“I feel like right now this COVID virus is forcing people to slow down and, hopefully, look internally and not just at their phones,” says Percoco, the Firefly Gathering’s new executive director. “It’s interesting how something like this can come in and show us how vulnerable we are.”
“Sustainability is a vast field where you can get into agriculture, transportation, manufacturing and energy,” says Heath Moody, head of the Sustainability Technologies program at A-B Tech. “These skills are vital for society going forward.”
Classes take place on a hilly, wooded eco-homestead campus featuring Bogwalker’s self-constructed cabin, gardens and fruit trees, and students can choose to camp on the property for a full immersion into a more sustainable way of life. “We are permaculture in action, a living example of the beauty and abundance of the land,” she says.
Educators will ask the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners for nearly $87,000 in additional funding to ensure meals keep flowing during the April 6-10 break. Approximately 12,000 meals are being provided daily to children ages 2-18, helping meet critical nutrition needs for kids whose families are under stress from the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic fallout.
During Asheville City Board of Education’s work session and regular meeting on April 2, board Chair Shaunda Sandford announced that Gene Freeman will begin work with the school system on Monday, April 20. He will formally take over from interim Superintendent Bobbie Short as of Monday, June 1. The board also selected Derek Edwards as Asheville High School principal.
Although multiple trucks of supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile have been delivered to other parts of North Carolina by the National Guard over the past week, according to state Director of Emergency Management Mike Sprayberry, county officials say they aren’t aware of any such deliveries to local health care workers.
At a March 27 press conference, Gov. Roy Cooper announced a stay-at-home order, effective throughout North Carolina at 5 p.m. Monday, March 30, that will stay in effect until Wednesday, April 29 — nearly three weeks longer than the duration of Buncombe County’s recently enacted mandate.
Unlike other local instances of the disease caused by the new coronavirus, explained Dr. Jennifer Mullendore, county health workers had been unable to trace at least two cases to a specific source — suggesting that the infection is spreading within the county at large.
N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper announced the closure all all public schools in the state beginning Monday, March 16 until at least Monday, March 30, to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Three draft design concepts for the city-owned Haywood-Page properties were presented during a public work session on the issue Feb. 17, and residents can comment on those designs via online survey through Sunday, March 14.
Being a kid can be tough. Between school and homework, learning how to play nice versus just being yourself, many children look to a parent, teacher or other mentor to help them understand the world around them, someone with whom they can share their worst fears and biggest dreams. For countless numbers of Buncombe County […]
The county is now more than halfway through year one of a $3.6 million annual commitment for its Early Childhood Education and Development Fund. Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, who chairs the committee that oversees the fund, says the initial investment is already paying dividends.
ASHEVILLE, N.C.
Announced at the N.C. Press Association’s annual banquet in Raleigh on Feb. 27, Xpress’ wins also included a second-place finish in the General Excellence category for the state’s largest community newspapers and individual awards for five staff members.
The Hola Cultural Center is intended to provide a central, physical location where people from all cultures can connect through the arts.
The Asheville City Board of Education and Gene Freeman responded to news reports that highlight concerns about transparency, possible conflicts of interest and an extended absence from Freeman’s current school district. Freeman has been selected as Asheville City Schools’ new superintendent and is due to begin work here on July 1 following his June 12 retirement from Fox Chapel Area School District, which is located in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pa.
A lack of transparency, unusually generous contract terms, potential conflicts of interest and an extended recent absence are among the concerns raised about Gene Freeman, Asheville City Schools’ incoming superintendent, by a Pennsylvania journalism nonprofit in 2019 and in February.
Have you ever been on or dreamed of going on a big adventure? Show and tell us about it! Submit student art, essays and poems by this Friday, Jan. 31, to be considered for the 2020 Kids Issues.
Jones previously worked as the emergency services director in Anderson County, S.C., for almost 12 years and replaces outgoing Emergency Services Director Jerry VeHaun, who announced his retirement in December after serving in that role since 1972.
Asheville City Schools selects Gene Freeman for superintendent Asheville City Schools announced Dec. 19 that the system had chosen Gene Freeman as its new superintendent. Freeman is currently the superintendent of the Fox Chapel Area School District, located in a suburb of Pittsburgh, and has more than 25 years of experience in education. The Asheville […]
Have you ever been on or dreamed of going on a big adventure? Then you’re in luck! For Xpress’ 2020 Kids Issues, the theme is “My Big Adventure.” Deadline is Friday, Jan. 31.
