Check Out Our New Website!

buncombecounty.org is NEW. Our website has had a makeover - check it out!

Join us at Pack Library in August for another popular gardening series with NC Cooperative Extension Agent Linda Blue.

Here's some simple tips to save gas! With gas predicted to top $5 a gallon by the end of the year, we all need to memorize these.

NC elections laws allow for many opportunities to increase voter awareness and civic participation among young citizens of our state.

This Trojan horse virus is spread via an unsolicited email message that contains a link to a malicious website.

Buncombe County Election Services is holding a workshop that might be right for you.

Here are recommended garden chores for August.

Attention local artisans, crafters and vendors reserve your space at the 4th annual Scarecrow Contest & Craft Show!

Please consider giving a home to one of these wonderful pets! The shelter is okay, but I would love to have a home of my own!

Congratulations to Jeremy Woodson of Enka for his Grilled Sour Cream and Onion Burgers recipe!

Walking is the most basic form of exercise and now it's even easier to walk downtown. Healthy Buncombe's Downtown on the Move has established three walking routes in downtown Asheville. Routes are 1 and 2 miles in length. Look for the green Eat Smart Move More signs.

If you would like a copy of our Downtown on the Move map, contact Terri March @ 250-6994 or email terri.march@buncombecounty.org. For more tips on a healthier lifestyle visit healthybuncombe.org.

A public hearing on the proposed uses of operating assistance available under the Rural Operating Assistance Program (ROAP) application to be submitted by Buncombe County to the NCDOT-Public Transportation Division will be held on Tuesday, August 5, 2008, at 4:30 p.m. in Room 204 of the Buncombe County Courthouse.

This program provides state operating assistance funds for the transportation elderly and disabled citizens, general public passengers who are not human service agency clients, and for transitional employment transportation needs.

Further information, including requests for special accommodations, auxiliary aids, or materials in alternate formats or non-English languages, is available by calling Mountain Mobility at 258-8466, Ext. 318.

Super Sunday Specials

• Date:  Sundays from 1 – 2 pm
• Location:  “Super Sunday Specials” will take place at Cane Creek Pool, Erwin Community Pool, Hominy Valley Park Pool, North Buncombe Park Pool and Owen Pool.
• Cost:  All students going back to school will get in free:
  • August 10 -  Back to School Day (all students)

For more information, call Teri Gentile at 684- 5072 or email her at teri.gentile@buncombecounty.org. 

The EPA has developed tools to help individuals (and households) reduce greenhouse gas emissions and take action. Businesses and organizations interested in educating their employees and members about what they can do at home to help protect our climate can also use these tools.

Use this online calculator to obtain an estimate of your personal greenhouse gas emissions or your family’s greenhouse gas emissions. Then move on to the next section of the calculator to explore actions you and/or your family can take to lower your emissions while reducing your energy and waste disposal costs. For each action you choose to take, the calculator displays the amount of emissions you could avoid and how that amount relates to your total emissions.

Personal Emissions Calculator

Mark your calendar: The 2008 Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 12th and it should be a good show.

"The time to look is during the dark hours before dawn on Tuesday, August 12th," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center. "There should be plenty of meteors--perhaps one or two every minute."

The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the comet is far away, currently located beyond the orbit of Uranus, a trail of debris from the comet stretches all the way back to Earth. Crossing the trail in August, Earth will be pelted by specks of comet dust hitting the atmosphere at 132,000 mph. At that speed, even a flimsy speck of dust makes a vivid streak of light when it disintegrates--a meteor! Because, Swift-Tuttle's meteors streak out of the constellation Perseus, they are called "Perseids."

More information

Did you know that you can buy mulch at the Buncombe County Landfill? Effective August 18, 2008, a two cubic yard bucketful is only $10. For more information, call 250-5462.

All 211 information is now available from your cell phone.

Until now, the 2-1-1 number has only worked on landline telephones. Now anyone can get through to 2-1-1 on cell phones from any of the 6 major carriers in our state (Alltel, AT&T, Nextel/Sprint, TMobile/SunCom, US Cellular, and Verizon). During tough economic times, community needs rise, and it's important that people know where to call to find help. Now all it takes is a three digit call for people to get connected and get answers.

The 211 call will be answered by an Information and Referral Specialist who will assess the caller’s needs and refer them to the appropriate community, social, health and/or government services. The caller is provided with phone numbers, programs and services provided, location, hours of operation, and whatever other information is relevant to the caller’s inquiry. 211 will be available 24 hours a day where needed and where resources permit.

Examples of calls received by information and referral services include:

• A senior citizen wanting home care support in order to live independently.
• A homeless person seeking a shelter bed, or a place to get out of the cold and to have a hot meal.
• A family facing eviction that doesn’t know where to turn for help.
• A recent immigrant needing language and employment training.
• A young mother worried about how to properly care for her newborn child.
• A laid-off worker wanting to find out about employment insurance.
• A family searching for child care services in their community or close to work.
• A parent asking where to get food for her family.
• A concerned neighbor trying to help a friend in an abusive relationship.