The challenges we faced in the ’90s

YESTERDAY'S LANDFILL: In the 1990s, Asheville and Buncombe County faced many challenges, such as where to locate a new landfill. (pictured above, the old landfill). (file photo)

The Mountain Xpress was born in a decade — the 1990s — that produced major challenges new to Asheville and Buncombe County.

First challenge: Two large construction projects — a new jail and landfill — had been neglected because of their cost and unpopularity.

Second challenge: A new source of drinking water was needed to meet increasing domestic demand and to attract industry. The existing unified water system, agreed to by city and county, had to be protected and enlarged. John and Hazel Fobes, the parents of Xpress publisher Jeff Fobes, were leaders in meeting this challenge.

Other challenges: Funds had to be raised for smaller projects: replacement of McCormick Stadium and the Recreation Park swimming pool, additional space for the Social Services and Health departments, and improvements to the Municipal golf course and Aston Park tennis courts.

Solutions to the challenges. While the county commissioners’ public hearings generated heated discussions, the Mountain Xpress provided a forum for citizens to offer new solutions that the hearings did not generate.

New challenges. As the 1990s drew to a close, three new challenges appeared.

(1)   Almost one-fifth of the Asheville-Buncombe population went to bed hungry every day.

(2)   The homeless population had grown and needed housing.

(3)   Youth gangs appeared. The Asheville Police reported to the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council that 15-18 youth gangs existed. Safe youth centers were needed, as well as employment and training for school dropouts and young people on probation or parole.

Unfortunately, politics became more and more uncivil as the decade of the 1990s wore on. Solving political problems was satisfying (and fun) when negotiating for Aristotle’s “golden mean” — the middle ground of compromise — where people of good will could work together. Finding solutions became difficult as “left” and “right” political sides became more extreme. Personally, the 1990s uncivil scene made it easy to leave behind 12 years of political battles and focus on helping the hungry, the homeless and young people. These challenges were harder to solve (and haven’t been solved yet), but they have been much more satisfying to tackle.

Mountain Xpress’ platform for citizens to propose new, fresh ideas is still very much needed as the city and county face even more challenges in the 21st century.

Gene Rainey served as Chairman of the Buncombe Board of Commissioners (1988-1996) and the first chairman of the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council. He was also a professor of political science at UNC Asheville. He and his wife, Dorma, established a nonprofit corporation to train youths on probation or parole in construction skills while building low-cost housing. He currently is a master gardener raising vegetables for his church to feed approximately 150 hungry people every week. He can be reached at generainey@aol.com.

 

 

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

One thought on “The challenges we faced in the ’90s

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.