T.I.G.E.R. by the tail

Distrust of government is nothing new. But a Charlotte group called T.I.G.E.R. — Truth in Government, Everyone’s Responsible — has taken that distrust to exceptional lengths. Under the leadership of the group’s founder, carpenter John C. Ainsworth, T.I.G.E.R. has formed its own state: the North-Carolina American Republic. “We’re trying to get freedom back in America,” […]

Ark Foundation wins rezoning

The mysterious Ark Foundation has won round two in its quest to open a resort and spa called The Laurels in Madison County. Madison County commissioners voted unanimously last monthrezoningr Laurel community from residential to resort/residential, following a contentious public hearing that spanned two meetings. The commissioners’ action came after the county’s Planning Board had […]

In the raw

Dr. Doug Graham could be a poster child for the raw-food movement. The 47-year-old Florida professional health trainer and public speaker from Florida was brimming with so much energy he nearly bounded off the walls during his lecture at Vegetarian Summerfest 2000, the North American Vegetarian Society conference held earlier this month at UNCA. One […]

From cattle rancher to vegan

Former cattle rancher Howard Lyman doesn’t hesitate to speak his mind. Now a vegan, Lyman was one of more than 60 speakers at Vegetarian Summerfest 2000, the North American Vegetarian Society conference held earlier this month on the UNCA campus. While he focused on the agricultural industry, others spoke on topics ranging from intentional communities […]

Buncombe County Commission

After a series of afternoon interviews, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners did their part last week to flesh out the newly constituted WNC Air Quality Agency. At the commissioners’ July 11 meeting, they appointed Asheville physician Dr. Lewis E. Patrie to a four-year term on the agency’s board. They also appointed Alan McKenzie to […]

Secrecy remains

Although Madison County officials had little luck in lifting the veil of secrecy surrounding a proposed resort, they may have hit on a solution that its uneasy neighbors can accept. The Madison County commissioners held a public hearing June 29 on whether to grant a request by the mysterious Ark Foundation to rezone its property […]

Raising the stakes

Local defenders of alternative medicine mobilized last week to stop a piece of legislation that would have turned some practitioners into potential felons. A physician licensure bill in the N.C. General Assembly contained wording that would have made it a felony to practice medicine without a license. Currently, this violation is classed as a misdemeanor. […]

Madison mystery

A proposed Madison County resort and its mysterious owners have generated intense scrutiny by neighbors worried about reports of automatic gunfire and the role played by a man once reputed to be the leader of a militia group. But the point person for the Ark Foundation, which plans to build a resort and spa in […]

Sniffing out the story

If you like to bat around conspiracy theories on JFK’s assassination, the Oklahoma City bombing and the “illegal” United Nations, then Craig Roberts is your man. Roberts — a retired Oklahoma cop-turned-writer — airs regularly on Ken Bagwell‘s local talk show, “Heads Up, America” (on radio station WTZY), serving up his conservative-edged thoughts on a […]

Buncombe County Commission

Buncombe County commissioners appeared poised, on May 30, to adopt an interlocal air-agency agreement that contained substantial differences from what county and city officials had agreed to during a May 22 meeting. But last-minute negotiations, carried on both before and during the commissioners’ meeting, yielded a new draft, which proved acceptable to both sides. Commissioners […]

Medical misstep

[Editor’s note: At the request of the family described in this article, Mountain Xpress agreed not to identify them.] A lawsuit resulting from the failure to administer a critical test to a newborn child has led to one of the biggest known settlements ever awarded in Buncombe County — and improved security for local infants. […]

A crucial test

For a newborn child, a simple blood test can mean the difference between severe disability and normal development. Before the test for phenylketonuria became widely available several decades ago, most babies born with PKU developed mental retardation and cerebral palsy. But a special diet, if started early, can be highly effective in preventing retardation, experts […]

Eclectic collection

It’s not every day that you can bid on a framed invitation to JFK’s inauguration — especially not at the same auction where you can land your very own wrestling combo, including a shiny championship wrestling belt and former pro wrestler Nikita Koloff’s Breaking the Chains: A Handbook for Christian Living. But those were among […]

In the eye of the beholder

Last June, James M. Sandlin shot a stray dog four times and nearly hacked its head off with an ax. The killing outraged animal lovers and prompted the Buncombe County district attorney’s office to prosecute the Fairview man on a charge of felony cruelty to animals. After the case ended in a mistrial last month, […]

The Sandlin case

James M. Sandlin is the first person in Buncombe County to be convicted of felony cruelty to animals under a new state law that took effect a little more than a year ago. The Fairview man had admitted to shooting a stray dog four times on June 22, 1999, and finishing it off with an […]

The price of illicit love

One recent March morning, Jack Altamont told a judge how his children’s athletic coach had seduced his wife and wrecked his family’s life. For that, the Buncombe County man claimed he was entitled to cold, hard cash. Superior Court Judge Zoro Guice agreed, and ordered the coach to pay Altamont half-a-million dollars. “It could’ve been […]

The state of the county

Hard as he tried, Dr. Arlo Jennings just couldn’t pay someone enough money to work at Mission St. Joseph’s Health System. Jennings, the system’s vice president/chief information officer, recently offered his top candidate for a computer-security administrator’s job an annual salary of $61,000. Jennings thought he had a deal — but lost out to a […]

Intestinal detectives

Little plastic pill bottles filled with a mucky, chocolate-brown substance sit on a counter, waiting to be processed at the nation’s largest lab for detecting intestinal parasites. The parasitology lab is one of six at the Great Smokies Diagnostic Laboratory, which is tucked away on the picturesque campus of the former Highland Hospital in Asheville’ […]

Keeping tabs

A Buncombe County parent says it took a lawsuit to get his hands on public records kept by Erwin High School. Mike Summey maintains that he’d been stonewalled for months by school officials who refused his requests for records he’s entitled to see under state law. He filed suit Feb. 14 in Buncombe County Superior […]

The silent scream

When Barbara Waters went into surgery at Memorial Mission Hospital nearly three years ago, she had no idea how profoundly the experience would alter her life. The Brevard woman, now 58, says she became conscious during her March 31,1997 gynecological surgery — but couldn’t open her eyes or otherwise alert her doctors because of the […]

Into the night

People entering the basement of the Buncombe County Courthouse this Monday afternoon are struggling to get their bearings. They are greeted by the sight — and sound — of hundreds of people already waiting in the lobby for their turn to appear in night court. Night court serves as an entry point for most people […]