Have You Received Your Radon Test Results?

Did you test your home for radon? Do you have questions about the test results?

What do you know about communicable diseases? Are they all preventable?

Taxes are complicated. Do you need help? Tax Assistance begins the first week of February and will go right up to April 15th.

Just when spring seems farthest away along come the beautiful Hellebores.

Join us for a visit to a museum which has a consummate collection of over 250 rare antique American Motorcycles and Automobiles.

Do you have responsibility for a child age 0-12 years old? Let us hear from you.

Librarians are practicing animal noises and silly songs in preparation for the 22nd anniversary production of “Preschoolers We Love You!”

Acclaimed actress and Willa Cather Scholar Betty Jean Steinshouer performs “Willa Cather Speaks: The Making of My Antonia.”

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 Lara McKinney of Weaverville for her Black Bean Chili With Beef recipe!

One of the best ways to be active is to work physical activity into your daily routine. Here are some suggestions to get you started.

• Park further away from your destination. This is an easy way to build in 10-20 minutes of exercise into your day. 
• Walk to lunch. A 15 minute walk to and from a restaurant will help you meet the recommended 30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week. Only 30 minutes for lunch? Get your meal to go and eat at your desk.
• Walk to conduct errands. Think about what businesses are located downtown that you can visit to help you run your errands…post office, bank, library, drug store, book store, County and City offices. There’s a lot you can do without getting in your car.
• Walk with friends or colleagues. Join (or start) a walking group and schedule regular walks together. Try walking meetings. They can be very creative ways to get work done and no one nods off!

Let Downtown on the Move Help!

• Check out the Downtown on the Move Calendar for free classes and walking groups offered from February until April at www.healthybuncombe.org.
  

Catalog Choice is a free service that lets you decline paper catalogs you no longer wish to receive. Reduce the amount of unsolicited mail in your mailbox, while helping to preserve the environment!

Did You Know?

• Nineteen billion paper catalogs are sent through the mail each year
• Number of trees used – 53 million
• Tons of paper used – 3.6 million
• Energy used to produce this volume of paper – 38 trillion BTUs, enough to power 1.2 million homes per year
• Contribution to global warming – 5.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equal to the annual emissions of two million cars
• Waste water discharges from this volume of paper – 53 billion gallons of water, enough to fill 81,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools

Help the environment - sign up at Catalog Choice today!

• Date:  February 26, 2008
• Time:  9:00 am – 4:30 pm
• Register: by February 15
• Location:  Sponsored by NC Cooperative Extension at The North Carolina Arboretum.

Soil erosion, pesticides, fertilizers, household products and other contaminants find their way into our streams and water supplies. There are steps that home owners and landscape professionals can take to preserve and protect our mountain water resources.

Residential Homeowners:

• Maintaining a Water Wise Landscape
• Maintaining a Water Wise Home
• Raingardens
• Xeriscaping – Planning Wise Water Management 

Commercial Landscapers & Turfgrass Managers:

• Water Quality Problems
• Watersheds, River Basins & Pollution Movement
• Sources of Nutrients
• BMPs to reduce Nutrients, Sediments
• Soil Testing for Nutrient Management
• Turfgrass Management for Protecting Water Quality
  • Examples of Best Practices at the NC Arboretum
  • Mini Trade Show of Water Quality products and services

The registration fee of $30 includes materials and lunch. For registration information, contact Buncombe County Cooperative Extension: 255-5522.

Find out the answers to the following voter registration questions in the Registering to Vote Section of the website:

• Am I already registered in NC to vote?
• Who can or who needs to register to vote?
• What are the voter identification requirements?
• How do I and where can I register to vote?
• How do I change my voter registration?
• What are the deadlines to register to vote?
• When will I get my voter registration card?

For more information, call the Board of Elections at 250-4200.

Buncombe County is in the process of composing a plan for the development of walking and bicycling trails throughout the County. The County Commissioners are seeking public input on what citizens would like to see included in the plan.

Beginning February 4th, citizens may view the initial, draft trails/greenways map on the County’s website. Citizens can identify places where they would like to see trails/greenways and submit their comments to Linda Giltz at lindag@landofsky.org or by calling 251-6622.

Citizens can also view the map and provide input at an informal, drop-in meeting on

• February 7, 2008
• Drop-in between 4 and 7 p.m.
• Land-of-Sky Regional Council
• 339 New Leicester Hwy, Suite 140 (note NEW office location – Leicester Crossing Center).

The base map for this plan includes data from a regional greenways plan and pertinent data from the County’s Parks and Recreation plan and the Land Conservation Advisory Board. A workshop was held in early December, 2007 with representatives from the county and municipalities, related advisory boards and organizations involved in pedestrian and bicycle advocacy and planning. The current draft map is a result of the base map plus the input received at the workshop.

The map will be available for viewing and comment from February 4 through February 22 online and at the Land of Sky Regional Council Office. After February 22, the map will be revised and presented to County Commissioners in March. The Greenways Plan will become part of the overall Buncombe County Parks and Recreation Master Plan. The County has been updating its Parks and Recreation Master Plan for the past six months and the initial draft will be presented to the County Commissioners on February 5th.

For more information, contact Linda Giltz at lindag@landofsky.org or by calling 251-6622.