Mountain Xpress 04.14.21

OUR 27TH YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 27 NO. 37 APRIL 14-20, 2021

C O N T E NT S

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4 CARTOON: MOLTON 5 CARTOON: BRENT BROWN

12 BUNCOMBE BEAT 17 ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES 20 COMMUNITY CALENDAR 22 WELLNESS 24 GREEN SCENE 28 ARTS & CULTURE 36 CLUBLAND

32 DANCE OFF Chefs bring on the funk to raise funds for food security; more local food news

38 FREEWILL ASTROLOGY 38 CLASSIFIEDS 39 NY TIMES CROSSWORD

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Only one species of trout — the brook — is native to Western North Carolina streams. As the trout’s habitat shrinks and temperatures rise, the outlook for the beautiful species’ long-term survival is increasingly uncertain.

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28 THE ART OF CONSERVATION Local creatives work to inspire a picturesque America

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17 HOLE-IN-ONE! Miniature golf craze strikes amid the Great Depression

C O NT AC T U S: (8 2 8 ) 2 5 1 - 1 3 3 3 • F A X (8 2 8 ) 2 5 1 - 1 3 1 1 news tips & story ideas to NEWS@MOUNTAINX.COM letters/commentary to LETTERS@MOUNTAINX.COM sustainability news to GREEN@MOUNTAINX.COM a&e events and ideas to AE@MOUNTAINX.COM events can be submitted to CALENDAR@MOUNTAINX.COM or try our easy online calendar at MOUNTAINX.COM/EVENTS food news and ideas to FOOD@MOUNTAINX.COM wellness-related events/news to MXHEALTH@MOUNTAINX.COM business-related events/news to BUSINESS@MOUNTAINX.COM

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TROUT IN TROUBLE

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22 WEIGHT OF THE WORLD Climate change sparks mental health concerns

TRS Inventory on Nova Lane

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12 BUNCOMBE BEAT Nondiscrimination ordinance rubs some residents the wrong way

WELLNESS

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8 GREEN GETAWAY Asheville’s new hotel system awards points for sustainable lodging

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

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APRIL 14-20, 2021

3

OPI N I ON

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

C AR T O O N B Y RA N D Y MO L T O N

‘I believe’ isn’t real If you live in Asheville, odds are you’ve been privy to a numbing number of ‘I believe’ bumper stickers and yard signs. Mind if one suggests it is a misstep to believe those who thus believe?

The ‘I believe’ script typically references Black Lives Matter, Women Are Humans, No Person Is Illegal, Love Is Love, Science Is Real or something thereabouts.

Hard to argue with those creative mission statements, but there is one snaggy problem. Those things may be real, but the people promoting those things frequently aren’t.

Mankind’s ability to corrupt racial equality, equal rights, immigration policy, gender realities, science and everything else is exponentially unbelievable.

Part of the reason tracks to a remarkable human attachment to imagery over actuality. Is it not ironic that in our amazing age of information, the truth is harder to harvest than uranium? Rather than dig for the truth, most of us settle for comfort words marketed like cerebral Twinkies.

For a clue on what might be real, pick up a coin.

There are two sides to that coin and, depending on your direction of view, you will see something different than those looking from another angle.

This visual offers a glimpse into why our America has become so antagonistically divided. Most of us think we have the market cornered on wisdom and are satisfied to lovingly 4

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gaze at our side of the coin and — wait for it — believe.

There are exceptions.

Occasionally, there are those with the courage and conviction to live on the outside of the coin. You know, the tiny edgy part that unannouncedly serves as a bridge to the truths on either side.

Such people are rare for the reasons good and noble people have always been rare. It’s hard to live outside of habituated social norms and the comfort-food thinking that goes with those beliefs.

Truly edgy people understand that honest progress is a demanding mistress. She could give a whit about what we believe. She is very much invested in the truth in what we do.

— Carl Mumpower Asheville Editor’s note: The writer notes that he is a practicing psychologist and former Asheville City Council member.

He can be reached at drmumpower@ aol.com.

Cawthorn deserves no credit for WNC relief funds On March 30, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (N.C. District 11) wrote on Twitter that he was “happy to announce that NC-11 was awarded grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”

He was even good enough to point out how the money was disbursed, which is helpful for our community to know how we were helped by the Biden administration’s COVID relief act.

CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN He wrote that: • Appalachian Mountain Community Health Centers was given $2,458,000 • Western North Carolina Community Health Services Inc. was given $4,622,375 • Bakersville Community Medical Clinic Inc. was given $1,771,125 • Blue Ridge Community Health Services Inc. was given $10,473,250.

He also went on to say he was “proud to see taxpayer dollars returned to NC-11.”

What he failed to mention was that he voted against all of this, as did every other Republican, including Sen. Burr and Sen. Tillis.

If Mr. Cawthorn is so proud to see this money being given to his district, why did he vote against it?

Mr. Cawthorn deserves no credit for this. Republicans in general deserve no credit for the monies WNC received. We should remember this the next time we are asked to vote. We should support those who supported us when in need.

— Kathleen Gilmour Spruce Pine Editor’s note: The issue has received national attention, with Cawthorn spokesperson Micah Bock telling NBC News that Cawthorn “firmly believes that the American Rescue Plan does more harm than good” and that the congressman

“uses his official Twitter account to post information relevant to his constituents in NC-11” (avl.mx/98k).

If you think your home has been overvalued, appeal Mr. Larry Layton’s “revenue neutral” proposal won’t help a lot of people [“Keep Asheville a Place for All,” Feb. 17, Xpress]. Revenue neutral will keep total tax intake at the same level, but a person whose property value increased by a greater percentage than average will pay more taxes than prior to the revaluation.

Revaluations produce winners, losers and neutrals, despite revenue neutral, and often the people who can afford real property taxes the least end up with the biggest tax increases if their property is in a popular area, as close-in neighborhoods with character often are. If you are in that category, appeal if you have a leg to stand on, as you may well have. Typically, many properties are overvalued (as many are undervalued).

In connection with a revaluation in Charlotte about 20 years ago, I found upon review of my neighborhood that about one-third of the properties were overvalued and worthy of appeal, about one-third about right and about one-third undervalued (the owners of which, of course, would not

appeal). I appealed revaluation twice and received valuable adjustments each time.

— Michael Childs Charlotte

Powerful women of Asheville The city of Asheville has elected and put into office women of considerable rank and influence in their city’s history. There are three women who have came into power in the city government and who have made the city of Asheville a better place.

Tammy Hooper served as Asheville police chief from 2015-2019. Hooper resigned on Jan. 2, 2019, after she came under criticism for handling a case where an Asheville police officer choked and shocked an unarmed Black Asheville pedestrian with a stun gun. She … then headed the Unit One Consulting firm agency in Asheville.

Terry Bellamy served as mayor of Asheville from 2005-2013. In the year 2005, she became the youngest mayor in the history of North Carolina at age 33. She is a native resident of Asheville and since her mayoral tenure said she wanted to run for the U.S. House a second time.

The current mayor of Asheville is Esther Manheimer. She is a native of Denmark, born there to American

parents. During the September 2020 protests in the city, she called for protesters to remain peaceful and for threats against police and city leaders to stop.

The women of Asheville have made remarkable achievements in their city’s history. They have been great Buncombe County teachers, policemen, judges and businesswomen. The women of Asheville will continue to make Asheville a better place.

— Steven Hawkins Greenville, S.C. Editor’s note: Hawkins reports that previous letters to the editor he’s written have been collected in the book Letters from South Carolina.

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OPINION

Fair prices, fair pay Small farm survival is in your hands

BY NICOLE DELCOGLIANO Now that a year has passed since the pandemic became a hard reality, I’ve been reflecting on the toll it’s taken on our local food and farm landscape. Like everybody else, farmers scrambled to make sense of it all. And when grocery store shelves began to get bare, shoppers wondered why there was suddenly no ground beef and shortages of certain vegetables. Why had we gone from a cornucopia of food to an empty basket?

We didn’t know if or when our local farmers markets and restaurants would reopen, meaning farmers didn’t know where or when they’d be able to sell their products.

By March, farms are already in motion: First seeds are getting planted outside, farm animals are starting to have babies, and most of the planning has already been done. Many local farms start hiring

employees during the winter. The pandemic, however, left farms that were already operating on very slim margins concerned about potential exposure risks and reluctant to hire workers they weren’t sure they could pay.

Sustainability is a high priority for many small-scale farms in Western North Carolina. But sustainability has economic and social as well as environmental dimensions: It affects not only how we farm but how we design our businesses. And economic sustainability, in turn, impacts both who farms and how well they can be paid.

Finding skilled farm laborers has always been a challenge, but the pandemic has made it even harder by exacerbating worker safety and availability issues. Federal immigration policy and a general climate of fear made migratory workers more fearful of moving

around and increased the risk of bringing employees or apprentices onto farms.

INVISIBLE WORKERS

The nation’s food system — including production, harvest, packaging, distribution and preparation — is complex, with many invisible parts that most folks never think about until those products disappear. Few people truly understand how it all works or who does that work.

The pandemic has highlighted the sustainability challenges small farms face, particularly in terms of the labor equation. Because behind those empty shelves and panic buying are thousands of farmworkers — many of them immigrants, often undocumented — who labor tirelessly to grow, harvest, pack and distribute food to consumers while making less than a living wage or even the minimum wage.

Most WNC farms are small by U.S. Department of Agriculture standards. Many are run by just one or two people, and crews on organic farms average 15 people or fewer. Local farmers employ various strategies to reduce negative ecological impacts on the land and water under their stewardship, but all that costs money.

Meanwhile, farms are also businesses, and unless they turn a profit, they won’t stay in business long.

Each decision made on a small farm involves many factors, including both how to get the work done and who will do it. Farmers are no strangers to hard work, yet farming even a few acres may be more than one or two people can handle.

To be sustainable, small farms must be diversified, efficient and adaptable, but that requires solid know-how; reliable, skilled laborers; and the revenue to pay them well.

LABOR LOGISTICS

Some farmworkers live on-site, receiving room and board plus a cash stipend. This model immerses them in a specialized way of life, imparting not only farming know-how but all the ins and outs of running a farm business. Many 6

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NICOLE DELCOGLIANO newer WNC farmers apprenticed for a number of years before striking out on their own. The Organic Growers School’s Apprentice Link service lists farms that provide mentorship/education and currently need workers.

Other farms pay hourly wages but no lodging. Thatchmore Farm in Leicester, launched in 1987 by Tom Elmore and Karen Thatcher, pays workers under $10 an hour, with additional compensation in the form of farm produce. But their three- to four-person farm crew also receives daily hands-on training. Tom, a beacon of sustainability in the WNC farming community, was the Organic Growers School’s Organic Educator of the Year in 2017. He says he’s working toward paying higher wages, but current federal policies, artificially low food prices and the resulting consumer expectations make this difficult.

CAUGHT IN A BIND

U.S. households spend a smaller percentage of their income on food than people in other industrialized nations, and consumers have gotten used to prices that don’t reflect the true cost of production.

Even though Tom sells at the North Asheville Tailgate Market, where consumers are willing to pay a premium for fresh, safe, local food, he says he’d have to charge up to $6 a pound for his greenhouse tomatoes in order to increase the net profit. And set against a national landscape of cheap food prices, that simply wouldn’t work.

Wendy Noel and her husband, Graham, co-own Dry Ridge Farm, a livestock operation in Madison County. In March 2020, she says,

“Caught in the middle, small farmers struggle to balance wages with prices the market will bear.”

— Nicole DelCogliano “We delayed hiring because we were uncertain financially, and we had so much other work to do redirecting eggs from wholesale to retail, it felt better for us to figure that out ourselves.”

As a result of that shift, their overall revenue increased, and they did eventually hire a part-time worker whose hourly rate is close to a living wage. The cost of on-site housing is deducted from those wages.

Ultimately they’d like to be able to pay all their workers $15 an hour. Yet Noel also points out that, after nine years, “We’ve just gotten to where we’re able to pay ourselves a starting salary similar to an office job. Anything we pay an employee comes out of what we pay ourselves.”

THE BIG SQUEEZE

In the end, she says, “If people ate less meat and paid more for it, we’d be in a far better situation financially.” The industrial meat system is fragile, unsustainable and unjust, she maintains. This was underscored when processing plant workers got sick with COVID-19, triggering shortages.

Steven Beltram and his partners at BNH Enterprises in Old Fort find themselves in a somewhat different position. Now in their third year of organically farming up to 70 acres, they run crews of as many as 20 people, most of them immigrants or migrant laborers. Contracted through a third party, those work-

ers often average $15 an hour or more. But finding “enough people to do the work who know how to do it,” he says, is “the biggest challenge in the specialty crop business,” and in recent years, it’s gotten even harder.

Ideally, he’d like to “create an opportunity for the same individuals to work here year after year, to develop a sense of buy-in and be invested in the future of BNH.” But that won’t be possible without changes in federal law.

In the meantime, local farmers remain squeezed between unjust policies and artificially low prices on the one hand, and a shortage of skilled labor that’s exacerbated by immigration restrictions on the other hand. Caught in the middle, our small farmers struggle to balance wages with prices the market will bear, while treating workers fairly.

If more consumers shifted a portion of their buying to local farms and markets, it would increase those farms’ profit, enabling them to pay their workers (and themselves) better. And that would go a long way toward making WNC farms more sustainable.

Nicole DelCogliano is a farmer and co-owner of Green Toe Ground farm in Burnsville. She’s been passionately educating beginning farmers for over 20 years, the last six at the Organic Growers School. X

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NEWS

Green getaway

Asheville’s new hotel system awards points for sustainable lodging

BY MOLLY HORAK mhorak@mountainx.com Goodbye travel-size shampoo bottles. Adios, styrofoam cups cloaked in shrink-wrapped plastic. See you later, energy-sucking appliances.

Of commercial buildings, hotels are among the highest energy and water users per square foot, the Washington D.C.-based Urban Land Institute shared in a 2019 report detailing sustainability trends in the global hospitality industry. And Asheville, home to more than 8,465 hotel rooms and counting, is providing a pathway for hotel operators to rack up some major brownie points by incorporating sustainable features and practices in plans for new hotel construction.

“With Asheville being a tourist town, we have this great opportunity to kind of walk our talk and share the values we have here around protecting the environment, saving money and providing good, green jobs,” says Sam Ruark-Eastes, executive director of the nonprofit Green Built Alliance.

Hoteliers now have the green light to submit new applications for lodging projects in the city, following a February decision by Asheville City Council to resume development after a 17-month ban. Under the streamlined process, developers can choose to fulfill a series of criteria to gain automatic project approval by city staff.

Alongside requirements that guide where hotels may be located, how tall the buildings can be and what features the designs must include,

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SUSTAINABLE STAY: Solar panels on the roof of the Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park are responsible for heating 70% of the hotel’s hot water. The property was awarded a LEED Silver certification in 2009, says Stan Turner, vice president of Biltmore Farm’s hospitality division. Photo courtesy of Biltmore Farms developers also must demonstrate their commitment to a set of public benefits that aim to lessen the impacts of hotel development on area residents. At the direction of Council, developers selecting this path must contribute to citywide equity efforts by chipping in to finance the newly created reparations fund for Black

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Asheville residents or affordable housing development.

Depending on the level of the equity contribution, developers can also select other options that incentivize environmental and economic priorities.

But while local leaders are enthusiastic about the new linkage between

development and community benefits, how the incentives will affect which hotels get built and how those new businesses run their operations remains to be seen.

RACKING UP POINTS

Already, many hotels are implementing energy and water efficiency measures to drive down utility costs, Ruark-Eastes says. LED lighting is common, as are Energy Star appliances.

But North Carolina state law prohibits cities from requiring sustainability standards in new development, he adds, leaving city-based incentives as the only tool for pushing developers toward environmentally friendly materials and designs.

Asheville’s public benefits table is intended to do just that, says Todd Okolichany, the city’s planning director. His team met with staff from Asheville’s Office of Sustainability and local green building groups to

determine realistic options for area developers. The strategies the staffers developed encourage a focus on water conservation, air quality, environmental health and climate change impacts and risks, said Amber Weaver, the city’s sustainability officer, in an email.

According to the final table, a hotel with more than 81 rooms located in downtown Asheville, the River Arts District or Biltmore Village must earn at least 220 points to build without navigating an additional zoning approval process; a hotel of the same size located outside those three urban areas needs 160 points. At least half of the required points must come from a donation to the city’s reparations fund, housing trust fund or the construction of new affordable housing units reserved for residents earning 80% or less of the area median income. The remaining points can be earned through selections at the developer’s discretion.

A hotel certified through the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program can earn 60-120 points, depending on the level of certification. A Green Globe certification awarded by the Green Building Initiative can earn 40-120 points. Adaptive reuse

of an existing building is worth 50 points, and a net-zero building that produces enough on-site energy to meet its energy consumption requirements would earn 210 points.

Thus far, a hotelier has yet to submit a lodging application under the new rules, though city staffers have been fielding calls from prospective developers asking questions about the new process, Okolichany says. As applications begin moving through the system, his department will monitor the public benefits table and make adjustments as needed.

And just because equity-related benefits are the only required category doesn’t mean that sustainability is any less of a priority, Weaver said. “Understanding sustainability requires an acknowledgment of interrelated goals, such as the importance of affordable housing as well as the manner in which housing is constructed,” she said. “When the city focuses on equity, there will always be sustainable benefits folded in.”

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B THE CHANGE

Also included in the public benefits table is B Corporation certification, a distinction awarded to companies that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

The process to become a B Corp is “highly rigorous,” explains Moriah Heaney, community investment manager at Mountain BizWorks.

Asheville is headquarters for six B Corps, including French Broad Chocolates, digital marketing firm JB Media Group and investment bankers Big Path Capital, according to the company’s website. But B Corps hotels are still a relatively new concept, with just 19 in operation globally.

Okolichany says the city was initially drawn to B Corp’s emphasis on sustainable procurement, environmental initiatives and a living wage. Adding the credential to the public benefits table to the tune of 120 points was a way to bring more awareness to the lesser-known certification program, a move Heaney agrees with. Many of the criteria assessed in the B Corp assessment are also found in Asheville’s public benefits table, such as paying a living wage or offering transportation for employees.

“It’s an exciting thing, but it’s not for the faint of heart,” Heaney says. “If someone is just looking for a stamp of certification to get past the city’s hotel review board, I don’t

think B Corp is the right fit for them.

But if a strong desire to help the community is in your business’ DNA, a B Corp certification may be the right step.”

Steve Linton sees the B Corps concept as a force for good. He’s the president of B Corp certified Deltec Homes and the chair of B Local Asheville + WNC, a group of Asheville-based B Corps committed to growing the program regionally.

The number of B Corps nationally has doubled since Deltec’s certification in 2016, Linton says. If it were to double again, he envisions major changes around community engagement and environmental challenges.

“It looks like more businesses using renewable energy, more businesses focused on equity and using their tools to make the community more inclusive,” he says.

Heaney also sees the potential for the positive impacts of more B Corps to ripple through every sector of the local economy. Companies seeking B Corp certification can gain points by sourcing all materials within a 100mile radius of their headquarters, banking with local banks and providing a living wage to all employees.

“I see it as a really exciting opportunity for a collaborative arrangement that is investing not only in the profits of a hotel, but also resulting in a real focus in the community and environmental benefits,” Heaney says. “If hotels were committed to sourcing all of the different elements that go into a hotel, be it sheets and mattresses to soap, within a 100-mile radius, that would be a significant

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WATER CONSCIOUS: The LEED Silver-certified Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park hotel uses energy-efficient appliances, low-flow showerheads and touchless faucets to reduce the hotel’s water usage. Photo courtesy of Biltmore Farms multiplier in regards to local dollars reinvested in our community.”

ECO-FRIENDLY IN ACTION

Other sustainability certifications can still take new lodging a step beyond what’s now in place.

According to the Green Building Initiative, the organization has yet to certify a Green Globe residential or lodging establishment in Asheville.

LEED certification is becoming commonplace among corporate offices, government buildings and commercial establishments, but the Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park is the only area hotel with a LEED Silver certification, says Stan Turner, vice president of Biltmore Farm’s hospitality division.

Solar panels on the Hilton’s roof are responsible for heating 70% of the hotel’s hot water, he says. To improve water efficiency, all rooms are outfitted with low-flow showerheads and touchless faucets. Recycling efforts divert more than 93,000 pounds of compostable material away from area landfills annually.

But it’s hard to quantify the return on investment for environmental initiatives, Turner notes. Guests are happy to learn about the LEED certification or the hotel’s recycling program, but there’s no way to tell how much business is generated from eco-minded tourists. He speculates other area hotels may not want to pursue a certification for that reason.

“I’m sure there are lots of hotels in Asheville that are doing what we’re doing operationally,” Turner says.

“There are so many things to develop when you’re building a hotel and

sometimes, components that are a little bit costly get pushed to the side when you have to weigh each one to see if you’re going to get your savings back. Often, sustainable elements come in, but it’s not a fully certifiable commitment.”

LEED certifications can be costly, Okolichany admits, but alternatives like Green Globes assess similar metrics at a lower price. The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality also offers a free NC GreenTravel certification, with points awarded in categories like waste reduction, air quality, transportation, housekeeping and green purchasing. Though enrollment in the program doesn’t qualify for public benefit points, 33 properties across Western North Carolina are certified members.

Until a hotel application makes its way through the process, it’s hard to know which benefits will be selected and how successful they’ll be, Okolichany says.

Ruark-Eastes agrees. Theoretically, the points system is a way to prioritize sustainability in planning and operating decisions, but the uncertainty around hotel developers’ decisions leaves a big question mark — especially with signs pointing to an influx of tourists as the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end.

“Asheville has this history as a place people come to feel rejuvenated and restore their health,” Ruark-Eastes says. “It’s best to have spaces that mimic the healthiness of this land. And all of these factors can keep us moving toward the side of sustainability and away from the side of resource depletion and overconsumption.” X MOUNTAINX.COM

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BUNCOMBE BEAT

Nondiscrimination ordinance rubs some residents the wrong way The third time wasn’t quite the charm for Buncombe County’s proposed nondiscrimination ordinance. At the April 6 meeting of the county Board of Commissioners, officials heard the third draft of a new local rule that would ban discrimination in employment and public accommodations based on 16 characteristics and lifestyles, including race, natural hair or hairstyles and gender identity.

Following its initial introduction during the March 16 meeting of the board, the measure was revised to apply its protections to housing in addition to public spaces such as stores, workplaces and restaurants.

Commissioner Parker Sloan noted that while the 1968 Fair Housing Act protects against discrimination when renting or buying a home or other housing-related activities, sexual orientation and gender identity are not among the classes protected by the federal law.

“It’s an attempt to make it clear to the community and an example through this ordinance that discrimination in housing among the LGBT community on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, that that kind of discrimination is not acceptable,” he said.

Eight members of the public voiced concern about the ordinance during the meeting, questioning whether business owners or religious establishments would be forced to hire LGBTQ people.

Several commenters said that they felt that claims of discrimination against LGBTQ people were exaggerated.

The Rev. John Grant of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance and the organization’s superintendent, the Rev. Ronald Gates, cited concern about religious freedom

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APRIL 14-20, 2021

THE LONG HAUL: Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara said that while the push to pass the ordinance went back years, efforts were derailed after the passage of House Bill 2 in 2016, which prohibited municipalities from enacting such laws. The bill was later repealed, and the provision regarding municipalities was allowed to sunset Dec. 1 last year, renewing calls for cities throughout North Carolina to consider the local ordinances. Screenshot courtesy of Buncombe County and the need for more community input before the board voted on the ordinance.

“It is a grave concern, ... I oppose it due to the simple fact of the lack of transparency and full disclosure,” Gates said. “There’s a lot of gray areas that tie into a lot of information with this ordinance. And I want to oppose it because of my religious freedom and

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my freedom of speech and our business practices.”

Commenter Bob Machen said that discrimination in employment was “blown way out of perspective,” while resident John Hoerner said that he felt like the ordinance was addressing “a problem that doesn’t exist.”

“We already have discrimination laws, anti-discrimination laws. I think

this puts a burden on a business owner especially,” he said.

Buncombe County Attorney Michael Frue pointed out that the ordinance doesn’t include criminal enforcement and no separate entity would investigate or enforce provisions of the law.

He also noted the inclusion in the ordinance of exceptions for religious organizations, like churches and religious schools. Bars, which are considered private clubs in North Carolina, or other establishments that are not open to the public would also be exempt.

But business owner Eva Stewart maintained that the law would force hiring practices contrary to some religious beliefs.

“This ordinance has an inherent conflict because it offers an exemption for religious organizations on hiring but not for people like me, a homebuilder, who is being compelled by this ordinance to participate against my deeply held religious beliefs by hiring a transgender person,” Stewart said.

“It is a violation of my constitutional First Amendment right. Also, it is not fair to expose transgender people to a male-dominated construction site, believe me.”

The latest version of the ordinance outlines a process in which residents who experience discrimination in employment or public accommodations may file a complaint with an equity officer designated by the county within 180 days of the incident, followed by an investigation. Residents would file housing discrimination claims with the N.C. Human Relations Commission, with assistance from the county. The original version of the ordinance also included a $500 daily fine, which subsequently was reduced to $100.

A second reading of the amended ordinance could come before the commissioners for a vote at the board’s Tuesday, April 20, meeting.

— Brooke Randle X

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Independent Monitor wants to hear community feedback, concerns

APRIL 14-20, 2021

The team at Gibbins Advisors wants to hear every complaint raised about Mission Health — but it can only call noncompliance on concerns directly tied to the 15 core commitments HCA Healthcare agreed to uphold when the hospital conglomerate purchased the Mission system in 2019, consultants stressed throughout an April 7 webinar.

Gibbins Advisors is the independent monitor hired by nonprofit Dogwood Health Trust to ensure HCA makes good on commitments outlined in the Mission Health system sale contract. Among the conditions outlined in the transaction agreement, HCA promised to continue emergency, surgical and acute medical services at Asheville’s Mission Hospital and its five regional facilities for at least 10 years.

The Gibbins team, which operates independently from Mission Health and HCA, is carefully watching for

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NEW DIGS: Completion of the new Mission Hospital North Tower is one of several changes since Mission Health was acquired by HCA Healthcare. Photo

by Cindy Kunst any sign of violation, explained Ronald Winters, one of the firm’s principal consultants. In their first year as independent monitor, the consultants did not find any evi-

dence of noncompliance with the terms of the contract.

The annual review process for year two is about to jump into overdrive. HCA is expected to release its

TAKING ACTION second annual and capital expenditure reports at the end of April, at which point the Gibbins team will begin analyzing the document, along with any additional supporting evidence. Engagement sessions with key stakeholders — including physicians, local government officials, community organizations, hospital advisory boards and the Dogwood Health Trust — will occur in May and June. A final compliance evaluation report will be sent to DHT by the end of August.

COVID-19 has hampered the independent monitor’s in-person engagement with community members, Winters noted. More than 600 people attended seven in-person informational sessions last winter, just weeks before the pandemic stay-at-home orders went into place.

Strict visitation policies at area hospitals meant the Gibbins team could not visit Mission facilities for on-site updates during the past year, he added, but he plans to visit several of the facilities this spring.

Gibbins staff spent the second half of the two-hour webinar answering questions submitted by community members. Comments ranged from physician retention and facility

cleanliness to transparency around HCA’s charity care policy.

Many of the community concerns likely fall under the authority of regulatory and government bodies that assess the quality of care in hospital settings, said Tom Urban, a former hospital CEO and member of the Gibbins team. However, the independent monitor is looking for both direct and indirect violations of HCA’s commitments, Winters said, noting there’s a chance concerns around staffing could ultimately impact the services a hospital is able to provide.

Last year, the firm received 263 reports from community members; each comment was logged, anonymized and shared with HCA and hospital leadership. The team is also following the Facebook group Mission Maladies, said Clare Moylan, another principal adviser.

To share a concern with Gibbins Advisors, visit avl.mx/98m or email IndependentMonitor@gibbinsadvisors. com.

— Molly Horak X

Adam Warwick is on fire For decades, the prevailing narrative around fire has been one of destruction and devastation. Adam Warwick, stewardship manager for the Nature Conservancy of North Carolina’s Southern Blue Ridge chapter, is working to break that misconception by bringing controlled burns back to the region in partnership with the Southern Blue Ridge Fire Learning Network.

Fire is an important, natural element of the forest’s ecosystem, Warwick explains. In response to the growing logging industry of the early 1900s, the U.S. Forest Service sponsored national fire suppression and prevention campaigns. “They waged war against fire and demonized it,” he says. “It may have saved lives, but now we’re dealing with the consequences.”

Without frequent low-intensity fires, the forest floor becomes overly dense, choking out species that need sunlight and space to grow. Many plants and pollinators struggle to survive, leaving biodiversity hanging in the balance.

But burning in the populous, hilly terrain of Western North Carolina brings its own set of challenges, Warwick says. In February, he published a new book, The Fire Manager’s Guide to Blue Ridge Ecozones, to serve as a resource for forest managers, private landowners and anyone interested in learning more about forest restoration.

FEEL THE HEAT: Fire is essential to maintaining biodiversity in Western North Carolina forests, says Adam Warwick. He’s working with the Southern Blue Ridge Fire Learning Network to bring the age-old practice back to the region. Photo courtesy of The Nature Conservancy “Fire is good. It’s a natural part of the region’s ecosystem,” he notes.

“We often think of forests as their own entities, but we don’t think of the many natural processes that affect them. We’re trying to get people to see fire as a force for good like we do.”

— Molly Horak X

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15

NEWS

BUNCOMBE BEAT

Sales from Go Local cards raise nearly $17,000 for ACSF

County to change public comment protocol in May

ON THE MONEY: Students at Hall Fletcher Elementary School used some of the funds from the sale of Go Local cards to construct foot-operated hand sanitizer dispensers that are placed throughout the school.

Photo courtesy of Hall Fletcher Elementary You may not be able to buy happiness, but you can buy local. And the numbers show that area residents are doing just that, continuing a proud tradition of supporting local businesses through the Go Local card, a discount and special offers program that features over 500 locally owned businesses throughout Buncombe County.

According to a new report from the program’s creator, the Asheville Grown Business Alliance, sales from Go Local cards had seen a steady rise since 2018, with 2020’s first-quarter sales topping the previous year’s by 35%.

This year, more than 2,000 Go Local cards were purchased in the first quarter of 2021 (compared with 3,050 in the same period last year). While numbers are down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they still represent a robust demand and a shift to online and bulk sales, says

Michele Bryan, the organization’s program manager.

“Go Local is about preserving, strengthening and advocating for the heart and soul of Asheville, thereby assuring our children have a vibrant community with economic opportunities to grow up into,” Bryan comments.

Half of the proceeds from the sale of the 2021 Go Local cards are donated to public schools to enhance programming, purchase teacher supplies and support local kids. So far this year, the Asheville Grown Business Alliance has handed over $16,806 to the Asheville City Schools Foundation based on first-quarter sales of Go Local cards.

“Because of the pandemic and the need to avoid in-person events, the Asheville Primary Parent Teacher Collective hasn’t held many fundraisers this year,” says Polly Bolding,

Asheville City Schools preschool enrollment and engagement coordinator and faculty liaison at the West Asheville public school.

“It’s been so helpful to have Go Local donations that can support classroom and remote learning needs, as well as teacher appreciation efforts in this challenging year.”

Other initiatives supported by funding from the Go Local cards this year include T-shirts for school teams and an outdoor shade structure that will allow kids to learn in the open air.

Franzi Charen, director at Asheville Grown, says continued support from the sales of the discount cards will contribute to a successful post-pandemic business economy and thriving community.

“Coming out of the year of the pandemic, we need to radically shift our investment and focus to local,” she says.

— Brooke Randle X

BACK IN THE DAY: A full crowd waits to speak about the Second Amendment at the Feb. 4, 2020, meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners shortly before the coronavirus pandemic forced commissioners to change public comment to a virtual format. Photo by Daniel Walton Beginning with the Tuesday, May 4, meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, in-person public comments will return to the county board’s twice-monthly gatherings. The change came with a unanimous vote at the board’s April 6 meeting.

Current policy allows members of the public to comment through live telephone calls only; no in-person comments, emails or voicemails are accepted.

The new plan, developed by county staff, will include a hybrid model that will allow residents to either call in or attend commission meetings in person. But the choice of format will be temporary, lasting only until the public health situation permits a return to the pre-pandemic business as usual, which only allowed in-person comments.

The new plan will reserve 10 seats for the public in the county chamber, with room 310 providing overflow space. Room 330 will be reserved for staff and presenters until their agenda item is presented. A mask mandate and social distancing will be enforced during the meetings.

Commissioner Robert Pressley noted that people wishing to attend the meetings in person should continue to sign up online or by calling 828-250-

4001 by Monday before the meetings by 3 p.m.

“That gives them 24 hours to know if they’re in town or going to be able to do it, or whether they’ve got anything they want to talk about,” he said.

Commenters who wish to call in to the meetings will follow the same procedure. All commenters will have three minutes to address the board.

Commission Chair Brownie Newman said that the public comment policy will shift entirely to in-person starting in June, eliminating the option for the public to call in to the meetings.

County Manager Avril Pinder added that the public comment protocol should be subject to change based on recommendations from local public health officials. “As we look at the metrics that Stacie [Saunders] comes in [with] every week, I would want to make sure that if they have a recommendation that we do anything differently then that’s what we would follow, using public health guidance as well,” she said.

The next public meeting of the county board is scheduled for Tuesday, April 20, at 5 p.m. Public comment will only be accepted through live telephone calls at the start of the meeting.

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You: 1,000-ish sq.ft. rough space with a roll-up door and possibly a loading dock Us: Local independent newspaper with a thing for purple Call to connect: 251-1333 x112

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— Brooke Randle X

ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES

FEA T U RE S

by Thomas Calder | tcalder@mountainx.com

Hole-in-one!

putt-putt courses in operation, 13 of which were in Asheville. (Subsequent reporting put the total local number at nine.) “Some have followed the tendency to install novel contraptions as hazards, but most of the [local] operators have insisted on ‘straight’ golf and declare that they intend to keep their greens for ‘golfers’ instead of those seeking ‘carnival’ fun,” the article concluded.

By 1932, however, the citywide (and national) craze landed in the rough.

The new courses, which “flourished in Asheville two years ago when the ‘fad’ was at its height,” were no longer in operation, The Asheville Citizen reported on May 13. Some of the sites had been “junked,” the article continued, “overgrown with grass and weeds.”

And yet like all great sports stories, putt-putt made a comeback.

“Miniature golf, the game that set the country agog several years back but which subsequently waned in popularity to such an extent that all courses here were closed two years ago, again is showing life,” The Sunday Citizen reported on July 8, 1934.

“Dead and buried, it refused to stay down,” the paper added, noting the reopening of the former Original Tom Thumb, located near the Battery Park Hotel.

According to local historian Terry Taylor, the Original Tom Thumb remained operational throughout much of the 1940s (albeit with a few name changes). But in 1947, the Bell South building (today’s AT&T) was erected at the location. Despite the new construction, the miniature golf course remained listed in the city directory until 1951.

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

Miniature golf craze strikes amid the Great Depression Author’s note: This week’s Archives takes place during segregation in the Jim Crow South. Therefore, African Americans and other people of color faced restrictions related to the social pleasures discussed here.

At the onset of the Great Depression, as banks closed and the economy crashed, Ashevillians took to the greens with clubs in hand, joining countless Americans to partake in the latest national craze — miniature golf.

Throughout the spring and summer of 1930, several courses opened in the city.

The Happy Hollow, located on the corner of Hillside and Charlotte streets, launched on March 30. A month later, the Original Tom Thumb Miniature Golf Course began its operations across the street from the Battery Park Hotel. Soon thereafter, and just a few blocks south, the regrettably named Midget Country Club opened on Battery Park Avenue.

During this time, neighboring towns, including Marion, Marshall, Montreat, Tryon, Waynesville and Black Mountain, also celebrated the openings of their own 18-hole attractions. In the Aug. 26, 1930, edition of The Asheville Citizen, columnist “Old Hurrygraph” wrote: “Miniature golf is all the go in Black Mountain, and like death, hath all ages for its own. ‘I hope you will advocate and encourage this sport,’ said a citizen to me today, looking at the links filled with boys and girls and men and women. ‘It is a clean, healthy and enjoyable exercise for young and old, and a meeting place for friends and making friends. It is a great deal better for young girls to be thus engaged than so much riding in automobiles, and parking along the road sides,’ said he. There’s good, sound philosophy in this.”

By the fall, speculation began over how long the craze would last. One Associated Press article featured in The Asheville Citizen compared the miniature golf phenomenon in the United States to a chess-obsessed village in Stroebeck, Germany, where devotion to the game spanned three centuries and counting. Could the same hold true of putt-putt in Western North Carolina?

Meanwhile, other articles tried pinpointing miniature golf’s origin, in part by debunking fictitious claims —

TEST YOUR SKILLS: In 1930, several miniature golf courses were established in Asheville, including the Original Tom Thumb, located across the street from the Battery Park Hotel. The 18-hole course cost 25 cents to play (or roughly $4 in today’s currency) and featured water holes, doglegs and tunnels. According to an advertisement, such hazards created “a real test for the seasoned golfer or a beginner.” Photo courtesy of the Ball Collection, D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, UNC Asheville including one popular narrative that credited Al “Scarface” Capone as the sport’s creator.

The Sunday Citizen ran a particularly illuminating piece in its Oct. 19, 1930, edition. The paper asserted that a Tom Baber of Pinehurst deserved credit as putt-putt’s originator, not Capone! “Play on this Lilliputian course was known to have begun as

early as 1916, some years before the popularity of the sport became so widespread,” the paper wrote.

In the same piece, Garnett Cartner of Lookout Mountain, Ga., was noted as having started the first commercial miniature golf course, Fairyland Court, in 1928.

The story went on to report that the United States had an estimated 25,000

In other news While Asheville Archives focus is on local history, researching these topics often reveals other interesting, national headlines.

Here are a few that appeared in the paper amid the 1930s miniature golf craze.

• May 22, 1930: Organization is Formed to Advertise Great Smoky Park • Aug 26, 1930: Gov. Roosevelt Being Groomed for Presidency • May 13, 1932: Murdered Lindbergh Baby Found Near Hopewell X

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APRIL 14-20, 2021

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Mountain Xpress 27th Annual

r i o e g s e t a C t o l l A B All aboard!

2021

This year’s Best of WNC ballot is the ticket! It’s time to get back on track.

As our local scene builds a head of steam, just waiting for the right conditions to throw the switch and see those wheels rolling on down the line again, we’re excited to get the voting underway for the 27th annual Best of WNC X-awards.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Artists, Crafters

• • • Music Events & Venues • • Local Music Festival • • Place to Hear Live Music • • Outdoor Music Venue • • Intimate Music Venue/ • Listening Room • • Open-Mic-Night Venue

Musicians & Bands • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

All-Round Favorite Band Acoustic/Folk Americana/Country Blues Funk Jazz Old-Time/Bluegrass R&B/Soul Hip-Hop Rock Singer-Songwriter World Music Busker/Street Group Lyricist (Writer) Vocalist (Singer) Guitarist Percussionist-Drummer DJ (Non-Radio)

Music Services

• Recording Studio • Music Instrument Repair Company • Music-Related Nonprofit

Arts & Crafts

• Arts/Crafts Fair or Event • Studio Stroll/Driving Tour • Craft School or Place to Learn a Craft • Local Art Gallery • Craft-Oriented Gallery • Nonprofit That Serves the Arts

Fiber Artist Jewelry Artist/Designer Glass Artist Woodworker Metal Artist or Metalworker Mural Artist Painter/Illustrator Photographer Potter/Ceramic Artist

Film, Stage, Dance & Writing

⊕ Socially Distanced or Digital Event/Series • Movie Theater • Local Filmmaker • Theater Company • Actor (any gender) • Performance Dance Company • Place to Dance • Place to Take Dance Classes or Lessons • Vaudeville Troupe or Performer (Burlesque, Aerial Arts, Jugglers, etc.)

• Comedy Troupe or Series • Local Comedy Show/ Night/Event • Comedian • Trivia Night Emcee • Local Author • Local Poet

DRINKS Bars

• Bar That Best Represents the Spirit of Asheville • Neighborhood Bar Downtown (including South Slope) • Neighborhood Bar River Arts District • Neighborhood Bar - West • Neighborhood Bar - South

COVID-related category ⊕ = Special

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APRIL 14-20, 2021

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This year’s ballot includes a dozen new categories inspired by the challenges of COVID-19.

The Best of WNC ballot is long but it’s easy to navigate. Plus, it features a nifty • • • • • • •

Neighborhood Bar - East Neighborhood Bar - North Bartender Bar for Live Music Bar With a View Bar With Bar Games Family-Friendly Bar or Brewery • LGBTQ+ Friendly Bar • Hotel Bar • Dive Bar • Sports Bar • Bar: Local Beer Selection (excluding breweries) • Bar: Unusual Beer Selection (excluding breweries) • Upscale Bar • Bar or Brewery That Gives Back to the Community ⊕ Bar That Closed Permanently Due to COVID

Cocktails, Spirits & Wine • Wine Bar • Local Winery • Wine Store • Cocktails ⊕ To-Go Cocktails/ Cocktail Kits • Distillery • Bloody Mary • Margarita • Negroni • Mocktails or Nonalcoholic Options

Beer, Cider & Breweries

• Cidery • Local Cider • Local All-Round Brewery (for its beers) • Brewery (for its taproom & atmosphere) • Creative, Experimental Brewery • Local Beer (any style) • Local Dark Beer • Local Lager • Local Sour Beer • Local IPA

• • • • •

Seasonal Beer Brewmaster Favorite Local Beer Event Beer Store Homebrewing/ Winemaking Supplies

Coffee, Tea & Healthy Drinks

autocomplete function to let you vote quickly and accurately.

You can even take a break fromvoting any time and return later.

Just remember to save your ballot.

• Restaurant in the River Arts District • Restaurant in West Asheville • Restaurant in South Asheville • Restaurant in East Asheville • Restaurant in North Asheville

Restaurant offerings

• Breakfast • Brunch • Lunch • Quick Meal • Restaurant Wine Selection • Restaurant Cocktail Selection • Restaurant Dessert Selection • Pub Grub • Takeout ⊕ Local Meal Delivery • Best Value EATS • Best Service • Barbecue Restaurant types • Ribs • Restaurant That Best • Burger Represents the Spirit • Veggie Burger of Asheville • Biscuits • Favorite Restaurant • Wings ⊕ Restaurant That Adapted • French Fries to COVID Restrictions • Fried Chicken ⊕ Restaurant That Closed Permanently Due to COVID • Hot Bar/Buffet • Hot Dogs • Restaurant to Take • Pasta Out-of-Towners to • Pizza • Restaurant With a View • People-Watching Restaurant • Sub Shop • Sandwich Shop • Outdoor Dining • Taco • Romantic Dining • Burrito • Fine Dining/Upscale • Sushi • Kid-Friendly Restaurant • Ramen • Diner/Homestyle • Salad • Late-Night Eats • Seafood • Food Truck • Special Diet Options • Catering Company (Gluten-Free, Lactose• Restaurant That Gives Free, etc.)

Back to the Community • Vegan/Vegetarian • Green/Sustainability• Local-Food Emphasis Friendly Restaurant • Healthiest Food • New Restaurant (opened in the last 12 months) Cuisines • Restaurant Still Needed • French in Asheville • Italian • Greek Neighborhoods • Middle Eastern • Restaurant in Downtown • Mexican (including South Slope) • Coffeehouse for Its Vibe • Establishment With the Best Coffee • Coffee Roaster • Place to Drink Tea • Smoothies/Juices • CBD drinks/health elixirs • Kava Bar

• • • • • • •

Latin American Japanese Thai Indian Chinese Korean Southern

Desserts & Sweets

• Desserts • Ice Cream • Frozen Treats Other Than Ice Cream • Chocolate • Doughnuts • Locally Made CBD Treats

Bakeries

• Bagels • Bakery (Sweets/Desserts) • Bakery (Bread)

Miscellaneous • • • • • • •

Butcher Shop Cheesemaker/Cheese Dairy Local Food/Drink Product Chef Pastry Chef Local Food Festival or Event Nonprofit Helping With Hunger Issues

FARM, YARD & GARDEN • • • • • • • • • • • •

Tailgate/Farmers Market Roadside Farm Stand Farm to Visit for Events Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farm Orchard Community Garden Garden Supply Store Mulch Supplier Tree Service Nursery (Trees, Shrubs) Landscaping Service Nonprofit Supporting Farms/Farmland Preservation

HEALTH & WELLNESS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Physician (General Practice) Physician (Specialist) Pediatrician Cosmetic Surgeon Family Medical Practice Women’s Health Center Maternity Care/Service Counselor or Counseling Center Hospital Urgent Care/Walk-In Clinic Place to Get Medical Care When Under- or Uninsured Dental Practice Dentist Orthodontist Eye Care Specialist/Service Assisted-Living Community Nursing Home Hospice Mortuary/Funeral Services Pharmacy/Drugstore Place to Buy Supplements, Vitamins & Herbs Place to Buy CBD Products Place to Center Yourself

Alternative

• Homeopathic/ Naturopathic Practitioner • Chiropractor • Acupuncturist • Acupuncture Clinic

Physical Therapy • Physical Therapist • Massage Therapist

Fitness • • • • •

Gym or Place to Work Out Fitness Studio With Classes Physical Trainer Yoga Teacher Pilates Studio/ Center/Classes • Yoga Studio • Martial Arts Studio

KIDS Schools & Classes • • • •

School (Pre-College) After-School Program Preschool Child Care or Day Care Service • Art Education Program ⊕ Organization Helping With Home Learning ⊕ Story Time or Learning Session (online or in-person) • Music Teacher

Camps & Outdoors • • • •

Kid-Friendly Hike Overnight Camp Day Camp Nature Camp

Places • • • • •

Daytrip for Kids Place for Indoor Fun Place for Outdoor Fun Playground Museum

• • • •

Place for Birthday Parties Bakery for Birthday Cakes Place to Make Art Teen-Friendly Place to Hang Out

Skill-Building • • • •

Dance Studio Gymnastics Program Martial Arts Program Team-Sports Program

Shopping

• Kids’ Clothes • Toy Store

Medical

• Pediatric Practice General Medicine • Pediatric Practice - Dentistry

Miscellaneous

• Parents Night Out Program

MEDIA • Local Radio Station (Commercial) • Local Radio Station (Noncommercial) • Local Radio Personality/ Announcer • Local TV Personality/ Announcer • Local Print Publication Other Than Xpress • Local Print Reporter • Local News Source • Local Events Information Source • Favorite Feature in Xpress • Local News Website • Local Podcast • Most Important Local News Story (in the last 12 months) • Most Over-Reported Story (in the last 12 months) • Most Under-Reported Story (in the last 12 months)

OUTDOORS Hiking

• Backpacking Trail/ Overnight Hike • Day Hike • Hiking Club or Group • Picnic Spot • Walk - In or Near Asheville

Biking

• Bicycle Club or Group • Bike Event/Race Mountain or Road • Mountain Bike Trail

Running

• Running Club or Group • Running Event/Race - Road or Trail

Camping

• Camping Spot • Place to Car Camp

Water & Rivers • • • •

Fishing Spot Waterfall Place to Relax on the Water Rafting Company

FAQs When does voting start and end?

Voting officially begins April 21 and continues through May 31.

• Swimming Hole • Car Repair • Whitewater Paddling Section • Bike Repair • Green Builder Miscellaneous • Alt Energy Sales • Canopy Tour/Zip Line and Installation • Skate Park • Plumbing Company • Ski Resort • Electrical/Electrician • Outdoor Gear and Company Apparel Shop • Heating/Cooling Company • Environmental or • Pest Control Service Conservation Nonprofit • Moving Company PERSONAL SERVICES • House Painters • Roofing Company • Handy-Person Cosmetic • Equipment Rental Services • Hair Salon • Cellphone Service Provider • Barbershop for the WNC Mountains • Hairstylist or Barber • Print Shop • Aesthetician • Home Cleaning Service • Nail Salon • Dry Cleaner • Nail Technician

Tattoo & Piercing

PETS Medical

• Veterinary Services • Veterinarian • Alternative Pet Health Care Provider

Services • • • •

Grooming Service Trainer/Training Center Pet Kennel Pet Day Care Facility

Miscellaneous

• Animal Shelter/Rescue Organization • Outdoor Place to Take Your Pet • Pet Supply Store • Pet-Friendly Bar • Pet-Friendly Restaurant

PROFESSIONAL & HOME SERVICES Financial

• Accountant/CPA Firm • Place to Get Your Taxes Prepared • Financial Adviser • Bookkeeping Services

General & Miscellaneous • • • • • • • •

Law Firm Family Law Attorney Real Estate Attorney Criminal Law Attorney Real Estate Agent Real Estate Company Insurance Agent Architect or Architectural Firm • Web Development Firm • Computer Repair

In how many categories must I vote in order for my ballot to be counted?

Each ballot must have at least 30 completed votes to be counted.

•

UNIQUELY ASHEVILLE • • • • •

Neighborhood Street for a Stroll Local Asheville Attraction Local City Tour Local Fundraising Event

April 21

Miscellaneous

Spa Tailor/Alterations Shoe Repair Local Body-Products Maker

• • •

Musical Instrument Store Gift Shop Head Shop Vape Shop Adult Toys, Lingerie & Naughty Things Store Bike Shop Automobile Tire Store Auto Dealer - New and/or Used Motorcycle/ATV Dealer

Voting starts

• Piercing Studio • Tattoo Parlor • Tattoo Artist • • • •

• • • • •

mountainx.com/bestofwnc SHOPPING Fashion

• Clothing: Dress-Up/Stylin’ • Clothing: Professional • Clothing: Used or Vintage (for-profit store) • Clothing: Used or Vintage (nonprofit store) • Asheville-Style Clothes • Shoe Store • Jewelry Store

Food

• All-Round Grocery Store • Budget-Friendly Grocery Store • Health Food Store • International/Specialty Food Store • Convenience/Corner Store ⊕ Local Grocery Delivery or Curbside Pickup

Home

• New Furniture Store • Used Furniture Store (For-Profit Store) • Used Furniture Store (Nonprofit Store) • Bed and Mattress Store • Picture Framer • Antique Store

General & Miscellaneous

• Store That Best Represents the Spirit of Asheville • Pawn Shop • Florist • Bookstore - New • Bookstore - Used • Store for Comics, Collectibles and/or Games • Record/CD Store

• Place to Take Your Eccentric Friends • Place to Pretend You’re a Tourist • Place to Connect With Nature Within Asheville City Limits • Historic/Interesting Building • Venue to Book for a Party or Event • Place to Get Married • Hotel • B&B or Small Boutique Hotel • Holiday Event - Summer/Fall • Holiday Event Winter/Spring • Local Hero • Local Villain • Local Politician • Nonprofit That Improves Asheville • Nonprofit That Serves the Underprivileged • Activist Group for Civic/ Political Action • Bumper Sticker or Slogan About Asheville • Thing Downtown Asheville Needs • Thing the River Arts District Needs • Thing West Asheville Needs • Thing South Asheville Needs • Thing East Asheville Needs • Thing North Asheville Needs • Project You’d Like to See Local Government Do • Worst Thing to Happen to Asheville in the Last 12 Months • Best Thing to Happen to Asheville in the Last 12 Months

How are the votes counted?

Mountain Xpress tallies the votes by hand, taking great care to understand each voter’s intent. We reserve the right to reject any ballot with inappropriate responses.

How do I get a category added Why do voters have to vote for 30 categories? or changed?

We want meaningful results The categories are set for this year, from people who are invested but to suggest a change for next year, in and knowledgeable about email: bestofwnc@mountainx.com the Asheville/WNC area.

• Biggest Threat to Asheville’s Uniqueness • Biggest Opportunity for Asheville’s Uniqueness

WORK & BUSINESS • Business That Best Represents the Spirit of Asheville • Employment Sector to Work in • Business That Gives Back to the Community ⊕ Business Pivot/Innovation in COVID Times ⊕ Business That Closed Permanently Due to COVID (Excluding Restaurants and Bars) • Co-Op/WorkerOwned Business • Bank • Credit Union • Bank Services for Small Business • Support Organization for Entrepreneurs and New Businesses • Business With EarthFriendly Practices • Minority-Owned Business • Woman-Owned Business • Innovative or Entrepreneurial Business • Coworking Space • Business With Best Customer Service

REGIONAL Questions for the following regions: Brevard Burnsville Hendersonville/Flat Rock Hot Springs Marshall/Mars Hill Swannanoa/ Black Mountain Cullowhee/Sylva Waynesville/Maggie Valley/Canton Weaverville/Woodfin • Business That Best Represents the Spirit of Your Town • Breakfast Restaurant • Lunch Restaurant • Dinner Restaurant • Coffee & Sweets • Local Bar/Brewery/ Watering Hole • Music/Entertainment Venue • Retail Store • Art Gallery • Cultural or Arts Event • Cultural or Historical Landmark • Local Place to Enjoy the Outdoors • Local Cause to Support • Best Thing to Happen to Your Town in the Last 12 Months

How do you prevent voter fraud?

Ballots examined for telltale signs of voter fraud or ballot stuffing. We disqualify all ballots that appear to be fraudulent.

I hope my business wins. How do I get voting promotional materials?

Call us at 828-251-1333. We can provide you with printable and digital materials, or contact your sales representative for information.

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APRIL 14-20, 2021

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR APRIL 14-23, 2021 For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, ext. 137.

For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 828-251-1333, ext. 320.

Clubland is back!

See Pg. 38

In-Person Events = Shaded All other events are virtual

Registration required, Free, avl.mx/97b

ART AIGA Asheville: Radical Transparency Webinar on client relationships with chief creative officer Mark Ray. WE (4/14), 3pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/98d Asheville Art Museum: Coloring & Cocktails Featuring an interview with artist and photographer Byron Tenesaca.

TH (4/15), 7pm,

Jackson Arts Market Live demonstrations by local artists.

SA (4/17), 1pm, 533 W Main St, Sylva Exhibit Opening Reception: “Do You Know Me” Monoprints, photography, sculpture and collage by Linda and Adam Larsen.

SA (4/17), 6pm, Free, Flood Gallery Fine Art Center, 850 Blue Ridge Rd, Black Mountain

MUSIC Asheville Chamber Music Series: Neave Piano Trio Classical piano concert.

FR (4/23), 7:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/99b

LITERARY UNC Press & Malaprop's: Author Discussion Featuring Karen L. Cox, author of No Common Ground: Confederate Monuments and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice, in conversation with Hilary Green.

WE (4/14), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/985 Firestorm: Mending the World as Jewish Anarchists Discussion on the anthology There is Nothing So Whole as a Broken Heart.

TH (4/15), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/989 UNCA Visiting Writer Series Featuring poet, essayist and literary critic Artess Bethany White.

TH (4/15), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/990

City Lights Books: Discussion Group Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston SA (4/17), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/98c Malaprop's Book Launch Featuring F.T. Lukens, author of In Deeper Waters, in conversation with C.B. Lee. TU (4/20), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/986 Malaprop's Author Discussion Featuring Ayanna Thompson, author of Blackface, in conversation with Natalie Hopkinson.

WE (4/21), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/987 Malaprop's Author Discussion Featuring Ena Jones, author of Six Feet Below Zero.

TH (4/22), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/988 UNCA: Social Justice as Science Fiction Lecture by author and science fiction scholar adrienne maree brown.

TH (4/22), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/992

THEATER Blue Ridge Theatre Department: Comedy of Errors One-act adaptation of the Shakespeare play.

TH (4/15), 7:30pm, Free, avl.mx/97m UNCA Drama: The 3 Pigs & the Red Line Puppet adaptation of the classic fable, inspired by the history of redlining and urban renewal in Asheville.

FR (4/16), 7pm, $3-$9, avl.mx/97j Magnetic in the (Smoky) Park Outdoor variety show.

Tickets: avl.mx/97f.

TU (4/20), 7pm, $18, Smoky Park Supper Club, 350 Riverside Dr The Magnetic Theatre: The Court of the Grandchildren Staged reading directed

by Jason Williams.

Tickets: avl.mx/99a.

TH (4/22), 7:30pm, By donation, avl.mx/99a

ANIMALS Blue Ridge Audubon: Owen Park Bird Walk Wildlife identification and discussion group.

Register: avl.mx/993.

SA (4/17), 8am, Free, Charles D. Owen Park, 875 Warren Wilson Rd, Swannanoa Mountain Pet Rescue: Dog Adoption Event SA (4/17), 1-5pm, Archetype Brewing, 265 Haywood Rd

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY Deep Dive Lab: Experts of Marketing & Sales Webinar by Western Women's Business Center.

TH (4/15), 12pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/97n

African American Business Association: Black Wall Street Program Introduction by Naomi Waller.

TU (4/20), 11am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/98x SBCN: Innovation & Resilience Start-up assistance webinar for pandemic times.

FR (4/23), 10am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/98y

CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS Progressive Alliance: The Benefits of Legalizing Marijuana in NC Featuring Jenna Wadsworth, Wake County Soil and Water Conservation district supervisor.

WE (4/14), 6:30pm, Free, avl.mx/98z UNCA: The Ecstasy Project Community dialogue on the ecstatic experience with classics professor Sophie Mills.

WE (4/14), 7pm, Free, Sunflower Diner, 771 Haywood Rd Leadership Asheville: Winter Buzz Breakfast Panel discussion on equity in creative placemaking moderated

by Darin Waters.

TH (4/15), 8:30am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/97c Ramsey Center for Appalachian Studies: Country Queers Presentation on efforts to document rural queer and trans experiences, led by oral historian Rae Garringer.

TH (4/15), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/97h

BUYING OLD PAPER MONEY 10 yrs WNC/ETN notes, bonds, maps, currency etc.

Member SPMC, NCNA, SCNA, TNS

msg/ txt 865-207-8994 or email papermoneybuy@gmail.com

UNCA: Pandemic Racism Lecture on historical patterns of disease burden, presented by history professor Sean A. Wempe of CSU Bakersfield.

FR (4/16), 3:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/991 Asheville Friends of Astrology Monthly meeting.

FR (4/16), 7pm, Free, avl.mx/8ud Jackson County NAACP: April Membership Meeting Discussion on self-care for activists.

SA (4/17), 10am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/99c Crafting Resilience: Activism & Overcoming Obstacles Using creative platforms to address social inequities with ceramic artist Roberto Lugo and curator Michelle Millar Fisher, hosted by UNCA and the Center for Craft.

TU (4/20), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/999

ECO & OUTDOORS Lenoir-Rhyne Film Screening: Water Blues, Green Solutions Documentary screening and panel discussion on stormwater and green infrastructure with RiverLink and Green Opportunities.

WE (4/14), 6:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/97g WNCHA LitCafe Experiences: WNC Railroad History Hike Two-mile hike exploring the history of incarcerated laborers who built the WNC Railroad.

Register: avl.mx/901.

SA (4/17), 10am, $20, Point Lookout Trail, Ridgecrest Trailhead, Mill Creek Rd, Old Fort Blue Ridge Parkway: National Park Week Open House Series Webinars on national park management, stewardship and resources.

MO (4/19), 11am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/997

SPIRITUALITY FESTIVALS Cider, Wine & Dine Weekend Educational programs, live music, facility tours and more. Details: avl.mx/5wr.

TH-SU (4/15-18), 10am-5pm, Downtown Hendersonville

KIDS

Recipe for Serenity: Journey of Self Discovery How to reconnect with your inner joy and peace using the "Emotional Freedom" technique. Register to get Zoom link: anancy08@gmail.com.

TH (4/15), 6pm, Free

VOLUNTEERING

Miss Malaprop's Storytime Featuring Laura Sperry Gardner, author of Blue Ridge Babies 1, 2, 3: A Counting Book.

WE (4/14), 10am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/96c Buncombe Rec Services: Kids Fishing Tournament Catch-and-release tournament. Ages 15 and older. Register: avl.mx/998.

SA (4/17), 8am, $10, Charles D. Owen Park, 875 Warren Wilson Rd, Swannanoa

Environmental Quality Institute: Stream Monitoring Information Exchange Training Sampling streams for water quality. Register: staff@eqilab.org.

SA (4/17), 9am, Big Ivy Community Center, 540 Dillingham Rd, Barnardsville Edible Park Community Work Day Mulching, pruning and clearing invasive plants.

FR (4/23), 2:30pm, Dr. George Washington Carver Edible Park, 30 George Washington Carver Ave

The

Sustainability April 7, 14, 21 and 28

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Series

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WELLNESS

Weight of the world Climate change sparks mental health concerns

BY BROOKE RANDLE brandle@mountainx.com Victoria Estes is trying to save the world.

The 25-year-old has spent the last year volunteering full time with the Sunrise Movement, the local chapter of a national youth-led movement to fight climate change. The group organizes marches, rallies and other forms of activism, including the December 2019 occupation of City Hall, part of its successful push for Asheville City Council to pass a climate emergency resolution.

For Estes and other members of the youth-activism organization, the consequences of inaction appear dire.

“I just feel like I want to have a future. I want what everybody wants.

I want a little homestead and adopt some kids and live my life and live it well,” Estes says. “It feels like we’re really at this tipping point where I may not have a future.”

And, judging by recent scientific studies and governmental reports, there’s plenty of justification for Estes’ concern. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded in 2018 that Earth’s inhabitants have just 12 years to change course on environmental destruction or face irreparable damage from global warming. The 24-hour news cycle provides a constant barrage of devastating findings — from new species going extinct to vast destruction from hurricanes and wildfires.

For activists like Estes, environmental scientists and others, confronting the existential threat of climate change is taking an increasing toll on their mental health and well-being.

ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS: Climate activist Victoria Estes says confronting the existential threat of climate change can lead to persistent stress and anxiety about the future. Photo courtesy of Estes Dubbed “eco-anxiety” or “climate anxiety”, the mental health condition is defined by a persistent worry about the impacts of climate change and can generate a myriad of emotions, including fear, stress, anger, guilt and shame. Some people, like Estes, feel as if they’re carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.

“I feel like this responsibility is on me. It’s on everybody, but I specifically carry it a lot. I know I do,” says Estes. “I want to be an organizer so I can spend all of my time trying to fix what has happened. I just feel like if I don’t do that, I’m not doing enough and that the world is going to end. That’s what the anxiety feels like.”

Mountain Xpress 27th Annual

Dr. Elizabeth Garbarino X AWARDS

2021

A Women’s Healthcare Practice Specializing in Gynecological Care

Welcoming New Patients!

828.575.9562 • LivingWellWNC.com 22

APRIL 14-20, 2021

be perfect. I think it’s superimportant for people to be compassionate with themselves.”

But that’s easier said than done, says Estes. Even taking time off can feel selfish or spark fears about complacency.

“You can feel kind of guilty for doing that, because there’s always events happening and things going on that need more people to be there to help. It’s terrible,” she says. “I get a lot of burnout. There are definitely days where I don’t do anything, and I just cry.”

Voting Starts April 21

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WORLD ON FIRE

Though eco-anxiety isn’t yet an official clinical mental health diagnosis, area counselors say it’s becoming more common.

“Eco-anxiety was not even something that I was aware of until the last few years. But I’ve just been seeing more and more of it in my practice and seeing more and more people where that’s their primary concern,” notes Jackie Sullivan, an Asheville-based licensed clinical social worker.

Climate anxiety can manifest in a variety of ways. Because environmental issues tend to happen on a large scale and are beyond what an individual can change, people may feel overwhelmed or out of control, says Sullivan. Some people may be hyperfocused on their own daily behaviors, equating choices like driving a car or consuming anything that’s not recyclable or ethically sourced with global environmental destruction.

While reducing one’s carbon footprint is a good goal, it’s also important to be realistic and avoid assigning blame to oneself or others, Sullivan advises.

“I also see a lot of people really struggle with shame around their own actions. You know when you can’t control something, you tend to really focus on what you can control,” she notes. “Sometimes people can really focus on feeling like they have to

BRIDGING THE GENERATIONAL GAP

The Rev. Scott Hardin-Nieri, director of the Creation Care Alliance of Western North Carolina, says that in addition to anxiety and stress, emotions connected to climate change can include a profound sense of grief and loss over the destruction of the natural world.

Like anxiety, grief can manifest in a variety of ways and impact generations differently. Younger people with more years ahead of them may experience eco-anxiety and grief as fear or as secondary emotions like outrage or resentment.

“Our younger generation’s anxiety has an element of anger to it,” HardinNieri notes. “There’s an anger in that the previous generations neglected responsibilities to take care of the Earth. There’s also a sense of frustration. I think that’s an expression of grief and anxiety.”

Older generations, on the other hand, may feel shame or guilt for not having done more to preserve the Earth. Parents or grandparents can regret leaving their children or grandchildren a world that is experiencing the effects of a warming climate.

For Asheville resident Roger Helm, who has spent a lifetime working in environmental services, eco-grief and anxiety have persisted throughout his career.

Helm worked stints in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where he investigated the impacts of oil spills and releases of chemicals from federal Superfund sites on birds and endangered species, and with the U.S. Department of Justice, where he pressed corporations to pay for environmental restoration.

“Given my professional career, I’ve dealt a lot with eco-grief,” says Helm, 67. “I think the vast majority of people who go into this type of field feel wonder and excitement and awe about the natural world. And therefore, you care about it and you want to do something to help it and maintain it. But it’s been tough. I think it’s gotten only worse in terms of the challenge.”

Helm now works as an instructor on global climate change at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville. The teaching opportunity has required him to take an even deeper dive into the subject of environmental degradation — and the findings have not been optimistic.

“It is not a pretty issue. It’s not full of a lot of hope. It’s not full of a lot of ‘Everythings going to be fine here,’” he says. “And so as we sort of come to grips with that reality, it’s like ‘Now what?’”

Helm also notes that the overlapping environmental and social crises that younger generations are facing present additional and dire challenges. “What younger generations are facing is really tough,” he says. “I feel a real obligation, a responsibility, to give back.”

FULL CIRCLE

Hardin-Nieri says eco-anxiety and grief have become a topic of concern among his colleagues and congregation. When environmentally focused volunteer opportunities weren’t helping people’s emotional states, he decided to try another approach.

Hardin-Nieri started collaborating with mental health professionals and other faith leaders to craft the EcoGrief Circle, a seven-week course in which participants are guided through emotional responses to climate change.

The 90-minute meetings, which have been held virtually during the pandemic, have offered a chance for people of all ages, races, genders and backgrounds to express and process their feelings of grief, anxiety, anger and more with support and insight from fellow participants and faith leaders.

“What we’re trying to do is create space that requires a little courage and is also safe for people to express this anxiety, this sadness, this anger at themselves or other generations,” Hardin-Nieri explains.

Helm was among the first participants in the inaugural Eco-Grief Circle held last summer. He says that the ability to speak with like-minded people who recognize the challenge of climate change activism has helped him stay engaged with the difficult work.

“I want to be able to continue to have enough hope and not have my well of hope eviscerated, so that I can continue to take action. Because in action, I find the most hope,” reflects Helm.

Since its inception last June, the Eco-Grief Circles have served 75 participants over five cohorts. Creation Care Alliance will offer another seven-week circle beginning in May.

KEEP ON KEEPING ON

Those experiencing eco-anxiety should make time for making meaningful connections to the Earth by volunteering or getting outside to enjoy the beauty and wonder of the natural world, says social worker Sullivan.

She also says that it’s important to share thoughts and feelings with other people and to seek mental health professionals when feeling stuck. Simply knowing and naming the emotions around environmental anxiety and grief can also help in managing feelings of hopelessness and isolation.

“It can be so healing for people to have a name for something that they’re experiencing. It just makes so much sense,” Sullivan says.

For Estes, fellow climate activists and nature lovers provide support and solidarity when the news is grim and stress levels are high.

“If there’s one thing I would want people to know, it’s that community helps so much. Just being around people and speaking your truth and living your truth and hopefully you find people that do the same thing. Sunrise was that for me, and that helped me more than anything,” Estes says.

“Community is the answer.” X

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APRIL 14-20, 2021

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GREEN SCENE

Trout in trouble

Habitat protection key for brook trout in warming climate

BY EMMA JOHNSON emma.johnson50@gmail.com On May 18, 1939, The Transylvania Times of Brevard published an essay introducing readers to three species of trout found in Western North Carolina streams and rivers: rainbow, brown and the only native species, brook. Author and aquatic biologist Thomas Chamberlain characterized the brook (also called speckled) trout with anthropomorphic flair.

“For the native trout,” Chamberlain wrote, “grand as he is, does not take kindly to the changes made in his home surroundings by civilization.”

Although commercial logging began in WNC in the late 1600s, the scale of the timber harvest grew substantially as railroads connected the region to the coasts, and by the 1890s, local forests were under serious threat. Chamberlain noted that heavy logging had harmed brook trout. He wrote: “The cutting away of timber has caused the larger streams

CASTING FOR SOLUTIONS: Matt Barnes, a guide for Asheville Fly Fishing Co., fishes in the Watauga River. Experts worry that habitat loss and climate change are threatening brook trout. Photo by Emma Johnson

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to become warmer. This means less oxygen to breathe and greater susceptibility to disease.”

The habitat loss that Chamberlain bemoaned in 1939 still threatens brook trout today, over 80 years later.

“Without the habitat, the fish don’t have a chance,” says Jacob Rash, coldwater research coordinator at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

In an intact habitat, tree cover along riverbanks keeps waters cool in the summer, so brook trout don’t struggle to breathe. Roots hold dirt in place, preventing loads of sediment from washing into streams during storms and clogging the fish’s gills.

Undisturbed rock beds provide places to lay eggs, and deep pools offer refuge from predators — each microhabitat serves a different need.

But habitat loss is no longer the only worry for brook trout. Researchers and wildlife managers must now protect the fish, an environmental and cultural symbol of WNC, against the growing threat of climate change.

Projected shifts in temperature and precipitation will make the species work harder to find the clean and cold mountain waters it depends on.

Rash worries that the stress of continued habitat loss and climate change will combine to create unforeseen consequences. “It’s always this cumulative effect of insults that ultimately has an impact,” he says.

IN HOT WATER

By 2060, WNC will likely see 10 to 20 more days a year where temperatures reach 95, according to a recent report from the N.C. Institute for Climate Studies. And the impacts won’t be limited to the middle of summer — temperatures will increase throughout the year, with the average annual hottest and coldest temperatures both rising by at least 3 degrees.

As temperatures climb, so too will humidity, which increases the likelihood of heavy rain. For a species like brook trout, which depends on cold, clear water, these changes could present an existential threat, says Kenneth Kunkel, lead author of the NCICS report.

Climate processes could also exacerbate one another to further increase stress for trout, Kunkel continues.

“The warmer temperatures and the greater risk of wildfires are directly linked,” he says. “If you have a dry spell in the future, temperatures are likely to be warmer, which means soil moisture levels will drop and debris on the forest floor will dry out faster.”

The dry soil and debris could provide more fuel for wildfires, killing trout with intense heat or toxic ash falling into the streams.

Those whose livelihoods rely on trout have already seen climate effects like extended droughts on their busi-

nesses. Galen Kipar, the owner of Asheville Fly Fishing Co. and a fly-fishing guide for 15 years, explains, “We watch the weather like a hawk because it affects our job so much.”

Kipar returns often to the same spots and observes changes in the environment month after month, year after year. In 2016, WNC went through a severe fall drought, and he saw how it changed the streams. Some days, he recalls, the temperatures neared 100, with lower-than-usual water levels.

“Low water levels plus high temperatures is a bad combination for trout. They are basically suffocating,” Kipar says. “With steady fishing pressure matched with that scenario, we saw more fish killed that year.”

LOSING GROUND

Trout have been a staple food for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for centuries, and fishing remains a popular communal activity among tribe members.

“For so many people in the tribe, their life is on the stream,” says David Rowland, the tribal hatchery fish culturist for the Eastern Band.

The fishing industry is also economically important for the tribe. It’s

worth about $25 million annually, according to tribal estimates, which makes it the second-largest industry behind gaming. Much of that revenue comes from fishing permit sales.

In 2020, a record number of visitors came to the Qualla Boundary to fish as people sought to get outside during the pandemic.

“It was outrageous,” says Rowland.

Born and raised within the Qualla Boundary, Rowland remembers in the old days seeing cars bumper to bumper as tourists came to see the sights. 2020 was a similar scene, and the Eastern Band sold a record number of fishing permits.

Trout’s economic importance raises the stakes for protecting them from a changing climate. Andrew Sanders is a doctoral candidate at N.C. State University in ecology and evolutionary biology. As a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, he wanted to work with the Eastern Band. For one of his courses, he modeled the change in suitable brook trout habitat on Eastern Band territory based on different climate scenarios.

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GREEN The results were bleak. Using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s most optimistic temperature projections, which indicate about 3.8 degrees of warming by 2100, the models predict that brook trout will lose 50% of their habitat in the Qualla Boundary in the next 50 years. The most extreme climate scenario, projecting a nearly 9-degree increase by 2100, would eliminate 92% of suitable brook trout habitat on Eastern Band land by 2070.

Sanders points out that temperature is only one factor determining the brook trout’s future. Increased regional rainfall could cool down the water, and additional tree cover would provide more shade. But conditions also could swing the other way.

“If we expect more canopy loss in the future, these models might turn out to be optimistic,” Sanders notes.

“The thing about forest cover is that it can be lost much more quickly than it can be gained.”

Looking at Sanders’ maps of declining suitable habitat, a pattern emerges: As temperatures rise, less livable habitat is available to trout, and the surviving populations become more isolated — further increasing their vulnerability to habitat loss.

While road building isn’t contributing greatly to climate change, Neville believes it will make the brook trout’s future even more tenuous.

“Road culverts are a good example of a broad-scale impact that reduces their resilience to climate change,” she says, “because they can’t move to find the right types of habitat when they need it.”

Neville hasn’t lost hope for the brook trout, though. Her research into trout migration and response to disturbances has shown that they can be adaptive to change, even going as far as shifting their reproductive age in response to extreme weather like wildfires.

“They are an incredibly resilient animal,” Neville commented. “If we do give them what they need in terms of connecting habitats, they’ll respond.”

KEEP ON TRUCKING: The Tribal Fish Hatchery of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in the Qualla Boundary produces fish for stocking local rivers.

Photo by Emma Johnson

STRONGER TOGETHER

Many of the warmer, lower-elevation waters in WNC are stocked primarily with rainbow trout by the state Wildlife Resource Commission and private farms to support the

state’s booming sport fishing industry. A study conducted on behalf of the WRC found that the total economic output from fishing in wild trout waters in 2014 was about $60.8 million, supporting over 500 jobs.

Both stocked and wild trout waters are now home to nonnative rainbow and brown trout, whose aggressive behavior can outcompete the native species. Thus, wild brook trout increasingly find themselves relegated to the most remote, high-altitude streams.

“The more complex a habitat is, the more connected it is, the better the ability the fish has to withstand those impacts,” says Helen Neville, senior scientist at Trout Unlimited.

“There are thousands and thousands of road culverts that cut [the fish] off and isolate them into little headwater streams,” Neville explains.

PROTECTING A TREASURE

“The speckled trout is a beautiful fish,” Chamberlain wrote in 1939.

“The olive and black mottling on his back, the red spots on his side and the white marks on his paired fins always give a thrill when he is freshly caught.”

For residents of WNC, brook trout have always been more than just another animal. “My dad and my grandfather brought me onto the river to fish,” Rowland reflects. “It’s been a passion since I was a child. Now I love to take my 5-year-old out, too.”

“It’s a way of life,” says Kipar. “It’s not just the trout. It’s everything that happens in pursuit of the trout. The people that you meet, the little things in nature that you notice, the life lessons that you can learn.”

“It’s the native fish of our mountains,” Rash emphasizes. “The one that generations of folks have grown up with.”

Taking stock With an estimated economic impact in the mountain region of North Carolina of over $334 million in 2014, sport fishing for trout in both wild and hatchery supported waters is an important source of revenue for Western North Carolina.

Many anglers pursue their passion on rivers and streams stocked with trout by public agencies. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission releases over 1 million trout in a year, spread among 950 miles of streams and 4,000 acres of reservoirs. Many of the stocked streams are located at lower elevations than would support wild trout populations. The rainbow, brown and brook trout released are all sterile, so they don’t breed with wild populations of fish.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians runs a fish hatchery on the Qualla Boundary. The tribe releases about 200,000 mostly rainbow trout throughout the year. Hatchery managers believe the average trout doesn’t remain in the waters much more than a week before being caught.

Fishing also takes place in wild trout waters.

— Emma Johnson X

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The state wildlife commission is one of many groups active in the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, a partnership involving government agencies, nonprofits, businesses and citizens to protect the species across its entire native range. Rash is hopeful that this nationwide, collaborative effort can support the fish.

“Trout conservation flows downstream,” Rash explains. “If we can do all this great work in the mountains, in the headwater, we have a chance to have this roll downstream. We can

know that what’s at the top is starting at a better place.”

The national nonprofit Trout Unlimited also actively works in North Carolina to replace road culverts with structures that allow fish to pass through, connecting previously isolated stream sections.

“If we can think about ways to mitigate habitat loss,” Rash concludes, “that can give fish a fighting chance to deal with what comes their way.”

This reporting was supported by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. X

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ARTS & CULTURE

The art of conservation

Local creatives work to inspire a picturesque America

BY THOMAS CALDER tcalder@mountainx.com Happenstance led Asheville artist and printmaker Scott “Doc” Varn to establish Preserving a Picturesque America, a local nonprofit that promotes conservation efforts through the arts.

More than a decade ago, Varn came across an online estate auction. While scrolling through its inventory, he noticed a woodblock print of a familiar waterway — the French Broad River. Enamored by the design, Varn purchased the item, but his infatuation was dimmed upon the print’s arrival when he realized the image had been sliced out of a book — a grave taboo, according to the printmaker’s worldview. “I was disgusted,” he says.

But curiosity soon eclipsed his repulsion. “It made me ask questions,” he says. Primarily, “What book did this come from?”

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL: For over a decade, Scott “Doc” Varn has traveled the country visiting sites featured in Picturesque America, an 1870s publication that documented the country’s natural wonders. Currently, Varn is working with local artists to reinterpet 12 WNC locations featured in the series. Photo by Sam Varn

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18-POUND MONSTERS

Research revealed that the print was part of Picturesque America, a series published by Appleton Press in the 1870s. Released in 48 parts, the collection was eventually bound into two volumes featuring over 900 engravings.

While few copies survive today, Varn was fortunate to discover both volumes — which he describes as “18-pound monsters” — at The Captain’s Bookshelf, long before the store closed its downtown brickand-mortar in 2020 (it continues to maintain an online shop).

“I’m getting chills right now just thinking about how monstrously huge of a moment that was,” Varn says of the purchase.

A decade later, that occasion continues to direct and influence Varn’s life. Initially, he set out to document the books’ featured locations during family vacations. But as he shared his plans with friends, Varn was encouraged to expand the project into what it’s become — a coalition of artists working to recapture the more than 900 sites as they appear today.

“Before we die, our job is to get 1,000 pieces of art created,” Varn says.

Western North Carolina is the launch pad for Preserving a Picturesque America’s mission.

Working with local artists, historians

and conservationists, the nonprofit’s first group exhibit/fundraiser is set for September, though a location has not been finalized. A portion of the money raised will go toward restoring and protecting the 12 local sites featured in Preserving America, with remaining funds supporting the expansion of the project throughout the continental United States.

GRAFFITI AND LITTER

Not surprisingly, plenty has changed — both locally and nationally — since the series first published.

Today, highways bisect some of the collection’s featured landscapes; industrial buildings obscure others.

“We’ve not always been good stewards,” says Varn.

The most heartbreaking example for the nonprofit leader is Paint Rock outside Hot Springs. The location is home to the state’s best-known American Indian pictograph, featured among the engravings in Picturesque America.

Today, Paint Rock is defaced with graffiti, and its surrounding area is fouled with litter — issues Preserving a Picturesque America is working to address through cleanup sessions.

“It makes me sad for the people that I love in Western North Carolina,” says Varn. “Why would anyone do this?”

But the thrills outweigh the heartache for many of the project’s vol-

NO JOB TOO LARGE OR SMALL unteers. Finding a location from the original publication is a rush for seekers like architect and Madison County historian Taylor Barnhill and local author Jacqueline Painter, who have scouted several of the 12 WNC sites featured in the collection.

The pair have trekked through unkempt trails and underbrush to reach several locations that are pictured completely treeless in Picturesque America. The earlier deforestation, says Barnhill, was due to livestock. Most of the local areas depicted in the publication were along Drover’s Road, a route that ran parallel to the French Broad River along which 19th-century Kentuckians and Tennesseans drove cows, pigs and chickens to South Carolina markets. Capitalizing on these annual expeditions, many area farmers cleared their land and cultivated corn to sell to the drovers as feed.

“A lot of these sites today have returned to forest and wild areas,” Barnhill explains.

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INDIANA JONES MOMENT

Among the most rewarding finds for Barnhill and Taylor was an iron eyebolt at the edge of Hot Springs. The discovery helped pinpoint the site of a former ferry crossing featured in the series.

“It’s an Indiana Jones feeling,” says Barnhill. “You have these clues, and you’re kind of a cross between a detective and a scavenger hunter. The clues begin to fall into place, and then one day you come across the site and perspective you’ve been looking for.”

Like his volunteers, Varn relishes the act of discovery. “It is an amazing, exhilarating moment when you find the exact vantage point where an artist stood 150 years ago,” he says.

“There’s nothing I can do to describe the joy in that.”

As fellow artists experience similar thrills while reinterpreting these sites for the upcoming fall exhibit, Varn

VOLUME ONE: Scott “Doc” Varn looks through his copy of Picturesque America at his home studio.

Photo by Sam Varn notes the importance of representing what stands today rather than what stood 150 years prior. Often, he explains, artists want to re-create what is shown in the original publications.

But Varn hopes that by pairing the old with the new, he can inspire greater awareness and participation in the conservation movement.

“It’s always a challenge,” he says.

“Artists want to emotionally edit out certain things. But I encourage them to paint it as it is — be it with a new road, new structure or trees coming back in.”

To learn more, visit avl.mx/978. X

Seeing is believing The Western North Carolina Group of the N.C. Sierra Club, a nonprofit dedicated to enjoying and protecting the environment, was among the earliest supporters of Preserving a Picturesque America.

“Art is a kind of magic,” says Judy Mattox, the group’s executive committee chair. “It often speaks like music to the ear, whereas lectures don’t necessarily have that voice.”

The group hosted Scott “Doc” Varn in February 2020 for one of its last in-person monthly meetings prior to COVID-19 restrictions. The event marked Varn’s first major public appeal for artists to join Preserving a Picturesque America’s mission.

“You can’t conserve what you don’t know,” Mattox says. “Doc’s purpose is to make people aware of the French Broad basin and to try and educate people to preserve the best way they can.”

The Sierra Club continues to hold monthly virtual meetings on the first Thursday of each month. To learn about upcoming events, visit avl.mx/977. X

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AR T S & C UL TU R E

CAROLINA BEER GUY

Sierra Nevada launches multibrewery recycling effort

BY TONY KISS avlbeerguy@gmail.com

Mountain Xpress 27th Annual

DS X AWAR

2021

Voting Starts April 21

mountainx.com/ bestofwnc

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Endless reams of shrink-wrap and plastic straps, big empty grain sacks, clunky wooden pallets and lots of used cardboard — these are some of the materials brewing businesses handle and dispose of on a regular basis.

“Most breweries rely on the same recycling methods that you and I do at home,” says Robin Gregory, director of communications for Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. “And that means they’re unable to recycle many of the materials that they use every day.”

To help reduce industry waste, Sierra Nevada began working in 2019 with American Recycling of Western North Carolina to plan the Western North Carolina Brewery Recycling Cooperative, a recycling drop-off site in Candler. Along with breweries, the program is open to small businesses.

Scheduled to launch May 1, the site will be open 6 a.m.-4 p.m.

Monday-Friday, accepting cardboard, aluminum cans, metal scraps, glass bottles, mixed paper, pallets, industrial bulk sacks, plastic malt bags, shrink-wrap and film, and plastic strapping. No fees will be charged for depositing materials, but anyone using the site must be registered in advance through the Asheville Brewers Alliance.

Additional participating breweries include Asheville Brewing Co., Bhramari Co., Buchi, Burial Beer Co., Catawba Brewing Co., Hi-Wire Brewing, New Belgium Brewing Co.,

MOUNTAINX.COM

GO GREEN: Breweries must discard large quantities of material that’s difficult to recycle. A new program started by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is helping area brewers keep those items out of the landfills. Photo by Ashlee Mooneyhan; courtesy of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Wicked Weed Brewing and Zillicoah Beer Co. New Belgium continues to use its own previously established recycling system but joined the co-op to support the program, according to Michael Craft, the brewery’s community and communications ambassador.

Several breweries that spoke with Xpress describe this effort as a significant moment for the local beer industry. “We always try to take cleaner and greener steps, but that can be difficult sometimes,” says Asheville Brewing Co. head brewer Pete Langheinrich. “We use a lot of grain bags; that’s our No. 1 waste

item. So having a place to take them is great.”

Jeremy Chassner, co-founder of Zillicoah Brewing, echoes Langheinrich. “We have so much material over here that typical recycling doesn’t take, and it piles up,” he says. And while several local breweries pitched in to help make the site a reality, “Sierra Nevada did the heavy lifting on this,” Chassner emphasizes. “We’re excited to see how it turns out and use it.”

For details on joining the WNC Brewery Recycling Cooperative, visit the Asheville Brewers Alliance website at avlbrewers.com. X

TAKING ACTION

Stephanie Hickling Beckman

LIFT EVERY VOICE: Stephanie Hickling Beckman has used the past year to reexamine how Different Strokes Performing Arts Collective can be a more positive force in elevating contemporary Black playwrights. Photo by Carol Spags Photography Before and during the COVID19 pandemic, Stephanie Hickling Beckman has been one of the most active forces in the local theater community. Now, with the proverbial light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel feeling within reach as live theater plots its return, the founder and managing artistic director of Different Strokes Performing Arts Collective is making moves toward creating post-pandemic work that could be her most impactful yet.

“This has been a year of reevaluating everything I thought I knew about theater and the people who make and produce it,” she says.

“Over the last year, theater organizations all over the world have made statements of solidarity with Black Lives Matter and people of color and have begun to revamp their programming to reflect content that responds to the needs and expectations of audiences and artists navigating our ever-changing social landscape.”

Though Hickling Beckman is Black, she says Different Strokes has not been excused from making such statements or acting on this need for change. In turn, she’s been taking diversity, equity and inclusion seminars to advance her own relationship with and response to how white supremacy has infected the theater industry. She’s also allying with other local theater organizations’ administrative leaders to address the systemic racism that she says has thrived in Asheville and hampered the arts community for decades.

The key to confronting that pervasive issue is Different Strokes’

own programming choices. While the company has presented and continues to present digital productions during the pandemic, Hickling Beckman says not having a traditional in-person season has allowed her and her colleagues to examine the nature of the work they’ve chosen during their decade-plus run. As such, they’re recommitting to producing plays that uplift and celebrate people of color rather than narratives that equate being nonwhite with consistent struggle and failure.

“Once we have satisfied the contracts tied to our delayed 2020 season, we will make it a priority to include more contemporary Black playwrights and stories that highlight the joys of being Black rather than the retraumatization we’ve become so familiar with in this country,” she says.

Different Strokes will get the opportunity to put that plan into action in September when it resumes live theater — not in its Tina McGuire Theatre black box space, but in the 500-seat Wortham Theatre. If state-mandated occupancy limits remain in place by that intended reopening date, attendees will be able to spread out and remain within those restrictions while adhering to the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts’ additional health and safety measures, including temperature checks and required mask-wearing.

For additional information, visit differentstrokespac.org.

— Edwin Arnaudin X MOUNTAINX.COM

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AR T S & C UL T U R E

FOOD ROUNDUP

Dance Off

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Flori Pate says Food Connection — the fresh food rescue and redistribution nonprofit she co-founded six years ago — celebrates food and community through meals. “We think everyone deserves to have the delicious food Asheville is known for, and we try to make things cheerful for everyone,” Pate explains. No one embodies that spirit, she says, more than chef partner Clarence Robinson of Cooking with Comedy. “He literally dances his food out to us when we pick up.”

When she heard the director of Verner Early Learning Center — one of FC’s meal recipients — joke about challenging Robinson to a dance-off, she found inspiration for a fundraiser for her organization as well as a way to call attention to Asheville Food Waste Awareness Month (#AVLFoodWasteChallenge).

Food Connection invited eight of its chef/kitchen partners to compete in the Chef Dance Off by submitting a video set to Asheville musician Ryan RnB Barber’s “AVL Funk”; all responded with an enthusiastic yes.

Through April 24, fans can vote for their favorite chef or team with a $10 donation that will go directly to the nonprofit. “We just did our numbers, and in six years, we have distributed over 300,000 meals, which equates to roughly 150 metric tons of fresh food kept out of the Buncombe County landfill,” says Pate. “We’re excited for everyone to see the moves from our partners on these videos.”

The Chef Dance Off compilation video can be found, and donations can be made, by visiting FC’s website at avl.mx/97q or on its Facebook page at avl.mx/97r. The winner will be announced on Stop Food Waste Day, Wednesday, April 28.

Chefs bring on the funk

DANCE KING: Chef Clarence Robinson of Cooking with Comedy shows off the moves he used to compete in Food Connection’s Chef Dance Off fundraiser. Photo by Flori Pate

Flour power

Working in customer service in Charleston, home baker Heidi Bass gifted her office mates one Christmas with chocolate babka. The yeast cake was such a hit that she began taking

orders to sell them. When she moved to Asheville in mid-2018, Bass worked for a couple of bakeries around town, learning the skills of the trade. Now employed at White Labs helping brewery clients choose their yeast strains, her deep dive into fermentation science inspired her to begin baking

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focaccia last fall for Metro Wines’ weekly Focaccia Friday promotion. “It is 100% naturally leavened, all sourdough and so versatile,” Bass says.

Operating as Mother: SourdoughInspired Provisions, Bass also recently launched Montford Community Bread pop-ups, staged every other Sunday at 10 a.m. at 69 Elizabeth St. The menu, posted on her MOTHERavl Instagram account, includes focaccia, bread, babka, baguettes, sourdough English muffins and challah. Sales are on-site for now, but she intends to set up a preordering system this month.

Find MOTHERavl at avl.mx/97u.

baked goods and hire three employees.

This month, she also expanded her days and hours of operation. Dogwood, now open Tuesday-Saturday, 8 a.m.1 p.m., sells drip Counter Culture Coffee and hot tea along with her baked goods. Though her personal passion is bread — she pulls a different variety from the oven every day — she says Dogwood’s scones are its siren song. “People know my scones from the tailgate markets and come looking for them.”

Dogwood Cottage Baking, 175 Weaverville Highway, Woodfin, avl.mx/979

Scone it in

Amanda Plyler, a self-described “baking school dropout,” has nonetheless recently graduated from selling her Dogwood Cottage Baking pastries, cookies, muffins, pies and scones at the weekly Weaverville Tailgate Market to opening a brick-and-mortar of the same name in Woodfin’s Town and Country Square. “I looked for two years and finally found an affordable space in a good location,” she says.

The bakery’s commercial kitchen has allowed her to grow her menu of

Hot stuff

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A R TS & CU LTU R E

ROUNDUP

Around town

Asheville Art in Action benefits nonprofits and creators, local actors land major TV roles and more arts news

PRODUCTIVE PATHWAYS: Last of Light by Phillip DeAngelo is one of the works by local artists featured in the Asheville Art in Action initiative. The platform seeks equal compensation for local artists and nonprofits — including April’s partner, Pisgah Legal Services. Image courtesy of Asheville Art in Action Civic-minded artists have long partnered with nonprofits to create works that are auctioned off to benefit the charitable organization.

But current approaches often offer creations at prices far below their worth, raising minimal funds for the nonprofits at the cost of hardship to contributing artists.

“Artists spend their entire careers building the value of their work,” says Leslie Rowland, owner of Asheville-based L Rowland Fine Contemporary Art. “Having a work publicly sold at a greatly discounted rate devalues the work and is not beneficial to an artist’s career.

Artists get repeated and frequent requests for work and, more often than not, the work is not treated with the respect it deserves.”

In an effort to reverse this troubling trend, Rowland has partnered with Mark Bettis Studio & Gallery on “Asheville Art in Action,” a plan that seeks to reward both sides equally. The collaboration began 34

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in December with the Center for Participatory Change as the beneficiary, followed by Asheville Strong’s Feed Our City initiative in February. April’s pairing is with Pisgah Legal Services, continuing the pattern of picking grassroots groups that are doing what Rowland calls “timely and much-needed work in this community.”

While each new partnership has raised more money than the last, the time and energy commitment for Rowland and Bettis on top of running their own galleries, full-time painting and managing additional businesses has prompted the founders to shift from a monthly to a quarterly approach. Fortunately, the creators who’ve agreed to work with them have been flexible in allowing the founders to see their vision through in a sustainable manner.

“We handpicked a group of artists not only for the outstanding quality of their work but for their willingness to allow us to work through the pro-

The

cess, learn and make changes as we fine-tune the framework,” Rowland says. “Success goes so far beyond monetary gain. Setting an example for a more sustainable benefit structure for other nonprofits, getting the names and mission of nonprofits into the public eye and empowering artists to see the value of their work are some of the markers of success.”

To learn more about this month’s benefit, visit avl.mx/981.

By George!

Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville eases back into normalcy with the one-man show Say Goodnight, Gracie, starring Pasquale LaCorte as legendary comic George Burns. The show opened April 8 and continues nightly from Thursday, April 15, to Saturday, April 17, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 18, at 2 p.m.

The production is being staged at HART’s home Fangmeyer Theater, which has a flat floor that makes it possible for patrons to attend in pods spaced 6 feet apart. Attendees are asked to wear masks unless they are eating or drinking items from the concession area, and distancing will be practiced throughout the facility.

All seats are $20 and can be reserved by calling the HART Box office at 456-6322. For more information, visit avl.mx/982.

Riverside variety hour(s) With temperatures growing consistently warmer, The Magnetic Theatre is bringing back its “Magnetic In The (Smoky) Park” outdoor variety show every Tuesday night through Oct. 26, at Smoky Park Supper Club. The series’ inaugural fall 2020 run included music, dance, comedy, storytelling, magic, fire-breathing and mime, and organizers say this year’s lineup will be “just as diverse and delightful.”

Food and drink service will be available, though attendees are asked to bring their own chair(s). “Doors” open at 6 p.m., and the show begins at 7 p.m. Mask and social distancing protocols will be enforced, and there will be temperature checks at the gate. Tickets are $18 with discounts available for members of The Magnetic Theatre. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit avl.mx/983.

Stamps of approval Terry Taylor’s latest collection, Postal Artifacts, is currently on display at Upstairs Artspace in Tryon.

The Canton-based creator’s art involves taking vintage postcards of scenes in Western North Carolina and the Great Smoky Mountains, then transforming them into “quilts” by stitching them together on an antique sewing machine. The traditional quilt patterns frequently include pieces of handwritten messages and canceled stamps from each postcard’s opposite side. The show, Taylor’s first at Upstairs Artspace, opened March 27 and will be on display through Friday, May 7.

Free to attend. For hours and other information, visit avl.mx/984.

Star power

Viewers who’ve been watching recent popular television shows may have recognized a pair of Ashevillebased actors. Willie Repoley stars in the third season of National Geographic’s “Genius” series, which this time centers on Aretha Franklin, played by Cynthia Erivo (Harriet).

Repoley has a recurring role playing noted Atlantic Records engineer and producer Tom Dowd. And over on Disney+, Repoley’s Frost/ Nixon co-star Michael MacCauley makes a brief appearance in the third episode of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” as a prison warden.

MacCauley can also be seen playing former NASA administrator James Webb in episodes six and eight of “The Right Stuff” on Apple TV+.

— Edwin Arnaudin X

MOVIE LISTINGS Bruce Steele’s and Edwin Arnaudin’s latest critiques of new films available to view via local theaters and popular streaming services include:

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“The Wind Under the Door is a love letter to contemporary Asheville and the North Carolina mountains, but it’s also a love letter to our reckless hopeful moments and dangerous impulses … This is a beautifully nuanced and resonant novel.”

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HEMINGWAY: Ken Burns’ and Lynn Novick’s latest stunning documentary distills the wild life of the eponymous author into a thoroughly entertaining, threepart, six hour adventure.

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Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre Spring 2021 Concert Series!

Presented by Plugged-In Productions

CLUBLAND WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14 OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. French Broad Valley Mountain Music Jam, 6pm

SOLD OUT! Balsam Range | 4/25 @ 4pm

Charley Crockett | 5/20 @ 6pm

W/ JAM TO FOLLOW

W/ JESSE DANIEL

THE 2ND ACT Open Mic w/ Letters to Abigail, 6pm THE GREY EAGLE Patio Show w/ Brie Capone (singer-songwriter), 6pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia Night, 6:30pm

THURSDAY, APRIL 15 SALVAGE STATION Pleasure Chest (blues, rock), 4pm

Mipso | 4/29 @ 6pm W/ RYAN & DANIEL OF RIVER

Jerry Douglas Band | 6/3 @ 6pm

WHYLESS

W/ FIRESIDE COLLECTIVE

Purchase Tickets at

HAZELROBINSONAMPHITHEATRE.COM @HAZELROBAMP // @PLUGGEDINTUNES

HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Crafted Singer Songwriter Series w/ Matt Smith, 6pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Open Mic Night, 6pm SILVERADOS Mr Jimmy Power Trio (blues), 7pm

FRIDAY, APRIL 16 FLEETWOOD'S Outdoor Show w/ Fortezza & Tan Universe (garage punk, surf rock), 5pm SALVAGE STATION An Evening w/ Keller Williams (solo multi-instrumentalist), 5pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Mark Bumgarner (solo acoustic), 6pm RABBIT RABBIT Silent Disco w/ Tommy Calloway, 6:30pm ISIS MUSIC HALL The Travelling Pilsburys Benefit for Asheville Guitar Bar, 7pm

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THE SWING OF THINGS: The Asheville-based folk noir duo at the heart of The Resonant Rogues draws inspiration from a range of vintage styles. Blending old-time and country with world music and swing, the songwriting pair showcases bold brass, banjo and accordion in original compositions. The band will play a show at Turgua Brewing Co. in Fairview Saturday, April 17, 5 p.m. Photo by Michelle Nicolette Kowalski SATURDAY, APRIL 17 SWEETEN CREEK BREWING George “Trouble” Terry (Americana), 3pm WEHRLOOM HONEY MEADERY Music & Mead w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 4pm ISA'S FRENCH BISTRO James Hammel (solo acoustic), 5pm SALVAGE STATION Funk You, 5pm TURGUA BREWING CO. The Resonant Rogues (vintage folk, swing), 5pm CATAWBA BREWING CO. Writers’ Night w/ Stephen Evans, Scott Stetson & Planefolk, 6pm FLEETWOOD’S Gold Rose w/ Julia Sanders (Americana, alt-country), 7pm

THE GREY EAGLE The Texas Gentlemen (country, funk, jazz), 9pm

SUNDAY, APRIL 18

TUESDAY, APRIL 20

ASHEVILLE CLUB Mr Jimmy (blues), 2pm

HOMEPLACE BEER CO. Alma Russ (singer-songwriter), 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Soul Jazz Sundays w/ Taylor Pierson Trio, 2pm

THE PAPER MILL LOUNGE Comedy Night w/ Gregg McGaha, 7pm

SWEETEN CREEK BREWING John Friday (trop rock), 3pm TURGUA BREWING CO. Mark Bumgarner (Americana), 4pm

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21 OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. French Broad Valley Mountain Music Jam, 6pm

ARCHETYPE BREWING WEST 5j Barrow (rock, soul), 6pm

THE 2ND ACT Open Mic w/ Letters to Abigail, 6pm

SALVAGE STATION Phuncle Sam (Grateful Dead tribute), 6pm

SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia Night, 6:30pm

MONDAY, APRIL 19

THURSDAY, APRIL 22

ISIS MUSIC HALL The Darren Nicholson Band (bluegrass), 7pm

HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Totally Rad Monday Night Trivia, 6pm

SALVAGE STATION Supatight (funk, reggae), 4pm

THE ODDITORIUM Party Foul Outdoor Drag Show, 7pm

THE JOINT NEXT DOOR Blue Monday w/ Mr Jimmy, 7pm

SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Open Mic Night, 6pm

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FREEWILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Today I feel the whole world is a door,” wrote poet Dennis Silk. In a similar spirit, 13th-century Zen master Wumen Huikai observed, “The whole world is a door of liberation, but people are unwilling to enter it.”

Now I’m here to tell you, Aries, that there will be times in the coming weeks when the whole world will feel like a door to you. And if you open it, you’ll be led to potential opportunities for interesting changes that offer you liberation.

This is a rare blessing. Please be sufficiently loose and alert and brave to take advantage.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein was called a genius by Nobel Prize-winning author Bertrand Russell. His Philosophical Investigations was once voted the 20th century’s most important philosophy book. Yet one of Wittgenstein’s famous quotes was “How hard it is to see what is right in front of my eyes!” Luckily for all of us, I suspect that won’t be problem for you in the coming weeks, Taurus. In fact, I’m guessing you will see a whole range of things that were previously hidden, even though some of them had been right in front of your eyes. Congrats! Everyone whose life you touch will benefit because of this breakthrough.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Why don’t rivers flow straight? Well, sometimes they do, but only for a relatively short stretch. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, no river moves in a linear trajectory for a distance of more than 10 times its width.

There are numerous reasons why this is so, including the friction caused by banks and the fact that river water streams faster at the center. The place where a river changes direction is called a “meander.”

I’d like to borrow this phenomenon to serve as a metaphor for your life in the coming weeks. I suspect your regular flow is due for a course change — a meander. Any intuitive ideas about which way to go? In which direction will the scenery be best?

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian poet Denis Johnson eventually became a celebrated writer who won numerous prizes, including the prestigious National Book Award. But life was rough when he was in his twenties. Because of his addictions to drugs and alcohol, he neglected his writing.

Later, in one of his mature poems, he expressed appreciation to people who supported him earlier on. “You saw me when I was invisible,” he wrote, “you spoke to me when I was deaf, you thanked me when I was a secret.” Are there helpers like that in your own story? Now would be a perfect time to honor them and repay the favors.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): What do you believe in, exactly, Leo? The coming weeks will be a fine time to take an inventory of your beliefs — and then divest yourself of any that no longer serve you, no longer excite you and no longer fit your changing understanding of how life works. For extra credit, I invite you to dream up some fun new beliefs that lighten your heart and stimulate your playfulness. For example, you could borrow poet Charles Wright’s approach: “I believe what the thunder and lightning have to say.” Or you could try my idea: “I believe in wonders and marvels that inspire me to fulfill my most interesting dreams.”

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo poet Charles Wright testifies, “I write poems to untie myself, to do penance and disappear through the upper right-hand corner of things, to say grace.” What about you, Virgo? What do you do in order to untie yourself and do penance and invoke grace?

The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to use all the tricks at your disposal to accomplish such useful transformations. And if you currently have a low supply of the necessary tricks, make it your healthy obsession to get more.

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APRIL 14-20, 2021

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Kublai Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire and China in the second half of the 13th century, kept a retinue of 5,000 astrologers on retainer. Some were stationed on the roof of his palace, tasked with using sorcery to banish approaching storm clouds. If you asked me to perform a similar assignment, I would not do so. We need storms! They bring refreshing rain and keep the earth in electrical balance. Lightning from storms creates ozone, a vital part of our atmosphere, and it converts nitrogen in the air into nitrogen in the ground, making the soil more fertile. Metaphorical storms often generate a host of necessary and welcome transformations, as well — as I suspect they will for you during the coming weeks.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Unexpressed emotions will never die,” declared trailblazing psychologist Sigmund Freud. “They are buried alive and they will come forth, later, in uglier ways.” I agree, which is why I advise you not to bury your emotions — especially now, when they urgently need to be aired. OK? Please don’t allow a scenario in which they will emerge later in ugly ways. Instead, find the courage to express them soon — in the most loving ways possible, hopefully, and with respect for people who may not be entirely receptive to them.

Communicate with compassionate clarity.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian author Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz wrote a poem entitled “Not Doing Something Wrong Isn’t the Same as Doing Something Right.” I propose that we make that thought one of your guiding themes during the next two weeks. If you choose to accept the assignment, you will make a list of three possible actions that fit the description “not doing something wrong,” and three actions that consist of “doing something right.” Then you will avoid doing the three wrong things named in the first list and give your generous energy to carrying out the three right things in the second list.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In the past few weeks, I hope you’ve been treating yourself like a royal child. I hope you’ve been showering yourself with extra special nurturing and therapeutic treatments. I hope you’ve been telling yourself out loud how soulful and intelligent and resilient you are and I hope you’ve delighted yourself by engaging with a series of educational inspirations. If for some inexplicable reason you have not been attending to these important matters with luxurious intensity, please make up for lost time in the coming days.

Your success during the rest of 2021 depends on your devout devotion to self-care right now.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Sometimes when a disheartening kind of darkness encroaches, we’re right to be afraid. In fact, it’s often wise to be afraid, because doing so may motivate us to ward off or transmute the darkness. But on other occasions, the disheartening darkness that seems to be encroaching isn’t real, or else is actually less threatening than we imagine. Novelist John Steinbeck described the latter when he wrote, “I know beyond all doubt that the dark things crowding in on me either did not exist or were not dangerous to me, and still I was afraid.” My suspicion is that this is the nature of the darkness you’re currently worried about. Can you therefore find a way to banish or at least diminish your fear?

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Some people, if they didn’t make it hard for themselves, might fall asleep,” wrote novelist Saul Bellow. In other words, some of us act as if it’s entertaining, even exciting, to attract difficulties and cause problems for ourselves. If that describes you even a tiny bit, Pisces, I urge you to tone down that bad habit in the coming weeks — maybe even see if you can at least partially eliminate it. The cosmic rhythms will be on your side whenever you take measures to drown out the little voices in your head that try to undermine and sabotage you. At least for now, say “NO!” to making it hard for yourself.

Say “YES!” to making it graceful for yourself.

MOUNTAINX.COM

MARKETPLACE

BY ROB BREZSNY

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

DRIVERS/ DELIVERY

GENERAL A-B TECH IS HIRING A-B Tech is currently taking applications for a Full-Time position Custodian and Maintenance Technician, Madison. For more details and to apply: https://abtcc.peopleadmin.com/postings/5548 ESTATE SALES ASSOCIATE Diverse responsibilities: Pack, Transport Boxes & Furniture.

Computer Literate, Social Media & Online Research Skills a Plus.

Ability to work with people.

PT-FT, some weekends. bonnie@ bonnieroseappraisals.com. 828281-8110.

HELP WANTED Westmore Apartments, a 72-unit apartment complex in Asheville, is looking for a part-time Site Manager to work 25-30 hours/week. $14$15/hr. The position requires exceptional customer service skills, positive and professional demeanor, excellent communication and attention to detail.

Job entails taking applications, renting apartment homes, communicating with tenants, and other administrative duties.

Basic computer and email skills are a must. Affordable Housing experience a plus, but will train the right person. Must pass credit and criminal background check.

Please email letter of interest to Jpatricktaylor@partnershippm. com or mail to Attn: J. Patrick Taylor at Partnership Property Management, PO Box 26405, Greensboro, NC 27404. Equal opportunity provider and employer.

SKILLED LABOR/ TRADES EXPERIENCED BREWER FOR ASSISTANT BREWER POSITION AT ONE WORLD BREWING WEST One World Brewing, West Asheville, seeking to fill Assistant Brewer/Brewer position. 20 - 30 hrs./week.

Negotiable. Text inquiries to Jay Schutz 508-982-3757 or email jay@oneworldbrewing. com (May be edited) www. oneworldbrewing.com

RESTAURANT/ FOOD ASSOCIATE BANQUET STEWARD Haywood Street Congregation is an urban ministry whose primary constituency includes individuals experiencing homelessness. We are seeking a full-time Associate Banquet Steward, an executive chef and highly skilled professional cook, to work side by side with Haywood Street's Banquet Steward in managing the day-to-day operations of the Downtown Welcome Table, a free community meal served to hundreds of individuals twice a week. Access the complete job description at http:// haywoodstreet.org/about/ haywood-street-employment/ • haywoodstreet@haywoodstreet.org

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 afternoons and typically lasts about 7-8 hours per week.

Occasional Wednesday morning delivery is is sometimes needed or an option. E-mail distro@ mountainx.com. No phone calls or walk-ins please. Central Downtown Asheville route.

MEDICAL/ HEALTH CARE MEDICAL POSITIONS AVAILABLE Medical - $20/hr for C.N.A.’s on L.T.C and behavioral units in Black mountain. All shifts, full time. Call Emily at Worldwide Staffing, 866-633-3700, extension 118.

and big-picture challenges that could jeopardize the core programs. Assists with problem solving and help develops systems to enable all Haywood Street ministry areas flourish. www.haywoodstreet.org.

RESIDENTIAL OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Residential Operations Director for mental health residential treatment facility.

Exp'ed supervisor and residential experience. 828-802-0894 • hr@cooperriis.org • www. cooperriis.org.

TEACHING/ EDUCATION A-B TECH IS HIRING A-B Tech is currently taking applications for a Full-Time position of Advanced Manufacturing Center Coordinator. For more details and to apply: https:// abtcc.peopleadmin.com/ postings/5568 A-B TECH IS HIRING A-B Tech is currently taking applications for a Full-Time position Program Coordinator, Industry Training and Natural Products laboratory Administration. For more details and to apply: https://abtcc.peopleadmin.com/postings/5571

RN/LPN POSITIONS-NEW GRADS WELCOME FT & PRN positions available in mental health residential treatment facility. hr@cooperriis.org • www.cooperriis.org.

A-B TECH IS HIRING FULL TIME POSITION A-B Tech is currently taking applications for a full-time position Computer Technologies Instructor. For more details and to apply: https://abtcc.peopleadmin.com/postings/5560

HUMAN SERVICES

BILINGUAL HOME VISITOR - EARLY INTERVENTION SPECIALIST $16.46 - $20.58 / HOUR. This position educates and coaches ten - twelve families in the areas of parenting, health, nutrition, and child development through weekly 90-minute home visits to assist parents/guardians in becoming more effective educators of their children. https:// wcca.org/careers/

AURA HOME WOMEN VETERANS IS LOOKING FOR A GRANT WRITER! We are dedicated to serving homeless women veterans. Payment is negotiable based on experience, please respond to aurahome. alyce@gmail.com.

FULL-TIME POSITION: COMMUNITY MENTOR Onsite position(s) at treatment center for LGBTQ+ folx struggling with substance abuse and co-occurring mental health issues. Exp req/33-36k. Daytime and overnight-awake positions available. Send resume/cover letter to info@elevatewellnessandrecovery.com.

VOLUNTEER & OUTREACH COORDINATOR AT 103.3 ASHEVILLE FM We're hiring a passionate supporter and promoter of Asheville FM to facilitate community access and training in radio. Identify, organize, and place volunteers in positions to support our ongoing work. Email your cover letter, resume, and references to hiring@ashevillefm.org.

PROFESSIONAL/ MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES & OPERATIONS - HAYWOOD STREET CONGREGATION This person helps to ensure that the Haywood Street campus remains a safe and welcoming place for all. Oversees care and maintenance of the building.

Helps address safety concerns

EARLY HEAD START TEACHER This position provides high-quality, responsive caregiving and educational experiences to enhance school readiness that comply with the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education requirements and Head Start Performance Standards in an Early Head Start setting. $14.82 - $18.52 / Hour • https://wcca.org/careers/ NC PRE-K TEACHER $16.46 - $20.58 / HOUR. This position involves providing high-quality, educational experiences to enhance school readiness that comply with the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education, Head Start Performance Standards and NC Pre-K program requirements. https:// wcca.org/careers/

ARTS/MEDIA

communicator to gather, organize and present community news and event information across multiple formats: the Xpress website, including our Community Calendar/Clubland online platform; daily email newsletter; and weekly print newspaper. A great candidate is enthusiastic about contributing to Xpress’ community-oriented journalism • has strong writing skills (AP style knowledge a plus!) • sweats the details • is highly organized • collaborates well • meets deadlines. To apply, send a resume and cover letter explaining your passions and expertise to xpressjob@ mountainx.com.

FRONT OFFICE & LISTINGS COORDINATOR Mountain Xpress is seeking an organized, multitalented, high-energy, person ready to handle a variety of tasks from connecting incoming callers to the resources they need, to helping develop routines, to simple accounting and collections work. Skills needed are a friendly, professional demeanor, attention to detail, strong verbal and written communication skills, broad computer literacy, including social media and office software tools as well as the ability to self-organize, engage with repetitive data entry and multitask under pressure. Must have a knowledge of Asheville/WNC and be community-minded. Experience in customer service (especially using point-of-sale systems) and/or publishing preferred.

This position is full time; somewhat flexible hours and some benefits are available. To apply, send a cover letter and resume to xpressjob@mountainx.com.

HOTEL/ HOSPITALITY HOUSEKEEPING/DEEP CLEANER Full time fully benefited Housekeeping position.

Duties: cleaning of the public areas of campus daily, collection and dumping of trash and recyclables, towel and linen laundry, campus errands as needed.

828-802-0894 • hr@cooperriis. org • www.cooperriis.org

XCHANGE TOOLS & MACHINERY ITEMS FOR SALE!! Small Gas Grill (Coleman), $50.00. John Deere (Sabre) Riding Mower, $700.00. 20- Inch Mower (New Motor), $140.00. Troy Bilt Self-Propelled Mower, $215.00.

Small Gas Weed Eater (New Carb.), $75.00. Call Gene at 828-606-8566.

WANTED CALENDAR COORDINATOR & EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Mountain Xpress is looking for an engaged and engaging

BUYING OLD PAPER MONEY Asheville, WNC, ETN over 10 years. Fair, open, and responsive. Buying currency, bonds, maps, documents, etc.

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ACROSS 1 Soft “seat” in the woods 5 Things that may be hot or dropped 9 It’s a lot to assume Email papermoneybuy@gmail. com, or call/text 865-207-8994.

Member SPMC, NCNA, SCNA, TNA.

SERVICES AUDIO/VIDEO CABLE PRICE INCREASE AGAIN? Switch To DIRECTV & Save + get a $100 visa gift card!

Get More Channels For Less Money. Restrictions apply. Call Now! 877-693-0625 (AAN CAN) DISH TV SPECIAL $64.99 For 190 Channels + $14.95 High Speed Internet. Free Installation, Smart HD DVR Included, Free Voice Remote. Some restrictions apply. Promo Expires 7/21/21.

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HOME IMPROVEMENT HANDY MAN HIRE A HUSBAND • HANDYMAN SERVICES Since 1993. Multiple skill sets.

Reliable, trustworthy, quality results. Insured. References and estimates available. Stephen Houpis, (828) 280-2254.

ANNOUNCEMENTS ANNOUNCEMENTS ATTENTION ACTIVE DUTY & MILITARY VETERANS! Begin a new career and earn your Degree at CTI! Online Computer & Medical training available for Veterans & Families! To learn more, call 855-541-6634 (AAN CAN) BECOME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR! We edit, print and distribute your work internationally.

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28 Wrangler alternative 16 29 Start of a saying about negative 19 influence 32 Rocker Bob 33 Elizabeth I, for 25 26 27 one 34 Center of a sting operation?

33 37 Small, flatbottomed boat 40 40 Stereotypical 44 clown name 41 Concede 48 49 50 43 “The Persistence 53 of Memory” and “Lobster Telephone” 45 Start of a saying 61 about parental discipline 64 48 Ply the needle 67 51 Quick, possibly controversial bit of commentary 18 Related 52 Body of work 19 Moving gracefully 54 Warning you 20 Start of a saying might give about getting in before revealing the way the endings of 23 Acid’s opposite 20-, 29- and 24 Mad as a hatter 45-Across?

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LEGAL NOTICES NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, BUNCOMBE COUNTY Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Laura Stroup Creasman dated May 1, 2012 recorded on May 7, 2012 in Book 4979, Page 1773 of the Buncombe County Public Registry (“Deed of Trust”), conveying certain real property in Buncombe County to Fidelity National Title Insurance, Trustee, for the benefit of Bank of America, N.A. Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on April 20, 2021 at 10:00 AM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Buncombe County, North Carolina, to wit: Tract 1: Beginning on a stake in the eastern common corner of the Dorothy Ray Creasman and Virgil Creasman properties as shown on a survey of said property made by K.G. Roberts, RLS., date on May, 1963, said stake being in the western line of the Bagby property, (old line of the Clayton property) and runs thence north 15 deg. 30' west 150.10 feet to

a stake in the northeast corner of that certain tract of land described in deed to Dorothy Ray Creasman (unmarried) from Ollie Bryant Creasman (widow), date of February 27, 1957, and duly recorded in the office of the register of deeds for Buncombe County, North Carolina, in Deed Book 783, Page 629; thence South 68 deg. 42' west 141 feet to a stake in the northern line of said Dorothy Ray Creasman property; thence South 28 deg.

East approximately 140 feet to a stake in the North line of the above mentioned Virgil Creasman property, mid stake being located north 73 deg, 28' east of the western common corner of the Dorothy Ray Creasman and Virgil Creasman tract, 149 feet; thence North 73 deg. 28' East 108 feet to the point of beginning being a northeastern (approximately '1/4) portion of the tract of land described in the aforementioned deed of record in Deed Book 783, Page 629.

Together with a 12 foot wide right of way for a driveway and access road across the southern most portion of the remaining lands of Dorothy Ray Creasman, extending South 73 deg. 28' west 149 feet from the southwestern corner of the lands hereinabove conveyed, to a point in the public road leading to U.S. Highway 70. Being also that parcel of land conveyed to Virgil Creasman and wife, Laura Creasman, from Dorothy Ray Creasman, Single by that deed dated 02/02/1974 and recorded 02104/1974 In Deed Book 1094, at Page 496 of the Buncombe County, NC Public Registry. Tax Map Reference: 9678468.372113. Tract II: Beginning at a stake in the center of a 12 foot roadway, leading to US Highway No. 70, said stake being in the Zeb Whitaker northwest corner, and runs thence with the said Whitaker North line, North 79

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57 Like some shrimp and jets 60 “Argo” or “Fargo” 61 The McCoys, e.g.

62 ___-American (like about 6% of the U.S.) 63 Title matchmaker in an 1815 novel 64 James or Jones of jazz

puzzle by Nancy Stark and Will Nediger 6 Repulsive 7 Smart

35 Prime Cuts Extra Gravy brand

8 California county north of Marin

36 Strip in the bedroom, maybe

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10 They’re usually packed on St. Patrick’s Day

38 Partner of away 42 Boomerangs for Aboriginal Australians, e.g.

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DOWN 1 Like solving crosswords 2 Eight-time Oscar nominee for Best Actor

21 Common cosmetics component 22 Subj. of Charlotte Brewer’s “Treasure-House of the Language” 25 Popular prom hairstyle 26 Apt rhyme for “blob”

3 Action in tennis, swimming and golf

27 Sleek, in autospeak

4 Highest, on a diploma

31 Bouquet thrower

5 Polysemous words have multiple of these deg 42' East 238.70 feet to an iron pin in the said Whitaker's northeast corner; thence North 15 degrees 35' west 158.70 feet to a stake in Dorothy Creasman's new line; thence South 73 deg 28' West 257 feet to a stake in the center of said 12 foot roadway hereinbefore mentioned; thence with the center of said 12 foot roadway the following two courses and distances; South 21 deg 11' East 50 feet to a stake, and South 24 degrees 30' East 75 feet to the point of beginning.

Excepting and reserving from the foregoing conveyance a roadway on a Northwest corner of said property, which roadway shall be 10 feet wide, commencing 20 feet from the northwest corner of the property herein conveyed and running in a northeastern direction to Dorothy Creasman property, which outside boundary line of said roadway shall be 20 feet from the northwest corner of the property herein conveyed, and which roadway shall remain open for the purpose of ingress, egress and regress.

Being that parcel of land conveyed to Herbert Virgil Creasman and wife, Laura Stroupe from Dorothy Ray Creasman, unmarried by that deed dated June 18, 1963 and recorded June 19, 1963 in Deed Book 883, at Page 115 of the Buncombe County, NC Public Registry. Tax Map Reference: 9678-06-37-1597 Less and Excepting the portion of the parcel and the Manufactured Home located on said parcel more particularly described as follows; Beginning at a point which is 65.5 feet from the Northwest corner of the Tract of land now or formerly owned by Sugar Bear Properties, LLC described in Deed Book 4228, at Page 1697; thence running South 10 deg East 98 feet; thence South 88 deg West 115 feet; thence North 5 deg West 75 feet; thence North 85 deg

30 Hair-raising cry 32 Place to watch a game with friends 34 Draw, colloquially East 115 feet to the Point of beginning. Assessor's Parcel No: 9678-37-2653-00000 Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 15 Cardinal Ridge Drive, Asheville, NC 28805; Parcel ID: 9678-37-2653-00000 A cash deposit (no personal checks) of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, payable to Bell Carrington Price & Gregg, PLLC, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing.

Pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 45-21.30, if the highest bidder at the sale, resale, or any upset bidder fails to comply with its bid upon the tender of a deed for the real property, or after a bona fide attempt to tender such a deed, the clerk of superior court may, upon motion, enter an order authorizing a resale of the real property. The defaulting bidder at any sale or resale or any defaulting upset bidder is liable for the bid made, and in case a resale is had because of such default, shall remain liable to the extent that the final sale price is less than the bid plus all the costs of any resale. Any deposit or compliance bond made by the defaulting bidder shall secure payment of the amount, if any, for which the defaulting bidder remains liable under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 45-21.30.

Third party purchasers must pay the excise tax and THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED. Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions

48 Slender 49 Slips

50 After-meal amenity 53 Worrier’s ailment, it’s said 55 Garnish for a gimlet 56 Classic boulevard liners 57 Noisy bird 58 Application 59 Hamm with two Olympic gold medals

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS NY TIMES PUZZLE M A S T

U N T I R S I E N A G

S C E N A R I O

C H E E S E G R A C A T T A R I E T E A R N O R A L A P A S

L E S A O R O G R S C L E D P E W E L I E B U L L M A S L A S L T A G L E C A L S R N A T E D X Y E A R O U R G E P I E S

existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. This sale is made subject to any and all superior liens, including taxes and special assessments. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Laura Stroup Creasman. An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 45-21.29, in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination. The notice shall also state that upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination [N.C. Gen. Stat. § 45-21.16(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination. If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is

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challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy.

Cape Fear Trustee Services, LLC, Substitute Trustee ____________ ______________________, Attorney W. Harris, NCSB No. 48633 5550 77 Center Drive, Suite 100 Charlotte, NC 28217 PHONE: 980-201-3840 File No.: 20-47329

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

PETS LOST PETS LOST KITTY - REWARD Black & White, about 8 months old.

Lost on the Island in Marshall and $500.00 reward. 434.391.4613.

AUTOMOTIVE AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES CASH FOR CARS! We buy all cars! Junk, high-end, totaled – it doesn’t matter! Get free towing and same day cash! NEWER MODELS too! Call 866-535-9689 (AAN CAN)

APRIL 14-20, 2021

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