Congratulations to North Buncombe High School English teacher Deborah Aldridge, who was recently appointed to the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching Board of Trustees by Governor Perdue. Release from the NCCAT website:

Governor Appoints New NCCAT Trustees

Governor Beverly Perdue has appointed Deborah Aldridge of Old Fort, Gregory West of Fayetteville, and Jackie Wooten of Bethel to the Board of Trustees of the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT).

Aldridge, an English teacher at North Buncombe High School in Weaverville, will represent Region 8. She is also an NCCAT alumna. “As a teacher I have been invigorated by attending professional development programs at NCCAT,” Aldridge said. “As a trustee, I hope to encourage NCCAT as it continues its work of re-energizing the deserving and dedicated teachers of North Carolina.”

Retired from Pitt County Schools after more than 40 years in the classroom and an NCCAT alumna as well, Wooten represents Region 1. “I am thrilled to be working to ensure that the unparalleled professional development opportunities provided by NCCAT are there for all North Carolina teachers,” said Wooten of her appointment.

Filling the unexpired term of Gene McLaurin for Region 4, West is chief of staff of H&H Homes in Fayetteville. He is also past chair of the Cumberland County Board of Education and continues to serve the board at large. “NCCAT is one of our greatest educational assets,” West said. “We need to continue to elevate the profession of teaching and keep great teachers in the classroom, directly impacting our students. I look forward to helping NCCAT build and sustain great teaching throughout North Carolina.”

In addition to these appointments, Guy Smith of Lexington was reappointed to the NCCAT board to represent Region 5. A representative from Region 6 has yet to be selected.

“Each of these individuals brings to our board a proven record of dedication to quality public education in North Carolina,” said Dr. Mary McDuffie, executive director of NCCAT. “We welcome them and look forward to benefiting from their knowledge, skills and experience as we move NCCAT forward in providing professional development opportunities that result in a corps of strong teachers and successful students across our state.”

With campuses in Cullowhee and Ocracoke, NCCAT positively impacts public education by providing extraordinary professional development for North Carolina teachers throughout their careers. NCCAT’s instructional programming is designed to give both beginning and experienced teachers the support and resources they need to be highly effective and enhance student achievement. NCCAT conducts interdisciplinary, content-specific, residential seminars for pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers in the environmental and biological sciences, arts, humanities, mathematics, leadership and technology.

Hat tip: Mountain Xpress Blogwire

Kudos to North Buncombe Elementary School principal Andy Peoples:

Dr. Andrew Peoples, principal at North Buncombe Elementary School, has been selected as a participant in the Distinguished Leadership in Practice (DLP), a leadership development program for practicing school leaders.

Peoples is one of only forty principals that has been selected to be trained as a potential DLP facilitator in North Carolina. Principals were chosen based on a variety of criteria including the ability and desire to lead and coach peers, a strong commitment towards being a team player in the professional learning community, and willingness to work in an e-learning environment.

“Dr. Peoples is highly respected by his peers,” says Dr. Tony Baldwin. “This selection reflects both his ability to create a successful professional learning community as well as a collaborative leadership style.”

As a DLP participant, Peoples will examine the meaning of “Distinguished” school leadership through a problem-based, real-world approach. The program will include face-to-face meetings, on-line coursework, and small-group sharing sessions. Principals in DLP will tackle the challenges currently facing their schools. By working in face-to-face and virtual environments, Peoples will have the opportunity to share and expand his leadership skills and will have opportunities to use 21st century tools and methods in practical ways.

For his 18th birthday, North Buncombe High School Senior Cody Geyer gave himself a pretty nice gift – the North Carolina home run record in baseball.  Geyer hit his 45th home run last Tuesday for the record, previously set by East Rutherford’s Chad Flack in 2004. Congrats to Cody!

Congrats to North Buncombe High School students Jacob Moore and Jessa Vogel, who took first and third place, respectively, in the teen category of Grove Park Inn’s Birdhouse Competition.  The houses will be on display at Grove Park through May 10, 2010. Moore, a junior at NBHS, won $250 for his efforts, and Vogel, also a Junior, won $150.

• Moore’s winning birdhouse
• Vogel’s winning birdhouse

Here’s a fun story about Weaverville resident Wallace Shealy, who was recently declared the 2010 Bold-Faced Liar Champion at the Third Annual Southeast Liars’ Competition, held January 23 in Laurinburg, NC.  If you want to hear his tale, Shealy will be telling it on Friday, February 5, 2010 as part of the Reuter Center’s Fab Friday program.  The program begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Center, located on the University of North Carolina-Asheville campus (#16 on this Campus Map).

On January 23, 2010, the Storytelling Arts Center of the Southeast declared Western North Carolina resident, Wallace Shealy, the 2010 Bold-Faced Liar Champion. Shealy said, while accepting the award, “I am not sure if this makes me the biggest liar in the southeast or simply that I told the most original tall tale today.”

Shealy, who coaches other pastors on church planting, told a story based on the biblical account from the fifth chapter of Mark about Jesus casting out a legion of demons. With a twinkle in his eye he said, “of course I embellished the story slightly.” Maybe more than slightly, when the text says that Jesus sent a legion of demons into a herd of 2000 pigs that fly off a cliff, Shealy quipped, “that of course this is the first recorded case of Swine Flu.” He also suggests that this text might explain legionnaire’s disease. And as the pigs crash on to the rocky waters below, in the name of full disclosure, mentions that he heard the Underwood family got the hazardous waste clean-up contract resulting in the origins of deviled ham. Shealy told me, “it is all in good fun” but, I bet no one who heard him ever forgets that Bible story.

“I am not sure how I am going to explain to the church, public, or my real estate clients that I am now officially the Boldest Liar in the Southeast, “said Shealy. I bet he could put quite the spin on the beauty of those harvest gold counter-tops from the eighties and you certainly want him in your corner to negotiate your next home deal, even if at that point he is ethically bound to tell the truth.

Wallace has been involved with the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee for many years. He is also a member of the Asheville Storytelling Circle, whose membership includes a number of prominent regional and national tellers including Michael Reno Harrell, a judge and featured teller at the liar’s contest.

The 2010 Bold-Faced Liar Champion is already booked to tell his tale at the Reuter Center at The University of North Carolina-Asheville on Friday, February 5, 2010 and has been invited to be a master of ceremonies at The Storytelling Festival of Carolina. Beyond that I am sure we have not heard the last of Wallace Shealy’s tales.

I went to see James Cameron’s new film “Avatar” yesterday, and yes, the special effects are every bit as amazing as they claim. Even cooler was learning they’re the work of North Buncombe High School graduate Rob Powers.  There are articles about him in this week’s Weaverville Tribune and today’s Citizen-Times. The bio on Power’s own website says this about the project.

In June 2005, Robert was asked by James Cameron to be the first 3D artist hired for the “Avatar” feature film project. Working closely with James Cameron and the core design team Robert provided 3D concept and motion studies of key character, creature, and environmental assets for the film. Later Robert’s role evolved and he created and supervised the first ever “Virtual Art Department” for the film.

As Supervisor of the Avatar Virtual Art Department he and his team developed all real-time environmental assets for the production, and developed numerous innovative “Virtual” workflow techniques and tools that defined the process. Robert continued his efforts as Virtual Art Department Supervisor on the Peter Jackson / Steven Spielberg animated feature film “TinTin” where he organized and built a team in Los Angeles and worked in New Zealand with the Weta Digital Team.

Cool stuff.  Good job, Rob.

Congrats to outgoing Weaverville Mayor Bett Stroud (the “Tree Lady”), who was the WLOS Person of the Week last week. I can’t embed the video directly here, but you can watch it online at the WLOS website at www.wlos.com/newsroom/potw/videos/vid_25.shtml.

Congrats to these teen division winners in last month’s Weekend in Weaverville Photography Contest. You can view the winning photographs here, or you can see all the entries on display at contest sponsor Art Accents (1 South Main Street).  There’s some really great shots there, so stop by and check it out if you can. It also sounds like they’re going to make this a yearly event, so keep your cameras ready for next year.

Teen winners:

• Human Interest Category: Sullivan Brady
• Architecture/Structure Category: Sullivan Brady
• Nature/Animal Category: Lauren Eddins
• All In A Days Work Category: Kayleigh Evans

On Saturday, November 7, 2009, Weaverville will officially be designated a Community Wildlife Habitat. A certificate will be presented to Mayor Bett Stroud by Roxanne Paul of the National Wildlife Federation in a ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. at the Weaverville Town Hall Community Room (30 South Main Street). Weaverville is the thirty-third community in the country and the second in North Carolina to receive this designation. The event is open to all. Refreshments will be provided by the Weaverville Garden Club.

A reception to honor outgoing Mayor Bett Stroud will be held Sunday:

The Weaverville Town Council would like to invite you to attend a reception honoring Mayor Mary “Bett” Stroud for her years of service to the Town of Weaverville. It will be held Sunday, October 18, 2009, 2-4 p.m. at Weaverville Town Hall (30 South Main Street).

It’s official. In September Weaverville became the 33rd community in the country and only the second in North Carolina (the first is Montreat) to become a Certified Community Wildlife Habitat.  To be awarded the community certification, the Weaverville Wildlife Habitat team worked with 65 homes, 10 businesses/common areas, and 1 school to have each certified as wildlife habitats.  Each certification garnerned points for Weaverville as a community, and in the end the town earned 422 points towards certification, exceeding the necessary requirements by172 points.

The following letter was sent to the Habitat Team from Roxanne Nersesian Paul, Senior Coordinator of the National Wildlife Federation Habitat Programs, who gave me permission to publish it. Sounds like we made quite an impression.  Congratulations to the team members and community members who worked to help Weaverville achieve this.

I am please to announce that Weaverville, North Carolina has just become the nation’s 33rd certified Community Wildlife Habitat.

Weaverville is a town of about 2850 people located 10 miles north of Asheville and 2300 feet above sea level in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Their team of volunteers was an extremely strong one, with two leaders both having their PhD’s and one of them a Habitat Steward as well.  Weaverville also received support from their local chapter of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, one of our affiliates most actively engaged in education.

Having gone through their project notebook, I wish I could convey to you what an extraordinary project this was for such a small town.  In addition to getting their local elementary school certified, they certified 9 other community sites, including the Fire Station, a local funeral home (!), 3 inns, and a demonstration garden called Main Street Nature Park.  Sixty-five individual homes were also certified.

The team worked with the town government to modify the local weed ordinance to allow only native plants and well-behaved exotics.  The weed ordinance also prohibits the planting of invasives from the North Carolina noxious weed list.  A CVS will soon be opening in town and the team made specific recommendations about native plantings to replace the existing vegetation and the CVS management agreed!

In addition, one of the team leaders created a CD with a 161 page pdf with photos and descriptions of specific plants native to western North Carolina.  The CD was made available to town residents for a nominal fee, which helped support the project’s efforts.

Please join me in congratulating the Weaverville Community Wildlife Habitat team and the North Carolina Wildlife Federation.

Congratulations to English teacher Jenny Wood, North Buncombe High School Teacher of the Year for 2009-2010 and North Buncombe district finalist for Buncombe County Schools Teacher of the Year.  The Buncombe County Teacher of the Year will be announced September 21. More information and other district finalists from Buncombe County Schools:

BCS 2009-2010 Teacher of the Year Finalists
Buncombe County Schools is proud to announce that finalists have been chosen for the 2009-2010 Teacher of the Year Award.  Teachers were selected representing each of the county’s six school districts:

• REYNOLDS: Meredith Stanley, Haw Creek Elementary
• OWEN: Amanda Venturella, Owen Middle
• ERWIN: Lorraine Orenchuk, BC Early College
• ENKA: Erica Battle, Enka Middle
• NORTH BUNCOMBE: Jenny Wood, North Buncombe High
• TC ROBERSON: Christopher Semper, TC Roberson High

“First to be chosen by peers as their school’s best is quite an honor – to represent their district is even more exceptional! As superintendent I am not only proud of these six recognized professionals but all of the dedicated classroom teachers within our system,” says Dr. Tony Baldwin, Superintendent.

Candidates were selected by reviewing their submitted portfolios and by a committee interview process.  In the last phase of the selection process, finalists will be visited in their classrooms and also be asked to present speeches.

The BCS 2009-2010 Teacher of the Year will be announced at the annual banquet on Monday, September 21 at the Renaissance Asheville Hotel.

Last week the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources announced the winners of its 2009 North Carolina Urban Forestry Awards program. Among the winners – Weaverville was named Tree City of the Year and Mayor Bett Stroud was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award. Here’s the official release:

The N.C. Division of Forest Resources is proud to announce the winners of the 2009 North Carolina Urban Forestry Awards program.

The annual program rewards cities, towns, organizations, businesses and individuals for outstanding work to protect and enhance community forests and raise awareness about the importance of urban forestry projects.

The N.C. Division of Forest Resources announces the winners for the following award categories:

• Outstanding Project Grand Award: City of Gastonia Evergreen Tree Project
• Outstanding Project Merit Award: City of Raleigh Neighbor Woods Program
• Outstanding Individual Grand Award: Mary Silliman of Apex
• Outstanding Individual Merit Award: Mariana Qubein of High Point
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Mary “Bett” Stroud of Weaverville
• Tree City of the Year: Town of Weaverville

Winners were selected by a panel that included N.C. Division of Forest Resources’ urban forestry staff and members of the North Carolina Urban Forest Council. Entries were judged for impact, quality, innovation and the degree to which the work serves as a worthy example for others to follow. The winners may also be nominated for the National Arbor Day Awards program.

Award recipients will be recognized at the N.C. Urban Forest Council’s 2009 Annual Conference Awards Banquet on Sept. 15 at the Marriott Hotel in Winston-Salem.

About the Lifetime Achievement winner:
Mary “Bett” Stroud was instrumental in establishing an urban forestry program in the Town of Weaverville. It was under her leadership that Weaverville earned its designation as a Tree City USA community. Since becoming mayor of Weaverville in 1993, Mayor Stroud has continued to serve as a member of the Weaverville Tree Board, has helped coordinate tree care workshops, garden tours, tree planting events and created the Main Street Nature Park, which has recently been recognized as a “Wildlife Habitat Area” by the National Wildlife Foundation.

About Tree City USA of the Year:
The Town of Weaverville has been a Tree City USA community for the past 18 years and has received 15 Tree City USA Growth Awards during that same time. Weaverville, population 20,702, is located in Buncombe County, just north of Asheville. Weaverville is being recognized because of its extraordinary achievements of its tree board, lead by Mayor Mary “Bett” Stroud, who is being honored with a lifetime achievement award. Over the past 18 years, Weaverville has developed the Main Street Nature Park, conducted numerous tree care workshops for residents, hosted volunteer work days to maintain the nature park, planted over 1,067 trees and publicized the efforts of the tree board in the local newsletter, “Focus on Weaverville”.

While searching online for more information about the awards, I found a short piece about Mayor Stroud winning the National Arbor Day Foundation’s Lawrence Enersen Award in 2004 (it’s the third story from the top). In it, Stroud says over 619 trees have been planted in Weaverville since it was first designated a Tree City.

More news and notes from out on the web.If you find other stories out there that I haven’t mentioned (save for arrest reports and car crashes, which I’m not in the habit of publishing), please let me know about them.

North Buncombe High School’s Deandra Bodenhorst and Audrey Hartye were selected to the Mountain Athletic Conference All-Conference Soccer team.

North Buncombe High School’s Cody Geyer was named the Mountain Athletic Conference Baseball Player of the Year for 2009. Geyer also won the Asheville Tourists’ Home Run Derby and will represent the Tourists in a league-wide South Atlantic League contest June 23.

North Buncombe High Schools’s Sydney Revis was second in Shot Put on the Final WNC Track Honor Roll.

Citizen-Times photographer Steven Dixon was taking pictures at last week’s Weaverville Tailgate Market.

North Buncombe High School’s Luke Brown was one of four WNC players selected to play in the East-West all star baseball series later this month. Brown has also committed to play college baseball for Methodist.

Last week’s HonorAir trip, which included 9 local WWII veterans sponsored by the Weaverville Rotary Club, was featured on NBC Nightly News last night.  Included in the segment, Weaverville’s Julian Palien.  (If you have trouble viewing the video below, it’s also available at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/30904236#30904236)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Some of the recent North Buncombe and Weaverville school news and notes I’ve found out on the web:

North Buncombe High School students Emma Johnson and James MacDonald received Good Citizenship Awards from the Asheville Civitan Club this week.

North Buncombe High School’s Justin Min made it to the quarterfinals of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) 3-A Tennis Championships. (The North Buncombe men’s tennis team also just finished their season with a 15-1 record, their lone loss against 2008 State Champion Charlotte Catholic.)

North Buncombe’s Sydney Revis had the best showing at the 2009 NCHSAA 3-A Track & Field Meet, taking third place in the Girl’s Shot Put. Other North Buncombe finishes:

• Sage Profit finished 8th in the Girl’s Pole Vault.
• The 4×800 Meter Girl’s Relay Team finished 7th. Team members were Justine Stocks, Jessa Vogel, Audrey Garrett, and Allison Fox.
• The 4×400 Meter Girl’s Relay Team finished 4th. Team members were Justine Stocks, Jennifer Roberts, Allison Fox, and Madison Emery.
• Alan Youngberg finished 5th in the Boy’s Discus Throw

North Buncombe Middle School student teams Kayla Metcalf & Robert Brailer, Lindsey King & Danielle Taylor, and Alex Destino & Travis Broadhurst took first, second, and third place respectively in the Spring 2009 Stock Market Game sponsored by the North Carolina Council on Economic Education (NCCEE).

Weaverville Primary first grader Francisco Diaz-Rodriguez was selected as the Shoney’s and Star 104.3 Star Kid of the Week.

The rain location for today’s Arbor Day ceremony, originally planned for Lake Louise, is the Weaverville Fire Department (3 Monticello Road ). Here’s what you’ll find happening there starting at 3 p.m.:

• Weaverville will receive its 19th Tree City USA Award and a special Tree City USA Growth Award
• Several people will be recognized with the Mayor’s Community Service Award
• Beautification awards will be presented
• Tree Board poster and poetry contest winners will be recognized
  • Poster Contest First Place: Bryson Oliver
  • Poster Contest Second Place: Emerson Rohl
  • Poster Contest Third Place: Brandi Berninger
  • Poster Contest Honorable Mentions: Grace Rossell, Freddy Alexis Perez, Jeshua Potts, Brigid Hudson
  • Poetry Contest First Place: Lilah Rossell
  • Poetry Contest Second Place: Polly Metcalf
  • Poetry Contest Third Place: Megan Threadway
  • Poetry Contest Honorable Mentions: Dylan Wofford, Justin Crane, Moriah Buttman
• Music will be provided by Jane and Jim McCoy and the North Buncombe Middle School Jazz Band.
• The Weaverville Wildlife Habitat Team will be giving away free native butterfly plants (one per family as supply lasts)
• A white oak tree will be also be planted in memory of Clark Pennell, educator and principal in the area for 35 years. Mr. Pennell passed away late last year.

Several area World War II veterans left this morning for Washington, DC on a chartered jet to tour various sites, including their memorial (pictured above) and Arlington National Cemetery, as part of the HonorAir program. The Weaverville Rotary Club, along with other area Rotary clubs, is providing this opportunity, at no charge to the veterans, to honor these individuals for their service. Funds for the 9 WWII veterans and 3 guardians sponsored by Weaverville came from the Rotary Club’s flag program.  The Asheville Regional Airport (708 Airport Road, Fletcher ) has invited everyone to meet these Veterans at the airport to welcome them back home. Visitors may park in Short-Term parking (the first 20 minutes are free) and greet the Veterans in the main airport terminal. Estimated arrival time is 7-7:15 p.m.

Weaverville news and notes found around the web this week.  Find something I’ve missed? Leave a comment or send me an email to let me know about it.

Weaverville resident and 2008 Ms. Wheelchair of North Carolina Brandee Ponder passed the crown to 2009 winner Erika Bogan earlier this month.

Wendy Logan of North Windy Ridge has been selected as one of the 2008-09 Counselors of the Year by Buncombe County Schools

11-year-old Kaitlin Jencks, of Weaverville, could attend the world-famous Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan for six weeks this summer on a scholarship if her parents can come up with the rest of the tuition and expenses by the end of April.  If you’d like to help visit www.kaitlinjencks.com.

Photo Gallery from last week’s North Buncombe-Roberson baseball game.  A controversial call allowed Roberson a 4-3 win.

North Buncombe High School’s Cody Cheek has been selected to play for the West team in the 2009 NC Coaches Association East-West All-Star Football Game, to be played July 22 at Grimsley High in Greensboro.

Weaverville news and notes found around the web the last few weeks.  Find something I’ve missed? Leave a comment or send me an email to let me know about it.

Several North Buncombe High School basketball players were among the Final WNC Girls and Final WNC Boys Basketball leaders.  Of note, North Buncombe athletes took the top spot in Rebounding for boys (Randy Pressley) and girls (Sydney Revis).

North Buncombe sophomore Dallas Rice (171) placed ninth in his weight class at the High School Junior Nationals wrestling tournament, held in Virginia Beach earlier this month.

North Buncombe High School senior Hillary Stowe received a National Gold Art Award for her painting, “Vulture”, at the 85th National Scholastic Art Awards in New York City.

The Weaverville Wildlife Habitat Group has certified 51 homes in Weaverville. They need 63 homes, along with 9 businesses/community properties and 2 schools, in order to have Weaverville certified as a Community Wildlife Habitat.  Montreat is the only other community in North Carolina with that designation.

Weaverville news and notes found around the web this week.  Find something I’ve missed? Leave a comment or send me an email to let me know about it.

Citizen-Times photographer Steve Dixon was wandering around town Tuesday.  Check out his pics online in the “Weaverville Walkabout” Photo Gallery.

UNC-Asheville unveiled the Tile Mural Project, mounted in the lobby of the university’s Education Department.  The project features hand-painted ceramic tiles, made by 116 kindergarten and fourth-grade students at North Buncombe Elementary School working with 7 art education students from UNCA.  The Zageir Hall lobby is open to the public 8 a.m.-6 p.m. if you’d like to stop by and take a look, or check out it in the Citizen-Times Photo Gallery.

North Buncombe High School’s Amanda English was one of seven local high-school students who won Asheville Civitan Club $3000 scholarships.  English plans to attend N.C. State.