If you’re out and about tomorrow (Saturday, August 14, 2010) and looking for something to do, here’s a few Weaverville events to check out/help with:

Yard Sale
Saturday, August 14, 2010, 8 a.m.-Noon
Located at 11 Salem Acres located in downtown Weaverville (Church Street to Highland Avenue to Salem Road to Salem Acres).  Items for sale include household items, books, cassette tapes, movies, video games, airsoft guns, scooter, sewing machine, bicycle, microwave/range hood combo, jewelry, clothes, and more.

North Buncombe High School Stadium Clean-Up Day
Saturday, August 14, 2010, 8 a.m.
Please stop by the stadium at North Buncombe High School (890 Clark’s Chapel Road) for a little while and help us get ready for our fall season. Bring a weed eater if you have one. We will also be cleaning the guest side concession stand.

Main Street Nature Park Work Session
Saturday, August 14, 2010, 9:30 a.m.
The Friends of the Main Street Nature Park invite all Weaverville area nature lovers to join us for a work session at the park beginning at 9:30 a.m.  Volunteers will meet at the nature park sign in the east end of the parking lot.

Back to School Clinic
Saturday, August 14, 2010, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
A free back-to-school clinic will be held at Christ United Methodist Church (81 Garrison Branch Road).  Free school supplies and gently used clothes will be available.  Free haircuts will be given nearby at Outer Beauty Salon (76 Garrison Branch Road).

2nd Saturday at Vance Birthplace
Saturday, August 14, 2010, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Authentic North Carolina arts and history are featured at the 2nd Saturdays programs, and visitors from far and wide enjoy paintings, photography, woodworking and other crafts at these two historic sites. It’s an opportunity to buy great holiday gifts and also support local crafters too.  At Vance Birthplace (911 Reems Creek Road) starting at 10 am, the Ashgrove Garland Dancers and the Asheville Morris Men will be performing and teaching English folk dances.  In addition to the dancers, Primrose, a traditional music group will be performing different styles of folk music from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Blood drive today (Tuesday, July 6, 2010) for the Asheville-Mountain Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. Details:

Red Cross Blood Drive
Weaverville United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall (90 North Main Street)
Noon-4:30 p.m.
To be a donor, you must be 16 years old with parental consent or older.  You must weigh at least 110 pounds, be in general good health and must not have donated blood in the past 8 weeks.

I received this note from Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project about a need for volunteers for this year’s Family Farm Tour.  37 farms and gardens will be participating, including Blue Ridge Bison in Weaverville.  They told me they cannot guarantee it, but they will try their best to place volunteers at their first farm choice.

Family Farm Tour Needs Volunteers

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) is currently seeking volunteers for the Family Farm Tour, June 26-27, 2010.  37 farms and gardens throughout Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, Transylvania, and Yancey County will open their doors to the public, allowing people to see firsthand where their food is grown.  To learn more about the Family Farm Tour, go to www.familyfarmtour.org.

Volunteers are crucial to the success of the Family Farm Tour.  They direct traffic, register visitors, and sell buttons (admission passes) so that the farmers can focus on leading tours and explaining their farm to visitors. In exchange for volunteering one day, volunteers receive a free button (admission pass for a carload of people) to take part in the tour the other day.

If you would like to volunteer, please email volunteer@asapconnections.org with which county and date you would like to volunteer, a farm preference (if you have one), and when in June you would be available to attend an orientation session.

Here’s an easy way to donate to MANNA FoodBank:

STAMP OUT HUNGER FOOD DRIVE MAY 8
The annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers, will be on Saturday, May 8, 2010.  Simply place a bag of non-perishable canned goods by your mailbox, and your letter carrier will collect your donations as they drop off your mail.

Stamp Out Hunger makes it easy for you to donate much-needed food to MANNA FoodBank.  The need for food assistance in Western North Carolina continues to be great, as 1 in 6 of our neighbors seek emergency assistance in a single year.  Nationally, this ratio stands at 1 in 8.

To help spread the word about Stamp Out Hunger virally, an SMS (Short Message Service) text message reminder campaign has been implemented.  Participants who text STAMP6 to 30305 will receive:

• An initial confirmation message
• A reminder message one week before the drive
• A second reminder the day prior to the drive
• A thank you message the Monday following the drive on their mobile device.

Now in its 18th year, the National Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger campaign is the nation’s largest single-day food drive.  Help to continue this tradition by spreading the word to all of your friends and neighbors.  For more information or to help volunteer on Saturday, May 8, contact Autumn McCarver or Karen Etheredge at MANNA FoodBank at 828-299-FOOD (3663).

Give a little.  Feed a lot.

North Buncombe High School needs 120 volunteers to help judge Spring Senior Graduation Projects on Thursday, May 27, 2010. Info:

NBHS Parent Connection is now starting to recruit judges for NBHS Spring Graduation Projects.

What we need:
We need community members to come to NBHS on May 27, 2010 to judge our senior graduation projects. The projects will be presented from 6-8 p.m. that evening, with snacks 5:15-5:45 p.m., and judge orientation meeting from 5:45-6 p.m.

What is a graduation project?
All NBHS seniors complete a graduation project in order to graduate. They work on a project throughout the semester, conduct research in class, and present their work to a panel of judges at the end of the semester.

Judge responsibilities:
We need judges to evaluate how well the students do on their presentations. The students are to give an organized, polished speech, and the judges determine how well the student has done on his or her speech. Judges will evaluate the students’ speaking skills, the quality of their visual aides, and how much effort overall it seems the student put into his/her learning during the project.

What happens that night:
On the evening of presentations, judges will be assigned to a classroom. Before each presentation, judges will be given a copy of the student’s portfolio to look over. This helps the judge know what the student worked on for his or her project. Portfolios are graded by the teacher already and are given to judges as a guide to show what the student did for their project. Once the judges have looked quickly at the portfolio, the student enters the room and gives his/her speech. Judges will use the provided rubric to judge the presentation. After the presentation, judges fill in the rubric and write comments for the student. Judges will hear five or six presentations in one night.

If you confirm you wish to be a judge this spring, the rubric will be sent to you by email prior to the event.

Seeing these student projects is very exciting and can be extremely fun!

If you’d like to be a Graduation Project Judge, or have any further questions, please contact NBHS Parent Connection, Beth Fiore Kral at bethpt@mac.com, or at 645-0434.

North Buncombe Elementary School (251 Flat Creek Church Road) PTO will be holding a Community Yard & Craft Sale on May 15.  Sellers and artists are invited to rent spaces, and the PTO is also accepting yard sale donations.  If you want to reserve a space, the deadline to do so is May 3. Donations can be dropped off at the school on May 13 or 14.  Info:

NBES PTO Community Yard & Craft Sale
Saturday, May 15, 2010 (Rain Date May 22)
8 a.m. -1 p.m. (no early birds please)
North Buncombe Elementary School Bus Parking Lot (251 Flat Creek Church Road)

As a new fundraiser for NBES PTO, sellers and crafters may rent a 10 foot x 12 foot space for $20. NBES PTO will be accepting item donations of appropriate household items in good condition to sell at the “PTO Store”. There will be concessions, North Buncombe Spirit items for sale.  Crafters and artists are welcome and encouraged to participate!

Drop off donated items outside the NBES Main Office on Thursday, May 13 and Friday, May 14 from 8 a.m.-Noon or 3-6 p.m.

Contact Jen Anderhalden (645-5544 janderhalden@verizon.net) or Allyson Sineath (484-8077 absineath@msn.com) with questions and to reserve your space by Monday May 3, with payment by cash or a check made out to NBES PTO.

Blood Drive at the Weaverville Fire Department this month:

Weaverville Fire Department Blood Drive
3 Monticello Road
Monday, April 26, 2010
3-7 p.m.

Please call 645-3500 for more information or to schedule your appointment.  Interested donors must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in general good health. Positive photo identification is required.  All presenting donors will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win a cruise for two.

Blood drive on Saturday for the Asheville-Mountain Area Chapter of the American Red Cross:

Walmart-Weaverville Blood Drive
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Walmart-Weaverville Blood Drive (146 Monticello Road)
11 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Call 645-5028 for further information or to schedule your appointment.
All presenting donors will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win a $1000 gift card!

To be a donor, you must be 16 years old with parental consent or older.  You must weigh at least 110 pounds, be in general good health and must not have donated blood in the past 8 weeks.  Most medications won’t cause you to be deferred as a donor.  Other conditions will be evaluated by staff at the collection site or you can reach a Record Review Coordinator at 1-866-562-7156 for further information regarding eligibility.  Photo ID is also required.

The North Buncombe Association of Concerned Citizens (NBACC) is sponsoring a Community Yard Sale on Saturday, February 27, 2010 at the Tri-City Plaza parking lot on Main Street from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.  The sale is a fundraiser for the group in their ongoing battle to keep a cement plant off Murphy Hill Road. In case of inclement weather, they will postpone the sale to the following Saturday, March 6.  If you have items you’d like to donate for their sale you can drop them off, already priced if possible,  7-8:30 a.m. the day of the sale.

A donation barrel is located at Ingles (140 Weaver Blvd) through Saturday, February 27, 2010:

Area doctors are holding a medical supply drive at area Ingles stores through Saturday.

Items collected will aid in the disaster relief efforts of doctors, nurses and therapists from Mission Hospital, the Batey Relief Alliance and its NY-based partner medical group, the Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad, who will be providing medical assistance in Haiti from March 27-April 5.

Donation barrels will be placed at the front of the Ingles Markets at 29 Tunnel Road in Asheville and at 140 Weaver Blvd. in Weaverville.

Medical supplies being collected are: gauze; alcohol; pain relievers; bandages; band-aids; soft casts for wrists, elbow, arms and knees; antibiotics; topical antibiotics; antifungal creams; antiparasitics; antimalarials; steroid creams; antihypertensives; diabetic medications; antiacids; antidiarrheal rehydration salts; and IV sets.

Girl Scout Cookie time!  Throughout February you can buy some for yourself and/or for military troops serving in combat zones overseas.  Weaverville Girl Scout Troop 26 will be at various locations in Weaverville and WNC starting this Sunday (see below for times and locations).  Here’s more about “Operation Cookies for Troops”:

Operation Cookies for Troops

The Weaverville Girl Scout Troop 26 and other troops in Western North Carolina are providing Girl Scout Cookies to the US Military Troops serving currently in Combat Zones.  Their goal is to send thousands of boxes overseas to these brave men and women.  The general public can also get involved.  People can purchase a box of cookies for the normal price of $3.50.  They can even write a message on the box and the Girl Scouts will take care of the rest.  A partnership with Give to the Troops will provide shipping to those combat zone troops.  Feedback we have received from the organization is that the service men and women particularly love the Thin Mints and Carmel Delights (who doesn’t?).

You can purchase cookies for yourself or ones to be shipped to the troops at the following locations:

Sunday, February 7
2-6 p.m. – Lowes, Weaverville
2-6 p.m. – Walmart, Weaverville

Saturday, February 13
10 a.m.-2 p.m. – Ace Hardware, Weaverville
9 a.m.-Noon – Lowes,  Tunnel Road

Sunday, February 14
3-6 p.m. -  Lowes, Tunnel Road

Saturday, February 20
10 a.m.-2 p.m. – Lowes, Weaverville
10 a.m.-2 p.m. – Walmart, Weaverville

Friday, February 26
3:30-6:30  p.m. – CVS, Weaverville

Saturday, February 27
10 a.m.-2 p.m. – Ace Hardware, Weaverville
10 a.m.-2 p.m. – Autozone, Weaverville

Friday, March 5
5-8:30 p.m. – Blockbuster, Merrimon Ave

Saturday, March 6
10 a.m.-2 p.m. – Walmart, Weaverville

Weaverville Girl Scout Troop 26 is hosting a free soup dinner and offering a drop-off point for donations for Haiti on Thursday, January 21, 2010.  Info:

Weaverville Girl Scout Troop 26 will be hosting a free soup dinner for the community on Thursday, January 21.  Soup will be served from 6-7 p.m. at the Weaverville Methodist Church Fellowship Hall on Main Street.

We will also be taking up donations of the following items to give to Hearts with Hands to send to Haiti.

Hearts With Hands website is www.heartswithhands.org and right now the list they are asking for the following donations:

• Rice and beans
• Bottled water
• Non perishable foods
• Baby formula/foods
• Convenience type foods
• Paper goods
• Camping supplies
• Flashlights and batteries
• Shovels
• Cooking oil
• First aid supplies
• Energy drinks
• Diapers/wipes
• Tarps/plastic sheeting
• Camping supplies
• Picnic supplies
• Gloves
• Rope

North Buncombe High School (890 Clark’s Chapel Road) needs proctor to oversee End of Course exams on Tuesday, January 26 and Wednesday, January 27, 2010. Exams will be held in the morning and afternoon and last approximately 3-3 1/2 hours. Morning proctors will need to be at the school at 7:45 a.m. and afternoon proctors at 11:45 a.m.  If you’re interested in helping or need more information, contact Vickie Smith at 645-4332.

North Buncombe High School needs volunteers, 90 of them, to help judge Graduation Project Presentations in January. The presentations are part of a project requirement seniors have to complete in order to graduate. Projects can be about anything, and the presentations are actually pretty interesting (I helped last year). Please considering volunteering if you can. More info:

NBHS Parent Connection, working with North Buncombe High School, is asking for the Weaverville community to come volunteer to be a judge of NBHS Graduation Project Presentations, Thursday January 14, 2010. This fun and rewarding evening begins at North Buncombe High School with refreshments being served from 5-5:30 p.m. An orientation meeting will take place from 5:30-5:45 p.m. to go over judging guidelines and the scoring Rubric. Five students per room will present their project in 20-minute time intervals beginning at 6 p.m. and ending at 8 p.m. Four to five judges per room are needed – 90 judges are needed at this time. You will enjoy your time with the students, and you will be very much appreciated!

For more information, or to sign up to be a Graduation Project Judge, please contact Beth Fiore Kral, NBHS Parent Connection, at 645-0434 or at bfiorekral@verizon.net.

Pictured above are Weaverville Business Association board members Jennifer Jenkins and Cindy Ward presenting a check to Officer Andy Mace of the Weaverville Police Department. The donation was for the department’s Cops for Kids Toy Drive, which ends tomorrow (Tuesday, December 8, 2009). I’ve heard many local groups stepped up and donated, especially after hearing about the slow start the drive had (their big kick-off event, the Cops for Kids Bike Run, was marred by bad weather this year).

If you would like to donate, Tuesday’s the last day to do so. New, unwrapped gifts for kids ages infant-teen will be accepted at the Police Department during the day or officers will also be at the Ingles on Weaver Blvd. from 4-7 p.m. (look for the Police truck in the parking lot). All donations go towards making the Christmas season a happy one for needy children in the Weaverville/North Buncombe area.

North Buncombe High School has placed a Manna Food Bank bin at the Weaverville Library (41 North Main Street) for their food drive. Canned goods, diapers, hygiene products, etc. will be accepted. The bin will be at the library until December 16.

There’s a few things happening during the holidays at North Buncombe Elementary School (251 Flat Creek Church Road) right now, including their Annual Cookie Dough Sale and the 2nd Graders performance of The Nutcracker. Information from North Buncombe Elementary PTO:

Cookie Dough Sale
North Buncombe Elementary School is currently doing our annual Cookie Dough Sale again. We decided to do it prior to Christmas this year so people could buy cookie dough for their holiday baking and Christmas gifts.  We are still selling the cookie dough, coffee, cocoa, brownies, and candles.  In addition, this year we have Auntie Anne’s soft pretzels and pretzel dogs and Country Creations Gourmet Pumpkin Cake Rolls.  The sale will run through Monday, December 7, 2009.  Anyone interested can contact the school at (828) 645-6054.   All proceeds will go towards the PTO Budget for this year.

The Nutracker
The second grade will be performing The Nutcracker next week at the school.  The evening performance will be on Thursday, December 10, 2009 at 7 p.m. and it is always a packed house. They will also be doing performances on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 9 a.m.  There is no admission to any of the performances.

Used Shoe Drive
We are also conducting a Used Shoe Drive at NBES.  The shoes that we collect will be sent overseas to the needy.  The Preferred Shoes are Children’s/Women’s/Men’s Shoes and Sneakers.  Unacceptable Shoes:  NO Bedroom shoes, Golf shoes, flip flops, steel toe shoes, women’s boots, or women’s heels greater than 3″.  Shoes may be dropped off at North Buncombe Elementary School or the collection box at Food Lion (130 Weaver Blvd).

Lowe’s (24 Northridge Commons Parkway) is hosting a blood drive for the Asheville-Mountain Area Chapter of the American Red Cross the day before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, November 25, 2009. It’ll take place 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and all presenting donors will receive a holiday ornament and be entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of three pairs of Delta Airlines tickets.  For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 782-9020.

Just an FYI if you would like to donate blood:  you must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in general good health. Positive photo identification is also required.

I’m told the Weaverville Walmart is one of the stores accepting food and financial donations for the 3rd Annual Harvest of the Heart (food drive for Hearts With Hands). Donations can be dropped off on Friday, November 13, 2009, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. or Saturday, November 14, 2009, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Salem United Methodist Church (9 Salem Church Road) hosts their fall barbecue fundraiser this Saturday, November 14, 2009, 4-6:30 p.m.. Info:

Salem UMC Semi-Annual Barbecue
Saturday, November 14, 2009
4-6:30 p.m.

Barbecue, slaw, baked beans, bread, drink & dessert
$7
Dine-in plates or Containers To Go

Canned goods will also be collected for North Buncombe Samaritan Ministries in an effort to help those who are in need in our community. Your donations will be appreciated.

Salem United Methodist Church is also collecting gently used coats and blankets for the needy. Donations will be given to Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministry. They can be dropped off this week at the Reems Creek Food Market (Exxon Station) at 444 Reems Creek Road.