Asheville Daily Planet

Mission Health’s sale almost final

Women’s March held despite chill

See Story, Pg. A2

— See STORY, Pg. A4

Ex-Playhouse theater gets new life in HVL — See STORY, Pg. B1

LLE I V HE AS ASHEVILLEʼS GREATEST NEWSPAPER

February 2019 Vol. 15, No. 03

An Independent Newspaper Serving Greater Asheville www.ashevilledailyplanet.com FREE

When swing was the thing at Grove Park Inn

Special photos by x

x

Anti-Semite?

Speaker in MLK keynote says foes trashing her

By JOHN NORTH

john@AshevilleDailyPlanet.com

Daily Planet Staff Photos

Dancers (above) were able to swing back into the Big Band era on Jan. 11-12 during Big Band Weekend at the Omni Resorts Grove Park Inn in

North Asheville. The featured band both nights was the One and Only Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

See story and more pictures on Page B1 and B7

Women posting pix in skimpy attire?

Q: A lot of women are posting pix of themselves on Instagram in very skimpy attire. I don’t feel comfortable doing that (though I’m in great shape), because I’m single and I’m afraid men would think I’m “easy.” Am I right in thinking men don’t take you seriously as relationship material if you post this type of pix? Or am I prudish and out of touch?

— Curious Want to know the answer? See ADVICE GODDESS, Page A14

The Advice Goddess

Amy Alkon

Syndicated Columnist

Activist and co-organizer of the Woman’s March Tamika D. Mallory made several references to the plight of Jews — saying they and other “oppressed people” need to work together, and she opined several times that anti-Semitism is uncceptable — during her 40-minute speech on Jan. 24 to a crowd that came close to filling all 580 seats in UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium.

After her speech, she fielded six of many questions submitted electronically by those in attendance. She received standing ovations after her speech and after the Q&A. Despite temperatures outside in the 20s and a chill wind, somewhere between five and 10 Jewish protesters and/or Jewish sympathizers stood outside Lipinsky, named for a Jewish philanthropist, holding signs and banners protesting Mallory’s appearance.

They said they felt that, while Mal- Tamika D. Mallory lory should have the right to expresss her views, which they believe are decidedly anti-Semitic, it was inappropriate that she should do it in the spotlight of a celebration of the nonviolent ideas of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. In both her speech and the Q&A, Mallory, who gave the climactic keynote address of UNCA’s MLK Jr. Week, sidestepped any mention of her alleged close ties with the Rev. Louis Farrakhan, an American black nationalist and minister who is the leader of the religious group Nation of Islam.

See UNCA’S MLK KEYNOTE, Page A8

NCDOT gives improvements update for I-26, other roads

By JOHN NORTH

john@AshevilleDailyPlanet.com

The local chief of the North Carolina Department of Transportation gave an update on area highway and road improvement projects during the Jan. 11 meeting of the Council of Independent Business Owners in UNC Asheville’s Sherrill Center: About 50 people attended, with special recognition given to the three elected officials who were present, including state Sen. Terry Van Duyn, who is running for lieutenant governor; Brownie Newman, chairman of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners; and Amanda Edwards, a

newly elected county commissioner.

Speaking to CIBO was Mark Gibbs, district engineer for the North Carolina Department of Transportation, who addressed: • What roads have made the list?

• What is the timeframe for starting to work?

• How will the improvement projects affect travel?

In other action, CIBO received a progress report from Newman on the search for the next Buncombe County manager and a report on the status of the lawsuits and indictments against former county employees.

On a third matter, CIBO heard a report from Van Duyn on the upcoming state legislative session in Raleigh.

During a question-and-answer session after Gibbs’ presentation, a man identifying himself as a member of Asheville’s Multi-Modal Commission said, “I wonder about Broadway (Street). My understanding is that is was designed (when it was widened to four lanes years ago) to be a relief valve” for nearby Merrimon Avenue traffic. “It doesn’t appear to be taking place...

I wonder if, in your (NCDOT) corridor study of Merrimon, if you’re also going to look at Broadway. There’s not a good connection from Broadway to Merrimon near I-240.”

Gibbs agreed with that assessment and said NCDOT is looking at ways to divert more traffic from Merrimon onto Broadway.

See NCDOT, Page A9

A2 - February 2019 - Asheville Daily Planet

Mission Health’s sale clears final AG hurdle; deal completion pending

From Staff Reports

After negotiating changes to a deal to — in his words — protect the public, state Attorney General Josh Stein said Jan. 16 that he will allow HCA Healthcare’s proposed purchase of Asheville-based Mission Health’s assets without a legal challenge.

Stein’s approval paves “the way for the largest health care provider in Western North Carolina to move from nonprofit to for-profit ownership while setting up a massive nonprofit foundation with the sale’s proceeds,” Carolina Public Press reported on Jan. 17.

The Asheville Citizen Times stated in a Jan. 16 story that “a review by the state Department of Justice, which Stein heads, is the biggest regulatory hurdle the sale must clear to take effect. His announcement could mean the nearly $1.5 billion deal will take place soon.”

However, CPP stated, “Stein listed a series of stipulations to which the parties have consented in his letter approving the transaction.

“Some of these address concerns that residents of Western North Carolina have voiced since negotiations between HCA and Mission Health became public knowledge.”

CPP added, “Ultimate approval of the hospital companies’ deal, with stipulations, was in keeping with comments that Laura Brewer, a spokesperson for the state Department of Justice, made to Carolina Public Press in a November email.”

Suggesting that outright rejection of the deal was never likely, Brewer wrote, “Ordinarily, when our office has objections, the parties involved accommodate those objec-

tions and revise the transaction accordingly.

In his Jan. 16 announcement of his decision, Stein stressed the importance of continued access to health care for residents of the areas currently served

by Mission.

“Access to health care is truly a life-orJosh Stein death issue,” Stein said.

Further, the attorney general asserted, “We kept that fact in mind as we conducted our review of this transaction. After extensive negotiations, I am satisfied that this new agreement protects health care in Western North Carolina, ensures that the full value of Mission’s assets will continue to be used for public purposes and requires that the Dogwood Health Trust will be independent and representative.”

CPP reported, “With the sale’s value potentially exceeding $1.5 billion by some estimates, the resulting Dogwood Health Trust would immediately rival the largest grantmaking foundations in North Carolina.”

Mission Health currently operates hospitals in Asheville, Marion, Spruce Pine, Brevard and Franklin in addition to numerous smaller health care provider facilities across Western North Carolina.

HCA owns more than 150 hospitals in the United States and some in the United Kingdom. If the purchase is successful, Mission Health’s facilities would be the company’s only hospitals in North Carolina.

See MISSION HEALTH’S SALE, Page A4

441 N. Louisiana Ave., Ste. C Asheville

828-258-8989

Asheville Daily Planet — February 2019 — A3

(Must present coupon — expires 02/15/19)

A4 — February 2019 - Asheville Daily Planet

Jonas Gerard’s artworks twice vandalized at airport

From Staff Reports

Women march despite the chill on Jan. 20 in downtown Asheville.

Facebook photo

AVL’s 3rd Women’s March?

Cold, but draws thousands

From Staff Reports

Participants in the annual Women’s March in Western North Carolina on Jan. 20 in Asheville said they “felt empowered and encouraged by midterm election victories that raised the profile of women in politics,” according to the Asheville Citizen Times.

Despite “snow, ice and howling winds,” the ACT stated in an article later that day, a turnout numbering in the “thousands” converged in downtown Asheville’s Pack Square for the city’s third edition of the march.

(Similar marches also were held Jan. 19 in Washington D.C., New York and other cities.)

“Although the crowd was notably smaller than years past, the demonstration was quite robust, spanning at one point the entire distance from Pack Square to Martin Luther King Jr. Park — a route of over half a mile,” the ACT noted.

The newspaper also noted that the crowd “dwindled to hundreds, as marchers reached Martin Luther King Jr. Park.”

Meanwhile, Asheville’s WLOS-TV News 13 reported a much smaller turnout at the march than did the ACT. “Hundreds of people gathered downtown Sunday morning” for the Women’s March, News 13 stated.

“Organizers were hoping for about 13,000 people to show up, but because of

Mission Health’s sale

Continued from Page A2 Following are a series of stipulations to which Mission Health and HCA Healthcare have consented, according to state Attorney General Josh Stein, in his letter approving the transaction, as as reported by CPP: • HCA extends its promise to acquire and maintain several smaller Mission Health properties in Franklin, Spruce Pine, Highlands, Marion and Brevard from five years to 10 years, with greater specificity for continued services at these hospitals.

• An independent monitor will review compliance and, along with an advisory board, must sign off on any exceptions to these continued services at the local hospitals.

• HCA will be limited in its ability to cite economic conditions as a pretext for seeking exceptions to compliance.

• Both the new Dogwood Health Trust and the Regional Foundation will have the right to bid on the assets of any local hospitals that are sold or closed.

• HCA will build a new facility in Franklin to replace the existing Angel Hospital.

Mission Health has already received a

frigid weather, high winds and rain, that didn’t happen. But the people that did show up were here for a fight.

“Men and women from all over the country came together in downtown Asheville, marching for kindness, equality, and choice,” News 13 reported. The women’s marches began in 2017 in response to the election of President Donald Trump.

The temperature never topped 30 degrees during the march, but the wind chill reportedly made it feel as though the it was in single digits, the ACT reported.

“During the rally, speakers recounted elections won by women last November — and longtime activist Mandy Carter of Durham urged young people to pledge to mobilize as the 2020 presidential election cycle began,” the ACT rnoted. “This year’s edition of the march was simultaneously backward- and forward-looking, as several speakers recounted victories won by women in the 2018 midterms and battles yet to be fought in 2020.”

Speaking about last “turbulent two years,” Nikki Harris, a Planned Parenthood representative who helped kick off the march, said the participants of the past two Women’s Marches realized that “marching alone wasn’t going to build the future we wanted for ourselves and for our families,” the ACT reported.

certificate of need for this project.

• HCA will build a new 120-bed behavioral health hospital in Asheville.

• HCA will continue most of Mission Health’s community service programs, with at least a $14.28 million expenditure.

• HCA will continue Mission Health’s financial support of emergency medical services in Madison, Mitchell and Yancey counties.

Stein’s letter also made specific provisions for the Dogwood Health Trust’s board, limiting terms of representatives from Buncombe County and ensuring that by 2021 the number of members from any one county will be no more than four.

The letter additionally required efforts to have a level of diversity on the board reflecting the diversity of Western North Carolina’s population. Stein’s letter observed that the initial board had no persons of color but has now been changed to have 27 percent membership by persons of color.

In addition, the letter provided for a number of means of enforcement of its requirements and for fairness in concluding the transaction.

Officials with the Asheville Regional Airport confirmed on Jan. 8 that an art display by Asheville artist, Jonas Gerard, had been vandalized twice in the previous seven days, Asheville’s WLOS-TV News 13 reported recently.

Tina Kinsey, a spokesperson for the airport, told News 13 that the display was vandalized early morning on Jan. 6 and, on the evening of Jan. 7, the display was vandalized again.

Kinsey confirmed to News 13 that the airport police department is investigating the incident.

The artwork has since been removed.

Meanwhile, the Asheville Citizen Times reported on Jan. 8 that the weekend vandism caused “thousands of dollars worth of damage. The incidents add to the more than a dozen instances targeting the local artist over the past year.”

News 13 reported in 2015 that Gerard was charged with sexual battery — and the Citizen Times reported it its Jan. 8 article that Gerard denied the charges.

In a statement released Dec. 21, 2017, Gerard said that the charge was dropped.

That was followed by protests and

claims from masked community activists, accusing Gerard of assaulting multiple women.

In the statement Gerard posted on Facebook following Facebook photo the initial protests, Jonas Gerard he said, in part, that each individual who filed a charge against him withdrew their charges and the criminal complaint voluntarily.

Gerard spokesman Allen Brasington issued the following statement to News 13: “This is an ongoing pattern of vandalism inspired by an anonymous and defamatory group trying to meet their own form of ongoing ‘justice.’ We have attempted a civil dialogue repeatedly and have been met with rejection, vandalism, and belligerence.

“Through outright defamation over the last 13 months, there has been a campaign against Jonas with anonymous claims and second- and third-hand accusations, each more outrageous than the last. The result has been more than $40,000 in property damage.”

Asheville Daily Planet — February 2019 - A5

Ad paid by Venture Investments, LLC

A6- February 2019 - Asheville Daily Planet

Ex-officer sues ex-chief; alleges libel, slander in beating case

Facebook photo

Lisa Taube

Twitter photo

Tammy Hooper

From Staff Reports An ex-Asheville police officer is suing the former police chief for alleged libel and slander after a highly publicized police beating, contending that the police chief used her as a scapegoat and took retaliatory measures against her for complaints of inappropriate personal contact, the Asheville Citizen Times reported on Jan. 9.

“The explosive allegations from former Sgt. Lisa Taube against ex-Asheville Police Department Chief Tammy Hooper came in a Dec. 21 lawsuit filed in Buncombe County Superior Court,” according to the ACT. “The legal action represents the latest fallout from the 2017 police beating of black pedestrian Johnnie Rush.”

Also named as a defendant in the case is the City of Asheville.

The ACT added that “Hooper disciplined and publicly criticized Taube for how she responded to the Aug. 24, 2017, beating of

Johnnie Rush by former officer Christopher Hickman. Hickman faces charges, including felony assault stemming from the incident. Taube arrived after the beating and as supervising officer was responsible for carrying out some APD use-of-force protocols, including interviewing Rush.”

In the aftermath, Taube was issued a written warning and was ordered to undergo additional training.

In a March 5 interview with Asheville’s WLOS-TV News 13, Hooper said that Taube’s actions were “not acceptable” and that she “dropped the ball.” On that same date, then-City Manager Gary Jackson read a statement to the media saying despite Hickman telling Taube he struck Rush in the head with his Taser and despite Rush saying he had been choked, Taube “did not immediately forward any information or complete notes of those interviews with Hickman and Rush, and did not review the body camera footage that evening,” the ACT noted.

These venues invite you to visit them in Downtown Asheville Located at the Grove Arcade

COMPARE OUR BUYING PRICE ON GOLD AND SILVER

WE BUY LARGE

OR

SMALL COIN COLLECTIONS

BUYING ALL GOLD & SILVER 1 Page Ave Suite 120 Asheville NC

828-255-0731

0003151683

Mon.-Sat. 10-5

Additional 2 p.m. Saturday Matinees on February 9 and 16, 2019 et sail for laughter as Bertie Wooster revels of an eye, Bertie is masquerading as a romance in life aboard the Vanderley yacht. Bertie is novelist, Crumpet’s posing as his own long-lost the pampered guest of the lively Lady Stella twin, and a sinister foreign count is challenging (very fetching profile), accompanied, as always, Bertie to a duel. Will this madcap case of misby his peerless valet, Jeeves. If only Bertie’s pal taken identities end in Bertie’s doom–or worse, his Crumpet hadn’t assaulted a prince. In the blink marriage? Have no fear; Jeeves will sort it all out.

Purchase tickets online at northcarolinastage.org or call (828) 239-0263.

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays

S

NC Stage Company • 15 Stage Lane • Asheville, NC 28801

Voltage Records

Buy - Sell

LPs & CDs New & Used

Always purchasing LP collections Sell us your records for cash

90 N. Lexington Ave., Asheville

(828) 255-9333

35 EAST WALNUT STREET, ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA 28801

February 8-March 3

Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm; Sundays at 2:30 pm;

Additional Thurs. performances 2/21 and 2/28 at 7:30 pm

When teenager Ren McCormack moves from Chicago to a small town, he isn’t prepared for the stifling local laws, including a ban on dancing and rock music instituted by the local preacher. As he struggles to fit in, he encourages his classmates to defy the local pastor and call for a rock’n’roll prom.

With an energetic Top 40 score amplified with dynamic new songs, Footloose celebrates the wisdom of opening minds and listening to the voices of young people. A musical version of the 1984 film.

For tickets, visit ashevilletheatre.org or call (828) 254-1320

Visit our new location at 28 Asheland Avenue, Downtown Asheville

• Free parking • Sales, service and repair

New, used and vintage

BICYCLES 253-4800

Faith Notes Send us your faith notes

Please submit items to the Faith Notes by noon on the third Wednesday of each month, via email, at spirituality@ashevilledailyplanet.com, or fax to 252-6567, or mail c/o The Daily Planet, P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, N.C. 28814-8490. Submissions will be accepted and printed at the discretion of the editor, space permitting. To place an ad for a faith event, call 252-6565.

Saturday, Feb. 2

LIFE SHIFT WORKSHOP, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Center for Spiritual Living Asheville, 2 Science of Mind Way, West Asheville. The center will offer a workshop titled “Let’s Be Real, Resolutions Can Work.” Regarding the workshop, the center noted, “If you want to make a shift in your life, whether you have made a resolution this year or not, this is the place to start. In this workshop, we are going to look at resolutions; where they came from, how to create them so they are achievable, and how to support ourselves in the process. We’ll look at what is holding us back, explore some tried and true spiritual practices, and recreate resolutions we can believe in. Come and experience the energy of shared purpose in this experiential workshop. We’ll have some light snacks for our bodies and some great processes for our hearts and minds.” A love offering will be taken.

Sunday, Feb. 3

ADULT FORUM ON CLIMATE CHANGE, 9 a.m., First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1735 Fifth Ave. W., Hendersonville. The weekly adult forum will be “Climate Change and the Sacred Earth,” the second part of a two-week program led by Ed O’Keefe and others.

MYLON HAYES FAMILY SINGERS, 9:45 a.m., Fletcher First Baptist Church, 5 Cane Creek Rd., Fletcher. The Mylon Hayes Family Singers will perform.

Migrant Education Program, 1:30 2:30 p.m., Unity of the Blue Ridge, 2041 Old Fanning Bridge Road, Mills River. Unity will offer a migrant education program, featuring Ivan Padron, a migrant education specialist with the Henderson County School System. He will be discussing — and showing a video about — life as a migrant worker in North Carolina. “The video gives a powerful overview of why the program was formed and how things have and have not changed over the years,” Unity noted. “It is a ‘must-see’ glimpse into the world of our neighbors, the migrant workers.” Admission is free

Wednesday, Feb. 6

“PAR-A-LYZED” PROGRAM, 6:30 p.m., Brookstone Church, 90 Griffee Road, Weaverville.

A program, “Par-a-lyazed,” will offer answers to overcoming stress, anxiety and fear,” the church noted in a promotion. “Do you ever feel overwhelmed or paralyzed with anxiety and fear?

Or, maybe you just live in a constant state of stress from your job or family dynamics. We’re all searching for answers to cope with these struggles. Join us as we talk about ways to overcome paralyzing stress, anxiety and fear.”

Admission is free.

Friday, Feb. 8

SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVIE NIGHT, 7-9 p.m., 1 Sandburg Hall, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place, Asheville. The UUCA will screen a yet-to-be-announced film.

After the screening, a discussion will be held. All are welcome and admission is free.

Sunday, Feb. 10

ADULT FORUM/SPIRITUALITY DISCUSSION, 9 a.m., First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1735 Fifth Ave. W., Hendersonville. The weekly adult forum will be part three of “Spirituality and Activism: A Personal Exploration,” which will continue the discussion of spirituality and activism in the context of climate change and the sacred earth as a personal exploration, incorporating a discussion of food and food waste. Presenter Melissa Melum, a lifelong environmental activist and wildlife enthusiast, was the project lead for the solar intiative at FCUCC.

Saturday, Feb. 16

YOUNIQUE WORKSHOP, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Grace Lutheran Church, 1245 Sixth Ave. W., Hendersonville. A YOUNique Workshop, intended to encourage happier, healthier people, will be held. The workshop is billed as “a comprehensive exploration of you and your personality attributes on five levels.” To resgister, which is required

by Feb. 11, visit http://bit.ly/YOUNique02 or call Karen-Eve Pfotzer at 388-0247, ext. 316. Admission is free and lunch will be provided.

Saturday, Feb. 23

BLACK HISTORY MONTH PROGRAM/DINNER, 4 p.m., Hopkins A.M.E. Zion Chapel Church, 21 College Place, Asheville. The church will present a Black History Month program, “Black Migrations in the Asheville Community, “ featuring Asheville native Rodney L. Johnson. Also featured will be gospel singing, art and history.

Afterward, a soul food dinner will be served. The Rev. Herbert Grant is the pastor and presiding elder. To purchase tickets to the dinner, email hopkinschapel@att.net, or call 230-9192.

Asheville Daily Planet — Febuary 2019 - A7

Chickenpox outbreak declared over in Asheville From Staff Reports

A chickenpox outbreak in Asheville — reported in late 2018 — officially has ended, according to the Buncombe County Health and Human Services department.

The outbreak was traced to Asheville Waldorf School (located in West Asheville) last fall, when more than 40 area people, including 38 students, were treated for the virus.

The BCHHS declared the outbreak over as of Jan. 7, after no new cases were reported over Christmas break. But the BCHHS said it still strongly urges everyone in the Asheville community to be immunized against vaccine-preventable illnesses to avoid becoming sick, spreading illness and missing days of school and work.

The BCHHS said it is important to be aware that even healthy children and adults can develop serious complications and die from chickenpox. Another high-risk group is pregnant women who, if they become ill with chickenpox, can have pregnancy complications.

Dr. Jennifer Mullendore, Buncombe County’s medical director, said in a 2018 press release that she wants the community

to be a part of the shield of protection that immunizations provide.

“When we see high numbers of unimmunized children and adults, we know that an illness like chickenpox can spread easily throughout the community — into our playgrounds, grocery stores, and sports teams. Unvaccinated people put others at risk, especially infants who are too young to be vaccinated or those who are medically fragile or immunocompromised,” Mullendore stated.

Chickenpox is easily passed from one person to another through the air by coughing or sneezing or through the fluid from a blister of a person who has chickenpox.

While it is usually not a serious illness, it often causes children and their parents to miss days at school and work. Most cases of chickenpox in healthy children are treated with bed rest, fluids and fever control.

Chickenpox can be more severe and cause more complications in immunocompromised persons, children younger than 1 year of age and adults. Severe complications include bacterial skin infections, blood stream infections, pneumonia, encephalitis (infection of the brain) and death.

Foam Foam& &Fabrics FabricsOutlet Outlet Outlet Foam & Fabrics Foam & Fabrics Outlet Foam & Fabrics Outlet Foam & Fabrics Outlet DRIVE DRIVEa little littleSAVE SAVE SAVE lot! a lot!

DRIVE aaalittle aaalot!

DRIVE little SAVE lot!

DRIVE little SAVE lot!

DRIVE DRIVE aaa little little SAVE SAVE aaa lot! lot!

                                                                                    

Complete CompleteFabric Fabric FabricCenter Center Center Complete Complete Fabric Center Complete Fabric Center Complete Fabric Center                                                                                                                                              

Drapery DraperyMaterial Material Material Drapery Drapery Material Drapery Material Drapery Material               

           Roc-Lon Drapery Lining                                                       Drapery Print and Solid                            Waverly                      

Upholstery UpholsteryFabrics Fabrics Fabrics Upholstery Upholstery Fabrics Upholstery Fabrics Upholstery Fabrics 50,000 50,000 Yards Yardsin in instock stock stockto tochoose to choose choose fromfrom 50,000 Yards from 50,000 Yards in stock to choose from 50,000 Yards in stock to choose from 50,000 Yards stock from 50,000 Yardsin stockto tochoose choose from           in          99   9999  $ $$$$ 99 99  99 99 99 99 99 2.2.    $$$$$19.

19. 

2.

2.   $$19.

19.9999  2.   19.  2.

2.    19.

19.  

$$ 99 99

FOAM FOAMRUBBER RUBBER RUBBER FOAM FOAM RUBBER FOAM RUBBER FOAM RUBBER Cut Cut to toSize Size Size Cut Cutto to Size Cut to Size

Covenant Reformed

Cut Cutto toSize Size

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

                            

281 Edgewood Rd. • Asheville, N.C. 28804

Fabric Fabricby by bythe the the pound pound Fabric pound Fabric by the pound Fabric by the pound Fabric by the pound                     

828-253-6578

www.covenantreformed.net Wednesday— 7 p.m. Prayer/Bible Study Sunday— 9:30 a.m. Sunday School 11 a.m. Worship • 6 p.m. Worship

A positive path to spiritual living 2041 Old Fanning Bridge Rd., Mills River, N.C. 28759

828-891-8700

unity@unitync.net www.unityblueridgenc.org Rev. Darlene Strickland Sunday services with child care, workshops, bookstore, meeting rooms, weddings

Advertise your church on this page

@ $10 per month

If interested, e-mail us at

advertising@AshevilleDailyPlanet.com ... or call 252-6565.

                                        

AUTOMOBILE AUTOMOBILE AUTOMOBILE AUTOMOBILE AUTOMOBILE AUTOMOBILE              

                         3049 HENDERSONVILLE HIGHWAY      

   

I-26 Exit 44, North miles I-26 I-26 Exit Exit 13, 13,then then thenNorth North North miles 3 miles I-26 Exit 13, then 3333 miles I-26 Exit 13, then North miles

I-26 I-26 Exit Exit 13, 13, then then North North 33 miles miles

684-0801 684-0801 684-0801

A8 — February 2019 - Asheville Daily Planet

PROTESTER: Mallory needs to repudiate Farrakhan’s hateful words EDITOR’S NOTE: Asheville’s Harry M. Pierson was among the protesters who stood outside UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Hall immediately prior to Tamika Mallory’s Jan. 24 keynote address for UNCA’s celebration of Martin Luther King Week.

Pierson, a former Louis Farrakhan university professor and the son of two Holocaust survivors, spoke with a Daily

Planet reporter during the protest and later emailed this essay for publication.

• Poor Ms. (Tamika) Mallory doesn’t understand that she’s living the last few seconds of her 15 minutes of fame.

Good to the last drop, she dug her hole deeper last week, petulantly refusing Whoopi Goldberg’s gentle attempt at an intervention on “The View” and then repeatedly evading Margaret Hoover’s question on PBS Firing Line, “Do you think Israel has a right to exist?,” arrogantly telling Hoover, “I’m done talking about this, you can move on now”

UNCA’S MLK keynote

Continued from Page A1 A number of media sources have reported that Mallory posted on social media in 2017 that Farrakhan is “the GOAT” — or “greatest of all time.”

In UNCA’s two-page printed program for the event, the university noted that “Mallory is the co-president of the Women’s March, the first of which was held in January 2017 and drew an estimated 5 million participants worldwide. A second round of marches around the country took place around the country on the weekend of Jan. 19, 2019.

“Mallory is the former executive director of the National Action Network and a leader in community-based efforts to stop gun violence in her native New York City.

“She was instrumental in creating the NYC Crisis Management System, an official gun-violence prevention program and she also worked closely with the Obama administration on gun control policy. Mallory has founded Mallory Consulting, a strategic planning firm in New York City.”

At the end of the printed program, UNCA noted that it is scheduling “additional public talks during the spring 2019 semester, featuring nationally known thought leaders, discussing anti-Semitism, Jewish and African-American community relations, race and interfaith dialogue and more.When scheduling is finalized, events will be announced at unca.edu/events/” In opening the night’s event, Cori Anderson, interim director of events and conferences, began by publically thanking Biltmore Hotels and Our State magazine for their sponsorships, adding that “we wouldn’t been able to do this without their support.”

Next, Dr. Tiece Ruffin, a UNCA assistant professor of education, spoke a bit about King and then introduced Mallory.

“Dr. King was known as one who fought for civil rights and freedom,” Ruffin said. ”He is considered an influential world leader for fighting against social injustice.”

She added that King considered racism, poverty and war as evil, as he noted during the speech in which he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize.

She added that King “paid the ultimate price” — losing his life — for his efforts, but has left many worthwhile ideas, such as his saying, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

Further, Ruffin asserted, “Dismantling oppressive systems requires constant agitation... We cannot afford to be silent to all forms of racism ... Only in the darkness can we see the stars.”

As for UNCA’s MLK Week keynote speaker, Ruffin said, “Miss Mallory engages in the complex. This type of work requires intersectionality....

“She is known for her justice work…..

She is a New York City native. A very out-

YouTube photo

King addresses “The Other America” at Stanford University in 1967. spoken advocate for all human rights … She is considered as a leader for tomorrow.”

What’s more, she said Mallory’s anti-gun group in New York City has amassed $27 million to award those who cooperate in their efforts to removed guns from the streets.

Given that Ruffin personally has suffered from gun violence, “Tamika, with her work with gun violence, stands out for me.”

Mallory “travels worldwide, speaking on actions needed to bring about change...

In my opinion, Miss Mallory is, without a doubt, a change agent. Let’s welcome her with a hearty Bulldog welcome.” (UNCA’s athletic teams are known as the Bulldogs.)

Mallory received a rather mild applause from the audience as she — at 7:12 p.m. — began her talk, asserting, “I obviously had a very painful background when it comes to gun violence” to become so active in the anti-gun effort.

She then thanked UNCA Chancellor Nancy J. Cable “for having me ... for ensuring that this opportunity brings people together rather than tearing people apart.

“It’s obviously a difficult road to travel to get here. Not just the weather, but the (political) ‘climate’ we’re living in.”

After a pause, Mallory said, “I know you know there’s an elephant in this room,” but she said she would not address things that have been twisted — by her enemies — about her that are untrue.

Next, she said, “As I travel the country, I travel with a number of people.”

Among those accompanying her are her son Tarique Ryans, (Mallory is a single mother to her son. Her son’s father, Jason Ryans, was murdered in 2001.)

Mallory then asked her son to read a poem to read titled “I Don’t Have the Right to Do Nothing,” written by Mysonne Linen.

The tall, thin 19-year-old appeared, wearing a black

In refusing to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist, claiming the Palestinians are native to the area, but not the Jews, Mallory satisfies this part of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism: “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.”

To me, King was the “greatest of all time,” not Farrakhan. Ten days before his assassination, King addressed the Rabbinical Assembly of America and said: “For the black man to be anti-Semitic is illogical and immoral. Wherever I have found anti-Semitism, I have fought it with

all my might.”

What a difference between King’s words and Mallory’s weak tea, “Farrakhan’s words are not my words.” Some believe we have no right to ask Mallory to repudiate the vicious hate of the man she calls “the Greatest of All Time.”

If she’s going to come to the podium to be the voice of King, his values and his memory, we absolutely have the right. No one is asking her to repudiate Farrakhan, she is only being asked to repudiate his hateful words directed at Jews and members of the LGBTQ community. #IamNotATermite Harry M. Pierson Asheville

ballcap tugged down over his forehead, as his mother left the stage.

“I don’t have the right to do nothing,” he rapped, in part. “Injustice is a crime….

Revolution is a part of evolution….”

His poem and rap performance of it, garenered a big applause, with several dozen people standing up.

Returning to the stage, as her son departed, Mallory quipped, triggering laughter from the crowd, “OK! We can go home now! Thank you!”

Shifting to a more serious tack, Mallory noted that she had worked with several classes and groups at UNCA earlier that day and had learned much about the racial history of the Asheville area.

“This particular community chose progress and collaboration — and I’m proud of that,” she said.

“Many people know me as a leader of the Women’s March. I thank God I was able to be a member of it....

“I was doing this work for a long time before that — 20 years, to be exact. I’m certainly not a stranger to this kind of pain” — being highly criticized for her actions. “ But I’m also not a stranger to the wonderful feeling to those we meet along the way by people willing to lend a helping hand...

“That tenacity has allowed me to remain the same girl…. My parents made ‘freedomfighting’ as important as going to church or going to school. Imagine a young girl having to listen to (much) older people” on protest strategies and theory. “But it’s something I now find to be an honor.”

When the father of her son was killed by gunfire, “it would have been easy for me to hate his killers. But I learned I had joined a club... One day I’d like to ensure that the membership of this club is limited — to the club of losing a loved one to gun violence....

“I had to tap into some teachings... While some of us may not feel the need to be in ‘the work’ (fighting oppression) every day, you are.”

Mallory asserted, “I am a student of Dr. King’s organizing strategies. He suggested a philosophy where we fight the systems and not the people. It is to be inclusive — unified against all factions of injustice.

‘Oppression anywhere is oppression everywhere,’ as Dr. King said.”

However, she noted that the “roman-

ticized” characterization of King and his ideas that has been passed down through history should be questioned. “Sometimes we can’t be sure” that popular notions of King’s views are accurate — and that that is a good thing.

“We have to conquer the task of abandoning our attachment to the romanticized versions of our leaders,” Mallory said. “In other words, we need to remember him as a radical leader who was killed in trying to free the most marginalized in our society.”

To that end, she contended that “there are two Kings — the one we love and who had a dream... and the one who woke up from that dream and was killed for it.”

Being a radical for change will, on occasion, put one in a position, where “you won’t always look pretty….”

Pausing, Mallory then quipped with a smile, “I think I’m pretty cute, so ... it kinda works out.” The audience laughed at her sudden playful attitude.

“You can also be the villain and the victor on the same day,” she continued, adding that she is plagued with lies told about her.

“Let me tell you about the lies,” Mallory asserted. “They (her critics) seem to have made them up in the last two weeks. These lies make it around the world before you can wake up in the morning ... This thinking of villain and victor is really problematic.”

Further, she said, “Another powerful word lost in this villain and victor thing is this thing called humanity.”

See MLK KEYNOTE, Page A9

• Carpentry • Roofs, windows & doors • Decks • Demolition Reasonable

246-2934

Published Publishedmonthly monthlyby by Star StarFleet FleetCommunications CommunicationsInc. Inc. JOHN JOHNNORTH NORTH Publisher Publisher

Phone: Phone:(828) (828)252-6565 252-6565••Fax: Fax:(828) (828)252-6567 252-6567 Mailing Mailingaddress: address:P.O. P.O.Box Box8490, 8490,Asheville, Asheville,N.C. N.C.28814-8490 28814-8490 Website: Website:www.ashevilledailyplanet.com www.ashevilledailyplanet.com E-mail E-mailthe thefollowing followingdepartments: departments: News: News:news@ashevilledailyplanet.com news@ashevilledailyplanet.com Letters Letterstotothe theEditor: Editor:letters@ashevilledailyplanet.com letters@ashevilledailyplanet.com Display DisplayAdvertising: Advertising:advertising@ashevilledailyplanet.com advertising@ashevilledailyplanet.com Classifi Classified edline lineads: ads:classads@ashevilledailyplanet.com classads@ashevilledailyplanet.com Circulation: Circulation:circulation@ashevilledailyplanet.com circulation@ashevilledailyplanet.com Publisher: Publisher:publisher@ashevilledailyplanet.com publisher@ashevilledailyplanet.com

To Tosubscribe subscribeto tothe theAsheville AshevilleDaily DailyPlanet, Planet, send sendcheck checkor ormoney-order money-orderto: to: P.O. P.O.Box Box8490, 8490,Asheville, Asheville,N.C. N.C.28814-8490 28814-8490

One-year One-yearlocal localsubscription subscription ........................................$35 (Asheville, (Asheville,Buncombe BuncombeCounty, County,N.C., N.C.,only) only)........................................$35 One-year One-yearout outof ofarea areasubscription subscription (outside (outsideof ofAsheville, Asheville,Buncombe BuncombeCounty, County,N.C., N.C., ....................................................................$50 but butinside insidethe theUnited UnitedStates) States)....................................................................$50 One-year One-yearoutside outsideU.S. U.S.subscription subscription ....................................................................................................$100 (outside (outsideU.S.) U.S.)....................................................................................................$100 ..

Copyright Copyright2016 2016by byAsheville AshevilleDaily DailyPlanet.

Planet.Advertising Advertisingcopyright copyright2016.

2016.

All Allrights rightsreserved. reserved.Reproduction Reproductionininwhole wholeor orininpart partwithout withoutwritten written permission permissionisisprohibited. prohibited.The TheAsheville AshevilleDaily DailyPlanet Planetisisavailable availablefree free throughout throughoutWestern WesternNorth NorthCarolina.

Carolina.Limit Limitone onecopy copyper perperson. person.AdAdditional ditionalcopies copiesmay maybe bepurchased purchasedfor for$1 $1per percopy, copy,payable payableatatthe theADP ADP offi office ceininadvance. advance.No Noperson personmay, may,without withoutprior priorpermission, permission,take takemore more than thanone onecopy copyofofeach eachissue. issue.

MLK keynote

Continued from Page A8 Mallory added, “I’m hear to tell you that even the most powerful leader you know (King) has that human side. If you have not seen the film, ‘King in the Wilderness,’ about the days just before he died,” it would be worth watching.

“He (King) felt alone, even with people around him. He felt betrayed. He felt abused. People had dehumanized him.”

Mallory said she could empathize with King’s trials and tribulations, especially when she, like King, came to the realization that “words actually do hurt.”

She noted that, “at various times during the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. King was referred to as ‘Public Enemy No. 1.’”(That reference reportedly was made by then-FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover.)

When King penned the letter, “From the Birmingham Jail,” he was facing withering criticism from many directions, she said.

“When Dr. King was under pressure to denounce violence,” she added, he instead responded that “the promises of freedom and justice have not been heard.”

What’s more, Mallory said, “I believe Dr. King would have stood up for the young people of Ferguson, Mo.) after brother Michael Brown was gunned down” by a white police officer.

“I (also) believe Dr. King would have stood up for the people of Baltimore, because of killing of Freddie Gray” by police.

(While being transported in a police van, Gray fell into a coma and was taken to a trauma center, where he died.)

“When he (King) was told to ask people to wait instead of rioting, he said, ‘Not now.’”

King even went so far as to speak against the Vietnam War, antagonizing some of his ultra-liberal white supporters, Mallory said.

“Dr. King fought in a reality that left bruises from firehoses and handcuffs.”

Speaking more generally, Mallory said that those finding oppression must come to the same realization as King — that “the arrests and sacrifices are affirmations that we are prepared to make for this work.

“He (King) really knew what it was to give your life for this work.”

Speaking for herself, Mallory said, “I’m prepared to give my life (for the cause of freedom) because I think my life will be more valuable in giving it for a good cause than sitting around” and living a meaningless life.

“You know, Dr. King wasn’t a saint — and his family members will tell you that.”

As his efforts in the Civil Rights Movement continued, King “was becoming more concerned about the white moderate community — those people who claimed to be friends and allies.”

Mallory said that King discovered that “when it was time when things became very, very rough, we can’t find one another (his allies).”

That remains the case today, she said, and “We’ve got to work on that.”

Further, she said, “We’ve got to have tolerance,” mentioning the “intersection between anti-black racism and anti-Semitism.”

At that intersection, “we need to have very deep conversations, Mallory asserted, receiving mild applause from the audience.

“We need to tell ourselves that ‘I don’t know everything I need to know’” about other races and cultures, she said.

“We need to have conversations that make people feel uncomfortable. But we can’t have conversations unless the people we need to talk to are at the table.

“We must do so because we have to be driven by the promise of unity. It’s actually the only way. Dr. King did it despite sometimes being despised. We must do it because we know our truth.”

She then turned to current affairs, noting that “we’re on the 34th day of a government shutdown. People don’t have their paycheck.

I don’t know about you, but I need to have my paycheck every time I’m supposed to get it” or she would run short of money.

“We won’t address that America failed us (blacks) … We must do it because Jewish folks are facing blatant anti-Semitism. Girls are being raped. We can’t quit. Our lives literally depend on it. We cannot depend on the legacy

of others,” an apparent reference to King.

“We must be able to say that in this generation… We can’t quit. We have to stand up and be vocal about our opposition to injustice... When we are courageous in our action, we can’t lose.

“When we have people, including some sitting in this room,” who are “actively working to try to destroy you, tenacity and courage” are requisite, she said.

Mallory added, “That big tent is wide, but it’s (also) where Dr. King was murdered.”

Ironically, she noted, “Dr. King (eventually) realized how much (some) people really didn’t want to see us get free.

“Some people are working around the clock. They don’t have to (do real) work like you do, so they have time to sit and think how they can be destructive.”

She also noted that during Reconstruction in the South, “the bourbon interests drove the denial of the right to vote. Through their control of mass media, they revived the idea of white supremacy. They made it a crime for Negroes and whites to come together on any level. And that effectively killed the populist movement of the 19th century in the South. Those are Dr. King’s words.”

After another pause, Mallory said, “But we won’t fall victim to this moment of divisiveness and distraction,” in an apparent, but unstated, slap at the Trump administration.

“What we choose to do, instead, is to hear” the pleas of those facing injustice,” she said. “We have vowed, as leaders, to lean in…. We will make — and have made — mistakes. And we are victorious. For God’s sake, women hold the gavel, y’all.”

Speaking fatalistically, Mallory said, “I may not live to see the fruits of my labor….

I might not even be the one to change the world. But it is my hope that there will be someone during my day here to change the world — to be not only be the next Dr. King, but to be the next you.”

Upon the conclusion of her speech, about three-fourths of the audience arose to give her a standing ovation.

In the Q&A that followed, she was asked how “you can speak on Dr. King while praising Farrakahn.”

“Dr. King met with a lot of folks,” Mallory replied. “He didn’t always agree with everything they said. But he understood there was a common course for justice.”

On a question about her view of antiSemitism, she said, “What I know is that oppressed people have no business being against one another. We have a lot of work to do to work together. We need to do the work of listening to one another.”

Someone asked her opinion about the Women’s March, which is pro-choice on abortion, and the March for Life, which is pro-life — “are these events at odds with one another?”

“From our perspective at the Women’s March, we believe being pro-choice allows you to be pro-life.” At that, the audience broke into enthused applause and cheers.

Mallory added, “There’s no conflict, as far as we’re concerned. I know in my community, telling someone they have to be pro-choice is not accceptable. I think all women have a space in this particular movement.”

On another question about King’s ideals Mallory said, “I think we’re romanticizing the way Dr. King was.” Speaking generally, she said, “We try not, in any way, to silence (dissenting) voices… I think it’s important for us to be open… open to all voices.

As for how she “navigates in conversations” with her son, Mallory said, “I do have to hold my son because sometimes it hurts him when he sees people saying things about me that he knows are not true. There is not going to be uniformity in bringing down systems of oppression.

There should be unity. I think he’s pretty mature. He understands it.”

Regarding her view of the cancelation of the California Women’s March because “it wasn’t diverse enough by their standards,” Mallory said, “I don’t know. I know what the media says, but I take that with a grain of salt. I do know when certain groups aren’t being represented, then you have to take a step back. I think they looked at the landscape and felt it was not diverse enough for them to proceed.

NCDOT

Asheville Daily Planet — February 2019 - A9

Continued from Page A1 Another unidentified man, speaking separately, said that, “as for Merrimon (Avenue) — to get that right” with traffic flow and other consideratons is critically important for the city. The man lamented what he termed “the lack of left-turn signals on W.T. Weaver Boulevard” and on Merrimon.

In response, Gibbs said, “That was the whole contention at the hearing on (a proposed widening of a section of) Merrimon. My ‘congestion’ folks (specialists) in Raleigh said there is not a lot of commuter traffic on Merrimon.”

However, given the outpouring of citizen opposition to proposed changes at the recent hearing, “We realize we can’t do much widening on Merrimon.. We’re trying to balance all of those concerns.” As a result, the NCDOT is going back to the drawing board to consider possibility for the road, he said.

CIBO member Mac Swicegood told Gibbs, “I’m amazed that we’ve got all this work (going on) at one time.”

Then, he added, “When I talk to DOT (officials), safety is the first thing I’ve heard y’all brag about,” but Swicegood said he wondered how safety could be given much of a priority with what he sees as a dangerous cluster of road projects being launched almost simultaneously.

“Where you have heavy traffic, we plan to most of that work at night,” Gibbs replied.

“On I-26, we will do our best to maintain two lanes” open during the days and “we’ll do our best to do any lane closures at night….”

Another unidentified man told Gibbs he had heard a “discussion” among his friends and acquaintances about purported NCDOT plans for Hendersonville Road.

The man said he was told “they (NCDOT officials) are proposing taking it (Hendersonville Road) down to two lanes (permanently), leaving the other two lanes for a bus lane to run back and forth to the airport. Is there any concern that the DOT will entertain that?” he asked.

As the CIBO crowd broke into laughter, Gibbs, trying to maintain a straight face, said succinctly, “No!” Gibbs then added, “We (NCDOT) have a great working relationship with the (Asheville Regional) airport... We have to address the buses... Again, one of the foremost concerns we have is safety. But we also have to move traffic,” so Hendersonville Road — with its five lanes (including a center turning lane) will remain as it is for vehicular traffic.

When Gibbs gave his report earlier, he began by noting, “Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today concerning trasnportation issues and projects in the Asheville area.”

He added that there has been “lots of internal changes/turnover within D-13 and foks who have not been in their positions very long.” For instance, Gibbs noted that he has been in his job for four months.

However, Gibbs asserted, “We’ve got a lot going on in the Asheville area” and “it’s a critical-but-exciting time for the transportation industry in North Carolina.. .We’ve got to be forward-thinking” as a DOT... We’re always trying to be innovative in product-delivery.”

Gibbs also stressed that NCDOT is concerned about safety and ways to help communities economically — and always “to be more accountable and transparent.”

He then reviewed area road projects under construction, summarized projects in development and detailed projects scheduled for construction beginning in 2019. (See sidebar of Gibbs’ summary on Page A14 for details.)

In closing remarks, Gibbs said that “MPOs and RPOs are lead agencies for submitting projects to DOT,” so those projects will be evaluated/prioritized for funding and ,“if

you’re not already working closely with these local groups, make sure you start doing so.”

Later in the meeting, Newman began his update on the search process for a new county manager by noting, “It’s a process we’re well into right now. Slavin Management from Georgia is helping with the process….

We’re looking for someone with considerable experience in local government…. We want someone obviously with strong financial management and strong ethical” credentials.

(The CIBO audience chuckled when Newman mentioned the word “ethical.”)

About two weeks ago, “Slavin presented us with some candidates,” Newman said.

“We have cut it down and are focusing on about a half-dozen very-qualified candidates.

We’d like to have a new county manager hired and in the job by February.

Regarding the county lawsuit against former county manager Wanda Greene and other ex-county employees, Newman said, “We are represented by Ron Payne. The county’s goal was to make the taxpayers fully whole. This includes the insurance policy, fraudulent use of credit cards and the kickback scheme with contractor Joe Wiseman. The last thing we want to make county whole on is on their claims of unpaid vacation days.

“The good news is the efforts have made the taxpayers’ whole. More than $2 million has been fully repaid to the county. Wanda Greene has agreed to pay be $750,000 to the county. (Mandy) Stone, (Jon) Creighton and Joe Wiseman” have been, or will be, dealt with. “We’re not going to take our foot off the pedal until we’re there,” Newman said.

During a Q&A, Asheville resident Sidney Bach said, “In view of what has transpired, what specific internal checks and balances is the commissioners going to demand and impose to keep this from recurring?”

“Well,” Newman replied, “a lot has been done over the last year. The county manager has much less discretion on any major spending. Any major spending has to be approved by the commissioners in open meeting. The granting of bonuses to county employees is limited to $1,000.”

An unidentified man said, “The settlement has been made for $750,000 with Wanda.

Does she have the $750,000?”

“Yes,” Newman answered, “the payment has been made.”

Another man asked, “What efforts are being made for the years where she has given herself retention bonuses and retirement?

“We believe those funds should be paid back,” Newman replied. “We do believe the county should be made whole for the funds in the retirement. We’re actively involved in all of that.

Yet another man asked, “Who in the world was auditing this” for the county?

“The county has changed auditors,” Newman answered. “It’s very hard for county officials to accept that the audits came back clean, but they did. So those are the facts that we have…. We have done more to increase the independence of the county’s audit committee.” He noted that commissioners Robert Pressley and Al Whitesides are now serving on the audit committee.

A man asked, “What have you done in regard to bids from contractors?”

“We spent a good deal of time on that issue,” Newman replied. “Most bidding processes are set up by the state. The problem in the Wiseman case is it’s a consulting contract.

It’s less of a bidding process and more of a subjective process. So we have changed our contracting processes to make them more stringent. We’re requriing all of them to be reviewed by the county commissioners.”

On a third and separate matter, CIBO was told by Van Duyn in her legislative update that “there has been a pretty significant change in the legislature. The minority party (the Democrats) can now sustain a veto by the governor in the House and the Senate.”

See NCDOT, Page A14

A10 — February 2019 — Asheville Daily Planet

The Daily Planet’s Opinion Effort lauded to safeguard WNC as Mission Health sale wraps up

T

his newspaper, along with many others individuals and groups in the area, was emphatically against the sale of Asheville-based nonprofit Mission Health to Nashville, Tenn.-based for-profit corporate conglomerate HCA Healthcare.

Our opposition was based on not wanting to lose local control of the largest health care provider in Western North Carolina, including a major fear that HCA, by achieving economies of scale through the purchase, would fire a number of current workers. (Mission, with about 12,000 employees and 2,000 volunteers, is North Carolina’s largest private employer west of Charlotte.)

Another concern was for the fate of some small rural hospitals owned

by Mission. We were worried they would be closed or their services severely curtailed.

Also, there was a the matter of where the sale proceeds would go, how the funds would be spent and the demographics of the board of Dogwood Health Trust.

In the meantime, the proposed deal (potentially exceeding $1.5 billion by some estimates) cleared hurdle after hurdle and finally landed on the desk of state Attorney General Josh Stein, where, to his credit, he carefully scrutinized the plan and its impact on Asheville and Western North Carolina.

Stein spoke with proponents and opponents of the deal and addressed with Mission and HCA legitimate concerns from some of the opponents that resulted in a number of stipulations that both parties to the sale agreed upon.

As a results of their agreement to the stipulations, Stein said he would approve the sale, which should wind up some time very soon, likely this month.

In announcing his Jan. 16 decision during a press conference in Asheville, Stein stressed the importance of continued access to health care for residents of the areas currently served by Mission. “Access to health care is truly a life-or-death issue,” Stein said.

“We kept that fact in mind as we conducted our review of this transaction,” Stein further asserted. “After extensive negotiations, I am satisfied that this new agreement protects health care in Western North Carolina, ensures that the full value of Mission’s assets will continue to be used for public purposes and requires that the Dogwood Health Trust will be independent and representative.”

While we regret losing local control — and the nonprofit status — of our health care provider, we feel that Stein did a terrific job for WNC residents by adding the stipulations that will make the impending sale endurable.

Letters to the Editor

Immigration battle puts nail in abortion rights movement

I

mmigration — and the anti-choice, Ortega/Chavez/Maduro “left” — has already destroyed the U.S. abortion rights movement, since there hasn’t been a major March for Choice in over a decade and the date, Jan. 22, is now remembered by U.S. feminists as the Trump inauguration, instead of the anniversary of Roe. The immigrant vote has already traded abortion funding for Obamacare maternity care funding and without a major, single-issue abortion rights movement, the immigrant “left” will similarly trade away choice itself.

The Immocrat refusal to trade the wall for abortion funding makes the end of choice inescapable.

Alan Ditmore Leicester

Meadows, Trump praised for standing strong on wall

President Trump and Congressman Mark Meadows stand shoulder to shoulder with fellow Americans to secure a border wall and for good reasons.

In 2017 and 2018, roughly 235,000 illegal immigrants were arrested on various criminal charges which included 100,000 for assaults, 30,000 sex crimes, and 4,000 homicides.

Ninety percent of the heroin in the U.S. that comes through our porous southern border, fuels the opioid epidemic destroys families and kills thousands. In the past two years, more Americans have died from opioid overdoses than in the Vietnam War! Worse, human smugglers exploit our immigration system for profit. One in three migrant women are sexually assaulted on the way to our porous border.

Then there is the astronomical cost to American citizens. Sixty-three percent of non-citizen households access welfare programs compared to 35 percent of native households. Taxpayers shelled out approximately $134 billion at the federal, state,

Mark Meadows

Donald Trump

and local level to cover the costs of more than 12.5 million illegal aliens, and about 4.2 million citizen children of illegal aliens.

The taxpayer burden is $8,075 per illegal alien family for a total of $115,894,664 This is the fleecing of the American taxpayer!

Obstruction ahead of safety, security, and our nation’s sovereignty is irresponsible, immoral and a breach of the oath to protect and defend our nation.

Thank you, President Trump and my Congressman Mark Meadows — the bulwarks protecting our sovereignty, safety and sacred trust.

Jane Bilello Chairman Asheville Tea Party www.ashevilleteaparty.org Asheville Tea PAC www.ashevilleteapac.org Hendersonville EDITOR’S NOTE: Bilello also listed — among her titles — Wall of Honor Heritage Sentinel and FreedomWorks Super Activist.

See LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, Page A12

Write a Letter to the Editor

The Asheville Daily Planet print letters to the editor, preferably less than 150 words in length. All letters must be signed and include a daytime telephone number for confirmation purposes only.

Send your opinions to Asheville Daily Planet, P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, N.C. 28814-8490 or e-mail them to letters@ AshevilleDailyPlanet.com.

Cars need to be named. So might a party

I

spent the last 25 years of my working life naming things. My team named hundreds of products and companies – from NationsBank to a paint color for an airline. We had a good run.

We never named a car. I never pitched an automaker. Their process is a bog. But I watched with interest from the sidelines.

The word “précis” is a real word in English. Properly pronounced, it rhymes with “Tracy.” Well, Mitsubishi came out with a Precis coupe in 1985 (they dropped the acute accent). I remember reading at the time that focus groups couldn’t pronounce it. It seems the last box to be checked was how to say the name! They asked the focus groups how they would pronounce it, and so it was that Precis went to market as “PREE-sus.”

I grieved in print when Cadillac assassinated their iconic Eldorado and DeVille in favor of a letter-string system (ATS, CTS, XTS). Now I notice they’ve gone to an alphanumeric system, mostly starting with X. I wait for cooler heads to bring back the icons.

Even in retirement, comfy on my mountain, I’ll mutter, “Nice,” to a new name on TV, or, more commonly, “How much did

Lee Ballard they pay for that dog?”

The Nissan Armada, for example. Armada? Top of mind, the Armada was a fleet of clunky Spanish warships that set out in 1588 to invade Britain. They had a terrible plan, and when they retreated, storms sank most of the ships. The car looks like a galleon, but why call attention to it?

Cressida was an unfaithful wife during the Trojan War. Students of Shakespeare and the classics sighed with relief when Toyota laid her to rest.

In the late 1980s, a journalist asked me to rate the names given to four new luxury cars: Acura (from Honda), Infiniti (from Nissan), Lexus (from Toyota) and Sterling (from Britain’s Rover).

I quickly applied the naming rules my team lived by. Is the name easy to pronounce? Lexus whacked Acura on that one. Consumers know “accurate,” but they stumble over unfamiliar coinings. Infiniti’s

cute spelling took away the immediate recognition of “infinity.” My team liked natural words – we did Workforce tools for Home Depot, for example – but tired old buzzwords like Sterling, no thanks.

Lexus understood the power of infrequent letters. They used X and gained a hint of “sex.” We were big users of highvalue Scrabble letters. We named the Vyvx subsidiary of Williams Communications, Fazoli’s for Long John Silver’s and Sheenique for Sally Beauty.

I rated the four names, in order: Lexus, Infiniti, Acura, Sterling. And that’s pretty much how they prospered. Sterling only lasted a few model years, and Lexus sales are twice both Acura and Infiniti.

Those of you who follow this space regularly in the Daily Planet might be wondering what’s happened to the leftish exposition on politics that I usually serve up.

Truth is, this column started as branding advice for Republicans. Their party’s name is in trouble. It no longer carries the strong conservative connotation it did from Barry Goldwater, through the Reagan era, to 2016. Now it’s just a shell where politicians cower and cringe, fearing the next tweet from the president.

These elected Republicans don’t really

have a choice.The voters at home love Trump. Non-politician Republicans, who disapprove of Trump, are lost in space right now. They want to re-Republican the Republican Party. While some have switched party affiliations, most are just waiting to see what happens over the next two years.

If Trump is still president leading up to the 2020 election, he will own the party and its name. The re-Repubs stay in space.

If, on the other hand, Trump is not in office, then the fight for the Republican shell will be brutal.

Trumpists will try to keep the party and name for themselves. If they succeed, the re-Repubs must consider forming a new party, and that means a new name.

I’m watching with interest from the sidelines.

• Lee Ballard , who lives in Mars Hill, has a website at Mountainsnail.com.

TO REPORT AN ERROR

The Asheville Daily Planet strives to be accurate in all articles published. Contact the News Department at news@ashevilledailyplanet.com, (828) 252-6565, or P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, N.C. 28814-8490.

Asheville Daily Planet — February 2019 - A11

Commentary

The Candid Conservative: Who’s maiming Asheville? Part III

“Political corruption, social greed, and Americanized quasi-socialism can ruin even the most wonderful places. California proved that.”

— Tiffany Madison

The Problem

P

erhaps you’ve heard the suggestion of Asheville as “the San Francisco of the East.” It’s an arguable comparison – that’s not the same as a good one. Here, as in San Francisco and everywhere else where progressive-socialists get control, there is ample evidence our foundation for success is at risk.

What started as a one-column attempt to shine a little light on some of the corruptive influences on our community morphed into a three-part series. This is the last one – unless a whistle-blower gives the Daily Planet editor further opportunity to demonstrate his noteworthy courage button.

Please let us know if you know some bad guys deserving attention. In the interim, here’s some more on current hazards to our mountain paradise.

A dysfunctional criminal justice system If there’s a portal to hell in Asheville it lies somewhere under the Buncombe County Courthouse – and if there’s one word to describe the consequence of that proximity it would be paralysis.

The inefficient, costly, slow and amazingly unpredictable outcomes of our judicial process reveal a system generating universal misery.

Do you know any happy attorneys? Stand outside the security check line and watch sometime. The staff, legal reps, criminally accused, family members and others walking in and out of those green tinted doors look like a shift change out of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.

Why so? Because no one – absolutely no one – is making a sincere effort to fix things.

The understaffed, underfunded, symbiotic, zombified, and convoluted criminal justice code impaired nature of that world has been cryogenically frozen in place.

Reform will have to come from within, and thus it’s not likely to come at all. Reflect back to the last time you remember any member of our criminal justice system challenging status quo. There’s more social activism going on in your average Catholic kindergarten class than in our legal community.

The professional association in charge – the N.C. State Bar – is more devoted to supporting their fraternity than justice. That’s a sad landing place, because we’ve got a ton of young attorneys who went into law intending to lay a good hand on the world. Perhaps one day they’ll find their own courage buttons, unify,

Carl Mumpower get on with the business of bringing reason and timely justice back into vogue.

Surely this lack of will doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that out of the bazillion attorneys gracing our county, only about a dozen are uncloseted Republicans.

Oh, speaking of justice, if our City Council doesn’t stop micromanaging our police department and our new sheriff starts implementing his campaign promises, public safety is going to be an increasingly hot topic.

The Block Remember “The Block?” That’s the epicenter of Asheville’s black culture that’s long been located right behind the police station.

For decades it was ironically – as in “right behind the police station” – also Asheville’s haven for illegal drugs, prostitution and gambling.

Fast forward to the mid-’90s and the move by city government and nonprofits to “secure the heritage” of this community cultural icon.

Since then literally millions have been wasted on that location through one unrealistic fantasy after the other.

Until recently, none of these expensive visions and progressive indulgences did anything more than build images for politicians, jobs for planners and emptier pockets for taxpayers.

Fortunately, after all that waste, insincerity and neglect, The Block has finally found its happy place. Per that outcome, evidently wall-to-wall high-rises represent the earnest expression of our community’s black heritage.

Who could have known?

Hospital mayhem Just when it looked like the Memorial Mission yard sale was a done deal, cracks have appeared. The effort to magically transform a too-many millions to count community-owned public resource into a for-profit commercial enterprise has hit some hurdles.

The loss of control of our hospital could be a good thing. One can safely assume administrators and board members aren’t walking away from success.

The Mission Hospital system has been heading toward a cliff for years. Chronic Medicare and Medicaid underfunding; government hyper-control; abuses by our city’s army of illegal immigrants, drug enthusiasts, and

Make your own beer, wine, cider and mead!

We have WNC’s largest selection of ingredients and supplies.

Two free classes every month!

ASHEVILLE BREWERS SUPPLY 712-B Merrimon Ave • Asheville • (828) 285-0515

Mon-Sat 10-6 and Sun 11-4 • Plenty of Parking! www.AshevilleBrewers.com • South’s Finest • Since 1994

folks who’d rather just skip the responsibility of carrying their own weight; and dare we say questionable administration have made it so.

On the last one, it’s important to note that there has been little or no investigative journalism applied to why Mission has failed. All we’re really getting is what’s going to happen – very little on why it’s going to happen.

May we help by suggesting the administration and board of Mission has been shamefully culpable in failing to publicly declare the realities noted above? Theirs has been a persistent policy of putting on a happy face while termites were eating the heart out of the system.

That they have made it this long can be tracked in part to a remarkably ignored practice of chronic understaffing. Staff shortages are normal in emergent situations – staff shortages day after day, year after year, department after department reflect undeclared policy.

So, where will it all land? Two options – the sale goes through and past sins are lost in the tangles of a switch from non-profit to for-profit status – it doesn’t and those sins come to roost and responsible system readjustment becomes a community emergency.

Rampant liberalization of our schools Our public school, college and university system’s once commendable dedication to a liberal arts education has become corruptively dedicated to teaching our children to be liberals.

That progressive-socialist mission of mischief is a betrayal of everything true liberalism is all about. Political correctness, one-view only myopia, anger-based social activism, anti-Christian malice and left-leaning political bias is totalitarianism masquerading as benevolence.

Can anything be done? Sure, but again it takes people with activated courage buttons – most especially parents. Applied to what?

Inoculating their kids against liberal indoctrination – challenging school bias – and where possible, seeking alternatives to public education that champion the crucial difference in liberal arts and liberal propaganda.

Public debate is AWOL You might be wondering how this one made the list. May I suggest it is both a cause and a consequence of corruption?

The total absence of public debate in our

community is a travesty. Without civil, open and spirited discussion on the issues, truth gets lost. Isolation, biased institutions, closed systems and silence are poor forums for a smarter citizenry and future of hope.

Are you part of a group that has the courage to debate? Please let me know – I can find you someone to represent the conservative, Christian, Republican view.

What to do?

There’s more to talk about, but all this darkness is making me sleepy. Perhaps one could take a cue from our freelance homeless population and pop in for a nap at Haywood Street’s “Pit of Despair?”

No corruption here. I’m sure Asheville’s governing body is sincere in suggesting there’s nothing they can do about our persisting vagrant issue. Other thus-unimpeded tourist destinations like Gatlinburg and Charleston are just lucky. How about the millions of dollars wasted on land purchases, lost enterprise, planning, and displaced tax revenue from putting prime real-estate in timeout? Heck, the original plan was for a parking garage – aren’t we glad that got scuttled!

There’s one last flag that may represent the underreported story of the century. Have you noticed someone is controlling Asheville’s pigeon population? It’s a good bet some secret agent with a rooftop bucket of instant-acting poison is on the job. Not to keep any progressives up tonight, but who is it and who knows?

From the sounds of things, you might think I believe Asheville is hopeless. Not so.

Anything you want – good as surely as bad – is here for the opportunity and enjoyment.

Good people are coming just as surely as bad, and good growth is going on in equal measure to bad. That’s life. Nothing stays the same, and adjustment and flexibility are the cost of doing business above ground.

If you want to help, consider activating your own courage button and finding ways to challenge wrongs. Culturists are needed as an antidote to progressive arrogance. In our mountain paradise it’s easy to forget things that have been damaged can be damaged some more….

• Carl Mumpower, a psychologist and former elected official, is chairman of the Buncombe County Republican Party. He can be reached at drmumpower@aol.com.

A12

February 2019 - Asheville Daily Planet

Editor Law prof ranks as N.C.’s Letters to theMoral decline of America ‘sky is falling’ ploy only can be stopped by God Old Testament prophet Trump’s failing with most in the U.S. Continued from Page A10

C

HAPEL HILL — While I have been traveling up and down North Carolina’s roads in search of local eateries, UNC Law School professor Gene Nichol has been traveling the same roads looking for something else.

I was gathering material for my book, “North Carolina’s Roadside Eateries,” and enjoying bountiful helpings of warm comfort food in the company of well-fed, well-clothed, cheerful people experiencing the luxury of a secure and happy time with friends and family.

Meanwhile, Nichol was exploring a darker side of North Carolina life — the plight of people suffering from poverty in our state, for his new book, “The Faces of Poverty in North Carolina: Stories from Our Invisible Citizens.”

He was standing in the cold in the woods in small towns like Hickory, where people were camping in tents and flimsy shelters, exposed to the weather and other dangers.

Nichol was also standing in line early in the morning in places like Fayetteville, where people gather early in the mornings for help in securing shelter or food or critical health care treatment.

Finding the depths of sorry conditions resulting from widespread poverty, Nichol rings out like an Old Testament prophet challenging those of us who are comfortable, well-clothed, and well-sheltered to face the truth and accept responsibility for this suffering. Like the prophets, he condemns those of us who really don’t want to know about the poor, hungry, sleepless, ill and deprived. Or about those who suffer from gang violence, educational discrimination, and poor or non-existent health care.

All these things are so interconnected and reinforcing that, even if we cared enough to try to help, there are no quick and easy fixes that can win a war on poverty.

Who are these 1.5 million North Carolinians stricken by poverty?

Nichol answers, “They are not the folks on the side of the road asking for handouts.

They’re our neighbors, the ones who wait on us or take care of our kids or sit down the row at church on Sunday. They are usually employed. They are almost always embarrassed. Frequently, they once had better jobs. But now they work longer hours for poorer wages and with fewer benefits. Their stories can crush. Parents willingly sacrifice their dignity, their health, and their wellbeing for their kids. Children are robbed of the ability to thrive and the joy of life by the ravages and the fears of hunger. These are folks who make choices daily that shouldn’t have to be made in a nation of surpassing resources. They are forced into choices that most of us cannot readily contemplate. I know I can’t.”

Nichol has numbers at his fingertips to show the dismal conditions in our state and many of its localities.

A 2015 survey found that 21 percent of the state’s residents “suffered from food hardship.”

Poverty is not just concentrated in our small towns and rural areas. The same survey found the Greensboro-High Point statistical area was the “hungriest in the United States.”

An earlier study had found that “WinstonSalem was the nation’s worst large community for childhood food hardship among kids five and under.”

Nichol’s book is full of numbers that confirm the tragedy that surrounds us. But he says, they are only numbers. “Ripe for the forgetting. Poverty, though, isn’t a number.

It is a draining of the body, a wound to the

D.G. Martin soul, an injury that divides and diminishes, as it rejects. The numbers alone miss that.”

Solutions?

Nichol concentrates on describing the extent and dimensions of poverty in our state rather than proposing solutions.

An exception is his assertion that by failing to adopt expanded Medicaid, our state government has condemned a host of its citizens to early death or disability. He criticizes leaders of both political parties for not addressing the monumental poverty crisis he describes.

Although there are no simple, obvious, or quick solutions, many readers of Nichol’s passionate presentation and Old Testamentstyle prophecy will feel a compelling call to action. *** Note: The book’s moving introduction is available on line at: https://uncpress.flexpub.com/preview/thefaces-of-poverty-in-north-carolina • D.G. Martin hosts “North Carolina Bookwatch,” which airs at noon Sundays and at 5 p.m. Thursdays on UNC-TV.

W

here are those thousands of terrorists, drug-smugglers and assorted bad guys ready to invade our nation?

Indeed they are a figment of President Trump’s imagination.

The American people are waking up to his daily barrage of lies and misinformation.

The president would do well to forget about his Wall and use the $30 billion to restore funding to the EPA, education, veteran affairs, senior citizens, Medicare and Medicaid and other programs so vital to our survival.

Border security?

Use our returning troops to guard against illegal immigration. In his childish manner, Trump sees this Wall as part of his legacy and is willing to let this great nation plunge into chaos if he doesn’t get his way.

Our legislators must not let this happen by standing up to our man-child president and telling him there is no “National Emergency” and then get him to the table or someone with the ability to negotiate a deal that is fair to all sides and especially the American people.

As it looks now, it doesn’t seem feasible given the president’s temper tantrums and unwillingness to sit down and work with both sides simply because “Little Donnie” must have that Wall.

We can’t afford this disgraceful and embarrassing scenario to continue much longer.

Herb Stark Mooresville

Only intervention from God can stop the moral decline of America. The hoopla about the historical significance of the election of (Nancy) Pelosi as speaker of the House will pass, but there will be consequences, unless there is a change of heart.

Nancy Pelosi, “America’s most powerful woman,” is accountable to God, like everybody else.

She has served in Congress for 32 years.

Some have probably been there longer!

A new heart from Nancy Pelosi God would make her realize that America murdering over 2,000 unborn babies daily is a horrible thing to be doing!

And since she believes “she is a super legislator,” she should introduce a law to ban abortion. After all, obeying God is what we are to be doing.

American laws are to be made by the legislative branch, not the Supreme Court.

Therefore, when the Supreme Court exceeds their authority, it is the legislative branch which should reverse the intrusion.

But in several other cases too, the Supreme Court has exceeded a much higher authority, God. In those cases, they need to be reversed too.

God would have to change many stony hearts to bring that about.

Manuel Ybarra Jr. Coalgate, Okla.

COMBAT ZONE

• Smokey Mountain Preppers & SurpLus •

We offer:

ASHEVILLE PET SUPPLY Holistic before it was cool!

Since 1990 NATURAL AND ORGANIC FOODS AND TREATS Wellness, Solid Gold, Wysong, Nature’s Variety, Raw Frozen, EVO, Innova, California Natural

Herbal remedies Flower Essences Homeopathic Remedies WHAT MORE COULD YOUR PET NEED? Toys! Lots of toys!

The fun place to shop for you and your best friend.

ASHEVILLE PET SUPPLY 1451 Merrimon Ave., Asheville (828) 252-2054

√ Pepper Spray √ Backpacks √ Jungle Hammocks √ Freeze-Dried and Dehydrated Food √ Military Paracord √ Knives & Machetes √ Jumpsuits √ Fatigues for Kids √ Bulletproof Tactical Cross-Draw Vests

See us for....

• Camo • Flags • Tactical Gear • Blackhawk • Army Surplus • Ammo cans • MREs • Water Purifiers • Medical Supplies • Boonie Hats • Shirts & Pants • Boots & Shoes • Warm blankets • Friction-Lock Batons (different sizes) • Gas masks

1472 Patton Ave. • Asheville, NC (Across from Sky Lanes Bowling Center)

828-736-0150 or (828) 736-5511 CIA@CHARTER.NET • WWW.ASHEVILLECOMBATZONE.COM

Asheville Daily Planet — February 2019 — A13

Quality Tree Service

Offering the following professional services: Tree Removal • Tree Pruning Stump Grinding • Storm Damage Lot Cleaning • Brush Removal Clean Up • Dead Wood Removal View Clearing • Limb Removal Dangerous Tree Removal $250 for delivery of a cord of firewood

We do all phases of tree work • Free estimates 15 years’ experience • Licensed & fully insured

24-Hour Emergency Service Call Anthony / Owner

828-552-6274 or 828-775-6210

A14 - February 2019 - Asheville Daily Planet

NCDOT

Continued from Page A9 Continuing, Van Duyn asserted, “In the (state) budget, the biggest focus will be education. We would like to have a bond issue” because, she said, “the legislature’s action has resulted in an increase in classroom size....

“Hopefully, there will be more money for colleges and universities... There’s a $2 billion backlog in building needs....

“I think we also need to put some attention on testing. I hear from a lot of parents who question whether all of the testing is achieving what was intended....”

What’s more, Van Duyn asserted, “The second biggest piece of the (state) budget will be in health care,” as she said the state is “paying more for keeping people well. It transfers some of the risk for providing this care to the providers,” which she said was a good change.

“We will integrate it into Medicaid for most Medicaid recipients, but not all…. We think integrating physical health with mental health is a better approach....

“I’m very hopeful we’ll be able to not only provide better outcomes, but is to be able to stabilize health-care outcomes in

North Carolina... We’d also like to be able to close the coverage gap....”

Van Duyn also noted that “the closing of rural hospitals is a particular problem in the South. But those states that have taken Medicaid expansion have not had to close rural hospitals.

“These are tax dollars you are sending to Washington that need to come back to North Carolina. It could benefit 500,000 people.

“Those (education and health care) are the two areas in which I am (deeply) involved in.”

After a pause, Van Duyn said, “Finally, as much as I love my job, I have made the decision to run for lieutenant governor for North Carolina in 2020. Primarily, it’s because I think this governor (Roy Cooper) has a vision…. I’d like to make education a huge priority. The second part of that vision is health care and doing that Medicare expansion. So health care is important.

And, of course, protecting our water (and environment) is important… I am looking forward to bringing a mountain perspective to Raleigh. I think that is so sorely lacking.

“What I’ve learned from Buncombe County government (is) ... I’d like to bring the work ethic” to Raleigh.

From Staff Reports

Projects scheduled for construction beginning in 2019

NCDOT’s project status shows plans, activity Below is a listing of Buncombe County area (Division 13) road project development, as presented by Mark Gibbs, district engineer for the North Carolina Department of Transportation, to the Council of Independent Business Owners on Jan. 11 at UNC Asheville: Following are projects currently under construction • NC 191 interchange Brevard Road and I-26, construction to be completed December 2020, contract price $47.5 million.

• Leicester Hwy, construction to be completed July 2020, contract price $34.9 million.

• Exit Ramps I-40 Exit 50 and 51, construction to be completed March 2019, contract price $2.2 million.

• Bowen Bridge Rehabilitation, construction to be completed August 2019, contract price $6.7 million.

• I-40 MP 37 to MP 44 paving, guardrail and bridge rehab, construction to be completed December 2018 (pavement markings remain), contract price $10.4 million.

• I-40 MP 46 to MP 50 Bridge rehab (Biltmore Bridges), construction to be completed November 2019, contract price $8.7 million.

• Buncombe resurfacing 2018, construction to be completed August 2019, contract price $12.8 million.

• Buncombe resurfacing 2019, construction to be completed October 2019, contract price $14.8 million.

• Asheville Buncombe Signal project (tying major signals across the county together), construction to be completed December 2020, contract price $10.7 million.

• ADA ramp compliance, construction just completed, contract price $1 million. Approximately $3 million to be let in future projects.

11) Various projects — currently there are 10 smaller projects under construction ranging from guardrail replacement to small bridge and culvert replacements, totaling an additional $14 million.

Summary of projects in development • Currently there are approximately 32 STIP projects in development in Buncombe County with approximately 26 of those being within the city limits of Asheville.

• Total approximate value of these projects is $2 billion.

• Includes both roadway projects and multimodal projects ($5 million).

• Projects are determined through the prioritization process which includes collaboration with French Broad River MPO, local government, and public input. Selected projects are placed in the STIP for development and construction.

• The STIP is a 10-year program that is updated on 2-year cycles.

• Draft 2020-2029 STIP was released Jan. 10.

• I-26 widening (I-4700): I-4700 is an 8.6-mile stretch that extends along I-26 from N.C. 280 west to the I-40/240 interchange. Work will also involve replacing the Blue Ridge Parkway Bridge over I-26.

NCDOT anticipates opening bids May 2019.

Construction scheduled to begin late summer/ fall of 2019 and last approximately 5 years.

Approximate cost of project $275 million.

• NC 191 @ Long Shoals Road Construct left turn lane on NC 191.

Approximate cost $2 million.

Advice Goddess

Continued from Page A1 A: Ideally, if you tell somebody you have a few more weeks out on disability, they don’t immediately assume it’s because you got really bad friction burns working the pole.

Evolutionary psychologist Cari Goetz and her colleagues note — not surprisingly that men see skimpy attire on a woman as a signal that they can manipulate her into casual sex. (Women in their research also understood that men perceive skimpy attire this way.) But who actually ends up manipulating whom?

Just like in the advertising world, in the natural world, there are many, shall we say, less-than-truthful messages — from humans, animals, and even some nasty little con artists of the plant world.

Take the flower Ophrys apifera, aka the bee orchid. The bee orchid puts out fake female bee scent, and it’s got markings and a slight coating of “fur” like female bees. The poor little sex-mad male bees try to hump the bee orchids and, in the process, pick up orchid pollen that they end up transferring when they try their luck with the next orchid in a lady bee suit.

Goetz and her team speculate that some women — especially those who perceive themselves to be “low in mate value” — use revealing attire to advertise what seems to be their hookupability and other “exploitability cues.” However, these seemingly poor, defenseless sex bunnies may actually be looking to “advance their own mating and relationship goals.” As for how this might work, if a man likes the casual sex and keeps coming back for more, maybe, just maybe, she can draw him into a rela-

tionship. (Hookupily ever after?)

However, this approach is a risky strategy because, as Goetz and her colleagues point out, “men found women displaying cues to sexual exploitability to be attractive as short-term mates, but, importantly, not attractive as long-term mates.”

As for what you might make of all this, it’s best to avoid clothes with coverage just this side of G-strings and nipple tassels, as well as overtly sexual poses (like sucking on a finger...subtle!).

However, you can take advantage of evolutionary psychology research that finds that men are drawn to women with an hourglass figure (as well as...heh...women who use deceptive undergarments to fake having one).

In short, your best bet is posting shots of yourself looking classysexual. This means wearing clothes that reveal your curves to a man — but not your medical history: “I don’t know her name yet, dude, but I can tell you that she had her gallbladder removed.”

• (c.) 2019, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol. com (advicegoddess.com). Weekly radio show: blogtalkradio.com/amyalkon

Write a Letter to the Editor

The Asheville Daily Planet print letters to the editor, preferably less than 150 words in length. All letters must be signed and include a daytime telephone number for confirmation purposes only.

Send your opinions to Asheville Daily Planet, P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, N.C. 28814-8490 or e-mail them to letters@ AshevilleDailyPlanet.com.

• Overlook Rd @ US 25 (SM-5713D) Construct intersection improvements Approximate cost $1 million • Merrimon Avenue Initiate corridor study from I-240 to the Beaverdam Community to determine if adjustments in traffic volumes can be made to commuter through traffic in the region while incorporating a complete streets design.

• Leicester at Patton (U-5971A) interim intersection improvements Addition of third left turn lane from Leicester to Patton.

Maintain right turn lane from Leicester to Patton.

Addition of second left turn lane from Patton onto Leicester.

Approximate cost $1.5 million.

• Riceville Rd improvements (U-5837) Improvements from US 70 to Clear Vista Lane.

Proposed improvements include improved lane widths and sidewalk.

Approximate cost $2 million.

• Sidewalks along Leicester Hwy (multimodal) From Patton Avenue to City Limits City and NCDOT collaborating on coordination between planned highway improvements and near-term pedestrian needs Approximate cost $3 million • Interstate maintenance I-40 MM 55 – 67.5 (Bridge and Pavement Improvements-Rehabilitation) Approximate cost $29 million Gibbs also presented a summary of recent public meetings/hearings, a listing of projects in development for construction in future years, and an update on greenways.

New & pre-owned savings Winter savings event!

all pre-driven vehicles reduced!!

Buying a car doesn’t have to be hard!

Let me help!

Come see

Tim

Tim Sluder

(828) 230-7692 (c.)

to get your best deal!

“where we take care of our customers”

2. Merchandise

COMBAT ZONE

Smokey Mountain Preppers & Surplus

Asheville Daily Planet — February 2019 - A15

11. Rentals

11. Rentals

NORTH ASHEVILLE TOWNHOUSES FOR RENT

Short term/vacation rental

BLACK MOUNTAIN 2 BR, 1 BA APARTMENT FOR RENT

828-231-9145 or 828-658-9145

√ Heat pump with central air √ Washer-dryer connection √ In excellent condition

Visit or call us for all your prepper and camper needs

1BR, $745/mo. • 2BR, $845/mo.

• 3BR, $945/mo. √ Walking distance from downtown Asheville √ Has hardwood floors √ Very nice neighborhood

(828) 736-0150 or (828) 736-5511

(828) 252-4334

DAVID’S ROOFING 30 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE

• Shingles • Metal • Rubber Roofing • Roof Coatings • Remodeling, Residential and Commercial ALL WORK GUARANTEED

713-4154

11. Rentals

Furnished, utilities included 15 minutes to Asheville, 4 miles to Weaverville $1,500.00/month, $650.00 /week, $150.00/day 2-day minimum

What the world needs now?

Asheville Daily Planet (828) 252-6565

$795

(828) 252-4334

Let professionals renovate your empty rental units, painting, carpentry, etc.

Handyman Services Rental Property Specialists

√ Senior citizens discounts 246-2934 (days) • 423-2400 (weekends)

DAVID A. PETERS QUALITY PAINTING Offering the Finest in

Interior Painting Wallcoverings Faux Finishes Wallpaper Removal

Drywall Repairs Complete Surface Prep Exterior Power Washing Exterior Painting

Way beyond hip and trendy

(828) 689-8476 • Since 1980

Remember the neediest!

Asheville Daily Planet

Advertise

your company in the Daily Planet!

What is your business? Advertise in the Daily Planet .... We distribute in four counties (Buncombe, Henderson, Madison and Haywood) to about 200 locations. We’ll let our skyrocketing readership know that you are here and ... open for business!

Call (828) 252-6565

or e-mail: advertising@AshevilleDailyPlanet.com

Above All Tree Service Complete Professional Tree Care Reliable, Respectful, Punctual Residential & Commercial

• Storm Damage • Stump Grinding • Lot and View Clearing • Bucket Truck Service

• Tree Trimming and Removal

828-775-1676 828-650-9980

• Brush Chipping and Removal • Fully Licensed and Insured • Free Estimates

To place a classified line ad in the Daily Planet, call 252-6565.

Rates are as little as $10 per month for 25 words or less for 25 words or less!

A16 — February 2019 - Asheville Daily Planet

Entertainment & Calendar of Events

Special Section PULLOUT

Asheville Daily Planet — February 2019

Tommy Dorsey Orchestra fires up dancers during Big Band Weekend

By JOHN NORTH

D

john@AshevilleDailyPlanet.com

ance enthusiasts seized the opportunity to “relive the swing era” to the music of the One and Only Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, featuring singer Brian Anthony, which was the centerpiece of the annual Big Band Weekend on Jan. 11-12 at the Omni Resorts Grove Park Inn. About 200 tickets for the dance had been sold as of late Jan. 11, but attendance usually jumps for the final night.

Anthony, who previously performed in the off-Broadway show “Our Sinatra,” described the TDO as “jazzier” than the Glenn Miller Band in a recent ineterview.

The 16-piece band, which about eight decades ago included Frank Sinatra as its featured singer, was comprised of 13 horn-players, a drummer, a standup bass player and a pianist. In addition, there was Anthony providing occasional vocals and the bandleader.

Sinatra joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in 1940, when it was ranked No. 1. As critics noted, Sinatra only made the TDO that much better. Sinatra made 80 recordings from 1940 to 1942 with the Dorsey band.

The GPI show featured Sinatra songs from across the decades, but was not performed as an attempt at impersonation.

Indeed, one lesser-known song (the first written by Sinatra) “This Love of Mine” is one Anthony professes to love.

The band played three sets on Jan 11, but, because of time constraints, this review covers only the first two sets.

A memorable moment in the show occurred when Anthony told the crowd that “it’s so lovely to be here in the beautiful...”

— and paused in apparent deep thought, then said with a smile, “Grove Park Inn?” The audience chuckled at his brief confusion over his whereabouts (as did Anthony).

See BIG BAND WEEKEND, Page B7

B1

The Center for Art & Inspiration to open in HVL’s FRP location From Staff Reports

H

Daily Planet Staff Photos

The One and Only Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (above) performs during Big Band Weekend at the Omni Resorts Grove Park Inn, drawing several hundred attendes who socialized, savored the music from the Big Band era and, of course, danced. Below are three different couples in a variety of formal attire, dancing and enjoying the music — and one another’s company.

ENDERSONVILLE — A theater vacated in downtown Hendersonville at the end of 2018 by the Flat Rock Playhouse is now the home of the Center for Art and Inspiration The Center will host events, beginning Feb. 23, at 125 S. Main St. The project, a vision of theatrical writer and producer Jeanie Linders, also will feature a pop-up Malaprop’s Books, the nationally known independent bookstore in downtown Asheville; and The Artful Cup Coffee Bar, offering the gourmet roasts of Independent Beans of Hendersonville’s 7th Avenue Historic District.

The Center will include professional theatrer from Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre under the direction of Broadway veteran Jimmy Ferraro (including “My Big Fat Italian Murder Mystery,” “The Improper Royal Tea Murder” and “Murder on the High C’s” to The Center Stage “Star” Series featuring “Liberace,” “Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis,” “John Denver,” and “Barbra.”

International touring shows to be presented by the Center at Blue Ridge Community College’s Bo Thomas Auditorium in nearby East Flat Rock will include “In The Mood,” the 1940s’ big band musical revue, and the original London production, “ABBAMANIA.” A Repertory Theatre Troupe also will be showcased in Off-Broadway’s Buyer and Cellar and Church Basement Ladies.

Relocating to the Center from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Dream Child Productions will bring a season of shows for children under the direction of founder Andrew Fiacco.

Included in family programming will be events such as Disney’s “FROZEN SingA-Long.”

See THE CENTER, Page B7

AJO finishes show with (a swing-shuffle) bang

B

LACK MOUNTAIN — The Asheville Jazz Orchestra closed its sizzling Jan. 5 concert with Miles Davis’ “1954 jazz standard “Four,” triggering a standing ovation and a demand for an encore from the audience.

While the AJO performed “Four” as an instrumental, a little research — later — on the meaning of the song’s title revealed that that it also has lyrics that tell of the four “wonderful things you get out of life” — truth, honor, happiness and love.

As the crowd continued to applaud and cheer the spirited performance of “Four,” band leader, composer and trombinist extraordinaire Dave Wilken said the AJO, which never left the stage, would play “one more” as an encore — Woody Herman’s great medium swing chart on the Mercer Ellington 1942 classic swing-shuffle, “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be.” The catchy instrumental, with a superb

arrangement, prompted another standing ovation, but the house lights were turned up, indicating the show had concluded.

The show, which drew about 140 people, was split into two 50-minute sets with a 20-minute intermission.

The 17-piece AJO performed many bigband and progressive jazz standards, as was as several original compositions by Wilken and one by pianist Richard Shulman.

A show highlight (as usual,) was the stellar performance by AJO vocalist Wendy Jones, who sang two songs during each set — way too few for such a rare talent. At least two members of the audience shared a similar view with a Daily Planet reviewer.

In introducing Jones, Wilken prompted laughter when he joked that she had been performing as the AJO’s featured vocalist for a long time, seemingly “since she’s been in diapers.”

See AJO, Page B7

Daily Planet Staff Photo

Wendy Jones sings one of her four numbers during the Asheville Jazz Orchestra’s Jan. 5 concert at White Horse nightclub in Black Mountain.

B2 — February 2019 - Asheville Daily Planet

Photo courtesy of N.C. STAGE COMPANY

The stage production “Jeeves at Sea” will be performed at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesdays-Saturdays (and 2 p.m. Sundays), Feb. 1-17, at the N.C. Stage Company in downtown Asheville.

Calendar

of

Events

Send us your calendar items

Please submit items to the Calendar of Events by noon on the third Wednesday of each month, via e-mail, at calendar@ashevilledailyplanet. com, or fax to 252-6567, or mail c/o The Daily Planet, P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, N.C. 288148490. Submissions will be accepted and printed at the discretion of the editor, space permitting.

To place an ad for an event, call 252-6565.

Friday, Feb. 1

CLASSIC ROCK-N-ROLL WEEKEND, 7:30 p.m., Grand Ballroom, Omni Resorts The Grove Park Inn, North Asheville. Classic Rock-N-Roll Weekend will begin on Feb. 1 with a concert featuring One More Night, the Phil Collins Experience, a tribute band. Activities continue Feb. 2 with a 7:30 p.m. concert featuring Captain Fantastic, an Elton John tribute band. For tickets, which range from $20 to $60, call (800) 438-5800.

“JEEVES AT SEA” STAGE PRODUCTION, 7:30 p.m., N.C. Stage Co., 15 Stage Lane, downtown Asheville. The N.C. Stage Co. production of “Jeeves at Sea” will be performed through Feb. 17. Regarding the show, the N.C. Stage Co. noted, “Set sail for laughter as Bertie Wooster revels in life aboard the Vanderley yacht. Bertie is the pampered guest of the lively Lady Stella (very fetching profile), accompanied, as always, by his peerless valet, Jeeves. If only Bertie’s pal Crumpet hadn’t assaulted a prince. In the blink of an eye, Bertie is masquerading as a romance novelist, Crumpet’s posing as his own long-lost twin, and a sinister foreign count is challenging Bertie to a duel. Will this madcap case of mistaken identities end in Bertie’s doom — or worse, his marriage?

Have no fear; Jeeves will sort it all out.” Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Sundays. Special matinees at 2 p.m. are also scheduled on two Saturdays — Feb. 9 and 16. For tickets, visit ncstage.org or call 239-0263.

“FRANKENSTEIN” PRODUCTION, 8 p.m., Diana Wortham Theatre, downtown Asheville.

Aquila Theatre will perform “Frankenstein.” For tickets, visit dwtheatre.com.

six critically acclaimed albums. “Balsam Range has left audiences spellbound while headlining major festivals from coast to coast, selling out venues across the nation, and appearing multiple times at the Grand Ole Opry,” the SMCPA noted.

For tickets, which are $18, $22 and $28, visit www. greatmountainmusic.com.

“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM” PRODUCTION, 8 p.m., Diana Wortham Theatre, downtown Asheville. Aquila Theatre will perform “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” For tickets, which range from $20 to $60, visit dwtheatre.com.

Friday, Feb. 8

“FOOTLOOSE” MUSICAL, 7:30 p.m., Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E. Walnut St., downtown Asheville. The ACT will perform a musical version of the 1984 film “Footloose” through March 3. Regarding the show, the ACT noted, “When teenager Ren McCormack moves from Chicago to a small town, he isn’t prepared for the stifling local laws, including a ban on dancing and rock music instituted by the local preacher. As he struggles to fit in, he encourages his classmates to defy the local pastor and call for a rock ’n’ roll prom. With an energetic Top 40 score amplified with dynamic new songs, ‘Footloose’ celebrates the wisdom of opening minds and listening to the voices of young people.” Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays.

Additional Thursday performances are scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21 and 28. For tickets, visit www. ashevilletheatre.org or call 254-1320.

Sunday, Feb. 10

“HAMLET” FILM SCREENING, 3 p.m., Bardo Arts Center, Western Carolina University, Cullowee. The BAC Sunday Cinema Series will feature a screening of “Hamlet.” Single tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors (ages 65 and older) and $5 for WCU students and faculty. To reserve tickets, call 227-ARTS or visit bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.

See CALENDAR, Page B3

The Platters (right) will perform from 8 to 11 p.m. Feb. 16 in the Foundation Performing Arts Center at Isothermal Community College in Spindale. The original group (above) was one of the top vocal groups of the 1950s, selling 53 million records and ranking among the first doo-wop groups to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. The original members, all of whom are dead, were Tony Williams, the lead vocalist; David Lynch, tenor; Alex Hodge, baritone; who was soon replaced by Paul Robi, Herb Reed, bass; and Zola Taylor. Among the group’s greatest hits were “The Great Pretender” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.”

The Asheville Daily Planet invites Letters to the Editor of 200 words or less. Please include your name, mailing address, daytime telephone number and e-mail address.

For more information, call (828) 252-6565.

Send mail to: Letters, Asheville Daily Planet P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, NC 28814 Send e-mail to: letters@ashevilledailyplanet.com

Dance shoes, Accessories & Solutions for Beginner, Social & Professional Dancers Amy Barnes — 828.450.3756 Kitty Williams — 828.778.2785 Jason Barnes — 828.450-4063 291 Sweeten Creek Rd, Asheville

Feb 1st @ 8:30 p.m. — Comedy with headliner Comedian/Magician/Ventriloquist Gemini -- $15 (Benefit for Boxer Butts and Other Mutts) Feb 6th @ 7:30 p.m. — Comedy with headliner TanyaLee Davis — Free with $5 suggested donation Feb 9th @ 7:30 p.m. — The music of Malcolm Holcombe — $12.50

Life is short.

Dance in the right shoes!

TO REPORT AN ERROR

The Asheville Daily Planet strives to be accurate in all articles published. Contact the News Department at news@ashevilledailyplanet.com, (828) 252-6565, or P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, N.C. 28814-8490.

Donated photo

LETTERS

Saturday, Feb. 2

BALSAM RANGE CONCERT, 7:30 p.m., Smoky Mountain Center for Performing Arts, 1028 Georgia Road, Franklin. The bluegrass group Balsam Range will perform in concert. Since the band’s inception in 2007, Balsam Range has been one of the genre’s most award-winning artists in recent years. The group has won 10 International Bluegrass Music Association awards on the heels of

Photo from an album cover by The Platters

Call today for a complimentary shoe fitting!

Feb 14th @ 7 p.m. — Love Stinks AntiValentines ‘80s party — Free for all guests Feb 15th @ 8:30 p.m. — The Sultry Sirens Varietease Burlesque Show — $15 single seat or table of four for $40 Feb 20th @ 7:30 p.m. — Comedy with headliner Tim Wright — Free with $5 suggested donation Feb 23rd @ 7:30 p.m. — Paul Simon Meets the Beatles Tribute -- $10 Mar 1st and 2nd @ 8 p.m. — Infesticide — Benefit for Safelight. Bands are tribute for Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice in Chains, and Smashing Pumpkins, $18.50

5 Highland Road, East Flat Rock

(828) 676-6718

www.flatrockartisan.com

Calendar of Events Continued from Page B2

Tuesday, Feb. 12

Asheville Daily Planet - February 2019 - B3

tions Center, 305 Williams St., Hendersonville.

Chris Gaubatz, author of “Muslim Mafia,” will speak in an address hosted by the Asheville Tea Party. See Feb. 12 calendar listing for details on Gaubatz. For advance tickets, which are $5.75, visit www.AshevilleTeaPac/Donate.

“MUSLIM MAFIA” AUTHOR’S TALK, 7 p.m., Skyland Fire Department, 9 Miller Road., Skyland.

Chris Gaubatz, author of “Muslim Mafia,” will speak in an address hosted by the Asheville Tea Party. Gaubatz is billed by the ATP as the “lead undercover researcher in one of the most sucBOOK DISCUSSION/READINGS, 5:30-7 p.m., cessful post-9/11 undercover operations in the Thoms Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site, downUnited States, who posed as a Muslim convert town Asheville. Brandon Johnson will discuss and gained access to the Muslim Brotherhood two Thomas Wolfe short stories — “Return” and and Hamas-backed organization leadership meet- “Old Catawba” — as part of the monthly discusings.” Further, in “bio” information on Gaubatz, sion of Wolfe’s short stories by a different local he is described as “a national security consulauthor each month. Johnson is the author of tant, speaker and conservative political activist.

“That Bright Land.” Refreshment will be served Gaubatz trains law encorcement on the severity from 5:30 to 5:45 p.m. Admission is free. and dangers of the jihadi network in the U.S., BEATLES/EAGLES TRIBUTE SHOW, 7:30 p.m., detailing the strategies and modus operandi of Mainstage, Flat Rock Playhouse, 2661 Greenville the jihadis while providing specific investigative Hwy., Flat Rock. The tribute show, “The Music of guidance by showing them how to locate and the Beatles and the Eagles,” will run Feb. 14-17 prosecute terrorists, working with citizens, legfor Valentine’s weekend. For tickets, visit www. islators and leaders at the state and local level to flatrockplayhouse.org. create strategies to expose and dismantle these See CALENDAR, Page B6 networks. Gaubatz has testified before the United States Senate on issues relatiing to the consequences of agency efforts to de-emphasize radical Islam in combating terrorism.” Gaubatz has been featured on numerous Insurance • Lightning Rods • Fruit Trees global media networks, national television shows and radio Advice• Nails • Fish Bait • Whiskey • Manure programs, including “The Sean Fly Swatters• Lard • Bibles • Buggy Whips Hannity Show,” “Tipping Point,” “The Savage Nation,” “Breitbart News Daily” and “Louder With Crowder.” For advance tickets, Work Jeans • Baby Clothes which are $5.75, visit www.

AshevilleTeaPac/Donate.

Ball Caps • Lingerie

Thursday, Feb. 14

Rummage Sale • (828) 423-2400

Wed., Feb. 13

“MUSLIM MAFIA” AUTHOR’S TALK, 1 p.m., Opera-

Just a little of everything

2046 New Leicester Hwy. • Asheville, N.C. 28806

VALENTINE’S DANCE LESSON SPECIAL!

Two 30-minute lessons for

$49

Dance Lessons Take the 1st step ...Come dance with me!

• Offering American rhythm and smooth dance styles • Teaching children to adults • No partner required

Wedding lessons, package discounts and gift certificates available Call to schedule your appointment today!

Kitty Williams

DVIDA-certified dancewithkitty@gmail.com

(828) 778-2785

Visit us for all of your Valentine’s needs!

Where Adult Dreams Come True • • OPEN 7 DAYS • •

SUN-THURS, 8 AM - MIDNIGHT FRI-SAT, 8 A.M. - 3 AM

(828) 684-8250 2334 Hendersonville Rd. (S. Asheville/Arden)

20% OFF of Any One Item

MUST PRESENT COUPON. LIMIT ONE PER CUSTOMER. EXPIRES. 02/28/19

B4 — February 2019 — Asheville Daily Planet

Asheville Daily Planet — February 2019 — B5 PAID ADVERTISEMENT

FINEST QUALITY HANDCRAFTED MATTRESSES MADE IN ASHEVILLE

Business owner Mike Emerson has been in the mattress business for 35 years.

“Our goal is to handcraft the highest quality mattress,” he says. “We actually do make them. We’re the only place in Asheville” that does.

“We offer a 30-day comfort guarantee because we want you to love your new mattress,” Emerson says.

Handcrafted in Asheville, mattresses by Colton Mattress Factory at 848 Hendersonville Road offer unmatched durability, uncompromising comfort and orthopedic support.

Artisan craftsmanship that incorporates the latest in mattress technology with ageold handcrafting techniques makes for the most comfortable night’s sleep you’ve had in years.

At age 13, Emerson started working for a small mattress company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, sweeping floors and helping with deliveries.

At the age of 20, the owner retired and Emerson bought the company.

Emerson expanded the business to 20 stores in five midwestern states with over 100 employees. Emerson still owns half the company.

Eventually, he decided to start another mattress factory and named it after his son, Colton. “Folks here in Asheville really like buying high-quality products that are locally made,” Emerson says.

“So many products today are made to wear out fairly quickly so you have to replace them. Colton makes mattresses the old-fashioned way so they last longer.”

Asheville’s headquarters for adjustable beds, Colton Mattress can build the bed that is perfect for you. The factory makes beds with infinite mattress positions and that include head and foot massage. Create your own adjustments to relieve back pain, improve circulation, and sleep deeply.

Any mattress Colton Mattress builds — including the luxurious

Pantheon line, the fine Heirloom collection and the durable Artisan series — can be turned into an adjustable bed.

Want a super-firm mattress, a super-soft mattress or something in between?

Colton Matress can create the precise firmness you desire. The factory sells a lot of beds made with latex, a natural material that naturally inhibits dust mites, mold and mildew. Derived from the tropical rubber tree, latex instantaneously conforms to the shape of your body, relieving pressure points for an uninterrupted sleep. Talalay latex used by Colton reduces high-pressure areas that shut off capillary blood flow and cause you to toss and turn all night.

Mattresses made from Cooling Gel Memory Foam conform to the body, relieve pressure points and aid circulation. Choices range from pillowy soft to body-contouring firm. The Cooling Gel Memory Foam provides additional support and cooler sleeping surface. Memory foam mattresses virtually eliminate motion transfer (and you won’t feel your sleep partner move).

Choices of mattress covers include organic cotton and bamboo fabrics.

The store also offers custom-sized mattresses for antique beds, waterbed replacements, round and heart-shaped beds, cribs, boats and RVs. Prices of mattresses at Colton Mattress Factory span a wide range — from affordable products in the low $100s to those priced at $5,000, depending on the customer’s preferences and price point, Emerson says.

When you purchase a new mattress from Colton, they will donate your old mattress to people in need, if it is still sleepable.

There are 25 different models to choose from at the showroom in South Asheville.

Visit with Mike Emerson or Jerrad Swann, and they will help you select the perfect mattress for you.

Colton Mattress specializes in 4 types of mattresses:

• 2-sided mattresses that can be flipped over (97% of mattresses sold today by the national brand companies are 1-sided mattresses that don’t last nearly as long as the 2-sided ones built in years past).

• Natural Latex Foam Mattresses • Cooling Gel Memory Foam Mattresses • Adjustable beds that the head and foot can be elevated for maximum comfort • Individually pocketed coils

B6 — February 2019 — Asheville Daily Planet

Calendar

Continued from Page B3

Friday, Feb. 15

Valentine Cabaret & Dinner Show, 6 p.m., Smoky Mountain Center for Performing Arts, 1028 Georgia Road, Franklin. The Overlook Theatre Co. will present a Valentine Cabaret and Show at 6 p.m. Feb. 15 and 16. Regarding the producton, the SMCPA noted, “Enjoy an evening of Broadway classics, pop standards, heart-pounding love songs as a troupe of singing actors present dinner, fun, laughs and a few surprises — all served up live on stage!” For tickets, which are $20 (including dinner and the show), visit www.greatmountainmusic.com.

COLT FORD & THE LACS’ CONCERT, 8 p.m., Event Center, Harrah’s Cherokee Resort. Colt Ford & the LACS will perform in concert. For tickets, visit Ticketmaster.com.

BÉLA FLECK CONCERT, 8 p.m., Diana Wortham Theatre, downtown Ashevlle. Fifteentime Grammy Award-winner Béla Fleck will perform in concert. For tickets, which range from $20 to $60, visit dwtheatre.com.

Saturday, Feb. 16

GLITTER BALL, 6 p.m., Conference Hall, Blue Ridge Community College, East Flat Rock. The Glitter Ball, an annual fundraiser for the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra, will feature dancing to a five-piece band, backed by 10 members of the HSO, playing music from the 1970s. The soiree will include a welcome champagne toast, fine wines, craft beer, hors d’oeuvres, a unique silent auction and raffle and a catered three-course plated dinner.

For reservations, which are $125 per person, call 697-5884 or visit hendersonvillesymphony.org.

VALENTINE’S DANCE, 7:30-11:30 p.m., YMI Cultural Center, 39 Market St., downtown Asheville.

Delta House Life Developent of Asheville Inc. will present “Let the Good Times Roll,” a valentine’s dance and silent auction. Music will be provided by DJ Andre Simone. For refreshments, heavy hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine will be served. Attendees are required to “dress to impress,” with no blue jeans allowed. Tickets are $55 per person.

THE PLATTERS CONCERT, 8-11 p.m., The Foundation Performing Arts Center, Isothermal Community College, Spindale. The iconic group The Platters will perform in concert. Among the Platters’ classics are ‘The Great Pretender,’ ‘Only You’ and their inimitable rendition of ‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.’” For tickets, visit www.FoundationShows.org.

Sunday, Feb. 17

TREVOR NOAH PERFORMANCE, 8 p.m., U.S. Cellular Center, downtown Asheville. Trevor Noah, host of television’s “The Daily Show,” will perform in Asheville as part of his first-ever 28-city Loud & Clear arena tour. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 22

Jay Allen / Alzheimers Research Benefit, 7:30 p.m., Smoky Mountain Center for Performing Arts, 1028 Georgia Road, Franklin.

Jay Allen will perform in a benefit show for Alzheimer’s research. Regarding Allen, the SMCPA stated, “From the moment he enters a room, it becomes clear that Jay Allen is here to tell his story.

The tattoo-clad singer/songwriter has his heart inked on his sleeve, so to speak, and sings with conviction onstage that stems from the lessons his parents taught him and the music he heard around the house. Knowing the stage was the only place he wanted to be, and so Jay packed his bags and moved to Nashville. Working day and night, Jay has achieved major milestones in the course of the past few years: he’s signed a publishing and development deal with Sony/ATV publishing, enlisted management team Edge Artist Management and released a five-song EP, which produced his first hit single, ‘Sounds Good To Me,’ dubbed a Highway Find on SiriusXM’s ‘The Highway.’”

For tickets, which are $20 for adults and $10 for students, visit www.greatmountainmusic.com.

Saturday, Feb. 23

BREW HORIZONS BEER FEST, 2-6 p.m., U.S. Cellular Center, 87 Haywood St., downtown Asheville. Craft beverages from a variety of prominent area breweries and cideries will be featured, along with artisanal local food, arts and crafts vendors, sustainable education areas and music.

“BLACK MIGRATIONS” PROGRAM,4 p.m., Hopkins A.M.E. Zion Chapel Church, 21 College

Place, Asheville. Rodney L. Johnson, an Asheville native, will address “Black Migrations in the Asheville Community” in a program that will include gospel singing, art history and a soul food dinner. For dinner tickets, email hopkinschapel@ att.net or call 230-9192.

ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CONCERT, 8 p.m., Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, downtown Asheville. The ASO will perform “Masterworks 5: Beethoven” under guest conductor Mei-Ann Chen, and featuring violinist Alexi Kenney, and the Asheville Symphony Chorus. For tickets, visit ashevillesymphonyorchestra.org.

FOREIGNER CONCERT, 8 p.m., Event Center, Harrah’s Cherokee Resort. The band Foreigner will perform in concert. Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in New York City in 1976 by veteran English musician and ex–Spooky Tooth member Mick Jones, and fellow Briton and ex–King Crimson member Ian McDonald, along with American vocalist Lou Gramm. Among the band’s many hits are “I Want To Know What Love Is,” “Cold As Ice” and “Juke Box Hero.” For tickets, visit Ticketmaster.com, or visit the TWA box office or call the box office at (800) 745-3000.

Now open!

Tuesday, Feb. 26

“CURRENTS” BY MAYUMANA PERFORMANCE, 7:30 p.m., Peace Concert Hall, The Peace Center, downtown Greenville, S.C. “Currents” will be performed by Tel Aviv, Israel, performance troupe Mayumana. Regarding the show, the promoters noted that it “is inspired by the historical Battle of Currents between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla in their quest to find energy sources for the world. Audience members will be taken on a non-stop action-packed journey between two troupes, each representing a different view of the essence of light and electricity. The show combines a variety of elements, including specially designed musical instruments, massive video art projections and 11 skilled performers musically juggling between different sounds.” For tickets, which are $15-$45, visit www.peacecenter.org.

Thursday, Feb. 28

CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS’ TALK, 6:30 p.m., Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Asheville Center, 36 Montford Ave., Asheville. Darin Waters will provide a historical persective on the Confederate monument controversy swirling across the Southeast titled “Whose Story? Democraticizing America’s Collective Memory.” An LRU press release stated that “the presentation will examine the post-Civic War Reconstruction era’s lack of recognizing the injustices that were inflicted upon black Americans and will address the background of the construction and placement of Confederate monuments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It will also touch on the idea that African-Americans have not had a significant voice in contributing to America’s collective historical memory.” Waters is an associate professor of history and the executive director of community engagement at UNC Asheville. The event is sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County Inc. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Following his presentation, Waters will answer questions from the audience. Refreshments will be provided.

The event is free and open to the public. RSVPs are required, with registration available at lr.edu/avlevents.

EILEEN IVERS CONCERT, 8 p.m., Diana Wortham Theatre, downtown Ashevlle. Fiddler Eileen Ivers will perform in concert. For tickets, visit dwtheatre.com.

Saturday, March 2

“MY BIG FAT ITALIAN WEDDING MURDER!” PERFORMANCE, 6 p.m., The Center for Art & Inspiration, 125 S. Main St., downtown Hendersonville. The Center for Art & Inspiration, which has located in the former Flat Rock Playhouse venue, will present a performance of “My Big Fat Italian Wedding Murder.” The show also will be performed at 4 p.m. March 3. The CAI noted that the show is not appropriate for children under 13.

For tickets with table seating, which are $59 each, call 697-8547 or visit http://www.thecenterai.com.

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND CONCERT, 8 p.m., Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, U.S. Cellular Center, downtown Asheville. The Tedeschi Trucks Band will perform in concert. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Sunday, March 3

FILM SCREENING/PANEL DISCUSSION, 4-6 p.m., Grail Moviehouse, 45 S. French Broad Ave., downtown Asheville. A free screening of “The Bail Trap: American Ransom” will be followed by a panel discussion. The program is being hosted by the local ACLU chapter and the local Racial Justice Coalition.

Come by on Valentine’s Day for special holiday deals.

2334 Hendersonville Rd. Asheville

(828) 676-1688

Open 11 a.m. -10 p.m. daily

20% OFF of Any One Item

MUST PRESENT COUPON. LIMIT ONE PER CUSTOMER. EXPIRES. 02/28/19

Big Band Weekend

Continued from Page B1 Immediately prior to the show, some audience members showed up early and patiently waited outside the GPI’s Grand Ballroom, when several band members filed through the crowd and into ballroom to set up for the show. One of those in the crowd told the Daily Planet that several people said they were excited to see the show, to which one of the band members smiled and joked in an obviously self-deprecating manner, “We’re just the waiters!” Reportedly, those present laughed and appreciated the musicians’ humility.

The first set highlight was Anthony’s singing and the TDO’s performance of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” Between sets, a TDO horn player who spoke to the Daily Planet on the condition of anonymity, said that, with that song,” “you’ve got the holy trinity” — with melody and lyrics by Cole Porter, vocals (originally) by Sinatra and arrangement by Nelson Riddle.

Among the other memorable first-set songs were “Pennies From Heaven,” “Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week),” “Opus One,” “Song of India” and, perhaps most notable, “I’ll Never Smile Again,” the latter of which was the TDO’s biggest hit single and featured Sinatra on vocals.

It was No. 1 for 12 weeks on the Billboard pop singles chart in 1940.

Second-set song highlights included “Green Eyes,” Duke Ellington’s “Mood Indigo,” Dean Martin’s version of “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head,” “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “Marie,” “Hawaiian War Chant” and “On the Sunny Side of the Street.”

Regarding “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” the band leader noted that “this is one of the quintessential songs of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.”

The third set listed such classics as Cole Porter’s mangum opus “Night and Day,” “T.D.’s Boogie Woogie” and “Night Train.”

A mild disappointment Daily Planet Staff Photo was the omission of at least Two Arthur Murray Studios’ dance teachers from Georgia show off their skills during Big Band Week- one TDO standard — “On Treasure Island.” end recently at the Omni Resorts Grove Park Inn. The TDO was founded by Tommy Dorsey (1905-1956), who was a jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader in the Big Band era. “He was known as the ‘Sentimental Gentleman of Swing’ because of his smooth-toned trombone playing,” according to Wikipedia, which added that he led “an extremely popular and highly successful band from the late 1930s into the 1950s.”

Asheville Daily Planet - February 2019 - B7

The Center

Continued from Page B1 Also on the opening schedule are the Hendo Story Club, a series of creative art classes including Zentangle®, Images in Words, Peeps & Chix H20 Color, plus Stand-Up Comedy 101 and 2ND SUNDAYS with musicians, storytellers, author talk-backs and more.

“It’s an ambitious schedule,” Founder Jeanie Linders said in a recent interview with the Hendersonville Lightning, “but we

have a team of professionals who are very committed to making this happen for our area.

“Having a meet-and-greet facility that can serve as a community destination for arts, entertainment and the opportunity to meet like-minded people has always been a dream of mine,” she told the Lightning. “I believe that the continued growth of Henderson and nearby counties will make The Center the go-to alternative for top quality offerings in our backyard as opposed to down the road in Asheville.”

Tickets are now for sale for all scheduled shows at www.thecenterai.com.

Continued from Page B1 During the first set, Jones sang the 1993 Diana Krall version of Nat King Cole’s “Frim Fram Sauce” and the Count Basie Orchestra’s 1955 jazz standard “Until I Met You.” In the second set, she sang the 1920 Fred E. Ahlert classic (with lyrics by Roy Turk) “Mean to Me” and Nat King Cole’s 1959 smash, “Avalon.”

Prior to singing the naughty “Frim Fram Sauce,” Jones noted that jazz song lyrics, such as to that particular song, sometimes have been interpreted — or misinterpreted — as being risque, prompting efforts to censor them from the public airwaves.

For instance, she noted that “Cole Porter’s 1928 classic ‘Let’s Do It’ was regarded as so rique that some radio stations” refused to play it.

In addition to being the featured vocalist with the AJO, Jones has her own jazz quartet, and sings with the Michael Jefry Stevens Trio, The Steve Watson Trio, and the Richard Shulman Group.

Among the night’s memorable instrumentals were an original by Wilkens —

decicated to Count Basie — “Almost Every Monday;” the Glenn Miller Orchestra’s “Jeep Jockey Jump” and the Count Basie Orchestra’s “Basie Straight Ahead.”

Founded in 2006, the AJO “has evolved into Western North Carolina’s hardest swinging band,” the Black Mountain News noted in a recent artcile.

Under the direction of Wilken, the AJO’s mission is to preserve and advance America’s big band jazz tradition.

The orchastra plays music ranging from the canon of swing-era greats like Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Benny Goodman, but also make forays into more progressive works by Stan Kenton, Thad Jones and Gordon Goodwin. The AJO also makes a point of expanding the swing repertoire by programming freshly composed and arranged pieces, many by bandleader Wilken.

“The players in the AJO are drawn from the ranks of the best jazz artists in the area,” the BMN noted, “some of whom have spent time in latter-day incarnations of legendary big bands.”

— By JOHN NORTH, Daily Planet

AJO

Great Decisions series to begin

From Staff Reports

Global migration, cyber conflict, nuclear arms negotiations, and much more will be explored in the World Affairs Council’s spring 2019 Great Decisions lecture series at UNC Asheville, which begins Feb. 5.

The lectures take place at 7:30 p.m. on six consecutive Tuesdays in the Manheimer Room at UNCA’s Reuter Center as follow:

• Feb. 5 – “Refugees and Global Migration” – Human rights scholar Mark Gibney, UNCA’s Carol G. Belk Distinguished Professor in Humanities and professor of political science, will address many questions, including: Who determines whether someone is a refugee or a migrant? How have different countries, including the U.S., reacted to migration? How effective are the international laws, policies and organizations that have evolved to assist and protect refugees and migrants?

• Feb. 12– “Cyber Conflict and Geopolitics” – Security analyst Mike Duncan will share insight on the developing threat of cyber conflict and whether the U.S. is sufficiently prepared. Duncan, currently at Humana, has also worked at Wells Fargo, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

• Feb. 19– “The Rise of Populism in Europe” – John Plant, a defense analyst and scholar of demographics and population change, will examine the role of immigration as a driver of BREXIT and the rise of populist and farright parties in Europe, and then discuss the implications of these political shifts for the U.S. Plant, who has a Ph.D. in public policy from George Mason University, was a 20-year active-duty officer in the U.S. Army, and served as an advisor to the Czech Republic’s Ministry of

Defense. He now works at Kriticos Solutions Group as a proposal author for defense contractors.

• Feb. 26– “The Middle East: Regional Disorder?”

– International and religious studies scholar Thomas Sanders will examine Trump administration stances toward Middle Eastern nations, and actions such as moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and withdrawing from the multi-national nuclear agreement with Iran. Sanders, a former Brown University professor, has concentrated on the Muslim world in his retirement, spending time in Turkey and Egypt, learning Turkish and Arabic.

• Mar. 5– “Nuclear Negotiations: Back to the Future?” – Retired UNCA faculty member Dot Sulock will look at the Trump administration’s approach to nuclear talks, including the summit with North Korea’s leader, meetings with Russia about the START Treaty, and withdrawing from the agreement with Iran. Sulock, a former lecturer in mathematics, also taught international studies courses at UNCA focusing on nuclear weapons policy.

• Mar. 12– “Decoding U.S.-China Trade” – Julie Snyder, a retired U.S. foreign trade official, will provide a critique of the statistics used to measure U.S.-China trade, arguing that the numbers provide a misleading picture of the relationship that hinders sound policy-making.

Snyder says the U.S. has unused options available to fare better in the trade relationship. Snyder is a retired U.S. diplomat who worked in the field of international trade for over 30 years for the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, a small foreign affairs agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The Great Decisions series is sponsored by the WNC chapter of the World Affairs Council, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNCA, and UNCA’s Department of Political Science.

Admission to World Affairs Council presentations at UNCA is $10 for the public — and free to members of the WAC and UNCA students.

Dances at Olive or Twist

121 West Barnwell St., Downtown Hendersonville

• Tuesdays —Shag and Swing • Wednesdays — Ballroom and Country Lesson at 6:30 p.m. • Dancing 7-9 p.m.

Requests are always welcome. $5 per person • Food and drinks available at the bar

Dances at the Asheville Ballroom 291 Sweeten Creek Road, Asheville

Ballroom Dance — Fri., Feb. Saturday, January 12 1 Admission $10 — Sat., Feb. 16 Back Room at the Ballroom

Lesson 7 p.m. at • Dancing from 8 tofrom 10:30 Admission $10 at • Lesson 7 p.m. • Dancing 8 top.m..

10:30 p.m.

B8 — February 2019 - Asheville Daily Planet