Taking a break

The office of the Weaverville Tribune will close Christmas Eve and remain closed through Jan. 1. We will reopen at 9 am on Jan. 2. Thanks to everyone in North Buncombe for making this another great year and happy holidays to everyone.

If you need assistance while our office is closed, please send an e-mail to wteditor@weavervilletribune.com.

Group opposes public station's license renewal

A group of 30 WCQS-FM Asheville-area listeners, calling themselves the Ad-Hoc Committee for Responsive Public Radio, has filed a petition with the FCC to deny the public radio station's license renewal. The station's license expired on Dec. 1, but the FCC automatically extended it while they consider the petition to deny, the station's response to the petition, and the Ad-Hoc Committee's rebuttal, which was submitted by mail on Saturday (Dec. 17).

The committee faults the station for being unresponsive to, and uninterested in, the views of its listeners. The group cites the fact that the station violated the Public Broadcasting Act for 13 years by not having a community advisory board (CAB), while testifying each year that they were in compliance with all federal laws in order to receive funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Forced to re-establish a CAB four years ago, WCQS management did not ask their Community Advisory Board for its advice before making sweeping program changes this year. These included the elimination of all local and national half-hour public affairs programming, a popular gardening show and a one-hour Celtic music program.

The committee also complains that the station, until this year, had not conducted any listener surveys, and the recent survey took place only after the program changes were made. Other gripes include not broadcasting programs requested by many listeners, not responding to mail from listeners, not airing programs created by any local independent producers, and violating the station's own mission statement as presented on their own website. That statement says that part of their mission is to broadcast local talk programs.

"Rather than offer to meet with critics, the station is spending who knows how much listener-donated money hiring Washington communications attorneys to represent them," according to Fred Flaxman, the committee's coordinator. "This is further evidence of their non-responsiveness to the community they are licensed to serve," he added.

Flaxman has a public broadcasting background, having retired to Weaverville after serving as a top executive for five public broadcasting stations throughout the U.S.

"It truly pains me to be fighting with a public radio station," Flaxman said, "because I have devoted my career to public radio and television and believe very strongly in the benefit they are to society. I moved to this area six years ago and volunteered to serve on WCQS's Community Advisory Board. That's when I learned that they didn't have one -- and didn't want one. I helped them reinstitute one, but gave up when I saw that their manager wanted to control the CAB and didn't want it to be the independent advisory body it is supposed to be. I only wished to see WCQS become the excellent public radio station this great community deserves. I would have preferred to work with them toward that end rather than against them."

Access to online pdf files of the Committee's "Petition to Deny," the station's "Opposition to Petition to Deny," and the Committee's "Response to Opposition to Petition to Deny" are available on request. Contact Flaxman at fflaxman@frontier.com.

Development hums along at Villages at Crest Mountain

Construction is moving along at the Villages at Crest Mountain in Woodfin. The new residential development is next to the Crest Center on Dryman Mountain Road. 

As of December, seven full-time residents now occupy homes in The Villages at Crest Mountain with three more homes nearing completion soon. Seventeen lots have been sold. Development began in 2009.


The homes and the community tout a wide range of environmentally friendly designs such as community rainwater harvesting and south-facing lots designed to optimize solar orientation.


The Villages at Crest Mountain sits on the former campus of Ben Lippen School.

Rabid animals and what to do

A fox believed to be rabid was spotted Tuesday (Dec. 13) off Clarks Chapel Road in a residential neighborhood. Residents also reported the sighting of a rabid fox Monday (Dec. 12) off Flat Creek Church Road.

A Buncombe County Department of Health official said the best thing to do when you spot an animal thought to be rabid is to call the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office - Animal Control division. They said residents inside Weaverville town limits could call Weaverville police or N.C. Wildlife Commission but she said certain agencies respond to certain animals and circumstances, so it is best to start with the BCSO. If an animal has not attacked or been confirmed to have rabies, agencies ask for anyone that comes near the animal to simply stay away.

The department recommends the following:

Rabies is easily transmitted among wild animals and unvaccinated pets, so the public has been alerted to watch for any animal that may be behaving strangely such as acting aggressively, stumbling or foaming at the mouth.

Rabies is not unusual among wildlife; however it’s important that steps be taken to prevent exposure to the disease among humans and pets. In North Carolina rabies is most common in raccoons, skunks, and foxes, but has also been found in dogs, cats, horses, cattle, bats and other animals.
The Buncombe County Department of Health makes the following recommendations to prevent the spread of rabies:

• Vaccinate your pets regularly according to North Carolina Law.
• Keep children and pets away from wild and strange animals. Don’t try to feed, touch, or play with a wild animal.
• Don’t allow pets to run at large.
• Secure garbage in containers with tight-fitting lids, and take them out in the morning of pick up, not the night before. Coyotes and other wildlife will scavenge trash.
• Feed pets indoors or remove food when your pet is finished eating outside. Wild animals are attracted to pet food left outdoors.
• Avoid contact with bats. If you find a bat during daylight hours, it is most likely unhealthy and should not be touched.
• Keep bird-feeder areas clean, and use bird feeders that keep seed off the ground. Foxes are attracted to small animals congregating on the ground. If you frequently see foxes, remove all feeders.
• Close off crawl spaces under sheds, porches, decks and homes. Some wildlife may use these spaces to rest or to build their dens.

Rabies is a disease caused by a virus that is spread through the saliva of an infected animal. When contracted by humans, rabies is fatal unless early treatment is sought. There is no cure once symptoms develop, so immediate treatment is important to prevent the disease.

If bitten by any animal, clean the wound thoroughly (for at least 10 minutes) and then contact your doctor or Buncombe County Department of Health at 250-5109.

The fox in question was killed by an area resident. Neighbors who saw the animal said it was drooling, chattering his teeth and biting the bark off of a tree.

Update on Zaxby's in Weaverville

Zaxby's, a popular fast-food chicken eatery in the Southeast, will be opening its first Weaverville location, and fourth in Buncombe County, in early 2012, according to developers. The restaurant will be the first opening at Weaver Village, the new mixed-use development on the corner of North Main Street and Weaver Boulevard. Goodwill Industries will be opening at the village a short time later.

Final Nutcracker performance

Students at North Buncombe Elementary School, which has been annually putting on "The Nutcracker" play each Christmas, will be giving the final performance of the season at 7 pm tonight at NBES.

Mars Hill College graduation info

Mars Hill College will confer bachelor’s degrees on an expected seventy-five students during December graduation ceremonies at 5 pm on Dec. 16 in Moore Auditorium. 

Student speakers for the graduation will be: Christopher Philip “Kit” Powell, a music performance major from Antigo, Wisc.; Tenise Shavon Smith, a special education major in the adult studies program from Marion; and Luis Ramon Cruz, a physical education major from Anaheim Hills, Calif.

The invocation will be given by Britney Lynn Acosta, a math major from Glenville.

Volunteer opportunity

A volunteer opportunity from the American Cancer Society 

During this season of kindness and giving, have you resolved to do more to help others? How about helping a person or caregiver in coping with a cancer diagnosis? The American Cancer Society is looking for volunteers to work with patients. Some programs require special skills (licensed cosmetologist or aesthetician) or specific experiences (surviving cancer), but we currently seek help with these two programs and all you need is a caring heart. 

            Road to Recovery volunteers provide transportation for cancer patients to treatment. We’re seeking to increase our team of volunteer drivers. This is a very rewarding way of helping another person along the healing journey. Volunteers must be available weekdays and willing to drive patients in their own vehicle.

            Resource Center volunteers assist patients, caregivers, or others find answers to their questions about cancer diagnosis, treatment, and community resources. Volunteers must be available for a weekday shift at the SECU Mission Hospital Cancer Center. 

            For more information on finding fulfillment through volunteering, please call the American Cancer Society at 828-254-6931 or 1-800-227-2345.

Swim match tonight

North Buncombe's swim teams are off to a good start this season. The boys' finished second in the first match of the season and dominated A.C. Reynolds by a score of 97-36 in the teams' tilt Nov. 29. The girls' team won the first match of the season but narrowly lost to Reynolds 90-78. The BlackHawks are hosting Erwin, T.C. Roberson and Tuscola beginning at 7:55 pm tonight at Mars Hill College.

Giving campaign ends Thursday

The Weaverville Police Department's "Cops for Kids" annual Christmas giving campaign ends Dec. 8. Collections are still be taken at the station located on South Main Street in Weaverville. For more information, call 645-5700.