Notepad

What do you want — blood?

The Carolinas Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross has issued an emergency appeal for blood donors in western North Carolina: For the second time in three months, blood supplies have reached emergency levels. The inventory for type O blood stands at 60 percent of a one-day supply; the region is also critically short of types A and B blood. The agency generally tries to maintain a three-day supply of all blood types.

Increased local demand for blood is compounding the problem. Last year alone, demand jumped more than 13 percent in our area, sparked by rapid population growth, higher occupancy rates in local hospitals, and advances in medical technology.

Blood donors must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in good general health.

To make an appointment to donate blood, call the local Red Cross chapter at 258-3888. The Asheville-Mountain Area Blood Center is located at 100 Edgewood Drive; walk-ins are welcome.

Together again

Have you lost touch with a family member due to adoption, divorce or just the hectic pace of daily life? Come to the Adoption Registration Coalition’s RegDay ’98, held at the Books-A-Million on Tunnel Road on Saturday, Oct. 3 from noon-4 p.m., and see if you can reconnect.

ARC volunteers will help participants complete a registration form utilizing the International Soundex Reunion Registry, a nonprofit, mutual-consent registry dedicated to reuniting adult family members (for the ISRR to work, both parties must be registered). Information tables will also offer brochures and resource lists.

For more information, contact Kelley Bookhardt at 236-3893, or check the Official RegDay Web site (www.RegDay.org).

Remembering Chief Two-Trees

Chief Two-Trees, the late Native American healer who lived and practiced in the Old Fort area, will be honored at the second annual Medicine Mountain concert and memorial, to be held at the Mountain Gateway Museum ampitheater on Sunday, Oct. 4.

Born in the Midwest as Kenneth Cannon, the chief served in the Air Force before getting back in touch with his Sioux and Cherokee heritage; later, he was initiated as a Cherokee medicine man of the Bear Clan, eventually settling in western North Carolina. To aid healing, Chief Two-Trees prescribed a wide variety of herbs; often, he would suggest a change in diet, a fast, or a combination of vitamins and minerals. Sometimes he used his unique chiropractic method, which he called “crack-um.”

“The chief’s main talent was his intuitive sense,” says John Paul McNeil, a friend and student of the older man. “He could diagnose his visitors by just watching how their energy expressed itself as they walked up to his cabin porch.”

When Chief Two-Trees passed away in 1995, McNeil approached Mountain Gateway Museum Curator Sam Gray about an annual memorial. Gray agreed, and the Medicine Mountain concert was born. This year1s lineup includes Mary Davis, The Not That Bad Band, Debbie Dale and Patsy Jarrett and Raven Moon. The event is affiliated with an exhibit at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh, entitled Health and Healing Experiences.

For details, call John Paul McNeil at 628-3628.

Kind of blue

Feeling low, or could it be something a little more serious? Either way, Park Ridge Hospital’s HOPE Psychiatric Services wants to help you learn about the signs and symptoms of depression and manic depression. On Thursday, Oct. 8. — as part of National Depression Screening Day — participants can complete a free, anonymous screening test for depression and discuss the results with a mental-health professional. And at noon, Jane Lawson will speak on the causes, symptoms

National Depression Screening Day, held each year during Mental Illness Awareness Week, was developed by Harvard Psychiatrist Dr. Douglas Jacobs. Last year, more than 85,000 people attended screenings at 3,000 sites nationwide. The event, launched in 1991, inaugurated the concept of screening for mental illness. The program will be held at the Lutheran Church of the Nativity, 2425 Hendersonville Road in Arden, from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Call Jane Lawson at 681-2726 for more information.

Local schools honored

Two local institutions — Warren Wilson College and UNCA — have recently been designated as “best buys,” by separate organizations.

UNCA was chosen by the 1999 edition of The Fiske Guide to Colleges, a compilation of “the best and most interesting colleges in America.” Edited by former New York Times Education Editor Edward B. Fiske, the book cited UNCA (for the sixth time) as one of 42 educational institutions — 21 public and 21 private — that offer remarkable educational opportunities at a relatively modest cost. “Whether it’s the lush environment or the money you’re saving,” proclaims the guide, “the University of North Carolina at Asheville will have you seeing green.”

Warren Wilson College is featured in the newly published fifth edition of Barron’s Best Buys in College Education, a guidebook designed to help parents and students get the best value for their education dollar. The college is well-known for its Triad Education Program, which blends academics, community service and participation in one of 150 college work crews.

Virginia McKinley, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college, says she isn’t surprised that the book chose to include Warren Wilson. “Senior letters reveal that students do benefit from the many opportunities this school offers,” she explained, adding, “There are lots of ways for students to explore what they care about here.”

To learn more about UNCA, contact Merianne Epstein in UNC-A1s Public Information office (251-6676). Call (800) 934-3536 for information about Warren Wilson College.

— compulsorily compiled by Paul Schattel