Three hospital systems — AdventHealth, HCA Healthcare/Mission Health and Novant Health — are jousting for the opportunity to build a facility in Western North Carolina. During an Aug. 12 public hearing at A-B Tech, members of the public got to voice their opinions on who should provide the area’s newest hospital beds. Buncombe, Graham, Madison […]
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.
The final cost for the library now comes in at roughly $6.98 million, which includes previously unaccounted-for expenses to provide fixtures, furniture and equipment for the building. The project had initially been estimated at $4.5 million, and commissioners approved a $1.3 million budget increase last year.
As population grows in WNC’s once-rural areas, the model of volunteer-based fire and rescue services is giving way to bigger budgets, more training and significant numbers of paid staff. How are the departments keeping up with the changes, and should they be required to conform to the same requirements for transparency and public oversight as other organizations funded by property taxes?
The question that may surprise and even confuse some Woodfin residents as they dutifully mark their ballots is: Should the 6,300 residents of the town of Woodfin take on an additional $4.5 million in debt to pay for a greenway, parks and other public works projects along the stretch of the French Broad that flows through […]
“The best cure for the ills of democracy is more democracy.” — Edward Abbey, A Voice Crying in the Wilderness The affluent little town of Chevy Chase, Maryland, population 2,918, was rocked earlier this year when a surprise write-in candidate garnered 168 votes to displace an unopposed incumbent. The town attorney and Ethics Commission were […]
Even as the holidays come barreling toward us, some folks around the globe fear the mythical planet Nibiru may be doing the same and will trigger some unspecified cataclysm on Dec. 21. Notwithstanding the supposed end of the Mayan calendar, however, local agencies seem focused on preparing for more realistic potential threats. Although it may not be the end of the world, Western North Carolina does remain vulnerable to a wide range of natural and human-made catastrophes, including floods, blizzards, fires and even nuclear accidents.
The election season for Asheville City Council, and several other municipalities, kicked off today as the official filing period opened at noon. Incumbent Council member Bill Russell and candidate Marc Hunt both showed up at the Board of Elections to file.
Hunt and Russell talk to an onlooker who’s just snapped their photo. Photo by Jerry Nelson.
Black Mountain resident Harry Hamil was alarmed. According to new flood maps released by the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety in October, a 100-year flood would place much of his property at 151 Ridgeway Ave. underwater. River rising: New flood maps suggest that Ingles’ Swannanoa distribution center is at greater risk of […]
Jim Augins was thinking about his yarn. In the first week of September 2004, when The Weather Channel and local newscasts were making dire predictions about the possibility that Hurricane Frances might ride the spine of the Blue Ridge north, Augins took heed.
The town of Woodfin has been perched on Asheville’s northern border since 1971, when it incorporated to avoid annexation by the city. High on the mountaintop: Reynolds Mountain, which has raised the ire of some activists, as seen from Woodfin. The developer will own and fund much of Woodfin’s new downtown. photos by Jonathan Welch […]
“Mass casualty event.” “Decontamination action guidelines.” “Emergency mortuary plan.” Not exactly light lunchtime topics. But such sobering terminology is common at Buncombe County’s Department of Emergency Services, which is charged with coordinating the county’s response to disasters both natural and human-made. Among the department’s duties is compiling a comprehensive emergency-operations plan—a hefty document containing a […]
