Mountain Xpress 02.03.21 by Mountain Xpress

OUR 27TH YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 27 NO. 27 FEB. 3 - 9, 2021

FEB. 3-9, 2021

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FEB. 3-9, 2021

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NEWS

FEATURES 8 HISTORY IN THE MAKING Black music and art takes center stage at the Buncombe County Special Collections

26 PEACE OF MIND Meditation helps stressedout locals cope

PAGE 22 THE LONG HAUL As the pandemic wears on, the plight of so-called COVID-19 long-haulers has come to light. In Part 2 of our special Wellnessthemed issue, three WNC residents share stories of how the disease has affected their health — and what they’ve been doing to cope. On the cover: Asheville resident Ashley M., who continues to struggle with COVID-19 symptoms COVER PHOTO Cindy Kunst

30 CRISIS CARE COVID-19 drives flexibility in mental health therapy

COVER DESIGN Scott Southwick

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5 CARTOON: MOLTON 36 TAKING THE TEMPERATURE Asheville lags on climate emergency goals

7 CARTOON: BRENT BROWN 8 NEWS 14 BUNCOMBE BEAT

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42 WHAT’S NEW IN FOOD A new concept takes over Foothills Butcher Bar West, plus empanadas, pizza and nonprofits

45 FREEWILL ASTROLOGY 45 CLASSIFIEDS 46 NY TIMES CROSSWORD

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38 LINGERING EFFECTS Local artists adjust to life after contracting COVID-19

38 ARTS & CULTURE

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19 COMMUNITY CALENDAR

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STAFF PUBLISHER: Jeff Fobes ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER: Susan Hutchinson MANAGING EDITOR: Virginia Daffron ASSISTANT EDITOR: Daniel Walton ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR: Thomas Calder OPINION EDITOR: Tracy Rose STAFF REPORTERS: Able Allen, Edwin Arnaudin, Thomas Calder, Molly Horak, Daniel Walton COMMUNITY CALENDAR & CLUBLAND: Madeline Forwerck CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Peter Gregutt, Rob Mikulak REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Mark Barrett, Leslie Boyd, Bill Kopp, Cindy Kunst, Alli Marshall, Gina Smith, Kay West ADVERTISING, ART & DESIGN MANAGER: Susan Hutchinson LEAD DESIGNER: Scott Southwick GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Olivia Urban MARKETING ASSOCIATES: Sara Brecht, David Furr, Tiffany Wagner OPERATIONS MANAGER: Able Allen INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES & WEB: Bowman Kelley BOOKKEEPER: Amie Fowler-Tanner ADMINISTRATION, BILLING, HR: Able Allen DISTRIBUTION: Susan Hutchinson, Cindy Kunst DISTRIBUTION DRIVERS: Gary Alston, Tracy Houston, Henry Mitchell, Tiffany Narron, Kelley Quigley, Angelo Santa Maria, Carl & Debbie Schweiger

OPINION

Send your letters to the editor to letters@mountainx.com. losing our friends. You are witnessing the start of a wave of activism to help people within the music scene to fight stigma, to use commonsense harm reduction and mental health support. — John Kennedy Black Mountain

An excellent way to repurpose the obelisk

CARTO O N BY R A N D Y MOLT O N

Losses in music scene demand action Asheville is a very special music community — and it needs to assess the damage done during this time of the pandemic. I personally know three musicians who have passed away since the summer. Mental health and overdose issues are taking their toll. This is something so heartbreaking because truly amazing music is being made in our local scene. There is a large network of friends who play together, go out to see each other at the smaller music venues in the city — create garage rock, punk, indie, metal, surf — with a pureness of heart and raw beauty. I am involved with Musicians for Overdose Prevention, and I help manage the “Holy Crap Records” podcast. We play the best underground songs of the week, every week, for the past 142 weeks, and we heavily rely on our local scene for that music. The local music is catchy, aggressive, heartbroken and, like the best blues or country or punk, it is true. You need to hear Bad Molly or Shaken Nature and Thee Sidewalk Surfers, as well as so many other great local bands. Music is not a competition, but please listen because this is better than anything you will hear on a major radio station. Thee Sidewalk Surfers’ “I am Broken” [avl.mx/8xj] is a song of heartbreaking beauty about losing faith and needing some sign to con-

tinue. Shaken Nature’s “Cowboy” [avl.mx/8xk] is the band’s quintessential concept song, as it combines Western mythology with psychedelic rock and a garage rock rawness. Bad Molly’s “I Don’t Care” [avl.mx/8xl] mixes country and blues and some of the grit of The Rolling Stones from their Exile on Main St. era. These three bands have each lost an integral member. These are my friends, and my heart is breaking. Musicians have always been in danger from overdose and mental health challenges. We know our history. This pandemic has increased anxiety and depression and disconnected us all. The pandemic has also shut down music venues — and closed or slowed many service industry jobs that musicians rely on — causing economic hardships. We are now witnessing the mental health fallout. Within Western North Carolina, we wish to destigmatize these issues and face the tough conversations about mental health in our community. We want all musicians, all music venues, all recording studios, all record stores and music stores to carry naloxone. This will save lives. Naloxone is [an extremely] safe medication that blocks opioids in your system. Good Samaritan laws protect individuals from using naloxone to reverse an overdose. Bureaucracy and red tape slow and make naloxone distribution difficult, especially by mail. It needs to end now. The music community is not shying away from these tough and stigma-fighting conversations. We are

Two things: Thank you, Mountain Xpress, just thank you for keeping on. Sandra Kilgore’s thoughtful piece on the Vance Monument suggests an excellent way to repurpose that obelisk [“Full Circle: Can Repurposing the Vance Monument Help Heal the Divide in Asheville?” Jan. 27, Xpress]. An ancient form built in homage to the sun god, Ra, it also symbolized duality and balance. If repurposing the obelisk can further balance our demonstrated duality, let’s go for it! Unity Tower sounds good and right. — Gabriele Rainey Asheville

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FEB. 3-9, 2021

OPINION

Send your letters to the editor to letters@mountainx.com.

Woodfin should deny Bluffs development I applaud Silver-Line Plastics and the Silver family for donating 4.5 acres in 2012 and the town of Woodfin for purchasing its adjacent acre to create the Silver-Line Park. Picnic areas, walking trails, a children’s playground, a boat ramp and the Whitewater Wave are all coming to Woodfin!

$18.1 million will be spent to make that area of the French Broad a vibrant mecca for river runners, bikers and outdoor enthusiasts. Woodfin should promote the health of the river, since they clearly “get” its value to tourism and future residents, all providing a steady increase in tax base. Why consider a proposed “town” along 4,000 feet of river frontage on 92 acres of mature forest on steep slopes, knowing that once 70% of those woods are replaced with impervious surfaces, runoff and sediment will destroy the creation Woodfin has enthusiastically and financially supported? The beautiful future SilverLine Park, bike trails and Wave will be a flooded sediment nightmare. Woodfin is seduced by the $1.5 million alleged increase in its tax base, which is [16.6%] added to its overall budget. Sounds enticing for sure, but here’s reality. How much will the needed police, fire, schools, pollution and river cleanup cost once the “town” of high-end apartments with zero affordable housing is built and the developers are all back sunning in Florida? Road infrastructure to funnel traffic to the bridge will whittle down that $1.5 million like sand in an hourglass. Asheville taxpayers will pay for improvements on those area roads. Instead of approving the Bluffs, Woodfin has an opportunity to stand out as a community that values its natural resources and cares about its citizens’ health, safety and welfare. The town must implement environmental impact studies, keep property taxes affordable, clean up the river and deny the Bluffs on River Bend. — Callie Warner Asheville

Nothing to salvage in Vance Monument First off, I would like to say that I was initially very pleased to hear of the mayor and Asheville City Council’s decision to tear down Vance Monument seven months ago. But over the past year, I’ve heard talks of transporting the memorial, covering it up, repainting it, and lately, there’s been talk of not removing it at all. I’m embarrassed to say that it wasn’t until quite a bit later in my youth that I really understood who Zebulon Vance was and how much he harmed the surrounding area. As a kid growing up in Asheville, “Vance” was just some other old guy’s name. I didn’t question it. At the time, I probably would have had a hard time believing that this “free-loving, progressive hippie 6

FEB. 3-9, 2021

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town” that I lived in could actually have erected (and maintained) an obelisk celebrating a Confederate colonel who owned enslaved people and actively fought to oppress the African American community as a whole. I was born in Mission Hospital. I attended the socioeconomically confused Isaac Dickson, the former crumbling Asheville Middle and the regal and expansive (and somewhat intimidating) Asheville High. I was at Bele Chere, LAAFF, Goombay, Downtown After 5 and other countless festivals listening to live music propped up on my parents’ shoulders. I romped around the Health Adventure science museum. I watched West Asheville bloom from damp industrial lots and suburban grayness into the Vegas strip it is now. I played in the drum circle until my palms were sweaty and swollen and red. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been to the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains and looked down upon the underwhelming tourist trap bowl that is Asheville. I’ve loved and hated my entire life there, and I would never take a single second of it back. You would be hard-pressed to find a person “more Asheville” than me. Which is why I hope you really take my words into account when I ask you to please just take the f**king obelisk down. There’s nothing to salvage. Crumble the statue to bits and use the gravel to line a driveway or a country road. From an Asheville native’s perspective, I never regarded the statue with any sort of reverence or care. It was just one of many central high points in downtown to meet people at. The majority of my teens, I was aware of it mostly as a spot to buy drugs, sit on benches and not much more. I can tell you, at best, no one will care. At worst, you pain someone every time they have to look at that spire and know that our city that likes to claim pretentious nicknames like “Paris of the South,” and “Land of the Sky,” and “New Age Mecca,” celebrates a Civil War villain and alleged grand dragon of the KKK. Please realize every day this statue remains intact is another day you’re not actively renouncing white supremacy. — Sequoya Waring Brooklyn, N.Y.

Richmond Hill shouldn’t become thoroughfare I’d like you to imagine a peaceful street of older brick ranch homes just

3 miles from downtown Asheville. For decades, this street is somewhat forgotten, even neglected. But then suddenly, things start to change. A retired engineer builds on a tasteful addition, a permaculturist two doors down installs raised garden beds, a first-time homeowner replaces old shingles with a new metal roof, a single mother plants fruit trees for future inhabitants to enjoy. Day by day, step by step, the neighborhood improves. People walk with children to their beloved park; friendships evolve organically the way they used to in bygone days; even the elderly in a nearby rest home are filled with hope. What I’ve described is the neighborhood of Richmond Hill, which is home to 100-plus modest homes of teachers, caregivers, working-class people, Richmond Hill Park, Western North Carolina Baptist Home and the National Guard Armory. It is a neighborhood to be celebrated, encouraged to continue its wondrous, admirable evolution. That is, it should not be allowed to become a public thoroughfare to the proposed Bluffs on River Bend development of 1,500 luxury condos. Richmond Hill is the destination for those who already live here. If you haven’t been up this street in a while, I encourage you to visit the park. I urge you to drive through this neighborhood and appreciate it for what it is, while open-mindedly envisioning the devastation that would accompany thousands of vehicles, should Bluffs on River Bend be approved. Great leaders are those who can hold two equal and opposing viewpoints, and I hope that our local council members of the town of Woodfin and the city of Asheville will take the first step to come see this place we call home. — Robert McGee Asheville

Rogues and one hero Following violence in the Capitol building, the U.S. House proceeded to certify the presidential vote. Vice President Pence stated that he did not have the unilateral power to alter the results sent by the states to Congress. The vote was symbolic only; Mr. Biden was the president-elect. Then came the violence, deliberately incited by Trump. He said to the mob, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol … show strength.” He said he would go with them, but — no. Here is the list of rogues voting “yes,” meaning against certifying Biden as the next president: Dan

CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN Bishop, R-9th District; Ted Budd, R-13th District; Madison Cawthorn, R-11th District; Virginia Foxx, R-5th District; Richard Hudson, R-8th District; Gregory F. Murphy, R-3rd District; and David Rouzer, R-7th District. They did not keep their oath to the Constitution but supported Trump — even after the mob invasion to our Capitol. Like Benedict Arnold, they have no defense. We should honor one Republican hero, Patrick McHenry, R-10th District, who said that his vote was based on the Constitution. Thank you, Congressman McHenry. Let’s make sure we remember the rogues, who did not honor their oath to the Constitution, in the next congressional election. — John White Raleigh

Looking forward to better days Since the end of 2019, this novel coronavirus pandemic has encircled the globe. This COVID-19 has been so bad, it has made people sick around the world now into the year 2021. People are still getting

sick, even more so during this cold weather. And it’s getting worse for people around the world. And some doctors and scientists have said it’s going to get even worse before it gets better. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are authorized in the U.S., could work against this disease and the new mutations of this virus. It sure would be using good mental fortitude that we would not put ourselves in harm’s way and give ourselves an unnecessary hardship for catching this awful coronavirus. So it is important that we all continue to wear our masks at all times and continue to wash our hands and social distance during this bad time. We all know this, too, shall pass. And I look forward to visiting the Asheville area again after the pandemic is over. And I am hurt by all the numbers of people who have died and were sickened by this contagious disease in Western North Carolina. But if we all continue to stay careful, we could stay out of harm’s way from this terrible world pandemic and plague. — Steven Hawkins Greenville, S.C. Editor’s note: Hawkins notes that previous letters to the editor he’s written have been collected in the book “Letters from South Carolina.”

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NEWS

History in the making

Black music and art takes center stage at the Buncombe County Special Collections BY THOMAS CALDER tcalder@mountainx.com A series of photographs changed everything for Honey Simone, a local entrepreneur and artist. She discovered the images at the Buncombe County Special Collections, formerly known as the North Carolina Room at Pack Memorial Library. The first set of pictures, taken in the 1970s outside The Orange Peel, capture a group of Black youths in various poses — some are leaning against cars, others are flexing biceps and a few couples shyly embrace for the camera. Another photograph, also from the 1970s, shows local saxophonist Cliff Cotton performing alongside another Black musician, whose identity is unknown. And yet another image, taken sometime in the 1940s, reveals a younger Cotton with his aunt Iola Pearson Byers smiling in front of the Rockefeller Memorial on the Blue Ridge Parkway. “It changed my life, seeing those photos,” says Simone. “It was one of the first times that I experienced seeing Black history that wasn’t based in trauma.” In March, Simone became the first artist-in-residence at Engaging Collections, a local nonprofit launched in 2019 by Lydia See. The organization connects artists of color with North Carolina-based libraries and archives to create a more welcoming and diverse space for people of color. The Buncombe County Special Collections, man-

2021

Kids Issues

Publish 3/10 & 3/17

FEB. 3-9, 2021

HISTORY MONTH

THREE OF A KIND: Katherine Cutshall, left, Honey Simone, center, and Lydia See take a break from archival work in the recently renovated and renamed Buncombe County Special Collections to pose with some vintage viewers from the collection’s inventory. Photo by See aged by Katherine Cutshall, is the organization’s first partnering institution. Throughout much of Simone’s residency, the BCSC was closed to the public due to COVID-19. The downtime allowed the team to reimagine the room, which is located on the ground floor of Pack Memorial Library in downtown Asheville. Nearly a year later, the BCSC is scheduled to reopen this month at limited capacity. Simone, See and Cutshall hope the special collection’s new layout and interactive features spotlighting local African American history will create a more inclusive and inviting space for all community members. “It’s about making sure that the people know that it’s here,” Simone says. “And making sure it represents the community we live in.”

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EVERYBODY’S RESPONSIBILITY The irony of BCSC’s present-day mission is not lost on those involved in the project. Inclusivity is in many ways the opposite of the original vision for the room. According to Cutshall, the collection formed in 1931, when Foster Alexander Sondley, a prominent local attorney and historian, bequeathed his expansive personal library to the city of Asheville, which later donated it to the library. Among other stipulations, Sondley required the items be accessible only to nonsmoking, white residents of “upstanding character.” Archivists honored that requirement for three decades before the library system’s integration in 1961. Today, the collection has expanded far beyond Sondley’s original donations — a large portion of which was sold to Chapel Hill Rare Books in 1987. Still, the legacy of

white supremacy has clung to the collection for decades, an exclusionary perspective not unique to the BCSC. Whiteness, says See, dominates many archives. “The people who select what is qualified as enduring historical value often look like the people they identify as having enduring historical value,” she explains. “So cisgender whiteness begets more cisgneder whiteness begets more power and so on.” Encountering a predominantly white collection, notes Simone, alienates community members of color. She recalls her own frustration upon first visiting the BCSC and struggling to find documents reflecting nonwhite experiences. “I didn’t really see myself in this place,” she says. “And that’s a common experience for a lot of Black

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FEB. 3-9, 2021

Americans. You just never really see yourself in places where you want to see yourself.” Only after extensive research did she locate the images that altered her perspective on the collection and her new role in it. But that didn’t erase past experiences. Nor did she see her residency as the singular solution to a history of white supremacy. In 2021, Simone explains, “It’s everybody’s responsibility to highlight Black and Indigenous history. This crusade of knowledge shouldn’t be something that we’re waiting for a young Black woman to lead us into.”

BIG PICTURE: A young Cliff Cotton poses with his aunt Iola Pearson Byers on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The photograph was among several images that changed Honey Simone’s perception of the Buncombe County Special Collections. It’s necessary that Americans recognize and reflect on the trauma and inhumane treatment Black citizens faced and continue to experience, Simone notes. However, dwelling exclusively in these events, especially as a person of color, “will take a toll on your mind,” she says. “It’s important that we see Black and Indigenous Americans as humans.” Photo courtesy of the Buncombe County Special Collections

CAROLINA RECORD SHOP

Nevertheless, Simone has helped pave the way for a more comprehensive collection through her interior design of the new space, which aims to encourage younger and more diverse participation. Her main contribution is the creation of the Carolina Record Shop — an area equipped with a turntable and records and furnished in the style of a 1970s living room.

Records pressed in Asheville dominate the shelves, but not all sleeves house actual vinyl. Instead, some feature scanned documents from the archive’s collection, revealing records of another sort with an emphasis on the city’s history of Black music and art, including vocal duo Pic and Bill (Charles Pickens and Bill Mills) and soul singer Willie Hobbs, among others. Accessibility and demystification were the dual impetuses for presenting images and articles typically stored in stacked boxes in the collection’s back room in a new way. Too often, says See, gatekeeping — intentional or not — creates barriers that discourage individuals from entering, much less exploring, the materials held in a given archive or special collection. By contrast, Simone’s design creates a recognizable and welcoming space. And with music, which will be played throughout much of the day (except during designated research hours), the Carolina Record Shop reimagines how a spe-

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Time never stops. That’s something historians and archivists are keenly aware of. Just as the past was once the present, the present will inevitably become the past. By demystifying the BCSC and creating a more welcoming space, the project’s designers hope future generations will discover a more comprehensive collection of today’s history-in-the-making. “Our bodies are archives,” says See. “That means everybody is an archivist. And that’s especially important right now. We are all collectively responsible for preserving our lived experiences through this traumatic time to ensure that in the future when somebody reads a history book, this period isn’t just an offhand one-liner.”

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AN INCREDIBLE GIFT

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OUT AND ABOUT: Another series of images on file at the Buncombe County Special Collections shows Black youths posing for the camera outside The Orange Peel, circa 1970. Photo courtesy of the Buncombe County Special Collections Though the task may seem daunting at first, Simone lists ways we already gather and record our histories. “We archive on our Instagram every single day,” she says. “We archive on our Facebook. We have archives of our families in photo albums on our coffee tables. And you can literally take these photos to the Buncombe County Special Collections and get them digitally scanned and put into history to ensure it will be there for future generations to see. That’s an incredible gift.” And it’s a gift Simone herself recently contributed to unintentionally. “I was protesting all summer,” she says, in response to the police killing of George Floyd. “I was fighting for my life.” As Simone marched for racial justice, Cutshall put out a call on social media asking residents to share images from the events with BCSC. “And now there is a picture of me leading our city into protest in our archives,” Simone continues. “I can see myself in the collection.” But her work is far from over, Simone notes. “It’s about making things more accessible. It’s about breaking things down. It’s about making the world a better place.” X

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FEB. 3-9, 2021

BUNCOMBE BEAT

Cawthorn talks business recovery, COVID-19 relief Madison Cawthorn admits that his first few weeks in Washington have been “tumultuous.” Three days after being sworn in, Western North Carolina’s congressional representative rallied a crowd supporting former President Donald Trump that subsequently sacked the Capitol; after those riots, the Republican voted twice against certifying the election of Trump’s successor, Democratic President Joe Biden. Now, Cawthorn told the Council of Independent Business Owners at a Jan. 29 virtual breakfast, he’s shifting his priorities as he thinks through the powers and limitations of his new job. The meeting marked one of his first addresses to a local audience since taking office. With Democrats in control of the House, Senate and presidency, the country is poised to usher in an era of big government, Cawthorn asserted to the Asheville-based trade group. As a self-described “constitutional conservative,” the representative said his new goal is to divert as much federal spending to the region as possible to get residents back to work. “It’s no secret to all of you that so many businesses were attacked and destroyed, by no fault of your own, because of government-mandated shutdowns,” Cawthorn said regarding emergency measures meant to control the spread of COVID-19. “I think that’s tragic. And so I think it’s absolutely appropriate that the federal government has created stimulus programs to help.” Cawthorn voiced his support for federal Paycheck Protection

FEB. 3-9, 2021

SHIFTING PRIORITIES: Much has changed since Madison Cawthorn attended a Sept. 4 debate during his 2020 campaign, above. After a “tumultuous” first few weeks in Congress, he told Asheville’s Council of Independent Business Owners on Jan. 29 that he’s ready to usher in economic recovery to the region. Photo by Paul Moon Program loans available to help small businesses keep employees working during the pandemic. But the accounting and banking costs required to parse through complicated loan forgiveness requirements are too high, he said. Instead, he’s pushing for automatic loan

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forgiveness for all businesses that have borrowed $150,000 or less. Individual stimulus checks should only go to people who are currently unemployed, Cawthorn told CIBO members. He also opposed raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and increasing collective bargaining power for employees, claiming without citing evidence that the moves would cause most of Asheville’s service jobs to disappear. The only way to keep businesses open in the face of the pandemic, Cawthorn continued, is to reach a “critical mass” of immunity through COVID-19 vaccination programs. Health officials say herd immunity may be achieved when 70%-90% of the population is vaccinated; according to N.C. Department of Health and Human Services data from Jan. 29, only 7.5% of North Carolina residents had gotten their first dose of a two-dose COVID19 vaccine. On Jan. 25, Cawthorn co-sponsored a bill that would prohibit the use of federal funds to establish, implement or enforce any requirement that an individual wear a face covering or be vaccinated. Asked by Xpress what economic and health benefits this bill would have for the people of Western North Carolina, Cawthorn responded that a free capitalist society would create consumer confidence. “I don’t think [the vaccine] should be required and I think it was rushed,” he said, adding that an economic lens was too narrow a scope to assess the legislation. “I believe it will be very healthy and that [federal vaccine development

program] Operation Warp Speed did a great job, but I personally will not be getting a vaccine because of my 98% survival rate. If we start forcing people to get vaccines, we start walking a very dangerous road in the future.” When the U.S. House of Representatives reconvenes in early February, Cawthorn said, he hopes to use his role on the Committee of Education and Labor to expand wireless broadband access across the region. He also wants to prevent election fraud by establishing a federal voter identification requirement, eliminating mail-in ballots for anyone not in the military or hospitalized with severe injuries and splitting municipal races onto a separate ballot from state and federal contests. (At least 60 lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign in 2020 failed to prove a single case of voter fraud benefitting Biden.) Cawthorn said his support among WNC’s Republican Party leadership had “skyrocketed” since the election; at the same time, he noted, his unfavorability among Democrats had also reached a new high. He did not address his recent censures by multiple important local Republicans, including state Sen. Chuck Edwards and former Henderson County Sheriff George Erwin Jr. The representative’s rhetoric will likely change in the coming weeks, Cawthorn told meeting attendees, as he works to bridge the partisan divide. “Whether you’re Republcan or Democrat, whether you’re an independent and you didn’t vote for me or don’t support the actions I’ve taken in Congress so far, that doesn’t matter,” he said. “I’m here to serve you, no matter what.”

— Molly Horak X

Council considers asking state for elected school board If Asheville City Council wants to bring any legislation before the state General Assembly this year — including the creation of an elected board for Asheville City Schools or changes to the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority’s room tax allocation — its members need to make those decisions in the next few weeks. The topic of an elected school board has been controversial for years, Mayor Esther Manheimer told Council at its Jan. 26 meeting. Members had previously floated the idea on Jan. 12 as they discussed the impending appointment of members to three open board seats. “I’m just a little panicked because our time is so short,” Manheimer said. “The burning question is that of the school board. We need to make a decision sooner rather than later.” The district is one of only two in North Carolina to have an appointed school board. Under the current system, which is set by state law, Council members appoint applicants to a four-year term; the process can include screening questions, essays and interviews. The next round of appointments is legally required to be made by Thursday, April 1. According to the NCGA, all local bills moving through the House must be submitted to drafting by Wednesday, March 3. Bills moving through the Senate must be requested by Thursday, Feb. 25. In past years, Council has worked with Buncombe County’s state representatives and senators to craft an agenda for each legislative session, Manheimer explained during a portion of the meeting designated to discuss legislative priorities. Political differences between the left-leaning Council and the Republican-controlled General Assembly have created a “rocky relationship” in recent cycles, she said, adding that the dynamic has recently changed from fending off “terrible legislation” to asking for legislation in “calmer waters.” Antanette Mosley opposed the school board change, saying that before Council takes any steps, she would like to find out what the original stated purpose was for instituting an appointed body. She said she’d recently spoken with an unspecified “expert in the field” who warned that changing the board without first knowing its background would have no bearing on the school system’s worst-in-state racial achievement gap.

PLAYING THE GAME: Asheville City Council needs to decide if it wants to pursue state legislation to change the composition of the Asheville City Schools Board of Education from an appointed body to an elected board. From left, current Board of Education members Joyce Brown, board Chair Shaunda Sandford, Patricia Griffin, Vice Chair Martha Geitner and James Carter pose for a group picture. Photo courtesy of Asheville City Schools

discuss the proposal is being scheduled for the near future, but a date had not been set as of press time. In the interim, Council is planning to proceed with the board appointments. At its meeting of Tuesday, Feb. 9, Council will need to decide on a screening process for screening applicants; final appointments are tentatively scheduled for Council’s meeting of Tuesday, March 23. Manheimer also brought up a proposed reallocation of the county’s occupancy tax funds, which she and Board of Commissioners Chair Brownie Newman had been poised to jointly advocate during last year’s legislative cycle. The bill was slated to go before the General Assembly in April, but according to Manheimer, the state’s COVID-19 pandemic response pushed it off the state agenda. Conversation about reviving this legislative ask could wait until Council’s next regular meeting, Manheimer said. Former Council member and current state Sen. Julie Mayfield will be a “great conduit” to get the legislature to help with the tax change, she added.

— Molly Horak X

“I’ve received several calls from organized groups and individuals in the Black community who are outraged that this is under consideration,” said Mosley, who is Black. “They really see it as a political power play designed to get Black voices out of the public schools.” Vice Mayor Sheneika Smith and Sage Turner both expressed support for having preliminary discussions with the community before switching to an elected board. “Any other route would be very irresponsible,” Smith said. A joint meeting among Council, the school board and the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners to

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FEB. 3-9, 2021

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Facilities plan could shift how Buncombe deals with public COVID-19 may have disrupted how Buncombe County does business, but according to County Manager Avril Pinder, that disruption could lead county government in some creative directions. Pandemic-related changes in how staff members go about their duties, she suggested at a Jan. 26 special meeting of the Board of Commissioners, could lead to better service for the community. Pinder and Rachel Nilson, an architect with Rochester, N.Y.based CPL, walked through the potential changes as they presented the results of the county’s comprehensive facilities study. The study represents the first part of a nearly $836,000 plan, commissioned by the board in June, to help the county identify needed capital and space improvements. “The first domino” of Buncombe’s rearrangement, according to Pinder, would be continuing the massive increase in staff telecommuting that started last year due to COVID-19 concerns. Of the county’s roughly 1,600 employees, 465 are currently working remotely, and 283 have said they would continue to do so indefinitely if allowed. Before the pandemic, only a few information technology and Health and Human Services Department workers telecommuted. Nilson estimated that, if those employees were to stay remote, the county would need about 22,700

WIDE OPEN SPACES: Over 460 Buncombe County employees are currently telecommuting due to COVID-19, an arrangement that could reduce county office space needs if continued after the pandemic. Photo by Getty Images fewer square feet of office space, even accounting for shared “touchdown” areas that could be used for in-person meetings and collaboration. And with that reduced need, she continued, a cascade of consolidations could occur. All community-facing HHS staff could be moved into the county’s building at 40 Coxe Ave., which would, in turn, create space at 35 Woodfin St. That building could then house most other county functions that involve the public, including the Planning Department, the

Bureau of Identification and the Tax Department. And the spaces vacated by those departments could, in turn, be repurposed or rebuilt. Nilson proposed, for example, that a sub-

standard building at 52 Coxe currently housing HHS and the WNC Regional Air Quality Agency be torn down and replaced with a new structure for Election Services. Although the board did not formally commit to the continued telecommuting that would allow these changes to happen, members expressed openness to the conversation. Board Chair Brownie Newman noted that widespread remote work, while potentially beneficial, was also “a new societal phenomenon” that the county should not rush into lightly. But Commissioner Al Whitesides pointed out that the county’s adaptability may be key to securing a quality workforce. “It’s coming whether we want it or not. And I think the companies and the organizations who adjust first will get the best employees,” he said. “I hear it from a lot of younger employees now: They’re looking at that when they’re looking at employment.” A survey published Jan. 12 by consulting firm PwC backs up Whitesides’ assertion. When asked about their post-pandemic preferences, 55% of employees said they’d like to work remotely at least three days per week. Only 8% said they would not want to telecommute at all, while 29% said they would do so five days per week.

— Daniel Walton X

Show love to at least 8 of your favorite local businesses over the 28 days in February Choose local-independent businesses over Amazon and corporate behemoths @golocalasheville #828golocalchallenge 16

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As housing costs skyrocket, Council reviews affordable housing projects The average Asheville rent is $1,200 a month, Asheville community development director Paul D’Angelo told members of Asheville City Council at a Jan. 26 work session dedicated to the city’s housing needs. And according to a housing cost analysis commissioned by the city, D’Angelo continued, someone making $50,000 a year is still likely to struggle with monthly housing costs. In a city where land is one of the hottest commodities and tourism-based jobs net lower wages, the “planets must align” to address the complicated question of affordable housing, added City Manager Debra Campbell. Council has long vowed to address the issue through community partnerships, low-interest loans and fee rebates for developments that include affordable housing. But market forces have continued to drive prices ever higher; according to listings website Apartment List, the median Asheville rent increased 5.9% over the past year. The city invested over $13.2 million to create 373 units of housing at or below 80% of the area median income in 2020, D’Angelo said. Major investments included the $4.2 million redevelopment of Lee Walker Heights; when completed this May, the project will bring online 212 units priced at 60% AMI or below. Also slated for spring completion are 34 affordable units at 360 Hilliard Ave. and 70 affordable units at Amaranth Apartments in Candler. Efforts are ramping up to finalize proposals for the upcoming year, D’Angelo told Council members following an update on area housing trends. If efforts succeed as projected, Asheville’s 2021 affordable housing work plan will create housing opportunities for 500 individuals and families; city investments are expected to be around $23 million. Here’s what’s coming down the 2021 pipeline: • Initial steps to expand Deaverview Apartments into a “purpose-built community.” In partnership with Mountain Housing Opportunities, Dogwood Health Trust, Buncombe County and the Asheville Housing Authority, the city plans to purchase 21 acres between Cedar Hill and the current Housing Authority site to create a 60-acre community, complete with an affordable child care center, a high-performing

SLOW BUILD: Construction of a mixed-income community at 360 Hilliard Ave. is expected to finish this spring, community development program director Paul D’Angelo told members of Asheville City Council at a Jan. 26 affordable housing work session. The finished project will include 34 affordable units. Screen capture courtesy of the city of Asheville

• An 80-unit apartment complex for people experiencing chronic homelessness. The project, in partnership with Homeward Bound, will serve individuals at 30% AMI or below. • A mixed-use, mixed-income development at 319 Biltmore Ave.adjacent to Lee Walker Heights. Of 250 planned units, 50 will be available at 60% AMI, and 25 at 80% AMI, for 30 years. • The acquisition of the Talbert Lot at 50 Asheland Ave. to expand the downtown transit center. Dogwood Health Trust has agreed to fund half of the purchase; the rest of the funding will come from the sale of city-owned land to White Labs Inc. • Development of three vacant, cityowned sites for affordable homes. Proposals include four town homes at 60% AMI on Kentucky Drive and single family homes at 60% AMI each on Lufty Avenue and West Chestnut Street.

— Molly Horak X

school and a community center with on-site health services. The project will consist of at least 300 housing units, including new housing for 156 residents currently living at Deaverview. • A proposal from the Haywood Street Congregation to build 42 units of permanently affordable apartments on a city-owned parcel on Asheland Avenue. The deal has come under fire because the land in question was originally purchased under the city’s urban renewal program. At Council’s meeting of Tuesday, Feb. 23, members will decide if the land should be sold to Haywood Street Congregation for $1.

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As the members of the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority heard at their Jan. 27 meeting, a $5 million COVID-19 relief program funded by occupancy tax revenues provided a crucial lifeline for over 380 local businesses last year. But as the pandemic extends into the winter and the area’s tourism sector continues to suffer, the board expressed little interest in offering a similar program again. Last year’s effort diverted money from the TDA’s Tourism Product Development Fund, which normally supports local government or nonprofit capital projects that attract visitors, into grants of up to $50,000 for tourism-related businesses other than lodging. According to Noah Wilson, who helped administer the program through Asheville-based nonprofit Mountain BizWorks, the money helped those businesses

IN THE RED: According to a survey of local tourism businesses conducted in December by Mountain BizWorks, 40% feel financially challenged even after receiving support from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority. Graphic courtesy of the BCTDA rehire 1,981 of the 2,972 employees they had laid off due to the pandemic. “It showed our community’s belief in the value of small businesses,” Wilson said about what the funding meant to local entrepreneurs. “For many businesses, that was almost the most important part of this, more than almost anything else, was just that level of support.” But many of those who received the grants remain on unstable footing, Wilson continued. Only 18% of businesses considered themselves to be financially sound, according to a survey conducted in December, while 40% said they were financially challenged. As of Dec. 31, the latest date for which data is available, the TDA had over $3 million in the same pool of funding previously used to power the business grants. Board member Andrew Celwyn, owner of the Herbiary retail shop in downtown Asheville, asked his colleagues to recommend that the money be distributed into the community as quickly as possible. “I’m disappointed we haven’t done anything thus far. I think we’re failing our community if we don’t get that $3 million out there,” Celwyn said. “We have another opportunity right now with this $3 million, and I feel like it’s slipping away.”

FEB. 3-9, 2021

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But Himanshu Karvir, the board’s chair and CEO of Virtelle Hospitality, noted that last year’s grant program had required legislative approval by the N.C. General Assembly, as would any future change to the use of occupancy tax funds. “I don’t want to say that enthusiasm was there last time over at the state, but it’s not there right now,” he said regarding conversations he’d had with local lawmakers. Instead of pushing an uncooperative state for authority to reallocate tax revenues, Karvir continued, the TDA would do as much as possible with its earned income, which is not subject to legislative restrictions. The board voted 8-1 to allocate $40,000 of that money to the One Buncombe Fund, an effort organized by Buncombe County that will provide business grants of up to $5,000. (Celwyn dissented, saying the money should instead directly support struggling tourism workers.) And board member James Poole, general manager of The Foundry hotel, argued that the TDA needed to look after its own interests first before helping others. “We don’t know what we could truly need to support that is critical to our success in the near term,” he said. “Nobody’s going to come and save us.”

— Daniel Walton X

COMMUNITY CALENDAR FEB. 3-12, 2021 For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, ext. 137. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 828-251-1333, ext. 320.

In-Person Events = Shaded All other events are virtual

WELLNESS Chasing Trail 8k Register: kickitevents. com. SA (2/6), 8am, Richmond Hill Park, 280 Richmond Hill Dr Steady Collective Syringe Access Outreach Free naloxone, syringes and educational material on harm reduction. TU (2/9), 2pm, Firestorm Books & Coffee, 610 Haywood Rd Alzheimer's Association: Navigating a Dementia Diagnosis Part 1 Webinar presented by Dr. Mark Pippinger. WE (2/10), 12pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8y4 Council on Aging: Introduction to Medicare How to avoid penalties and save money. WE (2/10), 5:30pm, Registration required, Free, coabc.org

ART UNCA: Afrofuturism & Activism Through Art Talk presented by artists Marcus Kiser, Jason Woodberry and Quentin Talley. TH (2/4), 12pm, Free, avl.mx/8y0

Slow Art Friday: Threads of History Discussion led by touring docent Kathy Seguin at Asheville Art Museum. FR (2/5), 12pm, Registration required, $10, avl.mx/8wv Fairview Artists Series: Creating Art with Lathes Featuring local woodturners. FR (2/5), 3pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8xy Jackson Arts Market Live demonstrations by local artists. SA (2/6), 1pm, 533 W Main St, Sylva Exhibit Tour: Mirror/ Mentor Led by curator Julie Levin Caro. TH (2/11), 6pm, Free, avl.mx/8y7

MUSIC Pack Library: Jazz by Request Featuring pianist Michael Jefry Stevens. WE (2/3), 5:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8xx John McCutcheon in Concert Presented by Madison County Arts Council. TH (2/4), 7:30pm, $20, avl.mx/8wt Asheville Area Piano Forum: Racism & Classical Music Presentation and discussion. Register to get Zoom info: pr@ ashevillepiano.org. SA (2/6), 10:15am, Free

2021

Kids Issues

Publish 3/10 & 3/17

Swannanoa Valley Museum: Mountain Songs for the Soul Workshop by Susan Pepper. MO (2/8), 6:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8y5 Thursday Night Live: Patrick O’Neil In-gallery classical cello performance. TH (2/11), 6pm, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

LITERARY CRAFT: Authors in Conversation Featuring non-fiction author Denise Kiernan and graphic novelist Andre Frattino. WE (2/3), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8xt Malaprop’s: Love Letters Between Authors Featuring Joan Frank and Peg Alford Pursell. TH (2/4), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8wy Firestorm: Stranger than Fiction Author panel on writing during a pandemic. TH (2/4), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8wl City Lights Bookstore Discussion Group The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson. SA (2/6), 6pm, Registration required, avl.mx/8y9 Malaprop's Poetrio Reading Featuring Artress Bethany White, Kathleen O'Toole and Alice Friman. SU (2/7), 3pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8xu Malaprop's Book Launch H. Byron Ballard presents Roots, Branches & Spirits: The Folkways & Witchery of Appalachia. MO (2/8), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8xv

CIVICS & ACTIVISM Stay up to date on city and county government meetings by subscribing to the Xpress daily newsletter: avl.mx/8st Asheville Planning & Zoning Commission Regular meeting. WE (2/3), 5pm, avl.mx/8b6

Asheville Affordable Housing Advisory Committee Regular meeting. TH (2/4), 9:30am, avl.mx/8re

Asheville Civil Service Board Regular meeting. TH (2/4), 2:30pm, avl.mx/843 Vance Monument Task Force Special meeting. TH (2/4), 4:30pm, avl.mx/8wa Asheville Downtown Design Review Committee Regular meeting. FR (2/5), 11:30am, avl.mx/8v4 Asheville City Council Formal meeting. TU (2/9), 5pm, avl.mx/7zw PAHC Informed Progressive Series: A Hole in My Heart Special play viewing and discussion on gun violence. WE (2/10), 6:30pm, Free, avl.mx/84a

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY SCORE: Creativity & the 50+ Brain Entrepreneurship workshop for women 50 and older. WE (2/3), 10am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8wo Mountain BizWorks ScaleUp: Trailblazing Small business resilience workshop. WE (2/3), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8yb Goodwill Career Quest: Hospitality Featuring Asheville Hotel Group. TH (2/4), 10am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8wq SCORE: Marketing Your Business Webinar by Blaine Greenfield. SA (2/6), 10am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8y3 SBCN: Intro to the WNC Startup Scene Small business assistance webinar. TU (2/9), 12pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8yd SCORE: Entrepreneurial Mindset Workshop for women 50 and older. WE (2/10), 10am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8wo SBCN: Starting Your Herbal Products Business Presented by Patricia Kyritsi Howell. WE (2/10), 3pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8ye

CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS UNCA: Who's Your Mummy? Mummification as a business in late and Roman period Egypt, presented by archaeologist Jessica Kaiser. WE (2/3), 7:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8wm Pack Library: Spanish Conversation Group For adult language learners. TH (2/4), 5pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8ty Astronomy Club of Asheville Monthly meeting featuring science journalist Robert P. Naeye. TH (2/4), 7pm, Free, avl.mx/8wr Pack Library: Computer Skills Course Creating, editing and organizing pictures, files and folders. FR (2/5), 11am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8xz UNCA: Trust in a Polarized Age Talk by political philosopher Kevin Vallier. WE (2/10), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8y2

ECO & OUTDOOR

KIDS

Sierra Club Webinar: Hikes for Healing The African American experience in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, presented by Stephanie Kyriazis and Antoine Fletcher. TH (2/4), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8xi Asheville GreenWorks: The Great Buzz Gathering of pollinator conservationists, advocates and enthusiasts. Registration required, TH (2/4), 3:30pm, avl.mx/85d Best Practices in Pruning Led by John Murphy. Register: avl.mx/8ws. FR (2/5), 1pm, $12, Bullington Gardens, 95 Upper Red Oak Trail, Hendersonville

Fairview Library: Radiorama! Live puppetry and storytelling to be viewed from car with radio simulcast. FR (2/5), 5:30pm, Free, Fairview Library, 1 Taylor Rd, Fairview

SPIRITUALITY Groce UMC: A Course in Miracles Group Study Register to get Zoom info: 828-712-5472. MO (2/8), 6:30pm, Free Baha'i Devotional: Hearing Every Voice Devotional with prayers and music. TU (2/9), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8y6

VOLUNTEERING MountainTrue: Live Staking Workday Planting live stakes along eroding riverbanks. Register: avl.mx/8xs. SA (2/6), 10am-2pm, Watauga Upper Gorge Access, 2531 Old Watauga River Rd, Sugar Grove MountainTrue: Island Park Work Sessions Invasive plant removal. Register for location details: avl.mx/638. SA (2/6) & WE (2/10), 11am-2pm

BUYING OLD PAPER MONEY

FOOD & BEER Love Remedies Cocktail class by Charlie Hodge, benefiting Asheville Strong. TU (2/9), 8pm, $10, avl.mx/8y1

Jewish Power Hour Hosted by Rabbi Susskind. TH (2/11), 6pm, Free, chabadasheville.org.

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CLUBLAND BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE Dinah's Daydream (jazz), 5pm

Online Event= q WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3 OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. French Broad Valley Mountain Music Jam, 6pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia Night, 6:30pm 12 BONES BREWERY Robert’s Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm THE GREY EAGLE q Travis Book Happy Hour w/ Steve McMurry & Mike Ashworth, 7pm, avl.mx/8ww SOVEREIGN KAVA q Poetry Open Mic, 8pm, avl.mx/8uc

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4 OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Collin Cheek (solo acoustic), 6pm

SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Open Mic Night w/ The Lads AVL, 6pm

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5 OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. The Gathering Dark (acoustic duo), 7pm

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6 BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS Brian Ashley Jones (blues, country), 2pm SAINT PAUL MOUNTAIN VINEYARDS Hope Griffin (soul, blues), 2:30pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Dirty Dog Duo (Grateful Dead tribute), 3pm WEHRLOOM HONEY MEADERY Music & Mead w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 4pm

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9 MAD CO. BREW HOUSE Trivia Night, 6pm

ISA'S FRENCH BISTRO James Hammel (solo acoustic), 5pm ISIS MUSIC HALL The JackTown Ramblers (bluegrass, jazz), 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Kid Billy (solo multi-instrumentalist), 7pm

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7 SAINT PAUL MOUNTAIN VINEYARDS James Hammel (solo acoustic), 2pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. French Broad Valley Mountain Music Jam, 6pm SOVEREIGN KAVA q Poetry Open Mic, 8pm, avl/mx/8uc

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11 OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Josh Dunkin (solo acoustic), 6pm

SWEETEN CREEK BREWING The Lads (acoustic originals), 2pm

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8 THE JOINT NEXT DOOR Blues Monday w/ Mr Jimmy, 6pm

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10

SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Open Mic Night w/ The Lads AVL, 6pm THE 2ND ACT Mr Jimmy (blues), 6pm

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Michelle Morrison was out of town when she realized her sense of smell had vanished. It was late last May, and Morrison, a flight attendant with a private aviation company, was five days into a seven-day tour of duty. Out of the blue, with no nasal congestion or other respiratory symptoms, the shampoo in her hotel bathroom had no aroma. A whiff of eucalyptus essential oil left her nostrils stinging, but she still couldn’t detect any scent. Not normally prone to illness and hyperaware of the threat of contracting COVID-19 due to the public-facing nature of her profession, Morrison knew immediately that something was very wrong. Her sense of smell, she says, “was just gone, and I started to panic. It was a scary, scary experience.” Morrison immediately returned to her home in Marshall, and her doctor performed a COVID-19 test, which came back positive. Since she wasn’t experiencing fever, cough or other symptoms, she took leave from her job and quarantined alone on her 20-acre property. About two weeks later, after receiving two negative tests, she went back to work and resumed her normal activities. But months later, it became apparent that COVID-19 hadn’t simply disappeared from Morrison’s life. When her sense of smell began incrementally returning after about three months, she found repulsive phantom scents replacing normally pleasant ones — coffee, for example, would smell like burning gasoline. Her sense of taste was likewise impaired, making all but the blandest of foods seem “horrific.” Then, in late September, an abrupt bout of crippling fatigue grounded the normally energetic 40-year-old. “I had to take time off work because I couldn’t get out of bed,” she says. “It felt like I got hit with a ton of bricks.” A panel of medical tests excluded all possible causes other than COVID-19.

THE LONG GAME

As the pandemic wears on, it’s becoming clear that Morrison’s sit-

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LONG ROAD AHEAD: Ashley M., who asked Xpress not to print her last name to protect sensitive health information, has struggled for months with recurring symptoms she and her doctors believe are the result of an earlier undiagnosed COVID-19 infection. Ashley now uses a cane to deal with balance problems and struggles with fatigue and speech impairments. Photo by Cindy Kunst uation is far more common than was initially thought. In the early going, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that about one-third of adults who’d tested positive for COVID-19 still had not returned to their usual state of health after two to three weeks. But subsequent research suggests that prolonged symptoms may be more pervasive. A study released in January by The Lancet found that 76% of 1,733 COVID-19 patients discharged from a single hospital in Wuhan, China, were still experiencing at least one symptom, such as fatigue, weakness, muscle

pain or sleeplessness, six months after the onset of symptoms. Similarly, research conducted in Italy and the United States has found that anywhere from 50% to 80% of patients still experience symptoms of what’s come to be called “long COVID” many months after contracting the virus. And a global study published by MedRxiv in December reported that most “long-haulers,” as these patients are often labeled, had not resumed previous levels of job performance after six months, and many continued to display significant symptoms even seven months after becom-

“It feels like COVID ate a part of my brain.” — Asheville resident Ashley M. ing infected. At this point, little is known about what causes this disparity, though some evidence suggests that women, older people and those with more severe initial symptoms may be more likely to experience long COVID. Whit Rylee, a builder who specializes in historic preservation, is one of those folks. The 57-year-old started feeling under the weather back in early October. He had just returned to Asheville, where he’s lived for 20 years, after an extended camping sabbatical around the Great Lakes. A free COVID-19 test from CVS came back positive, and not having yet secured a place to stay, he ended up quarantined for a week at a location provided by Buncombe County. During his quarantine, says Rylee, he experienced fever, dizziness and general flu-like symptoms but no cough or respiratory issues. “I had about three nights that were rough,” he explains. “I assumed that in a week or two I’d start feeling better, because it wasn’t that bad.” His condition didn’t improve, however. Instead, for the past four months, Rylee has suffered from chronic, debilitating fatigue. “I always thought that just meant that you’d get tired,” he says. “But what it’s like is that if you push yourself for more than an hour, you not only feel exhausted, you start feeling like you’re coming down with a bad case of the flu.” He also experiences other common long COVID symptoms, he says, including a constant ringing in his ears, dizziness, weakness, loss of appetite, swollen toes and, worst of all, brain fog that makes navigating everyday tasks a challenge. Unable to work, Rylee says managing his finances is a constant struggle. He counts himself extremely lucky to have found temporary living quarters in a friend’s guesthouse, and he says he’s received a small amount of emergency funding from local agencies that’s been helpful. But his lack of permanent housing has excluded him from qualifying for broader financial aid, such as through the state’s Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions Program. Meanwhile, Rylee says he’s frustrated by the limited assistance being offered to COVID-19 survivors by local

governments, particularly the city of Asheville.

LINGERING ISSUES

Asheville resident Ashley M., who asked Xpress not to publish her full name to protect sensitive health information, has managed to hang onto her job since contracting COVID-19. But her intense long-haul symptoms first forced the 36-year-old software presenter to take a medical leave and then, when she was able to resume working, to pare down her hours from as many as 50 or 60 a week to part time. Ashley, who has asthma but says she’s usually very healthy otherwise, tried to get a COVID19 test in March after she started feeling feverish following a trip to Greenville, S.C. The provider, however, ran out of tests before her appointment, and she never received a positive diagnosis. Nonetheless, she experienced the classic COVID-19 symptoms: cough, shortness of breath, impaired sense of taste and brain fog. After about two weeks, Ashley felt she was recovering and carried on with her usual work schedule and activities. But two months after she first became ill, things suddenly got weird — and scary. “I started to get really, really sick,” she recalls. “It got to the point where I eventually wasn’t able to use my hands and couldn’t push myself up from bed or couch and could barely walk.” The brain fog came back with a vengeance, too, and she developed a severe stutter — a heartbreaking development for someone whose livelihood depends on public speaking. “My friends said I was like a completely different person during that time when I couldn’t speak,” she remembers. “My parents said it sounded like I had had a stroke.” Multiple doctors Ashley consulted at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, including neurology and infectious disease specialists, concluded that she’s a “presumptive positive” for COVID-19 and a long-hauler. Intensive speech therapy has improved her stutter, but it still recurs when she’s nervous or upset, she says.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 24 MOUNTAINX.COM

FEB. 3-9, 2021

WEL L NESS

“Everybody’s struggling, trying to figure out what the hell this is.” — long-hauler Whit Rylee And though she loves her job, she still can’t return to full-time work, because persistent exhaustion and brain fog make activities like reading and conversations extremely draining. “It feels like COVID ate a part of my brain,” she says. “I can’t think critically; I can’t think creatively. My brain is just very simple now.” Overall, says Ashley, her condition is improving, but meanwhile her life has been turned upside down. “I can’t do the things I used to do — I can’t go hiking,” and even taking walks with her dog, she says, is challenging. “I’m having to live in an entirely different way because of this virus that so many people aren’t taking seriously, and it’s very frustrating and upsetting.” Morrison, on the other hand, has been able to continue working full time since recovering from her bout of fatigue in September. But her life, too, has been drastical-

FEB. 3-9, 2021

ly altered by the illness. Once a passionate and creative cook, she says, the continued impairment and distortion of her senses of smell and taste have robbed her of one of her life’s greatest joys. She also struggles with the isolation of having symptoms nobody really understands. “It’s very lonely,” she notes. “The fatigue, the brain fog, the loss of taste and smell are all things that are very, very difficult to talk with other people about. Because they can’t see it, they’re not experiencing it, they think you’ve got to be making it up.”

SEEKING VALIDATION

Morrison, Rylee and Ashley M. all say that seeking treatment for their long COVID symptoms has been a struggle and often discouraging. The doctors, says Ashley, “don’t know what’s going on. I get that,

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MULTIDIMENSIONAL: Michelle Morrison is many things: dog mom to Little Richard, flight attendant for a private aviation company, homeowner, artist and a person experiencing long-lasting effects from a COVID-19 infection in May. Photo courtesy of Morrison but it feels like they’re just dismissing us and what we’re feeling. They gave me a pamphlet on how to reduce my anxiety and be more mindful — that was their solution to me not being able to walk or speak.” Yet all three concede that medical professionals are doing their best to deal with a new disease about which relatively little is yet understood. “Everybody’s struggling, trying to figure out what the hell this is,” says Rylee, describing the confusion he encountered when he sought medical help for his long COVID symptoms. All three long-haulers have found support and useful advice from fellow COVID-19 survivors through online forums. And though doctors have so far been unable to help Morrison recover her senses of smell and taste, she’s found support in a private Facebook group called COVID-19 Smell and Taste Loss that’s hosted by the British nonprofit AbScent. Thanks to her interactions with this more than 21,000-member online community, Morrison says she’s started experimenting with “smell training.” The process involves regularly sniffing specific essential oils, such as rose, clove and lemon, to retrain the olfactory receptors to recognize common aromas. “The jury’s still out as to whether that helps at all,” she says, but at least it’s given her something to try. Rylee, meanwhile, says he’s following a Parkinson’s disease diet high in omega-3 fatty acids to combat his brain fog, a regimen he

learned about via a similar online community. Per the same source, he’s also taking supplements, including vitamins D and C, magnesium, niacin and zinc, to address his fatigue. Ashley’s activity on a Reddit group for COVID-19 long-haulers led her to participate in national and international research efforts. She’s sent blood samples to IncellDx, a company led by Stanford University researcher Dr. Bruce Patterson that’s conducting research on the disease, and she took part in the above-mentioned international MedRxiv study of long COVID patients. “I find that study so interesting, because it just validates what all of us have been going through,” she says. “This isn’t just, ‘Oh, you’re stressed out.’ ... This is something that can last in your body for an undetermined amount of time.”

TOO SOON TO TELL

Dr. Steven Hauser, a hospital internist and primary care physician at AdventHealth Medical Group Multispecialty at South Asheville, has been following the COVID-19 outbreak since before it left China. “So I’ve been expecting this sort of pattern to happen for a while now,” he reports. Fatigue and brain fog are commonly persistent symptoms, notes Hauser, who says he’s cared for numerous active COVID-19 patients as well as several with long-term COVID conditions. “But it’s hard to really get data on what to expect, because we’re only a year out from the first case reports of this virus from China,” he explains. “The treatments now are all supportive care” rather than offering a cure. There’s evidence, says Hauser, that COVID-19 can cause long-term scarring in the lungs, and postCOVID brain fog could also potentially point to lasting damage. “But it’s still too soon to say how often this happens or what the prognosis is.” There’s no harm in long-haulers taking vitamin supplements, he says, and he urges anyone with long-term symptoms to stay in contact with their doctors to document their experience. Those with cognitive issues should get tested by a specialist to rule out other possible causes, he advises. Katherine Taylor, a physical therapist with CarePartners Home Health, has been working with COVID-19 patients since last fall to address a host of long-term symptoms, including gait and balance

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SEEKING TO HEAL: Dr. Steven Hauser, a hospital internist and primary care physician with Advent Health, has treated a number of COVID-19 patients, including several with lasting symptoms. Photo courtesy of AdventHealth impairments, decreased activity tolerance, unstable vital signs, memory deficits, brain fog and changes in personality. Although she’s unsure about how to treat taste and smell impairments and she refers patients with speech and cognitive issues to specialized therapists, Taylor says she’s seen strong improvement in post-COVID-19 patients experiencing weakness and fatigue. Therapies can include progressive walking and exercise programs, monitored aerobic conditioning and balance activities. “With direction, monitoring and prescribed exercise from a skilled therapist, patients can absolutely make significant gains and improve functioning,” she says. For her part, Ashley M. advises fellow long-haulers, in addition to pursuing any needed therapies, to take vitamins, eat a healthy diet, drink lots of water, take electrolytes and — most importantly — get as much rest as possible. She also encourages doctors to take their patients’ post-COVID concerns seriously, even if they’re unsure about how to approach treatment. “People need to know that they were heard and validated and understood,” she emphasizes. “I think that’s what’s going to get us past this.” Like Morrison and Rylee, Ashley says she’s trying to remain hopeful that she and other long-haulers will eventually recover, despite the current lack of clarity. “I feel deep down like this is just temporary, and it will get better,” she says. “But in reality we just don’t know.” X

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Health Rosetta is an ever-evolving framework for purchasing health benefits. This framework is sourced from the collective successes of employers around the country. Employers who have adopted its components typically reduce spending by 2040% while improving the quality of care for each plan member. Fundamentally, the Health Rosetta framework solves some of the biggest root causes of dysfunction in our health care system (i.e., spending far too much on poor health outcomes). A Health Rosetta benefit plan is made up of the following components and subcomponents which focus on the process of purchasing care, the substance of what is purchased, and the best practices and technology necessary to successfully implement each component. Who does a Health Rosetta Plan work for? • Large and small employers with 20 or more health plan eligible employees. • Both rural and urban employers, companies, public entities, schools, etc.

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WELLNESS

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Meditation helps stressed-out locals cope

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kwest@mountainx.com Type the words “stressed,” “anxious” or “depressed” into a social media post — and who hasn’t in the last year? — and within seconds, ads for meditation apps will fill your feed with the soothing soundtrack of a gurgling mountain brook. Among names like Headspace, Reflectly and Meditopia, the Calm app currently reigns supreme, with more than 100 million downloads and the No. 1 position in the Apple App Store’s Health and Fitness category. Meditation is hot, and the connection among the mental, emotional and physical challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and a surge of interest in the practice is clear. Still, the benefits of meditation are not news to local therapists, practitioners and teachers. Ronya Banks, founder and lead teacher at Asheville Insight Meditation, has trained all over the world and practiced for over 30 years. Tom Ball, who runs the Asheville TM Center with his wife, Jeanne Ball, has been teaching since he was 21, over 50 years ago. Sarah Wood Vallely, author and mindfulness teacher, has been around meditation her entire life. “My parents were both meditators, and as a child I was going to ashrams,” she says. She began teaching meditation to children 20 years ago when she was an elementary and high school art teacher. “It was quite a phenomenon back then,” she recalls. “People who didn’t have children came to my classes to see what I was doing because it was such a novel thing.”

ON THE RISE

While apps have made meditation more accessible recently, Tom Ball says he has seen a steady rise in interest in transcendental meditation over the last decade. He points to increased scientific research and real evidence of the benefits. “When I first started teaching in 1971, my teacher had one scientific study to point to,” he says. “Now there are over 800 studies in scientific journals on TM, which have

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CONTEMPLATIVE TEACHER: Ronya Banks, founder and lead teacher at Asheville Insight Meditation, has trained all over the world and practiced for over 30 years. Photo courtesy of AIM really helped medical professionals and laypeople see it’s not just a woo-woo thing of imagining you’re a butterfly landing on a flower. There is real evidence of benefits.” Among them, says Banks, are reductions in stress, anxiety and depression; lower blood pressure; and soothing the flight, fight or freeze part of the brain. Meditation affects regions of the brain associated with feeling calm, peaceful and loving, she says, and is good for memory and focus. “Being a human is hard,” Banks says with a laugh. “But add a pandemic that can kill you and your family, the fear and anxiety that causes, plus isolation, loneliness and depression, remove all the outlets and resources for nurturing we normally have, and it’s a recipe for mental health disaster.” Depending on the severity of their depression, anxiety and insomnia, many people turn to medication for relief, says Kris Hanvey, psychiatric nurse practitioner and founder of Asheville Holistic Health. “In 2020, I prescribed more pharmaceuticals than any other time in memory. I like to think of prescribing medication as the last resort, though depending on acuity — which has risen in response to the pandemic — you sometimes start with that. Insomnia is not necessarily worse

since COVID, but the desperation for relief is far greater.” In therapy, depending on the individual patient, Hanvey offers various forms of counseling, healing (she is a reiki master) and meditation. Noting that many people believe “they can’t do meditation,” she often begins with a guided body scan, helping the patient focus on sensations in every part of the body starting with the feet. After that warm up, she helps the person segue to other forms of meditation. Banks says when people tell her they can’t imagine sitting still or quieting their mind for any length of time, she responds, “Welcome to the human race. We all have a reality show going on in our heads. If we could naturally meditate, there would be no reason to learn. It takes time, patience and practice.”

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?

In a study released in November 2018, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified mindfulness meditation as the fastest-growing popular wellness practice, having seen a more than threefold increase in users between 2012 and 2017. Simply stated, mindfulness is being mindfully aware of the present moment, according to Banks.

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For Tom Ball, mindfulness is about keeping the mind engaged in an open way. Unlike forms of meditation that focus on breathing or a mantra, he says, “you’re monitoring the content, watching thoughts come and go and trying not to react or hold onto them.”

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Tom and Jeanne Ball specialize in another type of meditation, automatic self-transcending or transcendental meditation, which is characterized by a brain wave pattern called alpha1, Tom explains. In this state, he continues, the mind is restfully awake and exhibits the deepest measures of physiological rest. “But really, they’re all great,” he enthuses. “Every time we hear someone is doing any kind of meditation, it’s wonderful. Closing your eyes, getting centered, it’s the right direction and a good start. Meditation is becoming more mainstream and that’s beautiful.”

TWEAKING THE MODEL

Jeanne Ball says people who come to TM have often tried other types of meditation. “They may be frustrated or want to go deeper. Just because you have not been successful with other forms of mediation doesn’t mean you can’t transcend. People transcend naturally, listening to music or watching a sunset, but don’t know how to get

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it back. They need a technique to get there.” The TM Center has altered its teaching protocols to adapt to COVID, though the personal instruction process is the same as it has been for 50 years. Currently the four-day course begins with a 90-minute one-on-one class at the Chestnut Street center, which teaches enough of the technique to allow a student to begin to meditate at home. The next three classes — taken on consecutive days — are done remotely via an app created by the International TM Foundation, followed by a Zoom meeting with either Tom or Jeanne to check in and answer questions. “So far, everyone is really happy with this,” says Tom. “We were surprised because we have done in-person teaching for 40 years, but people are experiencing the same benefits, which is great because otherwise we would not be teaching right now.” The Asheville Insight Meditation building has been closed to on-site groups since March. With the exception of some social gatherings outdoors during the warmer months, all other in-person activities have been on hold. But online daily morning meditations and guided group mediations with a themed presentation such as a recent one on “letting go” have been taking place for months, and that method has its advantages. “Now that it’s virtual, I am seeing people from all over the world. It’s opened up our center in ways we never did before,” Banks says. She also offers one-on-one virtual sessions to teach people how to meditate. Vallely now certifies teachers, counselors and life coaches to teach mindfulness through her program, TSD Mindfulness; a new book, Tame Soothe Dwell; retreats; and a podcast. Though she no longer teaches meditation to children, her books geared to them, including Sensational Meditation for Children, are still available at sarahwood. com, where parents can also find sample meditations for children. “Children are typically more open to mediation than adults,” she notes. “The top benefit for them is social, being able to become more mindful of their feelings and actions when around others.”

MAKE IT ROUTINE

Hanvey says she had slipped out of her own daily meditation practice when COVID first hit. “I found myself in kind of a bad mood

though, so I made a commitment to resume. Routine and ritual are the things to start with. Habits have to be created with anything to be effective.” Meditating at the same time and place with the same objects around her each day helped Hanvey restart her practice. She suggests setting a stopwatch rather than a timer. “Just turn it on when you start, turn it off when you stop, and log it. The next day, do the same. You will find yourself doing it longer each day.” She also found an online group she joins every morning for an hour. Essentially, she just urges people to give it a try. “People who are into apps can start there,” she says. “One of the silver linings of COVID is meditation groups have been opened to everyone via Zoom, so you don’t have to feel self-conscious. Just carve out a week where every day you sit, light a candle, bring relics meaningful to you. It could be 30 seconds. That’s OK. Start the habit, and when it becomes a habit, life tends to open up.” X

Helping healers Founded by the film director and avid transcendental meditation practitioner David Lynch in 2015 to enable children to learn TM, the David Lynch Foundation has also funded scholarships for veterans suffering from PTSD. “When the pandemic hit, [the foundation] recognized immediately how devastating this would be for health care workers,” says Tom Ball of the Asheville TM Center. “So they launched a new initiative in the spring called Heal the Healers to bring the TM technique to them at no or reduced cost.” Locally, the Asheville center has been raising funds — matched by the DLF — and has amassed enough to offer an online program to 20-30 front-line workers at no charge. “These doctors and nurses and respiratory therapists, everyone in this battle, have been run into the ground over the past year, and it’s not getting better. We believe TM can help,” says Tom Ball. For more information and to enroll, contact the Asheville TM Center at 828-254-4350 or healthehealersWNC@TM.org. X

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WELL NESS

Crisis care

“Human beings just aren’t designed to be isolated in perpetuity.”

COVID-19 drives flexibility in mental health therapy

After nearly a year of little to no social contact, the pandemic is taking its toll on most everyone. “Humans are social animals,” says Rhonda Cox, executive vice president of Vaya Health, the regional agency that manages services for publicly funded mental health, substance abuse and developmental disabilities care. “We were not designed to endure this kind of stress for months and months.” And though the ongoing manufacture and distribution of vaccines means there’s light at the end of the tunnel, it will still take many months to get everybody vaccinated. In the meantime, the pandemic that’s raged for the last 10 months has sparked concerns about everything from illness and death to job security and one’s ability to pay for necessities. The political turmoil of

recent months has only heightened the uncertainty and stress. “It’s not dramatically higher, but emergency hospital admissions for mental illness and substance abuse are rising,” notes Cox. But COVID-19 has also brought changes in mental health care that, at least temporarily, have improved access to services for people who lack reliable transportation. “It will depend on insurance companies and public officials whether we can make permanent changes for the better,” cautions Dominique Huneycutt, a clinical psychologist at the Mountain Area Health Education Center. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which tracks health issues, people were already reporting markedly higher levels of stress, anxiety and depression between

— Rhonda Cox, Vaya Health

BIG PICTURE: Rhonda Cox is executive vice president and population health officer at Vaya Health. Photo courtesy of Vaya March, when the virus forced people to social distance, and last summer. Between May and July, the number of survey respondents self-reporting symptoms of anxiety disorder rose from 29.6% to 35.2%; of depressive disorder, from 24.7% to 28.4%. The national Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention reported similar trends. “We’re also seeing increased levels of substance abuse because of the stress of COVID and lack of ability to access social supports,” says Cox. “And people with developmental disabilities who are nonverbal or less verbal are having increased problems, because they can’t express themselves. Human beings just aren’t designed to be isolated in perpetuity.”

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

Still, not everyone responds to this enforced isolation in the same way. Extroverts, who are typically energized by social contact, may struggle with it more than introverts who, even under more normal conditions, need time alone to recharge. And by forcing most folks

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to slow down and avoid unnecessary exposures, the pandemic is actually helping overbooked, overworked Americans pare down their schedules, says Cox. In fact, notes Huneycutt, MAHEC actually “saw a reduction in the number of calls early on, but the acuity has increased. More recently, we’ve seen an uptick in suicide contemplation, attempts and completions. People are dealing with a lot.” Mental health care, though, has never been as accessible as other types of treatment, and despite some improvement due to the Affordable Care Act, that’s still the case. Until recently, for example, online therapy sessions weren’t generally covered by insurance. “But it is necessary now, since it’s so much higher risk to see people in person,” says Cox. And once the pandemic is finally gone, Huneycutt hopes insurance companies and Medicaid will continue to reimburse telehealth sessions at the same rate as in-person treatment, because online services help people in rural areas where there’s little or no public transportation to access care. It’s also easier for working people to find time for appointments, since they don’t have to factor in the travel time. Online appointments also offer greater flexibility that helps providers keep pace with the increased number of people needing care. Like their patients, therapists can work from home, saving time and reducing the need for more office space to handle expanded caseloads. “Is it perfect?” asks Huneycutt. “No. I’ve had parents start their children’s sessions while they’re out shopping. The child is walking around, doing therapy in public. … It’s also exhausting for us, because our brains are on a screen where we can’t see the nonverbal cues we need. And some people still really do need to be seen in person.”

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But COVID-19 is not the only challenge people are facing these days, notes Cox. Other key stressors include worries about finances, political upheaval, potential or actual job loss, an inability to work off stress at the gym, and prolonged separation from family and friends. In addition, many people who are dealing with financial uncertainty or who have lost job-related health insurance are postponing seeking care. So by the time they do get help, their depression and anxiety are likely to be worse. “Human beings need contact with others, and when things become overwhelming, they need care,” stresses Cox. And though Huneycutt believes that the current situation “has presented us with some ability to offer better care,” she worries that unless the expanded access continues once the pandemic is over, providers will be hard-pressed to handle the increased number of cases of post-traumatic stress disorder they’re bound to see. Besides, even though vaccines are now being administered, the pandemic-induced isolation isn’t likely to end any time soon. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey in December found that half of adult respondents believed the worst was yet to come. Nonetheless, says Cox, we still have ways to combat stress. “If you’re feeling overwhelmed, humor can reset your emotional tank,” she points out. “Hope is another huge factor: The vaccine is coming; this will pass.” And in the bigger picture, argues Huneycutt, “We have a chance to learn from this, to collect data and learn what works in different circumstances, using new methods. We can do a lot — we really can, if we make informed decisions.”

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Meanwhile, working from home poses the same challenges for mental health providers as it does for everyone else, she adds. “I can’t eliminate distractions: It’s a different set of boundaries.” As to whether online therapy is as effective as in-person appointments, Huneycutt believes that only time will tell. “We need data to know how this is working,” she maintains. “And collecting data takes some time.”

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Asheville lags on climate emergency goals

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BY DANIEL WALTON dwalton@mountainx.com Asheville made headlines last January when it became the first city in North Carolina to formally declare climate change as an emergency. A resolution unanimously adopted by Asheville City Council on Jan. 28, 2020, after hundreds of community members marched on City Hall and activists with Sunrise Movement Asheville staged a sit-in outside the office of City Manager Debra Campbell, called for a “massive-scale mobilization to halt, reverse and address” the dangers caused by a planet “already too hot for safety.” 2020, the second-hottest year in Asheville’s recorded history according to the National Centers for Environmental Information, did see life transformed at emergency speed — by a different emergency. Less than two months after the climate resolution went on the books, Mayor Esther Manheimer declared a local state of emergency due to COVID-19 on March 12. The city’s responses to the pandemic, which has caused 253 confirmed deaths in Buncombe County as of press time, have been swift and wide-ranging. Among other emergency actions, Asheville buses were made fare-free to minimize contact between drivers and passengers; businesses received fee waivers and permission to take over public space; residents were protected from water shutoffs; and Council and many city commissions decided to meet remotely until further notice. Asheville’s commitment to an “equitable and just citywide mobilization effort to reverse global warming,” as outlined in the climate emergency resolution, has not yet led to similar shifts in how the city conducts its daily business. But while climate change’s time scale may be longer than that of COVID-19, scientists predict its negative impacts will be of similar or greater magnitude if governments don’t take substantial, immediate action. The World Health Organization, for example, has set a “conservative estimate” of 250,000 additional global deaths per year due to climate change from 2030 through 2050. And as previously reported by Xpress (see “Head for the Hills,” Aug. 26), sea level rise alone is expected to drive over 24,000

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HALL OF (CLIMATE) JUSTICE: Members of Sunrise Movement Asheville staged a sit-in at Asheville City Hall in December 2019 to demand the passage of a climate emergency resolution. Photo by Daniel Walton new residents from the coastal United States to the Asheville metropolitan area through 2100, straining the region’s already burdened housing supply and infrastructure. “If it was truly perceived as an emergency, then I think we would be doing more and talking about it more,” says Asheville City Council member Kim Roney, who was elected in November on a platform that included a local Green New Deal and rapid renewable energy deployment. “I don’t think we’re at that place yet, whether it’s as an institution, as a city, as a community or as a society, of a willingness — and maybe it’s a capacity issue, but that concerns me, too — to engage multiple emergencies at the same time.”

‘THE UPSIDE DOWN’

Amber Weaver, Asheville’s chief sustainability officer, acknowledges that the early days of the pandemic threw the city into disarray. On March 13, she gave a presentation at Council’s annual retreat regarding sustainability initiatives, including the climate emergency resolution, and the funding needed to begin fulfilling them. The following Monday, March 15, she and many other city staffers were sent home due to the coronavirus. “Things have been topsy-turvy. We’ve been in the Upside Down, I suppose you can say,” Weaver says,

referencing a bizarre alternate dimension from the Netflix series “Stranger Things.” Discussions on how to fund a recommended $2 million in additional sustainability operating costs and $11.1 million in capital projects for fiscal year 2020-21, she continues, were immediately regarded as “no longer viable.” Before the pandemic, former Council members Julie Mayfield and Keith Young had proposed a 3-cent increase in the property tax rate to help fund the city’s climate response, a move projected to raise about $4.5 million annually. Anna Priest, chair of the city’s Sustainability Advisory Committee on Energy and the Environment, says that idea “went by the wayside” as soon as Asheville declared a COVID-19 emergency. “The city staff were redirected to emergency COVID-19 response mode for the better part of four months,” Priest explains. “The sustainability office, as well as SACEE, continued to work on our goals as best we could with the resources we were given throughout 2020.” Even without additional funding, some progress on the climate emergency resolution has continued throughout the pandemic on a delayed schedule. An initial public input session first scheduled for May took place virtually in October, and Asheville continues to develop a Climate Justice Plan that had been scheduled for approval in December.

The city has not released a revised timeline for the plan’s release. “To do this work the right way, it’s not anything that we can rush,” emphasizes Weaver. She points out that the city signed a $29,500 contract with Asheville-based Tepeyac Consulting to engage with residents who are Black, Indigenous or people of color, many of whom face disproportionate dangers from climate change due to the ongoing impacts of discrimination and inequitable policies.

BACK BURNER?

While COVID-19 inarguably challenged Asheville’s capacity for new projects, the climate emergency resolution also outlined changes to existing programs and intergovernmental relationships that have remained active throughout the pandemic. It’s unclear if city staff has carried out much of that work in accordance with Council’s wishes. One clause of the resolution calls for its delivery to “all relevant state and federal agencies and elected representatives representing constituents within the city.” Neither Weaver nor city spokesperson Polly McDaniel could confirm that the resolution was sent to any such entities. While the resolution doesn’t name specific agencies or lawmakers, recipients might have included the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, federal Environmental Protection Agency and Buncombe County’s General Assembly delegation. Asheville has participated in several state and national environmental advocacy actions since the resolution’s passage, including filing a formal opinion on Duke Energy’s power generation plans, joining an amicus brief against regulatory rollbacks proposed by the EPA and signing on to the “America Is All In” commitment to the Paris climate accord. However, none of the city’s public messaging on those efforts has mentioned the climate emergency. “That was an oversight on our part,” says Weaver about the city’s language. “I think that the climate emergency encompasses a lot of items, so sometimes it’s easier just to call out the renewable energy goal or carbon mitigation goal.” Another climate emergency clause references Asheville’s 100% Renewable Energy Resolution, adopted in 2018, and mandates an annual report that discusses both the city’s progress and any necessary funding to fulfill the goal. Weaver confirmed that this report for 2020 consists entirely of a three-line table on Page

108 of the city budget that does not address either of those points. When asked if Asheville is on track to meet its renewable energy and carbon emissions reduction targets, Weaver was unable to answer. She said the city’s newly established Office of Data and Performance would be working on that analysis in the coming year. The climate emergency language also tasks the city manager with identifying the funding needed to address its sustainability goals and informing Council if additional revenue is needed. Jaime Matthews, Campbell’s assistant, says her office had created no relevant reports, presentations or memorandums on those issues since the passage of the resolution. And the mandated “sustainability impact statement for all new [Capital Improvement Plan] projects” in the city’s budget mentions only green projects, such as new solar panels on government buildings and the replacement of diesel buses with hybrid vehicles. Not included are more carbon-intensive projects such as sidewalk construction and road resurfacing. “I think what you can deduce from that page is that the items that we did not mention were the ones that were not examined for carbon, because they did not positively impact our carbon reduction,” Weaver says about the omissions.

“The opportunity to incorporate climate emergency and sustainability more deeply into departmental decision-making is the reparations that were adopted,” Weaver continues. The city has yet to commit any funding to that effort to bolster the Black community, passed on July 14, or establish a reparations commission as outlined in its supporting resolution. At the Council level, Roney says she would like her colleagues to tackle tree canopy protection, stormwater policy and climate-sensitive development rules in the first 100 days of their new term. Participatory budgeting, which would give residents direct control over a portion of the city’s spending, is also on her agenda. But Roney emphasizes that Council is unlikely to act without additional pressure. “I know this community wants to have superheroes, where one person comes in and does very specific work, but you have to have four votes,” she says, referring to the number constituting a majority on the seven-member body. “So we need our community to help us to understand what our community values, how we want to spend our money and how we want to use our land.” X

spending, does not need additional support from City Council to accomplish the work with which it’s been charged. Instead, she says the federal government needs to step up with substantial funding for Asheville to reach its goals. Early indications from the administration of President Joe Biden suggest that help is on the way. On Jan. 27, Biden signed a suite of executive orders aimed at addressing climate change, and he has proposed a $2 trillion investment in renewable energy that would direct roughly $800 billion toward disadvantaged communities. While the city waits for federal assistance, Weaver says her office will focus on connecting sustainability to racial justice work. She notes that many of the Asheville neighborhoods flagged as being particularly vulnerable to heat stress and flooding from extreme weather are home to large Black populations: “Why did that happen? It happened because of redlining,” she says, referencing New Deal-era federal housing programs that excluded Black citizens from many areas of the city and concentrated those residents in neighborhoods that were subsequently disrupted by urban renewal through the 1980s.

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The Sunrise Movement, which led the campaign for Asheville to pass the climate emergency resolution, has expressed concern over the city’s pace of action. The group references a 2018 report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which concluded that global carbon emissions must be slashed 45% by 2030 to avoid the worst impacts of warming. “We have repeatedly been told that this process must be slow and that there are several roadblocks, including COVID-19 and other emergencies that our community is facing. However, we maintain the insistent position that the overlapping crises we face must be met simultaneously through an intersectional approach,” reads a statement from Sunrise provided to Xpress. “We have nine years to transition our society off of fossil fuels and into a climate-resilient regenerative economy. We wish it wasn’t true, but we quite simply have no choice.” Weaver maintains that her two-person office, which has a total budget of under $770,000 and represents about half a percent of all general-fund

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ARTS & CULTURE

Lingering effects

Local artists adjust to life after contracting COVID-19 BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN earnaudin@mountainx.com

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From shuttered venues to a public that’s justifiably hesitant to return to events, the COVID-19 pandemic has been brutal on Asheville-area artists. But for creators who’ve contracted the coronavirus, those struggles have intensified in ways they never expected. Xpress recently caught up with Bob “Zuzu” Welsh, guitarist/songwriter for the Zuzu Welsh Band; Barrie Barton, artistic director of performance art theater company Story Choreography Projects; and Jeff Catanese, artistic director of Attic Salt Theatre Company, to learn about their recoveries and the lingering effects COVID-19 has had on their creative process.

CONTACT TRACING

After Gov. Roy Cooper’s “Stay at Home” order was issued in midMarch, all three artists remained healthy for the next six months. But as the year wound down, each contracted COVID-19 within a matter of six weeks — beginning with Welsh, 61, getting sick in mid-September. He believes he was exposed at his day job by someone who was inconsistent in wearing a mask. Welsh soon developed a fever, which peaked at 103.5 F, and remained sick for 23 days before he was able to obtain a negative test result. “I was frustrated because I was unable to be around people at all, and I was angry that someone who cared so little about others could infect me. I also know of one person I directly infected because of it,” he says. “My emotions and my anxiety during and since having COVID have been very different and very much less under control. I find myself with a short fuse sometimes, and I worry about things I normally would not. I also get emotional and will cry at random things that never would have made me do that before.” Though Lillian Govus, Buncombe County director of Communications and Public Engagement, reports that no coronavirus clusters — defined as five or more cases that are epidemiologically linked — 38

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THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD: Clockwise from top left, local artists Barrie Barton, Bob “Zuzu” Welsh and Jeff Catanese continue to struggle with various health and emotional issues months after having COVID-19. Photo of Barton courtesy of the artist; photo of Welsh by Jenn McCormick; photo of Catanese courtesy of Attic Salt Theatre Company. have been traced to voting, Barton and Catanese both point to their time working with Buncombe County Election Services as the likeliest causes of their illnesses. Barton, 60, is the precinct chair of the county’s Democratic Party in the Reems Creek area and was in charge of coordinating poll greeters. Stationed at Weaverville Town Hall for the first five days of early voting, she wore a mask but says that many of her Republican counterparts did not, and in the exciting process of being engaged in numerous conversations, she admits that she “lost sight of social distancing.” Her first symptoms appeared on Oct. 20 and consisted of two weeks of fever, plus nausea, intense fatigue and the loss of her sense of smell, plus minor pressure on her lungs. Numerous times a day, she also experienced what she calls “grief leaks,” during which the knowledge of being “part of this global community of people who were suffering” would overwhelm her, causing her to burst into tears. The feeling was part of an overall “sense of existential emptiness” that made it difficult to mentally focus, to the point that reading a New York Times article felt overwhelming. Upon having three consecutive fever-free and symptom-free days,

Barton’s doctor cleared her to exit quarantine, but days later she was walking up a short flight of stairs and felt completely out of breath when she got to the top. She returned to her doctor and was prescribed two varieties of inhalers that provided relief, though even with an ongoing program of gradually increased exercise intensity, she says her lung capacity still isn’t what it was pre-COVID-19. Catanese, 52, worked early voting at a precinct in Leicester, where he says “the voters weren’t taking mask-wearing too seriously.” On the evening of Nov. 5 — two nights after Election Day, which is when he believes he contracted the coronavirus — he felt “off” and registered his first fever. It lasted for three days, mostly at night and got as high as 102.4 F on multiple occasions. “The feeling of being both hot and cold at the same time, finding it impossible to find a moment of comfort, and a fatigue that kept me couch-bound for the duration far overshadowed any of the more typical maladies like the sore throat and cough,” he says. “With the fever abating during the days, I also had to steel myself for its return each evening and cried at the onset, just not wanting to spend another

night in that sort of agony. It was all so emotionally and mentally exhausting, in addition to the toll it took on my body.” Catanese never lost his sense of smell or taste but experienced diarrhea immediately after eating. Still, he says the “absolute worst part of the ordeal” was the intense fear of the unknown. Hospitalization, intubation and death were all possibilities that crossed his mind. As far as he can tell, however, he wasn’t the source of anyone else getting it.

LIVING IN THE SHADOW

Consistent with having the longest and most intense illness of the three artists, Welsh has faced the toughest road to recovery. He’s had ongoing issues with kidney infections, battled strep throat and has had to adopt a specialized diet to accommodate a compromised urinary tract. He says he has to contact his doctor “at even the slightest hint of a fever,” and is struggling in his return to music. “My memory is not what it was, so I have a hard time remembering how to play some songs or remember the words to songs — songs I wrote,” he says. “[COVID-19] has impacted my relationships with people personally, and it has had an impact on my professional life in that I have to refer to books and notes to do things I did without thinking before. I worry more about things, because there is no guarantee that I won’t get it again. So little is known.” A frequent swimmer, hiker and dancer prior to contracting COVID19, Barton now goes to the YMCA twice a week to rebuild her muscles — but can currently only handle 30 minutes of sustained exercise before she becomes tired. Her

decreased energy levels force her to pause more than usual and take stock of which new projects she can handle. And though she feels “ready to get back to political work” and is teaching a course called The Art of Public Speaking and Presentations at UNC Asheville two nights a week this semester, she’s not doing a Story Choreography Project until September. “It’s really the luck of the draw, right? You never know if you’re the one that’s going to end up dead in three days or someone like me,” she says. “It just has a cumulative effect on so many different things within your unit, within your family, within your community. It’s just so easy to take care of each other.” As for Catanese, he feels “back to normal heath-wise, for the most part” but continues to experience occasional fatigue two months later. He was told by others who’ve had COVID-19 to expect this effect, but was also assured that it does go away. When fatigue arises, he finds it “even harder to get motivated to do the things you used to do.” Yet he’s working on some filmed projects, both with Attic Salt and outside of it, that he says may not satisfy him the way theater does but keeps “the brain nimble.” Additionally, though he’s vocal about the difficulties of weathering the virus from a mental standpoint, he echoes Barton’s sentiments of feeling lucky he was able to escape largely unscathed — at least as far as health professionals can tell at this juncture. “I have to wonder and worry about what the scientists are going to find out about how this particular disease affects people in the long term,” he says. “I’d rather not find out I have lesions on my lungs in five years and have to be on oxygen for the rest of my days.” X

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AR T S & C UL TU R E

Making the invisible visible WNC Historical Association celebrates Black History Month with new exhibit

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Ask someone to name the groups of people most closely associated with Western North Carolina’s past, and you’re likely to hear about native Cherokee, plus Scots-Irish settlers. But there is and has been much greater racial and ethnic diversity in the region than many realize, notes Anne Chesky Smith, executive director of the Western North Carolina Historical Association. A new exhibit, When All God’s Children Get Together: A Celebration of the Lives and Music of the African American People in Far Western North Carolina, honors that legacy by illustrating what Chesky Smith calls “active communities of African American residents” through “stories and images of early Black churches, schools, baptisms, family groups, businesses, sports teams and veterans.” Now open at the SmithMcDowell House Museum, the collection will remain on display through Friday, April 30, for visitors who purchase house museum admission.

ORAL HISTORY TRADITION

When All God’s Children Get Together emerged from the 624-page book by the same name, written in 2015 by Andrews-based artist and public speaker Ann Miller Woodford. The work chronicles Black history west of Buncombe County but includes a few Ashevillearea stories. In Woodford’s words, its aim is to “make the invisible visible.” The same holds true for the traveling exhibit, which arose from a 2017 partnership with Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center. “This winter and into the early spring, the Mountain Heritage Center is exhibiting a series of Ms. Woodford’s paintings in a new exhibit entitled ‘Ann Miller Woodford: The Artist as Storyteller,’ so we have been working with them to bring [When All God’s Children Get Together] to Asheville and link our two sites,” Chesky Smith says. Several of Chesky Smith’s favorite images from the exhibit are of Woodford’s father, Purel Miller, including one of him posing with his hunting rifles and another in which he gives a child a ride on his saddled, 1,100-pound English hog, Charlie. 40

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HISTORY MONTH

HISTORIC SOUNDS: Nathaniel Lowery (aka “Nat the Cat”), who worked as a DJ at Canton’s WWIT radio station in the 1950s, is one of many Black community leaders featured in the exhibit When All God’s Children Get Together, on display at the Smith-McDowell House Museum through April 30. Photo courtesy of the Haywood County Public Library History Collection A third photo of Miller shows him sharing stories during an oral history interview, which Chesky Smith notes is how community history was passed on for generations. “Many people, especially people who were born into slavery, were never able to learn to read or write. It was illegal,” she says. “And as the elders in the community passed away, that knowledge was lost — which is why [Woodford’s] book and this exhibit are so important. She documented things in writing that have not been written before, creating a wealth of materials for future researchers to delve even farther into.”

FEBRUARY AND BEYOND

In addition to the lives mentioned in the exhibit’s title, the music element is likewise represented, including various gospel singers and such pioneers as Nathaniel Lowery (aka

“Nat the Cat”), who worked as a DJ at Canton’s WWIT radio station in the 1950s. According to Woodford, Lowery “had a large, multiracial fan base during the height of the segregationist sentiment in the South.” Following a summer in which the Black Lives Matter movement raised significant awareness of the ongoing battle for racial equality, Lowery and other prominent figures from WNC’s past are primed to educate and inspire area residents hungry for lasting change. “We certainly scheduled the exhibit opening to coincide with Black History Month but hope, too, that it leads to an understanding that documenting and celebrating Black history doesn’t end on Feb. 28,” Chesky Smith says. “Black history is Western North Carolina history, and one cannot be separated from the other.” wnchistory.org

— Edwin Arnaudin X

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FEB. 3-9, 2021

ARTS & C U L T U R E

FOOD

What’s new in food

A new concept takes over Foothills Butcher Bar West, plus empanadas, pizza and nonprofits In early 2020, chef and restaurateur Kyle McKnight signed a 60-day consulting agreement with Casey McKissick, owner of Foothills Meats and two Butcher Bar restaurants in Black Mountain and West Asheville, to implement some changes to the business. But as with almost every plan in 2020, COVID-19 imposed its own agenda, and the two men did not renew the agreement. Near the end of 2020, McKnight and chef Stewart Lyon approached McKissick with a fresh idea: They would take over the Butcher Bar West space with a new concept designed to accommodate pandemic restrictions in style. McKnight and Lyon got the keys Dec. 31 and immediately began reconfiguring the room to suit their new concept, Your Place at Foothills West, which is projected to open Thursday, Feb. 4. Your Place will offer a reserved, private dining experience for a single party of up to 10 people per seating at a 10-foot-long table built by the multitalented Lyon. The prix fixe, four-course meal begins with chef snacks at 6 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Weekly menus for the $55-per-person dinner — exclusive of tax, gratuity and beverages — will be posted on Mondays. Your Place is a two-man show, with both chefs planning menus, cooking and serving. Lyon will oversee the beverage program of cocktails and wines from Rise Over Run. “Both Stewart and I have run big operations and cooked for lots of people, but recently we have been doing private chef service, and we like the small, intimate nature of that,” McKnight says. “We are both root-

HAVE A SEAT: Chefs Kyle McKnight, left, and Stewart Lyon, co-owners of Your Place at Foothills West, have set the table for 10. Photo by Cindy Kunst ed in French cuisine, but we’re also Southern chefs. We’re about showcasing fresh, local and high-quality ingredients in every dish.” Your Place at Foothills West, 697 Haywood Road. avl.mx/8x4

PROBLEM SOLVER

Jamie Womack says she often called her love of baking “a problem,” but her former colleagues in the med-

ical field might disagree. “I would bring desserts into the office two and three times a week,” she says. Traveling with her husband in Europe in November 2019, she saw a way she might turn her “problem” into something profitable. “We were in Madrid, and I had an empanada for the first time,” she recalls. “I thought they were amazing. You could fill them with anything and eat them with your hands. I loved them.”

Back home in Weaverville, she began experimenting with recipes, researching the signature dishes of various countries and figuring out ways to fill her empanadas with those flavors. Determined to make a career change and start her own business, she looked for a kitchen, a search greatly hindered by COVID-19. She found a shared space in late fall and started slow, taking orders from friends and associates. The response was so positive she created

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an Instagram account in December followed by an online ordering site. “I really had to step it up to be official in 2021.” Officially, Mucha Empanadas takes orders online through Fridays, Womack bakes over the weekend and delivers on Mondays within the 28804 ZIP code, though she will drive farther for larger orders and seeks to expand as business demands. Orders can also be picked up at 207 Weaverville Road on Wednesday afternoons. Currently, she offers six empanadas at $4 each, including a dessert option. The most popular is the beef and cheese, but her favorite is the sausage and blueberry. “I eat them for breakfast,” she says. To order, visit avl.mx/8x0.

AIR TIME

Since its founding by four chefs in 2003, the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association, helmed by Executive Director Jane Anderson

DAY IN, DAY OUT

Zadie’s Market, the online grocery store founded last year in response to COVID-19 by Emily Copus, owner of Carolina Flowers, now offers sameday delivery of its local produce and other products from area makers and small businesses. Orders placed by 7:30 a.m. will be delivered that day. Free delivery is available to eight zones in and around Asheville. A brick-and-mortar location in downtown Marshall’s historic jail is planned for later this year. For more, visit avl.mx/8jh.

DOUGH BOYS

Marketing professional Benji Boessel and chef Alex Tinsley (The Gateway Club and Balsam Mountain Preserve) grew up best of friends in Waynesville. Aside from a hometown, they shared a love for pizza that bordered on fanatical. “We travel together, and sometimes we plan trips based on pizza places we’ve heard of and want to try,” says Boessel. “We are definitely pizza snobs, always looking for the best pizza.” Their search has ended right in their own backyard. After using some pandemic downtime to perfect their pie-making skills in a brick oven built by Tinsley, the pair and a silent partner recently soft-launched an artisanal pizzeria inside Mad Anthony’s Taproom on Legion Drive in Waynesville. With the installation of a large, natural-gas oven and the addition of wings to the menu at the request of taproom owner David Young, Dough Boys Pizza & Wings had its grand opening in January. Dough Boys offers 16-inch New York-style, thin-crust pies with scratch-made sauce, buffalo mozzarella and fresh toppings, and the early reaction has been positive. “We were expecting to do a little takeout business, and if it didn’t cost us money or too much time, we’d get to eat the pizza we love and break even,” says Boessel. “We’ve been slammed since we opened, and we’re all working about 70 hours a week.” Dough Boys Pizza & Wings, 180 Legion Drive, Waynesville. avl.mx/8x1

ON A ROLL: Jamie Womack tested recipes for her empanada dough and fillings for months before securing space in a commercial kitchen and rolling out Mucha Empanadas, which delivers six flavors of savory and sweet empanadas every Monday. Photo courtesy Womack since 2008, has advocated for and represented its membership, which totaled 125 before COVID-19, with local and state government. It’s also maintained an active website, communicated with members and the public through e-newsletters, offered regular educational programming to hospitality professionals and published an annual dining guide. But in 2020, the organization’s two largest fundraisers, the Taste of Asheville event and the AIR Passport, were both suspended due to the pandemic. In response, AIR has launched the AIR Friends giving campaign. “AIR is committed to supporting the independent restaurants that are the culinary culture of Asheville,” says Anderson. For more information and to donate, visit avl.mx/8x5.

COMING ON STRONG

Since its creation in March as a central website for buying gift cards from local independent businesses, Asheville Strong has continued to expand. All within the last 11 months, it’s released an online and print cookbook, Asheville at Home; developed a microgrant relief fund for local small businesses (Asheville Strong Fund); and, in November, launched Feed Our City, a program modeled after chef and global humanitarian Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen and Restaurants for the People. Feed Our City began by paying partner restaurants to prepare and package meals for organizations serving residents in need; Cúrate, Twisted

Laurel, Sunny Point Café and Biscuit Head provide a total of 1,350 meals weekly. To kick off 2021, Feed Our City added weekly free, drive-thru and walk-up hot meal pop-ups for the public — no questions asked — 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays in the parking lot next to the Masonic Temple. In January, Gypsy Queen Cuisine provided 300 individually packaged, ready-to-eat meals each Saturday. This month, Pacha Mama 5 takes

21 AND UP

The town of Black Mountain wants residents to order up and take out in support of the hard-hit local food and beverage industry. Launched Jan. 27, Take Out 21 encourages people to pledge to spend a minimum of $21 every week for takeout meals during the winter of 2021. As part of the initiative, curbside parking spaces have been designated on Cherry Street. A list of Swannanoa Valley restaurant and brewery options and links to menus are available via the Black Mountain Chamber of Commerce’s mobile-friendly website. For more, visit avl.mx/8xh.

— Kay West X

Valentine’s Feast for Two

• Shrimp Scampi Appetizer • Sumac Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Cauliflower Puree, Charred Broccolini and Demi • Laura’s Focaccia and Decadent Chocolate Dessert with Red Berry Compote

Vegan Feast also availiable

V-Day Chocolate boxes $28

Decadent chocolate dessert with rose petal almond bark and cherry cardamom cookies • Vegan/GF: Persian Rice Pudding with Red Berry Compote, Chocolate dipped Tahini Cookies and Brownie Bites Valentine’s Feast served Fri, Sat, Sun • 4-7pm pre-orders ONLY by calling (828) 575-2075 MOUNTAINX.COM

FEB. 3-9, 2021

ARTS & C U L T U R E

VISUAL ART

See it for yourself New and upcoming arts exhibits

Is the cold weather leaving you a tad sluggish and uninspired? Perhaps a little local art might fix your wintertime blues. Whether it’s indulging in the moon’s mysteries or remembering the many subtle ways beauty can appear, several new exhibits remind residents that inspiration comes in many shapes and forms. IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER Asheville artist Joseph Pearson joins Rutherford County artist Roscoe Conn in the new exhibit, In the Eyes of the Beholder. The show’s title comes from one of Pearson’s featured paintings, inspired by gymnast and 2012 Olympic all-around champion Gabby Douglas. According to Pearson, Douglas received wor-

MOVIE LISTINGS Bruce Steele’s and Edwin Arnaudin’s latest critiques of new films available to view via local theaters and popular streaming services include: SUPERNOVA: Stanley Tucci makes the most of a rare lead opportunity, playing a writer suffering from early-onset dementia who takes an eventful road trip through rural England with his longtime partner (Colin Firth, who’s also excellent). Grade: A-minus. Rated R THE DIG: Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes are delightful in this rich dramatization of the 1939 Sutton Hoo archaeological excavation. Grade: B-plus. Rated PG-13

thy praise during her 2012 Olympic performance, but a few commenters “complained about the texture of her hair.” Incensed, Pearson created his painting in response to the insensitive and unnecessary remarks. The exhibit runs Saturday, Feb. 6-Monday, March 15, at Upstairs Artspace, 49 S. Trade St., Tryon. Free. For more information, visit avl.mx/8xc.

MEETING THE MOON

The Asheville Art Museum’s latest exhibit, Meeting the Moon, explores humankind’s ongoing fascination with Earth’s lone satellite. The collection features several North Carolina artists, including Dirck Cruser of Asheville. “Meeting the Moon offers the opportunity to combine science and popular culture with works of art in the museum’s collection,” notes associate curator Whitney Richardson in a press release. “I think all visitors will find something that draws them into this exhibition, whether it’s the artwork, poetry, music or science of space travel.” Meeting the Moon runs Wednesday, Feb. 3- Monday, July 26, at the Asheville Art Museum, 2 S. Pack Square. General admission is $15. To learn more, visit avl.mx/8x7.

SILENCING THE CRITICS: Artist Joseph Pearson painted “In the Eyes of the Beholder” to counter the criticism about Black gymnast Gabby Douglas’ hair. Created in 2012, the work is now part of an exhibit under the same title. Painting by Pearson A press release from the university describes Glance’s work as “raw, powerful and honest.” The exhibit runs through Thursday, Feb. 25, at Mars Hill University’s Weizenblatt Gallery, 79 Cascade St., Mars Hill. Free. To learn more, visit avl.mx/8x8.

ARTISTS OF THE FOOTHILLS

The Southern Highland Craft Guild is currently showing Thermal

Belt: Artists of the Foothills, its first exhibit of 2021. As the title suggests, featured artists live and work in the North Carolina foothills. Disciplines represented include bladesmithing, copper textured bronze, hand-built and wheel-thrown ceramics, glass lampwork, jewelry, quilting, weaving, wooden furniture, woodcarving and woodturning. Thermal Belt runs through Sunday, May 9, at the Folk Art Center, Milepost 382, Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville. Free. Learn more at, avl.mx/8xb.

— Thomas Calder X

WEIZENBLATT GALLERY’S FEBRUARY EXHIBIT

Asheville artist Cyrus Glance’s latest drawings and watercolors depict friends, family and strangers alike. The series is now on display at Mars Hill University’s Weizenblatt Gallery.

THE LITTLE THINGS: Denzel Washington and Rami Malek play cops investigating a serial killer suspect (Jared Leto) in this entertaining thriller that nevertheless falls apart in its final stretch. Grade: B. Rated R

Find full reviews and local film info at ashevillemovies.com patreon.com/ashevillemovies 44

FEB. 3-9, 2021

SATELLITE: Helen Gerardia’s “Moonlight,” circa 1965, is one of several works currently on display at the Asheville Art Museum’s latest exhibit, Meeting the Moon. Photo courtesy of the Asheville Art Museum

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MIXED MEDIA: In addition to being an artist, Cyrus Glance is a nurse. Many of his works are inspired by individuals he meets while on rotation, including “Davidson (The Underground Cafe) 6/28/19,” featured. Sketch by Glance; image courtesy of Mars Hill University

FROM THE FOOTHILLS: Works from several North Carolina foothills artists are on display at the Southern Highland Craft Guild, including this piece by Ann Gleason. Photo courtesy of Southern Highland Craft Guild

FREEWILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19): Herman Hesse’s novel Siddhartha is a story about a spiritual seeker who goes in search of illumination. Near the end of the quest, when Siddhartha is purified and enlightened, he tells his friend, “I greatly needed sin, lust, vanity, the striving for goods and the most shameful despair, to learn how to love the world, to stop comparing the world with any world that I wish for, with any perfection that I think up; I learned to let the world be as it is, and to love it and to belong to it gladly.” While I trust you won’t overdo the sinful stuff in the coming months, Aries, I hope you will reach a conclusion like Siddhartha’s. The astrological omens suggest that 2021 is the best year ever for you to learn how to love your life and the world just as they are. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus physicist Richard Feynman said, “If we want to solve a problem we have never solved before, we must leave the door to the unknown ajar.” That’s always good advice, but it’s especially apropos for you in the coming weeks. You are being given the interesting and fun opportunity to solve a problem you have never solved before! Be sure to leave the door to the unknown ajar. Clues and answers may come from unexpected sources. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): When we want to get a distinct look at a faint star, we must avert our eyes away from it just a little. If we look at it directly, it fades into invisibility. (There’s a scientific explanation for this phenomenon, which I won’t go into.) I propose that we make this your metaphor of power for the coming weeks. Proceed on the hypothesis that if you want to get glimpses of what’s in the distance or in the future, don’t gaze at it directly. Use the psychological version of your peripheral vision. And yes, now is a favorable time to seek those glimpses. CANCER (June 21-July 22): If the apocalypse happens and you’re the last human left on earth, don’t worry about getting enough to eat. Just find an intact grocery store and make your new home there. It’s stocked with enough non-perishable food to feed you for 55 years — or 63 years if you’re willing to dine on pet food. I’M JOKING! JUST KIDDING! In fact, the apocalypse won’t happen for another 503 million years. My purpose in imagining such a loopy scenario is to nudge you to dissolve your scarcity thinking. Here’s the ironic fact of the matter for us Cancerians: If we indulge in fearful fantasies about running out of stuff — money, resources, love or time — we undermine our efforts to have enough of what we need. The time is now right for you to stop worrying and instead take robust action to ensure you’re well-supplied for a long time. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Judge a moth by the beauty of its candle,” writes Coleman Barks in his rendering of a poem by Rumi. In accordance with astrological omens, I am invoking that thought as a useful metaphor for your life right now. How lovely and noble are the goals you’re pursuing? How exalted and bighearted are the dreams you’re focused on? If you find there are any less-than-beautiful aspects to your motivating symbols and ideals, now is a good time to make adjustments. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I invite you to try the following experiment. Select two situations in your world that really need to be reinvented and let every other glitch and annoyance just slide for now. Then meditate with tender ferocity on how best to get the transformations done. Summoning intense focus will generate what amounts to magic! PS: Maybe the desired reinventions would require other people to alter their behavior. But it’s also possible that your own behavior may need altering.

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BY ROB BREZSNY

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Author Marguerite Duras wrote these words: “That she had so completely recovered her sanity was a source of sadness to her. One should never be cured of one’s passion.” I am spiritually allergic to that idea. It implies that our deepest passions are unavailable unless we’re insane or at least disturbed. But in the world I aspire to live in, the opposite is true: Our passions thrive if we’re mentally healthy. We are best able to harness our most inspiring motivations if we’re feeing poised and stable. So I’m here to urge you to reject Duras’s perspective and embrace mine. The time has arrived for you to explore the mysteries of relaxing passion. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Author Karen Barad writes, “The past is never finished. It cannot be wrapped up like a package, or a scrapbook; we never leave it and it never leaves us behind.” I agree. That’s why I can’t understand New Age teachers who advise us to “live in the now.” That’s impossible! We are always embedded in our histories. Everything we do is conditioned by our life story. I acknowledge that there’s value in trying to see the world afresh in each new moment. I’m a hearty advocate of adopting a “beginner’s mind.” But to pretend we can completely shut off or escape the past is delusional and foolish. Thank you for listening to my rant, Scorpio. Now please spend quality time upgrading your love and appreciation for your own past. It’s time to celebrate where you have come from — and meditate on how your history affects who you are now. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Luisah Teish is a writer and priestess in the Yoruban Lucumi tradition. She wrote a book called Jump Up: Seasonal Celebrations from the World’s Deep Traditions. “Jump up” is a Caribbean phrase that refers to festive rituals and parties that feature “joyous music, laughter, food and dancing.” According to my reading of the astrological omens, you’re due for a phase infused with the “jump up” spirit. As Teish would say, it’s a time for “jumping, jamming, swinging, hopping and kicking it.” I realize that in order to do this, you will have to work around the very necessary limitations imposed on us all by the pandemic. Do the best you can. Maybe make it a virtual or fantasy jump up. Maybe dance alone in the dark. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “Perhaps we should know better,” wrote poet Tony Hoagland, “but we keep on looking, thinking and listening, hunting that singular book, theory, perception or tonality that will unlock and liberate us.” It’s my duty to report, Capricorn, that there will most likely be no such singular magnificence for you in 2021. However, I’m happy to tell you that an accumulation of smaller treasures could ultimately lead to a substantial unlocking and liberation. For that to happen, you must be alert for and appreciate the small treasures and patiently gather them in. (PS: Author Rebecca Solnit says, “We devour heaven in bites too small to be measured.” I say: The small bites of heaven you devour in the coming months will ultimately add up to being dramatically measurable.) AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Aquarian author Alice Walker writes, “In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways and they’re still beautiful.” In the coming weeks, I hope you’ll adopt that way of thinking and apply it to every aspect of your perfectly imperfect body and mind and soul. I hope you’ll give the same generous blessing to the rest of the world, as well. This attitude is always wise to cultivate, of course, but it will be especially transformative for you in the coming weeks. It’s time to celebrate your gorgeous idiosyncrasies and eccentricities. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Though the bamboo forest is dense, water flows through it freely.” I offer that Zen saying just in time for you to adopt it as your metaphor of power. No matter how thick and complicated and impassable the terrain might appear to be in the coming weeks, I swear you’ll have a flair for finding a graceful path through it. All you have to do is imitate the consistency and flow of water.

REAL ESTATE & RENTALS | ROOMMATES | JOBS | SERVICES ANNOUNCEMENTS | CLASSES & WORKSHOPS | MIND, BODY, SPIRIT MUSICIANS’ SERVICES | PETS | AUTOMOTIVE | XCHANGE | ADULT 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 RENTALS HOMES FOR RENT HOME FOR RENT BLACK MOUNTAIN NEAR MONTREAT . 2 BR, Office, 1 Bath. Carport, Private Fenced Backyard. Hardwood Floors. Fresh paint. Washer/Dryer/Dishwasher. Pets considered. $1625.00 pm. First, last and $1,000.00 damage deposit. 828.545.0043

spread concrete, gravel and other materials, • Excavation, trenching, erect scaffolding, remove rubble and debris, • Perform clean-up work in connection with the above work. EOE, E-Verify Employer. Please go to http://www.barnard-inc. com/careers to apply. Contact Recruiter J. Kanehl at 406-586-1995 for more information. http://www. barnard-inc.com/careers.

EMPLOYMENT GENERAL

MOUNTAIN XPRESS IS LOOKING TO ADD A NEW MEMBER TO OUR SALES TEAM. Ideal candidates are personable, organized, motivated, and can present confidently, while working within a structure. Necessary skills include clear and professional communications (via phone, email, and in-person meetings), detailed record-keeping, and working well in a team environment. While no outside sales experience is required, experience dealing with varied and challenging situations is helpful. The position largely entails account development and lead generation (including cold-calling), account management, assisting clients with marketing and branding strategies, and working to meet or exceed sales goals. If you are a high energy, positive, cooperative person looking to join an independent, community-minded organization, please send a resume and cover letter (no walk-ins, please) explaining why you are a good fit for Mountain Xpress to: advertise@mountainx. com

SKILLED LABOR/ TRADES CONSTRUCTION LABORERS - CEDAR CLIFF JOB, TUCKASEGEE Barnard Construction is hiring Construction Laborers. Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Must possess competence in the following areas in order to perform his/her role in a safe, productive and effective manner: • Digging, spreading, shoveling and leveling dirt and gravel, • Using a pick and shovel, • Lift, carry and support construction material, • Mix, pour, and

GREAT PAY AND BENEFITS! ConMet is growing its team of employees in Canton, NC. Ready to work now and wish to be considered for employment? You could qualify for a $500 stay bonus after 30 days of employment. Call us at 828-454-6000 today!

SALES/ MARKETING SOLAR SALES PROFESSIONAL Sundance Power Systems, a leading renewable energy company in the Southeast, is seeking a solar sales professional. 2 years outside sales experience required, will train. Please apply thru Indeed. com: 'solar-sales-representative'

MEDICAL/ HEALTH CARE

IMMEDIATE NEED - RN/ LPN FOR PEDIATRIC HOME CARE Come work at A New Hope Home Care and be part of a family of caregivers dedicated to helping others live life to the fullest regardless of any limitations they may have. We are seeking to hire a Registered Nurse (RN) and/or Licensed Professional Nurse (LPN) to join our team. If you're a hard-working nursing professional looking for a job that makes a daily positive impact on another's life, A New Hope Home Care is the place for you. We have immediate DAY and NIGHT Needs in Asheville, Brevard, Fletcher, Hendersonville, Marion, Mars Hill and Pisgah Forest areas. In Home Skilled Nursing Care involves all client's care - the needs of our client's range from medication administration,

g-tube feeding, seizure monitoring and management, oxygen therapy, tracheostomy care, ventilator management, and infusion nursing services - We train you on each individual client to ensure your competency in his/her care. A New Hope Home Care is a locally owned and operated home care agency. We strive to provide excellent clinical care while helping our clients to live to the fullest regardless of any limitations they may have. We offer flexible scheduling, continuing education, CPR, PTO, 401K and Medical Benefits. A New Hope Home Care.....where no one is beyond HOPE! web site: anewhopehomecare.com email: info@anewhopehomecare.com phone: 828-255-4446

HUMAN SERVICES HELPMATE COMMUNITY CASE MANAGER POSITION Helpmate, Inc., a domestic violence agency in Asheville, North Carolina, seeks to hire a full-time Community Case Manager in their Housing Program. This position reports directly to the Associate Coordinator of Housing Programs. Strong communication, attention to detail, organizational, and time management skills are required. The Community Case Manager will provide direct support to survivors of domestic violence. Qualified candidates will have experience in a nonprofit or social services field, and a commitment to survivor empowerment, gender equity, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion. Duties will include providing supportive services to survivors in crisis, safety planning, management of federal grant funds, detailed documentation, and landlord outreach. Candidates with a Bachelor's degree, and 2 years of experience in the field is preferred. Helpmate is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Fluency in Spanish, Russian, Moldovan or Ukrainian will be incentivized. Email resume and cover letter to hiring@helpmateonline. org with the job title in the subject line by 9am on Feb 15. Applicants lacking both cover letter and resume will not be considered. WANT TO HELP END SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY? Our VOICE is hiring a full-time Rape Prevention Education (RPE) Coordinator to coordinate and facilitate the activities associated with a state-funded Rape

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Prevention and Education program. https://www. ourvoicenc.org/employment-opportunities/

TEACHING/ EDUCATION YWCA OF ASHEVILLE IS HIRING! Early Learning Program Teachers. Empowerment Child Care Counselors. All staff receive a free membership to our Fitness and Aquatics Center. Full-time staff receive health insurance and paid time off. YWCA staff enjoy flexibility, community, and an opportunity to serve a greater mission: Eliminating Racism and Empowering Women! Phone: 828-254-7206 Website: http://www. ywcaofasheville.org E-mail: humanresources@ ywcaofasheville.org

XCHANGE WANTED BUYING OLD PAPER MONEY Asheville, WNC, ETN over 10 years. Fair, open, and responsive. Buying currency, bonds, maps, documents, etc. Email papermoneybuy@ gmail.com, or call/text 865-207-8994. Member SPMC, NCNA, SCNA, TNA.

SERVICES AUDIO/VIDEO HUGHESNET SATELLITE INTERNET Finally, no hard data limits! Call Today for speeds up to 25mbps as low as $59.99/mo! $75 gift card, terms apply. 1-844416-7147 (AAN CAN)

CAREGIVERS COMPANION • CAREGIVER • LIVE-IN Alzheimer's experienced • Heart failure and bed sore care • Hospice reference letter • Nonsmoker, with cat, seeks live-in position • References • Arnold, (828) 273-2922.

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FEB. 3-9, 2021

THE N EW Y OR K TI M ES C ROSSWORD P UZ Z LE

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ANNOUNCEMENTS ANNOUNCEMENTS A COURSE IN MIRACLES A truly loving, open study group. Meets second and fourth Mondays. 6:30 pm on Zoom until further notice. For information, call or text Susan at 828-712-5472 BECOME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR! We edit, print and distribute your work internationally. We do

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disposed of according to statutory law. For further information, or to file a claim, contact the Asheville Police Department Property and Evidence Section, 828-232-4576. NOTICE OF DISPOSITION The following is a list of unclaimed and confiscated property at the Asheville Police Department tagged for disposition: audio and video equipment; cameras; clothing; lawn and garden equipment; personal items; tools; weapons (including firearms): jewelry: automotive items; building supplies; bikes and other miscellaneous. All items will be disposed of 30 days from date of posting. Items to be auctioned will be displayed on www. propertyroom.com. OVER $10K IN DEBT? Be debt free in 24-48 months. Pay a fraction of what you owe. A+ BBB rated. Call National Debt Relief 877590-1202. (AAN CAN)

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edited by Will Shortz | No. 1230

ACROSS

1 Discovery 5 First courses, for short 9 SAG-___ (media labor union) 14 It might cost extra at a beach resort 16 Apple tool 17 Ocher-like hue 18 Put up 19 “Who do you think you ___?” 20 Clairvoyant’s accessory 22 Chubby mouse in Disney’s “Cinderella” 23 That: Sp. 24 ___ Dobbs, title detective in Jacqueline Winspear books 25 Direction in which el sol rises 27 Taboo 30 Demands for payment 31 When doubled, enthusiastic 34 Ticked off 36 Lo-___ image 37 Key lime pie crust ingredient 41 Do with a pick, maybe 42 Zone 43 Habitat for some moss and mushrooms 44 Biblical sister of Rachel 46 Good name for someone with a sharp tongue? 48 Twitter logo 52 Deep blue 54 Borrower’s fig. 57 Adjective in a U.S. Marines ad 58 Cut above the rest? 61 Suffix with lact62 “A Promised Land” memoirist 63 Tip 65 Stomach woe 66 Nightstick … or what might form if the beginnings of 14-, 20-, 37and 58-Across started paying dues?

PUZZLE BY KATE HAWKINS

26 31 37

27 32

41 44

42 45

43 46

53 59

DOWN 1 Search for food 2 Mythological figure who’s a symbol of hubris 3 Like the topmost emails in an inbox 4 Govt. prosecutors 5 Declares 6 Southwestern evergreen 7 Corrals 8 Give a “Whap!” 9 ___ corridor, Northeast transportation route 10 Ban 11 “X” marks its spot 12 La-Z-Boy product 13 Clumsy 15 “Well played!” 21 Lacking scruples, say 26 Modern ___

67 A lot of TikTok’s audience 68 Root/blossom connector 69 Watches

49 57

61 64

28 Envelope information in “May I have the envelope, please?”

41 Lose it

29 Country that’s partially in the Arctic: Abbr.

49 “I wish …”

32 “Eureka!”

51 Uncool sorts

33 Keep, as doubts

53 Reverse and others

45 Contract killers 47 Shiny trinket 50 Search’s partner

35 Green prefix

55 “The Lord is my shepherd …,” for one

37 1968 Winter Olympics site 38 Formula One event

56 Count (on)

39 ___ culpa

59 Nexuses

40 Illya Kuryakin’s org. in the film “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”

60 “Will do” 64 Alternative to Lowe’s

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS NY TIMES PUZZLE J U L E P I N A L L V I S T A E X T RAIN N S E D Q S T R U E S W E A T H H E R E O O N S E T P E A C C E L S L ICE D B H E R A Y O O R

K I L I N N A M S A E R N S E S T R E N I A N

A N A G P O B O X E A S T

F K A R A I R E U N C H WIND S H O S T R I M E V E R C A R E A L L O O B I W I E N A L E M T A R A SUN D D Z A I E E M A S S I L

E G O T

M O W S

S E N N A

O R S O N

E R I K

R E L Y

Is the crossword part of your weekly ritual? Us, too. Join at SupportMountainX.com You can help make sure Xpress continues to print the crossword each week by becoming a monthly contributor.

FEB. 3-9, 2021

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We are excited that the French Broad Pediatric team is growing while continuing to provide the same excellent, personalized care that you have always experienced

Dr. Kristina Beardsley MD, FAAP

Holly Mason FNP-C, IBCLC

Molly McDonough-Leota FNP-C, IBCLC

Gladly accepting new patients and Proudly providing excellent lactation support to new mothers by our Board Certified Lactation Consultants. Thank you for voting Dr Carlisle, Dr Templeton and French Broad Pediatrics Best Of WNC winners for 2020

40 North Merrimon Ave, Suite 117, Asheville, NC 28804 * 828-348-8232 * frenchbroadpeds.com MOUNTAINX.COM

FEB. 3-9, 2021