Email Attacks Are Circulating

Watch out for emails relating to the U.S. presidential election or the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

The County Fire Marshall has issued a ban on all open burning in Buncombe County.

Please take a few minutes to complete this Viewer Satisfaction Survey for Buncombe County Government Television.

Don't miss out on our hardwood and pine seedling sale!

Carol Pimentel, local counselor, organizing consultant, & community advocate, will lead you through a journey to rediscover the difference between money & true fulfillment.

Do you get “stuck” on certain de-cluttering projects at home? Raye Rufty, owner of "At Your Services" will show you ways to de-clutter.

Make sure your pet is up to date on its shots! Don't miss out on these low-cost shot clinics! Rabies is just $6!

Celebrate African-American History Month - view an exhibit of photographs from the Andrea Clark Photography Collection at Pack Library or online.

Want to learn how to do some basic repairs around the house? This course is for you!

Attend the Spring Garden School and get ready for your spring plantings!

This week we are featuring some animals available for adoption from FurEver Friends. Please consider making one of these animals your "FurEver" friend by giving it a loving home.

Congratulations to Randy Banks of Asheville for his Strawberry Pudding recipe!

In February, we often think about our hearts and ways to prevent heart disease, as well as who will receive our valentines. Lately there has been a focus on low-grade, chronic inflammation and heart disease. It is still not known whether the connection between inflammation and heart disease is a causal relationship or just that the inflammation goes along with heart disease. With heart disease the blood vessels can have damage and to heal this damage the body may have inflammatory cells come into the vessel wall. Many of the known risk factors for heart disease can also cause an inflammatory response such as obesity, high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol levels, and smoking.

Though low doses of Aspirin, 81 mg daily, have been shown to reduce the risk for heart disease, no other anti-inflammatory medicine has been shown to do this. But some of the same steps that help prevent cardiovascular disease also may reduce low-grade chronic inflammation. These are:

• eat a moderate amount of fish to receive omega-3 fats in your diet
• don’t smoke
• talk to your doctor about taking a low-dose aspirin
• taking your statin medication if it is prescribed for you
• controlling your blood pressure
• keeping your weight within normal limits
• possibly getting regular aerobic exercise

Even though we don’t know if or what the link may be between inflammation and heart disease, it seems that following behaviors that reduce your risk for both can lead to a healthy life.

Source: University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter January 2008

Have you ever been getting something out of the freezer and found something else that you put away but just never got out and used? You may wonder if it is still safe to eat or has it become your child’s science project?

The answer is as long as it has stayed frozen, it is safe to eat. It just loses some of its quality. If your food does get freezer burn, you can still safely eat it, but the quality will deplete. To prevent freezer burn keep your freezer at 0°F or lower, wrap or store in airtight freezer wraps or containers, and make sure your freezer has a tight seal.

The foods in your refrigerator are different. They can actually begin to go bad and the storage time for foods will vary depending on the type of food.

For a complete list of storage recommendations for foods, contact Buncombe County Cooperative Extension at 255-5522 or visit the Refrigerated, Frozen, and Cupboard Storage Charts website.

Each year the All-American Selections committee tests many new varieties of flowers and vegetables in trial gardens all over the US and Canada. Winners are selected based on unique or improved qualities and their performance across the many locations. Here are the 2008 introductions:

• Osteospermum ‘Asti White’ produces pure white daisy flowers, 2 to 2½ inches across, with blue centers. The uniform plants thrive in a sunny garden, reaching about 17 to 20 inches tall and wide.
• Viola ‘Skippy XL Plum-Gold’ produces large numbers of small, 1.5 inch, flowers of plum with sunny gold faces. The petite plants growing 6 to 8 inches tall and wide are highly recommended
  for combination planters.
• Eggplant ‘Hansel’ is a miniature eggplant, producing finger-sized clusters of fruit. The strong plant, reaching less than three feet, produces clusters of three to six fruit.

For more information, call Buncombe County Cooperative Extension at 255-5522.

If you forgot to make it a New Year’s Resolution, it isn’t too late to have your well tested by either a public or private laboratory. We recommend that you test it once a year and the beginning of the year is as good a time as any. Yearly testing is necessary because groundwater travels and may pick up pollutants elsewhere. Even if you are doing everything to prevent your well from being contaminated, it may become polluted from other people’s activities.

Although it would be expensive and difficult to test your water for every possible pollutant, some basic tests should be conducted. You should test for bacteria and nitrates since both can cause health problems. If your water has high bacteria or nitrate levels, talk to a county environmental health specialist - there may be problems with the location or construction of the well.

For more information, see "What's in YOUR Water?," call Buncombe County Cooperative Extension at 255-5522 or Buncombe County Environmental Health at 250-6900.