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‘Be Irish for a Night’ to support Pilgrims’ Inn

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The 21st annual Pilgrims’ Inn fundraiser, “Be Irish for a Night,” will be 6:30-9:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Anne Parish Life Center, 1696 Bird St., Rock Hill. The event includes a corned beef and cabbage dinner with homemade Irish cornbread and desserts. Wine, beer, soft drinks and coffee also will be available. Entertainment includes Irish dancers, music, live and silent auctions, 50-50 split the pot and door prizes. Tickets are $40 ($30 tax deductible). For tickets and sponsorships, call 803-327-4227.

Special events

▪ The Woman’s Club of Rock Hill Spring Luncheon and Garden Tour will be 11 a.m.-2 p.m. April 18 at the clubhouse, 607 Aiken Ave. Lunch includes a buffet of salads, sandwiches, homemade desserts and drinks. Tickets are $15 for adults and $7.50 for ages 10 and younger. For reservations, call 803-328-8888 and leave a message or email Peggy Enright at Enrightp63@gmail.com. Drop-ins welcome. Proceeds support the club’s community activities and upkeep of the house and gardens.

▪ The 35th annual Charlotte Camellia Society flower show and plant sale will be held in Rock Hill 1-5 p.m. March 14-15 at the historic White Home, 258 White St. The event is free and open to the public.

Visitors can see the winners of the society’s annual camellia competition, buy flowers and register for a drawing to win a free camellia.

Camellias are native to Asia but have been part of the Southern landscape since the early 19th century. For more information, call Caroline Dejesus at 704-609-4888.

▪ The choirs of historic St. Paul Halsellville Baptist Church will hold a concert 9-10:30 a.m. Saturday on the campus of Brainerd Institute at Marquis and Lancaster streets in Chester. Hymn choir director Eumon Chisholm Jr. will lead the choirs in a performance in the style of traditional black congregational hymn singing, which began in 17th century America with slaves who brought African rhythms and melodies to the Colonies.

▪ Business Success Extravaganza 2015 will be 8 a.m.-4 p.m. March 24 in Carroll Hall at Winthrop University. National and state speakers will provide learning sessions on social media, search engine optimization for websites, creative marketing, building teamwork, increasing sales, making the most of local networking, and more. Cost is $50 and includes buffet lunch. The event is sponsored by the Small Business Development Center and Winthrop University College of Business. Open to the public. Registration required at winthropregionalsbdc.org.

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Fundraisers

▪ Oakdale Fire Department barbecue will be 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. until sold out Saturday at Station No. 1, S.C. 72, Rock Hill. Plates, $8; pounds, $9 and sandwiches, $4. Delivery available for 10 or more plates. For information, call 803-328-0793 or email leon.yard@comporium.com.

▪ A chicken bog and hot dog dinner will be 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday at Lakewood Baptist Church, Mount Gallant Road Rock Hill. Chicken plates are $7 and hot dog plates are $5. There also will be games of horseshoes, cornhole and volleyball.

▪ Adnah United Methodist Church’s annual barbecue sale will be 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the family life center, Adnah Church Road, Rock Hill. For advance tickets, call the church at 803-328-1618, and on Friday and Saturday call 803-366-2731.

▪ Bethel United Methodist Church will host its soup kitchen at 11 a.m. Thursday at the church, 1232 Curtis St., Rock Hill. Open to the community. Donations accepted.

▪ A golf tournament will be held for Children’s Organ Transplant Association in honor of Jordan Diggs, a Chester-area teen who needs a kidney transplant, April 16 at the Chester Golf Club, 770 Old Richburg Road. Tee time is 9 a.m. Early registration deadline is March 27, last date to register is April 6. To register and for information, contact COTA community coordinator Dee Mathis at 803-581-8098, or tdmathis@kymail.com.

Meetings

▪ York Soil and Water Conservation District commissioners will meet 5 p.m. March 19 at the USDA Service Center, 1460 E. Alexander Love Highway, York. Open to the public. For information, contact Barbara O’Connell at 803-684-3137 ext. 101.

▪ The Catawba Council of the South Carolina Silver Haired Legislature will meet 11 a.m. Wednesday in Rock Hill. For location and information, call Wayne Kersey at 803-287-9453.

Clubs

▪ York County Quilt Guild will meet 7 p.m. Monday at Grace Lutheran Church, 426 Oakland Avenue, Rock Hill. Quilt show judge Jane Hall will share what judges look for in quilt entries and quilting tips. Open to the community.

▪ The Tega Cay Beautification Committee will have a workday 9-11 a.m. Tuesday at the Living Memorial Gardens to trim, clean and weed. New members and workers needed. For information, email or call pcmartin@comporium.net or 803-802-8727 or klinew@comporium.net or 704-287-7432.

▪ The Ballroom Dance Club will meet 7:30-10:20 p.m. March 20 in the Oak Room at Fort Mill Golf Course Club House, 101 Country Club Drive. Dressy casual. No alcohol. Light refreshments are served. Adults of all ages and skill levels are welcome. Guest admission is $15, couples; $7.50, singles. For information, call Bob, 9 a.m.-9 p.m., at 803-329-5764.

▪ Rock Hill Area Shag Club St. Patrick’s Day party will be 8 p.m. March 21 at Celebrations at Ramada Inn. The group will meet at 7 p.m. Dinner provided. Members, $3; guests, $5.

4H

▪ The 4-H/FFA Swine Project Show and Sale will be 10 a.m. March 28 at the Chester Livestock Exchange, 2531 Lancaster Highway. Members will show their hogs after raising them for three months. Awards will be presented for Grand and Reserve Champions, and Average Daily Gain winners.

This is a United Way of York County sponsored project. The Bank of York sponsors Grand and Reserve Champion Prizes, and the York County Farm Bureau awards special prizes to show participants.

The public is encouraged to attend and bid on hogs for sale.

▪ 4-H Youth Development, a part of Clemson Extension Service in York County, is starting a new club for youth interested in learning about dairy goats. Club members will learn about raising and showing dairy goats. Members don’t have to own dairy goats.

Meetings will be 6:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month beginning April 7 at Bethesda Volunteer Fire Station No 1, 1705 S.C. 324, Rock Hill.

Youth must register and pay 4-H membership. For information, contact Faith Isreal at 803-684-9919 ext. 113 or fisreal@clemson.edu.

Recreation

▪ Rock Hill Parks, Recreation and Tourism is offering “Families Exploring Nature” 9:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday at River Park. The topic is Signs of Spring. Cost is $1 and registration is required at cityofrockhill.com/alloutdoors or by calling 803-817-5122. The April 11 event will be Messy Muddy Fun at River Park.

Classes

▪ Clemson Extension Service will host a one-day Backyard Poultry Workshop at 10 a.m. April 10 at Spartanburg Community College in Spartanburg.

The program is designed for experienced poultry owners and novices. Topics will include getting started, feeding and nutrition, housing (mobile vs. permanent), breed selection (egg vs. meat), reproduction, introduction to disease prevention, and pastured poultry.

Cost is $70 and includes lunch and refreshments and a flash drive containing copies of the presentation, fact sheets. Space is limited. Registration deadline is April 6.

Applications available at any local Clemson Extension office, or register online at: http://bit.ly/18AspVf. For information, contact Chris LeMaster at 864-489-3141 ext. 113 or email clemast@clemson.edu.

Scholarships

▪ The York County Democratic Women’s Council is accepting applications for its second annual Bessie Moody-Lawrence scholarship. The awards will be given to two Democratic young women graduating from high school and going to college. For information, contact the high school guidance counselor or call 803-802-7021. Application deadline is April 1.

Library programs

▪ The York County Library will offer the following free programs in March. For information on programs and services, go to yclibrary.org.

“How to Get Better Sleep,” 12:30-1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Fort Mill library, with Dr. Richard Schaffer from Infinite Wellness. A light lunch provided and registration is required, Call 803-547-4114 to register.

“At War’s End: South Carolina Families Face the Aftermath,” 2:30-3:30 Saturday, Main Library in Rock Hill (call 803-981-5845 to register) and 10:30-11:30 a.m. March 28 at Lake Wylie library (call 803-831-7774 to register). To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, living historian Colleen Pappas will discuss the effects of the war on women and families in our state and the important events at war’s end that took place in Fort Mill, Cross Keys and Abbeville. Suitable for all ages.

“Coping with Chronic Pain,” 6-7 p.m. Thursday, Main Library, Rock Hill with Dr. Brandan Lee of Greater Family Health Center will discuss pain, chronic pain and degenerative auto-immune diseases like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and multiple sclerosis. Call 803-981-5845 to register.

“Tech Help Drop-In,” 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Friday, Main Library, Rock Hill. Get answers to questions about laptops or tablets, email, Internet safety, social media and software. Bring your own laptop, tablet or e-reader or library staff will demonstrate using library-owned equipment on a first-come. Drop in anytime; no registration required.

Tax help

▪ The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program will offer free tax-preparation assistance 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays through April 15 at the Rock Hill City Hall Wellness Center. Volunteers are IRS certified and trained by the S.C. and N.C. departments of revenue. Tax returns are electronically filed.

Bring current year’s tax forms, W-2 and 1099s, information regarding other income, information for all deductions and credits, a copy of last year’s tax return, proof of account for direct deposit of refund (e.g., voided check), Social Security or individual taxpayer identification cards, proof of identification.

▪ Free federal and state tax preparation for low- and moderate-income taxpayers and those 60 and older will be offered 12:30-3:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays through April 9 at the Adult Education Center at the Flexible Learning Center, 1234 Flint St. Ext., Rock Hill.

Bring a copy of last year’s tax return, Social Security card, picture identification and any W-2s, 1099s and other forms showing income or deductions. No appointment needed. Filings completed on a first-come basis.

▪ AARP Tax-Aide Program offers free federal and state income tax preparation 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays through April 14 at the Fort Mill branch of the York County Library in Baxter Village. Clients taken on first-come basis. Last client taken at 3:30 p.m. No age or income limit. Limited appointments can be scheduled at calendly.com/fortmilltaxes. Bring 2014 tax return, picture IDs, Social Security cards for all being claimed, 1099s, 1098s, 1095A forms, W-2s, and any other proof of deductions or income. For information, email FortMillTaxes@gmail.com

Health

▪ Piedmont Medical Center will offer a free seminar on surgical weight loss Thursday. To register call 803-329-1234 ext. 2.

▪ A special enrollment for the Affordable Care Act will be March 15-April 30. Those who missed the Feb. 15 deadline may have another chance to apply. Help will be available 9 a.m.-4 p.m. beginning Monday at North Central Family Medical Center, 1131 Saluda St., Rock Hill.

Volunteers

▪ Agape Hospice will host a volunteer training session, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. March 31 at 1326 Ebenezer Road, Rock Hill. Volunteers provide clerical or administrative office support and visit patients. For information, contact Kay G. Lee at 803-517-2021 or email Kaylee@agapesenior.com.

▪ The Rock Hill Youth Council is looking for youth volunteers who want to give an afternoon of service noon-4 p.m. March 28 as part of Rock Hill’s Youth Service Day. Groups such as school clubs, church youth groups, Scouts and others are invited to participate.

Teams will gather at the Cherry Park Open Shelter at noon for a kick-off celebration with free food, music and free T-shirts. Volunteers will then go to project locations. Groups are responsible for organizing their own service project and should complete an application by March 25. Group application forms are available at cityofrockhill.com/prt or by calling Patti Panetti at 803-329-5625.

▪ The nonprofit Friends of the York County Animal Shelter needs volunteers to help bathe, groom, exercise, socialize, train and provide adoption information for the animals, as well as assist in follow-ups, publicity, marketing and fulfilling other jobs at the shelter. Time and mileage may be tax deductible. Volunteers must be 18 or older; orientation and training are required. For information, call 803-818-6485 or go to the shelter at 713 Justice Blvd., York.

Reunions

▪ Rock Hill High School class of 1960 will host its 55th reunion 3-8 p.m. May 23 at Elks Park with a catered dinner. Reservations are due May 1. For information, call 803-324-9982.

Support groups

▪ Alateen meets 8-9 p.m. Thursdays at Zoar Road Club, 14701 Thomas Road, Charlotte. Meetings are for two age groups: 6-12 and 13 and older. For information, call 803-547-2124 or 704-904-7834.

▪ Al-Anon meets at 8 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays at Serenity Club, 209 Grayson Road, Rock Hill; at noon Tuesdays upstairs at Oakland Avenue Presbyterian Church, 421 Oakland Ave., Rock Hill; at 8 p.m. Mondays at Grace Presbyterian Church, 2955 S.C. 160, Fort Mill; and at 8 p.m. Tuesdays in the house beside First Baptist Church, 121 Monroe White St., Fort Mill.

Send Community News items to communitynews@heraldonline.com or to 132 W. Main St., Rock Hill, SC 29730. Deadline for the Thursday column is 5p.m. Monday. Deadline for the Sunday column is 5 p.m. Wednesday.

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Small Sylva brewery in big trademark dispute – Asheville Citizen

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Innovation Brewing of Sylva makes only about 500 barrels of beer a year, mostly sold in Jackson County. But size doesn’t matter in a tough trademark dispute with the much bigger Bell’s Brewery of Kalamazoo, Michigan, which made more than 310,000 barrels last year.

Bell’s has filed a federal action against Innovation over the use of its name. Bell’s says its unregistered advertising slogan “bottling innovation since 1985” could lead to confusion with customers. While the slogan is used on bumper stickers, it’s not present on any of the brewery’s beer packaging.

Bell’s also uses a slogan “inspired brewing,” which has been part of the legal complaint, that the company believes would be confused with Innovation Brewing’s name.

“We are very disappointed,” said Nicole Dexter, who founded Innovation in 2013 with her partner Chip Owen. The two came up with the Innovation name after finding creative means of assembling their brewing system.

“Innovation is what we had to do to make everything work,” Owen said. “We had limited funds” and Owen assembled the system himself.

Costly legal fees are preventing Innovation from purchasing brewing equipment, Owen and Dexter said.

POLL: Should Bell’s Brewery have rights to the word innovation?

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“We didn’t see any confusion” with Bell’s, Dexter said. “We were pretty confident it could be worked out.” But now the brewery has retained attorneys to defend itself.

They say that Bell’s “bottling innovation since 1985” slogan is not protected by a registered trademark and has not been used in conjunction with the sale of beer.

The matter slowly is unfolding in the U.S. Trademark Trials and Appeals Board in Virginia. The Innovation name was filed in 2013, but a ruling won’t come before October, and maybe later, Innovation trademark attorney Ian Gates said. “It’s a long process.”

Bell’s founder Larry Bell would not discuss the issue. “This is a federal case and we will let it play out in federal court,” he said. “We are not going to play it out in social media or a newspaper.” Bell’s distributes its beers in 18 states, according to its website, including North and South Carolina.

The Asheville Brewers Alliance, a trade organization representing 45 area breweries and beer-related businesses, has lined up in support of Innovation, a statement said.

“There are many instances where craft breweries have encountered trademark issues and have chosen to work together to resolve their differences,” it said. “As an Asheville Brewers Alliance member, we support Innovation Brewing and are hopeful that, in the spirit of collaboration, Bell’s Brewery and Innovation Brewing will arrive at an agreement amenable to both parties.”

Trademark and naming issues are becoming increasingly common among breweries, wineries and distilleries. In 2011, Bell’s filed a challenge against a beer called Copper Bell, but the matter was settled and the brand was withdrawn.

New Belgium is in a federal dispute with Oasis Texas Brewing over the rights to the Slow Ride Session IPA brand name.

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In 2013, Headwaters Brewing of Waynesville changed its name to BearWaters after a cease and desist letter from Victory Brewing, which makes Headwaters Pale Ale.

In 1995, Highland Brewing of Asheville changed its flagship beer from Celtic Ale to Gaelic Ale. Grants Brewery Pub laid claim to the Celtic Ale title. Later, Highland asked Missouri’s Highlands Brewing to change its name, which it did.

“There are 3,000 craft breweries, 9,000 wineries, 1,000 distilleries and many out-of-country alcohol producers and we are all sharing one basket of names,” said Innovation attorney Douglas Reiser. Defending names and trademarks is costly, with legal fees reaching into the realm of $40,000-$50,000.

But almost always, breweries can reach agreements on those issues, resulting in coexistence that benefits both brands. “To my knowledge, this is the first craft brewery v. craft brewery brand dispute that would go to trial,” Reiser said.

Innovation Brewing has started a campaign for support on the crowdfunding website Go Fund Me. As of Thursday evening, $3,426 out of a goal of $40,000 had been raised. For more on the unfolding debate, visit Innovation’s Facebook page and Bell’s Brewing’s Facebook page.

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For some, Vance legacy as slaveowner clouds monument – Asheville Citizen

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ASHEVILLE – For more than a century, the Vance Monument has marked the center of town. Buildings in Pack Square Park have come and gone. Roadways have changed. The square itself has become bigger.

When it was built in 1896, before high-rise businesses dominated the cityscape, the 50-foot obelisk was a towering structure, meant to be seen from the distance, something to reflect the far-reaching influence of Zebulon Vance, a former governor and U.S. congressman.

Encompassed by Pack Square Park, the monument has watched over markets, circuses, parades, street preachers, protests and celebrations of all kinds.

Its prominence has also sometimes raised concerns because of Vance’s ties to slavery. The Civil War-era politician owned slaves, just as he owned a reputation for preaching compassion for other marginalized people.

As the city ramps up for a $126,000 restoration of the monument built in his honor — almost all of it privately funded — some local activists and politicians are pushing for a more complete picture. They want recognition of African-American history near the marker in Pack Square Park.

“Communities tell the world what they value and what parts of their history matter by what they display with public monuments,” said Sasha Mitchell, a community and family historian, who also serves as chairwoman of the city’s African-American Heritage Commission.

“In the past, obviously, communities were deciding what was important, and it was white people in power. All the black people around were marginalized, but that’s different now and Asheville’s monuments should reflect that,” she said.

Activists and historians have petitioned the Public Art Board to garner support for something that could be as large as a statue or as small a plaque, Mitchell said. The point is the narrative should be corrected, she added.

Since announcing the initiative and posting a petition online in February, more than 1,000 print and digital signatures have been collected.

The goal is to obtain at least 3,000 signatures — a critical mass to support the project before moving forward, said Deborah Miles, director of the Center for Diversity Education at UNC Asheville.

Carolina Jews for Justice, Masonic Lodge Venus #62, the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance and the Mountain People’s Assembly are among the groups sponsoring the cause.

Long home to the courthouse, the area near Pack Square Park is likely the spot where slaves were sold and traded locally — the same way people would sell horses, wagons or bags of corn, said Miles, who in 2013 partnered with the Register of Deeds Office to uncover and digitize property records documenting the salve trade in Western North Carolina.

She points to an old Asheville newspaper clipping advertising that slaves from the estate of John Smith will be sold on the steps of the courthouse.

Pack Square and the surrounding streets of downtownView of Pack Square from the top of the NorthwesternView on the center of Pack Square, with Vance MonumentPack Square looking west down Patton Avenue in 1913.Pack Square looking east with trolley cars, two automobilesView of Pack Square circa 1899 looking from the southwestLooking down Patton Avenue from the courthouse circaStreet scene from the public square, with stores onStreet level view of Pack Memorial Library (1925).

“The records are there,” said Register of Deeds Drew Reisinger. “It is far past the time for us to recognize the contributions that early African-Americans contributed to Buncombe County.

“All these prominent streets in downtown — Patton, Vance, Woodfin — many of the monuments, they are named after slave owners. It’s time we pay tribute to those who actually built those roads and built the infrastructure of Asheville.”

The Vance Monument

One of the city’s most iconic landmarks, the Vance Monument is modeled after the Washington Monument.

It is one few Civil War-era monuments in the South that is of an abstract thing, said Rob Neufeld, a local author and history columnist who writes for the Citizen-Times.

“It is not, therefore, a symbol of slavery in the South; it’s a monument to honor Vance,” Neufeld said.

Vance, born in 1830, remains one of North Carolina’s most noteworthy politicians, said Kerby Price, a historic interpreter at the Vance Birthplace in Weaverville. He also owned slaves. During his nearly 40 years of leadership, the statesmen never publicly denounced the practice, she said.

Historically, the area around Vance Monument wasn’t a significant place for African-Americans, Neufeld added. “It was segregated, a time of heated racial tensions. Black people weren’t on the square.”

That’s part of the reason it’s important to add a marker there, Mitchell said. Reclaiming Vance Monument will give it a different, fuller meaning, she said.

Adding more about Vance’s nuanced life and what happened in that part of town will make the monument a teaching space, Mitchell said.

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“There is a time for preservation and a time when you call for modification,” she said. “To recognize something so ugly is certainly better than white washing what happened there and white washing what that place represents.”

It’s important that young people see how African-Americans contributed to Asheville’s history, Viola Spells said after a meeting of the African-American Heritage Commission Thursday. It builds self-esteem and shows what the community can do.

There are always going to be historical figures that provoke controversy, said Chris Roberts, the Civil War re-enactor who is leading efforts to restore Vance Monument with the nonprofit 26th North Carolina Regiment.

“What you have to be able to do is see it as a whole picture and evaluate their life and achievements as a whole and use that to measure whether or not there is anything to commemorate,” he said.

Vance the statesmen

Vance is often lauded for what were then progressive views and for his ability to bring resources to his native mountain counties, which were very much isolated at the time.

Of great pride, he helped build the Western North Carolina Railroad. Vance is also commonly celebrated for bringing the state together, despite the hardship of the war.

A lawyer, he served twice as the governor. He was first elected to the state House of Commons at the age of 24 and would later serve in the U.S. Congress.

Initially a unionist, Vance became a supporter of the confederate cause in 1861 when fighting broke out at Fort Sumter.

He then went to Raleigh and organized the “Rough and Ready Guards.” That same year he was elected as commander of the 26th North Carolina regiment.

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Vance returned to politics shortly after. At 32, he was elected governor of what then was a divided state.

He was arrested when the war ended in 1865, but was later pardoned and elected to the U.S. Senate. Federal leaders refused to seat him in 1870, however, protesting his slave-owning past and recent arrest.

The state welcomed its defeated leader back home, electing him again as governor in 1876. They sent him to the U.S. Senate once more in 1879. This time he was seated. He served three terms and was beginning his fourth when he died.

Thousands attended funeral services held in Raleigh and Washington, D.C. When his body was returned to Asheville, historians note a remarkable crowd gathered not far from where the monument stands today to bid him goodbye.

Vance the slave owner

The role of slavery is not often discussed in articles about Vance.

An entry on him in LEARN NC, an online digital textbook set up by UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Education to share innovative practices with teachers and students around the world, discusses Vance’s slave ownership only once.

The mention is made in a paragraph detailing his denial from the U.S. Senate after the war. “… Radical Republicans in charge of the federal government refused to seat him, protesting his history of owning slaves and of still being under probation,” it says.

Known for his oration, Vance is often praised for his famous speech, “The Scattered Nation,” where he calls on society to demonstrate compassion and tolerance for people of the Jewish faith.

Very much a product of his time, Vance never extends this notion to black people, said Price, the historic interpreter at the Vance Birthplace.

Even after the Civil War, he argued that black people shouldn’t have the right to vote because they wouldn’t know how to vote. He wanted them to be cared for, he was supportive of teachers’ colleges for blacks and whites, but it was very much a “paternalistic condescension,” she said.

The Vance Birthplace, a historic marker in the Reems Creek Valley in the town of Weaverville, has no pictures of the family’s slaves and very few records documenting the presence of black people on the pioneer farmstead.

Despite this, Price says, it is hard not to talk about slavery when she talks about the Vance family. “They are such an interwoven part of the story,” she said.

Vance’s grandfather came to the area with three slaves and Census records demonstrate that at times the family owned as many as 18. Slaves took care of the children; they did the cooking and the weaving.

Vance was raised by a black woman named Venus, Price continued. When his father passed away, many of their slaves were auctioned off to help settle his debt. “Venus carried Zeb’s sister to the auction block and said, ‘Whoever takes me, takes my child.’ Zeb’s mother bid one dollar and it was not contested,” she said.

Slaves allowed Vance to spend much of his formative years reading the classics and learning, she said.

He didn’t have to work the way that kids and families without slaves did, Price said. Certainly, he had chores, but he wasn’t fetching water or working on the farm like other, poorer boys his age.

Families would pass down slaves the same way they would pass down heirlooms. Census records and the slave schedule from 1860 show Vance had at least six slaves.

Black people’s lives weren’t recorded the same way and documentation of their existence is hard to find, Price said.

It depends a lot on the position one had in the family, she said. One slave of the Vance family, named Aggy, was allowed to send messages to her friends and family working for relatives in other areas. Even though it was illegal to teach slaves how to read and write, Vance’s mother would write notes on her behalf.

Other slaves are only known as numbers on records, Price said.

Remembering

People often think that slavery wasn’t present in Western North Carolina because there aren’t huge farms or labor needs as there were in other parts of the South, Miles said.

“They have this image that slavery is about the cotton and rice fields and we don’t have that here. People are always surprised to find out that our slaves did factory work, railroad building, gold mining and tourism,” she said.

Darin Waters, an African-American professor of history at UNC Asheville from Western North Carolina, specifically chose this region for his research.

“These were obviously my ancestors, who at the time they were living could not voice their opinion in a way that they would be heard — could not express they were present, that they were human beings,” he said.

This is the time to honor them, to rethink the way history is recorded and how society tributes its leaders, Waters added. It has been 150 years since the Civil War ended. “We can now reflect on that period in a different way,” he said.

April 23 marks the sesquicentennial‎ of the Stonesman’s Raid in Western North Carolina. That day signifies the liberation of black people and also marks a time when white people were terrorized and shamed, Miles said.

The way we talk about American history matters, she added. It has to be noted that slavery existed as this great thing for some white people and this awful thing for all black people, she said.

Unlike monuments, history, as it has been told, is not set in stone, said Waters, paying homage to American social theorist and sociologist Charles Lemert.

Part of progress is revisiting what happened and telling the story again and again until it is right, Waters said. Then, he quoted Lemert: “The world belongs to the living, to the dead and those yet to come.”

Learn more

For more information about slavery in Western North Carolina, visit UNC Asheville’s Center for Diversity Education online exhibit, “An Unmarked Trail: Stories from African-Americans in Buncombe County from 1850 to 1950” at www.diversityed.org/category/unmarked/.

To sign the online petition in support of a marker recognizing African-American history near the Vance Monument in Pack Square Park, go to www.change.org/p/asheville-public-art-board-create-a-monument-at-pack-square-to-recognize-and-honor-the-contributions-of-african-americans-to-buncombe-county.

The Vance Birthplace is at 911 Reems Creek Road in Weaverville. For more information about visiting, call 828-645-6706 or go to www.nchistoricsites.org/vance/vance.htm.

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Classroom Central Announces $30000 Grant From The James M. Cox Foundation

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    James M. Cox Foundation
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    James M. Cox Foundation









CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Classroom Central has been awarded a $30,000 grant from the James M. Cox Foundation to help provide free school supplies to students living in poverty.  The funds will allow Classroom Central to reach more students in need via the Classroom Up and Mobile Free Store programs.

“The generous gift from the James M. Cox Foundation will allow us to ensure that students living in poverty have the basic school supplies they need to succeed in school,” said Jill Dineen, executive director of Classroom Central. “These funds will extend our reach within our programs that deliver supplies directly to educators of students in need.”

Over half of the students living in the districts that Classroom Central serves are living in poverty. Classroom Central has operated a Free Store on Wilkinson Blvd. in Charlotte since 2002, so educators can shop for free school supplies for their students in need. 

In 2013, Classroom Central launched an online ordering system called Classroom Up where educators of students in need can order essential school supplies that are delivered to their classrooms. In Fall 2014, the Mobile Free Store truck began delivering supply kits to a central location in each of the five districts adjacent to the Free Store. These programs were launched in response to feedback that Classroom Central received from educators that many had challenges visiting the facility due to after-school meetings or personal child care responsibilities.

This grant will enable Classroom Central to expand its reach in the final phase of the Classroom Up rollout to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, as well as provide a special Mobile Free Store delivery to York County.

The James M. Cox Foundation is named in honor of Cox Enterprises’ founder and provides funding for capital campaigns and special projects in communities where Cox Communications, Cox Automotive and Cox Media Group operate. Cox companies in Charlotte include: Ch. 9 WSOC-TV, WAXN-TV64, AutoTrader.com and Manheim Charlotte.  

“As a Cox Media Group owned TV Station, WSOC-TV/WAXN-TV shares the same values with our parent company of giving back and supporting the community we serve with news, information and entertainment,” said WSOC-TV/WAXN-TV Vice President and General Manager Joe Pomilla. “Classroom Central understands the importance of education and is helping ensure that all of our students have access to tools for success.”

Ch. 9 WSOC-TV and TV 64 WAXN-TV are longtime supporters of Classroom Central through its School Tools program, the largest school supply drive in the region. Serving more than three million children since 1997, this community initiative has raised more than $8 million worth of school supplies to date.

About Classroom Central:
Classroom Central equips students living in poverty to effectively learn by collecting and distributing free school supplies. Operating in six school districts and supporting over 200 schools and over 100,000 students, Classroom Central helps level the playing field for our region’s students in need.  Since its inception in 2002, Classroom Central has distributed over $42 million in school supplies.   For more information, visit http://www.classroomcentral.org.

About The James M. Cox Foundation:
The James M. Cox Foundation is named in honor of Cox Enterprises’ founder and provides funding for capital campaigns and special projects in communities where the company operates. James M. Cox was Ohio’s first three-term governor and the 1920 Democratic nominee for president of the United States.

The Foundation concentrates its community support in several areas, including: conservation and environment; early childhood education; empowering families and individuals for success; and health.

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SOURCE The James M. Cox Foundation



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Forum discusses impacts of drilling for oil off the North Carolina coast

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Posted: Thursday, March 12, 2015 6:38 am

Forum discusses impacts of drilling for oil off the North Carolina coast

CHAPEL HILL (AP) – Conservation groups are holding a forum on drilling for oil and gas off the North Carolina coast.

Today’s sessions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are sponsored by the Southern Environmental Law Center and other groups.

The event includes an afternoon session with scientific experts and an evening forum discussing the impacts of the industry in areas already open to drilling.

The federal Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management is now taking public comment on a proposal to open wide areas off the coast of the Carolinas to oil and gas exploration.

Those who favor such exploration say offshore oil and gas means needed energy for the nation. Opponents worry about spills and their effects on fisheries and tourism.

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Thursday, March 12, 2015 6:38 am.

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Hoppy days are here at last

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Hoppy days are here at last

Jennifer Milton serves a customer at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Taproom

By Bill Moss, Published: March 12, 2015

Amy Huffman ordered the Side Car Amber Ale and her husband, Brad, chose a Harvest Wild Hop IPA, which suggested no ordinary taste adventure. The finale of the 2014 Harvest series, the IPA is made from a North American wild hop called neomexicanus that “imparts striking melon and apricot aromas as well as floral undercurrent and citrus-like flavor.”

Welcome to the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.’s new Taproom and Restaurant, which offers one of the most varied and locally sourced food selections, driven of course by dozens of constantly changing beer varieties.
The Huffmans, both geologists, were thrilled to be able to stop in at the brewery on their way home from work in Asheville. They live in Mills River.
Bill Manley, who has the enviable title of Beer Ambassador for the brewing company, said the grand opening of the Taproom on Tuesday came after weeks of preparation, training and work on recipes that use beer and go well with beer.
“We’ve had managers on board for better than a couple of months now, learning about beer,” he said. “Almost everybody who works here has got a fair amount of restaurant experience already.
“So we brought them in and taught them the ways of Sierra Nevada, kind of what we do and how we do things, and culturally made sure that everybody who was going to work here was a really good fit. Even the wait staff and the servers have done some pretty in-depth training about beer, our history, technological beer, tastings, pairings, with both beer and food, trying to get them on the same page and to learn as much about Sierra Nevada and beer as we can in a couple of weeks.”
Executive Chef Brian Hough came to the brewery from the Stable Café at the Biltmore Estate.
“He’s got a ton of working knowledge as far as local suppliers so we’re able to source a lot of local products,” Manley said. “My personal favorite thing on the menu is pig cheeks. That dish alone is pig cheeks sourced from a local pig farm, braised in Sierra Nevada Porter, made with grits that are ground specifically for us from a mill 30 miles from here, using kale grown by a guy in Asheville and using milk from a creamery in Asheville. So every single possible ingredient is from, like, the zip code.”
Among the other offerings on a surprisingly affordable menu are Kellerweis lamb meatballs with heritage grits and Kellerweis gravy ($11), Cannibal Chips (“what they call steak tartare in Belgium,” $12), Mason Jar Salad ($7), Wood-Roasted Mushrooms, confit cipollini onion, thyme ($9) and Pretzels and Beer Cheese ($8). Dessert choices include Grilled PBJ with house-made peanut butter, grade jelly, banana Porter ice cream and spicy peanuts for $8 and Blue Cheese Cheesecake with walnut rye crumble for $7.

25 new beer recipes
Bartenders will pour glasses of beer made in the Taproom’s 20-barrel pilot brewery.
“We already have 25 recipes that we’ve got lined up,” Manley said. “They’re all brand new. All the brewing staff here got to submit recipes they want to see made, we got them all registered so they’re legal to go, bought all the ingredients and got them all queued up in the system.”
The first one out of the tank will be something called 1979 Stout, which commemorates founder Ken Grossman’s start.
“This is exactly the same recipe of beer that Ken used to kick off his first brewery in Chico in 1979,” Manley said. “Every time we build a new brewhouse we make the same recipe and in every brewhouse this is the first beer through the system. We’ll be brewing it on Friday and it should be ready in about three weeks.”
Scott Randall, a tour supervisor, was sitting with coworkers and sampling a beer in the new dining room.
“It’s nice to have this option” for visitors, he said. “We’ve been open since October for the guided tours and we haven’t had this. So it’ll be nice that people have the option for lunch and a bite and beer afterwards.”
‘It’s going to be huge’
No one knows how many tourists a year the brewery will attract but the number is expected to be big and expected to grow bigger. The brewery and Taproom are open every day but Thanksgiving and Christmas. An estimate in the hundreds of thousands is not unrealistic.
“It’s going to be a huge tourist attraction for Henderson County for sure,” said Karen Baker, assistant director of the Henderson County Tourism Development Authority. “Since they have such a following across the country and probably internationally too it’s hard to say how many. The Taproom and Restaurant are going to add a lot but also they are going to have the outdoor recreation, which is going to attract a lot of people. We’ve never had an attraction of that scale to compare it to so it’s hard to say how much it will add. I think it’s going to be a huge amount of traffic.”
Visitors to the brewery may also visit Asheville and attractions like the Biltmore Estate and the vast national forests. Even so, Henderson County is bound to gain overnight stays.
“Of the accommodations on Airport Road, all of them on right side are actually in Henderson County,” she said. “The only two that are not are the Clarion and the brand-new Courtyard.”
Along with new wineries, Sierra Nevada stars in the TDA’s 2015 promotions.
“Of course they’re going to be in our national ad campaign and we’ll be mentioning more and more about Sierra as everything comes on board,” she said. “They are already mentioned in the Vacation Planner, they’re listed under attractions on our website and also on the brewery and winery page on our website too. We’ve already been sending people out there.”

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The Day’s Best Photos | 03.12.15

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Visiting overnight from Swain County High School, in the western part of the state in Bryson City, 11 students in Dora May’s Intermediate and Advanced Visual Arts class tour the grounds of the N.C. Museum of Art in Raleigh, N.C. on Wednesday, March 11, 2015. Standing in the Lowe’s Park Pavilion, the structure by Mike Cindric and Vincent Petrarca, was “inspired by the transparency of a dragonfly’s wings, changes with the time of day and the quality of light.” They were in Raleigh to meet with students from Chapel Hill High School, another of the 18 schools from across the state to participate in the “Artist in Process” program at the N.C. Museum of Art. There are three components of the program: online work, student creation of artwork and a museum visit.
| Corey Lowenstein clowenst@newsobserver.com

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Forum discusses impacts of drilling for oil off the NC coast

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Conservation groups are holding a forum on drilling for oil and gas off the North Carolina coast.

The Thursday sessions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are sponsored by the Southern Environmental Law Center and other groups.

The event includes an afternoon session with scientific experts and an evening forum discussing the impacts of the industry in areas already open to drilling.

The federal Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management is now taking public comment on a proposal to open wide areas off the coast of the Carolinas to oil and gas exploration.

Those who favor such exploration say offshore oil and gas means needed energy for the nation. Opponents worry about spills and their effects on fisheries and tourism.

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Myrtle Waves to host Job Fair March 14 – WBTW

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Cooler for the next few days, warmer this weekend.

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DENR head doesn’t want to see wind turbines from the beach – WECT

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WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) –

Gov. Pat McCrory has been outspoken in his support of alternative energy, but his administration’s top environmental official recently staked a position that has wind energy officials scratching their heads.

In a Feb. 23 letter, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Donald van der Vaart asked the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management not to offer wind farm lease sales within 24 nautical miles of the coast.

He was specifically concerned with two areas off the coast of New Hanover and Brunswick counties that have been identified for possible wind production.

Van der Vaart pointed to independent studies he said showed that visible offshore energy projects negatively affect tourism.

“While the employment rate in Brunswick and New Hanover counties are down by five percentage points since Governor McCrory took office in January 2013, it remains important that our coastal economies continue to improve,” van der Vaart wrote.

Brian O’Hara, president of the non-profit Southeastern Wind Coalition, said pushing wind farms farther offshore would drive up the expense and likely drive the industry elsewhere.

“The practical impact is that we probably wouldn’t see offshore wind development in North Carolina for quite some time,” he said.

O’Hara explained that installing turbines in deeper water involves costlier construction, and it takes maintenance crews longer to reach the wind farms. They also have to run more cable to transport the energy produced.

“This is a huge opportunity for North Carolina in two ways: One, it’s a clean energy source that has no emissions, no ash, no water use and no fuel cost,” O’Hara said. “So it’s a great clean energy source, and on the other hand, it’s also a great economic development opportunity.”

But Rep. Susi Hamilton says she’s not sold on offshore wind energy production.

“We need to preserve the appearance of our beaches to the best of our ability, and I’d like to see more analysis done,” Hamilton said. “I think that North Carolina is a long way away from generating energy though wind resources.”

Copyright 2015 WECT. All rights reserved.

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