Mountain Xpress 04.06.22

OUR 28TH Y E A R OF W E E K LY I NDE PE NDE NT NEWS, A RTS & EVE NTS FOR W E STE R N NORTH CA ROL I NA VOL . 28 NO. 36 A PR I L 6 -12, 2022

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APRIL 6-12, 2022

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C ONTENT S

FEATURES

PAGE 30

NEWS

#SUCCESS 8

PROPAGATING MIRACLES Bee City USA celebrates 10th anniversary

Instagram isn’t just a place where people can post cute puppy pictures. For three local bakers, the online platform was the launchpad

12 RICH RIVER Study puts $3.8B annual price tag on French Broad

ARCHIVES

23 ‘THICK BLACK CLOUDS’ City seeks smoke inspector to remedy air pollution, 1916-40

WELLNESS

28 BURN NOTICE How local health care workers are tackling burnout

34 CELEBRATING POETRY MONTH Wayne Caldwell shares “Pisgah”

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NEWS

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LETTERS

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CARTOON: MOLTON

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CARTOON: BRENT BROWN

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NEWS

17 BUNCOMBE BEAT 24 COMMUNITY CALENDAR

36 WHAT’S NEW IN FOOD Asheville City Market returns to downtown

28 WELLNESS 30 ARTS & CULTURE 42 CLUBLAND

PUBLISHER & EDITOR: Jeff Fobes ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER: Susan Hutchinson MANAGING EDITOR: Thomas Calder

OPINION EDITOR: Tracy Rose STAFF REPORTERS: Able Allen, Edwin Arnaudin, Thomas Calder, Justin McGuire, Sara Murphy, Brooke Randle, Jessica Wakeman, Daniel Walton COMMUNITY CALENDAR & CLUBLAND: Justin McGuire, Andy Hall

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OPINION

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

Pisgah-Nantahala forest plan fails us Fourteen thousand!

Fourteen thousand! That’s how many people have formally objected to the Pisgah-Nantahala forest plan, which proposes to quadruple logging in the 1-million-acre national forest that surrounds Asheville.

In less than two months, more than 14,000 people have stepped up to save our forest from massive logging. The plan specifically targets old-growth forests, including the beloved Big Ivy forests and the scenic views from Craggy Gardens.

This plan also completely dismisses the important role that forests play in protecting our climate and clean drinking water. It also plans to build over 300 miles of new roads into some of the most rare ecosystems and biologically diverse forests.

It also allows logging along the Appalachian Trail, Mountains-toSea Trail, Art Loeb Trail, Benton Mackaye Trail, Bartram Trail and Trail of Tears National Historic Trail corridors.

Now more than ever, we need to be protecting our forests, especially our publicly owned national forests.

Their clean drinking water, recreation, scenery, climate, carbon storage and tourism benefits make their worth far more valuable than any board feet of timber.

This is an unprecedented and record-breaking number of objections. Fourteen thousand objections clearly signal that something is seriously wrong with this plan, which will last the next 30 years.

In addition, a coalition of 100 local businesses and organizations released a Forest Plan Report Card that gave this plan an F, and for good reason. This forest plan has failed us. The Forest Service needs to go back to the drawing board and

sistently and overwhelmingly supported more protections for Pisgah.

I hope that the Forest Service finally decides to listen.

— Katherine Pesce Asheville

Time to send Cawthorn home

C A RT O O N B Y R AN DY M O L T O N write a plan that protects our forests — and the health of everyone who lives in these mountains.

— Emily Diznoff, M.D. Barnardsville

Fix the forest plan or scrap it Fourteen thousand objections send a clear message: Fix the forest plan — or scrap it.

Asheville is surrounded by Pisgah National Forest, and all of us depend on it for drinking water, clean air, scenic views and abundant trails and rivers. It is the backbone of our economy and a big reason why people visit and live here.

Sadly, the U.S. Forest Service just released a 30-year plan that will quadruple logging in the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests, while reducing protections for its most important recreation and conservation areas.

I am one of more than 14,000 people who have objected to the forest plan. The Forest Service has been flooded with a record-setting 14,000 objections from local businesses, organizations, recreation groups and everyday folks like me who just love walking in the woods.

The city of Asheville and Buncombe County have also formally objected to the plan.

The forest plan is a map that decides which parts of the forest will be logged and which will be protected. The forest plan proposes to open over 60% of Pisgah to logging over the next 30 years.

Never before has the Forest Service ever received so many objections to a forest plan. These 14,000 objections send a strong message to the Forest Service: Fix the plan — or scrap it. The public has spoken loudly and clearly that they want to see more of the forest protected.

For eight years, the public has con-

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Having spent the last week reading about the clusterf--- that is our congressman, Madison Cawthorn, I’m compelled to speak out.

It’s not bad enough that he has no respect for the laws of our state by getting busted for driving on a revoked license; or that he called the leader of Ukraine a thug during a Russian invasion; or that he’s an embarrassment to the Republican Party mainstream who evidently have decided that he’s only there in D.C. for himself with no knowledge or interest in actually working as a congressman for us in WNC. I’m a disabled military retiree with over 23 years of combined service in the Marines and Coast Guard, and his actions of cleaning his pistol during a hearing about veterans’ health is disgusting.

It’s been quite a week for the little yahoo who is supposed to be there to work on the issues of his constituents. With the primaries looming in the near future, I hope that all of us have had enough of his self-serving actions and will join me in saying, “Not on my watch” and vote the bum out and back to obscurity.

Regretfully submitted, — Brad West Marshall Editor’s note: Xpress contacted Cawthorn’s office for a response but did not receive a reply.

No more hotels!

I have lived here for 20 years now, having moved here from Louisville, Ky. I loved the character and local vibe of downtown. Back in 2001, downtown was not cluttered with tall commercial buildings such as hotels catering to tourists.

I am sad to see the changes and poorly planned spread of growth of upper-class homes being built outside the city limits, eliminating any opportunities for low-income and other locals to afford housing, such as minorities and people who grew up here, now in their 20s.

Thank you, Mountain Xpress, for covering local news.

— Lyn VanOver Black Mountain

CONTINUES ON PAGE 7

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MY STORY

‘Don’t Say Gay’ law denies identities and truths Dear neighbors, To those of you who live part time in Florida or have relatives down there, I ask you to to continue resisting the “Don’t Say Gay” law and those who passed it. Many Ashevilleans are connected to Floridians; what happens down there affects us and vice versa. This type of law appears to be spreading to other states governed by Republican legislatures.

The battle over the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, as well as over banning critical race theory from schools, is about denying whole swaths of people their identities and truths. Kids’ hearts and minds are at stake, and it is not just the gay and brown ones; the richness of truth, the beauty of a diverse world is denied to every single child when gag orders are placed on shared histories and ways of being.

But yes, more direct harm will come to queer and BIPOC kids who won’t understand a big part of themselves and why the world looks at them in a certain way. There need to be positive, affirming conversations that tell them: You are OK; you are beautiful miracles just the way you are — and by the way — the people looking at you in that way are doing so because of a long, compounding history, and here is how you can cope with it in a healthy way.

I grew up in Asheville in the ’90s, and people in school didn’t talk much about queerness, unless it was in the schoolyard and it was a slur. The lack of adult conversation about queerness, in a curriculum or otherwise, left gaps for kids to fill with whispers or make derogatory remarks. Think about that for a minute. Think about if there was some integral part of you that nobody, not even your parents, knew about, that even you only had an inkling of understanding about, and nobody talked about it, except to ridicule. Would you wear that thing on your chest like a superhero “S,” or would you try to kill it, kill a part of yourself?

Growing up, I didn’t understand that I was a queer kid, but I did know that I was different. I yearned to fit in but just felt like an oddball. If I did start to suspect why I was different, I shoved it down, not wanting to be whispered about or bullied. I was depressed. It took me a long time to understand and love who I am. To be clear, I don’t consider myself a victim of pointed homophobia; I am describing what an absence of clear social acceptance feels like and how it affected my development. I con-

SARAH CARTER sider myself lucky to have a loving, open-minded family and to live in a relatively safe community, but even still, I struggled. I think about how hard it is for people in less supportive environments all the time.

I hope that more kids will have a precocious enough knowledge of themselves to choose to wear a superhero “S” on their chest instead of killing a part of themselves. In fact, I am counting on this next generation to lead the way and to make these legislated silences backfire on social conservatives. But adults, please help — you are supposed to be the adults in the room. Also, if you are queer, now is a good time to tell someone your coming-out story and why it is important to be yourself.

Social conservatives are spreading a fearful conspiracy that liberals are somehow brainwashing kids in school; sending angry mobs to school board meetings; and modeling anger and fearful behavior to kids. They have decided to try to bleach out nonconformity to heteronormative, white supremacy by enforcing a weird and creepy silence in schools. This robs kids of a normal development of self that might otherwise take place in safe, curious learning environments. Hardworking historians and scientists, artists and dedicated teachers are the ones who should craft curriculums.

— Sarah Carter Sarah Carter is a business owner, gardener and writer who lives in Oakley with her wife and dog. If you, too, have a personal story to share that connects with a community issue, let us know via letters@mountainx.com. X

OPINION

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

CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN

Thanks for the smile [Regarding “Flying High: Air Ambulances Save Time, Lives in WNC,” March 23, Xpress:] Thank you, Mountain Xpress, for the smile today. As a childless divorcee, I had to chuckle at Bettina Freese’s unintentionally funny remark: “I’ve had children, and it was more pain than I’d ever even imagined.”

I’ve always thought that about having kids.

— Mark H. Bloom Asheville

Don’t let families slip into poverty President Biden has called on Congress to extend the child tax credit. I wholeheartedly agree.

In 2021, Congress expanded the child tax credit for millions of American families and sent it to them in monthly payments. Thanks go to all who voted in favor. The result was a significant decrease in the number of children in poverty.

Some figures noted a 40% decrease or more.

Surveys have shown that the families spent this money on food, utilities, clothing and rent. But 51 U.S. senators let the payments expire in December. As a result, the child poverty rate jumped by 41% in January. In North Carolina, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates over 300,000 children (and their families) will slip back into poverty.

Pushing children and families into poverty is unacceptable. With all of us feeling the pinch at the grocery store, the gas pump and our utility bills, why is Congress not racing to extend the child tax credit payments?

I urge our members of Congress to immediately extend the 2021 child tax credit with permanent full refundability and to resume the monthly payments as soon as possible. This can be paid for by making the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share of taxes.

— Ron Katz Asheville

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NEWS

Propagating miracles Bee City USA celebrates 10th anniversary

BY SARA MURPHY hello@saramurphyphd.com “Let’s start with the sweat bee: They are beautiful.”

It doesn’t take much prodding to get Bee City USA founder Phyllis Stiles to wax poetic about Western North Carolina’s wild bees, beginning with the tiny, metallic green sweat bee.

“They are just gorgeous to watch, collecting that pollen and packing it on their back legs,” she says. “I have some great videos.”

Sweat bees, squash bees, mason bees, bumblebees, leafcutter bees, Southeastern blueberry bees — these are just a few of the more than 3,600 species native to the United States.

The most efficient pollinators on the planet, bees are a vital component of the food chain. At least threefourths of all flowering plants and one-third of the world’s food crops depend on bees and other animals to reproduce, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports.

The fragile nature of this dependence became clear in the early 2000s, when the first instances of colony collapse disorder decimated the honeybee population. While this crisis drew plenty of attention to the honeybees’ plight, the majority of U.S. pollination is performed by wild, native bee species. (Europeans brought honeybees to North America in the 17th century.) And it was native bees that Stiles wanted to protect when she and a group of dedicated fellow “pollenteers” founded Bee City USA in Asheville back in 2012. On June 26 of that year, City Council passed a resolution proclaiming Asheville the nation’s inaugural Bee City.

Ten years later, 153 cities and 135 college campuses across 45 states have followed suit, becoming certified Bee City USA affiliates. Participants plant more bee-friendly native species and reduce pesticide use to help conserve these key pollinators. To honor this milestone, Bee City USA and its local administrator, Asheville GreenWorks, are holding a yearlong Pollination Celebration. Events include workshops, plant shows, guided walks, the 11th annual Black Jar International Honey Tasting Contest and a day of activities at the “RAD Hab” pollinator garden on the Wilma Dykeman Greenway.

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APRIL 6-12, 2022

STILL BUZZING: To honor its 10-year anniversary, Bee City USA and its local administrator, Asheville GreenWorks, are holding a yearlong Pollination Celebration. Photo by Casey Merrell Bees, notes Stiles, “are at the very base of life on Earth. That’s why they’re so important.”

BECOMING BEE CITY Stiles wasn’t always wild about bees, mostly because she swells up quite a bit when stung. But after her husband, Richard, an avid gardener, decided to keep two honeybee hives in their backyard, she eventually agreed to go to “bee school” to get up to speed so she could help out.

“I was absolutely charmed,” she recalls.

The more she learned, though, the more she realized that pollination is primarily done by wild bees feeding off of native plants. Unlike honeybees — which Stiles calls “managed livestock” — wild species produce neither honey nor beeswax, and most

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live in solitary underground nests rather than aboveground colonies.

In short, keeping honeybees doesn’t benefit their wild cousins.

“Would you have chickens to conserve birds? No, that’s not how you conserve birds,” she points out.

Accordingly, Stiles and a dozen other members of the Buncombe County Beekeepers Club came together in 2011 to brainstorm ways to help protect wild pollinators: mostly bees but also butterflies, hummingbirds and beetles. They ultimately came up with a certification program that cities could sign onto, and the following year, Bee City USA was born.

CREATING A BUZZ Since then, according to Asheville GreenWorks volunteer Nicole

McNeill, the Asheville chapter of Bee City USA has certified 98 local pollinator habitats. It has collaborated with the city to install the first two of seven habitats planned for the Wilma Dykeman Greenway and has worked with multiple businesses and organizations.

Biltmore Estate planted wildflower borders on its grounds. Bountiful Cities, a nonprofit promoting food sustainability, created a monarch butterfly-tagging program for local elementary school gardens, and the N.C. Arboretum added a pollinator badge to its ecoEXPLORE program, encouraging kids in grades K-8 to spot and snap photos of pollinators to aid scientific research.

“Bee City helped us understand how important pollinators are and how a campus such as ours, even in a somewhat urban location, could play a role in pollinator conservation,” says Sarah Fraser, sustainability specialist at New Belgium Brewing. Native plants like blazing star and purple cornflower can be seen throughout the brewery’s 18-acre property, supporting pollinators while facilitating stormwater drainage.

Fraser singles out the partridge pea legume, a staff favorite because its buttery yellow flowers attract the more lemony-tinged cloudless sulfur butterfly. “They’re fast, erratic fliers, and it’s fun to see that plant come into flower and see those butterflies flitting around,” she notes.

Staff members also regularly plant milkweed, the sole food source for monarch caterpillars, capturing and raising a few so they can observe the metamorphosis from chrysalis to butterfly up close.

BACKYARD HABITAT Complementing these broader organizational efforts are the neighborhood gardens and individual yards that are part of Bee City’s certified pollinator habitat program.

When North Asheville resident Ayla Ficken first began planning her garden five years ago, she gave little thought to either native plants or pollinators — she just wanted rosebushes. Her friendship with Stiles, however, convinced her that she could make a difference, one plant at a time.

STUDENT-LED ACTIVISM “[Bees] are at the very base of life on Earth. That’s why they’re so important.”

Make a difference locally

— Phyllis Stiles, founder, Bee City USA “If you love gardening, there’s no reason you can’t incorporate enough native plants,” she maintains. These days, her certified garden boasts colorful and aromatic native species like sweetshrub, phylox, black-eyed Susan and oakleaf hydrangea alongside her beloved roses.

She credits the resources Bee City USA provides with making the process so easy. A 24-page list of native plants details when they bloom, which pollinators they support and which local nurseries carry them.

Even the nurseries themselves rely on this list to make sure they’re providing the right plants. “It’s a great resource for us,” says Reems Creek Nursery marketing director Ruth Gonzalez. Although the Weaverville business has practiced pesticide-free cultivation and promoted native plants since its founding in 1979, the collaboration with Bee City USA took those efforts to another level.

“We hadn’t really made that connection between native plants and

native pollinators having evolved together,” she says. “You’re going beyond just making a pretty garden that attracts butterflies: You have a pretty garden full of natives that is actually sustaining the native insect and pollinator population.”

CROSS-POLLINATION In 2015, Bee City USA expanded its certification efforts to include colleges and universities, creating Bee Campus USA. When Jackie Hamstead, co-director of sustainability at UNC Asheville, heard about the program, she knew it would be a perfect fit. The school already had many pollinator conservation initiatives, both on its grounds and in its curricula, so getting certified as a Bee Campus provided an opportunity to formalize existing practices.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 10

CORA WINGATE There is a degree of distress among some of today’s college students who consider climate change a top issue facing the world, especially amid the lack of meaningful national or international efforts to address the crisis.

So how do they stay motivated to keep fighting in the face of such frustration? For Cora Wingate, a junior at Warren Wilson College, the answer is to focus on making a difference locally.

“While I am passionate about issues on a larger scale, I am currently in a position where I can make the most impact by dedicating my efforts to sustainability on my campus,” she says. “I believe that higher education, and college campuses in particular, have such a unique opportunity to be leading the way.”

Below, Xpress speaks with Wingate about her campus initiatives and how her generation is tackling the climate crisis.

The interview has been condensed and lightly edited.

What sustainability efforts on your campus are you most proud of?

Since enrolling at Warren Wilson, I have been on the student-led Community Oriented Regeneration Efforts work crew all three years. My crew stocks and maintains a free store made up entirely of donations from the community.

We also process 100% of the food waste on campus and turn it into compost.

Last semester alone, we diverted over 31,000 pounds of food waste from the landfill, which we are now turning into soil for our campus. If we can get soil from our food waste and clothing from student donations, we are saving the time and resources it takes to import these resources.

How is your approach to sustainability different from that of earlier generations?

People nowadays can communicate so seamlessly through technology and social media. After I got my first Instagram account, I was able to connect with young people thinking about sustainability in a similar way to me no matter where in the world they lived. I feel grateful to have peers who challenge me as well as each other to consider class, race, white privilege and access when speaking about sustainability.

What’s one thing you would like to see Xpress readers do to promote sustainability in WNC in the coming year?

I would recommend seeing what sustainable changes you can make without putting so much pressure on yourself to do the right thing all the time. While individuals have so much potential to make a difference, we need to pressure the large companies who contribute exponentially more to the problem. I would say that a simple switch is to begin using less plastic and start using more reusable and durable products.

— Justin McGuire X

The

Sustainability HUM-DINGER: Phyllis Stiles, founder of Bee City USA, teaches children about the importance of protecting pollinators. Photo courtesy of Bee City USA

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FLOAT ON: Last October, UNC Asheville installed a floating wetland, consisting of five plant islands, in one of its stormwater ponds. Although the primary purpose is to filter pollutants such as nitrogen from the water before it drains into the French Broad River, incorporating native plants also creates pollinator habitat. Photo courtesy of UNCA As opposed to the much larger public spaces cities typically oversee, “We manage 400 acres, and so it’s easier to feel like an individual can make a difference on that scale,” Hamstead explains. University grounds also provide research opportunities that are less readily available in urban public spaces. “Basically, our grounds serve as an extension of our classrooms and labs.”

Two recent UNCA projects highlight the kinds of innovative work that Bee Campuses can undertake more easily than Bee Cities can.

Last October, the university installed a floating wetland consisting of five plant islands in one of its stormwater ponds. Although the primary purpose is to filter pollutants such as nitrogen from the water before it drains into the French Broad River, incorporating native plants also creates pollinator habitat.

“It’s cool to utilize what otherwise we would consider waste spaces,” notes Hamstead.

Meanwhile, on Dec. 15, students and faculty collaborated with the Asheville Fire Department to conduct a prescribed burn in the meadow just south of Mullen Park. The burn, she says, “maintains openings in the forest canopy, helps manage invasive species and releases nutrients into the soil, all of which can lead to larger blooms that benefit our pollinators.”

BUSY BEES Since 2012, five other WNC cities have followed Asheville’s lead in becoming Bee City USA-certified:

Boone, Hayesville, Hendersonville, Highlands and Laurel Park.

Despite the nonprofit’s impressive spread across the U.S. and even into Canada, however, grave threats to pollinators remain. A 2016 United Nations-sponsored report estimated that 40% of all invertebrate pollinator species are at risk of extinction due to the combined effects of climate change, pesticide use, invasive species and habitat destruction.

“Habitats are diminishing every day,” says Gonzalez. “So anything we can throw back into the mix, even if it’s just one small pot or a window box or your whole front yard, is going to be a great positive contribution.”

In fact, all it takes to become a Bee City USA-certified pollinator habitat are six native wildflower species (including one larval host), a shallow water source — even a moist sponge will do — and a $10 application fee.

But amid praise for how well designed the nonprofit’s programs are, Gonzalez, Ficken and others single out Stiles’ enthusiasm as a key factor in the initiative’s success.

“Because I love Phyllis dearly, I had to listen to what she was saying,” Ficken reveals. “She speaks with such conviction.”

For Stiles, though, it all comes back to the city’s willingness to take a chance on a brand-new initiative a decade ago.

“Asheville City Council could have said no,” she points out. “So the fact that they were willing to say yes was the birthing of this wonderful movement that is causing miracles to happen in communities all across America.” X

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APRIL 6-12, 2022

11

NEWS

Rich river

Study puts $3.8B annual price tag on French Broad

BY LARRY GRIFFIN lawrencegriffin5@gmail.com As the French Broad River snakes through Asheville, it stretches past breweries and bars, art studios and coffeehouses. It’s a backdrop to bustling business, but until now, no one has tried to figure out the monetary impact of the river itself.

A recently completed study, commissioned by the French Broad River Partnership in 2019 and led by economist Steve Ha of Western Carolina University, sets the total economic value of the French Broad and its tributaries at $3.8 billion per year. By comparison, the Blue Ridge Parkway that also runs through Asheville creates about $1.3 billion in economic output per year, according to the National Park Service. (The full study is available at avl.mx/bfg.)

Throughout its eight-county watershed — Avery, Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, Mitchell, Transylvania and Yancey — the French Broad attracts about 6.9 million visitors each year. The study estimates that each visiting group spends close to $1,300 per trip, much of that going toward food, beverages and lodging.

The most common reasons people come to the river include hiking, jogging, walking, whitewater rafting and fishing. Yet as noted by Jay Hawthorne, a member of the partnership’s steering committee and conservation chair for the Land O’ Sky Chapter of Trout Unlimited, the river’s presence has worth even when it’s not in use.

The study establishes an “existence value” of $2.4 billion for the French Broad. “It’s the willingness to pay just for having a river, even

LIQUID GOLD: A new study estimates the French Broad River’s economic value at $3.8 billion per year, with benefits accruing to areas such as Asheville’s River Arts District. Photo by Larry Griffin if they never use it,” Hawthorne explains. “It’s asking, if we send you a bill for this being here, would you be willing to pay? People gave us numbers — 72% said they’d be willing to pay for that alone.”

Residents were also willing to pay for the river to be protected for the use of future generations. The study sets that “bequest value” at more than $585 million.

VALUE JUDGEMENTS Although more than 72% of individuals said they were willing to pay more to improve the river’s water quality, just 26% of surveyed businesses felt the same way. “A lot of businesses said, ‘We already pay a lot of taxes,’” Hawthorne says.

With the study in hand, he continues, the French Broad River Partnership hopes to increase public understanding about the value of the river. Through discussions with the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce and other business leaders, the group wants to build support for addressing stormwater runoff and other water quality issues.

As one example of the river’s value, Hawthorne points to the area’s numerous craft breweries. Many local brewers use water from the French Broad River’s watershed, whether supplied from the mountain streams that flow into Asheville’s reservoirs or other tributaries throughout the river’s eight counties.

“That is why we focus on tributaries, so if they are taken care of, the main stem will be healthier,” Hawthorne says. “It all flows downstream. It’s inherently connected to everything. The river is almost 3,000 miles long and goes through all those different counties. You cross or drive by it every day. It’s always here — it’s always going to flow.”

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In the longer term, Hawthorne says, the partnership will develop a multi-year recommendation plan to address concerns surrounding the river’s health.

GROWING WITH THE FLOW Some business owners are quick to recognize the river’s financial boon.

At French Broad Outfitters at 704 Riverside Drive, store manager Scott Thomas says the draw of the river, combined with the recently completed Wilma Dykeman Greenway through the River Arts District, has galvanized the whole area’s economy.

“It’s a lot more accessible for people on foot and bike,” he says.

“There’s a connectedness to it; it’s more of a focus for people’s everyday activities.”

Thomas says a big part of French Broad Outfitters’ business comes from people buying tubes to take out on the river, where they can often be seen in the warmer months, floating in groups carried along by the currents.

And Rachel Wyatt, vice president of the River Arts District Artists board, says the presence of the river is connected to the work artists do in the RAD. “There’s a symbiotic relationship between the artists and the river,” she says. “We have these old industrial buildings, where artists come and do work and create. That’s a major draw for the tourists in the area. They want to see and converse with the artists, see glass blowing demonstrations and more.”

As part of that relationship, she says it’s important to protect the river from pollution. “We have to be conscious of how our actions affect things,” she says. “If the river’s polluted, that’s a bad thing. People are coming to play and watch art. So we have to respect where we are.” X

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DEVELOPMENT ROUNDUP

Ingles to redevelop Patton Kmart site City of Asheville The public will be able to provide input on two developments at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 6.

The Design Review Committee meets at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, April 21; the agenda for that meeting was not available as of press time. Both groups will meet remotely.

PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION Members of the public can submit comments over email and voicemail until 24 hours prior to the April 6 meeting or provide live comments during the meeting itself. Instructions on how to attend and comment are available at avl.mx/8b6.

Deaverview Infill Apartments (275 Deaverview Road, 28806) The current application concerns the first of two phases to rebuild Deaverview Apartments. This first phase will consist of three buildings, the largest of which will contain 48 one-bedroom units and 10 two-bedroom units over four stories.

The Asheville Housing Authority is requesting that the zoning status of the Deaverview Apartments be changed from Residential MultiFamily High-Density to Residential Expansion – Conditional Zone. This change is required because the project includes over 50 residential units.

All units are designed to be affordable for households earning 60% or less of the average median income ($31,600 for an individual or $45,300 for a family of four); an unspecified ASHEVILLE-AREA

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BIG BOX: Ingles Markets plans to bring an 89,000-square-foot store to a former Kmart location on Patton Avenue.

Graphic courtesy of the city of Asheville number of units will be affordable at incomes of 30% and 50% AMI. All available documents, including application forms and site plans, are available at avl.mx/bex.

Ingles #122 Patton Avenue (1001 Patton Ave., 28806) Ingles Markets is requesting a zoning change from Highway Business to Commercial Expansion – Conditional Zone to redevelop a 14.45-acre site at the intersection of Patton and Louisiana avenues.

The company intends to construct an 89,000-square-foot Ingles Market

at the former Kmart location, along with a 6,500-square-foot Ingles pump station and 55,000 square feet of additional retail space.

The grocer’s engineering firm has requested that the minimum 10-foot width for sidewalks on the site be waived due to the property’s steep slope. A traffic study commissioned by the developer has recommended adding left-turn lanes from Patton Avenue eastbound onto Louisiana Avenue, as well as from Florida Avenue northbound onto Patton Avenue. A right-hand overlap lane is

March 2 P&Z At last month’s meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved all three projects on its agenda: The Historic Star Building (24, 26, 28 N. Lexington Avenue and 15, 17 Broadway, 28801) This development will restore and adapt the existing historic structure known as the “Star Building” into a 35-room hotel with approximately 4,500 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. The plans were approved unanimously; as a Level II project, the work does not need further approval from Asheville City Council. Detailed documents can be accessed at avl.mx/bap.

Reed Creek Mixed Use Development (427 Broadway St., 28801) The commission unanimously recommended changing the zoning for this area from Neighborhood Corridor to Neighborhood Corridor - Conditional Zone. Asheville-based Reed Creek Greenway, LLC seeks to develop the 1.53acre site into a mixed-use development with 49 residential units, 10 of which will be affordable.

City Council’s hearing to consider final approval of the rezoning, initially scheduled for March 22, was postponed to Tuesday, April 12. Documents can be accessed at avl.mx/bag.

273/291 Long Shoals Road, 300/400 Julian Shoals Road The commission again voted unanimously to recommend changing the zoning for this area from Community Business II to Residential ExpansionConditional Zone. The owners seek to construct a 218-unit residential complex on 11.09 acres, with 11 units designated as affordable housing.

City Council’s hearing to consider final approval of the rezoning, initially scheduled for March 22, was postponed to Tuesday, April 26. Detailed documents can be accessed at avl.mx/baq. X

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also proposed on Louisiana Avenue onto Patton Avenue westbound.

Application materials, including site plans and the traffic study, are available at avl.mx/bf1.

DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE Redwood Commons (21 Governors View Road, Asheville, 28805) Buckeye Community Hope Foundation, a Columbus, Ohio-based developer, is seeking to erect an 18,500-square-foot apartment building containing 70 one- and two-bedroom units for affordable senior living near the Swannanoa River. At their March 17 meeting, committee members suggested pursuing a more modern exterior look and finding a way to distinguish the building at the front of the development from the others.

The project will be resubmitted to the April 21 meeting for another review. Documents for the proposal can be viewed at avl.mx/baj.

The Artful Way (31 Artful Way, 28801) On March 17, the committee informally reviewed plans for this six-story, mixed-use development on roughly 0.75 acres in the River Arts District. The proposed building, adjacent to The Grey Eagle and across from All Souls Pizza, will contain 34 residential units, 27 hotel rooms, approximately 1,400 square feet of retail space and 42 parking spaces.

Informal reviews allow project teams to speak with DRC members before plans have been fully developed to identify early concerns. Formal reviews require that plans and drawings meet submission requirements and are accompanied by a staff report

before the project is presented and voted upon at the meeting.

Three of the seven members present at the meeting recused themselves: Jeremy Goldstein, the project’s developer; Christina Booher, an employee of Laura Hudson Architecture, the project’s design firm; and Steven Lee Johnson, co-principal of Sitework Studios, the project’s landscape architecture firm.

Overall, the four remaining members of the committee considered the design well-suited to Asheville and made only minor suggestions. Detailed documents are available at avl.mx/bah.

Swannanoa River Greenway Also at the March 17 meeting, the DRC formally reviewed and approved the plan for the first segment of the Swannanoa Greenway. The 0.84-mile path consists of two sections, beginning with a trailhead at Glendale Avenue that will connect to an existing greenway behind Walmart. The second segment will be a separated, buffered greenway connecting the Walmart parking lot to the Bleachery Boulevard bridge and a pedestrian corridor.

The project will be reviewed by City Council sometime in the summer. If approved, construction would begin in the fall.

Buncombe County Three projects requiring special use permits will be on the agenda for the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment meeting at noon Wednesday, April 13. One of these, the Crescent Hill Apartments project, was continued from the March 9 meeting.

Information on how to attend the meeting and apply for comment can be found at avl.mx/anq.

BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT Crescent Hill Apartments (180, 184, 188 and unaddressed parcel on Crescent Hill Drive, unaddressed parcel on Watson Road, Arden, 28704) Southwood Realty Co., based in Gastonia, has applied to build a 252unit multifamily apartment complex on 24.6 acres in Arden. The complex will include 10 three-story apartment buildings, four one-story garages, and a one-story clubhouse with fitness facilities. Potential recreational areas include a pool, playground and dog park. A staff report by the Buncombe County Planning & Development department raised concerns about traf-

fic congestion and pedestrian safety at the development’s various entrances.

Detailed project documents are available at avl.mx/bak.

Hawthorne at Holbrook (36 Crowell Road, Asheville, 28806) Greensboro-based Cromwell Farms Holdings LLC — a subsidiary of Hawthorne Residential Partners — seeks to build a 299-unit multi-family complex on 31.8 vacant acres in Asheville near Candler. The current plan has 11 buildings listed, including a clubhouse, two garages, poolhouse, dog run and outdoor pavilion. The apartment and townhome buildings will be three stories each, with a maximum height of 60 feet.

Detailed project documents are available at avl.mx/bem.

Belle Meadow (15, 25, & 37 Rathburn Place, Asheville, 28806) Developer Quartz Partners, based in Newton, Mass., has applied to build 74 residential units on 9.46 acres on Rathburn Place. Of those units, 34 of will be single-family residences and 40 will be townhouses. A playground is also proposed, and further recreational structures could be added.

Detailed project documents are available at avl.mx/ben.

— Sara Murphy X

Buncombe moves to online permits On March 21, Buncombe County’s Permits & Inspections and Planning & Development agencies entered the final phase of implementing a shared online permit submission portal.

Now, commercial and residential site plan reviews must be submitted either in person at the Planning Department at 46 Valley St., Asheville, or online using the Buncombe County Development, Permits and License portal at avl.mx/avx. Registration instructions for the portal are available at avl.mx/bey.

Any commercial and residential development that involves new construction or changes the footprint or exterior boundaries of an existing structure must submit an SPR and get approval before applying for any building permits.

No planning or permit applications will be accepted via email.

More information is available by calling the office at 828-250-5360. X

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BUNCOMBE BEAT

Buncombe plans hiring push for next fiscal year If Buncombe County’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was all hands on deck, its plan for the 2022-23 fiscal year is many more hands on deck.

As presented to the Buncombe Board of Commissioners during a March 29 work session, County Manager Avril Pinder hopes to expand her current staff of over 1,600 employees by more than 70 in the next budget cycle, which starts in July. Most of those workers won’t be used to establish new county functions, she explained, but would instead bolster existing services.

By comparison, Buncombe added just 11 new employees supported by general tax revenue in the fiscal year 2020-21 budget, a constrained move that Pinder attributed at the time to worries over the coronavirus’s economic impact. The 2021-22 budget added 27 new positions.

“We’re going back to our foundational departments. We have not funded them the way [they] should have been funded in the past,” Pinder said March 29. “The pandemic has really exposed to us the gaps that we have in service that we’re not providing. And staff is burned out.”

The new staffers would be spread over a range of county departments at an estimated annual cost of $6.1 million. The single biggest increase would be 14 positions in Emergency Services, including eight paramedics to support a new ambulance.

Other proposed additions include five workers to improve the county’s 911 operations, five human resources staffers to boost recruitment and retention, five library employees and five Sheriff’s Office positions.

Buncombe’s Planning Department would get four new staffers to support implementation of the impending Comprehensive Plan 2043, while two additional hires would round out the county’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Brownie Newman, the Buncombe board’s chair, noted that the proposed growth in county government staffing significantly exceeded the county’s annual population growth rate of around 1%. He said such increases wouldn’t be sustainable on a regular basis but agreed with Pinder that the county needed to adjust its workforce in line with community demands.

“Our past history has finally caught up with us, because we’ve been holding those numbers down,” added Commissioner Al Whitesides.

“But now that we’re getting to this point … hopefully it will level off and

EXPANDING THE CIRCLE: The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners discusses potential staffing increases during a March 29 budget work session. Photo by Daniel Walton it’ll just be normal. We won’t have as many [new positions] every year.”

The county also estimates additional spending on its existing employees.

Workers would see a raise of nearly 4.7% to cover cost-of-living increases, more than double the 1.9% increase approved in the 2021-22 budget, at a cost of about $5.7 million. Pinder noted that further pay increases could be proposed in April pending the results of a county salary study.

Buncombe’s next budget work session is scheduled for Tuesday, April 26. Local school systems and fire districts will present their requests Tuesday, May 10, and Thursday, May 19, Pinder will present her recommended budget.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Tuesday, June 7. The Board of Commissioners will then

vote to approve a final budget at their regular meeting Tuesday, June 21.

IN OTHER NEWS A new program designed to provide property tax relief to Buncombe homeowners distributed nearly $480,000 in aid to 1,263 households last year, according to a March 29 presentation by Phillip Hardin, the county’s economic services director.

But administering the Homeowner Grant Program cost taxpayers an estimated $208,000 — about 30% of total spending on the effort.

That ratio far exceeds allowable administrative spending for other programs managed by the county.

For example, rental assistance made available through federal COVID-19 relief funds must cap administrative

costs at just 10%-15%. The state of North Carolina set a 5% cap for administrative costs on rent relief funds it provided to counties in 2021.

“This was my biggest concern. …

That’s a big burn rate on admin for the actual public benefit we’re able to provide for it,” said Newman. “I would really love to see [the program] continue going, but to me, it’d be hard to justify that much cost to the taxpayers when the goal here is to help the taxpayers.”

Hardin also noted that much of the Homeowner Grant Program funding went to households with significant financial reserves. At least 518 recipients had reserves of $5,000 or more; at least 157 recipients, or more than 12% of the total, had at least $50,000 in excess resources.

— Daniel Walton X

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BUNCOMBE BEAT

Tourism survey reveals changing attitudes, long-standing issues The mood toward tourism in Asheville may be shifting toward the positive, according to a new survey presented at the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority’s annual planning session March 25.

The daylong event brought together members of the BCTDA, the Tourism Product Development Fund Committee and other tourism leaders at the Inn on Biltmore to discuss the upcoming fiscal year. Presenters included Explore Asheville President and CEO Vic Isley and Wendy Smith, a professor of management at the University of Delaware.

The survey, conducted in January and February, asked a random sample of 382 people living in Asheville and Buncombe County — a smaller sample than the 468 people who completed a similar survey in 2019 — to share their views on local tourism and its impact on the community. The majority of respondents were full-time residents who had lived in the area an average of 18 years. (Full survey results are available at avl.mx/bez.)

The results were presented by Chris Davidson, who oversees the travel insights and strategy division at Missouri-based tourism marketing company MMGY Global. “The first point I would make is that there’s a lot of good news,” he said.

Of those surveyed, 69% agreed that the positives of local tourism outweighed the negatives. Roughly 83% of people agreed or somewhat agreed that tourism was beneficial to the community. And 80% of respondents said that they believe that tourism advertising dollars fuel the local economy.

Moreover, negative sentiments regarding area tourism appear to

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LEAVING NO TRACE? The results of a recent survey conducted by the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority indicate that more than half of county residents believe visitors damage the natural environment. Graphic courtesy of the BCTDA have ebbed since 2019. While 88% of respondents in 2019 agreed that the area’s parking problems were caused by visitors, just 76% agreed with the same claim this year. Another 74% agreed that Asheville’s traffic problems were due to the number of people visiting the area, down from 85% in 2019. And while 65% of residents in 2019 believed that they couldn’t enjoy the city and its amenities because of visitors, only 45% said that they agreed with that viewpoint in 2022.

Davidson suggested those results may reflect a reduction in people visiting Asheville during the pandemic.

Some questions that were asked only in this year’s survey revealed that some negative attitudes remain. About 68% of respondents said that they believed Buncombe County’s economy is too dependent upon tourism, the same percentage that felt short-term rentals for visitors leave fewer housing options for year-round residents. And 53% of those surveyed said that tourism contributes to the loss of green space and damages the environment.

“There’s a natural tension that exists in this idea of serving the needs of visitors to our community and serving the needs of its residents in terms

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of quality of life and other factors,” Davidson explained.

While respondents may have become more tolerant of tourism, they were less convinced of the need for the TDA itself. Around 80% of survey respondents said they believed that visitors would continue to come to Buncombe County even if the area stopped all tourism advertising, up from 73% in 2019.

That change in opinion may be driven by recent experience: While the TDA’s marketing expenses for the last six months of 2020 were over 55% lower than those for the same period in 2019, year-over-year room sales for those months decreased just 11%.

But Davidson said that states that had reduced or stopped their tourism advertising, such as Colorado and Connecticut, had experienced dramatic losses in revenue and visitation.

OCCUPANCY TAX REVENUE EXPECTED TO REACH RECORD HIGH Attitudes toward the local tourism business may be changing, but business itself continues to grow apace.

During a board meeting held March

24, the BCTDA Finance Committee forecast occupancy tax revenues of $40.8 million for fiscal year 2022-23 — 12% over the $36.4 million projected for the current fiscal year.

That projection is itself about 34% higher than the roughly $27.2 million in occupancy tax revenue the TDA expected at the start of the fiscal year. Vacation rentals, which have experienced 180% growth since fiscal year 2018-19, make up roughly 34% of all revenues.

By law, the BCTDA must spend 75% of its occupancy tax revenues on tourism marketing and 25% on its Tourism Product Development Fund, which provides grants to capital projects that drive new overnight visits.

BCTDA spokesperson Kathi Peterson says the authority plans to reopen applications for grants from the fund, which currently sits at $11.6 million.

The first round of grant applications is due Wednesday, June 1. Materials will be available at the end of April, and an information session will be held Wednesday, May 4. The TDA will make funding decisions at its October 2022 board meeting, with grant contracts going out in November and December.

— Brooke Randle X

BUNCOMBE BEAT

District attorney candidates address CIBO Security, crime and justice took center stage during a Council of Independent Business Owners breakfast April 1. The Asheville-based trade group’s meeting served as a forum for the three Democratic Buncombe County district attorney candidates: current DA Todd Williams, prosecutor and former assistant DA Doug Edwards and assistant public defender Courtney Booth.

(Attorney Joe Bowman will appear on the ballot but announced March 14 that he was suspending his campaign to support Booth. No Republicans have filed for the DA race, meaning that whoever wins the Democratic primary Tuesday, May 17, will run unopposed in the general election.)

Among the subjects addressed by the candidates were strategies to reduce violent crime, prosecuting low-level crimes committed by homeless people and criticism that the DA’s office is too lenient on criminals. The relationship between the DA’s office and Asheville Police Department, as well as that between APD and the public, was also a hot topic.

Moderator Buzzy Cannady asked the candidates what they would do to address the increase in violent crime referenced at Asheville City Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting March 30. During that meeting, APD Chief David Zack shared a presentation stating that per-capita violent crime in Asheville had increased 31% from 2016 to 2020.

Edwards touted his prior work on gun violence reduction but also said the DA’s office should restore positive relationships with local law enforcement. “We also have to encourage good policing, and I will hold accountable law enforcement officers who commit misconduct,” he said. “But the district attorney must work hand-in-hand with law enforcement to work hard to reduce crime in our community.”

Booth responded by addressing what she referred to as overpolicing in Black communities and said she did not see the current DA’s office prioritizing reform in that regard.

“It happens, because I see it, and I’ve seen it for almost 17 years [as a public defender],” she said, adding that the way Black communities are policed is “predatory.”

Williams focused on what he called “some positives” with regards to crime. “Homicides are flat to down, gun violence is flat to down — actually down 16%. Robberies are down

JUSTICE FOR ALL: Courtney Booth, left, Doug Edwards, center, and Todd Williams, right, are in a three-way race for the Democratic nomination for Buncombe County district attorney. Photo composite by South Southwick/images from Booth, Edwards and Williams substantially,” he said. He acknowledged that reports of aggravated assaults are up, with 295 reports in 2017 compared to 430 in 2021, according to Zack’s data.

Cannady then asked each candidate to address concerns that the current DA’s office isn’t tough enough on offenders. Booth said Williams’ approach was “still a law-and-order office” but argued that his attitude wasn’t effective.

Booth used the cash bail system as an example, stating it favors people who are wealthier. She cited a young man she had represented who was in jail for eight months under a $15,000 cash bond. “His family was poor — they couldn’t get him out,” she said.

A jury trial eventually found the man not guilty.

Edwards reminded the audience that both Williams and Booth come from public defender backgrounds.

(Williams served as a public defender for 14 years until his election as DA in 2014.) “If you think the DA’s office is not tough enough now — which I agree with, it’s not — then under Ms. Booth, it would be even more lenient,” Edwards said.

Williams addressed the criticism of his office by stating “It’s important to be tough. … It’s absolutely the job of the District Attorney’s Office, and we’ll continue to do it.”

Cannady also asked the candidates to address “trespassing, vagrancy, open drug use and sales [and] human waste in the doorways every morning,” issues he associated with the area’s homeless population. He asked whether each candidate would

prosecute individuals “who break the law in this manner.”

“Yes. We will and we have,” Williams responded, before referencing issues with local law enforcement. He said he had spoken with judges about a letter Zack had sent him in December, in which the ADP chief had complained about the DA’s office dismissing thousands of charges for trespassing, solicitation and other low-level crimes.

Those judges, Williams continued, had complained that police officers rarely came to court to provide evidence in those nuisance crime cases.

“We’re only as good in court as No. 1, the law, and No. 2, the evidence, because everyone who’s charged with a crime has to be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said.

Edwards said he would also prosecute crimes that impact business owners. He then criticized Williams’ responses by claiming too many cases were being dismissed before judges could even consider them.

“We can pass the buck to the judges or to law enforcement for not enforcing the law or a judge telling [he] would like to see officers in court,” he said. “But there’s no reason for the officer being in court for that case if the case isn’t on the docket.”

Booth said she disagreed with prosecuting homeless people for Class 3 misdemeanors such as littering or urinating in public. “You’re not going to get anywhere by taking a homeless person who urinated in public and locking them in the county jail for 20 days,” she said.

While such people were in jail, Booth continued, “they’re going to lose all of their belongings, lose any place they perhaps were staying. And they’re going to start from scratch all over again — not that they had anything hardly to begin with in the first place.”

— Jessica Wakeman X

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FEA T U RE S

Q&A with Karin Rogers, interim director of the National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center Whether by hiking the debris flow pathway of a landslide or reading arcane scientific articles, Karin Rogers dedicates herself to understanding complex scientific data so she can translate that information for ordinary people to understand.

Her work as interim director of the National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC) at University of North Carolina Asheville allows her to fill that gap in communication by assisting the people making decisions that affect our communities.

Rogers graduated from University of Georgia in 2003 with a Masters in geology. She concentrated on fluvial geomorphology, which is the study of river processes and landscapes.

“I love the idea of being able to go spend time outdoors and learn about our deep past through rocks,” she says.

Rogers headed UGA’s Department of Crop & Soil Sciences to manage a research project on water quality monitoring. “It involved a lot of fieldwork and making friends with lots of snakes,” she jokes. NEMAC hired her in 2006 to manage a cooperative agreement between the organization and the U.S. Forest Service Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center.

But the rewards of her work are not the only reason Rogers loves Western North Carolina. “I love living in Asheville — the access to natural areas, the community, the size, the restaurants, the quirkiness,” she says. “Even as we’re growing and facing a lot of change, it still feels like a close-knit community and I enjoy being a part of it.”

Xpress spoke with Rogers about NEMAC’s work, how data can be used to address climate change and the most fascinating hike she’s ever done.

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

Can you explain what NEMAC does?

At NEMAC we are interested in helping people make data-informed decisions about environmental change and resilience. We’re an Applied Research Center at UNC Asheville, and we specialize in trying to help decision-makers make 20

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decisions about climate change and landscape change. The idea is to be that translator between science producers and science users.

These decision-makers can vary from local municipalities, like the City of Asheville, who are interested in interpreting and understanding trends in climate data and the expected impacts, to forest managers who want to understand how large landscapes are changing from various threats like insects and disease, to planners and the public who want to know about landslide risk in Western North Carolina. Some good examples of this work include Asheville’s climate resilience assessment and the Landslide Map Viewer that we launched with the N.C. Geological Survey.

Why are you interested in science communication?

The everyday person isn’t out there reading scientific articles, and doesn’t necessarily spend time trying to understand complex trends and data that we’re seeing out there.

I’ve always been drawn to try to fill that gap of communication and so much of it is geared towards decision making, especially related to climate.

There’s a lot of important decision making going on about how we adapt and mitigate everything related to the change we’re experiencing.

What is environmental modeling, and why is it important?

Modeling can take many different forms depending on the subject that you’re looking at. NEMAC works with a lot of scientists who are looking at climate projections, or looking at how landscape and forest changes using satellite imagery. And we work with those who do the modeling, taking complex data and processing it, and basically finding better ways to understand the trends that they’re seeing. And now you’ve got this interesting, novel way of communicating your data — how can we get decision makers to be informed with that?

The partners that we work with are trying to better understand the trends they’re seeing and use that information to understand any change that’s happening. We are there to essentially assist them in that. So modeling, analysis, data,

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TRANSLATOR: Karin Rogers is the interim director of the National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center, an applied research center at University of North Carolina Asheville. Photo courtesy of UNCA visualization — there’s all sorts of fields that are related to each other.

It comes down to getting a better understanding of the trends we’re seeing in our environment.

What’s a cool, recent project that you worked on?

I’ve really enjoyed partnering with [the Oceanic and Atmospheric’s] Climate Program Office since 2014 on the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit, which NEMAC has helped co-develop. The toolkit features a resilience assessment process that is being adopted throughout the U.S. to help communities address their resilience to climate change. I’ve been proud of this collaboration and the work has been really rewarding.

What’s a recent trend you’ve seen, regarding the environment or climate change, that you think more people should know about?

I think a key thing for folks to understand is that we are seeing different changes and impacts depending on where you live in the U.S. For WNC, we are expecting an increase in the frequency and intensity of precipitation events which will impact flooding and landslide events. And wildfire is an issue for our region as we see increased

drought. All of these are compounded by the development pressures we’re seeing, which makes for a complicated future.

How does NEMAC work with the Asheville community and the surrounding area?

We’re here to work with various partners to help, especially in the field of climate resilience as a translator. We are here to help the City of Asheville or Land of Sky Regional Council or other community and neighbor groups make decisions using data.

Being part of the university has been [important by] giving undergraduates opportunities to work with us, hopefully giving them exposure and training to be able to do more of that type of science translation as they graduate. There’s a real need for that skill set, especially with all the environmental climate change that we’re going through.

There’s a real need for a workforce that can understand the data and climate trends that we’re seeing. So that’s a big part of why we’re here at the university and how we work with the university.

What’s your favorite outdoor activity?

I do enjoy getting outside with my son and my husband and hiking is always one thing that we love to do, like to go find swimming holes and go swimming in the summer.

What was your most geologically interesting hike in this area?

Back in 2004 when we had Hurricanes Frances and Ivan, huge flooding and landslide events happened here. There was a big landslide called Peeks Creek [in Macon County]. [My most interesting hike] was a tour hiking up the debris flow pathway. It was a massive, fascinating exposure of rock. Recently, the North Carolina Geologic Survey took [the NEMAC team] on another tour of a bunch of landslides out in Polk County. We hiked around and saw some fascinating evidence of large old historic landslides.

They’re occurring more often now with the increased precipitation and increased frequency of precipitation events.

— LA Bourgeois X

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APRIL 6-12, 2022

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APRIL 6-12, 2022

MOUNTAINX.COM

ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES

FEA T U RE S

by Thomas Calder | tcalder@mountainx.com

‘Thick black clouds’ “We need not say that Asheville suffers materially from the smoke nuisance,” The Asheville Citizen declared in a Jan. 6, 1916, editorial.

“The thick black clouds of soot-laden smoke that roll over the city hour after hour, day after day, week after week and month after month call with greater eloquence for remedial measures than tongue or printed word can convey.”

One month later — following several years of discussion — A.H. Vanderhoof was named the city’s first smoke inspector. Shortly after his appointment, the ambitious monitor toured a number of cities, including Chicago and Cincinnati, to study their individual approaches to abating smoke.

By May, he presented a report with a proposed smoke ordinance to city commissioners. “The railway locomotive smoke is of tremendous volume,” the findings stated. The use of soft coal and improper furnaces and heating plants were also responsible “for a large measure of the smoke which hangs over Asheville.”

The push for the passage of a smoke ordinance continued into the following month. The proposal called on the installation of new smokeless heating plants, proper burning techniques and the installation of an unidentified apparatus for all 155 locomotives operating in Asheville (at a cost of roughly $75 per train — or $1,854 in today’s currency).

If such steps were implemented, Vanderhoof told city leaders, the smoke nuisance would disappear within three years.

On June 11, the commissioners approved the ordinance. Passage required “the appointment of a competent engineer to study conditions and make recommendations to the different heating and power plants of the city.” Once recommendations were made, owners would be given one year to comply.

Momentum, however, waned as America entered the Great War in April 1917. Among those called to duty was smoke inspector Vanderhoof, who joined the navy that month.

wrote on Oct. 15, 1923. The editorial went on to state: “Mr. Stephenson is holding conferences with managers of laundries and other establishments, whose business calls for huge smokestacks and large consumption of soft coal, and he believes that much good will be accomplished by teaching firemen not to overload the furnaces or otherwise practice improper firing. In this direction hope is discernible.”

SMOKING MIRRORS: Billy Bourne’s Jan. 7, 1922, cartoon in The Asheville Citizen pokes fun at the hands-off approach city officials took in addressing its smoke ordinance, which was approved by city commissioners in 1916.

“While much gratifying progress was made just before the war began in eliminating the bituminous pall which used to hang over the city, there are still a hundred or more stacks in the heart of the city which in winter make Asheville resemble Pittsburgh as mist resembles rain,” The Asheville Citizen declared in its June 12, 1919, edition.

The article went on to declare, “If the city means to cope effectually with this smoke evil, all the houses and establishments in the congested district must either install the smokeless boilers, burn coke or hard coal or there must be a central heating plant.”

Yet subsequent reporting suggests the city took no actions to remedy the air pollution. On Dec. 19, 1920, another editorial lamented the absence of progress on the matter, noting “activities [to reduce smoke] have not been definitely resumed since the armistice.”

field guide

Asheville to

City seeks smoke inspector to remedy air pollution, 1916-40

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These same cries continued on and off for the next two years. An Aug. 12, 1922, editorial lampooned the city for dragging its feet on the issue, writing: “Because the city has failed for the past few years to employ an inspector, and since little to no effort has been made to enforce the existing ordinance, a good beginning on the abatement of smoke has been virtually nullified and today some of the smokeless furnaces, with joyful abandon, paint the landscape black, causing residents and visitors alike to see red.”

Nearly a year later, on July 10, 1923, John Robert Stephenson was hired as the city’s second smoke inspector.

With his appointment came a new confidence in the possibility of tackling the issue.

“The clouds begin to lift — the smoke clouds,” The Asheville Citizen

ASHEVILLE-AREA

But subsequent coverage on the matter is scarce. And within a year, Stephenson, who was 78, died.

Following his death, similar complaints about the city’s smoke nuisance surfaced in the paper, along with similar proposed solutions — namely, the hiring of a smoke inspector to enforce established rules.

By December 1925, A.C. Sigmon was named to the post. But his achievements aren’t well documented. Several others held variations of the title until 1940, when the city raised the white flag to the black smoke.

“Asheville’s long fight against the smoke nuisance apparently was all but abandoned yesterday when city council, in adopting the 1940-41 operating budget, eliminated funds for the office of smoke inspector,” The Asheville Citizen reported on Aug. 2, 1940.

The report went on to note that the duties would be transferred to the office of the city engineer, “where permits for installation of stokers and heating plants will continue to be issued.”

The article concluded with a quote from Harvey N. Miller, the penultimate smoke abatement engineer to serve the city.

“It’s a big job,” Miller told the paper.

“And the lay public didn’t seem to understand exactly the nature of my duties. I found most discouraging, however, indifference and non-cooperation on the part of city officials, the city school board, the churches and other leaders.”

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

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2022 Edition

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APRIL 6-12, 2022

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR

NAMASTE: Carrier Park will host Yoga in the Park Saturday-Sunday, April 9-10, 1:30-2:45 p.m. Now in its fourth season, Yoga in the Park offers classes on Saturdays and Sundays led by certified yoga instructor Ceiara Cartony and others. Go to avl.mx/9n6 to register. Photo courtesy of Yoga in the Park Asheville APRIL 6 - 14, 2022 For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, opt. 4. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 828-251-1333, opt. 1.

Online Events = Shaded WELLNESS Yoga and the 12 Steps of Recovery (Y12SR) Addresses addiction as a mental, physical and spiritual disease.

WE (4/6, 13), 8:30am, Asheville Yoga Center, 211 S Liberty St Guided DVD Chair Workout for Older Adults Bring hand weights and a stretch band.

Registration is required, email enka.library@ buncombecounty.org or call (828)250-4758.

WE (4/6, 13), 1pm, Enka-Candler Library, 1404 Sandhill Rd, Candler Virtual Anxiety Support Group Contact NAMIWNC.org or phone (828)505-7353 for more information.

TH (4/7) Introduction to Tai Chi Pre-registration required ashevillecommunityyoga. com.

TH (4/7, 14), 10:30am, Asheville Community Yoga Center, 8 Brookdale Rd

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APRIL 6-12, 2022

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Yoga and the 12 Steps of Recovery (Y12SR) Addresses addiction as a mental, physical and spiritual disease.

WE (4/6, 13), 8:30am, Asheville Yoga Center, 211 S Liberty St Rebirth & Bloom, 5Rhythms Workshop No dance experience necessary. Hosted by certified 5Rhythms teachers. Contact for more info: Contact: Karen at Chapman5Rhythms@gmail.com FR (4/8), 7pm, SA (4/9), 11am Yoga in the Park All-level friendly yoga classes based on Hatha and Vinyasa traditions, alongside the French Broad River.

SA (4/9), SU (4/10), 1:30pm, $10, 220 Amboy Rd

ART

Montford Tai Chi Hosted by local acupuncturist Tyler White. All ages, every Thursday.

TH (4/7, 14), 9am, Free, Montford Recreation Center, 34 Pearson Dr

Carrie Mae Weems: The Usual Suspects Features recent photographic and video works questioning stereotypes that associate black bodies with criminality

by MacArthur Genius Award-winning artist.

Tuesday through Friday, 10am.

WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee

Queer & Trans Yoga Class For everyone who identifies outside the lines and hasn't felt comfortable in a traditional yoga space.

TH (4/7, 14), 6pm, avl.mx/b1t

Ray Baccari: Humans Excited About Being Human Described by the artist as an “empathy machine,” this interactive, sonic installation amplifies visitor heart-

beats. Tuesday through Friday, 10am WCU Bardo Arts Center, 199 Centennial Dr, Cullowhee Faces of Change Youth Artists Empowered captured images and narratives from Asheville residents and neighborhoods that are in danger of being directly impacted by flooding, drought, and climate change, to spark meaningful conversations and increase public dialogue. Daily except Tuesday, 11am. $15, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square Gillian Laub's Southern Rites The artist engages her skills as a photographer, filmmaker, and visual activist to examine the realities of racism and raise questions that are essential to understanding the American consciousness. Daily except Tuesday, 11am. $15, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square WNC Fibers/ Handweavers Guild Exhibition Processes represented include spinning, shibori, batik, silkscreen, weaving, natural dyeing, needle felting, knitting, and more.

Daily, 10am, Folk Art Center, MP 382, Blue Ridge Parkway Avian Skies with Artist Kate Coleman The gallery’s April exhibition of mixed-media, acrylic-on-wood paintings. Daily, 11am.

Free, Asheville Gallery of Art, 82 Patton Ave

ᎢᏛᏍᎦ ᏫᏥᏤᎢ ᎠᎵᏰᎵᏒ Weaving Across Time Showcases the works of nine Eastern Band Cherokee basket makers - touching on the dynamic evolution of lineage, sustainability, and cultural expression.

Monday through Friday, 11 am.

Center for Craft, 67 Broadway LOAM: Tarah Singh & Alex Stilber Exhibit Mother and daughter explore layers of the human experience through mixed media, revealing their multi-generational connection of consciousness as they explore the feminine experience.

Meet the artists April 9, 4pm. Exhibit daily except Wednesday, 11am.

Free, Art Garden AVL, 191 Lyman St, Ste 316 Ben Knight: From the Artist’s Lab Art from the co-founder of Chef & the Farmer and producer and co-star of PBS series A Chef’s Life. Opening reception April 9, 6pm.

Pink Dog Creative, 344 Depot St

COMMUNITY MUSIC Baby Jams Bring a picnic. Instruments provided, or bring your favorite.

WE (4/6, 13), 12:30pm, Carrier Park, 220 Amboy Rd Community Contra Jam Bring an instrument and play acoustic and contra style music.

WE (4/6, 13), 2:45pm, Harvest House, 205 Kenilworth Rd The Music of Neil Diamond Tribute performed by Steve Kelly and the Cherry Cherry Band.

TH (4/7), 7:30pm, FR (4/8), 8pm, SA (4/9), SU( 4/10), 2pm, Flat Rock Playhouse, 2661 Greenville Hwy, Flat Rock Folkmoot Live!

Appalachian Heritage Concert Local award-winning singer songwriter, Richard Hurley, will

provide ballads, original songs and education on local music history; with the Junior Appalachian Musicians, featuring award-winning Whitewater Bluegrass Company.

SA (4/9), 7pm, Queen Auditorium, 112 Virginia Ave, Waynesville Asheville Symphony: Enigma Brahms Tragic Overture, Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20, and Elgar Enigma Variations.

With Darko Butorac, conductor.

SA (4/9), 8pm, Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, 87 Haywood St

SPOKEN & WRITTEN WORD Mark Pinsky in conversation w/Richard Dillingham A discussion of Pinsky's books Met Her on the Mountain and Drifting into Darkness. Sponsored by Malaprop's.

Registration required.

WE (4/6), 6pm, avl.mx/bec Malaprop's Book Club Participants will discuss This is Happiness by Niall Williams. Registration required.

WE (4/6), 7pm, avl.mx/9s5 Menachem Kaiser presents Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure The writer discusses his new book. Sponsored

by Malaprop's. Registration required.

TH (4/7), 6pm, avl.mx/bed

Malaprop's Crime and Politics Book Club Participants will discuss Plunder: a Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure by Menachem Kaiser.

Registration required.

TH (4/7), 7pm, avl.mx/ahj

(one book at a time, one month in advance).

TU (4/12), 5:30pm, Free, Pack Memorial Library - Lord Auditorium, 67 Haywood St Joseph Boone presents Furnace Creek in conversation w/Elizabeth Kostova The authors discuss Boone's book. Sponsored by Malaprop's.

Registration required.

TU (4/12), 6pm, avl.mx/prwl

Georgann Eubanks, author of Saving the Wild South, in conversation w/Jeff Michael The authors discuss Eubanks' book. Presented by Malaprop's with UNC Press and NC Arboretum. Registration required.

FR (4/8), 6pm, avl.mx/bf5 Black Mountain Library Pop-Up Book Sale Fill a box for five bucks.

Topics include global issues, history, feminism, political science, religion, and more. No children's books.

SA (4/9), 10am, Black Mountain Library, 105 N Dougherty St, Black Mountain Writers at Home Sponsored by UNCA’s Great Smokies Writing Program and The Great Smokies Review. April's event will feature will readings from Eric Nelson's Poetry Master Class. Registration required.

SU (4/10), 3pm, avl.mx/bf6 Malaprop's Mystery Book Club Participants will discuss The Windsor Knot by SJ Bennett. Registration required.

MO (4/11), 7pm, avl.mx/7jn Road Reads Book Club Copies of the books will be available for checkout at the service desk

Discussion Bound Book Club Participants will discuss Prosperity Gospel by Keith Flynn and Charter Weeks.

WE (4/13), 12pm, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square Landis Wade presents Deadly Declarations in conversation w/ Heather Newton The authors discuss Wade's book. In-person and virtual. Registration required.

WE (4/13), 6pm, Malaprop's Bookstore and Cafe, 55 Haywood St Book Discussion and Reading: And the Crows Took Their Eyes, with author Vicki Lane Pre-registration strongly recommended.

TH (4/14), 10am, Black Mountain Library, 105 N Dougherty St, Black Mountain Bill Kopp presents Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave The Asheville music writer discusses his book. Sponsored by Malaprop's. Registration required.

TH (4/14), 7pm, avl.mx/bfa

FOREPLAY! In the Mountains Monthly open mic adult storytelling event. 21+ TH (4/14), 7pm, Asheville Beauty Academy, 28 Broadway

THEATER & FILM Alice in Wonderland The classic tale, with an Appalachian spin.

TH (4/7, 14), FR (4/8), SA (4/9), 7pm, Mountainside Theatre, 688 Drama Rd, Cherokee

BENEFITS

VOTE FOR • Business With Best Customer Service • Support Organization for Entrepreneurs and New Business Bettini Financial Solutions, LLC. bettinfinancial.com • 828-549-8316 support@bettinifinancial.com

Painting for Prevention HCA-Mission is sponsoring an art auction, education and fundraising event for Child Abuse Prevention Month. Proceeds from the auction will benefit Mountain Child Advocacy Center’s prevention program.

TH (4/7), 6pm, Russell & Armstrong Art Gallery, 24 N Lexington Ave 14th Annual Black Mountain Greenway Challenge Run 5K, 10K or virtually to help the Black Mountain Greenways and Trails Committee raise funds to support the engineering study for a portion of a new greenway adjacent to Lake Tomahawk.

SA (4/9), 2pm, Black Mountain Recreation and Parks, 304 Black Mountain Ave, Black Mountain

Vote Morsel Cookie Co

Best Desserts!

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Vote Tech House for Best Computer Repair!

A Hard Thing to Swallow 5K 5K or two mile walk to bring awareness and financial support to patients in need of

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•Excellent Customer Service!

•Fast turnaround times!

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Voted one of the BEST OF WNC for 16 years in a row.

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COM M U N I TY CA LEN DA R head and neck cancer screenings.

SU (4/10), 4pm, Carrier Park, 220 Amboy Rd

CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS

Please vote for us for Best Restaurant in West Asheville, Best Thai & Best Takeout 747 Haywood Rd • 828-412-5905 thaipearlasheville.com

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Making Love in Asheville since 2007

Asheville Garden Club April meeting at a locally owned beekeeping shop.

WE (4/6), 10am, Honey + the Hive, 23 Merrimon Ave, Weaverville Learn About Polymer Clay Learn how to work with polymer clay with the guidance of the Blue Ridge Polymer Clay Guild. Newcomers welcome to drop in to observe and practice.

No supplies needed. No registration required. 16+ WE (4/6), 11am, Leicester Library, 1561 Alexander Rd, Leicester

present a motivational program, sponsored by Lenoir-Rhyne Asheville.

Registration required.

WE (4/6), 6:30pm, Free, Lenoir-Rhyne University, 36 Montford Ave Laurel Chapter of Embroiderer’s Guild of America A presentation of Southern Samplers by chapter member Cindi Lemkau.

TH (4/7), 930am, Cummings United Methodist Church, 3 Banner Farm Rd, Etowah Learn To Grow: Woody Ornamentals Class Topics will include choosing plants; planting, mulching, fertilizing and watering; and a sampling of trees for WNC. Email mgarticles@charter.net to register by Apri 2.

TH (4/7), 1pm

Men's Cancer Support Group The first and third Wednesday of every month. RSVP to Will at (412)913-0272 or acwein123@gmail.com.

WE (4/6), 6pm, Free, Woodfin YMCA, 40 N Merrimon Ave, Ste 101

Introduction to Medicare - Understanding the Puzzle To register, visit the Council on Aging of Buncombe County’s website coabc.org or call the Council on Aging at (828)277-8288.

TH (4/7), 2pm, coabc.org

Rob Greenfield: Be The Change in A Messed-Up World The activist and humanitarian will

Spanish Language Practice Group This group is focused on providing an intermediate level, immersive

discussion experience.

TH (4/7), 5pm, Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St Pysanky: Design and Meaning in Ukrainian Egg Decoration Pysanky refers to an egg created by the written-wax batik method and utilizing traditional folk motifs and designs.

Sara will demonstrate the technique and will discuss a variety of designs an their symbolism.

TH (4/7), 6pm, Weaverville Library, 41 N Main St, Weaverville Firearms Awareness & Understanding Clark Glenn will lead a non-political, non-pro/ con, educational discussion on what various terms mean, and what different types of firearms are, including the definition of the word "firearm" itself.

He will also present examples of state and local laws that apply to Buncombe county. No firearms allowed in the building.

TH (4/7), 6:30pm, Enka-Candler Library, 1404 Sandhill Rd, Candler WNC Black Business Expo A trade show, networking and learning event

designed for minority-owned businesses and entrepreneurs. April 8-9.

Crowne Plaza Hotel, 1 Resort Dr North Asheville Library Bird Walk Join members of the Blue Ridge Audubon Society for this guided bird-watching excursion around the Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary. Rain or shine.

SA (4/9), 9am, North Asheville Library, 1030 Merrimon Ave Divide and Plant Free plant swap - bring your excess plants, pots, soil, bulbs and flowers.

SA (4/9), 10am-12pm, Mills River Presbyterian Church, 10 Presbyterian Church Rd, Mills River Cordage: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Fibers and Ropemaking Examine and learn to process a variety of natural fibers from plant and animal sources. Make useful, strong and beautiful cordage suitable for a host of practical uses.

All materials provided.

Location given upon registration.

SA (4/9), 10am Statewide Star Party An evening of stargazing, with a socially distanced storytime as well as celestial activities

w o n ote

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Taste the Love™ Luellasbbq.com 501 Merrimon Ave & 33 Town Square Blvd., Biltmore Park

022 2 s d r a X Aw mountainx.com/ bestofwnc Vote through April

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and crafts. All ages are welcome to attend this free, outdoor event that is part of the 2022 NC Science Festival.

SA (4/9), 7:30pm, Leicester Library, 1561 Alexander Rd, Leicester

Led by Alan Dye, Board Chair of The Swannanoa Community Council.

WE (4/13), 10:30am, $25-35, Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center, 223 W State St, Black Mountain

Magical Mead Making Learn the ins and outs of making your own fermented honey-based alcoholic beverage in this hands-on, demonstration-based class.

SU (4/10), 1pm, Location TBA, Barnardsville

Run, Slither, Swim!

Attendees will be slithering, fluttering, and crawling around the room in animal fashion, discovering an author who writes about how animals travel, and meeting a special animal guest in this program focusing on movement styles, restrictions, and abilities of various animals. For preschool and kindergarten ages, outdoors. Presented by WNC Nature Center.

TH (4/14), 4pm, Swannanoa Library, 101 W Charleston St, Swannanoa

Guitar League Monthly Meeting For guitar lovers of all skill levels to share tips, techniques and fun.

Different presenter each month, followed by breakout sessions based on self-determined skill and interest.

MO (4/11), 6pm, Groce United Methodist Church, 954 Tunnel Rd The Folding Chair: Equity And Your Local CBO Speaker JéWana Grier-McEachin is the Executive Director of the Asheville Buncombe Institute of Parity Achievement, which has been dedicated to improving the health of African Americans and other underserved populations through health education, advocacy and research since 2004.

MO (4/11), 6pm, Free, avl.mx/bf3 The History of a 15th Century Swannanoa Cherokee Village A lecture exploring the long history of an early Cherokee town along the banks of the Swannanoa River.

MO (4/11), 6pm, $5, Black Mountain Public Library, 105 N Dougherty St, Black Mountain Organic Growers School 2022 Gardening Series TU (4/12), 6pm, Smith Mill Works, 151 Cedar Hill Rd Seminars on Humanity: Understanding people who have experienced incarceration A presentation and discussion about life for people who have experienced incarceration and the misconceptions that they face. To register email leicester.library@ buncombecounty.org.

TU (4/12), 6pm, Leicester Library, 1561 Alexander Rd, Leicester Sowing Circle: Pruning Small Shurbs and Trees Join Extension Master Gardener, Alan Wagner, for an in-person program on the basics of landscape pruning.

TU (4/12), 6:30pm, Black Mountain Public Library, 105 N Dougherty St, Black Mountain Walk through History: Lake June of Swannanoa A guided walking tour of the former site of Lake June, part of the planned community of Grovemont-On-Swannanoa.

FOOD & BEER RAD Farmers Market Weekly, with local vegetables, preserves, breads, sweet treats and more.

WE (4/6, 13), 3pm, Pleb Urban Winery, 289 Lyman St Weaverville Tailgate Market Local foodstuffs, alongside a small lineup of craft and artisan vendors.

WE (4/6, 13), 3pm, 60 Lake Shore Dr Distiller Drams Join the head distiller for a social series that explores single malt's place in the world of whiskey.

WE (4/6), 6pm, Oak and Grist Distilling Company, 1556 Grovestone Rd, Black Mountain YMCA Mobile Market Bring your grocery bags and get fresh food for your family. Distributions are free. All community members are welcome.

FR (4/8), 10:30am, Oakley Park, 749 Fairview Rd East Asheville Tailgate Market Local goods, every Friday.

FR (4/8), 3pm, East Asheville Tailgate Market, 954 Tunnel Rd North Asheville Tailgate Market The oldest Saturday morning market in WNC. Over 60 rotating vendors.

SA (4/9), 8am, 3300 University Heights

Annual Easter Dinner and Egg Hunt Community dinner with ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, dessert and drink. Egg Hunt is free with prizes and baskets supplied.

SA (4/9), 12pm, $8, Fines Creek Community Center, 190 Fines Creek Rd, Clyde Jackson Arts Market Local makers and producers, with live music from Alma Russ on Saturday, and an open jam on Sunday.

Rain or shine.

SA (4/9), SU (4/10), 1pm, Downtown Sylva Sundays on the Island Local market located on Marshall's island in the middle of the French Broad River.

SU (4/10), 12pm, Marshall Sunday Island Market, Blanahasset Island, Marshall West Asheville Tailgate Market Over 40 local vendors, every Tuesday.

TU (4/12), 3:30pm, 718 Haywood Rd, Asheville Bourbon Sip and Smoke Learn from the exports about bourbon spirits and a cigar from B&B Tobacconists.

TH (4/14), 6:30pm, Oak and Grist Distilling Company, 1556 Grovestone Rd, Black Mountain

VOTE SPIRITUALITY Jewish Power Hour Weekly Torah class via Zoom. All are welcome.

TH (4/7), 6pm, avl.mx/b0h Walking in Freedom A non-denominational event for students, sponsored by Grassroots Evangelism. All are welcome.

SA (4/9), 7pm, Mars Hill Baptist Church, 67 N Main St, Mars Hill Baha'i Sunday Devotional Informal virtual gathering for readings, music, prayers, and conversation. All are welcome.

SU (4/10), 10am, avl.mx/a9m

FOR BEST OF

Voted “Best of” Multiple Categories For

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Vote for us again as best: Daycare Preschool Afterschool Day Camp Nonprofit that Improves Asheville

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VOLUNTEERING Community Garden Nights Seeking volunteers for the School Garden.

Gloves and tools will be provided. Email volunteer coordinator, Polly, at pphillips@ verneremail.org for more details.

Verner Center for Early Learning, 2586 Riceville Rd

Green thumbs & aspiring gardeners alike!

Spring is near, and as the weather warms, Xpress will be launching a monthly gardening feature based on reader questions.

Please send all gardening inquiries to gardening@mountainx.com

LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED WE TREAT YOU LIKE FAMILY!

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Asheville City Market Over 50 vendors and local food products, including fresh produce, meat, cheese, bread, pastries, and more.

SA (4/9), 9am, 52 N Market St Mars Hill Farmers Market Fresh local produce, herbs, cheeses, meats, eggs, baked goods, honey, soaps, tinctures and crafts.

SA (4/9), 10am, College St, College St, Mars Hill

Celebrating a legacy of 14 years of “Best Of”s!

828-620-1085

EST OF WNC Vote us B

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School Art Education Program Music Teacher After-school Program

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WELLNESS

Burn notice How local health care workers are tackling burnout

BY JESSICA WAKEMAN jwakeman@mountainx.com

Health Focused Mercury Safe Dentistry Dr. Deborah Anders and Dr. Mark Armistead perform health-focused dentistry through a Mercury Safe philosophy which sets our practice apart from other area offices.

• Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Technique Certified • Biological Dentistry & Products

• Ozone Therapy • Digital X-rays = Less Radiation • Bio-Compatibility Test Kits

Appointments readily available: Emergency Visits • Tele-Dentistry Calls Friday & Saturday Openings

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(Includes cleaning, x-rays and exam) Dr. Anders and Dr. Armistead’s Dental Office 3094 US 70 Hwy, Black Mountain, NC 28711 • 828-365-0194 28

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Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, videos pinged around the internet of people going outdoors at 7 p.m. each day to applaud health care workers as an expression of gratitude.

Gestures of appreciation mean a lot to health care workers, says Carriedelle Fusco, nurse practitioner with Mountain Area Health and Education Center Family Health Centers. “The gratitude that I have felt has allowed me to keep doing the work I’ve been doing,” she says.

Yet gratitude alone isn’t enough for health care workers to keep their tanks full, so to speak. They also need support for psychological burdens they continue to experience two years into a pandemic. A meta-analysis of 65 studies involving nearly 100,000 health care workers, published in the journal PLOS One in March 2021, found a high prevalence of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder among providers.

“I want the people in health care to know we do hard work and that hard work can be hard on our mental health,” says Fusco. “Asking for help and getting some help is extremely important. And it is the right thing to do.”

‘A BLACK MARK’ Seeking mental health support can be stigmatized in the culture at large. But for health care providers, the stigma associated with experiencing a mood disorder or feeling overwhelmed can be even more pronounced.

“There’s a lot of stigma for physicians and residents seeking support for mental health counseling or therapy,” says Western Carolina Medical Society director of development Amy Barcomb. “Particularly for the residents, they are concerned they will get reported [for experiencing mental health issues], even if it’s not in any way affecting the level of care that they’re giving their patients. They worry that it’ll be a black mark on their record.”

The fear that acknowledging mental suffering could have reper-

HEALTH CARE HERO: “We’re stretched thin and compounded with that is this sense that we are supposed to be the ones with the answers,” says Dr. Brian Asbill, a cardiologist with Mission Health.

Photo courtesy of Asbill cussions for their career may keep health care providers from seeking professional care for treatable conditions like depression and anxiety. This has been true even before the pandemic: In a 2015 study published in the journal Academic Medicine, only one-third of medical students who described themselves as burned out had sought mental health services in the last 12 months.

That study also found that students who sought mental health support “were twice as likely to report having observed supervisors negatively judge students who sought care” and “more likely to have observed peers reveal a student’s emotional/mental health problem to others.”

Keeping abreast of at-times rapidly changing COVID-19 information, as well as navigating misinformation among patients, has been “very challenging” for health care providers, says Dr. Brian Asbill, a cardiologist with Mission Health.

“Our health care providers are just like the rest of us,” he explains.

“We’re feeling the same fear, uncertainty and stress that the patients are feeling. … We’re stretched thin, and compounded with that is this sense that we are supposed to be the ones with the answers.”

Two years into the pandemic, with so many health care workers struggling, more resources are available for those who are suffering.

HEALTHY HEALERS The Western Carolina Medical Society has been addressing mental well-being among health care providers since 2015, when the professional organization debuted a Healthy Healer Program “in response to what we were hearing from members who reported feeling burned out,” says Barcomb.

Burnout is defined by the World Health Organization as “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” The definition explains, “It is characterized by three dimensions: 1) feelings of energy depletion and exhaustion; 2) increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job, and 3) a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment.”

Prior to COVID, the Western Carolina Medical Society’s program held one or two burnout prevention retreats each year for members and their significant others. The society also contracts with mental health care providers who offer a 15% discount to members.

The pandemic led the organization to increase its resources. In July 2020, the nonprofit N.C. Health Care Foundation, an affiliate of the N.C. Health Care Association, awarded a COVID-19 Fill the Gap Response Fund grant of $24,000 to the society to provide free coaching and therapy to its members. (AdventHealth and Mission Health/HCA provided funding to the Healthy Healer Program for 2021; AdventHealth and MAHEC are currently underwriting these services.) Barcomb says “an uptick” in requests for these free services started in 2021 and has remained consistent.

“We contract with five therapists and two coaches, and it’s completely confidential,” explains Barcomb.

The therapist or coach invoices the Western Carolina Medical Society directly in order to preserve anonymity for the patient, she says.

(Barcomb says there are currently open spots available for both.)

In mid-March, Dr. Robyn Tiger, founder of the physician wellness program StressFreeMD, began to provide group coaching for resi-

dents and for women in the Western Carolina Medical Society. For one recent coaching session, she says 14 doctors registered and 12 attended.

And another group coaching session for physician assistants will take place in April.

The Western Carolina Medical Society also hosts “affinity groups,” which are gatherings for members of similar backgrounds. One affinity group is for Black providers, one is for women in medicine, and another is for early-career physicians and physician assistants. Throughout the pandemic, these affinity groups have continued to meet online and in person, when it was safe to do so, in order to validate each other’s experiences and provide support, says Barcomb.

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‘BEST VERSION OF YOU’ Asbill, the cardiologist, who is also an expert in lifestyle medicine, and Tiger are speaking to local health care providers next month.

The duo are teaching a workshop called “Self-Care for Healthcare: A Lifestyle Medicine Workshop” at MAHEC on Saturday, April 30.

Through education about the principles of lifestyle medicine, which includes learning coping mechanisms for stress, improving sleep health and fostering social connectedness, Tiger and Asbill hope to teach health care providers practices to foster positive mental health for themselves.

Burnout can lead to a lack of self-worth as well as cynicism about the future, explains Dr. Tiger. “I’ve heard someone say that [doctors are] glorified entry clerks for insurance companies — which speaks to the cynicism,” says Asbill. There are aspects of working in the medical field that require broader structural change to address provider burnout, but experts like Asbill and Tiger focus on what providers can change in their own lives.

Tiger says she coaches health care providers on being the healthiest version of themselves at all times, which includes managing stress and eating healthfully. ‘“How can you walk into that 12-hour shift being the best version of you?” she asks.

The “Self-Care for Healthcare: A Lifestyle Medicine Workshop” workshop is intended for physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, medical students and residents.

Participants will receive continuing education credits through MAHEC. “We would love for as many local health care professionals as possible to attend and learn about how they can care for themselves,” Tiger says. X

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29

ARTS & CULTURE

#Success

Instagram helps local culinary artists build their businesses

FLOUR POWER: Erin Calzone, founder of Monka’s Bakery, holds one of her fresh, flower-bedecked cakes. Photo by Addison Skye Photography

BY KAY WEST kwest@mountainx.com Among the subjects all but guaranteed to snag views and “likes” on Instagram are puppies, kittens, babies, sunsets — and food, particularly baked goods. That’s great news for a trio of Asheville-based women with a broad range of experience in professional baking who are building their businesses through the online service.

“Before I started doing this, I didn’t have an Instagram account or any social media,” admits Erin Calzone, who moved to Asheville in June 2021. “I’m 30 years old, so it surprised people, but it wasn’t my thing.”

‘This“ is Monka’s Bakery, an idea she began exploring while living in New Jersey. ”Monka“ was how her younger brother pronounced ”Grandma“ as a toddler, and Calzone adopted the name for the Instagram account she launched in December 2020 with a photo of a white-frosted pistachio cake topped with a white orchid. ”That cake started everything,“ she says. ”I made that cake for our wedding.“ Calzone’s cake-making experience began with an Easy-Bake 30

APRIL 6-12, 2022

Oven from her father. But rather than pursue baking as a career, she went to school for fashion in New York City, then worked in design for Victoria’s Secret. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Calzone and her husband, Dan Calzone, left Astoria, Queens, for New Jersey, where Dan continued working remotely and she dug deeper into her love of baking.

“I rented time in commercial kitchens to get comfortable with the equipment and began testing recipes,” she says. The first photos on her Instagram account were from those days, and family and friends were the beneficiaries of those trial runs.

When Dan’s job remained remote, the couple made the move to Asheville, a city they fell in love with during a visit in 2017. Calzone found a flexible day job, continued testing recipes at home and began the search for commercial kitchen space — which proved far more challenging than in New York.

Buying coffee at the window of the Bridge & Tunnel Coffee Co. food truck parked one afternoon in West Asheville, Dan queried the owners, who connected her with a kitchen and the East Asheville Tailgate

MOUNTAINX.COM

Market, where she set up shop for the first time in mid-July.

The photos Calzone posted of her decorated toaster pastries, cake cups and tea breads, along with dreamy images of layer cakes adorned with fresh flowers, caught the eye of local company Destination Elopements, which contacted her to bake small cakes for their clients.

“My original idea had been to post photos on Instagram, take orders and deliver around Asheville,” she says. “The more content I posted, the more followers I got, and the more people began reaching out with special orders. Through Instagram and those followers, I was making a lot of connections, and one thing led to another.”

In October, Monka’s Bakery debuted at the Saturday ASAP Farmers Market. In December, she did her first big wedding, baking 100 cinnamon buns, 100 Pop-Tarts and a full-sized wedding cake.

And in February, Panacea Coffee House asked her to provide them with Pop-Tarts, brownies and Fruity Pebble Rice Krispies treats. Even so, Calzone continues freelance design work by day and bakes at night or early morning.

FRENCH BROAD TO BISCUIT LADY Beth Kellerhals’ presence on Instagram began in December 2015 with a photo of a doughnut tree, though her professional kitchen career started well before then.

After studying Chinese in the late ’90s in northern China, where she cooked meals in a little toaster oven, she returned to her hometown of Chicago and enrolled in the French Pastry School.

“I knew I wanted to cook, and I wanted to focus on pastries,” she recalls. “After I graduated, I staged at Mindy Segal’s Hot Chocolate, which led to a job. I love everything she does and still think of her as my mentor.”

Kellerhals moved to California in 2007 to “thaw out” from Chicago’s long, frigid winters, first in Santa Barbara and then Los Angeles, intending to stay about a year. She wound up sticking around for a decade, working in restaurants of various sizes, baking and making ice cream.

She also began baking on the side, selling at markets and pop-

CONTINUES ON PAGE 32

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APRIL 6-12, 2022

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ups under the name Good Gravy Bakes. She was active on Instagram promoting her products, particularly the dark-baked, crispy, buttery, buttermilk treats she dubs Buttah Butta Biscuits.

“My biscuits have so much butter in them they’re practically paleo,” Kellerhals says with a laugh.

“There’s just enough flour and buttermilk to hold them together.

They’re like croissant cousins.”

Three years ago, Kellerhals moved to Asheville, where much of her family had settled. Her experience in ice cream connected her to French Broad Chocolates, which hired her to open its creamery, a role that segued to head pastry chef for the French Broad Chocolate Lounge when the creamery closed. But she notes she was acting more as a kitchen manager than a chef. “They have their recipes people really love, so I didn’t get to do a lot of recipe development,” she says.

Kellerhals turned to her home kitchen and her Instagram account as an outlet for her creativity and a way to introduce herself and her specialties to Asheville.

“I was trying to get my name out there — people didn’t really know me here,” she explains. “I needed to see if there was a market here for what I bake.”

As Kellerhals began to get recognition locally, she decided to test the waters further. Last April, she began selling at the weekly East Asheville Tailgate Market, and when that closed for the season in late fall 2021, she took up residence at the ASAP Saturday market. Since then, she’s built such a following that regulars know to arrive early if they don’t want to walk away biscuitless.

“I love the markets,” Kellerhals says. “People have been so receptive. They come for the biscuits, but they’ll also try whatever scone I throw at them. I made a Hong Kong milk tea scone, and people were like, ‘I don’t know what that is, but I’ll try it.’ I love that spirit.”

JUST A BITE: Jess Liu, owner of Lulu’s Sweets, samples her tiramisu mille crepe cake. Photo courtesy of Liu Liu came to the U.S. in 2016 to study law at George Washington University, where she met her now-fiancé, Son Nguyen. She’s long loved the creativity involved with baking and pursued it as a hobby for friends. At the height of pandemic restrictions, the couple decided to work remotely from the mountains rather than Washington, D.C., and moved to Asheville, where she soon saw a gap in the culinary market.

“I couldn’t find the desserts and cakes here that I wanted,” she recalls. “I have always wanted my own business, so starting Lulu’s Sweets was a perfect opportunity to combine that with what I love.”

Liu launched her Instagram page in January 2021 with an introduc-

NOT SO SWEET A scroll through Jess Liu’s Instagram page, Lulu’s Sweets — named for her 12-year-old cat — is an introduction to a world of baked goods. In addition to desserts popular in France and Italy, styles that have influenced her own works, she also features ones from her native China.

“Sweets are popular there, but not as supersweet as American sweets,” she says. “Dessert isn’t a traditional course there. Sweets are eaten as snacks or with tea.”

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APRIL 6-12, 2022

MOUNTAINX.COM

BISCUIT LOVE: Beth Kellerhals is known near and far for her butter bomb biscuits. Photo by Renee Caldwell

tory post about her cat and then a photo of her tiramisu cups — essentially tiramisu cake in small, to-go packaging. Her first pop-up was at Lee’s Asian Market last summer, and the tiramisu cups were a hit.

As she added more photos, interest grew in her distinct items (e.g., Japanese cheesecake and traditional Chinese mooncakes), and she began taking orders through direct messaging. But the photos that elicit the biggest response are her crepe cakes.

“They’re my signature dessert,” Liu says. “They’re made of over 20 layers of thin crepes — it is very time consuming. Crepe cakes originate in France but are popular in Japan because of matcha, which goes very well with crepes. Mine are not like anyone else’s I have seen.”

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SHOP TALK All three of the bakers have their eyes on the prize of eventually opening a shop, a path that other bakers of Instagram like Caroline Dockery of Morsel Cookie Co. and Heidi Bass of MOTHER bread have followed to brick-and-mortar fruition. Calzone says the unexpected success she’s found through Instagram has given her the confidence to follow in their footsteps.

“I was petrified when I started and shocked at how fast it has happened for me,” she says. “Long-term, my goal is a little shop; short-term, I hope to get into more markets and build out a little Monka’s pushcart.”

Liu says she and her fiancé are always on the lookout for a small space, where she hopes to bake, showcase Korean barbecue and serve milk tea. “We have a lot of ideas about enriching Asian food culture in Asheville,” she says. “It’s all on my to-do list.”

Meanwhile, in addition to biscuits and scones, Kellerhals loves retro baked goods like cobblers, crisps and coffee cake, which helps drive her vision for her own store.

“I used to joke that if your grandma went to French pastry school, that would be me,” she says. “What I love about having a shop one day is the community it builds. I would love all the retirees in Asheville to come in and talk and linger as long as they want. I think if we could all sit down together and get to know each other over coffee cake, the world would be a better place.”

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APRIL 6-12, 2022

33

STUDENT-LED ACTIVISM

Reduce and reuse

A R TS & CU LTU R E

LITERATURE

Celebrating Poetry Month Wayne Caldwell’s ‘Pisgah’

TYLER PESCE While older environmentalists preached the value of recycling, today’s college students are more focused on reducing the amount of waste they create and reusing clothes and other products, Tyler Pesce notes.

“Thrifting and upcycling items have become popular trends for people in my generation,” says Pesce, a junior at Mars Hill University and president of the school’s Environmental Action Club. “Thrifting for new clothes or buying other used items has become something friends can go do together.”

Social media have played a role in promoting sustainability as well, she continues. “We can sign online petitions from halfway across the world.”

Below, Xpress speaks with Pesce about her role with EAC and the ways she stays motivated to combat climate change.

The interview has been condensed and lightly edited.

What sustainability efforts on your campus are you most proud of?

The stream and campuswide cleanups the Environmental Action Club hosts every semester. We usually have a decent turnout with students, faculty and staff showing up to help pick up trash. For the stream cleanups, we team up with the Ivy River Partners. I am also proud of the composting bin we have planned for the Honors Garden on campus.

How do you keep yourself motivated in light of the lack of meaningful national or international efforts to combat climate change?

I try to focus on the good stuff. For every meaningless or failed effort, there are tons of success stories. I also try to make small sustainable choices every day, whether it’s using a reusable shopping bag, taking a shorter shower or making the time to help a local conservation effort. I also try and keep myself up to date on local environmentalism problems like the Save Ivy River campaign.

What’s one thing you would like to see Xpress readers do to promote sustainability in WNC in the coming year?

Get involved with local groups. Asheville GreenWorks is an amazing organization that works to promote sustainable living in our area. Another important thing for readers to consider is to pay attention to local elections. If sustainability is a concern for you, then be sure to check out your candidate’s stance on environmentalism. There are also a lot of lifestyle changes you can implement into your day-to-day life. Recycling, cutting down on consumerism, using reusable shopping bags and composting are all things anyone can take a part in if they so choose.

— Justin McGuire X

The

Sustainability Every Week in April!

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Series

April is Poetry Month, and this year, Xpress is celebrating the designation with a featured poem from a local poet in each issue. We’re starting things off with Wayne Caldwell’s “Pisgah,” featured in his 2021 debut collection, Woodsmoke, which was a finalist for the 2021 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award.

The poem is told in five parts, from the perspective of the collection’s main character and narrator, Posey Green. Along with the poem is a brief Q&A with Caldwell about the piece, environmentalism and Western North Carolina’s influence on his writing.

— Thomas Calder X

Pisgah 1 I’ve always lived in sight of Pisgah’s crown, Ten or twelve crowback miles from Pole Creek, The peak a steadfast anchor for my soul.

Twixt here and there green folds of South Hominy’s Story feel like old friends shadowed by the mountain.

It’s stout, worthy, tall by more’n a mile.

The rock face halfway up they call the bride and groom, Who after deep snow look pleased as punch to marry.

Two peaks to its left a rat sneaks up the ridge.

A rub-lamped genie could conjure up no better sight To greet an old man’s eyes at one more weary dawn.

2 Mister Vanderbilt used to own it. Or at least had a deed, As if a mere man, even a tycoon, could own such godly land.

Built Buck Spring Lodge, where blueblood guests Killed deer and bear and buffalo and made their servants

Cook and serve it. I peeked in there as a young’un, You could set a T-model Ford in the fireplace, And a bearskin rug looked fit to eat you alive.

Did I say buffalo? Around here?

Well, Papa told it, How Mister Vanderbilt ordered half a dozen, Male and female, three of each from way out west, For he thought money cured all ills, even buffalo drought.

I was at Hominy station when them things come off the train.

Big old wooden crates a-snorting and a-grunting and a-growling Like something inside itched to kill something outside.

Us rag-tag hooky boys (and our teacher, too) dogged them Horse-drawn carts all the way to a pen up Cut-Throat Gap. First they let out the buffalo gals, then after they settled down Busted out the he-beasts, named after various Southern worthies.

But if Dan’l Boone and Varina Davis ever shared a Lusty look of love I never heard tell.

I reckon The train ride or thin air, one, took the rut out of em.

Soon the poor uprooted beasts starved Or ran off or just plain petered out.

Some things even a millionaire can’t fix.

3 I was up Pisgah a fair amount, camped around a deadfall fire When I could sleep on the ground without being sucked into it.

No poison oak past midway, clear water cold enough to crack your teeth, Air smelled sharp as a falling axe. Red spruce and he-balsam Big as smokestacks. You’d see eagles, snakes big around as your arm, Papa said there was panthers but I never heard one.

Pisgah springs head many a creek full of orange and black spring lizards And mouth-melting speckled trout, pure waters that birth

Q&A with Wayne Caldwell

HISTORY AND NATURE: Poet Wayne Caldwell discusses the role poetry can play in promoting conservation. Photo by Mary Caldwell Davidson River and the East Fork of Pigeon and South Hominy Creek.

I never have been more taken with a view.

Over a mile high, spy any direction and ask if Moses Seen better when he looked from Gilead all the way to Zoar.

I kind of doubt it, myself. I like seeing chimney smoke From Candlertown and Etowah, Brevard and Waynesville.

Promised land, for my people. And we got to go in.

4 Pisgah’s north side overlooks a valley filled with kinfolk Intermingled two hundred years, Millers and Davises, Morgans and Israels, Owenbys and O’Kellys and Greens, proud and stubborn as Germans and Irish And Welshmen and Scots coiled like a clutch of winter snakes would be.

Baptists and Methodists and Lutherans and Catholics and Jews and I don’t know What all else. Back yonder some of them helped runaway slaves And draft dodgers jump the hollers for Tennessee and the road north.

Not long after the war, Jephthah Miller named a boy Ulysses S., Which takes a lot of sand, or a chip on your shoulder, one.

Old Jephthah wore out a stout Morgan girl, sired eleven young’uns with her.

His second wife’s Papa was Humphrey Posey Owenby, Born when lots of boys got named after that old Baptist.

Reckon my mother thought reviving it would give me good luck.

Anyhow, South Hominy’s pretty country, settled by rugged people Who didn’t care a hang for any kind of gummint.

Just wanted to be left alone at the mill or farm or store In the shadow of the mountain my father said was mother to us all.

5 The mountain’s all changed now. Got sold, for one thing, To the Forest Service, then the Parkway sliced across like a wounded snake.

They tore down Buck Spring Lodge about that time, too, They must’ve thought Yankee tourists would haul it off Board by board, rock by rock, and they may have been right.

They put a dern TV tower smack on top in ’54, Sticking up there blinking red of a night like a whorehouse sign Just so we could watch “Mister Bill’s Magic Bus.” Between bad air in the fifties and sixties and them confounded bugs You got to look hard for balsam or spruce pine now, And there’s days you can’t hardly see Cold Mountain, Much less Asheville. I ain’t been up in a while.

When all you see is Floridiots in flowerdy shirts, Motorcycle men with ponytails, New Jerseys with yipper dogs, Pouting kids listening to earphones, you don’t go back.

But down here, if you squint just right—and remember— The tower goes away, the Rat still creeps, and you can almost Hear an eagle scree before she dives—the Pisgah God meant for us to see. X

Xpress: “Pisgah” offers a rich overview of the area and its changes over time. Can you speak to your own connection to Western North Carolina and how it’s influenced both your prose and poetry?

Wayne Caldwell: I was born and raised in WNC, and my Buncombe and Haywood roots go back at least to the early 1800s. I have lived most of my 73 years here, except for a dozen or so in academia. So I could hardly have helped being influenced by that. I have also spent a lot of time listening to local older folks, so something of their wisdom and a lot of their way of speaking have worked their way into my books.

Part of the history captured in this poem explores the influence of money in the development of the region and its impact on the natural world. What role do you see poetry and other forms of creative writing playing in the conversation around environmentalism?

Both poetry and fiction must play a vital role in our regional (and national) conversation about development and nature. An encouraging sign is Mountains Piled Upon Mountains: Appalachian Nature Writing in the Anthropocene. Edited

by Jessica Cory of Western Carolina University, published by West Virginia University Press [2019], this volume of prose and poetry hits hard on themes we need to keep in the public consciousness. Such collections, along with the works of such friends as Thomas Rain Crowe, Brent Martin and John Lane, are essential to keeping the balance tipped toward nature, not development.

Speaking of writers, is there a new collection of poems written by a local poet that you’re particularly fond of? If so, what makes the collection stick out?

It’s not brand-new, but my friend Jesse Graves has a volume called Merciful Days [Mercer University Press, 2020] that I’m very fond of. It is firmly bound to place and family, and Graves, who teaches at East Tennessee State University, is a keen and insightful observer of nature.

Given that you write both fiction and poetry, what is it that attracts you to the latter? What does the form offer that fiction and other forms of creative writing might not?

Poetry has a way of seeing around corners. Good poetry can open windows that might otherwise remain shut. In short, metaphor stretches the imagination in a way that strictly informative prose cannot do.

Getting back to “Pisgah,” the poem ends on a nostalgic note. There’s some hope there, albeit fleeting. Do you share a similar view with your poem’s narrator? Is the region being developed into something unrecognizable and unsustainable? If so, what can and should be done?

Have we overdeveloped this region? Perhaps. I give thanks for the foresight of people who, despite the human cost, preserved the land in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and I advocate for any organization using conservation easements and other tools to prevent development on or near public land.

I think Posey Green’s comments about what Pisgah had become in his day are pretty much on target, but there is hope — the air is cleaner now than when he looked at Pisgah, the French Broad, Pigeon and Swannanoa rivers are also cleaner. We can do the right things when we put our minds to it.

— Thomas Calder X

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AR T S & C UL TU R E

FOOD ROUNDUP

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On April 2, farmers, makers and bakers unloaded their vehicles and set up their vendor booths on North Market Street, as Asheville City Market resumed operations at its popular open-air downtown location for the first time since mid-December 2019. Over the previous two years, amid COVID-19 restrictions and safety measures, Appalachian Sustainable Agricultural Project, the nonprofit that runs the Asheville City Market, relocated the weekly happening to the A-B Tech campus.

“Sustainable is part of our name,” says ASAP’s manager of communications Sarah Hart with a laugh. “We were all scrambling from home trying to figure it out. We knew farmers and vendors had things to sell and customers who wanted to buy, so we needed to continue operating in the safest way possible.”

As COVID protocols changed, the ASAP Farmers Market at A-B Tech did as well. Hart says ASAP is grateful for how A-B Tech partnered with and responded to the market’s needs. “There are so many things that have been amazing about A-B Tech through the pandemic and many things we will miss about it, but we are really excited to be back downtown,” she says. “The vibe of the City Market is embedded in the city.”

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While the A-B Tech location was primarily supported by locals, the return to North Market Street will also bring back the tourist foot traffic that often stumbles upon the Saturday happening while strolling downtown. Though out-of-town visitors are unlikely to buy a pint of tomatoes or pound of summer squash, vendors who sell jarred food items, baked goods, body products and crafts expect to see an uptick in sales.

So will produce vendors such as ACM mainstay Lee’s One Fortune Farm of McDowell County. “We had more room to spread out at A-B Tech,” says Chue Lee. “But we see more customers, locals and tourists, when we are downtown in the middle of things.”

Hart explains that ASAP’s origin dates back over two decades.

Originally, it worked to help farmers transition from growing tobacco to other products. “ASAP’s purpose is all about building sustainable farm businesses in the region, have farmers selling directly to customers and building relationships,” Hart says.

“Farmers markets are the most visible place that happens and a massive part of that movement.”

Joe Evans, currently farm manager of Velvet Morning Farms, has been participating with various farms at ACM for more than five years. He says he is also happy about

the move back to North Market Street. “After the past two years of things being in constant flux, we’re excited to regain a sense of normalcy with ACM’s return to downtown,” he says. “ACM has been instrumental for many local producers, providing an outlet to connect with customers in a unique way. The ACM is a mainstay of Asheville’s agricultural and food-focused community, connecting consumers to local food in transparent and accessible ways.”

Hart says that easy access from Interstate 240 and free parking at HomeTrust Bank and the Family Justice Center — both within walking distance of the market — should appeal to locals who fret about traffic and parking fees downtown.

Though peak growing season is still a few months away, Hart says over 40 vendors are signed up for April, a number that will increase through the spring, summer and fall.

“We’re still a way off from tomatoes and peaches, but we have the first of the spring alliums coming in. Every Saturday brings something new, and that’s something we’re all looking forward to.”

Asheville City Market takes place every Saturday, 9 a.m.-noon, on North

CONTINUES ON PAGE 39

Ready for sunny days at the Supper Club SMOKYPARK.COM 350 RIVERSIDE DR. ASHEVILLE, NC 28801 828-350-0315

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APRIL 6-12, 2022

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ARTS & CU L T U R E Market St. between Woodfin and West Walnut Street. For more information on the market and ASAP, visit avl.mx/b0y.

Market report Other markets are also back in swing.

• No foolin’, the East Asheville Tailgate Market’s 2022 season relaunched April 1 with returning and new vendors. Be sure to check out the macarons from Beeswax and Butter making their EATM debut. 954 Tunnel Road, Fridays, 3-6 p.m. avl.mx/bek • Another weekly Saturday market, the North Asheville Tailgate Market — Asheville’s oldest, operating since 1980 — set up April 2 in its longtime home on the UNC Asheville campus, through Nov. 19.

UNCA P28 parking lot, Saturdays, 8 a.m.-noon. avl.mx/bei • The West Asheville Tailgate Market commenced its 2022 season April 5 in the parking lot of Grace Baptist Church. The neighborhood market includes over 50 approved vendors, live music and kids activities. 718 Haywood Road, Tuesdays 3:30-6:30 p.m. avl.mx/beh

Something fishy After a trial run pop-up at Fonta Flora’s Brewery, The Pearl, a refurbished Airstream, has parked at Jettie Rae’s Oyster House. The Pearl will be the go-to bar, snacks and shucking station for the new outdoor patio.

The al fresco expansion of the restaurant’s dining room and fully enclosed patio seats about 30 and will be open Tuesday through Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

No reservations are required for the casual, covered space, exclusively served by The Pearl’s walkup window. The food menu will fluctuate, says brand manager Wilder Shaw, but “People can expect guacamole, ceviche, house-made chips and full oyster service, as well as some wine and beer selections and a few seasonal cocktails.”

The Pearl at Jettie Rae’s Oyster House is at 143 Charlotte St. For more information, visit avl.mx/bef.

Brunch bunch Oysters are always an option at Holeman and Finch Public House, but weekend brunch has commenced (Mother’s Day is around the corner, kids) with a menu that includes adventurous options like brain and eggs and livermush and eggs, as well as eggs Benedict, frittatas, griddle cakes,

French toast, waffles, shrimp and grits, and the signature H&F cheeseburger. Wash it all down with a Brandy Smash, Horse’s Neck or boozy shake.

Holeman and Finch is at 77 Biltmore Ave. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. For more, visit avl.mx/beg.

Fired up Asheville Proper steakhouse, where everything from meat to dessert is cooked over live fire, has introduced an eight-course chef’s tasting menu.

Owner/chef Owen McGlynn will personally guide partakers through a selection of special, off-menu dishes with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients prepared by him and his culinary team. Available nightly by reservation, the entire table must participate.

The prix fixe dinner is $95 per person.

Asheville Proper is at 1 Page Ave. Suite 151. Learn more at avl.mx/87f.

Into the woods Cultura restaurant continues its monthly Cultivated Community Dinner Series with guest chef Graham House on Thursday, April 21. The series was created by executive chef Eric Morris and donates a percentage of the proceeds from each dinner to a nonprofit of the guest chef’s choice. Past chefs include Luis Martinez, J Chong and Ashleigh Shanti. Graham’s Goods from the Woods forage-focused modern Appalachian five-course dinner with beverage pairings begins at 6 p.m.; Food Connection is the beneficiary.

Cultura is at 147 Coxe Ave. Tickets at $100 per person and include taxes and gratuity. Reservations are required through email at culturareservation@gmail.com. For more information, visit avl.mx/ap2.

The write stuff Asheville writer Jasmin Morrell recently won the 2022 Rose Post Creative Nonfiction Competition for her essay “All That Might Come.” In a press release the contest’s judge, Josina Guess, stated, “Traveling through time, the writing stays firmly rooted in place, giving names and faces of past, present, and often overlooked, African American contributors to Appalachian cooking.” Morell is a writer and editor whose work has been published in The Bitter Southerner and The Porch.

The Rose Post competition is sponsored by the N.C. Writers Network.

— Kay West X

where children love to learn

MIDDLE SCHOOL NOW ENROLLING FOR 2022-23 • Outdoor education • Rigorous, hands-on academics • Service learning • Performing and visual arts

Celebrating 26 years of inspiring children to be their best selves thelearningcommunity.org MOUNTAINX.COM

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ARTS & C U L T U R E

ROUNDUP

Around Town

During the heyday of Biltmore Industries, the Biltmore Homespun Shops were an important part of the company’s bustling weaving and woodworking operations near the Grove Park Inn. “They were where people could purchase bolts of wool cloth, carvings and woodwork,” says Ashley Van Matre, marketing manager for Grovewood Village, which sits on the site that once housed Biltmore Industries.

By 1992, Biltmore Industries had long since ceased operations. That’s when Barbara Blomberg, Marilyn Patton and S.M. “Buddy” Patton established the Grovewood Gallery in part of the space.

The gallery, which features American jewelry, ceramics, textiles, furniture and more, will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a two-day event, Saturday-Sunday, April 9-10, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Cheers to 30! will include demonstrations by North Carolina artists, live music, food and drinks.

Asheville’s Andrea Kulish will demonstrate the ancient Ukrainian art of pysanky, a wax-resistant method of decorating Easter eggs.

Other demonstrations will be by dollmaker Charlie Patricolo, oil painter Bryan Koontz and wildlife sculptor Roger Martin.

In addition, old-world Scottish instrumental trio The Tune

Grovewood Gallery celebrates its 30th anniversary

HOME SWEET HOME: The Grovewood Gallery, which opened in 1992 in the building that used to house Biltmore Industries’ Homespun Shops, will mark its 30th anniversary with a two-day celebration. Photos courtesy of The Grovewood Gallery Shepherds will play two hourlong sets each day.

“The building that houses our gallery was built in 1917,” Van Matre says. “Originally located in Biltmore Village and co-founded

by Edith Vanderbilt, Biltmore Industries was an Arts and Crafts

enterprise that played a significant role in the Appalachian Craft Revival during the early 20th century.”

Admission to the event is free.

The Grovewood Gallery is at 111 Grovewood Road, Suite 2, in Grovewood Village. For more information, go to avl.mx/ber.

A girl named Maria When Jay Hardwig went searching for books that featured kids with disabilities as protagonists, he was disappointed by what he found.

“Most tended toward the sentimental or mawkish,” says Hardwig, who works with Buncombe County Schools as a teacher for the blind and visually impaired. “I wanted to write a book that had a character who was blind but also flawed — one who makes mistakes at times and gives in to her baser impulses.”

The result is Hardwig’s first novel, Just Maria, which was recently published by Fitzroy Books.

The novel, which is aimed at fourth through sixth graders, tells the story of a blind 12-year-old girl who wants to be known for what she does, not for her disability. It centers on her friendship with her neighbor JJ, who challenges her to stretch herself.

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“My experiences with students who are blind inform every page of Just Maria,” says Hardwig, who first entered the education field in 1996.

“In many ways, Maria is a composite of the students I’ve taught for most of my adult life — and many of those students will recognize something they said or did.”

Hardwig says he hopes readers will come away with a subtler and nuanced understanding of what it’s like to live with blindness. “More than that, I hope the reader sees something of themself in Maria.

Hopefully they will identify with her competing motivations and conflicting feelings, her struggle to do the right thing.”

To learn more, visit avl.mx/beq.

Artistic climate The Black Mountain Center for the Arts presents Synthetic Naturals, a show focused on climate change and featuring the work of Alabama artist Wanda Sullivan, through Friday, April 29.

Sullivan is a professor at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., and is the director of the college’s Eichold Gallery. She photographs natural elements, predominantly flowers, through a kaleidoscope app on her iPad.

“Technology is changing our climate and our landscapes,” she says in a press release. “I contrast the perfect, measured symmetry of my computer-assisted designs with painterly, atmospheric layers of paint. I see these paintings as visual metaphors for climate change.

Climate change is often invisible, but it is very real.”

The show will be in the the Upper Gallery at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 225 W. State St., Black Mountain. The Upper Gallery is open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, visit avl.mx/bes.

Court is in session The Magnetic Theatre’s Mainstage Season opens with Court of the Grandchildren, which will run Friday, April 8-Saturday, April 23.

Performances of the play will be on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. Additionally, there will be a show on Thursday, April 14, at 7:30 p.m.

Written by Australian playwright Michael Muntisov, Court of the Grandchildren explores themes of responsibility and generational change through the stories of climate activist Lily and her great-uncle David, who is facing trial for decisions that advanced climate change and destroyed coastal North Carolina.

The play is directed by Jason Williams and stars Stan Baranowski, Morgan Miller, Sonia D’Andrea, Scott Fisher, Zachary Hamrick, Emily Tucker and Aaron Ybarra.

The Magnetic Theatre is at 375 Depot St. For tickets and more information, visit avl.mx/bet.

Sounds good The Great Smoky Mountains Association’s podcast miniseries, “Sepia Tones: Exploring Black Appalachian Music,” recently won the e-Appalachia Award at the Appalachian Studies Association Conference.

The award is given annually in recognition of an outstanding media source that either provides insight on Appalachia and its people or provides a vital community service to its residents.

E-Appalachia Committee Chair Sophia Enríquez praised the podcast as “an invaluable step toward more truthful, just and complete stories of Appalachian music in which we understand Appalachian music history as first and foremost Black music history.”

“Sepia Tones” is co-hosted by William Turner and Ted Olson.

It is produced by Great Smoky Mountains Association and is funded through the African American Experience in the Smokies project in collaboration with Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The podcast is distributed through GSMA’s existing podcast, “Smoky Mountain Air,” which is available on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher and most other major streaming services.

You can also find the podcast at avl.mx/beu.

Getting festive Tickets are now on sale for the inaugural Gathering at Paint Rock Farm, a weekend festival featuring live music, arts, camping and more, Friday-Sunday, June 3-5, at Paint Rock Farm in Hot Springs.

The event will be headlined Saturday by Asheville instrumental band Toubab Krewe and also will feature Natti Love Joys, Roots Grown Deep, Wandering Hours, Lazy Birds, Clover & The Sunman, Greg Olsen and Chris Rosser.

Paint Rock Farm is at 1295 Paint Rock Road, Hot Springs. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to avl.mx/bep.

— Justin McGuire X

MOVIE REVIEWS Local reviewers’ critiques of new films include: MORBIUS: Jared Leto stars in this messy, confusing, yet never boring adapation of Marvel’s “living vampire” comic book, which reeks of studio interference, complete with half-finished special effects and tacked-on scenes. Grade: D-plus — Edwin Arnaudin THE CONTRACTOR: Hell or High Water co-stars Chris Pine and Ben Foster reunite in this wellmade but somewhat plodding thriller about ex-soldiers whose mission for a private underground military force goes horribly wrong. Grade: B-minus — Edwin Arnaudin

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

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CLUBLAND

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The featured icon indicates which venues or artists require proof of vaccination for upcoming shows. Due to the evolving nature of the matter, the list may not be comprehensive.

Before heading out, please check with all venues for complete information on any vaccine or negative COVID-19 requirements.

For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, opt. 4.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6 185 KING STREET Trivia and Karaoke , 7pm Trivia Night w/Pat Gayjack, 7pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Queer Comedy Party: Asheville Showcase, 7pm AQUANET Goth Party, 9pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Liam Coker's Senior Recital (guitar)k 7:30pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Moon Hooch w/ Jason Leech (dance/ electronic), 9pm CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Trivia Night, 7pm CONTINUUM ART Westie Wednesdays, 6:30pm FLEETWOOD'S Terraoke! Karaoke w/KJ Terra Ware, 6pm HI-WIRE BREWING RAD BEER GARDEN Game Night, 6pm ICONIC KITCHEN & DRINKS Marc Keller (acoustic), 6pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Wild Wednesday Funkn-Rock, 10pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY Wednesday Open Mic at Twin Leaf, 6pm WHITE HORSE, BLACK MOUNTAIN National Tartan Day w/EJ “Piper” Jones & David Brown, 7:30pm

THURSDAY, APRIL 7 12 BONES BREWERY Musical Bingo with DJ Bar-One, 7pm 131 MAIN Aaron LaFalce (soul, rock, pop), 6pm 185 KING STREET The Ghost of Paul Revere w/Daniel Rodriguez (folk, bluegrass), 7pm 305 LOUNGE & EATERY Bob Sherill (singer-songwriter), 1pm ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB Open Mic & Pop Up Art Show, 8pm AMERICAN VINYL CO. DeeOhGee (rock)k 7pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Kiki Thursdays Drag and Dancing, 8pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR MGB at the AGB (covers, singer-songwriter) k 7:30pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Latin Night Wednesdays w/DJ Mtn Vibez, 7pm

CREEKSIDE TAPHOUSE Thursday Night Trivia w/Kelsey, 6:30pm

RIVERSIDE RHAPSODY BEER CO. Acoustic Jam, 5pm

CROW & QUILL Black Sea Beat Society (Baltic, Klezmer, Turkish), 8pm

SALVAGE STATION Sirius XM Hip Hop Nation Presents: Key Glock, 8pm

DOUBLE CROWN Rock & Roll w/DJ Fast Eddy (punk, soul, garage), 10pm

SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia, 6:30pm THE BARRELHOUSE Open Mic Hosted by Kid Billy, 8pm THE GREY EAGLE Jack Symes w/Renny Conti (folk)k 8pm

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THE ORANGE PEEL Todd Snider (folk, rock, blues)k 8pm

ONE WORLD BREWING Pingo Wednesdays, 7pm

SOVEREIGN KAVA Poetry Open Mic w/ Host Caleb Beissert, 8pm

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FLEETWOOD'S Pocket Strange w/The Wormholes (punk), 8pm GINGER'S REVENGE CRAFT BREWERY & TASTING ROOM Gluten-Free Comedy Open Mic, 6pm HIGHLAND BREWING DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Asheville 8 String Collective (jazz, funk, blues), 6pm

FOLK FUSION: Grammy-nominated Joe Troop of Latingrass band Che Apalache and Llanera music legend Larry Bellorín will perform an amalgam of Appalachian and Venezuelan folk music at the Cork & Keg in downtown Asheville on Saturday, April 9, at 8 p.m. The duo, currently located in the Triangle, is developing its repertoire in advance of a recording project sponsored by the Music Maker Relief Foundation that will enhance the pair’s vision of showing that music has no borders. Photo by Tim Duffy ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • Asheville Sessions ft.

Dani Cox (jazz, blues, rock), 7pm • Paul McDonald & Andrew Leahey (Americana, soul, alt-rock), 8:30pm JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich & Friends, 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Wesley Ganey (blues, soul), 7pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Gunslinging Parrots (Phish tribute), 9pm

THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Karaoke w/Karaoke Jackazz, 8pm THE GREY EAGLE • Rooster (Americana) k 5pm • Black Opry Revue (country, blues, Americana)k 8pm THE ODDITORIUM The Floral Hygienists, Aunt Vicki & Bombay Gasoline (alt/indie), 7pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Thursday Night Karaoke, 9pm UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Open Mic , 6pm

FRIDAY, APRIL 8

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Syrrup (jazz, soul, blues), 8pm

185 KING STREET Freeway Jubilee (psychedelic rock, gospel, roots), 8pm

PULP Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic w/Jess Cooleyk 8pm

AMERICAN VINYL CO. Resonant Rogues & Jason Dea West w/Live Vinyl (dark Appalachian folk, vintage country, blues), 7pm

ROOM IX College Night Dance Party, 10pm RYE KNOT KITCHEN BREWERY DISTILLERY John O'Connor (Americana, singer-songwriter), 6pm SALVAGE STATION Mike Rhodes Fellowship (jam/rock), 8pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Table Tennis Tournament, 7pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY VENUS (dark house dance party), 10pm ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR Mr Jimmy's Big City Chicago Bluesk 7:30pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Govinda w/Pathwey, Tonevizion & Medisin (metal), 8pm

BREWSKIES Karaoke, 10pm BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS Jim Tatum (acoustic), 3pm CITIZEN VINYL Friday Happy Hour ft. Tina Collins (singer-songwriter), 4pm CROW & QUILL The Vaden Landers Band (honky tonk, blues), 8:30pm DIANA WORTHAM THEATRE Ian Sherwood (folk pop), 8pm DRY FALLS BREWING CO. Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs (folk), 7pm FLEETWOOD'S Keep Flying, Cam Girl & Fury In Few (punk, rock), 8pm

HIGHLAND BREWING DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Drag Music Bingo w/ Divine the Bearded Lady, 7pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • Tret Fure (acoustic, folk, songwriter), 7pm • Jason Eady w/Ben Danaher (alt country, bluegrass, honky tonk), 8:30pm MAD CO. BREW HOUSE Dave Desmelik (singer-songwriter), 6pm MILLS RIVER BREWING CO. Cast Iron Bluegrass , 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Finkelstein (bluegrass), 8pm

GINGER'S REVENGE CRAFT BREWERY & TASTING ROOM Ghost Pipe Union (singer-songwriter), 7pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL • GE Early Free Dead Friday (jam band, rock), 6:30pm • Free Dead Friday w/ Gus & Friends (Grateful Dead tribute), 9pm

GUIDON BREWING Mike Pauer (acoustic), 6pm

ONE WORLD BREWING 5j Barrow (folk rock), 8pm

HARRAH'S CHEROKEE CENTER - ASHEVILLE for KING & COUNTRY (Christian)k 7:30pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST • STRAIGHTLINES, The Cancellations & The Log Noggins (rock, pop rock, alternative), 6pm • Dance for World Peace w/Jaze Uries (disco), 9:30pm

HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Adam and the Testifiers (funk), 6pm

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CLU B LA N D OSKAR BLUES BREWERY Folkadelic Jam Band w/ Paul McIntire, 6pm RENDEZVOUS Gin Mill Pickers (Americana, Piedmont blues, retro folk-rag), 6pm RIVERSIDE RHAPSODY Chris Jamison (Americana), 6pm ROOM IX Ladies Night Dance Party w/DJ Moto, 10pm SILVERADOS • Kameron Marlow (country), 6pm • Mile High Band (country), 10:30pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Disco Goddess, 8pm THE 2ND ACT 3 Shades of Gray (covers), 6:30pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Getaway Comedy: Dennis Rooney, 8pm THE GREY EAGLE Roots & Dore (blues, soul, roots)k 5pm THE ODDITORIUM Organ Trail & Stagnater w/Until They Bleed & Systematic Devastation (death metal, grindcore, deathcore), 8pm UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Live Music w/Iggy Radio, 6pm WHITE HORSE, BLACK MOUNTAIN John Ford (acoustic, blues), 8pm

SATURDAY, APRIL 9 185 KING STREET Stops Out (rock), 8pm 305 LOUNGE & EATERY Old Men of the Woods (folk, pop), 1pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY • Beauty Parlor Comedy: Kunal Arora, 7pm • In Plain Sight Dance Party (house music), 10pm ASHEVILLE CLUB Mr Jimmy (blues), 8pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Neal Francis w/Andrew Scotchie & the River Rats (rock, funk, jam), 9pm BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE Dinah's Daydream (gypsy jazz), 5:30pm BIG PILLOW BREWING Mark Bumgarner (Southern Americana, country), 5:30pm BREWSKIES Pool Tournament Saturdays, 7pm BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS Roots and Dore (roots), 2pm BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS CHIMNEY ROCK Supper Break (bluegrass), 2pm

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CITIZEN VINYL Saturday Spins, 1pm CORK & KEG Joe Troop & Larry Bellorin (Venezuelan & Appalachian folk music), 9pm CROW & QUILL The Krektones (surf rock & exotica), 8:30pm DFR ROOM The Julie McConnell Quartet (jazz), 7pm DRY FALLS BREWING CO. Twisted Trail (Southern rock, blues, country), 7pm FLEETWOOD'S GAK, Rocky MTN Roller & Bad Vibes (rock), 8pm GUIDON BREWING Dr. Don (Americana), 6pm HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Swamp Rats (punk, metal, bluegrass), 7pm HIGHLAND BREWING DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Falcon 3 (improvosational), 7pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • Admiral Radio (acoustic, Americana, folk), 7pm • Mile Twelve (bluegrass), 8:30pm MILLS RIVER BREWING CO. • The Pond Brothers (bluegrass, world), 2pm • Drip A Silver (Dead tribute), 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Get Right Band (indie rock, psychedelic), 8pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL JULIA. (funk), 9pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST • Bald Mountain Boys (bluegrass), 4pm • Krave Amiko w/ Aunt Vicki (alt/indie, acoustic), 7pm PARKER-BINNS VINEYARD Dan Lane (acoustic), 3pm ROOM IX Asheville's Biggest Dance Party, 10pm SALVAGE STATION Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder (bluegrass), 8pm SILVERADOS Trial by Fire (Journey tribute), 7pm THE DUGOUT Graywind (rock), 8pm THE GREY EAGLE • Paul Edelman (folk) k 6pm • Ian Noe (country) k 9pm THE ORANGE PEEL Dark Side of the Dead w/Cosmic Charlie (Dead/Floyd tribute) k 8pm WHITE HORSE, BLACK MOUNTAIN The Michael Flynn Band (pop, rock), 8pm

SUNDAY, APRIL 10 185 KING STREET Open Electric Jam with the King Street House Band w/Howie Johnson, 5pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY • Jazz Brunch w/Nick Garrison Trio, 12pm • SOL Dance Party w/ Zati (soul house), 9pm BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS Everydays (Americana), 2pm BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS CHIMNEY ROCK The JackTown Ramblers (bluegrass, swing, jazz), 2pm CITIZEN VINYL Sunday Live ft. Madelyn Ilana (singer-songwriter), 11am CROW & QUILL The Roaring Lions (parlour jazz), 8pm HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Soul Jazz Sundays w/ Taylor Pierson Trio, 3pm HIGHLAND DOWNTOWN TAPROOM Mr Jimmy Duo w/Tom Driessen (blues), 1pm

WHITE HORSE, BLACK MOUNTAIN A Little Mischief (jazz), 3pm

MONDAY, APRIL 11 BREWSKIES Open Jam w/Tall Paul, 7:30pm DOUBLE CROWN Country Karaoke, 10pm HAYWOOD COUNTRY CLUB Open Mic w/Taylor Martin & Special Guest, 7:15pm HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY Totally Rad Trivia w/ Mitch Fortune, 6pm LITTLE JUMBO Jay Sanders' Sinfonietta (jazz)k 7pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Trivia by the River w/ James Harrod, 8pm THE GREY EAGLE Hot Flash Heat Wave (rock)k 8pm THE JOINT NEXT DOOR Mr Jimmy (blues), 7pm WHITE HORSE, BLACK MOUNTAIN Josh Goforth (folk, bluesgrass, Celtic), 7:30pm

ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • An Evening w/Barnaby Bright (Americana, indie, pop/rock), 6pm • John Duncan (bluegrass, old time, Americana), 7:30pm

185 KING STREET Tuesday Casual Collaboration: Tommy Maher and Friends, 6pm

MILLS RIVER BREWING CO. Roots and Dore (roots), 2pm

305 LOUNGE & EATERY Bob Sherill (singer-songwriter), 1pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. West End String Band (traditional bluegrass, country), 3pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Downtown Karaoke w/ Ganymede, 9pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Shakedown Sundays (rock, jam band), 8pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST • Sunday Jazz Jam w/ The Fully Vaccinated Jazz Trio, 1pm • The Freecoasters (reggae), 6pm PARKER-BINNS VINEYARD Phil Ruff (acoustic), 3pm THE DUGOUT Myron Hyman (classic rock, blues), 3pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Bike Night w/Ashley & Big Matty, 2pm THE GREY EAGLE • Asheville Drag Brunch FUNdraiser for OurVOICEk 12pm • Molly Hatchet w/DB Bryant Band (Southern rock)k 8pm UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Nick Colavito & Chad Brown Bluegrass Duo, 3pm

TUESDAY, APRIL 12

CORK & KEG Swing Dance & Lesson w/Swing Asheville, 7pm FRENCH BROAD RIVER BREWERY Robert's Totally Rad Trivia, 7pm, facebook. com/TotallyRadTriviaWithRobert/ MAD CO. BREW HOUSE Team Trivia Night, 6pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Grateful Family Band Tuesdays (Dead tribute), 6pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Open mic ft. Lactones (improv), 7pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING All Arts Open Mike w/ Mike Waters, 6pm THE GREY EAGLE Danielle Nicole (blues, rock)k 8pm THE ORANGE PEEL Steve Hofstetter (comedy)k 8pm THE SOCIAL Open Mic w/Riyen Roots, 7pm

TURGUA BREWING CO Tuesday Jam Sessions: Swing Jam, 5:30pm

ALLEY CAT SOCIAL CLUB Open Mic & Pop Up Art Show, 8pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY Eister's Twin Leaf Trivia, 7pm

ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Classic Beauties Drag Show, 8pm

WHITE HORSE, BLACK MOUNTAIN Open Mic, 7pm

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13 185 KING STREET Trivia and Karaoke , 7pm Trivia Night w/Pat Gayjack, 7pm ASHEVILLE BEAUTY ACADEMY Beauty Parlor Comedy: John Michael Bond, 7pm AQUANET Goth Party w/Ash Black, 9pm ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Disclaimer Stand-Up Lounge Comedy Open Mic, 8pm CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Trivia Night, 7pm FLEETWOOD'S Terraoke! Karaoke w/KJ Terra Ware, 6pm HI-WIRE BREWING RAD BEER GARDEN Game Night, 6pm ICONIC KITCHEN & DRINKS Marc Keller (acoustic), 6pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Wild Wednesday Funkn-Rock, 10pm ONE WORLD BREWING Pingo Wednesdays, 7pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Latin Night Wednesdays w/DJ Mtn Vibez, 7pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia, 6:30pm THE BARRELHOUSE Open Mic Hosted by Kid Billy, 8pm THE GREY EAGLE Tab Benoit w/Lightnin' Malcolm (blues)k 8pm THE ORANGE PEEL The Milk Carton Kids (indie folk), 8pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Open Mic , 6pm WHITE HORSE, BLACK MOUNTAIN Irish Music Session, 7pm

THURSDAY, APRIL 14 131 MAIN Aaron LaFalce (soul, rock, pop), 6pm 305 LOUNGE & EATERY Bob Sherill (singer-songwriter), 1pm

ASHEVILLE GUITAR BAR KB and the LMD (jazz standards, classic pop) k 7:30pm CREEKSIDE TAPHOUSE Thursday Night Trivia w/Kelsey, 6:30pm DOUBLE CROWN Rock & Roll w/DJ Fast Eddy (punk, soul, garage), 10pm FLEETWOOD'S Fortezza, Sylmar & Computer Science (punk, indie), 8pm GINGER'S REVENGE CRAFT BREWERY & TASTING ROOM Gluten-Free Comedy Open Mic, 6pm

field guide

Asheville to

New Edition coming in MAy

HIGHLAND DOWNTOWN TAPROOM West of Caroline (blues, rock), 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL & KITCHEN 743 • Asheville Sessions ft. Linda Mitchell (jazz, blues, rock), 7pm • Into the Fog (acoustic, Newgrass, stringband), 8:30pm

Contact us today! • advertise@mountainx.com

JACK OF THE WOOD PUB Bluegrass Jam w/Drew Matulich & Friends, 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Laura Thurston (Americana, folk), 7pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Gunslinging Parrots (Phish tribute), 9pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Aimless Wave (jam band), 8pm PULP Slice of Life Comedy Open Mic w/Morgan Bostk 8pm ROOM IX College Night Dance Party, 10pm RYE KNOT KITCHEN BREWERY DISTILLERY John O'Connor (Americana, singer-songwriter), 6pm SALVAGE STATION The Elovaters + Ballyhoo!, 7pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Weekly Table Tennis Tournament, 7pm THE GETAWAY RIVER BAR Karaoke w/Karaoke Jackazz, 8pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Craft Karaoke , 8pm UPCOUNTRY BREWING COMPANY Open Mic , 6pm

MOUNTAINX.COM

APRIL 6-12, 2022

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FREEWILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19): To provide the right horoscope, I must introduce you to three new words. The first is “orphic,” defined as “having an importance or meaning not apparent to the senses nor comprehensible to the intellect; beyond ordinary understanding.” Here’s the second word: “ludic,” which means “playful; full of fun and high spirits.” The third word is “kalon,” which refers to “profound, thorough beauty.”

Now I will coordinate those terms to create a prophecy in accordance with your astrological aspects. Ready? I predict you will generate useful inspirations and energizing transformations for yourself by adopting a ludic attitude as you seek kalon in orphic experiments and adventures.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I love your steadfastness, intense effort and stubborn insistence on doing what’s right. Your ability to stick to the plan even when chaos creeps in is admirable. But during the coming weeks, I suggest you add a nuance to your approach.

Heed the advice of martial artist Bruce Lee: “Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.”

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini-born basketball coach Pat Summitt won Olympic medals, college championships and presidential awards.

She had a simple strategy: “Here’s how I’m going to beat you. I’m going to outwork you. That’s it.

That’s all there is to it.” I recommend that you apply her approach to everything you do for the rest of 2022. According to my analysis, you’re on course for a series of satisfying victories. All you have to do is nurture your stamina as you work with unwavering focus and resilient intelligence.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In Britain, 70% of the land is owned by 1% of the population.

Globally, 1% of the population owns 43% of the wealth. I hope there’s a much better distribution of resources within your own life. I hope that the poorer, less robust parts of your psyche aren’t being starved at the expense of the privileged and highly functioning aspects.

I hope that the allies and animals you tend to take for granted are receiving as much of your love and care as the people you’re trying to impress or win over. If any adjustments are necessary, now is a favorable time to make them.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): TV show creator Joey Soloway says, “The only way things will change is when we’re all wilder, louder, riskier, sillier and unexpectedly overflowing with surprise.”

Soloway’s Emmy Award-winning work on Transparent, one of the world’s first transgender-positive shows, suggests that their formula has been effective for them. I’m recommending this same approach to you in the coming weeks, Leo. It will help you summon the extra courage and imagination you will need to catalyze the necessary corrections and adjustments.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain,” wrote mythologist Joseph Campbell. I don’t think his cure is foolproof.

The lingering effects of some old traumas aren’t so simple and easy to dissolve. But I suspect Campbell’s strategy will work well for you in the coming weeks. You’re in a phase of your astrological cycle when extra healing powers are available. Some are obvious, and some are still partially hidden. It will be your sacred duty to track down every possible method that could help you banish at least some of your suffering and restore at least some of your joie de vivre.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You know who Jimi Hendrix was, right? He was a brilliant and influential rock guitarist. As for Miles Davis, he was a Hall of Fame-level trumpeter and composer. You may be less familiar with Tony Williams. A prominent rock critic once called

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APRIL 6-12, 2022

him “the best drummer in the world.” In 1968, those three superstars gathered in the hope of recording an album. But they wanted to include a fourth musician, Paul McCartney, to play bass for them. They sent a telegram to the ex-Beatle, but it never reached him. And so the supergroup never happened. I mention this in the hope that it will render you extra alert for invitations and opportunities that arrive in the coming weeks — perhaps out of nowhere.

Don’t miss out! Expect the unexpected. Read between the lines. Investigate the cracks.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Poet Anne Carson claims that “a page with a poem on it is less attractive than a page with a poem on it and some tea stains.” I agree. If there are tea stains, it probably means that the poem has been studied and enjoyed. Someone has lingered over it, allowing it to thoroughly permeate their consciousness. I propose we make the tea-stained poem your power metaphor for the coming weeks, Scorpio. In other words, shun the pristine, the spotless, the untouched. Commune with messy, even chaotic things that have been loved and used.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian author Martha Beck articulated the precise message you need to hear right now. She wrote, “Here is the crux of the matter, the distilled essence, the only thing you need to remember: When considering whether to say yes or no, you must choose the response that feels like freedom. Period.” I hope you adopt her law in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. You should avoid responses and influences that don’t feel liberating. I realize that’s an extreme position to take, but I think it’s the right one for now. Where does your greatest freedom lie? How can you claim it? What shifts might you need to initiate?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I’m glad you have been exploring your past and reconfiguring your remembrances of the old days and old ways. I’m happy you’ve been transforming the story of your life. I love how you’ve given yourself a healing gift by reimagining your history. It’s fine with me if you keep doing this fun stuff for a while longer. But please also make sure you don’t get so immersed in bygone events that you’re weighed down by them.

The whole point of the good work you’ve been doing is to open up your future possibilities.

For inspiration, read this advice from author Milan Kundera: “We must never allow the future to collapse under the burden of memory.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Aquarian historian Mary Frances Berry offered counsel that I think all Aquarians should keep at the heart of their philosophy during the coming weeks. She wrote, “The time when you need to do something is when no one else is willing to do it, when people are saying it can’t be done.” I hope you trust yourself enough to make that your battle cry.

I hope you will keep summoning all the courage you will regularly need to implement its mandate.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): What’s the leading cause of deforestation in Latin America? Logging for wood products? Agricultural expansion? New housing developments? Nope. It’s raising cattle so people everywhere can eat beef, cheese and milk. This industry also plays a major role in the rest of the world’s ongoing deforestation tragedy. Soaring greenhouse gas emissions aren’t entirely caused by our craving for burgers, milk and cheese, of course, but our climate emergency would be significantly less dramatic if we cut back our consumption. That’s the kind of action I invite you to take in the coming months, Pisces. My analysis of astrological omens suggests that you now have even more power than usual to serve the collective good of humanity in whatever specific ways you can. (P.S.: Livestock generates 14.5% of our greenhouse gases, equal to the emissions from all cars, trucks, airplanes and ships combined.)

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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 EMPLOYMENT GENERAL JOIN UNITED WAY'S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County is seeking to fill THREE positions within our Community Engagement Department. We are looking for teammates who build relationships, enjoy collaborative projects, and have good attention to detail. For more information, and to apply: https://www.unitedwayabc. org/employment-opportunities NOW HIRING - EXPERIENCED/ INEXPERIENCED CREW LEADER TRAINEES & SPRINKLER TECHS $15-$17/HR STARTING Come work for the BEST. K2 Irrigation is a 5-star landscape/ sprinkler/lighting specialist (if you've been to Sierra Nevada in Mills River, you've seen our work) and we're looking for honest, dependable people who desire respect and want a balanced life. Nights/ Weekends/Holidays OFF. Benefits like Paid Time Off, education reimbursement +More! Valid NC DL with NO driving infractions (3 years) and a background check required.

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SKILLED LABOR/ TRADES NEED A FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE WHERE YOU ARE EARNING A SOLID LIVING WAGE? We are looking for the best, most detailed, and punctual cleaners.

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RESTAURANT/ FOOD

LINE COOK AT ZADIE'S MARKET - LIKE CBGB WITH AN EARLIER BEDTIME Come join the crew at Zadie's Market as a line cook! We know there are lots of opportunities for line folks right now. We hope you'll work with us because we are a team where everyone matters, and where everyone is invited to grow their skills. Plus, we might be cool. Like CBGB cool, but with an earlier bedtime. People start bands here, and celebrities eat here. Located just 25 minutes outside of Asheville in the Old

Creative Company & Events Service Seeking

Marshall Jail, we are downtown Marshall's newest hub for hanging out on the river, events and live music. We are looking for inspired line looks to join our quality-driven, hyper-local kitchen team. Send your info to info@zadiesmarket. com, and check us online at www.zadiesmarket.com.

SALES/ MARKETING

SALES PROFESSIONAL WORK FOR A LOCAL COMPANY THAT HAS COVERED THE LOCAL SCENE FOR OVER 20 YEARS! This is a full-time position with benefits in a supportive, team-oriented environment in a community-service, locally-owned business. Ideal candidates are personable, organized, motivated, and can present our company with confidence. Necessary skills include clear and professional communications (via phone, email, and in-person meetings), detailed record-keeping, and self motivation. 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. If you are a high energy, positive, cooperative person looking to join an independent media organization, please send a resume and cover letter (no walk-ins, please) explaining why you are a good fit for Mountain Xpress to: xpressjob@ mountainx.com.

DJs, Bands, Musicians, Singers, Promotional Models, Artists, Karaoke Hosts, Bartenders, Live Creative Performers Audition to be a part of a winning team that provides a service to local parties and events.

Payment is based on expertise in your eld!

CREATIVE JOBS APPLY HERE!!!

Send your professional social media handle, or attached 3 examples of your work to: miaeventsavl@gmail.com

SALES ASSISTANT Entry level administrative assistant position to our vibrant sales team. Position includes researching leads, verifying contacts, organizing outreach schedules, collections, and other

tasks in support of the sales staff. Strong organization and communications skills as well as computer competencies required.

Opportunity for advancement depending on skill level and abilities. Salaried position with benefits in a positive team environment with an emphasis on community engagement.

Please send a resume and cover letter explaining why you are a good fit for Mountain Xpress to: xpressjob@mountainx.com.

DRIVERS/ DELIVERY

MOUNTAIN XPRESS DELIVERY Mountain Xpress is seeking an energetic, reliable, independent contractor for part-time weekly newspaper delivery. The contractor must have a safe driving record, a reliable vehicle with proper insurance and registration, and be able to lift 50 lbs. without strain. Distribution of papers is on Tuesday mornings and afternoons and typically lasts about 7-8 hours per week. Occasional Wednesday morning delivery is is sometimes needed or can be an option.

E-mail distro@mountainx.com.

Far Western route; preference for individual or couple who lives in Western Buncombe or Haywood County.

HUMAN SERVICES HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER Community Action Opportunities is hiring.

Send resume, cover letter and complete contact information for three (3) professional references to: admin@communityactionopportunities.org.

PROFESSIONAL/ MANAGEMENT JOB ANNOUNCEMENT FOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PATHWAYS FOR THE FUTURE, INC. DBA DISABILITY PARTNERS MARCH 21, 2022 Pathways

The Key to a New Barbering Career PROGRAMS 1 Hour Drive from Asheville GI Bill Accepted

• Master Barber • Cosmetologist to Barber Crossover • Barber Instructor

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THE N EW Y OR K TI M ES C ROSSWORD P UZ Z LE for the future, Inc. dba Disability Partners is seeking a dynamic, forward thinking person for the position of Executive Director.

Disability Partners is a local Center for Independent Living serving 14 counties in Western North Carolina, with offices in Sylva and Asheville, North Carolina. People with disabilities are served through the center for independent living, Homecare Partners and Person First Services, a provider of the Innovations waiver through Vaya. The Executive Director job description and application can be found at https://www.disabilitypartners. org/employment-opportunities.

All applicants must submit by email: cover letter, current resume and a complete application to: ssacco@disabilitypartners. org. The deadline to apply for the position is April 29, 2022 at 5:00pm. Documents submitted after the deadline will not be accepted. Persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply for the position.

MOUNTAIN HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES IS SEEKING A DIRECTOR OF PHILANTHROPY The Director of Philanthropy will support the sustainability of Mountain Housing Opportunities' mission. The ideal candidate will have experience in a successful resource development program.

To apply, visit https://www. armstrongmcguire.com/jobs.

Womansong of Asheville (NC) is seeking our next Artistic Director to lead our dynamic community of singing women.

For description and further details on this exciting part-time job opportunity visit www. womansong.org/adposition.

Application review begins April 15, 2022. Send application and questions to womansongjob@ gmail.com.

COMPUTER & IT TRAINING PROGRAM Train ONLINE to get the skills to become a Computer & Help Desk Professional now! Grants and Scholarships available for certain programs for qualified applicants. Call CTI for details! 1-855-554-4616. The Mission Program Information and Tuition is located at CareerTechnical.edu/consumer-information.

(AAN CAN)

HOTEL/ HOSPITALITY

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

SOUS CHEF FT Sous Chef for CooperRiis: Wed-Saturday 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Guaranteed Hours/ Schedule, Full Benefits Package, Creativity of menu using local, organic foods. Pay starting at $16/ hr based on experience. Email: hr@cooperriis.org. Online: www. cooperriis.org

XCHANGE ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES STILL BUYING ANTIQUES Seeking old stuff! Cast iron, advertising signs, military, primitives, collections, art, pottery, estates, crocks, bottles, silver, license plates, unusual stuff, taxidermy, rifles, bbguns, more. Call/Text 828-582-6097,steadyaim1@ yahoo.com.

DO YOU OWE OVER $10,000 TO THE IRS OR STATE IN BACK TAXES? Our firm works to reduce the tax bill or zero it out completely FAST. Let us help!

Call 877-414-2089. (AAN CAN) (Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-5pm PST)

ARTS/MEDIA

BATH & SHOWER UPDATES In as little as ONE DAY! Affordable prices - No payments for 18 months! Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & Military Discounts available. Call: 1-877-649-5043 (AAN CAN)

WOMANSONG OF ASHEVILLE SEEKS NEXT PART-TIME ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

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And Gibson Mandolins / Banjos.

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A-B TECH IS HIRING A-B Tech is currently taking applications for a Full-Time position Adult Basic Education and High School Equivalency Preparation Coordinator. For more details and to apply: https://www. abtcc.peopleadmin.com/hr/ postings/6062 NOW HIRING: LEAD & ASSISTANT TEACHER The Christine Avery Learning Center is hiring for a Lead Teacher and Teacher Assistant for our Early Learning Program. The position is full time and the pay rate is $15-$20/hr. walearningcenter.com RAINBOW COMMUNITY SCHOOL SEEKS DIVISION HEAD To oversee operations for the 4-8 Division and contribute to a safe, inclusive, and dynamic culture. For details, requirements, and application visit www. rainbowcommunityschool.org.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

MIND, BODY, SPIRIT COUNSELING SERVICES

edited by Will Shortz | No. 0302

ACROSS 1 The girl next door, for one 6 Polite term of address 10 Claire Dunphy of “Modern Family,” for one 15 Act like some poles

SPIRITUAL PSYCHIC READINGS BY PHONE I've been a psychic for 10 years now. No problem is too big or too small, I could read you like an open book just using your name and date of birth. I specialize and advice in Love, Career, Family, Finances, Jobs, Bad Habits, Law Matters, Relationships, and Divorce. Call 504-215-9396 or visit https:// palm-tarot-card-readings. business.site/.

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27 Like some meds 29 Hired security guard 32 Sounds of hesitation 33 Pi follower 34 ___ Lovelace, computer programming pioneer 35 Display one’s humanity, in a way 37 Visible 38 Three U.S. states (4,4,10) 43 Racing shape 44 Metaphor for many a college dorm room 45 Dug-out material

49 Malt shop selections 54 Sr.’s test 55 “Bummer!”

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POSITIVE HYPNOSIS | EFT | NLP Michelle Payton, M.A., D.C.H., Author | 828-681-1728 | www.MichellePayton.com | Mind Over Matter Solutions books, online and in-person education, workshops and sessions.

Positive Hypnosis—re-learning thru positive reinforcement, Emotional Freedom Technique, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Birth Mix Personality Assessment, Past Life Regression.

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DONATE YOUR CAR TO KIDS Your donation helps fund the search for missing children. Accepting Trucks, Motorcycles & RV’s, too! Fast Free Pickup – Running or Not - 24 Hour Response - Maximum Tax Donation. Call 877-266-0681.

(AAN CAN) NOTICE OF UNCLAIMED PROPERTY The following is a list of unclaimed and confiscated property at the Asheville Police Department: electronic equipment; cameras; clothing; lawn and garden equipment; personal items; tools; weapons (including firearms): jewelry: automotive items; building supplies; bikes and other miscellaneous items.

Anyone with a legitimate claim or interest in this property has 30 days from the date of this publication to make a claim.

Unclaimed items will be 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.

TEACHING/ EDUCATION

TRAIN ONLINE TO DO MEDICAL BILLING! Become a Medical Office Professional online at CTI! Get Trained, Certified & ready to work in months! Call 1-866-243-5931. (M-F 8am-6pm ET) (AAN CAN)

58 Sorrow 59 Three countries (6,4,9) 63 Believe unquestioningly 64 Speaker’s quality

65 Going from 0 to 100, say 66 Line to the house 67 Put forth 68 Role once played on TV by Jay Silverheels 69 You, in Uruguay 70 Big name in little gumdrops 71 Spurred (on)

13 “Well, alrighty!”

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14 “Cool” amount of cash 22 Colorful parrot

43 United Nations, e.g.: Abbr.

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36 Jean who wrote “Wide Sargasso Sea”

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DOWN 1 Post office inquiry 2 Edit, in a way, as a computer file 3 Possibility 4 Jury member 5 Sir Walter Raleigh’s goal 6 Manage 7 Longtime “Jeopardy!” host Trebek 8 Wiped out 9 French term of endearment 10 Large expanses 11 Start of a Caesarean boast 12 Cookie with a green creme center

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38 Part of a highway cloverleaf

60 Neutral lipstick shade 61 Monogram part: Abbr.

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62 Brimming with anticipation 63 ___ de parfum

41 “Obvs!”

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