Asheville Daily Planet for March 2018

Billy Graham leaves a titanic legacy See EDITORIAL, Pg. A8

Greene’s lawyer blasts her critics — See STORY, Pg. A5

After 13 yrs. at helm, city manager to retire Wanda Greene

— See STORY, Pg. A5

Gary Jackson

LLE I V HE AS ASHEVILLEʼS GREATEST NEWSPAPER

March 2018

Vol. 14, No. 4

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

City urges narrowing of Merrimon to 3 lanes Asheville’s proposal filed in protest to NCDOT plan to widen part of corridor to 5 lanes

From Staff Reports A proposal recently unveiled by the North Carolina Department of Transportation to widen a portion of Merrimon Avenue to five lanes upset some Asheville officials and citizens, prompting a counterproposal from the city for the NCDOT to

narrow a portion of the road to three lanes for automobiles, with the center lane to be used as a turn lane.

Under the counter-proposal, led by city Transportation Department Director Ken Putnam, the remaining space between the curbs could then be used for bike lanes, one

on either side of the street. City staff is also recommending the closing of seven curb cuts that it considers redundant.

Meanwhile, NCDOT’s 5-lane proposal has prompted more than 400 comments being sent

by Asheville leaders and citizens to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, accord-

1st Fed Cup in Asheville makes splash

ing to NCDOT Engineer Cole Hood. The comments will be vetted by those specializing in nonmotorized transportation and congestion management engineers. A series of meetings will soon be scheduled to bring together stakeholders and subject-matter experts.

See MERRIMON AVENUE, Page A14

McHenry gives D.C. update, fields queries

By JOHN NORTH

john@AshevilleDailyPlanet.com

The first-ever Fed Cup was held in Asheville on the weekend of Feb. 1011 at the U.S. Cellular Center downtown — and each day it was packed to capacity with 5,000 fans.

The local economic impact was projected to be $3.5 million.The best-of-five match series featured play between the United States and the Netherlands. The U.S. won 3-1. To the left is U.S. star CoCo Vandeweghe and above is U.S. team captain Venus Williams.

Special photos

by SHELIA SURRETT

Haunting accident

Q: — What do dreams mean? I was dumped 10 months ago. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. Now I barely do, but last night, I dreamed I broke in to his apartment, found him in bed with this gorgeous girl, and punched her in the face. Does this mean I’m not over him?

— Wanna Start Dating

The Advice Goddess Amy Alkon

Want to know the answer?

See ADVICE GODDESS, Page A10

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-Gastonia, gave an “Update From Washington” — touting tax reform and the tax cut that he said will benefit every wage-earner in the nation — during his address to the Council of Independence Business Owners on Feb. 21 at Eliada Home in West Asheville.

After his 25-minute speech, he fielded a barrage of questions for another 25 minutes from CIBO members and their guests. About 65-70 people attended the one-hour program that was preceded by a luncheon.

During the Q&A, sparks only flew once — when Bill Whalen, staff at-

torney with Pisgah Legal Services in Asheville, accused the powerful congressman of supporting a bill that could lift the North Carolina ban on so-called “payday loans.”

McHenry vigRep. Patrick orously refuted Whalen’s accusation, McHenry saying his legislation clearly “does not allow ‘payday’” lending.

What’s more, he said Whalen’s comments constituted “a partisan setup.”

A tense back-and-forth argument then ensued between McHenry and Whalen.

See McHENRY, Page A12

‘I’m a Recovering Racist’ talk triggers discussion

By JOHN NORTH

john@AshevilleDailyPlanet.com

Bruce Mulkey, an Asheville essayist and author, addressed “I Am a Recovering Racist” — and led a wide-ranging audience discussion of that topic — on Feb. 16 at UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center.

About 60 people — including only two or three African-Americans — attended his free public presentation as part of OLLI at UNCA’s “More Than a Month” series.

Mulkey began with a reading and

discussion of some of his essays that have appeared in the Asheville Citizen-Times over the years on his awakening to his flaws and his efforts at transformation as a “recovering racist.”

In a telephone interview afterward with the Daily Planet, Mulkey described his UNCA talk as “this is how we f***ed over African-Americans and Native Americans... My personal responsibility is to do everything in my power to dismantle white supremacy in our society.”

See ‘RECOVERING RACIST,’ Page A13

A2 - March 2018 - Asheville Daily Planet

Reverend Billy Graham November 7, 1918 - February 21, 2018

“Some day you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.” “My home is in Heaven. I’m just traveling through this world.”

“Do I fear death? No. I look forward to death with great anticipation. I am looking forward to seeing God face to face. And that could happen any day.” (Newsweek, July 4, 2005) “When we all reach the end of our earthly journey, we will have just begun.”

“The Bible says that as long as we are here on Earth, we are strangers in a foreign land. There are enemies to be conquered before we return home.

This world is not our home; our citizenship is in heaven.”

“Heaven doesn’t make this life less important; it makes it more important.”

“Death for the Christian is the doorway to heaven’s glory. Because of Christ’s resurrection we can joyously say with Paul, ‘Where, O death, is your victory?’” (1 Corinthians 15:55)

Photo courtesy of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

“The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us.”

From an admirerer

Asheville Daily Planet — March 2018 - A3

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A4 - March 2018 - Asheville Daily Planet

Greene’s attorney fires back at her critics

From Staff Reports

Thomas Amburgey, the defense attorney for former Buncombe County Manager Wanda Greene, recently lambasted media outlets for — in his view — passing judgment on his client while at the same time admitting they do not know the facts.

Greene retired July 1 from her post after 20 years at the helm. Shortly thereafter, it became public knowledge that she was under federal investigation. Those with knowledge of the matter have been instructed by the investigators to refrain from discussing the ongoing investigation.

Amburgey’s Feb. 19 comments followed a statement released earlier the same day by the executive committee of the North Carolina City and County Management Association in which organization said it felt something had to be said because the allegations “so widely reported by the media undermine the public’s confidence in the professionals who manage local governments across the state.”

The statement continued, “If the allegations against Ms. Greene are true, we condemn her behavior in the strongest way possible.”

During the public presentation of the county’s audit on Jan. 23, Buncombe County’s Chief Financial Officer Tim Flora shared what he said could be said about the matter, noting that in June 2017, the county’s internal controls detected “a series of irregularities tied to the former county manager.”

Some were deemed “inappropriate,” triggering an internal review. After consulting with the county’s senior attorney, the “potential breach” was reported to the appropriate authorities, and county staff began the process of preserving evidence and denying the former manager access to systems and facilities.

Ed Towson of Gould Killian CPA Group, the county’s external auditing firm, said it appeared Greene had not been acting alone.

“And you think of [collusion] usually as two people that participate in an activity where they both benefit. And that’s not the case. Sometimes, collusion is inadvertent.

There is so much trust in an individual that a person does what they’re instructed to do, and we suspect that some of that occurred.

And then, sometimes collusion can occur simply because the person has some fear or other worry about their job or something that could happen.”

Follow-up commentary from the county

Wanda Greene Thomas Amburgey Board of Commissioners revealed that purchasing cards were at least a part of the problem. Commissioner Ellen Frost said.

“Those charges were outrageous, absolutely mind-boggling crazy,” she said, adding that the abuse had been going on for three years before it was detected.

Speaking of the culture of naive trust and fearful compliance that apparently allowed Greene to assume broad powers without checks and balances, Flora recalled, “We trusted when we should have questioned.

And when we did question, we let ourselves be convinced.”

The commissioners and members of the watchdog media now appear to be chagrined for failing to prevent what has led to a federal investigation; but before the new county manager, Mandy Stone, ushered in a new era of transparency and accountability, county leadership was deemed such a black box, people learned not to even bother to ask questions.

Now that it’s known that something was amiss, the Asheville Citizen-Times is conducting its own investigation using Freedom of Information Act requests. The AC-T discovered evidence suggesting, among other things, that Greene had used taxpayer dollars to purchase $40,000 in gift cards, an undisclosed portion of which were used for legitimate government purposes, and she made questionable purchases of home décor that was shipped to her home.

Greene also hired family members for high-pay, tenuous positions. Since the investigation, the relatives have either quit or accepted jobs in a lower pay grade. Healthy bonuses were also criticized by the press, but those were all approved publicly by the commissioners as legitimate retention incentives.

The only problem appears to be funds approved by the commissioners for pay raises for the county’s lowest-compensated workers ended up going to higher-level

administrators. When the problem was discovered, Stone publicly went before the commissioners and said she was going to make a retroactive correction. She said no action by the commissioners was necessary, because they had already approved what she was then making right.

Other problems the AC-T’s investigative team has reported on include transactions with the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Polk County. Greene spent at least $577,116 on sponsorships and ads for the TIEC, an amount that had been misrepresented to the press by about $100,000 in what Buncombe commissioners’ Chairman Brownie Newman described as a “doctored” document. The expenditures were described as promotions for regional economic development, or job creation.

On top of that, Greene spent thousands of dollars on travel to businesses owned by Mark Bellissimo, a managing partner in and driving force behind the TIEC. Most recently coming to light was an extravagant dinner at the Grand Bohemian Hotel, subsidized with $3,900 from the public treasury, to introduce local business leaders to Bellissimo. Greene spent at least $12,777 on travel and similar dinners to promote the equestrian center.

Frost said she trusted Greene when she said this was the way things were done.

After all, when the county was courting Deschutes to build its eastern facility on the Ferry Road property, executives enjoyed a ride over the premises in a state helicopter, and then-Gov. Pat McCrory entertained them at the Western Governor’s Residence.

(The effort to recruit Deschutes failed and the brewery located its facility in Roanoke, Va., instead of Asheville.)

What’s more, Newman said that the wining and dining were unusual. Normally when the county hosts events, the public is invited, and the fare is more along the lines of bagels and coffee.

As much as the those in Buncombe may disdain having their tax dollars spent on extravagance for the rich and famous, it would appear that nobody is casting any aspersions about the recipient of it all — Bellissimo.

Bellissimo has had a long-standing business relationship with President Donald J. Trump, even marching horses in the inaugural parade.

Bellissimo also continues to make headlines in preparing for the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games — and he just purchased United Cabinet Holdings to help furnish lodging facilities for the event.

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Asheville Daily Planet — March 2018 - A5

Asheville city manager to retire after 13 years at helm From Staff Reports

Gary Jackson

After 13 years at the helm, Asheville City Manager Gary Jackson is planning to retire at the end of the calendar year.

The announcement was made by Mayor Esther Manheimer at the Feb. 13 meeting of Asheville City Council. The city will now open a bidding process to select a firm to conduct a national talent search.

Manheimer said she wants the process to be as open and transparent as possible, with public meetings throughout the process. The first meeting(s) will ask what qualities the citizenry wants in the new manager.

The process of hiring a new manager could take months. In Asheville, council hires only three people: the city manager, the city attorney and the city clerk. The city manager holds an apolitical role, as his or her function is strictly to execute whatever directives council gives him.

In that context, Jackson had an especially difficult job, in light of council’s “aggressive and ambitious goals,” the mayor noted. Following Manheimer’s reading of the announcement with tokens of appreciation into the record, Jackson said, “What makes this such a fun job is the reach this council wants to have.”

Jackson accepted the city manager’s job 13 years ago, replacing Jim Westbrook, who had served for 10

years. Jackson arrived in the midst of the water dispute and is credited with being adept at developing contingency budgets anticipating uncertainties in whether or not the state legislature would confiscate the water system or otherwise impede the city to use water revenues.

Also during his tenure, the state General Assembly revoked the city’s power to initiate annexations, dealing another blow to potential revenue streams.

Adding to what could have been a perfect storm, was the 2008 recession. While a smattering of mismanaged cities across the nation were declaring bankruptcy, Jackson was improving the city’s bond ratings to tripleA status, Manheimer also noted many other major accomplishments by Jackson during his tenure.

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Asheville Daily Planet - March 2018 - A7

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A8 -March 2018 - Asheville Daily Planet

The Daily Planet’s Opinion

Billy Graham, R.I.P.

B

illy Graham, who died Feb. 21 in his Montreat home at age 99, left a legacy that only fittingly could be called titanic.

He was buried on March 2 just outside the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte after a funeral that was held in a giant tent as a nod to Graham’s 1949 Los Angeles crusade. That revival, which Graham said propelled him to fame, was held in a circus tent dubbed the “Canvas Cathedral.”

Prior to the funeral and burial, and after a public viewing in Charlotte, his body was taken to the U.S. Capitol, where, Rev. Billy Graham for two days, he was the first private citizen to lie in honor there since civil rights hero Rosa Parks in 2005.

A charismatic man of God, Graham preached Christianity to some 2.2 billion (by one estimate) — more people than anyone else in history.

He was the right man at the right time, leading the first of his more than 400 religious crusades in 1947. Graham, known as “America’s pastor,” was able to use the mass media in a way that could not have done by earlier evangelists, such as Dwight L. Moody and Billy Sunday. He pioneered use of primetime telecasts, network radio, daily newspaper columns, evangelistic films and satellite TV hookups.

Graham befriended presidents from Harry Truman to Barack Obama, and even met Donald Trump before his successful presidential run. He appeared on the Gallup Poll’s list of most admired men and women more than anyone else.

As a young man, Graham came to realize that he had a zeal to spread the Gospel and the charisma to reach the masses. He became America’s best-known Christian evangelist. One crusade, in New York City in 1957, ran for 16 weeks and drew 2.3 million people. A revival in Seoul, South Korea, drew one million people for a single service.

To his credit, Graham, who was raised near Charlotte, went against the white Southern norms of his time and opposed segregation. He was a friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — and once bailing King out after he had been jailed.

Graham drew criticism over the years for supporting the war in Vietnam, for making anti-Semitic comments in a taped conversation with President Richard M. Nixon, and for supporting him after Nixon had been forced to resign in disgrace.

When the AIDS epidemic hit, Graham said he believed it was “a judgment of God,” then quickly reversed himself on the issue and humbly apologized.

Graham’s preaching of a message of salvation through Jesus Christ changed the world for the better, and we believe he will be dearly missed by people of all faiths and backgrounds.

Letters to the Editor

Fed Cup prompts pride in Asheville; called a ‘coup’

A

s a citizen, I was proud of the role our community played in hosting the Fed Cup. To have top-caliber athletes speak so highly of our city, our people and our efforts is a coup.

On behalf of businesses throughout the community, we also appreciate the investment made during a slower time of year.

Congratulations to all those who helped make the Fed Cup possible.

KIT CRAMER President & CEO Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce Asheville

Victim of bullying, other abuse? Walk away forever

I believe that most of us Americans have been victims of bullying and/or some form of abuse at some time in our lives.

As a former counselor and therapist, I worked with and tried to help many victims of everyday bullying, as well as various other forms of abuse.

I found that the biggest problem and challenge that they dealt with was that they did not stand up to their bullies and abusers. The best question that I have ever heard a counselor or therapist ask their clients and patients relative to this was the following: “What parts of yourself don’t you love that allows you to let this bully or abuser to continue to mistreat you and abuse you?”

This question prompted many people to finally make some serious changes in their

lives and to walk away from and leave their abusers.

Stewart B. Epstein Rochester, N.Y.

Fla. school shooting tied to loss of respect for God

America was again shocked, as it should be, by the latest tragic school shooting in Parkland, Fla. What has become of respect for God and respect for precious human life and suffering?

One contributing factor is, God was thrown out of our schools and all public places by some Supreme Court Judges.

Judges who found, “posting of God’s Ten Commandments in schools, and even county government public places, unconstitutional.” Judges who also ruled prayer and teaching God ‘s Word in public schools unconstitutional.

Judges who are prohibited from interfering in religious matters by the First Constitutional Amendment!

That amendment, which ensures freedom of religion, speech, the press and the right to peaceably assemble, was intended to keep the federal government off these matters.

But now the federal government tentacles reach way down to the toilet places, better known as “restrooms.”

The overreach of the Supreme Court has gone uncontested by our legally elected government public officials. It is their duty to hold the judges accountable when they violate the Constitution and laws.

See LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, Page A10

The best on N. Korea — a step back The Candid Conservative

CHAPEL HILL — The best step on North Korea — a step back If Charles Robert Jenkins were still around, we could ask him about how to best deal with North Korea. Jenkins, in case you don’t remember, was the soldier from Rich Square, N.C., who spent 40 years in that country after deserting across the border while serving in the U.S. Army in South Korea.

Before he died last month, he told Los Angeles Times writer Jonathan Kaiman the lesson he learned from his time there. “I don’t put nothing past North Korea. North Korea could to do anything. North Korea don’t care.”

“Ain’t nobody live good in North Korea.

Nothing to eat. No running water. No electricity. In the wintertime you freeze--in my bedroom, the walls were covered in ice.”

That insight might help us understand better the nature of the country that is threatening a nuclear missile attack against major U.S. cities. But it does not lay out a strategy for dealing with the North Korean threat.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the current administration recognizes the challenge. “When President Trump took office, he identified North Korea as the United States’ greatest security threat. He abandoned the failed policy of strategic patience. In its place we carried out a policy of pressure through diplomatic and economic sanctions.”

“A door to dialogue remains open, but we have made it clear that the regime must earn its way back to the negotiating table.”

But the North Koreans have not jumped at the opportunity to talk to the U.S. Surprisingly, they are now talking to the South Koreans about the possibility of participating in the Winter Olympics, which South Korea is hosting next month.

D.G. Martin Responding to these talks and the possibility of North Korean participation, Sen. Lindsey Graham says the U.S. should boycott the Olympics if North Korea participates. “Allowing Kim Jong Un’s North Korea to participate in #WinterOlympics would give legitimacy to the most illegitimate regime on the planet.”

Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un and our president trade angry threats like bullies in a school yard.

Contrary to Secretary Tillerson’s assertion that North Korea is our “greatest security threat,” the greatest threat to the U.S. may be the fixation of people like Tillerson, Graham, and Trump on Kim Jong Un. Is there a better way for the U.S. to deal with North Korea’s nuclear threat than President Trump’s boastful threats to destroy North Korea militarily if the U.S. is provoked?

The extraordinary attention given to the North Korean threat is understandable, but it might be counterproductive. Our efforts, our threats, our daily absorption arguably could be doing more harm than good.

We may be paying too much attention to North Korea.

Maybe we should take a step back, get out of the direct confrontation mode and disclaim the primary responsibility for dealing with North Korea’s nuclear fixation, and adopt these guidelines: See MARTIN, Page A10

Can you count to three?

“In order to change the world, you have to get your head together first.”

— Jimi Hendrix

W

The problem

e live in an age of unprecedented information exposure.

This extraordinary bounty of data – like our grocery stores – is a two-edged sword. It’s easy to get lost in the bigness.

For those who seek truth over comfort, this past year has been particularly vexing. Swimming through a mainstream info climate corrupted by advocacy journalism and partisan bias – almost always leaning left – has made separating the factual from the fake a chore.

It matters, because without unfiltered truth – nothing works.

The method

Social predators depend on a bodyguard of lies like vampires rely on the cloak of night.

To manipulate you must first deceive and deceit grows best in the dark.

To keep people stumbling around in the shadows, it helps to limit their view to the number two. In politics, that translates to an updated version of “good guys vs. bad guys.”

Conflict management is a lynchpin of any civilized society. If you can trick the majority into practicing bad approaches to conflict, chaos is assured. Chaos creates a vacuum and vacuums are like an open door to a weasel searching for a chicken.

Whether in marriage or politics, bad conflict can be characterized by a good-bad; right-wrong; or win-lose approach to discord.

Carl Mumpower Note the number two at work again.

The inevitable outcome of bad conflict helps explain an America suffering itself with accelerating fierceness.

The impact

A favored personal example of “good guys and bad guys” was the recent countrywide women’s march.

Widely heralded as a virtuous protest against the forces of evil seeking to undermine female liberties, opportunities and potentials, it served more to downgrade than uplift the intended.

Did you notice the “my way or the highway” approach by most organizers and participants?

Anyone with a differing view, female or not, was castigated or shunned for daring to suggest the marchers were anything but good, right and certain to win.

Mind if I offer a contrasting view? (1) For most, this event was an entertainment opportunity vs. honest protest. (2) Many of the attendees seem fixated on the decidedly misguided mission of becoming like men.

(3) Pink vagina hats are not a personal power amplifier. (4) A lot of people think one can get to good places through bad means. (5) A permanent state of victimization has become this generation’s vision of progress.

See CANDID CONSERVATIVE, Page A10

Asheville Daily Planet — March 2018 - A9

Commentary

Trump era triggers wonder about moves in U.S. movements

M

ovements don’t stand still.

Maybe that’s why they’re called movements. The players change, positions shift.

Evangelicalism is a case in point. So is Republicanism. So is conservatism. So, too, is Christianity.

This is a story about moving movements and the wiggly words that are used to define them – words out of today’s newspapers.

When I graduated from conservative Christian Wheaton College (60 years ago in May), I considered myself a conservative Evangelical Christian Republican.

Wheaton saw itself as descended from the Evangelical “Great Awakenings” of the mid-1700s. That means a conversion experience, an ongoing relationship with Christ and spreading the Gospel. Indeed, fellow alumnus Billy Graham (’43) was nearing his peak.

There was an intellectual air about the place – but over and under everything was the strict authority of the Bible. There was palpable fear that Wheaton would go the way of other great Christian colleges, like Princeton and Oberlin, into “modernism.”

The word “conservative” means “wanting the established order,” and we did.

There was no political component. A guy named Clyde Taylor, with the National Association of Evangelicals, came to campus urging us to enter politics to influence the world. I don’t remember a stir.

We were Republican, I think, because they were a northern conservative party – where Evangelicals were at the time. But we weren’t involved with them.

On the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Republicans voted in favor: 136-35 in the House and 27-6 in the Senate. But Wheaton had no social action component at the time.

Brown v. Board of Education had just come down, but I don’t recall one word, pro or con, about civil rights.

Ah, movements do move. When Wheaton was founded in 1860 by abolitionist Jonathan Blanchard, “conservatives” of his day were pro-slavery. He modeled his new college after far-out radical Oberlin College. Wheaton was a stop on the Underground Railway, and Blanchard housed African-American students in his home.

Blanchard’s Wheaton was equal parts radical social reform and strict Evangelical Christian faith.

But in the 20th century, Protestant Christianity fragmented – between those who embraced the critical study of the Bible and “Fundamentalists,” like Bob Jones, who took up the fight (their term) against them.

It is important to note for our story that Fundamentalists were only concerned with theology. They weren’t sputtering over FDR’s “Socialism” like Republicans were.

The National Association of Evangelicals formed in 1942 to serve denominations that were neither Fundamentalist nor modernist. But Wheaton was toying with the term, “Neo-Evangelical,” so straight “Evangelical” must have had drawbacks.

Lee Ballard I was studying in a conservative Presbyterian seminary in the mid-1960s as Protestant Christianity in America wrangled over “doctrinal purity.” I watched a more conservative Presbyterian group split off from us, mainly over our not being “separate” enough.

The stage was set for the huge upheavals of the 1970s that so powerfully influence American politics today.

The first seismic event came in January 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade by a 7-2 vote. Abortion had been an issue. Now it was Number One. Then in 1976, the IRS withdrew tax-exempt status from Bob Jones University for institutional racism. The government was persecuting Fundamentalists.

Then came the famous meeting in 1979 between Fundamentalist leader Jerry Falwell and Paul Weyrich, founded of the conservative Heritage Foundation. Falwell was challenged to become active with Republicans. Weyrich even gave Falwell the name, Moral Majority. Ronald Reagan’s candidacy made it official: Fundamentalist Evangelicals thereafter have been all-out Republicans.

I was at a Texas state Republican convention in the 1980s (selling political merchandise) when conservative Christians took over the state party. They had worked their way up from precinct meetings to become delegates. (They didn’t buy Republican merchandise!)

Now we see clumps of men at Roy Moore headquarters on election night, their heads bowed, praying for a miracle that will stop a Democrat from winning. And we hear Franklin Graham praising Donald Trump.

But then we read a poll in the Wheaton student newspaper that 43 percent of Wheaton students voted for Hillary Clinton while 26 percent voted for Trump. One has to wonder how the vote went at Bob Jones University.

The Trump era makes us wonder about a lot of things, doesn’t it?

• Lee Ballard, who lives in Mars Hill, writes a blog at mountainsnail.com.

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Heritage Life Skills VII Weekend Hands-On Classes

To register, visit www.CarolinaReadiness.com

April 27-29 Folkmoot Center

112 Virginia Ave, Waynesville

Come and join us for a weekend of learning!

Classes (and more) being offered are: Beekeeping Canning Meat* Canning Fruits/Vegetables* Cheesemaking* Dehydrating Raising Rabbits Food Storage Soapmaking Aquaponics Pioneer Foods Bread Making* Water & Energy Understanding Your Weapons Capabilities Homestead Construction Simple Machines

Sharing the Harvest Land Navigation* Fire Starting Cold Smoke Meat Preservation Blacksmith/Knife-Making* Solar Greenhouse Treadle Sewing Machines Knot-Tying Secret Garden of Survival Emergency Shelters - Primitive Radio Communications Junkyard Steel Respiratory Protection Self-Defense Survivor Jane Basic Survival

Some classes will be limited — sign up for classes early.

Classes subject to change. *Minimal materials charge Bring pad & pens, and folding chairs.

Friday Night Speaker

7 p.m. — “You Can’t Do It Alone” Carolina Preppers Network

Saturday Night Speakers 7 p.m. — “Meet the Authors”

Angery American, Steve Bird, Franklin Horton, Mark Goodwin and more

8 p.m. — Dr. William Forstchen

New York Times bestselling author who recently published his newest work,“The Final Day,” the highly anticipated follow-up to his bestsellers “One Second After” and “One Year After.”

Carolina Readiness Supply Inc. Will you be ready when the lights go out?

72 Montgomery St. Waynesville, N.C. 28786

(828) 456-5310

www.carolinareadiness.com

A10 —March 2018 - Asheville Daily Planet

Advice Goddess

Continued from Page A1 A: Follow your dreams — and end up doing five to 10 in the pen for home invasion and assault!

The widely believed myth that dreams are filled with meaningful symbolism is an unfortunate form of what I call Freud reflux — the “I Dream of Penie” version of a questionable burrito that keeps repeating on you. The assumption that Freud knew what he was talking about comes not from any solid evidence for his claims but, as I wrote in a previous column, probably in part because he “accessorized so credibly, with the cigar, the iconic eyewear, and the groovy Viennese fainting couch.”

Psychologist G. William Domhoff, on the other hand, has done decades of rigorous research on dreaming. He finds there’s really no good scientific evidence that dreams have any importance for guiding our lives — no evidence that they have any function or useful meaning for us (save for the guy in the turban and kohl eyeliner outside the food co-op, for whom dreams are the stuff that timely rent payments are made of).

Domhoff explains dreaming as “intensified mind-wandering” that leads to “imaginative but largely realistic simulations of waking life.” Brain imaging of people in REM sleep (a sleep stage often accompanied by vivid dreams) suggests our capacity to dream is “an accidental byproduct of our waking cognitive abilities” and may be a “subsystem” of the “default mode network” of the brain.

This is simply the network of neurons the brain “defaults” to when you aren’t doing targeted thinking, like trying to solve some complicated equation or remember some word in French. Your brain doesn’t just shut down between these targeted thinking jags. It does what I think of as “background processing,” gnawing at problems you were previously focused on — but it does it beneath your conscious awareness while you’re, oh, washing a dish or having sex.

So, in a way, dream time seems to be a

kind of cognitive autopilot. In brain scans of people in REM sleep, neurobiologist Yuval Nir sees decreased self-awareness, attention, and memory. There’s also reduced “voluntary control” of action and thought — which is why, when dreaming, we cannot control “the content of the dream,” like by changing the channel from HesWithSomeHussy!TV. Nir also finds that there’s often — surprise, surprise — greater emotionality when dreaming. (Presumably, you don’t go around punching your exboyfriend’s dates in your waking life.)

However, Domhoff says that in many instances, dreams “dramatize ongoing emotional preoccupations.” These are sometimes unhealthy or at least unhelpful. You’d think you could just try to avoid thinking those thoughts during your waking hours. Unfortunately, research by the late social psychologist Daniel Wegner suggests otherwise.

Wegner, famously, instructed research participants, “Try not to think of a white bear.”

This is a failed proposition from the start, because your mind sweeps around to check whether you’re avoiding bear-pondering — thus leading you to think about the bear. In short, Wegner found that trying to suppress thoughts made them come back with a vengeance. The same was true when he later had subjects try to suppress thoughts just before going to sleep. These subjects were much more likely to have those thoughts be all “We’re baaaack!” in their dreams.

But — good news — there is a way to outsmart your brain’s yanking you back into the same old abyss. Psychologists Jens Forster and Nira Liberman found that you can probably keep yourself from endlessly revisiting a thought if you simply admit that not thinking of it is hard. As I explain in my new book, “Unf*ckology: A Field Guide to Living with Guts and Confidence,” their solution “probably sounds too simple to be real, but it makes sense.

Removing the need to patrol your thoughts also removes the mental sticky note that

Candid Conservative Continued from Page A8 What makes all of the above especially puzzling is the reality that today’s women are simultaneously the most liberated, supported, healthy, powerful and – miserable – in history.

I won’t pretend to have all the answers on that misery thing, but I do have a few. (1) Angry people tend to be unhappy people. (2) The more one focuses on things that can’t be controlled (others), the more one tends to neglect what can be controlled (us). (3) Anxiety and depression accelerate with one’s distance from mature sources of personal power. (4) The minute one asks for equality – vs. working to be equal – inequality is assured. (5) Whining is not a mood enhancer.

If our culture’s social predators succeed in co-opting those who civilize our world – women – let me assure you we’re all doomed.

It’s close. When we’ve degraded so many into being neutered sex-toys for little boys; angry men wannabees; and gender-confused wanderers, we’re too close.

If you’re a woman, or someone who cares about women and the future of our country, you might want to reflect on the fact that positive social change agents need to be able to count beyond two.

Solutions

Three is a magic number. Good answers to most people problems are found amidst uno, dos, tres.

How? Think of a road. On one side is a ditch – on the other is another. Those are the extremes. In the middle is option three – the road to reason. That’s where we get somewhere.

“I’m good and you’re bad” – “I’m right and you’re wrong – “I’m going to win and you’re going to lose” thinking is for ditch dwellers. Road to reason folks know that it takes the high road to find the best.

tells you to keep going back into Thoughtland … to see how well you’re doing.”

In general, you should try to avoid ruminating — pointlessly rechewing the past, like your mind’s a sadistic TV station always showing the same disturbing rerun.

Moving forward takes thinking about the past in “forward” ways — basically, by making meaning out of it. So when you find yourself reflecting on this relationship, remind yourself to put the right spin on it: looking at it from the standpoint of what you’ve learned — what you’ll apply to make your relationships work better in the future. Before long, you could be on a date again — and I don’t mean one of his, with binoculars from a car across the street.

Mixed emojis?

I’m dating again now and annoyed by how texting’s become the way you get to know somebody you might want to go out with. I type all day at work. I’ll talk on the phone, but the last thing I want to do when I’m off is type text messages.

— Contrary Millennial Woman Back in, say, 539 B.C. in Sumer, if you wanted to tell somebody you were “laughing out loud,” you’d have to dispatch your eunuch across town with the message on a cuneiform tablet. Okay, so the “tablets” are way more tricked out these days, but oh, how far we haven’t come.

Texting can be a great way to get to know somebody — somebody who can’t talk on the phone because they’re hiding in a closet from kidnappers in a Liam Neeson movie. However, assuming neither of you is in immediate danger of being sold into sex slavery by the standard swarthy Hollywood terrorists, you should hold off on any text-athons until after you put in some solid face-to-face time.

Sure, in texting, it seems like all sorts of information is getting “bloop!”ed back and forth. However, you end up missing some vital elements — tone of voice, emotion, body language — that you’d have in person or even FaceTiming on your phone.

Mind a few examples?

Somewhere between the wholesale slaughter of 55 million aborted children and government micromanagement of a woman’s reproductive organs is a place of reason.

Somewhere between training our children to think gender confusion is a short-cut to happiness and hating everyone who falls outside of mother nature’s preference for two genders, is a compassionate but realistic middle ground.

Somewhere between America dismantling its capacity for defense and naively attempting to manage the world is a place of strength and military realism.

Somewhere between pretending government can nurse everyone into happiness and security and every man for himself is a place where we uplift the disadvantaged, encourage the strongest, and challenge everyone to reach for their potentials.

Somewhere between destroying our 2nd Amendment right to effective means for self-defense and giving everyone a tank is a place where we support law-abiding citizens in their choice to own firearms and hold those who abuse guns to costly consequences.

Somewhere between identifying drug users as innocent powerless victims and ignoring the harms of our drug culture is a place where we seek to help but add the personal responsibility component back into our intervention equation.

I could go on and on but the point is made. If we view life within the confines of the number two, we’re struck on stupid. If we bump our scope of reference by one digit, our world view is exponentially expanded.

We may find ourselves with the power to actually create some positive change instead of just stirring the chaos and pretending its progress.

That the third way mirrors the conservative view is purely coincidental….

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

People shrug that off: “No biggie…I’ll just see all that stuff when we meet.” Well, there’s a problem with that. “Nature,” it’s said, “abhors a vacuum,” and it seems the human brain isn’t so hot on it, either.

Research by neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga suggests that when people lack information, their brain helps them by making up a narrative that seems to make sense. So there’s a good chance your brain is going to be your helpful little servant and fill in the missing bits — with ideas about a person that may not correspond all that closely with reality.

In other words, you’re accidentally onto something with your dislike of text-athons.

That said, the telephone isn’t the best way to get to know somebody, either — not even via FaceTime, which only gives you a partial picture.

That’s why I think you and anyone you’re considering dating should communicate minimally online or by phone and get together in person ASAP. Ideally, your first date should be three things: cheap, short, and local — making it low-cost in time, money, and, on some occasions, “lemme outta here, you sick pumpkin latte-slurping degenerate!” (Apologies to any degenerates who don’t befoul their latte with autumn Febreze.)

Tell guys your preference, and don’t be swayed by texting aficionados who insist that you simply must engage in marathon text sessions before meeting somebody… because…because safety! Sure, meet your dates in public places (rather than have them pop by your place so they can zip-tie you and stuff you in their trunk). The reality is, texting somebody till your fingers bleed is not the equivalent of an FBI report on their trustworthiness — though it will leave you well-prepared to testify at The Hague on their war crimes against the apostrophe.

• (c.) 2018, 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

Letters to the editor

Continued from Page A8 It was not just and humane when they ruled in Roe v. Wade and approved the killing of innocent human beings. The seven judges who voted for, on that tragic decision, should have been impeached.

Our Constitution assigns the making of the laws of the land to our legislators, not to the non-elected judges.

The Laws of God, which our forefathers held so dearly, have been replaced by Man’s Law. Now some Americans want us to celebrate what God calls abomination.

The loudest outcry about the latest school shooting of innocent children will come from political hypocrites who support the daily mass killing of thousands of innocent unborn human babies.

Repent, America, repent.

Manuel Ybarra Jr. Coalgate, Okla.

Martin

Continued from Page A8 1. Cede leadership and responsibility for North Korea to those most at risk: China, South Korea, Japan and, perhaps Russia. Make it clear that we will be supportive of their efforts and will cooperate with the solutions they develop, but we will not dictate terms or take the lead in any negotiations.

2. Continue to work with other nations and the U.N. to enforce and expand the sanctions against North Korea, working as a partner and not insisting on directing the effort.

3. Continue and accelerate research and construction of expanded anti-missile capability, quietly and without unnecessary disclosure, working as rapidly as possible to check the North Korean missiles should they ever be launched.

4. Quietly develop, test and improve contingency plans for a strong response to any North Korea military action against South Korea.

As Charles Jenkins pointed out, there is no good way to deal with the North Koreans. But maybe a step-back from confrontation would be “less bad” than our current frantic and provocative approach.

• D.G. Martin hosts “North Carolina Bookwatch,” which airs at noon Sundays and at 5 p.m. Thursdays on UNC-TV.

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.

Thursday, March 1

INTERFAITH PEACE CONFERENCE AT LAKE JUNALUSKA, 7:30-9 p.m., Harrell Auditorium, Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center, Lake Junaluska. The Interfaith Peace Conference, featuring the theme “Meeting the Other: Can We Talk?” will run March 1-4. The IPC will open from 7:30 to 9 p.m. with a plenary session. Earlier, registration will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. in the Bethea Welcome Center at Gaines Auditorium.

At 5:30 p.m., dinner will be served in the Terrace Dining Room, followed by late registration from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in Harrell Auditorium during the plenary session. The IPC is billed by organizers as “striving to advance the work of reconciliation and peace.” Represented by a coalition of Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Juliane Hammer other religious traditions, the event features workshops, music, prayer and lectures. “At the 2018 conference, we will demonstrate the art of building bridges of Godly love and participating in holy conversation,” a press release noted. “We can agree to disagree with civility and respect while upholding the core values of our various traditions.” Among the keynote speakers at the IPC are Juliane Hammer, Ph.D., who serves as an associate professor and Kenan Rifai Scholar of Islamic studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. She specializes in the study of American Muslims, contemporary Muslim thought, women and gender in Islam, and Sufism. Trained in the study of Islam, languages, and pre-modern as well as modern Muslim societies, her scholarly trajectory has taken her from research on Palestinian women

and diaspora and return experiences through a decade of work on American Muslim communities intersecting with women, gender and sexuality in contemporary Muslim contexts. To register for the IPC program (the fee is $150 per person, or at a student fee of $60 per person), call Lake Junaluska at 452-2881 or email information@ lakejunaluska.com.

Friday, March 2

INTERFAITH PEACE CONFERENCE SPECIAL SESSION AT UNCA, 3-5 p.m., Lipinsky Auditorium, UNC Asheville. The IPC will hold a special session at UNCA focusing on “Meeting the Other: Can We Talk?” A press release asked, rhetorically, “In polarizing times, how can we communicate with civility and respect while upholding our core values and religious traditions?” At the UNCA event, Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders guide us in learning to talk across differences. The special session will feature a musical introduction from Abraham Jam; brief addresses by keynote speakers T. Anthony Spearman, Nancy Fuchs Kreimer and Juliane Hammer; and a panel discussion with feedback questions and responses from the audience. For individuals not attending the full IPC program, admission to the special session is $10.

However, UNCA students will be admitted to the sessions for free; online registration requested.

Those who have already registered for the IPC do not need special tickets to the event, as the UNCA special session are already included in the program fee. To register, visit www.lakejunaluska. com/peace or call (800) 222-4930.

SOUND HEALING PROGRAM,6:30-8:30 p.m., Unity of the Blue Ridge, 2041 Old Fanning Bridge Road., Mills River. Mark Patterson, a sound healer, will present a program on “Sound Healing.” Patterson “was given the ability to assist others through sound in a near-death experience,” Nited noted. “Mark channels pure tones of crystal bowls and is often called a ‘Human Singing Bowl.’” Unity added that “sound healing is all about shifting frequencies in the body to a higher vibration Pure tones release energy blockages in the body. Mark Mark Patterson utilizes crystal bowls, healing rods, sacred geometry and his uncanny abilities with vocal toning to create a harmonious state in the body.” Admission is $20.

Saturday, March 3

RETREAT,11 a.m.-4 p.m., Calvary Episcopal Church, 2840 Hendersonville Rd., Asheville. The CEC will offer “A Retreat for Lent: From Impasse to Hope.” The event will be facilitated by the Rev. Elizabeth Canham. The program will include reflections on Biblical stories through gentle medi-

Asheville Daily Planet — March 2018 - A11

tation, conversation, music and liturgy. Men and women from all denominations — or none — are welcome to attend. To rgister, call 684-6266.

Sunday, March 4

“FINDING GOD IN MY LONELINESS” BOOK STUDY, 9:45 a.m., Grace Lutheran Church, 1245 Sixth Ave. W, Hendersonville. A book study class will meet at 9:45 a.m. Sundays through March 25. The featured book is Lydia Brownback’s “Finding God in My Loneliness.” Cost of the book is $10. All are welcome.

Tuesday, March 6

TALKS ON PEACE, 7-9 p.m., St. Eugene’s Catholic Church, 72 Culvern St., Asheville. The church is hosting a series of talks on peace at 7 nightly March 6-8.. The Parish Lenten Mission, “A Journey Toward Peace,” will be led by Marie Dennis, co-president of Pax Christi International, the global Catholic peace movement, and previously director of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. The talks will include “The Gospel Call to Peace and Reconciliation” on March 6, “Justice, Peace and the Care of Creation” on March 7 and “War No More: The Path to Nonviolence” on March 8. Admission is free and all are welcome.

Wednesday, March 7

GRIEF RITE BIBLE STUDY, 10 a.m.-noon, Grace Lutheran Church, 1245 Sixth Ave. W, Hendersonville. A six-week Grief Rite Bible Study class will be held Wednesdays through March 28. The course is intended for those who are grieving — or their supporters. The class is being led by the Rev. Ken Langsdorf and Sue Cobb.

Materials fee is $8.

Healing Service, 7-8:30 p.m., Unity of the Blue Ridge, 2041 Old Fanning Bridge Road., Mills River. The Rev. Laura Collins and Linda Jones will lead an evening of meditative music and crystal bowls, guided meditations and healing prayer. All are welcome and admission is free.

Friday, March 9

SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVIE NIGHT, 7-9:30 p.m., Sandford Hall, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place, Asheville. The UUCA will screen its monthly Social Justice Movie Night offering, the title of which is to be announced. After the screening, a discussion will be held. All are welcome and admission is free.

Saturday, March 10

YOUnique WORKSHOP, 9:20 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Grace Lutheran Church, 1245 Sixth Ave. W, Hendersonville. The GLC is holding a YOUnique workshop, with the aim of encouraging “happier, healthier people.” The workshop, which is free, includes lunch. To register by the March 5 deadline, visit bit.ly/YOUnique310 or call Karen-Eve Pfotzer at 388-0247, extension 316.

Sunday, March 25

PALM SUNDAY LUNCHEON,11 a.m.-2 p.m., Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 227 Cumberland Ave., Asheville. The 53rd annual Palm Sunday luncheon will be hosted by the TGOCs Ladies Philoptochos Society. Featured will be an array of food and pastries, along with Greek music and dance presentations. Proceeds will finance international charities and local programs for the homeless, children and hunger relief.

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Cut Cutto toSize Size

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

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A12 — March 2018 - Asheville Daily Planet

McHenry

Continued from Page A1 McHenry is serving his seventh term in Congress, where he represents North Carolina’s 10th District. McHenry’s district comprises all or parts of eight counties, extending from the suburbs of Charlotte to Asheville in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

In the 115th Congress, McHenry serves as the chief deputy whip, a position he was selected to by Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La. As chief deputy whip, McHenry directly assists Majority Whip Scalise by building consensus for the conservative policy agenda of the House Republican Conference.

McHenry is a member of the House Financial Services Committee, where he serves as vice chairman of the full committee, a position that he was first appointed to at the beginning of the 114th Congress

by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (TX-05).

In the 113th Congress, McHenry served as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. In that role, the congressman provided oversight of the Federal Reserve, Treasury, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other federal financial regulators. He was previously a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

At the West Asheville meeting, McHenry was introduced by CIBO President Buzzy Cannady, who noted, “We’ve got a great guy here today — Congressman McHenry... Thank you for joining us.”

Beginning on a light note, McHenry walked to the lectern carrying a cup of water in each hand and, with a smile, quipped, “ Well, I brought two drinks up with me, but I won’t be talking that long.” The CIBO audience laughed, good-naturedly.

McHenry then thanked Eliada Home “for the service it provides to children. It’s just an incredible program in changing people’s lives.”

Next, he switched subjects, asserting, “I do want to begin by acknowledging the passing of Dr. Billy Graham (who died earlier Feb. 21)... I came into Buncombe County a few years ago (as its representative), after the legislative lines were redrawn. During that opportunity, the brief meeting I had with Dr. Graham six years ago was one of the most impactful experiences I have had in my life.

“We know that his faith actually takes him home to his father. He is back with (his deceased wife) Ruth, together in heaven...

We’re at a loss (with Graham’s death), but he’s not at a loss,” McHenry said.

“It’s incredible what Ruth brought to this community. Billy Graham wouldn’t have been here without her. And (The Billy Gra-

ham Training Center at) The Cove wouldn’t have been here without them….

“I’m sorry to start on a sad note, but it’s actually a happy note for Billy.”

Turning to the topic of his talk, “On the Washington front,” McHenry said he would be addressing the following three policy areas: • Tax reform and the tax cut, which “we passed in December.”

• The spending agreement “that we just agreed on last week.”

• The need to battle the opioid addiction crisis, and to boost spending for transportation improvements and “some longer-term investments.”

At that point, McHenry said, “The spending agreement that we agreed on last week is mainly based on ensuring that we have a strong national defense... That bipartisan agreement is something that was a long-time coming. It proves things still can get done in a bipartisan way. Neither side was totally satisfied, meaning it was a compromise. It was mostly to my liking and, therefore, I voted for it... It passed the House and Senate and the president has now signed it into law.”

McHenry then noted that, in December, “we passed the tax cut and tax reform…

It’s not what it was made out to be in the political debate last fall. It’s having a sizable impact on our economy. It’s bringing down our corporate tax rate from one of the highest in the first world to a median tax rate.”

He pointed out that “companies would go to enormous lengths to avoid taxation” — and that, with the rate before the tax cut, the U.S. was losing big firms that were relocating to lower-taxed countries.

“At the same time,” McHenry added, “we ensure (through the tax cut) that small businesses… that they’re not disadvantaged.

If you’re a small business, it looks and feels the same for you as for a big corporation. It took a lot of work to achieve that.”

In the the U.S., the average income is $75,000 for a family of four, the congressman said, “so we’ve cut your tax liability….

In specifically addressing CIBO concerns, McHenry said, “One of the major issues you have to wrestle with as business leaders is workforce development. It’s a multi-tiered conversation we have to have. … We have to have a more meaningful conversaton about how we ensure that the next generation gets more training throughout their lives. We need to make sure that

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federal policy matches up very well.

“The limiting factor in our economic growth in the next few years is the ability to get enough qualified people in our workforce.”

After a pause, he added, “That means we need to look at welfare programs and have a work requirement. If we look at our welfare programs, we have a very poor delivery of services for those who have been disadvantaged.”

To that end, McHenry said, “in terms of our public benefits, let’s focus on those priorities... When we think of welfare, we think we have a sense of who they are. But did you know that nearly 40 percent of recipients of welfare in the U.S. are white males, without children in the home and not disabled?

“What’s the problem?” he asked, rhetorically. “They could be lazy. As a society, it’s waste, right?”

“Why?” McHenry asked, rhetorically.

“The biggest issue is opioid addiction, which keeps them (many of the aforementioned welfare recipients) from obtaining or keeping a job.”

The congressman noted that the U.S. in recent years has been through “the ‘crack’ (cocaine) epidemic — mainly urban areas,” followed by the meth (methadone) epidemic — mainly rural areas.”

And now, he said, “the opioid epidemic is the third epidemic” to besiege the U.S. “We have to have long-term recovery programs. We have to look at the humanity here. So workforce development programs — people with small criminal records that keep them out of the workforce” — can be helpful.

“So workforce development is focused on opioids — those with previous criminal records and trying to get them in.

‘We also have to have ‘right’ immigration laws that match up with the needs of our society. We have to resolve this situation on immigration — in a bipartisan way...

“So those are the things that I wanted to mention to you today — two that have been done and one that I think we can get done.

I think this is proof that Washington can actually work after we’ve exhausted every other means.”

During a question-and-answer session that followed, CIBO member Mac Swicegood said he “wondered” about the wisdom of “legalizing marijuana,” which has been occurring in various states.

“There’s a huge debate about marijuana and medical marijuana,” McHenry replied.

“That still needs to be ironed out.”

Swicegood then asked how the government could “make it match up,” given that it is fighting the opioid drug epidemic while allowing marijuana legalization.

“Those who get hooked on opioids — for pain relief — are different” than recreational drug-users, McHenry answered. “It doesn’t matter your income, your race….

One reason is we’ve got an over-prescribing of opioids, as a class. It’s largely directed by a directive in the medical community that you should feel no pain. We’ve got to clean that up.”

A man asked, “How many people in the welfare category are illegal immigrants?”

“Not many, as a percentage, because you do have to have proof of citizenship,” McHenry replied. “And as a result of the last tax bill, we have further enforcement of proof of citizenship.

Another man said, “I’m really worried about this next generation coming up,” given “the skills-workforce gap.” He asked McHenry to address that issue.

“So the 529 plan change we made is really modest, because we haven’t had time to build up the 529 plan, McHenry answered. (529 plans are tax-advantaged investment trusts currently used to pay for higher-education expenses).

See McHENRY, Page A13

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‘Recovering racist’

Asheville Daily Planet — March 2018 — A13

Continued from Page A1 “I’m trying to issue wakeup calls for people to wake up to our current situation in this nation and then to do something about it,” he said in the interview.

“The realization that I was sleepwalking through life came in my mid-40s, when I realized the way I was doing it (his path in life) was not working.”

Mulkey told the Daily Planet that, “that was the point in which I started digging deeper and taking responsibility for my life.”

He added, “The awakening of my (knowledge of my) own personal racism was when I took the test (off the Harvard University website) in 2000.

After the revelation on his racism, Mulkey said he joined Building Bridges, an Asheville group that seeks to build connections between blacks and whites.

“I took the (Harvard) test (again) yesterday — and it still showed a strong preference for white. So while my consciousness was raised” and he scored as less racist, Mulkey said in the interview he still has a long way to go. He noted that, despite the test results, “I consider myself a kind, compassionate person, struggling with the realization” that he has work to do to shed his racial prejudices.

During his UNCA presentation, Mulkey made it clear that he solidly favors the Democratic Party’s policies and generally despises those of the Republican party.

To that end, he told the Daily Planet, “The Democrats are not blameless in the society that we’ve created. However, it’s not the political party that’s important to me. It’s the representatives who come down on the side of the environment....

“The Republican Party has been taken over by extremists, while the Democrats still, to a great extent, stand for the FDR New Deal programs.”

Further, Mulkey said, he considers himself an activist. What’s more, he serves on the board of Evergreen Charter Community School.

He has lived in Asheville for about 20 years. Before that, he lived in Austin, Texas. Mulkey grew up in Tullahoma, Tenn.

“Prior to becoming a full-time writer, I was a political operative for eight years,” Mulkey said. “Before that, I was a director of marketing and communications — and a

free-lance writer.”

Mulkey’s UNCA presentation began with a reading of his piece in the AC-T from the past headlined “I’m a Recovering Racist.” Other essays he had written on related subjects also were read.

Bruce Mulkey When he asked for audience reaction, a woman asked, “Do you feel you were influenced by Southern culture?

“I grew up in the South… in Tullahoma, Tennessee.”

Mulkey paused and prompted laughter from the audience when he quipped, “You know, it was the water....”

More seriously, he said that, “for a small Southern town, it had some liberal tendencies.”

Regarding his reaction in 2000 when he got the results — indicating that he is racist — after first taking the Harvard implicit bias test, also known as the Implicit Association Test, he said, “You don’t have time to think you just can react. It showed I had a strong bias toward whites.”

A woman in the audience asserted, “There’s a difference between our making individual judgments versus the police pulling over blacks twice or three times their proportion of the population. There is institutional bias,” too.

A man then asked Mulkey about “dealing with his own racism — what have you done in your own life?”

“Good question,” Mulkey replied. “I was involved with a personal growth program… the monkey mind, the B.S. that goes through your mind. Then, having done that ... there’s also tapping the forehead, the cheeks and the chest.”

A woman asked him for more details about “tapping.”

“I’m not sure I can” answer that, Mulkey replied. “Even though (the Harvard test showed) I’m believing people of color are less than white people, I truly care about myself” and working through that bias.

A woman said she was “a little unclear on what you said (in one of his essays) about reparations…. I think it’s a good idea.”

Agreeing, Mulkey noted that, “We, in 2012, paid certain Native American indi-

viduals and groups $3.4 million...

“U.S. slave labor would be worth roughly $5.9 trillion today,” Mulkey noted, stating he was quoting figures by “researchers ” A man said, “What do you do when you know somebody who has a Confederate flag on the front of their car — and thinks that’s a noble thing to display?”

“I don’t presume to be an expert on anything except maybe me,” Mulkey replied.

“To answer your question…. One of my siblings supported a candidate that I did not support and was really vehement about it” and they remain estranged. “I don’t know the answer on that.”

Another man said of the scenario of someone displaying a Confederate flag on his car, “Leave the guy alone. He has the right (under the U.S. Constitution) to have a Confederate flag.”

The man who originally had raised the question of the Confederate flag on a car, said to the man who advised leaving the car-owner alone, “I guess a Swatstika (Nazi) flag would be OK, too?”

To that, the other man said, “Yes, a Swatstika flag would be alright as well.”

After a brief silence, as the UNCA gathering mulled the contrasting viewpoints of the two men, a man expressed his disagreement with another man, who had said that all Affirmative Action law has been struck down by the current Supreme Court.

He added, “Racism, to my point of view, is when you have a bias and you act on that bias. And that is something we should all be fighting against.”

The other man replied, “The fact that you have the bias influences how you act.

You’re right — it (Affirmative Action) hasn’t been entirely thrown out, but it has made it more difficult in this atmosphere.”

A woman said to Mulkey, “What I haven’t heard is what you have done to work on your racist attitudes.”

“Sure, great question,” Mulkey replied.

“Thank you. Challenging question. As far as me personally, I have done what I needed to do to eradicate my personal racism. The other thing my wife and I did was participate in the Building Bridges program. That was another wake-up call regarding white privilege.

“In terms of becoming connected with people of color, I stepped forward with a black man in 2001 and 2002 and we had a conversation about what we could do. We

Continued from Page A1 “We’re trying to enable more flexibility at the state level, so that federal funds can be put to their highest and best uses.”

At that point, Bill Whalen, staff attorney with Pisgah Legal Services in Asheville, said, “I never met a client who would not have been better served to understand the nature of their debt before they piled more on. This act is going to open the doors to payday lenders and their ilk.

“Why would you support that in the absence” of safeguards? he asked.

“You have your perspective,” McHenry replied, sharply. “My legislation has nothing to do with payday lending. Number two, nothing has changed in North Carolina law when it comes to usury. My legislation does not allow payday. So, as a lawyer, you should know that. It’s disingenuous to say otherwise.”

McHenry added, “So I’m fixing a problem that’s disproportionately a Northeastern problem, but it could — down the road — become a problem everywhere.

“So I’m trying to fix this problem. What I’m telling you is what is actually the force of law today is what is in force today.”

Pausing, McHenry then asserted, “To take this slash from a (Asheville) CitizenTimes editorial, it’s clear to me that you’re

trying to veer this in a way to fit your agenda rather than the facts.”

In response to McHenry, Whalen said, succinctly, “I appreciate your comments.”

A man then asked, “What’s your deal on DACA?” (DACA is the acronym for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the latter of which are frequently referred to as “dreamers.”)

“We have a law that, if a minor commits a criminal act, that’s different than when an adult does something,” McHenry said.

“We’ve got to resolve this in a bipartisan way. I think there’s a compromise to be made for a win-win.”

Another man asked, in reference to the recent mass shootings in a Florida school, “what is your position on bumpstocks and assault rifles?”

“Look,” McHenry replied, “there’s no easy solution to these shootings. … To say that we need action now is no different than from eight years ago.... It’s a bipartisan understanding that there is not” an easy solution to the problem.

“So there are obviously regulatory changes we need to make ... more background checks ... mental health resources that we need to put in place. It is clear to me that this is the great health challenge of our generation — wrestling with mental health... So it requires a multi-faceted approach that I think we can achieve.”

A woman asked about infrastructure improvements that McHenry had mentioned in his speech. “We lack high-speed Internet — even in Buncombe County — in certain rural areas, she said. “Even water-sewer” service is lacking in some places. “The areas that don’t have it (Internet or watersewer) are low- to moderate-income folks.”

“Thank you for asking because infrastructure is not just roads and bridges,” McHenry replied. “So we obviously need to continue” with other improvements as well.

To that end, the congressman noted that “I was just in Black Mountain this morning announcing a $900,000 EDA grant to link up” such infrastructure issues. (EDA is the U.S. Economic Development Administration.)

He noted that, under the Republican administration, “The FCC (Federal Communications Commission)” and other government agencies “have more resources to work on broadband funding.”

A man asked, “On a scale of one to 10, how deep is the divide in Congress? Is the bipartisanship really entrenched?”

“Probably 8.5,” McHenry answered.

“When I got elected (10 years ago) it was probably an eight.”

He added, “Social media has made us more tribal.” McHenry them slammed

McHenry

did what we could do. He had no white friends and I had no black friends. We had coffee together and ran (jogged) together.”

However, he noted that they eventually drifted apart, and Mulkey triggered laughter from the crowd when he speculated that it could be they did not connect — or that that is simply how most male bonding goes.

“For me it’s more of a class thing than a color thing,” Mulkey said.

A man said he’d like to respond to the gentlemen” with the question about how to deal with someone displaying “a Confederate battle flag.” Based on the man’s study of nonviolent communications, he said, first one needs to show an understanding of “where someone is coming from. Then I’d ask if he’d be willing to hear what my needs are. Once individuals are connecting at that level,” good things can happen, he said.

A woman asserted, “I think we need to be more focused on equity rather than on Affirmative Action. Encourage that the city equity office gets funding. We’ve got an equity manager there, but she has no staff or budget.”

Another woman said, “As far as connecting with people, I think it’s important for all of us to feel like what it’s like to be in the minority… Also, I think it’s important if you see the police dealing with AfricanAmericans to watch closely. And don’t limit to African-American community, but extend it to the Latin-American community.”

A man said “the complicating issue of class” also seems to remain.

A woman said, “I’d just like to say I’ve been in Asheville for just over six years.

I’ve always lived in communities like Asheville, where whites live in one place and blacks, another. I go to the YWCA, where I’ve met many people of color. I once went to the YMCA and, beside being very crowded, it was very white.”

Another woman noted, “I never felt this fear like I’ve felt for the last couple of years… The racists are coming out. It just frightens me. Where are we headed? Where are we going?I’ve been coming to this OLLI for the past seven years. They’ve been trying very hard to get more nonwhite people.”

The woman said that she had heard people joke that the situation of nonwhite participation was so severe that OLLI would need to build “a stockade for people of color,” so that there would be more blacks in attendance.

See ‘RECOVERING RACIST,’ Page A14

Twitter, calling it “the worst” and Facebook, which he termed “less worst.”

Further, he said, “People would never talk to one another that way, face-to-face.

We need to get back to the understanding that there is ‘truth’ and ‘right and wrong’ — that there are ‘facts.’

“I’m passionate about what I’m fighting for. That doesn’t mean I’m always right.

But you still can be passionate.”

A man noted that, “regarding the DoddFrank Act, one of the consequences it has caused is a grind-to-a-halt of the community banking system, particularly in North Carolina. It creates a difficulty in access to capital for the small-businessman. Is there any concerted effort to re-address that?”

“There is,” McHenry replied. “I think you’ll see substantial changes to DoddFrank. That will happen in the next month, or month-and-a-half. If you’re one of the top four major global banks, you won’t see any change. But for the smaller institutions, you’ll see a lot of relief, which will benefit lending to small businesses.”

At that point, McHenry noted that he needed to end the Q&A session and thanked those in attendance for their questions.

The CIBO gathering responded with a rare standing ovation.

A14 - March 2018 - Asheville Daily Planet

‘Recovering racist’ Continued from Page A13 To the women’s comments, Mulkey said, “I agree that the current political climate gives people with racist tendencies (the freedom) to act out. I look at that as a curse, but it might be a blessing, as we can at least identify them.”

In reference to the woman’s reference to people joking that OLLI needs to build a stockade in which to hold nonwhites so that they would attend OLLI events, an OLLI official strongly emphasized —while trying to keep a straight face — that “the stockade is not something we do. We try to avoid rounding up people.” In response, a number of people in the audience laughed.

A woman said, “Some of you probably know about the program Building Bridges, which is an opportunity for blacks and whites to get together. If you see someone with a Confederate flag on their vehicle, be careful about what your objectives are. The real goal, it seems to me, is to make sure blacks are treated the same. Keep that in mind whenever” one is trying to make things better.

She then asked, rhetorically, “If you try to round up the black people to come to OLLI, is that for us, or for them?”

Mulkey, the program leader, then turned to a topic that he said is “on the top of our minds right now.” He read an article he wrote in 2002 for the AC-T that noted that “fear led by the media” has resulted in a number of societal problems today. He noted the famous local TV news mantra: “If it bleeds, it leads.”

A man asked Mulkey to tell even more about his personal journey. “It’s mindboggling that we’re in 2018 and FoxNews has more credibility than science,” the man said. “Why does your journey” veer in a different direction than most of America?

“Short answer: I woke up; America went

Merrimon Avenue

Continued from Page A1 The NCDOT proposed widening Merrimon’s northern corridor to five lanes near UNC Asheville. The widening would start with a left-turn lane for northbound traffic turning onto W.T. Weaver Boulevard and continue with a new center turn lane up to the shared parking lot of the Asheville Pizza & Brewing Company, Autobell Car Wash and Bruegger’s Bagels.

The NCDPOT plan also calls for the construction of long-requested sidewalks on the west side of the street, the deferral of which has — to date — been attributed to the cost of the requisite retaining walls. Existing sidewalks in the construction zone deemed in need of repair would also be replaced.

The ruins of the building crashed into by a car in 2005 will presumably be unaffected.

The project would further realign some streets; namely, at the hairpin Clearview Terrace. The changes would require the removal of a corner of an apartment building and the total removal of one house.

A 1999 DOT study of Merrimon — by comparison — suggested a widening would require the removal of 55 businesses, something planners admitted would likely eliminate the need for expansion as well.

A road diet, which would reduce the road to three lanes, was also studied, but neither proposal was deemed worthy of pursuing by NCDOT. In response, city staff suggested that, if the NCDOT insisted on widening Merrimon, the added space could be used for wider sidewalks, buffers and street trees and benches. The paper prepared for the NCDOT said the latter have been shown to stimulate the economy, and narrowing automobile lanes and slowing speed limits promotes safety.

to sleep,” Mulkey replied. “I think it’s going to take turning away from our televisions.”

Mulkey then discussed the polarized nature of political discussions in the U.S. today. “I know Democrats aren’t perfect, but they certainly stand more closely to where I stand,” he said.

He shared one more of his essays, noting, “This gets into politics. I guess you can guess what side I come down on. Is there anybody who objects to it? This is a play off the Rolling Stones’ ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ song.”

As for more on his own personal experiences, Mulkey said, “Yes, there was the ‘dark night of the soul.’”

He spoke of the profound experience of “gazing at the a---hole starting back at me in the mirror.”

Mulked added that “26 percent of the nation’s children live in poverty.”

He also lamented that he observed “as our nation gradually devolved from democracy to oligarchy... and unarmed black men are shot down by militarized police forces.

“But most of us ignored these harbingers… Consequently, we get to deal with an enormous wake-up call. There’s been much discussion about who’s to blame for the election of Donald Trump” as U.S. president.

“If you want to find the person who is actually culpable, just look in the mirror,” Mulkey said.

“Donald Trump’s election has served as a wake-up call. A powerful cultural shift is afoot. Trump and his supporters do us a great service in supporting this shift — and the acknowledgement that there is much more that connects us than separate us.

“It’s been an honor to be here wth you today. Thank you for the opportunity. I hope our paths cross again,” Mulkey said, as the audience applauded.

Since 2006, the stretch of Merrimon Avenue in question has experienced on average one crash per week.

Wisler, the city’s vice mayor, had argued the NCDOT totally disregarded all the city’s – and its own – plans for multimodal transit in lieu of “more car action.”

Multiple plans, developed by the city, call for reduced vehicle miles traveled through incentivizing transit and healthier choices like walking and cycling. In doing so, staff reports prepared by the city claim that progress will be made toward City Council goals for equity and inclusion.

The NCDOT proposal was a response to decades of drivers’ requests for congestion remediation and accident reduction on Merrimon Avenue; and pedestrians have wanted improvements to the narrow sidewalks shared with utility poles as well.

The NCDOT plan would address the aformentioned concerns and also help with urban planners’ wishes to move new construction on Merrimon to the curb, for “a more urban feel” and “pedestrian interaction.”

Opponents argue widening the road invites more traffic, but engineers say they must be careful to consider the effect of spillover traffic into neighborhoods and onto other thoroughfares. Cole indicated the DOT is trying to solve existing problems without creating new ones.

In contrast to a long list of pros the city provided for the three-lane road diet, only two cons were listed: One was inconvenience to motorists, and the other was possible delays for the project. Before public opposition, which the DOT says is part of the process, construction had been scheduled to begin in 2019. Estimates, which vary among sources, place the cost of the DOT’s proposal between $1 and $3 million.

NCDOT TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING FOR THE PROPOSED WIDENING OF N.C. 191 FROM MOUNTAIN ROAD (S.R. 1381) TO N.C. 280 IN HENDERSON COUNTY TIP PROJECT NO. R-2588B The N.C. Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting regarding the proposed widening of N.C. 191 from Mountain Road (S.R. 1381) to N.C. 280 south of the Town of Mills River, in Henderson County.

The meeting will be held on Thursday, March 15 at the Mills River Town Hall located at 124 Town Center Drive in Mills River from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Interested citizens may attend at any time during the meeting hours. NCDOT representatives will be available to answer questions and receive comments regarding the project. Please note that no formal presentation will be made. All comments received will be taken into consideration as the project progresses.

As information becomes available, it may be viewed online at the NCDOT Public Meeting Website: http:// www.ncdot.gov/projects/publicmeetings Anyone desiring additional information may contact J. Scott Miller, III, NCDOT Division 14, Design Construction Engineer, at 253 Webster Road, Sylva, NC 28779, by telephone at (828) 586-2141 or by email at jsmiller3@ncdot.gov. Comments should be submitted by April 16, 2018.

NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in this meeting. Anyone requiring special services should contact Tamara Makhlouf via email at tmakhlouf@ncdot.gov or by phone at (919) 707-6072 as early as possible, so that these arrangements can be made.

Persons who speak Spanish and do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request prior to the meeting by calling 1-800481-6494.

Aquellas personas que hablan español y no hablan inglés, o tienen limitaciones para leer, hablar o entender inglés, podrían recibir servicios de interpretación si los solicitan antes de la reunión llamando al 1-800-481-6494.

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A16 — March 2018 - Asheville Daily Planet

Entertainment & Calendar of Events

Special Section PULLOUT

B1

Asheville Daily Planet — March 2018

Chihuly art exhibition to grace Biltmore gardens

Shelley Wright

The dead make great neighbors

R Special photo courtesy of Biltmore Co.

Above is a Dale Chilhuly artwork that is among those that will be shown in Biltmore Estate’s historic gardens.

Dazzling display to be featured May 17-Oct. 7

From staff reports

C

hihuly at Biltmore will soon represent the first art exhibition in Biltmore’s historic gardens, and the first garden exhibition of Dale Chihuly’s works in North Carolina.

The exhibit at Biltmore Estate in Asheville will run from May 17 to Oct. 7.

The world-renowned American artist’s work is included in more than 200 museum collections worldwide, and now, for a limited time, it can be seen at Biltmore.

“We invite you to immerse yourself in this unique visual experience, an absolute must-see presentation of unparalleled artistic expression,” Biltmore noted in a press release. “Dazzling

in daylight, the exhibition takes on an entirely new dimension when viewed after nightfall; experience the brilliance and beauty of these awe-inspiring marvels of color, form and light.

“Chihuly at Biltmore showcases breathtaking large-scale glass sculptures in an equally breathtaking setting: the historic gardens of America’s Largest Home.

“The vibrant colors and organic shapes that distinguish Chihuly’s dramatic creations are captivatingly presented within Biltmore’s artfully designed landscapes. The sculptures’ placement in the gardens offer an intriguing juxtaposition of the master works of two consummate artists — premier American artist Dale Chihuly and revered Biltmore landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted.”

See CHIHULY AT BILTMORE, Page B7

Vintage Carolina gala combines fun, ‘giving’ to others

From Staff Reports

HENDERSONVILLE — Vintage Carolina will hold its annual gala fundraiser for the Community Foundation of Henderson County from 6 to 9 p.m. March 5 at Hendersonville Country Club.

“There is an incredible passion in our community for an array of philanthropic causes and we invite the public to join us as we celebrate our community’s generous giving,” McCray Benson, president/chief executive officers of Community Foundation of Henderson County, said in a press release. “This event aids in building the community’s general fund to tackle unforeseen opportunities and challenges within our community.”

Benson added, “My Family in Philanthropy was an opportunity the Foundation saw in 2017 to engage a younger generation by providing an opportunity for children to get involved in learning what it truly

Special photo courtesy of Vintage Carolina

Dancing at a previous Vintage Carolina gala (from left are) are Alicia Hearne, Stephen Gwaltney and Nicola Barksdale. means to be part of a giving community. The first session included families that are now in their fourth generation of being involved in local philanthropy. There is no greater example of this year’s Vintage Carolina theme, Strong Roots. Strong Foundation. Strong Community.’”

See VINTAGE CAROLINA, Page B7

Part one of two parts ecently, I had the opportunity to get away for a few days. Even paranormal investigators get the wintertime blues and I felt the urge to go someplace warm, with palm trees and umbrella drinks served by cute cabana boys.

After all, if I was going to stare sightlessly at something, it might as well be the ocean and I might as well get a suntan.

Demented Patty ran with it and booked us on an 11-day cruise to the Caribbean. I must say, when that damn groundhog saw his own shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter, I didn’t really care!

But sometimes, it’s not about the trip.

It’s about what happens before the trip.

And in this case, that part was really important. I needed to find a new pet sitter to watch my cats, but I needed someone who was open-minded about the paranormal and wouldn’t be afraid to come to my house.

One of my best friends normally takes care of them, but she wasn’t available. So it was time to break in someone new.

In Asheville, it’s actually pretty easy to find someone amazingly qualified to look after your pets. This is a pet-friendly town and animals are treated like children. I knew I had friends who occasionally went on vacation. I needed to start with them.

One suggested I get in touch with her pet sitter who was close to 30 years old and was finishing up a degree at A-B Technical Community College in the medical field.

Isla was saying all the right things during the interview process at a local bakery we’d gone to for a late lunch. But the real test would be meeting my furry babies. And checking out my house. I learned she was Catholic and I didn’t know how she would feel about some of the ghostly, occult, witchcraft and voodoo items in my house.

And to the fact that it’s sometimes haunted.

When we got to my house, she immediately started playing with my cats and Lola rubbed her nose against the pet sitter’s nose. Whew! What a great sign!

I began relating some of the details of investigations I’d been on, some details about my own house and some ghost stories I’d been part of. She was extremely openminded and had a fit when she sat down on my living room floor in front of my glasspaned red cabinet full of tarot card decks.

I had a couple of classic Rider-Waite decks and some gorgeous signature decks that I loved the artwork on. Isla was so excited she barely took the time to ask if she could get them out before she started playing with them, much to my delight.

She pulled the High Priestess card. I told her she was highly intuitive and she should trust her instincts more. The second card she pulled had me asking if she was undecided about something.

See WRIGHT, Page B7

B2 - March 2018 - Asheville Daily Planet

Calendar

Get the Led Out (left), billed as a Led Zeppelin tribute band “extraordinaire,” will perform at 7:30 p.m. March 10 at Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Greeneville, Tenn.

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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.

Thursday, March 1

HERITAGE CLASSIC DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS, 8 a.m.-11 p.m., Omni Grove Park Inn, 290 Macon Ave., North Asheville. The Heritage Classic DanceSport Championships, which began Feb. 27, will run through noon March 3. It is a NDCA-sanctioned, ballroom dance competition.To tickets or more information, visit www. theheritageclassic.com.

PARSONS LECTURE AT UNCA, 7 p.m., Lipinsky Auditorium, UNC Asheville. Dr. Christine Darden, a leading mathematician, data analyst and aeronautical engineer for NASA, will deliver the annual Parsons Lecture. Her story was that of one of the researchers whose stories were told in “Hidden Figures; The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race” (2016).

She went on to become an internationally known expert in sonic-boom minimization, and an influential women of mathematicians and engineers at NASA in the mid-20th century. In 2007, she retired as a member of the senior staff at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. She will share her personal story, “From Monroe to NASA” — from growing up in Monroe, N.C,. to attending Allen High School in Asheville, and to her 40-year career at NASA. UNCA THEATRICAL PRODUCTION, 7:30 p.m., Belk Theatre, UNC Asheville. Theatre UNCA will present “Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter,” a play that tells the story of a U.S. Marine finding a way to heal from her war experiences, reintegrate into society and rejoin her family. The play will be performed at 7:30 p.m. March 1-3 and at 2 p.m.

March 4. For tickets, visit drama.unca.edu.

Friday, March 2

“RUMORS” PRODUCTION, 7:30 p.m., Hendersonville Community Theatre, 229 S. Washington St., Hendersonville. The HCT will perform Neil Simon’s “Rumors” from March 2 to 18. Regarding the plot, the deputy mayor of New York City has just shot himself. Though only a flesh wound, four couples are about to experience a severe attack of farce. “The play does what Neil Simon does best — makes the mundane insane!” the HCT noted. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and 2 p.m.

Sundays. For tickes, visit hendersonvilletheatre. org or call 692-1082.

Saturday, March 3

10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Events

THE YOUNG IRELANDERS CONCERT, 2 and 8 p.m., mainstage, Flat Rock Playhouse, 2661

Greenville Highway, Flat Rock. The group The Young Irelanders will perform two shows on March 3 and a third and final show at 2 p.m.

March 4. The FRP noted that “Each and every year, the Irish Cultural Academy brings together some of its finest exponents of Irish traditional music, song and dance as part of one terrific group known as The Young Irelanders. These performers have Irish traditional music, song and dance running through their veins and although still in their 20s and 30s, they are unique amongst their peers in Ireland. If you want to see and hear what Ireland’s traditions of music, song and dance look and sound like in the hands of some of the most talented young performers in the world, then don’t miss the opportunity to get to see this sensational act.” For tickets, which range from $16 to $32, visit flatrockplayhouse. org or call 693-0731.

CHASE AWAY THE BLUES CONCERT, 5:30-11 p.m., Tryon Fine Arts Center, 34 Melrose Avenue, Tryon. The 7th Annual Chase Away the Blues will feature several bands playing in different locations in the TFAC. For tickets, visit www. tryonarts.org or call 859-8322.

Sunday, March 4

WIND ENSEMBLE CONCERT, 3 p.m., Lipinsky Hall, UNC Asheville. The UNCA Wind Ensemble, joined by the Smoky Mountain Brass Band, will perform in concert.

Monday, March 5

“DON QUIXOTE” BALLET, 7 p.m., Niswonger Performing Arts Center, Greeneville, Tenn. Moscow Festival Ballet will perform “Don Quixote.”

For tickets, visit boxoffice@npacgreeneville.com, or call (423) 638-1679.

See CALENDAR, Page B3

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Tuesday, March 6

WORLD AFFAIR COUNCIL LECTURE, 7:30 p.m., Reuter Center, UNC Asheville. “The Defense Budget and Global Engagement Priorities” will be addressed by retired Air Force Major General Richard Devereaux as part of the World Affairs Council Great Decisions Series. Devereaux is now executive vice president of Texzon Technologies.The lectures are presented in partnership by the World Affairs Council, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNCA, and the university’s Department of Political Science. Admission to WAC presentations at UNCA is $10 for the public; free to members of the WAC and UNCA students.

LEADING LADIES FILM SERIES SCREENING, 7 p.m., Tryon Fine Arts Center, 34 Melrose Ave., Tryon. The TFAC’s “Leading Ladies” film series will feature a screening of the 1945 noir classic, “Mildred Pierce.” Regarding the film, the TFAC noted that “no actress wanted to star in this movie except Joan Crawford, and no one wanted her, because at age 39, she was considered a has-been. But the part proved to be the best of her career.” The film is told in long flashbacks after a murder and it is a complicated tale of the trials a single mother goes through to give her daughter everything. Tickets are $6.

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Asheville Daily Planet - March 2018 - B3

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Hotel California (above), a band that pays tribute to the Eagles, will perform in concert at 7:30 p.m. March 17 at The Foundation Performing Arts Center at Isothermal Community College in Spindale.

Calendar of Events Continued from Page B2

Tuesday, March 6

PERFORMANCE, 7 p.m., Humanities Lecture Hall, UNC Asheville. “The Complicated Lives of Biblical Women: An Intimate Evening of Performance With Alicia Jo Rabins.” Rabins weaves together art-pop songs and poetry, violin and electronic loop pedal, feminist Torah scholarship and a voice described as “gorgeous” by The New York Times.

She is a former member of the klezmer-punk band Golem and has released five albums of original music. Admission is free and open to the public.

Friday, March 9

GOITSE CONCERT, 8 p.m., Tryon Fine Arts Center, 34 Melrose Ave., Tryon. The TFAC will present a concert by the group Goitse, featuring Celtic folk music from Limerick, Ireland. Iris Music Magazine said of Goitse that it performs “music that’s brimming with energy and creative zeal.” For tickets, visit tryonarts.org or call 859-8322.

Saturday, March 10

LED ZEPPELIN TRIBUNE SHOW, 7:30 p.m., Niswonger Performing Arts Center, Greeneville, Tenn. Get the Led Out, billed as “the American Led Zeppelin,” will perform in a tribute show to iconic British group, Led Zeppelin. For tickets, visit boxoffice@npacgreeneville.com or call (423) 638-1679.

BRET MICHAELS CONCERT, 7:30 p.m., The Event Center, Harrah’s Cherokee Hotel & Casino, Cherokee. Bret Michaels, a singer-songwriter and musician, will perform in concert. He gained fame as the lead singer of the glam metal band Poison, which has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and 15 million records in the United States alone. For tickets, visit Ticketmaster.com.

Monday, March 12

Progressive Democrats meeting, 6:308 p.m., Buncombe County Democratic Party HQ, 951 Old Fairview Road, Asheville. The Progressive Democrats of Buncombe County will meet to discuss its vision: “A transparent government that works for the equity and empowerment of all.” Doors open at 6:15 p.m. for sign-in. Everyone is welcome and admission is free

Tuesday, March 13

WORLD AFFAIR COUNCIL LECTURE, 7:30 p.m., Reuter Center, UNC Asheville. “China and America: the New Geopolitical Engagement Priorities” will be addressed by Julie Snyder, who worked for 30 years in the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Admission to WAC presentations at UNCA is $10 for the public; free to members of the WAC and UNCA students.

Wednesday, March 14

“OTHER DESERT CITIES” PRODUCTION, 7:30 p.m., N.C. Stage Co., 15 Stage Lane, downtown Asheville. The play “Other Desert Cities” by Jon

Robin Baitz, will be performed from March 14 through April 8. As for the plot, Brooke Wyeth returns home to Palm Springs after a six-year absence to celebrate Christmas with her parents, her brother and her aunt. Brooke announces that she is about to publish a memoir dredging up a pivotal and tragic event in the family’s history, a wound they did not want reopened. In effect, she draws a line in the sand and dares them all to cross it. The schedule varies and Sunday productions are at 2 p.m. For tickets, visit ncstage.org or call 239-0263.

Friday, March 16

RICKY NELSON TRIBUTE CONCERT, 7:30 p.m., Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts, 1028 Georgia Road, Franklin. “The Nelsons: Ricky Nelson Remembered” will be performed in concert. For tickets, call 524-1598 or visit www. greatmountainmusic.com.

Saturday, March 17

EAGLES TRIBUTE CONCERT, 7:30 p.m., The Foundation Performing Arts Center, Isothermal Community College, Spindale. The band Hotel California will perform its “Original Tribute to The Eagles.” “From Japan to Dubai, (from) Toronto to Texas, Hotel California has taken the tribute band where none had gone before them....” a press release noted. For tickets, visit www.FoundationShows.org, or call 286-9990.

ASHEVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CONCERT, 8 p.m. Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, downtown Asheville. The Asheville Symphony Orchestra will perform “Reborn: Romanticism Revisited and Revised.” The conductor will be Nicholas Hersch and the featured soloist will be Itamar Zorman, a violinist. For tickets, visit ashevillesymphony.org or call 254-7046.

ALICE COOPER CONCERT, 8 p.m., Event Center, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, Cherokee. Rock music icon Alice Cooper will perform his “A Paranormal Evening With Alice Cooper” concert.

For tickets, visit Ticketmaster.com.

Sunday, March 18

ETHICAL SOCIETY MEETING, 2-3:30 p.m., Friends Meeting House, 227 Edgewood Road, Asheville. The Ethical Society of Asheville will present Patricia Grace, who will address “Coping Strategies in a Complex World.” The ESA noted that “Our world has become an increasingly complex and confusing place in which to live. Patricia Grace will lead a discussion on examining ways of finding happiness, meaning and peace in our lives. We will explore concepts of time, distraction and mindfulness, coping with advances in technology, current values in a materialistic society, and issues related to over-consumption— both personal and societal.” Grace received her master of agriculture degree from the University of Florida and her Ph.D. in agricultural education from Virginia Tech. She has taught for 20 years in a broad range of areas including sustainable and ethical agriculture, sustainable living and facilitating social change. An informal discussion and refreshments will follow the presentation.

See CALENDAR, Page B6

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Asheville Daily Planet — March 2018 — B5

B6 — March 2018 — Asheville Daily Planet

Calendar

Tuesday, April 3

Continued from Page B3

Sunday, March 18

UNCA PERCUSSION ENSEMBLES CONCERT, 3 p.m., Lipinsky Auditorium, UNC Asheville.

Guest artist Rande Sanderbeck will join the UNCA student percussion ensembles in concert.

Tuesday, March 20

CLIMATE PROGRAM, 7-8:30 p.m., LenoirRhyne University Asheville, 36 Montford Avenue, Asheville. A program will be presented on “Innovation in Climate Resilience: Ideas, Strategies, Examples” by Kif Scheuer, Climate and Energy program director at the Local Government Commission. He will lead a dialogue about climate resilience and business engagement.

The program will explore findings, examples and approaches from work across California, Scheur will engage participants in a discussion about where Americans are with respect to climate impacts, and how they can improve responses at the public, private and community level. The event is free and open to the public.

Friday, March 23

Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias COMEDY SHOW, 9 p.m., Event Center, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, Cherokee. Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, an American comedian, actor, writer, producer and voice actor, will perform in his One Show Fits All World Tour comedy show. For tickets, visit Ticketmaster.com.

Saturday, March 24

NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION WORKSHOP, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Friends Meeting House, 227 Edgewood Road, Asheville. A nonviolent communication workshop, “Building Bridges Across Divides; Communication that Works,” will be led

by Roberta Wall of Steps2peace. The daylong training will focus on living and practicing nonviolent (compassionate) communication and consciousness. “Nonviolent communication is a communication of connection rather than dvision; of authenticity and honest (even scary) selfexpression, not falke pretense for the sake of the appearance of harmony,” a press release noted.

“It is about finding your own voice and hearing others’ voices. We are creating connections that value everyone’s humanity. Roberta will present and model concepts and practices, and everyone will practice, using real-life situations.” Those with or without backround in NVC are welcome to attend the event, hosted by Asheville Friends Meeting, Ethical Humanist Society of Asheville and Steps2peace. Admission cost is “whatever is right for you.” However suggested donations are $80 for EHS members, Friends and graduates of Building Bridges; and $100 for the public.

DOYLE LAWSON CONCERT, 7:30 p.m.,

that technique with modern musical elements to create a unique sound, will perform in concert.

Julio “Fluffy” Iglesias (above) will perform his comedy show at 9 p.m. March 23 in the Event Center at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino in Cherokee.

Niswonger Performing Arts Center, Greeneville, Tenn. Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver will perform.

For tickets, visit www.npacgreeneville.com, or call (423) 638-1679.

Sunday, March 25

UNCA UNIVERSITY SINGERS CONCERT, 3 p.m., lobby, Lipinsky Hall, UNC Asheville. UNCA’s University Singers, a large choir, will perform under the direction of Chuck Taft.

“MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET” SHOW, 7:30 p.m., Niswonger Performing Arts Center, Greeneville, Tenn. The show, “The Million Dollar Quartet,” will be performed. The show pay tribute to Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. For tickets, visit boxoffice@npacgreeneville. com or call (423) 638-1679.

Tuesday, March 27

UNCA KEYNOTE MUSIC LECTURE, 7 p.m., Laurel Forum, Karpen Hall, UNC Asheville.

Matthew Sakakeeny will address “Icons in Peril: Brass Bands in New Orleans.”

Wednesday, March 28

CAREER FESTIVAL, 3-6 p.m., Lenoir-Rhyne University, 36 Montford Avenue, Asheville. LR-U will host its Career Fest 2018. The event aims to bring highly qualified applicants together with companies seeking to hire the best possible talent in Western North Carolina. Attendees will be able to interact with employers from a variety of fields, network with representatives from prominent businesses,and seize the opportunity to investigate the multitude of career paths that are available. Admission is free.

Thursday, March 29

ALASH CONCERT, 7 p.m., Lipinsky Auditorium, UNC Asheville. The trio Alash, which practices the traditional Tuvan art of singing multiple pitches simultaneously and combine

LEADING LADIES FILM SERIES SCREENING, 7 p.m., Tryon Fine Arts Center, 34 Melrose Ave., Tryon. The TFAC’s “Leading Ladies” film series will feature a screening of the 1955 romantic thriller, “To Catch a Thief.” Regarding the film, the TFAC noted that “Grace Kelly met Prince Rainer in Monaco, close to the filming location, and the rest was royal history” As for the plot, gentleman winemaker John Robie (Cary Grant) served with the French Resistance and was pardoned for his crimes as a notorious cat burglar. But a recent spate of jewel heists put his freedom at risk. Into the fanciest of the resort’s hotels walks American heiress Frances Stevens (Grace Kelly), who sets her sights on the debonair former crook. Many high-energy capers ensue. While postponing their big kiss, the pair indulges in a lot of flirty double entendres that made the film censors wince. Tickets are $6.

Thursday, April 12

AUTHOR’S TALK, 7 p.m., Lipinsky Auditorium, UNC Asheville. Author Joy Harjo, a native of Oklahoma and member of the Mvskoke Nation, will speak. Harjo is the author of seven books of poetry and has won the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas. All are welcome and admission is free.

Friday, April 20

THE MIDTOWN MEN CONCERT, 7:30 p.m., Niswonger Performing Arts Center, Greeneville, Tenn. The Midtown Men all were original cast members of Broadway’s “Jersey Boys,” and the quartet has taken “the world by storm,” NPAC noted. “From the development of ‘Jersey Boys,’ through their historic three-season run on Broadway, The Midtown Men are together again, doing what they do best: ‘Sixties hits with a modern twist.’” For tickets, visit boxoffice@npacgreeneville.com or call (423) 638-1679.

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Asheville Daily Planet - March 2018 - B7

Inn on Biltmore’s Dining Room earns 4-star rating by Forbes From Staff Reports Asheville’s Dining Room at The Inn on Biltmore Estate recently was named a 4-star restaurant in the annual Star Rating list released in late February by Forbes Travel Guide.

In addition, Forbes once again ranked The Inn on Biltmore Estate as a 4-star hotel — a ranking it has held for 17 straight years.

Forbes Travel’s Guide’s annual star ratings are based on the reviews of anonymous inspectors who compare up to 900 hotels, restaurants and spas against tough industry standards.

The Inn’s Dining Room is one of three North Carolina restaurants with the 4-star designation this year — and the only one in Western North Carolina.

The Inn on Biltmore Estate is one of three North Carolina hotels to earn the 4-star rating.

Vintage Carolina Special photo courtesy of Biltmore Co.

Dale Chilhuly’s artworks will be on display in the gardens of Biltmore Estate from May 17 through Oct. 7.

Chihuly at Biltmore

Continued from Page B1 Chihuly at Biltmore’s daytime exhibit will require daytime estate admission, which includes admission to the gardens, Antler Hill Village & Winery, estate shops, restaurants, and The Biltmore Legacy “on the day of your evening visit or the day after,” Biltmore noted.

In addition, Biltmore House and its gardens will open to the public on Thursday through Sunday evenings during the exhibit period for what Biltmore termed “special viewings of Chihuly’s stunning large-scale

glass sculptures after dark.

“Chihuly Nights at Biltmore is an enchanting opportunity to witness the effects of dramatic nighttime lighting upon the luminous colors and graceful forms of these spectacular installations,” Biltmore noted.

“Sunset over the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains, live music in the gardens, and a wine bar make the evening experience all the more enticing.” Attendance will require an evening admission, which will include selfguided evening visit to first floor of Biltmore House and surrounding gardens

Continued from Page B1 She was. She was about to graduate but was having a hard time deciding which path she should take as far as specializing in one thing over another. I asked her what her gut said. If you’re intuitive, you always check your gut.

We then started talking about spells and scientific experiments I’d done on thoughtforms called tulpas, one of which I’d participated in with my team and one I’d done on my own.

I also mentioned how sometimes at night you could hear music playing all over my house. Sometimes you could hear it all night long. So, here I was in the middle of telling one of my stories when she interrupted me with a smile on her face. “Is that the music?” she asked, her eyes wide with wonder. I cocked my head and listened for a few seconds. “Why yes, it is.”

Isla was so fascinated by my house that when I asked her if she might be available in May for a conference I was going to, she

immediately said “yes.”

And then she added shyly that she was also available to stay over. I think she secretly wanted to stay in a haunted house all by herself and listen to the ghostly music all night long. And check out all my occult reference books.

In the end, I knew I wanted to give her a Halloween tarot card deck just like mine, the one she felt most drawn to... and I think I was supposed to use magick to find her a husband!

In next month’s column, you’ll read about how Patty and I hadn’t even boarded the ship before Isla started experiencing things not only in my house, but in my neighborhood! Events are still unfolding as this goes to Press. Stay tuned….

• Shelley Wright, an Asheville native, is a paranormal investigator. She owns and runs the web-based Nevermore Mystical Arts and works at Wright’s Coin Shop, both in Asheville.

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Continued from Page B1 Vintage Carolina said it will feature small-plate offerings from “some of the area’s best” — Budy Finch Catering & Revelry, Champion Hills, Chef Michael’s Catering, Food Experience, Gateaux Cakes and Pastries, Hendersonville Community Co-Op, Hendersonville Country Club, The Saluda Grade Café, and Van’s Chocolates.

Guests will pair these fine foods with tastings of wine and beer from Advintage Distributing, Empire Distributors, Freedom Beverage Co., Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Sanctuary Brewing, Southern Appalachian Brewery, and Tryon Distributing.

Space is limited and may be reserved online by visiting CFHCforever.org, or by calling the Community Foundation at 697-6224.

The cost is $125 per person, and proceeds will help to support the work of CFHC, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, public charity that, “since 1982, has been helping people

Special photo courtesy of Vintage Carolina

Having fun at a previous Vintage Carolina gala are (from left are) Shirley McGee, McCray Benson and Pat Jones.

who care make lasting contributions to causes that matter,” a press release noted.

Live music by Dan Keller and Kevin Lampson will be performed upstairs during the event — and the band Sound Extreme will provide musical entertainment downstairs at the gala.

B8 - March 2018 - Asheville Daily Planet