‘A Christmas Carol’ sparkles at Flat Rock — See REVIEW, Pg. B1
Election results offer surprises — See STORY, Pg. A6
Gingerbread winner chosen See STORY, Pg. A4
LLE I V HE AS ASHEVILLEʼS GREATEST NEWSPAPER
December 2016 Vol. 13, No. 01
An Independent Newspaper Serving Greater Asheville www.ashevilledailyplanet.com FREE
Mayor slams hate speech in city From Staff Reports
Following the Nov. 8 election of Republican Donald J. Trump as president of the United States and some alleged comments and actions by his supporters in the aftermath, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, a Democrat, issued the following statement
on hate speech on Nov. 14: “A number of people have contacted me in the past week to tell me about incidents of hate speech in our community.” “I am disheartened to learn that members of our minority and LGBT communities have been the victims of hate speech, harassment and intimidation. These disgraceful
actions will not be tolerated in Asheville.” “Asheville’s people are accepting, openminded and respectful. As a community, we have an even greater challenge to come together with kindness and compassion for each other.” “I call on every individual to demonstrate that intolerance and hatred will not be accepted. As mayor of Asheville, I am
dedicated to maintaining Asheville as an equitable and inclusive city where we can acknowledge our differences, and allow everyone to feel safe and respected.” To that end, the mayor cited several complaints about incidents of hate speech in the community to local news media. See SLAMS, Page A7
Wildfires? Mainly arson, officials say WNC blazes under control; Asheville’s fall driest ever
Photos courtesy of Biltmore Estate
Biltmore Estate celebrates Christmas
When a 34-foot-tall Fraser fir tree is brought into America’s largest home – Biltmore House – it’s a sure sign that Christmas is just around the corner. In early November, Santa Claus, aboard a horse-drawn carriage, ushered the massive tree to the home that George Vanderbilt opened to his friends and family on Christmas Eve 1895. Christmas at Biltmore, the estate’s annual holiday event, started officially Nov. 4, and runs through Jan. 8. More than 40
Biltmore staff members hoisted the tree onto their shoulders and carried the tree into the home’s 70-foot-tall Banquet Hall, where they raised it using a system of ropes to secure it into place. More staff members festooned the tree with hundreds of lights, toys and wrapped packages. The tree will remain in the hall throughout the event. It joins more than 60 other hand-decorated Christmas trees that light up the rooms of Biltmore House.
From Staff Reports About 80,000 acres in Western North Carolina have been burned by wildfires that have forced residents to evacuate their homes and businesses to close to shut down temporarily. Firefighters from all 50 states were brought in to work a 21-day shift to keep blazes from destroying structures or injuring people. This is Asheville’s driest fall ever, with no measurable rain falling in November at the Asheville Regional Airport. Just 0.54 inches fell in the Asheville area in October, according to Trisha Palmer, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Greer, S.C. About 5 inches could fall along the southern slopes of the Appalacians late Nov. 28 through Nov. 30, Palmer noted. Meanwhile, arson is suspected in most of the Western North Carolina wildfires, according to the U.S. Forest Service and incident command teams. As of Nov. 26, more than 21 wildfires west of Asheville were mostly contained and firefighters continued to patrol fire lines, checking for any re-ignition sites. At about 11 other wildfires in various parts of the region, firefighters have continued to increase containment and fire growth has remained limited. Many evacuations and road closures were lifted around Thanksgiving Day as firefighters have gotten fires under control. Some roads remained closed and evactuation notices remained in effect as the N.C. Forest Service reported 97 new fire starts between Nov. 1925 that burned 206 acres on state- and private-owned land. Most fires were under control on Nov. 26, with a handful continuing to grow. More resources were being called in to increase containment and stop potential fire growth, according to fire officials. More than 2,500 firefighters and support staff walked along control lines at about a dozen wildfires on Nov. 26, checking for hot spots or fallen leaves that could spark new flames. Firefighters working the 7,171-acre Party Rock fire near Lake Lure were on fire lines looking for hot spots and leaf fall. The fire was considered 85 percent contained Nov. 27 — a 15 percent increase since two days earlier.