Do You Recycle?

Good recycling involves capturing all the recyclables you can, preparing them properly, and placing them into the correct containers. Follow our advice and be a great recycler!

Foodborne illnesses are caused by consuming contaminated foods or beverages. More than 250 different foodborne diseases have been identified.

NCDOT will hold a public hearing to hear from citizens regarding the Liberty Road project.

Keep your garden beautiful! Remember these garden chores for July.

Adult books will be BOGO – buy one, get one - and children’s books will be five for one dollar.

Buncombe County Parks & Recreation Services is offering another session of swim lessons this summer starting July 20.

Summer is upon us and flower beds and boxes are brimming with beautiful plants.

July 31 is the last day to sign up for Adult League Kickball.

With the end of the school year, many families are trying to decide what to do with their children this summer. Many parents may be trying to decide if their children are old enough to stay at home alone.

To ensure that you have a safe product, you need to use researched, tested recipes.

Can you give a dog a home? Maybe a cat? How about a kitten? These animals need your help.

Congratulations to Regina Crawford for her Fruit Rice Cakes recipe!

For any die hard grill-master, their motto is likely - if you can eat it, you can grill it. In many cases this is true.

Grilling is a great way to cook up healthy, quick summer fare. Grilled foods are healthier options because you use less fat and oil when preparing them. And as an added bonus cooking on the grill keeps your house cooler in the summer because you're taking the heat outside.

Here are some foods that cook up well when grilled - including some that may even surprise you.

• Bread - Set your grill to medium and lightly brush thickly sliced bread with olive oil. Set bread on grill but be sure to keep an eye on it - it cooks up quickly in 1-2 minutes.
• Fruit - Heat from the grill will caramelize sugars in the fruit to make a sweet treat. Think pineapple, pears, peaches, mango and melon. Spray the fruit with non-stick cooking spray and grill 2-4 minutes per side.
• Pizza - Enjoy a crispy, thin crust, grilled pizza. Top a pre-made pizza shell and grill until the cheese melts and toppings are heated through, about 2-10 minutes.
• Seafood - try shrimp, tuna, salmon and more. Grill for eight minutes per inch of thickness and temperature reaches 145°F.
• Vegetables -Think bell peppers, corn on the cob and even sweet potato fries. Grill turning often 2-10 minutes per side.
• Meats and poultry - For tasty chicken, pork chops, and steaks, cook until done or temperature reaches 165°F.

For more grilling ideas or to learn more about safe grilling at home, call Cooperative Extension at (828) 255-5522 or email cathy_hohenstein@ncsu.edu.

Learn about backyard composting from Extension Master Gardeners at the WNC Farmers’ Market, beside Israel's’ Garden Center, on July 11 and 25 from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

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

Add surfers to the list of sports enthusiasts who are recycling. ReSurf Recycling, founded by Joey Santley and Steve Cox, is taking old and broken surfboards. Most of the boards are pulverized and used as filler material in asphalt and concrete mixes and other products such as fireproof roofing tiles. However, some of the boards are now used to create new polyurethane “blanks,” the foam that is shaped to create a new surfboard.

Recently, they also began recycling neoprene wetsuit production scraps, turning them into yoga mats. ReSurf joins other sports equipment makers in recycling: Necky, which makes recycled kayaks; Wilson, which produces the Rebound basketball from recycled rubber; Nike, which turns worn-out athletic shoes into Nike Grind track and playground surfaces; and Fair Trade Sports, which makes recycled footballs, basketballs, soccer and rugby balls and more.

To learn more about surfboard recycling, visit www.resurf.org.

Tuesday, July 14 -- 6 p.m.
Swannanoa Library
101 West Charleston Street
250-6486

The Friends of the Swannanoa Library present the seventh annual Groovin' on Grovemont summer concert series in Grovemont Square adjacent to the Swannanoa Library. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and come enjoy these family-friendly evenings of great music!

The concert series is free, but pizza and baked goods will be available for sale with all proceeds going to the Friends of the Swannanoa Library and the Swannanoa Emergency Assistance Program. The library will also be hosting a half-price booksale every performance evening.

July 14 performance:

Tuesday, July 14 at 6 p.m. – The Barrel House Mamas

Hominy Valley Pool is now open for the summer season. 

For more information, see the "pools" section of the website or call the pool at 667-9937.

Candidate filing for Buncombe County Municipal seats opened at 8:00 a.m. on July 6, 2009 and ends on July 17 at noon.

The attachment below shows a listing of candidates who have filed and the status of their filing process. This roster will be updated daily.

Current Candidate Listing