Local news in brief for the week of July 18, 2018

Posted on by Xpress Staff
IT'S FUN TO PLAY AT THE YMCA: The Cheshire Fitness Club in Black Mountain will become the Black Mountain YMCA on Sept. 4, following its purchase by the nonprofit YMCA of Western North Carolina. Photo courtesy of the YMCA of WNC

City Council to meet July 24

When Asheville City Council convenes on Tuesday, July 24, at 5 p.m., Council members are tentatively scheduled to hear public comment on three items: a rezoning request for property at 643 Brevard Road to Highway Business District; an economic development incentive grant to General Electric Corp. and Unison Engine Components; and a proposed amendment to the city’s zoning code to add standards to the outdoor lighting ordinance.

City Council meets in council chambers at City Hall, 70 Court Plaza. An agenda will be posted at avl.mx/3xb before the meeting.

Black Mountain to get YMCA

When the owners of the Cheshire Fitness Club in Black Mountain approached the nonprofit YMCA of Western North Carolina about buying the 17,000-square-foot facility, the Y saw the purchase as a way to better serve residents of Black Mountain, the Swannanoa Valley and Old Fort, according to Charles Frederick, chair of the YMCA of WNC board of directors.

Adding the Cheshire Fitness Club to the YMCA portfolio will open the door for  after-school programs at Black Mountain Elementary, Black Mountain Primary and W.D. Williams Elementary. The Y’s existing charitable programs in the area include scholarships for after-school child care and summer camp, youth mentorship, food distribution and nutrition education.

The new Y will serve as home base for these programs and others, including swim lessons and youth sports. It will also offer chronic care management programs to manage arthritis, prevent falls, reduce high blood pressure, prevent and control diabetes, and regain strength after cancer.

The new stand-alone Y will join Black Mountain’s YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly, which has been located in the community since 1906.

Current Cheshire Fitness members will automatically become Black Mountain YMCA members in September, giving them access to seven other YMCAs in the region and YMCAs around the country.

Azalea Mountain School receives accreditation, changes name

Azalea Mountain School in Asheville received national accreditation by the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, becoming the first official Waldorf School in Asheville and only the second in the state. Azalea Mountain School has officially changed its name to Asheville Waldorf School. The school joins 160 member schools and 14 teacher education institutes in North America.

Founded in 2010, Asheville Waldorf School will accept students from nursery through sixth grade for the 2018-19 school year. The Asheville Waldorf School Azalea Campus on Balm Grove Road will serve first through sixth grade, and a new Magnolia Campus on Baker Avenue will serve as the Early Childhood Campus, providing parent-child classes, nursery and kindergarten.

For more information about the school and programs or to schedule a tour, contact Brita Nordgren at enrollment@ashevillewaldorf.org, 828-575-2557.

Travel grants available for N.C. public schools

Does your public school feel like hitting the road for a field trip to the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh? Travel grants are available this fall to help cover a portion of travel costs. Title I public schools, Title VII American Indian schools and other schools with a high percentage of low-income or at-risk students will receive priority for the funding.

Last year’s travel grant program awarded a total of $55,000 to 55 schools in the state. This year, the online application process runs through  Friday, Sept. 14; apply online at avl.mx/540. Questions can be sent to Chelsea Weger at chelsea.weger@ncdcr.gov.

 

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