will be protected open space because the Enka Heritage Greenway crosses the property. One of the conditions for approval is to preserve the historic Enka Clock Tower.

Two letters for public comment submitted in October opposed the plan. Candler resident Louis Gire wrote that Candler residents have to leave their community in order to access stores, restaurants and entertainment; he favored a denser, mixed-use plan for the site. “A

series of manufacturing facilities and warehouses will be the death nail for attracting other businesses to the area,” he wrote.

Tim Watkins , who did not provide his address, did not want the site to become a distribution center and instead supported its use by an employer like AdventHealth. (AdventHealth has floated the site as a location for its new Buncombe County hospital, though nothing has been confirmed.) Like Gire, Watkins expressed a desire for a walkable community that also featured recreational and retail opportunities.

Clark Duncan , executive director for the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County, spoke in favor of the project. “It’s exciting to see the renaissance of American manufacturing here in Western North Carolina,” he said. “This 45 acres [is] probably the best opportunity for industrial development in all of Western North Carolina at this moment,” he added, highlighting

the site’s topography and access to utilities, major roads and a sizable workforce.

This project is tentatively scheduled to come before Asheville City Council for final approval on Tuesday, Jan. 24, where the public will be allowed to provide further input. Project documents can be accessed at avl.mx/btx.

Buncombe County Comprehensive Plan Presentation

Nathan Pennington and Gillian Phillips of Buncombe County’s Planning and Development Department presented an update on the Buncombe County Comprehensive Plan 2043.

Phillips observed that this is the county’s first comprehensive plan, which includes not only land use but also how it relates to environment, infrastructure and community services and amenities. The current county plan, drafted in 1998, solely focuses on land use.

Opportunities for public input have so far included 14 in-person and virtual meetings, 36 sessions at universities, schools, festivals and community markets, and 75 board and committee meetings. Overall, more than 2,900 people have participated. The planners emphasized outreach to children, who will be young adults when the long-term plan comes to fruition.

The county now has a 200-page draft plan in hand and is seeking additional feedback through Monday, Feb. 13. More information and an online survey are available at avl.mx/cbe. A joint session between the county planning board and Board of Commissioners is tentatively scheduled for April, with approval hearings by both boards anticipated in May.

Pennington spoke about ways the county and city could work together to address some of the region’s infrastructure issues. He suggested the governments could help rural areas urbanize by increasing broadband

BIG FOOTPRINT: New plans for the Enka Commerce Park call for three buildings with a combined total of 585,360 square feet, as well as 463 parking spaces and truck loading docks. Graphic courtesy of the city of Asheville

and energy access and providing new roads and sidewalk infrastructure.

He highlighted the example of East Haven Apartments in Swannanoa, where Mountain Housing Opportunities, the N.C. Department of Transportation, Dogwood Health Trust and Ingles came together to provide a sidewalk from Ingles to a crosswalk across US-70 to a car park. “People are now getting safely to the grocery store,” he said.

The presentation slides can be accessed at avl.mx/cbp.

DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE

The Design Review Committee will meet virtually at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, with a pre-meeting held at 12:15 p.m. the same day. The agenda can be accessed at avl.mx/cbi.

Residents can submit comments over email and voicemail until 24 hours prior to the meeting or provide in-person comment during the meeting itself. Instructions on how to attend and comment, as well as the full meeting agenda, are available at avl.mx/8b6.

Buncombe County

At the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment meeting on Jan. 11, board members approved one special use permit, two variances and one combined SUP and stormwater variance. All but one project were passed unanimously with a vote of 5-0.

Old Charlotte Doran SUP & Stormwater Variance (107 & 113 Old Charlotte Highway, Asheville Township)

Doran Companies, based in Minneapolis, requested a special use permit for 98.8 acres in eastern Buncombe County to construct a 516-unit Level 1 Planned Unit Development. The development will include 216 apartments across four buildings, 176 duplexes (across 88 structures) and 130 townhomes.

Planned amenities include two clubhouses with pools, two playgrounds and trail systems. The maximum density permitted in the Residential-3 and Neighborhood Service zones on which the property is located is 12 units per acre; the development as planned will have a density of 5.2 units per acre.

Multiple neighbors, including a representative of the adjacent Eastwood Village neighborhood, expressed concerns that included increased traffic, the lack of an access road to the new, larger

Charlotte Highway, and potential drainage issues.

This last concern was raised in relation to the developer’s request for a stormwater variance to shift stormwater drainage from one basin to another — presumably to avoid stressing Eastwood Village’s drainage system, per the application. However, per the county staff report, the developer has not provided clear information on how much drainage area would be shifted and whether the existing infrastructure could handle the increased stormwater.

Commissioner Joel Mazlis was the lone dissenter, voting no because of his concerns about the development’s traffic impact on a one-lane bridge on Old Charlotte Highway.

Project documents can be accessed at avl.mx/cbg.

Terra Drive Townhomes SUP (99999 Terra Drive, Royal Pines)

Asheville-based Heidur LLC requested a special use permit to build ten townhome units across two buildings on 2.09 acres in South Asheville. Each townhome will be approximately 1,200 square feet. A short walking trail will lead to a gazebo for residential use, and 0.5 acres will be open space.

Project documents can be accessed at avl.mx/c9c.

Jazaka Variance (10 Jazaka Ridge Ln., Swannanoa, 28778)

Alex Wunderlich of Swannanoa requested a variance to reduce the minimum lot size allowed in the Residential – Low Density zone so that he could purchase a 0.61-acre lot. The lot is currently 0.71 acres, already less than the 1-acre minimum.

The variance was requested because Jazaka Ridge Lane crosses the property, cutting off access to a 0.1-acre strip of land. That strip will now be divided between, and maintained by, five adjacent lots.

Application documents are accessible at avl.mx/c9d.

Miramar Variance (3 & 4 Miramar Drive, Asheville, 28806)

Alex Ward of Hendersonvillebased Pisgah Surveying PLLC requested a variance to permit the reduction of lot sizes on 3 and 4 Miramar Drive in West Asheville. The reason was that existing structures on 5 and 6 Miramar Drive encroached on the existing lots.

Application documents can be accessed at avl.mx/cbh.

— Sara Murphy X

Council approves independent committee to review water outages

How many people does it take to figure out why roughly 38,500 Asheville and Buncombe County residents didn’t have water over the holidays? Nine, according to Asheville City Council.

During its Jan. 10 meeting, Council voted unanimously to create an independent review committee to explain the cause of the water outages that started Dec. 24 and lasted through Jan. 4. The new nine-member board will include two residential water customers, one commercial customer, one emergency response or disaster relief professional, two communications professionals and three experts on public water systems.

“There were a lot of complexities within our water system that contributed to the outages,” said City Manager Debra Campbell . “And we want to say, and we’ve said it a couple of times, we regret that this happened and we are taking immediate and long-term steps to prevent and minimize this from occurring again.”

As presented by Assistant City Manager Ben Woody, the new committee will analyze the city’s existing infrastructure and determine updates needed to prevent future outages. The group will also examine the city’s emergency response and communications efforts. According to a city timeline of the events, the first waterline breaks occurred on Dec. 24, but city officials did not hold a press conference until Dec. 28.

Council member Kim Roney said she wanted a deeper understanding of how the city was communicating

the outage to non-English-speaking and other populations that may have limited access to the city’s emergency alert system.

“From my experience helping neighbors with nonpotable water in the south and west and in the county, one of the things that I realized is that we had some gaps in communication: folks speaking Spanish, Russian and Ukrainian, folks in the deaf and hearing-disabled community,” Roney said. “I know, we’re not going to get into all of those today. But as we get in from that 50-foot view closer, I think those are some of the questions that still linger.”

The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will be responsible for appointing two of the committee seats, with Council appointing the remaining seven. According to the city’s timeline for the committee, Council is scheduled to appoint its members Tuesday, Jan. 24, with Buncombe County appointing its members Thursday, Feb. 7.

The first committee’s update to Council is expected in mid- to late February, with a final report and presentation slated for mid-May.

Council appoints Jesse Warren to school board

After conducting interviews with four candidates for the Asheville City Board of Education, a majority of Council members appointed Jesse Warren, a retired Asheville City Schools junior ROTC instructor and retired U.S. Marine Corps first sergeant, to the board’s vacant seat. The position had become open after school board member Peyton O’Conner resigned in December, citing transphobic rhetoric during public comment at recent board meetings.

Council member Maggie Ullman was the sole member to vote for another candidate, Pepi Acebo, while Sage Turner, who was participating by phone, was not able to take part in the vote remotely.

Although the city school board is transitioning to an elected body, with four of its seven members picked by voters last year, its three remaining members — including O’Conner — had been appointed by Council in 2021

and are slated to serve through 2024. It thus fell to Council, and not voters or other school board members, to choose O’Conner’s replacement.

Acebo finished fifth in last year’s general election, falling short a seat on the board by roughly 200 votes; Warren finished sixth, roughly 1,100 votes short of winning the seat. In December, the Asheville City Association of Educators acknowledged that Acebo “received the most votes of any candidate who did not win a seat on the school board,” but said that it continued to endorse Warren for the position.

In a Facebook post, former candidate for Asheville City Council Nina Tovish criticized the Council members who voted for Warren.

“Tonight I was deeply disappointed that City Council chose to impose their own choice over that of about 8,700 actual voters who voted for school board candidates last November,” she wrote. “Democracy is far from perfect. But if you pick and choose which free and fair election processes you’ll abide by, well, that puts you in some pretty bad company.”

DAY BY DAY: The city of Asheville released a timeline of events related to the water outage and the city’s response during the Jan. 10 Council meeting. Graphic courtesy of the city of Asheville

Buncombe school board supports control over academic calendar

Buncombe County Schools is still playing by the rules set by the North Carolina General Assembly this coming school year. But the district’s patience is growing thin.

During their meeting of Jan. 12, members of the Buncombe County Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution that supports amending the state’s school calendar law. The document blasts the current law for a range of woes, from learning loss to difficulty in providing teacher training.

Academic calendars across North Carolina are determined by Senate Bill 187, passed by the General Assembly in 2004. The law states that the first day of school will be “no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26, and the closing date for students be no later than the Friday closest to June 11.”

The late August start date means Buncombe’s schools don’t complete the first semester until mid- to late January. According to the resolution, that timing means high school students don’t take their first-semester exams until after the winter break, which “negatively impacts students and faculty and further, is an inefficient use of instructional time.” Students who graduate at the end of the first semester often have trouble registering for higher education, because their final exams overlap with the start of college courses in January.

The resolution states that the lack of calendar flexibility harms teachers as well. “Scheduling workdays and professional development during the school year for

faculty and staff is almost impossible during the fall semester and remains challenging in the Spring semester, despite the significant increase in areas which faculty and staff are required by law to receive training,” it reads.

The school board’s move is less forceful than that of the neighboring Henderson County Board of Education, which voted Jan. 9 to start its school year two weeks before allowed by state law. Buncombe school board member Rob Elliot noted that making such a move could open BCS up to sanctions from the General Assembly or lawsuits, such as one underway in Union County.

“As we’ve stated over and over here tonight, our main goal is to do

what’s best for the children. And having taught in high school and [been a principal], to have those exams before Christmas means the world to the children,” said board member Judy Lewis. “And if we’re able to provide that and so many other things that are mentioned here tonight, … I think that would be doing such a wonderful service. And I hope the state will listen to our plea.”

Following the vote on the resolution, the school board approved the district’s 2023-24 academic calendar. Students will begin on Monday, Aug. 28 — the earliest date legally allowed — and wrap up on Monday, June 10.

— Brooke Randle X

Asheville school board prepares for superintendent search

During their Jan. 6 retreat, members of the Asheville City Board of Education reviewed their next steps for hiring a new superintendent. According to a draft timeline, the board will develop an online survey, decide whether to work with a search firm and schedule a series of public meetings to gather community input by the end of January.

The board approved six such input meetings during the retreat, with one to take place virtually and the others in person at the district’s central office, the Arthur R. Edington Education and Career Center, Ira B. Jones Elementary School, Hall Fletcher Elementary School and Isaac Dickson Elementary School. The school board is planning to schedule a special called meeting later this month to finalize dates and times.

The board plans to interview candidates for the position in March, with a final selection anticipated for April. Once hired, the new superintendent will begin in June.

Former Superintendent Gene Freeman left abruptly June 15, more than five months before his previously announced November retirement, when the district bought out his contract. The system has hired five superintendents over the last 10 years. Jim Causby is currently serving as interim superintendent. X

ARRIVING ON TIME: The Buncombe County Board of Education passed a resolution Jan. 12 supporting greater flexibility — and an earlier start — for the district’s calendar. Photo courtesy of Buncombe County Schools

For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, opt. 4. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 828-251-1333, opt. 1.

WELLNESS

Narcotics Anonymous Meetings

Visit wncna.org/ basic-meeting for dates, times and locations.

Tai Chi for Balance Improve balance through gently strengthening core muscles all over the entire body.

WE (1/18, 25), 11:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave

Tai Chi for Beginners Learn some of the fundamentals of Tai Chi along with a short and easy form that is recognized all over the world.

TH (1/19, 26), 11:30am, Dragon Phoenix, 51 N Merrimon Ave

Nar-Anon Family Group Meeting

Weekly meeting for family and friends of addicts. Use Door C. TH (1/19, 26), 7pm, 1316D Patton Ave

Asheville Aphasia Support Group

Every Friday in Rm 345. No RSVP needed.

FR (1/20), 10am, WCU at Biltmore Park, 28 Schenck Pkwy, Ste 300

Magnetic Minds: Depression/Bipolar Support Group Weekly meeting for those who suffer depression, bipolar and other mental health challenges. Email depressionbipolarasheville@gmail.com or call or text (828)367-7660 for more info.

SA (1/21), 2pm, 1316 Ste C Parkwood Rd

Wild Souls Authentic Movement Class

A conscious movement experience in a 100year old building with a community of women at all life stages.

SU (1/22), Dunn's Rock Community Center, 461 Connestee Rd, Brevard Bend & Brew Pop Up Yoga Class No experience necessary, all levels welcome.

THE RISING: Tiffany Renée Jackson, assistant professor of music (voice) at Western Carolina University, will perform Rising of the Necessary Diva, a one-woman multimedia show at the Bardo Arts Center on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 7:30 p.m. The performance, described as “an autobiographical account of a girl raised in the hood and born to a sharecropper’s daughter,” will include a live band. Photo courtesy of Bardo Arts Center

Bring a mat. SU (1/22), 11am, Hillman Beer, 78 Catawba Ave, Old Fort Ben's Friends Offering supportive community to food and beverage industry

professionals struggling with addiction and substance abuse. Every Tuesday.

TU (1/24), 10am, Avenue M, 791 Merrimon Ave

ART

You Draw It, We Make It

Professional glassblowers volunteered time to create glass art based on drawings submitted by children ages 5 to 17. Open 10am, closed Tuesday. Through Jan. 31.

North Carolina Glass Center, 140 Roberts St, Ste B

Art As Activism: How Indigenous Artists Use Their Mediums to Amplify Their Voices with Fawn Douglas Fawn Douglas of the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe will discuss how art can be a valid and powerful form of activism for bringing attention to Indigenous people and the issues that affect them today.

WE (1/18), 5pm, Free, Museum of the Cherokee Indian, 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee

In Conversation: Ani Volkan

A talk exploring the ways different printmaking processes translate mark-making and capture a moment in time. See p25 TH (1/19), 4pm, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

Reception: School of Art and Design Faculty Biennial Exhibition This exhibition provides

students and the community with an opportunity to view recent work created by distinguished faculty members whose primary research output is studio based.

TH (1/19), 5pm, WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee

Night/Visionary

A five-person exhibition featuring contemplative works on paper, panel and canvas by Josephine Close, Renato Órdenes San Martín, Kyung Soon Park, Christina Haglid and Eli McMullen.

Through Feb. 26. Gallery open Tuesday through Saturday 10am and Sunday 11am. Tyger Tyger Gallery, 191 Lyman St

Anything Goes...

Everything Shows!

All submissions received by mail will be exhibited - any medium, size, shape or theme. Must be postmarked by Jan. 21, and mailed to: Carlos Steward/ Flood Gallery, Anything Goes…Everything Shows!, P.O. Box 9907, Asheville, NC 28815 USA Non-returnable, not for sale. Cannot be hand-delivered. Exhibit opens Feb. 4. Flood Gallery Fine Art Center, 850 Blue Ridge Rd, Black Mountain

Photography of Kathy Kmonicek

Morganton, NC resident and multiple Pulitzer prize finalist will have her work featured in the FW Gallery, through Jan. 31. Open daily 11am. Woolworth Walk, 25 Haywood St

Sherrill Roland: Sugar, Water, Lemon Squeeze

Through sculpture, installation, and conceptual art, Roland engages visitors in dialogues around community, social contract, identity, biases, and other deeply human experiences. Open 11am, closed Tuesdays. Through Mar. 20. Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

COMMUNITY MUSIC

Emanuel Ax in Recital Grammy award-winning pianist performs.

WE (1/18), 7:30pm, $35, Brevard Music Center, 349 Andante Ln, Brevard

Dances of Universal Peace

An evening of simple melody and movement set to sacred phrases from a number of spiritual traditions.

SA (1/21), 7:30pm, Haw Creek Commons, 315 Old Haw Creek Rd

LITERARY

Poetry Open Mic w/ Host Caleb Beissert

All forms of entertainment welcome at this weekly poetry-centric open mic.

WE (1/18, 25), 8pm, Sovereign Kava, 268 Biltmore Ave

Poetry Open Mic Hendo

A poetry-centered open mic that welcomes all kinds of performers.

18+

TH (1/19, 26), 7:30pm, Shakedown Lounge, 706 Seventh Ave East, Hendersonville

Culley Holderfield presents Hemlock Hollow in conversation with Dale Neal

The authors discusses his debut novel with fellow NC writer.

SU (1/22), 5pm, Malaprop’s, 55 Haywood St

THEATER & FILM

Becky Stone as Harriet Tubman Chautauqua scholar specializing in African-American history and stories performs as a storyteller. Donations welcome.

TH (1/19), 6pm, East Asheville Library, 902 Tunnel Road

Delighted Tobehere in Simply Delighted A one-woman show from a seven foot tall, award-winning Southern

drag queen, featuring tunes from Disney to country, and pop to Broadway.

TH (1/19), 7:30pm, The Magnetic Theatre, 375 Depot St

The 39 Steps

A stage production of the Hitchcock classic, written by Patrick Barlow. Friday, Jan. 20 and Saturday, Jan. 21 at 7pm, Sunday, Jan. 22 at 2pm. Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W Stage St, Black Mountain

Riveted: A Staged Reading

A reading of a new folk musical by local playwright and musician Deborah Silverstein, directed by Erin McCarson. In person and online, visit avl.mx/cb5.

SA (1/21), 7:30pm, Free-$15, The Magnetic Theatre, 375 Depot St

The Kids at HART Showcase

A collection of solo and group numbers, directed by 16 year old Kayenta Cruz.

SA (1/21), 7:30pm, SU (1/22), 2pm, HART Theatre, 250 Pigeon St, Waynesville

Rising of the Necessary Diva

This one-woman multimedia show starring WCU’s assistant professor of music (voice), Dr. Tiffany Renée Jackson, and featuring a live band, is an autobiographical account of a girl raised in the hood and born to a sharecropper’s daughter. Her gift to sing paves a path for her to travel the world, but her heart recognizes the need to return to the hood to serve in purpose.

TH (1/26), 7:30pm, $5-25, WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee

MEETINGS & PROGRAMS

Birding for Kids

An educational program for school age kids to explore the unique features and diversity of birds. In partnership with the NC Arboretum.

WE (1/18), 4pm, Weaverville Library, 41 N Main St, Weaverville

Introduction to Medicare: Understanding the Puzzle

The class will explain how Medicare works, the enrollment process, how to avoid penalties, and ways to save money. To register, visit coabc.org or call (828)277-8288.

WE (1/18), 5:30pm, Online, visit avl.mx/9hz

Clint Smith: Our History, Reimagined

The award-winning author and journalist will present a keynote address in commemo-

ration of Martin Luther King Jr. No advanced registration or tickets are required.

WE (1/18), 7pm, Lipinsky Auditorium at UNCA, 300 Library Ln

Evidence of the Afterlife

With Dr. Jeffrey Long, guest speaker. Presented by the Asheville Wisdom Exchange.

WE (1/18), 7pm, Online, visit avl.mx/8u5

Human Trafficking Panel Discussion

No RSVP needed. Open to the public.

TH (1/19), 6pm, YWCA Multipurpose Room, 185 S French Broad Ave

Bingo & Spaghetti Dinner

A spaghetti dinner followed by Bingo, with the chance to win prizes. Advance registration encouraged.

FR (1/20), 6pm, Dr Wesley Grant, Sr. Southside Center, 285 Livingston St

Sanctuary Saturdays

Join others in the community for a free hot lunch in a warm and safe setting. Use the restroom, charge your phone, be part of a conversation, play cards, rest - all are welcome.

SA (1/21), 11am, First Presbyterian Church Asheville, 40 Church St St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church and Cemetery Tours Every third Saturday. Reservations encouraged, visit avl.mx/cbx.

SA (1/21), 11am, 1895 Greenville Hwy, Flat Rock

Scrabble Club

All gear provided, just bring your vocabulary. Every Sunday.

SU (1/22), 12:15pm, Stephens Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

Train Event is on Track

See the "0" gauge model trains run on a 1500' layout. Run by the Smoky Mountain Model Railroad Club. Children two and under

free.

SU (1/22), 2pm, $5, BC Depot/Agapeland Station, 13 Caboose Way, Clyde

Catan Tournament

A night of friendly competition, with a maximum of 20 players. See p24

MO (1/23), 6pm, Well Played Board Game Café, 162 Coxe Ave

Meet The Superintendent: Henderson County Public Schools Mark Garrett, who became Superintendent of Henderson County Public Schools in 2022, will speak and respond to questions. Presented by the League of Women Voters Henderson County. Open to the public.

TU (1/24), 5:30pm, Free, Henderson County Library, 301 Washington St, Hendersonville

Sewing Club

Bring your machine or borrow one and be taught how to use it.

WE (1/18 25), 5:30pm, The Burger Bar, 1 Craven St

Cocktail Class: Call Me Old Fashioned

This class will focus on the science behind creating your favorite stirred cocktails and empower you to concoct your own unique libations at home.

TH (1/26), 6pm, Oak and Grist Distilling Company, 1556 Grovestone Rd, Black Mountain

Southside Card Game Night

Families and community members can play card games like bid whist/ spades, Apples to Apples, Uno, and more. Light refreshments served.

TH (1/26), 6pm, Dr Wesley Grant, Sr. Southside Center, 285 Livingston St

LOCAL MARKETS

RAD Farmers Market Winter Season

Providing year-round access to fresh local foods. Accessible parking available in the Smoky Park lot, free public parking available along Riverside Drive. Also accessed by foot, bike, or rollerblade via the Wilma Dykeman Greenway.

WE (1/18, 25), 3pm, Smoky Park Supper Club, 350 Riverside Dr

Weaverville Tailgate Market

With artisan, craft and food vendors weekly. Indoors.

WE (1/18, 25), 3pm, Weaverville Community Center, 60 Lakeshore Dr

Asheville City Market

With around 40 vendors to include a dozen produce stands, weekly. Outdoors.

SA (1/21), 10am, N Market St between Woodfin St and Walnut St

FESTIVALS & SPECIAL EVENTS

Asheville Restaurant Week

With 40 restaurants participating, Jan. 17-23. See p22

Lunar New Year Celebration

With traditional demonstrations and hands-on activities, including the Lion Dance, calligraphy, and a tea ceremony. Proceeds will benefit the American Chinese Friendship Society of WNC and Folkmoot USA.

FR (1/20), 7pm, $20, Queen Auditorium, 112 Virginia Ave, Waynesville

Lunar New Year Dining Experience

Live music and dancing with local band Pleasure Chest, a ceremonial Lion Dance performed by Dragon Phoenix, and a menu curated by Chef Raymond Hui from Gan Shan to bring good luck, fortune, health and wellness into the new year. See p22

SA (1/21), 7pm, Highland Brewing Company, 12 Old Charlotte Hwy Chili Cookoff

Asheville Parks and Recreation's second annual winter chili cookoff with live entertainment. Five dollars to enter and three dollars to taste. More info: (828)350-2058 or kkennedy@ashevillenc. gov.

SU (1/22), 2pm, Stephens-Lee Recreation Center, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

BENEFITS & VOLUNTEERING

Date Night with Divine Interactive games and shenanigans. All profits go to Arms Around ASD 501c3. Donations encouraged. Produced by Asheville Drag Brunch.

TH (1/19), 7pm, Highland Brewing Co., 12 Old Charlotte Hwy Barketype & Mountain Pet Rescue Adoption Event

The adoption event returns, taking place on the third Saturday of each month.

SA (1/21), 12pm, Archetype Brewing, 265 Haywood Rd

Volunteer Court Advocate for Children In Need

Seeking volunteers for Guardian ad Litem advocates, trained community volunteers who are appointed by a district court judge to investigate and determine the needs of abused and neglected children petitioned into the court system. Visit volunteerforgal.org or call (828)259-6603.

MAHEC’s CEO talks health care in WNC

Dr. William Hathaway marks one year at health nonprofit

BY JESSICA WAKEMAN

jwakeman@mountainx.com

For many people in Buncombe County, Dr. William Hathaway was a familiar face on TV. In his previous role as chief medical officer of Mission Health, he regularly spoke with the media and updated county commissioners on the spread of COVID-19 and COVID-19 deaths in the community.

During the past year, Hathaway settled into a new role: CEO of the nonprofit Mountain Area Health Education Center. Western North Carolina’s local AHEC is the largest of the nine centers in the state, with over 1,000 employees and a budget of over $100 million, according to Hathaway.

Running a large nonprofit is a departure from Hathaway’s professional training. Originally from Wisconsin, he attended college at Middlebury College in Vermont and earned a medical degree at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He first came to North Carolina for his residency program at Duke University, then moved to the Asheville area in 1999 to practice cardiology at Asheville Cardiology Associates and Mission Health. He became chief medical officer of Mission Health in 2013 and chief medical officer of the North Carolina division of HCA Healthcare, which

purchased Mission Health in 2019. He joined MAHEC as CEO last year after serving on its board of directors since 2014.

Hathaway spoke to Xpress about having an impact on the community’s health care, how the opioid epidemic affected him as a cardiologist and his excitement over becoming a grandparent.

This interview has been condensed for length and edited for clarity.

Prior to joining MAHEC as CEO, you were a cardiologist for over 20 years. Why did you specialize in cardiology?

I knew I wanted to be the kind of physician my grandfather and father were, [having] longitudinal, longstanding, long-term relationships with their patients — the sort of traditional family doctor. But I also knew that I navigated toward the sickest patients and the most acutely ill patients. I love the ER and the intensive care world and I love imaging and procedures. Cardiology allows you to see patients when they come in as sick as they’ll ever be, hopefully get out of the hospital, and then you have the opportunity for that longitudinal care where you focus on their preventive measures. [I wanted] the variety and the intensity and the depth of relationships that you can create with your patients.

That sounds quite different from the administrative work that’s required of you now. How do you

make sure that you’re still doing meaningful work?

[I was encouraged by] some work we did in 2005 that got published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The trial looked at collaborative efforts across the entire state for the treatment of patients with heart attacks. Instead of waiting until the patient got to the hospital and saw the doctor and then starting care, we wanted to initiate the care in a very systematic and organized fashion — when EMS or first responders went out there, they notified the [hospital] and really sped up how care was delivered. We set up protocols that have since become adopted nationwide [and] are now standard of care. That was the first time I realized that one of the biggest rewards you can get is recognizing that you’ve impacted the delivery of care for people you’ll never meet.

When I left Duke, there was a guy named Rob Califf. Rob was my mentor and he now runs the FDA. Dr. Califf asked me when I initially went into practice: “Don’t you want to make a difference?” I thought, “I’m going to make a difference! I’ll make a difference every day with my patients!” And then I realized what he was saying. He [meant], don’t you want to change how medicine and care is delivered? Becoming the chief medical officer gave me at least hope that I would have some influence over what happened regionally in Western North Carolina. And the same is true for MAHEC. This is an organization that has a broad impact on so many different people, not the least of which are those who are most in need in our community — either because they’re sick or they have fewer resources and less access to care.

Opioid misuse is one of the biggest health care challenges affecting WNC. How has the opioid crisis impacted you personally and professionally?

When I was actively practicing cardiology, we saw a change in the cases that we took care of related to intravenous drug utilization. There’s a condition called endocarditis, which is an infection of heart valves or other parts of the heart related to bacteria getting in through needle injections and then infecting the heart. It’s a serious and devastating condition. Pre-IV drug use, we may see a handful of these cases a year. As the IV-drug crisis escalated, we would have half a dozen in the hospital at a given time. You either require surgery to fix the problem, or six weeks of IV antibiotics, or both.

These are patients who are typically under- or uninsured. [We were] trying to figure out how to handle and manage these patients and get them the care that they needed.

Personally, my best friend’s son passed away from an accidental drug overdose as a junior in college. Totally devastating and not expected. Affluent family. Just saying that to exemplify that it affects all parts of the spectrum. We typically tend to associate it with another demographic, but it’s impacting everybody.

Are you optimistic about the opioid settlement funds that are coming to counties in WNC?

When I look at the opioid dollars that are available, I’m grateful that they’re available, but I harbor no illusions that it’s a limitless supply or anywhere near enough money to [solve this crisis]. It’s just a chronic problem we’re just going to have to keep dealing with, day after day.

MAHEC is a huge institution with so many regional initiatives and educational opportunities. How do you stay on top of everything that’s happening?

The key to leading is having a fantastic leadership team. I think about [President] Ronald Reagan. I think history would judge him as a reasonably good president. He surrounded himself with smart people, right? That’s the key: Surround yourself with people who are way smarter than you are. My job is to steer the ship and not know everything that happens on it.

Is there a program you’re particularly proud of?

That’s like saying, ‘Pick your favorite child. Who’s your favorite grandchild?’ [laughs] A new leader comes into a successful organization, and the biggest fear you have is you’re going to break something. So I asked people, “What are the most important things about MAHEC? What are the things we have to maintain?” [I learned] there’s this universal commitment to doing what’s right for the patient. So, taking on the opioid epidemic — there’s no money in that. But it’s important, and our community needs it. And our commitment to mental health, because there’s a mental health crisis in this country, and the patients need it.

What are you excited about for the future?

In 2024, [MAHEC will] turn 50. We’ll whoop it up and have parties and celebrations and really acknowledge all that has been done. I’m also excited about my grandson. I had a grandson four months ago! And we’re getting a puppy. X

STEERING THE SHIP: Dr. William Hathaway, CEO of Mountain Area Health Education Center, says the key to successful leadership is to “surround yourself with people who are way smarter than you are.” Photo by Jessica Wakeman

Magical Offerings

combat a season of sloth and overindulgence with cleanses and meditation retreats, the city has resolved to counteract the loss of water to nearly 40,000 residents with an independent review committee.

Like dealing with a remorseful ex, I’m foolishly giving the city one more opportunity to prove themselves — 90 days to be exact. Which is the timeframe the city has given the independent review committee to provide a report with recommendations. What the city plans to do with these recommendations remains as unclear as the French Broad River (thanks, in part, to the ancient Appalachian forest spirit and her friends). But if I know anything about committees it’s that they are both effective and timely — right?

Bost: Putting Mario’s prediction aside, many folks do choose to abstain from alcohol during the first month of the year, in what’s known as “Dry January.” What are your suggestions for booze-free fun in Beer City?

Brown: I actually just passed theone-year mark of quitting drinking myself. I stopped on New Year’s Day 2022. Initially, I was just doing it for a month to see if I could. Up until then, I had never heard about “Dry January.” Once I learned that this was an annual tradition of sorts for many people — and given that a lot of my life decisions are motivated purely by spite — I decided to extend my monthlong run without drinking to 100 days so it wouldn’t look like I was part of that trend. That turned into me quitting altogether.

So my suggestion for nondrinking fun? Do something to purely spite someone who has wronged you. You’re sober now, so the satisfaction of besting an enemy will only be sweeter. Or stay home and play very sad video games about the dangers of alcoholism while you dry out. That’s

what I did, and it got me to quit completely. Shoutout to Disco Elysium.

Macias: Personally, when I drink, I’m looking to escape the world and my feelings. So, sober fun often means finding something that forces me to live in the moment, and in the winter what better way to feel the wind in your hair and the rush of life than to go sledding?

But with the ravages of climate change, there just isn’t enough snow to go soaring down the hillside anymore. So if you want to relive those childhood memories, here’s what you’ll want to do. First, go downtown with a case of IPAs to recruit one of the psychic hillbillies. (I’ve seen a few of them hanging around Shakey’s, but if you go to any wood-paneled drinking establishment, you’re bound to find one). Of course, if you’re strapped for cash, you can usually get one of the older psychic hillbillies with just an afternoon’s worth of Busch Lite and a sultry glance. (But personally, if I’m going to get thrown around, I’d rather it be by a younger psychic hillbilly.)

Next, go up to the intersection of Haywood and Walnut streets with your favorite trash can lid, mount said lid and have your new telekinetic friend give you a good psychic shove down the hill. It might be more dangerous than old-fashioned snow sledding, but if you know how to drift and get a hard enough push, you’ll make it all the way to Tunnel Road! Either way, it’ll be a fun story to tell the doctors at the ER.

Trevizo: Despite my previous prediction, I have successfully taken multiple breaks from booze over the years. The trick is kombucha. And lying to yourself. You see, the average person doesn’t really like the taste of alcohol. We just like the taste of regret when we spend our money on drinks that make us question our lives and our ability to respect ourselves.

Luckily, kombucha offers a similar experience! Not only will it mimic

the absurd prices of an alcoholic beverage, but it naturally doesn’t taste very good by itself either. And if you drink more than one you feel terrible. But you can still drive!

So that’s the solution. If you can learn to lie to yourself about looking forward to buying kombucha after a hard day at work or when you want to celebrate with friends, you’re pretty much an evolved version of your current sober-seeking self.

Bost: Since I quit drinking in 2021, every day is Dry January for me. Might I suggest mentioning your alcohol abstinence in casual conversation to establish moral superiority? This will help supplement for serotonin.

Granted, it’s worth noting that quitting drinking is good for you in the long-run, but in the beginning it kind of sucks. On any given night out you may find yourself at first plagued with FOMO (fear of missing out), which I recommend counteracting by bringing up your drinking friends’ most regrettable mistakes. (That way no one is having fun!)

If that doesn’t work, try tricking your brain with a few mocktails. I find I’m very susceptible to the pla-

1/18: MERCURY RX Ends Reader: Jonathan 12-6pm

1/20: SUN ENTERS AQUARIUS

1/21: NEW MOON 3-5:30pm Reader: Edward 12-6pm

1/22: Reader: Pam 1-4:30pm

Author Event: Jenna Matlin, NC Taroist, Will You Give Me A Reading 1-3pm

1/26: Reader: Salem 11-7pm

FULL MOON: Feb. 5th

Jan. Stone: Peach Moonstone

Jan. Herb: Blackberry Leaves

cebo effect: two nonalcoholic beers in and I become much more confident in my dancing.

Bost: With frigid temperatures, shorter days and time spent indoors, winter can lead to some seasonal sadness. Now that the holidays have passed, any tips for keeping spirits bright this winter in WNC?

Brown: I know it can be hard to live in Asheville, where the rent is always rising and the pay never is. But any time life gets me down, I like to think about the things I’m grateful for. For one, I don’t live in Greenville — could you even imagine having to live there? Or even worse, Charlotte? Ewwwwww, that would be awful.

If that doesn’t fill you with gratitude, think about what it would be like to have rows of nipples like a pig or a dog. I bet you’re glad you don’t. Really makes you count your blessings, huh?

And now consider this. You live in a time where air conditioning exists and dinosaurs don’t. Imagine having to navigate morning traffic in a world where sometimes a 20-foot-tall carnivorous monster is in your neigh-

borhood, AND you have to leave the windows down because there’s no AC? I bet you never considered that, did you? Truly, something to be grateful for.

Macias (as ancient Appalachian forest spirit): I’ve seen a lot in my many years wandering this little dirt ball we all call home, but everywhere I’ve gone, every winter, people always ask this question. Perhaps it’s morbid to say, but I find comfort in remembering that dark days aren’t relegated to the cold! One of my worst days in the last couple centuries was a sunny New Jersey May day in 1937!

Now, does imagining the Hindenburg’s ball of fire descending the sky in spring help me through the winter? No. But! Sad days in the sun can be a reminder of the joys found in the long nights: sharing experiences over hot cocoa, a gentle kiss to warm your lips and shamanic dances around Stonehenge. (Though, I suppose those days are long gone — you kids really missed out!)

Trevizo: As a Pisces man, I’m naturally going to feel the sadness of the universe a little more intensely than the average person. Luckily, I’m a master at putting meaning and purpose into just about anything as well. Ever

heard of tacos? Or eating Taco Bell? Every. Single. Day. How about crying alone in your car while you aimlessly drive around a small mountain town?

These can all be great tools to jump-start your winter healing process. You see, when you replace the word “depressing” with the word “healing” in your head, nothing you do this winter is truly sad. Let’s give it a try. “Today I barely got out of bed. I ate a tub of ice cream, four-day old Taco Bell and cried in the shower for an hour while thinking about my ex from eight years ago. I didn’t even see the sun. It was such a healing day.”

Genius, right?

Bost: My only advice is to avoid winter altogether. As a Leo, I don’t do well in the cold and would much prefer basking in the summer sun. I write this wrapped in a 15-pound blanket with a plethora of cookies, cheeses and various forms of fried dough within reach. My plan is to remain here, crushed beneath the weight of both the blanket and the world, until I slowly dissolve into a winter stew, marinating in snacks and streaming services. Once the worst of winter has passed, I will reemerge from my chaotic chrysalis refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to face spring. X

What’s new in food

Asheville Restaurant Week returns for 11th year

Asheville Restaurant Week, the annual celebration of local cuisine organized by the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, kicks off its 11th year on Tuesday, Jan. 17. For its 2023 iteration, nearly 40 restaurants will join in on the festivities by offering unique menu specials through Monday, Jan. 23.

“When Asheville Restaurant Week started, we had prix fixe menus at specific prices. A few years back, we broadened it so that each restaurant can set its specials to best fit its menu,” says Erin Leonard, vice president of communications for the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. “This could be tried and true dishes at special prices, or it could be a dish offered just for Asheville Restaurant Week. It’s really up to the creativity of each restaurant.”

This year’s celebration will mark one of the highest numbers of

participating restaurants, following two years of COVID-19 related restrictions.

“We continue to tweak Asheville Restaurant Week based on feedback from participating restaurants, and we’re always looking to expand on the number and type of restaurants participating,” explains Leonard.

Returning restaurants such as Chestnut, Corner Kitchen, Cúrate and Ruth’s Chris Steak House have participated in Asheville Restaurant Week since the beginning. Meanwhile, a number of newcomers, including Bhramari Brewing Co., Farm Dogs, Gemelli, Huli Sue’s BBQ & Grill, Old School Subs, Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse and Rye Knot, will all be making their Asheville Restaurant Week debuts.

Some restaurants, such as Buxton Hall BBQ will use the week to spotlight new concepts including its Patty & Pearl pop-up. Throughout the week, Buxton will offer a special-themed menu featuring burgers and sliders as well as raw and fried oysters, in addition to various appetizers, sides and drinks matching the theme; Buxton’s regular menus will also be available.

“The range of casual to fine dining means there’s something for everyone, with a handful of participating restaurants offering breakfast, more than half open for lunch and a majority open for dinner,” says Leonard.

“Locals get to show their love for local restaurants by dining at one of their favorites or venturing out to a restaurant they’ve never been to,” Leonard continues. “As a result, participating restaurants have reported boosts in revenue during what is often a shoulder-season timeframe taking place after the holidays.”

For a full list of participating restaurants, visit avl.mx/cat.

Lucky Lunar New Year

According to the Chinese zodiac, or shēngxiào, 2023 is the Year of the Water Rabbit, signifying longevity, peace and a prediction of hope for the year to come. To help embody the dawning of the Lunar New Year, Highland Brewing Co. and Gan Shan West are collaborating on a special dining experience on Saturday, Jan. 21, from 6-9 p.m.

Gan Shan West’s chef de cuisine, Raymond Hui, has curated a menu that will include small plates featuring spring rolls, sticky rice and Singapore mie fun. Main dishes will include twice-cooked pork, General Tso chicken and three cup tofu. The evening’s meal will conclude on a sweet note with options that include Malaysian pineapple tart and tang yuan sweet rice dumplings.

“The main inspiration for this menu came from all the fond memories of friends and family reuniting from far and wide at my grandparents’ house,” explains Hui. “The home was filled with familiar aromas that I had waited all year for. These dishes were special occasion delicacies that welcomed good fortune and happiness into the new year.”

To mark the special occasion, Highland Brewing Co. will tap its Water Rabbit Yuzu Pilsner, a collaboration with Seattle’s Lucky Envelope Brewing that, like Highland, is Chinese-Americanowned. Local band Pleasure Chest will provide live music and Dragon Phoenix will perform a ceremonial Lion Dance to open the event. Guests are encouraged to dress in their best red attire.

“I’m rediscovering Chinese New Year through beer,” says Leah Wong Ashburn , president of Highland Brewing Co. “Our Lunar New Year events highlight the best parts of the company and the industry with

a creative and inspired beer, collaboration, cultural diversity and celebration, all tying back to my father’s side of the family.”

Tickets cost $55 per person and include event access, a 4-ounce welcome pour of Water Rabbit Yuzu Pilsner, one drink token and station-style dining. An optional $20 add-on grants access to a brewery tour and tasting plus a meet-andgreet with Highland founder Oscar Wong. Visit avl.mx/cav for tickets and information.

Peruvian pop-up

Outsider Brewing Co. will host chef Chuck Cutler-Gutiérrez ’s Ayni51 vegan Peruvian pop-up on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Cutler-Gutiérrez, who uses the pronoun they/them, seeks to introduce the culinary curious to an authentic, yet experimental, fivecourse Peruvian meal that provides new tastes, education and appreciation for Central America’s diverse cuisine. Optional beer pairings from Outsider Brewing Co. will also be available.

“The way Outsider uses hops in beer connects back to the way fermentation is utilized in many different types of traditional Peruvian foods,” explains Cutler-Gutiérrez.

This is the last pop-up CutlerGutiérrez will host under the Ayni51 name, as they begin work on launch-

LINE UP FOR LOCAL: The 11th annual Asheville Restaurant Week kicks off Tuesday, Jan. 17 and features nearly 40 local participating restaurants. Photo courtesy The Lobster Trap

ing their new restaurant, LIMAQ in Mars Hill. The restaurant will pay homage to the chef’s home city of Lima, Peru. It is tentatively set to open later this year.

Outsider Brewing Co. is at 939 Riverside Drive. Tickets to the pop-up cost $65 per person. Visit avl.mx/cay for more information. For more information on LIMAQ, visit avl.mx/cax.

Naughty New Year

Take a walk on the wild side with The Naughty New Year Showcase, the latest event in Rhubarb’s new Local Showcase series, taking place Thursday, Jan. 26, 6-9 p.m.

Food and beverage will be paired with a number of seductive experiences in this 21 and up event, including a product display from VaVaVooom, sensual burlesque performances by Enter the Garden dancers and live caricature drawings from Paul Choi of Bad Drawings.

“This month’s Showcase event was inspired by a desire to celebrate nonrestrictive New Year’s resolutions and let go of all that extra pressure and stress that a lot of us feel around the holidays,” explains Katie Page , Rhubarb’s event coordinator. “After the past couple of years, I think we can all stand to have a bit more fun this year!”

Exclusive discounts to Divination Tattoo and relaxing take home offerings from Asheville Dispensary will also be provided during the evening’s events.

The showcase will take place at Rhubarb’s event space at 7 SW Pack Square. Limited tickets are available for $35 per person. Visit avl.mx/caw for additional information.

Old Europe, new location

After nearly three years of patient development and perseverance through construction delays, Old Europe Pastries has opened its new location at 18 Broadway.

Located, quite literally, across the street from its previous space, the new venue is nearly three times the size of its previous location.

“We are most excited about the opportunities that the new space provides,” says General Manager Abby Schrupp . “Being in 13 Broadway was extremely limiting in what we were able to do.”

Lines out the door were a common sight for those passing by Old Europe’s old digs. “During our busy seasons in October, we were doing

about five to eight wedding orders on top of the full leaf season business out of just 800 square feet,” Schrupp explains. “We really want to push the envelope of what we can do as a team and as a business within this new space.”

Old Europe has further plans to roll out two additional phases in the next year or two, which will include an upstairs event space and downstairs overflow seating that will bring its total square footage to nearly 6,000.

For more information, visit avl.mx/8jn.

On the right track

Asheville’s Evergreen Community Charter School has been announced as one of 18 North Carolina school projects benefitting from the Jimmie Johnson Foundation’s annual Champions Grants program. These grants are awarded to K-12 public and charter schools to help address critical needs. This latest round will benefit more than 11,000 North Carolina students through over $468,000 in total grants.

Evergreen Community Charter School is set to receive $13,042 which will be used to expand its breakfast program to include a graband-go kiosk. The new addition will help eliminate barriers to access and provide meals to more of the school’s student population.

“A more accessible and robust breakfast program is exactly what our students need, and we are more than grateful to the Jimmie Johnson Foundation for making that happen,” says Evergreen Community Charter School’s Executive Director Susan Mertz in a news release.

For more information, visit avl.mx/xmasjbm.

— Blake Becker X

Sometimes people just want an excuse to put their phones down, says Noah Price, events coordinator at Well Played Board Game Café.

That’s one reason he believes the South Slope business, which has more than 700 board games on hand, attracts a number of group events: birthday parties, work retreats, first dates and weekly social gatherings.

“When you’re playing a game face to face with other people, it fulfills that social itch that people had really been missing, especially coming out of the pandemic,” he says. “It builds and fosters relationship and community.”

For instance, a social group for people in their 20s and 30s meets

every Thursday, 6-9 p.m. The cafe also hosts Homeschoolers Hangout Thursdays-Fridays, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

“That one was the brainchild of some of our owners,” Price explains. “The idea was to find some creative ways that we can use our space during weekdays where it’s mutually beneficial for the community. The games are specifically curated for them where they’re fun, but they also have some educational value.”

On Friday, Jan. 27, 5-8 p.m. the cafe will host a free demonstration of GENSMAK!, a new trivia game that categorizes questions by generation. Game masters will teach people how to play, and the cafe will give away a free copy of the game.

“We’ve play tested it a few times, and it’s been a hit among the staff,” Price says. “Over the holidays, people were asking to borrow the copies that we had to take to their families, so they could all play.”

Well Played Board Game Café is at 162 Coxe Ave. For more information about the 20s-30s social group, go to avl.mx/cb6. For more about the Homeschoolers Hangout, visit avl.mx/cb7. To learn about the GENSMAK! demo, go to avl.mx/cb8.

Straight talk

Asheville author Susy Chandler will release a new romance novel the first week of February. And the second week. And the third and fourth weeks as well.

In all, Chandler will publish four new books during the month, starting with Straight Girls Wanna Have Fun on Friday, Feb. 3. That will be followed by Straight Girls Trip on Friday, Feb. 10, The Straight Girl That Got Away on Friday, Feb. 17 and Straight Girls I’ve Loved Before on Friday, Feb. 24.

“Many fiction readers will knock out a novel in one week or even one sitting,” Chandler says of her works. “Giving them one book each week ensures they won’t have to wait, and it keeps the series relevant and top of mind.”

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY: Well Played Board Game Café hosts various weekly group meetups and new game demonstrations. Photo courtesy of Well Played Board Game Café

The books in this series focus on heterosexual women who fall for lesbians. Chandler says this latest series was more fun to write than last year’s four-part, futuristic, social justice focused series, “Rise and Converge.”

“First-time steamy scenes are by far the most fun to write — and read, I think,” Chandler says.

Chandler spent about six weeks writing each of the first three novels during the summer and fall. For the final book, she belted out 50,000 words in 30 days as part of National Novel Writing Month in November.

“February is the month of love, a perfect time for a romance series,” the author continues. “My wife’s birthday is also the last day of the month, and what better way to say ‘I love you’ than with four happily-ever-after novels — and hopefully some decent royalties.”

For more information, or to purchase the books, go to avl.mx/cb0.

Words and music

The Bob Moog Foundation is selling signed copies of Switched On: Bob Moog and the Synthesizer Revolution, the recently published biography of the late inventor and electronic music pioneer who made Asheville his home.

“The process of writing this book has been an extraordinary experience, and I am proud to be able to offer this definitive story of Bob’s complex life and career,” author Albert Glinksy says in a press release.

The 471-page hardcover book, with a foreword by Francis Ford Coppola, retails for $39.95 in the foundation’s online store or in the Moogseum gift shop at 56 Broadway.

To order the book online, go to avl.mx/cb4.

Blessed are

the printmakers

Printmaker and educator Ani Volkan will discuss printmaking processes Thursday, Jan. 19, 4-5 p.m., at the Asheville Art Museum. The talk will conclude with a gallery tour of the exhibition In the Age of the Etching Revival, on view at the museum through Monday, Jan. 23.

Volkan’s work combines storytelling with her Armenian heritage and incorporates old family photographs, textiles and printmaking. Her talk will explore “the ways printmaking processes like etching translate marks, explore multiples and capture a moment in time,” the museum says in a press release.

The Asheville Art Museum is at 2 Pack Square. Hours are WednesdaysMondays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (9 p.m. on Thursdays). For more information, go to avl.mx/cb2.

Call for artists

The Saluda Downtown Foundation is inviting artists to apply for a spot in the 18th Saluda Arts Festival, scheduled for Saturday, May 20 in downtown Saluda.

The event features paintings, pottery, metal work, jewelry, sculptures, fiber and more. The 2022 event, the first since 2019, featured more than 90 artists.

Applications are due by Wednesday, March 1. The exhibit fee is $110 for the non-jury event and is due with the application. Some types of work, including jewelry, will be accepted on a limited basis. Early entries will be given first choice of booth location.

For more information to o apply, go to avl.mx/cb3.

Back to regular hours

Buncombe County Special Collections at Pack Memorial Library has returned to regular service hours after a temporary shift. Hours will be Tuesdays-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

For more information, follow the Special Collections blog at avl.mx/bc3.

— Justin McGuire X

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For

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18

12 BONES BREWERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

185 KING STREET Winter Trivia Tournament and Karaoke Night, 7pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL

Disclaimer Stand-Up Lounge Comedy Open Mic, 8pm

BIER GARDEN Geeks Who Drink: Trivia, 7pm

BOLD ROCK

ASHEVILLE Music Bingo, 7pm

CAMDEN'S COFFEE HOUSE

Open Mic Night, 7pm

FLEETWOOD'S Karaoke Dance Party w/Cheryl, 8pm

OSKAR BLUES BREWERY Steep Canyon Rangers Winter Camp (bluegrass, Americana), 6pm

RENDEVOUS Albi (vintage jazz), 6pm

CLUBLAND

SHAKEY'S

Sexy Tunes w/DJ Ek Balam, 10pm

SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BREWERY Jazz Night w/Jason DeCristofaro, 6pm

THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR

Asheville FM Live Music Sessions: The Greybirds (Americana, singer-songwriter), 9pm

THE GREY EAGLE Oliver Wood Trio (American roots), 7pm

THE ODD Graveyard Shift Goth Dance Party, 9:30pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY Wednesday Open Mic, 5:30pm

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19

185 KING STREET

Lazy Rooster (roots), 7pm

ARCHETYPE BREWING Music Bingo, 6:30pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL

Janis Joplin's 80th Birthday Party, 8pm

BOLD ROCK ASHEVILLE Trivia Night, 7pm

BOTTLE RIOT Alt Thursday w/Selector B (90s throwbacks), 7pm

CAMDEN'S COFFEE

HOUSE

Open Mic Night, 7pm

FLEETWOOD'S Busy Weather, Torture Garden & Night Beers (hardcore, punk), 9pm

FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY

Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead & JGB Tribute), 6pm

GIGI'S UNDERGROUND Mr Jimmy (blues), 8pm GREEN MAN BREWERY Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Date Night with Divine, 7pm

HIGHLAND DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Not Rocket Science Trivia, 6pm

THE IMPERIAL LIFE

DJ Press Play (classic disco, funk, lo-fi), 9pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Bluegrass Jam, hosted by Drew Matulich, 7:30pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL

The Lumpy Heads (Phish tribute), 9pm

ONE WORLD BREWING Isaac Hadden (jazz, funk-rock), 7pm

Jan. 21, at 9 p.m.

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Ben Balmer (singer-songwriter), 7pm

OSKAR BLUES BREWERY

Steep Canyon Rangers Winter Camp (bluegrass, Americana), 6pm SHAKEDOWN LOUNGE

Poetry Open Mic Hendo, 7:30pm

SHAKEY'S Karaoke w/DJ Franco Niño, 9pm

SIERRA NEVADA BREWING CO.

Dirty Logic: A Tribute To Steely Dan, 6:30pm

THE GREY EAGLE GA-20 & LadyCouch (blues, Southern rock), 8pm

THE ORANGE PEEL Charlie Starr w/Benji Shanks (Southern rock), 8pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY Thursday Night Karaoke, 8:30pm

URBAN ORCHARD Trivia Night, 6:30pm

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20

185 KING STREET Supatight (rock, funk), 8pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL

IMPACT: jordnmoody, Mirror Maze, Ujuu (edm), 9pm

IN THE SPIRIT: Americana roots band Chris Jamison’s Ghost will perform at Shiloh & Gaines on Saturday,

Photo courtesy of the band

BOLD ROCK

ASHEVILLE

80's Themed Ski Party, 6pm

BOLD ROCK MILLS

RIVER

DJ Deep Eddy, 6pm

CORK & KEG

3 Cool Cats (vintage rock-n-roll), 8pm

DIFFERENT WRLD Haus of Jane Burlesque, 8pm

FLEETWOOD'S Hex Wizardm, Rougarou & Cutlass (garage, punk), 9pm

GIGI'S UNDERGROUND

ATLiens: Atlanta Comedy Showcase, 8pm

GINGER'S REVENGE CRAFT BREWERY & TASTING ROOM

Doctor Delia (old-time new-time), 6pm

HIGHLAND BREWING CO.

Deaf Andrews (rock), 7pm

HIGHLAND DOWNTOWN TAPROOM

Drag Music Bingo w/ Divine the Bearded Lady, 7pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Jackson Grimm and the Bull Moose Party (folk pop), 9pm

NOBLE CIDER &

MEAD TAPROOM

Crisp Comedy: Live in Leicester, 8pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

• Free Dead Friday ft Gus & Phriends, 5pm

• The Talisman (funk, soul), 10pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

Nick Mac & The Noise (blues rock), 8pm

OSKAR BLUES BREWERY

Steep Canyon Rangers Winter Camp (bluegrass, Americana), 6pm

SHILOH & GAINES

Jamie Hendrickson & Datrian Johnson Acoustic Quartet (Appalachian soul), 9pm

THE IMPERIAL LIFE

DJ Mark (hip hop, funk, R&B), 9pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA MeHim (jazz), 9pm

THE ODD Punks for Pits IV, 8pm

THE ORANGE PEEL Larkin Poe w/Goodnight, Texas (rock), 8pm

WRONG WAY CAMPGROUND

Fireside Fridays (open jam), 5:30pm

WXYZ AT ALOFT

Eric Barker (R&B, rock’n’roll covers), 7pm

SATURDAY, JANUARY

• Blackbeard's Truck (folk), 5pm

BOOJUM BREWING CO.

21

185 KING STREET

Randall Bramblett Band (Americana, blues, rock), 8pm

305 LOUNGE & EATERY

Old Men of the Woods (folk, pop), 1pm

ASHEVILLE CLUB Mr Jimmy (blues), 8pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL

Andrew Scotchie’s Dirty 30 Birthday Bash (rock), 9pm

BATTERY PARK BOOK

EXCHANGE

Dinah's Daydream (Gypsy jazz), 5:30pm

BLUE GHOST BREWING CO.

Winter Axe Throwing, 2pm

BOLD ROCK ASHEVILLE

• Bluegrass Brunch, 10am

• Buffalo Kings (blues country, soul, rock), 7pm

BOLD ROCK MILLS RIVER

• Resolution Ruiner Party, 11am

Smooth Goose (funk, jazz, rock), 9pm

CORK & KEG

Zydeco Ya Ya (Cajun), 8pm

DIFFERENT WRLD

Muy Mucho Latin Dance Class & Glow Dance Party, 9pm

FLEETWOOD'S

The Silver Doors, Flying Houses & Rhinestone Pickup Truck (psych rock, grunge), 9pm

FROG LEVEL BREWERY

Kevin Dolan & Paul Koptak (singer-songwriter), 6pm

GINGER'S REVENGE SOUTH SLOPE

LOUNGE

Gluten Free Comedy: Fiona Cauley, 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING CO.

Lush Honey (neo-soul, prog rock, jam), 6pm

HIGHLAND DOWNTOWN TAPROOM

Eli Kahn and Joe Enright (jazz, neo-soul, hip hop), 7pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

• Nobody’s Darling String Band, 4pm

• Nordmoe & the Rodeo (old school country), 9pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO.

The Get Right Band (psychdelic indie rock), 8pm

ONE WORLD BREWING

Mr. Parker (Americana), 8pm

ONE WORLD

BREWING WEST

The Well Drinkers (bluegrass), 8pm

SHILOH & GAINES

Chris Jamison's Ghost (contemporary folk), 9pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA

Tony Black Trio (jazz), 9pm

THE IMPERIAL LIFE

DJ Otto Maddox (soul, 80s), 9pm

THE GREY EAGLE

13th Annual Django Reinhardt Birthday Celebration, 7pm

THE ORANGE PEEL

Town Mountain w/Cole Chaney (bluegrass, Americana), 7pm

WXYZ AT ALOFT DJ Molli Party, 7pm

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22

ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL

The JLloyd MashUp Presents: A Tribute To Paul Simon, 9pm

BOLD ROCK

ASHEVILLE

Bluegrass Brunch, 10am

BOTTLE RIOT

Soul Sunday w/Selector Chrissy Zebby, 3pm

GREEN MAN

BREWERY

Divine's Karaoke Kiki, 7pm

HI-WIRE BREWING

BIG TOP

Urban Combat Wrestling Presents: Laugh Now, Cry Later, 7pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Traditional Irish Jam, 4pm

THE GREY EAGLE

The Schizophonics (rock-n-roll), 8pm

THE IMPERIAL LIFE

DJ Chico Feo (international dance), 9pm

THE ODD

King Sh*t Ep. 1: Welcome To Our Freakshow (Drag King show), 8pm

PLĒB URBAN WINERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 4pm

MONDAY, JANUARY

27 CLUB

ASHEVILLE MUSIC

HALL Tuesday Night Funk Jam, 10:30pm

FRENCH BROAD BREWERY Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Early Tuesday Jam (funk), 8pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST

SOUTHERN

APPALACHIAN

BREWERY

Jazz Night w/Jason DeCristofaro, 6pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY Wednesday Open Mic, 5:30pm

THURSDAY,

JANUARY

26

185 KING STREET

Jason Carter & Friends (bluegrass), 6pm

23

Monday Night Karaoke hosted by Ganymede, 9:30pm

DSSOLVR

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

HAYWOOD COUNTRY CLUB

Taylor Martin's Open Mic, 6:30pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Quizzo! Pub Trivia w/ Jason Mencer, 7:30pm

NOBLE CIDER DOWNTOWN Freshen Up Comedy Open Mic, 6:30pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA Aaron “Woody” Wood (cosmic Appalachian soul), 7pm

THE GREY EAGLE Mama & The Ruckus w/Melissa McKinney: International Blues Competition Send-off Party, 8pm

THE IMPERIAL LIFE DJ Short Stop (soul, Latin, dance), 9pm

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR Mr Jimmy and Friends (blues), 7pm

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24

185 KING STREET Travis Book & Friends ft Andy Falco (a Jerry Garcia tribute), 6:30pm

5 WALNUT WINE BAR The John Henrys (jazz, swing), 8pm

The Grateful Family Band Tuesdays (Dead tribute, jam band, rock), 6pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA Weekly Open Jam hosted by Chris Cooper & Friends, 8pm

THE GREY EAGLE Read Southall Band (country), 8pm

THE IMPERIAL LIFE

DJ Mad Mike: Music for the People, 9pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY Tuesday Night Trivia, 7pm

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY

25

12 BONES BREWERY Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

185 KING STREET Winter Trivia Tournament and Karaoke Night, 7pm

ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Disclaimer Stand-Up Lounge Comedy Open Mic, 8pm

BIER GARDEN Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 7pm

BOLD ROCK ASHEVILLE Music Bingo, 7pm

CAMDEN'S COFFEE HOUSE Open Mic Night, 7pm

FLEETWOOD'S Elijah Johnston, RUGG & Aunt Ant (indie), 9pm

RENDEVOUS Albi (vintage jazz), 6pm

SHAKEY'S Sexy Tunes w/DJ Ek Balam, 10pm

BOLD ROCK ASHEVILLE Trivia Night, 7pm

BOTTLE RIOT

Alt Thursday w/Selector B (90s throwbacks), 7pm

CAMDEN'S COFFEE HOUSE

Open Mic Night, 7pm

FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY

Jerry's Dead (Grateful Dead & JGB Tribute), 6pm

FROG LEVEL BREWERY

Kind, Clean Gentlemen (acoustic roots rock, soul blues), 5:30pm

GIGI'S

UNDERGROUND

Mr Jimmy (blues), 8pm

GREEN MAN BREWERY

Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm

HIGHLAND DOWNTOWN TAPROOM

Not Rocket Science Trivia, 6pm

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB

Bluegrass Jam hosted by Drew Matulich, 7:30pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL

The Lumpy Heads (Phish tribute), 9pm

SHAKEY'S Karaoke w/DJ Franco Niño, 9pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA Stand Up Comedy for Your Health, 8pm

THE GREY EAGLE Tinsley Ellis (blues), 8pm

URBAN ORCHARD Trivia Night, 6:30pm

FREEWILL ASTROLOGY BY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Good news, Aries! During the next episode in the age-old struggle between the Impulsive You and the Farsighted You, I predict the latter will achieve a ringing victory. Hallelujah! I also foresee you overcoming the temptation to quit a project prematurely, and instead pushing on to complete it. There’s more! You will refrain from knocking your head against an obstacle in the vain hope of toppling it. Instead, you will round up helpers to help you wield a battering ram that will produce the desired toppling.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You may not have a clear picture of where you’ll be going in the next five years. The detailed master plan that your higher self devised for you before you were born might even be obscure. But I’m here to tell you that in the coming weeks, a new lucidity can be yours. You can summon an acute instinct about which way is forward, if only you will recognize the subtle ways it’s speaking to you. In fact, I believe you will regularly know what move you should make next so as to expedite your long-term evolution. Life will be rewarding you with mysterious step-by-step guidance. Now please write a short statement affirming your intention to love, honor and obey your intuition.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Do you believe in the existence of guardian angels, spirit guides and ancestors who can intervene in your behalf from the other side of the veil? Do you wonder if maybe your invisible friends from childhood show up in your vicinity now and then to offer you support and kindness? Or how about the animals you loved earlier in your life but who have since passed away? Is it possible their souls have never left you, but are available if you need their affection? Even if your rational mind tells you that none of these possibilities are authentic, Gemini, I suspect you will nevertheless be the beneficiary of their assistance in the coming weeks and months. Their influence will be even more potent if you proceed as if they are real.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Among your potential strengths as a human being are empathy, sensitivity and emotional intelligence. You may or may not choose to develop these natural gifts. But if you do, they can be instrumental in helping you achieve the only kind of success that’s really meaningful for you — which is success that your heart and soul love as much as your head and your ego. According to my astrological analysis, you are moving into a phase of your cycle when you will have extra power to ripen your empathy, sensitivity, and emotional intelligence — and thereby enhance your ability to achieve the kind of success that’s meaningful for you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Dear Rob the Astrologer: The computer firewall at my youth hostel is blocking your website. I am being told you practice ’Illegal Folklore and Insurrectionary Fairy Tales.’ What the hell? Can you do anything at your end to get me access to your wonderful horoscopes? Maybe cut back a bit on your Illegal Folklore and Insurrectionary Fairy Tales? Haha. Just kidding. I love that crazy stuff. — Deprived Leo in Ireland.” Dear Deprived: Many of you Leos have lately had problems getting all the Illegal Folklore and Insurrectionary Fairy Tales you need. I hope you will push hard to compensate. In my estimation, you currently have a strong need for dreamy stories that appeal to the Wild Child in you. They’re essential to your mental and spiritual health.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In his book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life, Donald Miller acknowledges that fear can be a “guide to keep us safe.” Being afraid may indeed have its uses and benefits. But Miller adds that it’s also “a manipulative emotion that can trick us into living a boring life.” In my astrological opinion, Virgo, fear will be of service to you — a guide to

ROB BREZSNY

keep you safe — about 9% of the time in 2023. Around 83% of the time, it will be a manipulative emotion not worth acting on. For the other 8%, it will be neither. Please plan accordingly.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Select two sticky situations in your world that you would love to reinvent. Let other annoyances and glitches just slide for now. Then cultivate a focused desire to do everything in your power to transform the two awkward or messy circumstances. Proceed as if you will have to do all the work yourself — that nothing will change for the better unless you take full responsibility. If you’re absolutely sure this involves other people altering their behavior, consider the possibility that maybe your behavior needs to shift as well.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Three out of four toxic waste dumps in the U.S. are located in predominantly African-American or Latino communities. Two million tons of radioactive uranium tailings have been dumped on Native American lands. Three hundred thousand Latino farm workers in the U.S. suffer from pesticide-related sicknesses every year. These travesties make me furious. More importantly, my rage motivates me to mitigate these travesties, like by educating my readers about them and donating money to groups crusading to fix the problems. In the coming weeks, Scorpio, I hope you will take advantage of your astrological potentials by using your anger constructively, too. Now is a favorable time for you to fight fiercely and tenderly for what’s right.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I predict that love will bring you many AHA! moments in 2023. You can’t fully prepare yourself for them — and that’s a good thing! The epiphanies will be brighter and deeper if they are unexpected. Your motivation to learn the available lessons will be wilder and stronger if you enjoy being surprised. So be ready for lots of entertaining rumbles and reverberations, Sagittarius. The adjustments you will be asked to make will often be strenuous and fun. The inspirations you will be invited to harvest will require you to outgrow some of your previous beliefs about the nature of intimacy and togetherness.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Some insects are helpful to humans. For example, ladybugs devour aphids, which are highly destructive to crops. Damsel bugs eat the pests called leafhoppers, and lacewings feed on the pernicious nuisances known as mealybugs. I also remind you that some bugs are beautiful, like butterflies, dragonflies, and jeweled beetles. Keep these thoughts in mind, Capricorn, as you contemplate my counsel. Metaphorically speaking, you will have experiences with bugs in the next three weeks. But this won’t be a problem if you ally yourself with the good, helpful and beautiful bugs.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): What are “brain orgasms”? Can you seek them out and make them happen, or do you have to wait patiently for them to arrive in their own sweet time? When they occur, what should you do? Surrender into them with all your welcome fully unleashed? Or should you question whether they’re real, be suspicious of their blessings or dismiss them as irrelevant flukes? I encourage you to meditate on questions like these. That will raise your receptivity to the stream of brain orgasms that life will offer you in the coming weeks.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): My Piscean pagan friend Valie says God is stealthy yet blatant, like a green chameleon perched on a green leaf. After analyzing the astrological omens, I conclude that this is a helpful, all-purpose metaphor for you to use in the coming weeks. I encourage you to be alert for beauty that is hidden in plain sight. See if you can spy the miracles embedded within the ordinary. Ask life to pleasantly blow your mind over and over again. Here’s your phrase of power: open secret

MARKETPLACE

Want to advertise in Marketplace? 828-251-1333 advertise@mountainx.com • mountainx.com/classifieds

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Remember the Russian proverb: “Doveryai, no proveryai,” trust but verify. When answering classified ads, always err on the side of caution. Especially beware of any party asking you to give them financial or identification information. The Mountain Xpress cannot be responsible for ensuring that each advertising client is legitimate. Please report scams to advertise@mountainx.com

EMPLOYMENT PROFESSIONAL/ MANAGEMENT

BUSINESS

YOUR CAREER STARTS HERE WITH MHC! PROGRAM MANAGER Make a difference AND grow in your career! Methodist Home for Children is seeking a Program Manager to oversee a residential program for at-risk youth in Franklin. Candidates must have a 4-year degree, preferably in a human services program, relevant experience in staff supervision and background working in youth programs/youth services. MHC offers excellent benefits, paid time off, and room to grow! Salary starts at $48,000. Apply today at MHFC.org/ opportunities vpenn@mhfc.org

COMPUTER/ TECHNICAL AUDIO/VIDEO/IT TECHNICIAN NEEDED Looking for a trustworthy and presentable technician for audio/video and IT work. Full time, PTO, paid holidays, and a great work environment. Some experience required,. Email info+mtx@ wncav.com for more information.

SERVICES AUDIO/VIDEO

DISH TV SPECIAL $64.99 for 190 Channels + $14.95 High Speed Internet. Free installation, Smart HD DVR Included, Free Voice Remote. Some restrictions apply. Promo Expires 1/21/23. 1-866-566-1815. (AAN CAN)

TENANT & EMPLOYEE

BACKGROUND CHECKS - $50 Credit, Criminal, and Eviction - King Background Screening has been serving the needs of business owners and the rental industry since 2006. Quick results! Denise Anderson (owner) call/text 941-284-4612 KingScreening@ gmail.com See web site for full details and prices. www. kingbackgroundscreening.com

EDUCATION/ TUTORING

ATTENTION ACTIVE DUTY & MILITARY VETERANS & FAMILY Begin a new career and earn your Degree at CTI. Online Computer & Medical training available for Veterans & Families. To learn more, call 866-243-5931 (M-F 8am-6pm ET). Computer with internet is required. (AAN CAN) HOME

ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

BATHWRAPS

IS LOOKING FOR HOMEOWNERS WITH OLDER HOMES FOR A SAFETY

UPDATE They do not remodel entire bathrooms but update bathtubs with new liners for safe bathing and showering. They specialize in grab bars, non-slip surfaces and shower seats. All updates are completed in one day. Call 866-531-2432. (AAN CAN)

BCI WALK-IN TUBS ARE ON SALE Be one of the first 50 callers and save $1,500! Call 844-514-0123 for a free in-home consultation. (AAN CAN)

CREDIT CARD DEBT RELIEF! Reduce payment by up to 50%! Get one LOW affordable payment/month. Reduce interest. Stop calls. FREE no-obligation consultation Call 1-855-761-1456. (AAN CAN)

DIRECTV SATELLITE TV Service

Starting at $74.99/month! Free Installation! 160+ channels available. Call Now to Get the Most Sports & Entertainment on TV!  877-310-2472 (AAN CAN)

DON'T PAY FOR COVERED HOME REPAIRS AGAIN American Residential Warranty covers all major systems and appliances. 30 day risk free - $100 off popular plans. Call 855-731-4403. (AAN CAN)

DONATE YOUR VEHICLE TO FUND THE SEARCH FOR MISSING CHILDREN Fast free pickup. 24 hour response. Running or not. Maximum tax deduction and no emission test required! Call 24/7: 999-999-9999 Call 855-504-1540. (AAN CAN)

LONG DISTANCE MOVING Call for a free quote from America’s Most Trusted Interstate Movers. Let us take the stress out of moving! Call to speak to our Quality Relocation Specialists: Call 855-787-4471. (AAN CAN)

SPECTRUM INTERNET AS LOW AS $29.99! Call to see if you qualify for ACP and free internet. No Credit Check. Call Now! 833-955-0905. (AAN CAN)

WATER DAMAGE TO YOUR HOME? Call for a quote for professional cleanup & maintain the value of your home! Set an appt. today! Call 833-664-1530 (AAN CAN)

MIND, BODY, SPIRIT

COUNSELING SERVICES

ASTRO-COUNSELING Licensed counselor and accredited professional astrologer uses your chart when counseling for additional insight into yourself, your relationships and life directions. Stellar Counseling Services. Christy Gunther, MA, LCMHC. (828) 258-3229

SPIRITUAL

CRYSTAL PYRAMID https:// freakiefries.com/om.htm

FOR MUSICIANS

Word with straw or exit

Kept in the loop, in a way

Org. originally founded to protect carriage horses

Oregon-based shoe company

Ring light?

Broken up

Atingle, maybe

Gaelic language

The hate in hate mail

Name in price lists?

Larson who won Best Actress for 2015’s “Room”

___ Heights

Instruct for a new job, say

Unfashionable unisex hairstyle

Black-tie affairs

Projection from the fashionably late

French breakfast item that sounds like a response to a gut punch

A little of this, a little of that

One who may need credentials

Avatar of Vishnu

Fresh talk

Fortunate circumstances … or a punny hint to the shaded letters

Some tap offerings, in brief

Susan of “L.A. Law”

Cousin of a cassowary

Like some of the mil.

Actress Thompson of “Sorry to Bother You”

John who wrote “The Pelican Brief”

More up-anddown, as a relationship

Give up

A moose has a big one

“Less Than Zero” writer ___ Easton Ellis

Surveillance org.

Short meeting?