Asheville Daily Planet - August, 2011

August 2011 Vol. 7, No. 9 An Independent Newspaper Serving Greater Asheville www.ashevilledailyplanet.com FREE

From Staff ReportsThe electric-drive Chevrolet Volts were officially

introduced and plans were discussed for the installa-tion of 25 recharging stations in the area for the vehicles during a a July 28 news conference at the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Among the most enthused persons speaking at the gala was James Brazell, who proudly claims the title of the first owner of a Volt in Asheville

About 1,000 electric vehicles are projected to be on Asheville-area roads by 2015, officials said.

After the ceremony, test drives of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt were offered to elected officials and the news media.

See PLUG-INS, Page 12

Officials tout electric car plug-in plans

Emerson’s ‘Self-Reliance’ essay should be on must-read list • Pg. 10

Victoria’s Secret lingerie scam termed ... strange

The Victoria’s Secret store at the Asheville Mall features intimate apparel and beauty products for women.

By JOHN NORTHAsheville native Shelley Wright feels

she has been the victim of a Victoria’s Secret lingerie scam that leaves her puz-zled as to the motive of the perpetrator in what seems like more than a prank.

One thing that is for sure is that the box containing a black garter belt and six pairs of stockings that she sup-posedly won in a drawing, which she never entered, was not at the store at the Asheville Mall, as a caller claiming to represent the store had promised.

Wright, the daughter of Bill and Linda Wright, who own Wright’s Coin Shop, helps her parents run the store at 1271 Sweeten Creek Road.

She also is a certified paranormal investigator who often co-stars with world-renowned paranormal expert Joshua P. Warren on his radio show “Speaking of Strange” on Saturday nights on WWNC-AM (570).

Even though — at the worst — she suspects it might have been a setup for a kidnapping, Wright said she has not reported the incident to the Asheville Po-lice Department because she is not sure if what happened constitutes a crime.

Meanwhile, Kristin Stewart, manager on duty at Asheville’s Victoria’s Secret, told the Daily Planet on Aug. 2 that “all I know is she (Wright) got a phone call that she had won a bra and panty set. She came in to redeem it — and we said we didn’t know anything about it.”

When pressed for details, Stewart said, “We don’t know anything” more.

Upon further questioning, she said that Wright’s case was reported by the local store to its Customer Relations Department “and they’re looking into it to see if there’s any other” such scams involving area customers.

To her knowledge, Stewart said there have “been no others” victimized by scams recently.

In a July 31 interview, Wright told the Daily Planet that she answered a telephone call at work from a woman, asking to speak to Shelley Wright on the afternoon of July 26.

“She told me she worked for Victo-ria’s Secret and I had won a contest. She told me I had won a garter belt and six pairs of stockings.

“I didn’t think it was anything strange since I’m on ‘Speaking of Strange’

(radio show) all the time. We’re always giving out phone numbers, so I thought one of my listeners had entered my name in the contest.”

The caller told Wright she had tried to call her the previous day, but could not reach her, which Wright had confirmed with co-workers at the busy coin shop.

A number of festival-goers took advan-tage of the opportunity to express their artistry on a wall on which they could add their unique touch during Ashe-ville’s annual three-day Bele Chere mu-

sic and arts gala, which ended July 31. An estimated 300,000 people attend the festival each year. More pictures of the largest free annual outdoor festival in the Southeast appear on Page 7.

A splashof colors

Daily Planet Staff Photo


See LINGERIE, Page 12

Shelley Wright

James Brazell, the first owner of a Chevrolet Volt in Asheville, speaks as his car gets charged up at a July 28 news conference.


2 —August 2011 - Asheville Daily Planet

Asheville Daily Planet — August 2011 — 3

The first in a series of three stories

By JOHN NORTHLAS VEGAS, Nev. — With seven ses-

sions running simultaneously over three in-tense days, there was never a dull moment July 14-16 at FreedomFest 2011 at Bally’s on “the strip” in what event organizers claim is “the world’s most libertarian city.”

The conference, which featured speech-es by GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., drew an estimated 2,400 people — a record, ac-cording to organizers.

Other top speakers were Judge Andrew P. Napalitano, John Mackey, Peter Schiff, Wayne Allyn Root and Steve Forbes.

The sessions included discussions and debates about philosophy and history, arts, and entertainment, public policy and geo-politics, science and technology, economics and finance, and law and religion.

The general consensus of the speakers, with a number of notable exceptions, was that the economy in the U.S. is facing an apocalypse — and that precious metals and commodities are some of the better places to safeguard one’s wealth. Several of the speakers also urged attendees to make preparations for a rough economy sooner rather than waiting for later.

The annual gathering is billed as a place where free minds meet to celebrate “great books, great ideas and great thinkers” in an open-minded society that is independent, nonpartisan and not affiliated with any organization or think tank.

Founded and produced by Mark Skou-sen since 2002, FreedomFest’s promotional material says the event invites the “best and the brightest from around the world to talk, strategize, socialize and celebrate liberty. FreedomFest is open to all and is purely egalitarian, where speakers, attendees, and exhibitors are treated as equals.”

However, most of FreedomFest’s at-tendees appeared to be small “l” libertar-ians, tea party members and conservative Republicans.

Cain and Paul addressed the audience in consecutive talks on the main stage on the evening of July 15.

Cain, who spoke first, was introduced as “the next president of the United States.” He addressed “Let’s Get Real About America’s challenges.”

He began his 20-minute speech by noting that “we have become a nation of crises.” After giving several examples, he said, “the biggest crisis we have is a severe deficiency of leadership in this country.”

Real leaders “make sure they’re working on the right crisis. They make sure they’ve got the right people around them to help them handle things. They have plans,” Cain said.

“Are we working on the right problem?” Cain asked.

“No!” the crowd responded.“The engine of economic growth in this

country is the business sector,” Cain noted. “The fuel needs to be put in the engine, not in the caboose. They put ObamaCare in the caboose.

“What did (President Barack) Obama put in the engine?” he asked. “Nothing.”

Cain said the U.S. grew 1.9 percent in the first quarter and 2.5 percent last year, while China grew around 10 percent.

“You’ve got to put fuel in the engine,” Cain asserted. “This administration does not have that (capability) in its DNA. This economy is not going to rebound in the next two years, based on hope and change.”

As for the current economic problems, Cain said, “This did not have to become a crisis. They allowed it to become a crisis. Now, they’re coming to the American

people and saying they need to raise taxes to fix things.

“The current president and his adminis-tration have shown a severe lack of adult leadership.”

With a grin, Cain said, “If it were me — I’m just saying — I’d say this (current level) is the debt ceiling and make the cuts necessary. It’s not rocket science. It’s called common sense.”

Continuing, he observed, “We have a severe deficiency of leadership.” The U.S. has enough energy resources right now “to be energy-independent from our enemies,” he noted. “Our energy dependence is a national security crisis.”

As for gasoline, Cain said experts with

whom he has consulted have told him that once the fuel reaches $4 a gallon, it will have reached “the tipping point,” where the economy is severely affected.

The son of Saudi King Abdullah II has said the Middle Eastern countries need to manage their oil supply “so that the United States and Europe don’t work on an energy independence strategy,” he noted.

As for the immigration issue, Cain said he believes in securing the border, enforc-ing the law and “fixing the path to citizen-ship” for illegal people already in the U.S.

Ultimately, on the issue of immigration, “my solution is to let the states decide ... I wouldn’t have sued Arizona, I would have sent them a medal.” The crowd cheered.

4 - August 2011 - Asheville Daily Planet

Herman Cain, Rand Paul address, fire up FreedomFest

See FREEDOMFEST, Page 5

Herman Cain Sen. Rand Paul

Asheville Daily Planet — August 2011 - 5

Continued from Page 4

FreedomFestRegarding U.S. foreign policy, Cain said

it is “foggy” at present. “Do any of you know what the definition of victory is in Afghanistan? Do any of you know what our goal is in Libya?”

Cain added, “Our Founding Fathers got it right” in the way they set up this nation. Now, “we must be the Defending Fathers of the Constitution, the free-market system, fiscal responsibility, rights of the unborn and the future of America.

“We must defend a better, stronger America, not a weaker one. In 2012, we need to have a conversative-controlled Senate, a conservative-controlled House and I’ve got an idea of who should be the president. I believe in common-sense solu-tion to our problems.”

Cain said that “skeptics, mainly in the news media, often ask, ‘Mr. Cain, what makes you think you can be president? You don’t know how Washington works.’ I say, ‘Yes, I do. It doesn’t.” The crowd cheered.

“My job is to change Washington, D.C. — and I believe we can do that in 2012 ... One of the many reasons I’m running has to do with our fight for freedom. Ronald Reagan said, ‘Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be fought for ....”

He noted that Reagan often said he did not want “to have to have” a conversation with his children or grandchildren about what freedom used to be like, having lost it on his watch.

In closing, Cain said, “I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to have that conversation with my grandkids” about the freedom he remembered because he was determined not to lose it. Cain received a spirited standing ovation.

The next speaker, Sen. Rand Paul, son of Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, a longtime FreedomFest favorite, received a standing ovation as he walked onto the stage, even before he began speaking.

With a grin, he began by noting that he sometimes texts his colleagues in Congress — “and I tell them to buy gold,” prompting laughter from the crowd.

Paul then asserted, “We live in a nation and government of busybodies. You can’t smoke a cigarette or flush a toilet without the government coming in, including in your bedroom. Now, there’s an issues with lightbulbs.”

He quickly added, “I don’t smoke,” but that he feels the government is being heavy-handed in cracking down on smok-ers in public places.

Besides his complaint about govern-ment encroaching on citizens’ rights, Paul said, “The government is out of control ... Besides the regulations that we see, they’re always adding on new ones. You never see them taking them (citizens’ rights) away.”

Following a pause, he asserted, “What we need is a president who asks who is the moron who said that milk and oil are the same.”

He cited the highly publicized case of young girls selling lemonade outside of the U.S. Open, prompting the federal govern-ment to shut them down “for selling with-out a permit ... We have a government that is out of control and full of busybodies.”

Further, Paul said, “We have a lot of problems that face us. The debt ceiling is out of control.” Even with an agreement to raise the debt ceiling without a tax increase, Paul said, “There’s no evidence (based on history) that they’re trustworthy” in abiding by it.

“I have said I would vote to increase the debt ceiling,” but only with a tying in of a Balance Budget Amendment.

“I think Dodd-Frank may be worse than ObamaCare— and I think ObamaCare is terrible.”

He heard cheers when he said, “As my father (Rep. Ron Paul) likes to say, ‘the problem is government banks.’” Paul said the regulators and bankers have too close

of a relationship.“On the national

scene, the American public is with us (conservatives) and don’t want us to raise the debt ceiling,” Paul noted. “If all else fails, buy gold.” His 20-minute speech also concluded with a standing ovation.

Paul then fielded questions for 20 minutes, including

someone asking who he would support for president. “That’s an easy one,” Paul said. His father, Ron Paul, “has been right for decade after decade” about so many issues, he said. As an example, he noted that his father had said repeatedly that Fed Chair-man Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner “were precisely the problem.”

“What departments of government would you abolish,” if given the opportu-nity? Paul was asked.

“The shorter list would be what we’d keep,” he quipped, prompting cheers from the crowd. He then listed the departments of education, energy and commerce as top prospects to eliminate.

“We could balance the (federal) budget, just by reducing the size of government, without getting into entitlements,” Paul said.

Would he favor selling the gold in Fort Knox?

“First, we have to see if it’s there,” Paul answered. Assuming there actually is gold in Fort Knox, he said with a smile, “It’s the only thing we’ve got (as a nation) of value, so I’m not sure we should sell it.”

Paul added that Bernanke recently told his father that “he doesn’t think gold is money, or had any value,” but he noted that he and his father highly disagree with the Fed chairman on the matter, as did Bernan-ke’s predecessor Alan Greenspan.

Sen. Rand Paul wondered if there is any gold in Fort Knox (above), located in his home state of Kentucky.

6 —August 2011 - Asheville Daily Planet

TO REPORT AN ERRORThe Asheville Daily Planet strives to be ac-curate in all articles published. Contact the News Department at [email protected], (828) 252-6565, or P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, N.C. 28814-8490.

Because of a reporting error, the Dai-ly Planet misspelled the first name of Berry Gordy in a review of the musical “The Music of Motown” in the July edi-tion.

Gordy was the founder and owner of the Tamla-Motown family record labels.

Firefighter dies while ensuring building’s occupants escaped From Staff Reports

A 13-year veteran of the Asheville Fire Department, Capt. Jeff Bowen, died July 28 fighting a four-alarm blaze at a medical office at 445 Biltmore Center in Asheville

He was the first Asheville firefighter killed in the line of duty since 1982. It was the city’s four-alarm fire in at least the last 30 years. The AFD was assisted at the blaze by fire crews from departments in Buncombe County, as well as the Asheville Police Department..

Bowen and fellow firefighter Jay Bettencourt, who were a team, were making sure the building was evacuated when Bowen called for help, AFD Chief Scott Burnett said during a news conference late afternoon on July 28.

As emergency crews reached

the scene, they found the two men and car-ried them out of the building. Bowen was taken to Mission Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Bowen, 37, went into cardiac arrest after succumbing to intense smoke and heat, a city news release noted.

Bettencourt, was taken to Mission and then transported in stable condition to a burn center in Augusta, Ga.

In the aftermath, thousands of apprecia-tive citizens lined the streets to pay their respect to Bowen during a procession Aug. 1 that moved Bowen’s body from Groce Funeral Home on Patton Avenue to Biltmore Baptist Church in Arden. The pro-cession involved more than 15 firetrucks and dozens of support vehicles.

Wearing dress uniforms, a half dozen firefighters sat atop the truck, accompany-ing Bowen’s flag-draped coffin. The pro-

cession began at the intersection of Patton and Louisiana near Bowen’s firehouse and proceeded up Louisiana down Haywood to Brevard until it reached the church.

The funeral was held on the morning of Aug. 2 at Biltmore Baptist Church, where an overflow crowd was on hand. After-ward, the body was returned to Groce’s Funeral Home along the same route as the previous procession.

Reportedly, the fire departments from about 25 counties across the state, includ-ing all of the surrounding counties, vol-unteered their services to relieve the AFD firefighters so that all of them could attend Bowen’s funeral.

Mike Fryar, a long-time area resident who lives in Fairview, told the Daily Planet on Aug. 2 that “there was a bunch of peo-ple” lining the streets from his vantage in West Asheville near the Ingles on Haywood Road. “I felt very sorry for the family and the community,” he said. “It’s just sad. It’s like soldiers dying. It was a man doing his duty. There were a lot of people, especially women, crying big time.”

While the loss the the family is obvious, Fryar said the community “lost one of the people who protects us. He (Bowen) felt other people’s lives were more important than his own.” Regarding the respectful-ness of procession, “It was great — the way it was done.”

The fire, for which the cause has not been determined, erupted about 12:30 p.m. on the top floors of the five-story building, Burnette said during the conference.

Burnette called Bowen a dedicated firefighter, husband and father of three. He also noted the injuries suffered by Betten-

court and six other firefighters, who were treated for heat-related injuries. Bowen, who worked for the AFD since 1998, lived with his wife Stacy in Alexander.

More than 200 people were evacuated — with none suffering injuries — from the building owned by Biltmore Condominium Associates. The blaze was under control by 3 p.m., as about 60 firefighters responded to the call.

Regarding Bowen, Burnette said, “He was a wonderful man ... The fire depart-ment will do everything we can in facili-tating any help with the family. We live together and the bonds are strong among

firemen.“I will always remember his willingness

to improve our department,” Burnette said.

The fire burns on July 28 at 445 Biltmore Center in Asheville. Special photo by Pamela Naber

Capt. Jeff Bowen

The Heart of

Downtown Asheville...

Asheville Daily Planet — August 2011 - 7

Amid heat wave,Bele Chere offersshowcase for cityThe three-day annual Bele Chere festival concluded on a sizzling July 31 in downtown Asheville. Among those per-forming on the final day were the band Skinny Legs and All (top) with the Basilica of St. Lawrence looming in the back-ground; a group of Zumba dancers (above), the Rev. Billy C. Wirtz (left) at Magnolia’s restaurant; and the band Do It to Julia (bottom).Daily Planet Staff Photos


Send us your calendar itemsPlease submit items to the Calendar of Events by noon on the third Wednesday of each month, via e-mail, at [email protected], or fax to 252-6567, or mail c/o The Daily Planet, P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, N.C. 28814-8490. Submissions will be accepted and printed at the discretion of the editor, space permitting. To place an ad for an event, call 252-6565.

Calendar

See CALENDAR, Page 9

Thursday, Aug. 4CONCERT, 7-9 p.m., Lake Tomahawk, Black

Mountain. Woody Pines will perform in the finale of the Park Rhythms free outdoor weekly sum-mer concert series. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs or blankets. Local vendors will offer food on site.

CONTRA DANCE, 8 p.m., Bryson Gym, Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa. A contra dance is held weekly, preceded by beginner’s lessons at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $6.

Friday, Aug. 5CONCERT, 7-9 p.m., Visitors Information Cen-

ter, 201 S. Main St., downtown Hendersonville. The Crew (top 40 variety) will perform in the sum-mer 2011 Music on Main Street outdoor concert series. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs. No alcoholic beverages or dogs are allowed. Con-cessions are available. Admission is free.

CONCERT, 8 p.m., South Terrace, Biltmore Es-tate, Asheville. Soul singer extraordinaire Smokey Robinson will perform in concert.

Saturday, Aug. 6FARMERS’ MARKET, 8 a.m.-noon, G&B Energy

Center, Hwy. 280, downtown Mills River. The Mills River Farmers’ Market will celebrate the bounty of the summer market. Among the features will

be performances by a local line dance group, DJ Dance Country, at 10 and 11 a.m. Judy Bradley is the line dance instructor. A produce raffle and other activities also are scheduled.

HOP HARVEST TOUR/SAMPLING, 12:45 p.m., Hop’n Blueberry Farm, 24 Middle Mountain Rd., Black Mountain. “A Grand Hop Harvest Tour & Sampling — Showcasing Hops From Vine to Keg” will be offered.The farm and Pisgah Brewing Co. invite people on a dual hop tour. Following the tour, Pisgah Brewing is a short drive down the road to 150 Eastside Dr., Black Mountain. For tickets, which are $8 (and include a beer sample or two), contact [email protected].

CONCERT, 6-8 p.m., Little Rainbow Row, downtown Flat Rock. Sally Barris, billed as “Nasheville’s ethereal singer/songwriter,” will perform. Admission is free.

CONCERT, 7-9 p.m., Town Square park in front of Hickory Tavern, Biltmore Park, Asheville. Scenic Roots will perform in a free outdoor concert.

Monday, Aug. 8STREET DANCE, 7-9 p.m., Visitors Information

Center, 201 S. Main St., downtown Henderson-ville. The summer weekly Street Dance will be held every Monday through Aug. 15. Featured is a free evening of mountain heritage bluegrass music, square dancing and clogging. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs.

WEST COAST SWING CLASSES, 7:30 and 8 p.m., The Hangar, Clarion Hotel, Fletcher. Free beginners’ lessons for West Coast Swing will be held at 7:30, followed by intermediate lessons at 8 every Monday. The lessons are free. After the lessons, an open dance will be held.

CONTRA DANCE, 8 p.m., Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave., Asheville. A contra dance is held weekly. Admission is $6.

Tuesday, Aug. 9TANGO LESSON/DANCE, 6 p.m., The Boiler

Room, Grove House Entertainment Complex, 11 Grove St., downtown Asheville. Tango lessons will precede a dance.

SWING LESSON/DANCE, 6:30 p.m., Club Eleven, Grove House Entertainment Complex, 11 Grove St., downtown Asheville. A lesson will be

followed by a dance, with live music.CONCERT, 6 p.m., Grovement Square, adjacent

to the Swannanoa Library, Swannanoa. Red June will perform acoustic Americana-bluegrass-roots rock music in the free Groovin’ at Grovemont series. Attendees are urged to bring a lawnchair and/or blankets. Meals will be available.

SPEAKER, 7 p.m., Grass Roots Café, 64 Horse Shoe. Guest speaker Zoran Naskov will address “Growing Up in a Socialist Country, and What We, in the USA, Would Be Giving Up” during the regu-lar meeting of the Blue Ridge Tea Party Patriots. All who are interested are invited to attend.

Wed., Aug. 10TEA TIME SOCIAL, 6 p.m., Ryan’s Family

Steak House, 1000 Brevard Rd., Asheville. The Asheville Tea Party will hold its weekly Tea Time Social. Those interested are invited to attend.

SHAG DANCE, 7-11 p.m., Shifters, 2310 Hendersonville Rd., Arden. The Mountain Shag Club will offer free shag dancing lessons with a DJ. Admission is $5.

Thursday, Aug. 11CLUB MEETING, 6 p.m., Renaissance Hotel,

downtown Asheville. The Blue Ridge Republican Women’s Club will meet for a meal, followed by the meeting at 6:30. The soirée also will feature a speech by state Rep. Tim Moffitt, R-Buncombe. All are welcome.

CONCERT, 8 p.m., South Terrace, Biltmore Es-tate, Asheville. Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemak-ers and Bela Fleck & the Flecktones (the Original Lineup) will perform in concert.


Friday, Aug. 12DEDICATION CEREMONY 10 a.m., Harley-

Davidson of Asheville, 20 Patton Cove Rd. at I-40, Exit 59, Swannanoa. A free ceremony in support and remembrance of U.S. military veterans will be held to dedicate the “Highway of Heroes.” The segment runs between Patton Cove

Road in Swannanoa to Grovestone Road in Black Mountain. The segment has been used for years by military families to bury their loved ones at the Western Carolina Veternas Cemetery at 972 Old U.S. 70. The dedication will be sponsored by the Swannanoa Business Association and the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

CONCERT, 7-9 p.m., Visitors Information Center, 201 S. Main St., downtown Henderson-ville. Wishful Thinkin’, which features beach music, will perform in the summer 2011 Music on Main Street outdoor concert series. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs. No alcoholic beverages or dogs are allowed. Concessions are available. Admission is free.

Motown’s legendary singer-song-writer Smokey Robinson will per-form at 8 p.m. Aug. 5 on the South Terrace of the Biltmore Estate in South Asheville.


Saturday, Aug. 13CIVIL WAR LECTURE, 3 p.m., Veteran’s

Restoration Quarters, 1329 Tunnel Rd., Asheville. The third lecture, “North Carolina Secedes,” will be given in the North Carolina Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy’s free Sesquicentennial Lecture series. The public is in-vited to hear Dr. Gary Freeze, author and history professor at Catawba College in Salisbury.

CONCERT, 7-9 p.m., Town Square Park in front of Hickory Tavern, Biltmore Park, Asheville. The Blue Dragons will perform in a free outdoor concert.

Monday, Aug. 15STREET DANCE, 7-9 p.m., Visitors Information

Center, 201 S. Main St., downtown Henderson-ville. The summer weekly Street Dance will be held every Monday through Aug. 15. Featured is a free evening of mountain heritage bluegrass music, square dancing and clogging. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs.



Tuesday, Aug. 16AUTHOR’S TALK, 7-9 p.m., Mitchell County

Historic Courthouse, 11 N. Mitchell Ave., Bak-ersville. Author William R. Forstchen will present and discuss the scenario in his New York Times bestseller, “One Second After.” The plot involves life in Black Mountain and the surrounding area following an imagined EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack on the United States. Forstchen, a professor of history at Montreat College, will de-scribed what the community would look like after an EMP attack, including the failure of all non-hardened electronics, no land lines or cell phones, no radio communications, no commercial power, no modern vehicles running and no back-up gen-erators operable. The book reportedly has been cited on the floor of Congress and is discussed in the corridors of The Pentagon. The meeting, co-sponsored by the Mayland Amateur Radio Club and AMY Regional Library, is intended to provide discussions and planning for how individuals can prepare now to mimize the impact and deal with the aftermath of an EMP.



SWING LESSON/DANCE, 6:30 p.m., Club Eleven, Grove House Entertainment Complex, 11 Grove St., downtown Asheville. A lesson will be followed by a dance, with live music.

TEA TIME SOCIAL, 6 p.m., Ryan’s Family Steak House, 1000 Brevard Rd., Asheville. The Asheville Tea Party will hold its weekly Tea Time Social. All who are interested are invited to at-tend.


Thursday, Aug. 18CONTRA DANCE, 8 p.m., Bryson Gym, Warren

Wilson College, Swannanoa. A contra dance is held weekly, preceded by beginner’s lessons at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $6.

Friday, Aug. 19DOWNTOWN AFTER FIVE, 5:15-9 p.m., North

Lexington Avenue near I-240, downtown Asheville. The gala will feature the Lee Boys and Lubriphonic performing live music. The Lee Boys are billed as one of America’s finest African-American sacred steel ensembles, while Chicago’s Lubriphonic of-fers unique, funky rock ‘n’ roll. Admission is free.

CONCERT, 7-9 p.m., Visitors Information Cen-

ter, 201 S. Main St., downtown Hendersonville. Tuxedo Junction, featuring music from the ‘40s to contemporary Top 40, will perform in the in the finale of summer 2011 Music on Main Street outdoor concert series. Attendees are urged to bring lawnchairs. No alcoholic beverages or dogs are allowed. Admission is free.

Saturday, Aug. 20 INFORMATION WARFARE PROGRAM, 2-5

p.m., The Renaissance Hotel, 31 Woodfin St., downtown Asheville. Hal Weatherman will conduct a program titled “Connect the Dots: Information Warfare 101.” He will help attendees to understand the terrorist activity they read and hear about happening in the U.S. today. Weatherman is the former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick. The program, billed as “secular” and “nonpartisan,” is sponsored by the Blue Ridge Re-publican Women’s Club, the Buncombe County GOP, the Henderson County Republican Women’s Club and the Hen-derson County GOP. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend.

CONCERT, 7-9 p.m., Town Square in front of Hickory Tavern, Biltmore Park, Asheville. The Travers Brothers will perform in a free outdoor concert.

Monday, Aug. 22WEST COAST SWING CLASSES, 7:30 and 8

p.m., The Hangar, Clarion Hotel, Fletcher. Free beginners’ lessons for West Coast Swing will be held at 7:30, followed by intermediate lessons at 8 every Monday. The lessons are free. After the lessons, an open dance will be held.






Steak House, 1000 Brevard Rd., Asheville. The Asheville Tea Party will hold its weekly Tea Time Social. All who are interested are invited to at-tend.


Thursday, Aug. 25CONTRA DANCE, 8 p.m., Bryson Gym, Warren


Friday, Aug. 26GOOMBAY FESTIVAL, 1 p.m., historic Eagle-

Market Street (The Block) business district, downtown Asheville. The three-day 30th annual Goombay Festival, which runs through Sun-day, will feature music, crafts, food and other entertainment. For the first time, some of the entertainment will be held at Pack Square Park on Roger McGuire Green. Admission is free.

LITERARY FUNDRAISER, 6-9:30 p.m., Crowe Plaza Resort ballroom, downtown Asheville. Author Ron Rash will be the keynote speaker at the Literary Council of Buncombe County’s annual fundraiser, the Authors for Literacy Dinner and Silent Auction. Rash is the Parris distinguished professor of Appalachian culture at Western Carolina University. His novel “Serena” was a New York Times bestseller. Artist Olga Dorenka will paint a piece to be auctioned off. For tickets, which are $75, call Ashley Vandewart at 254-3442.`

Saturday, Aug. 27 CONCERT, 7-9 p.m., Town Square park in front

of Hickory Tavern, Biltmore Park, Asheville. The Cheeksters will perform in a free outdoor concert.

CONCERT, 8 p.m., South Terrace, Biltmore Estate, Asheville. The Beach Boys will perorm in concert.

Monday, Aug. 29WEST COAST SWING CLASSES, 7:30 and 8

p.m., The Hangar, Clarion Hotel, Fletcher. Free beginners’ lessons for West Coast Swing will be held at 7:30, followed by intermediate lessons at 8 every Monday. The lessons are free. After the lessons, an open dance will be held.





DINNER, 6:30 p.m.,The Venue, downtown Ashevlille. The “Friends of the River” dinner will begin with musical entertainment by Primrose. Other activities will include a buffet dinner, presentation of the “Friends of the River” awards and a keynote address by Rep. Chuck McGrady, Henderson County. For tickets, which are $20, visit [email protected].


Steak House, 1000 Brevard Rd., Asheville. The Asheville Tea Party will hold its weekly Tea Time Social. All who are interested are invited to at-tend.


Thursday, Sept. 1CONTRA DANCE, 8 p.m., Bryson Gym, Warren


Saturday, Sept. 3 CONCERT, 6-8 p.m., Little Rainbow Row,

downtown Flat Rock. Chris Rosser, billed as a “world folk singer-songerwriter,” will perform. Admission is free.

CONCERT, 7-9 p.m., Town Square park in front of Hickory Tavern, Biltmore Park, Asheville. Dash-board Blue will perform in a free outdoor concert.

Monday, Sept. 5 LABOR DAY CONCERT, 7-8:30 p.m., Pack

Square Park, downtown Asheville. The Asheville Symphony Orchestra will perform in the annual Labor Day concert. Lawn seating is free, but reserved seats are $20. Tickets also are available to a VIP preconcert reception at the Renaissance Hotel, with hors d’oeuvres, wine and beer, plus preferred seating and free parking for $60. Tickets must be prepurchased by Sept. 1, by visiting www.ashevillesymphony.org, or call 254-7046.




Calendar

The band Tuxedo Junction, which opened the weekly Mu-sic on Main Street series, also will perform the finale free

concert for the summer from 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 19 in down-town Hendersonville.

Hal Weatherman

The official unemployment rate is heading in the wrong direction.

The 9.2 (percent) on the stay-at-home scale is creating a host of aftershocks.

There are credible sources suggesting that including the underemployed and those who’ve given up produces a real rate double the official rate.

That four out of five new jobs are low-wage positions adds credibility to those claims.

One of the biggest and most unreported impacts of our high unemployment is the fear it generates for the 90 percent of us who do have a job.

Most of the people who are working find little or no security in their position or their future. There’s a clear sense that America’s consumption versus production economy is out of tune with world realities.

Our growing obsession with rights over responsibilities combined with a lack of adult leadership in Washington is a perfect caldron for social paralysis.

Conservative thinkers recognize that creativ-ity and contribution, not government, represent the antidote to our apprehensions.

• Carl Mumpower, a former member of

Asheville City Council, may be contacted at [email protected]

CarlMumpower

Daily Planet’s Opinion‘Self-Reliance’ is must-reading

New England Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous es-say on “Self-Reliance” should be considered must-reading for those who strive to remain independent — and critical — thinkers in today’s ever-dumbed-down United States.

At its start, this nation largely and uniquely consisted of a potpourri of individualists — free-wheelers who bristled with the creative energy that eventually transformed America into the world’s economic powerhouse.

In a process that has been going on for decades, the U.S. has transformed into an alarmingly lethargic, poorly educated and poorly informed citi-zenry with a mob mentality. Sadly, many Americans today want to be taken care of by the government.

While the idea of government de-pendency might be tempting in these hard times, many Americans likely would be inspired by the ideas in Em-erson’s essay, first delivered in 1830.

The essay addresses the need for each individual to avoid comformity and false consistency, and follow one’s own instincts and ideas.

From it came one of Emerson’s most-famous quotes, “A foolish con-sistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”

Many scholars agree that“Self-Reliance” is not anti-society or anti-community. Instead, it urges using self-reliance as a a starting point, not as a goal, according to Wikipedia.

While moralists previously had preached obedience and submission to authority, Emerson boldly took quite the opposite tack, smacking the smooth mediocrity and squalid con-tentment of the times.

While some have castigated Amer-icans for being too individualistic, we are proud that Emerson, even in his times, urged his countrymen to be even more individualistic. It is an ad-monition that we should heed today.

CHAPEL HILL — Do you remember see-ing photos of the 50th anniversary reunion of the Civil War battle at Gettysburg?

Aging veterans from both sides of that war gathered to remember together the horrors of the battle and to celebrate their common homeland.

As we begin to mark the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960s, I wonder if there could ever be a Gettysburg type of reunion that would bring together those who battled for equal rights and those who fought tooth and nail against them.

Unlikely. It is hard these days to find any-one who will stand up with pride and say that he or she fought against the movement for equal opportunity.

A new book by Joseph Howell, who is married to my sister Embry, brought back those times of the early 1960s vividly. His book, “Civil Rights Journey: The Story of a White Southerner Coming of Age during the Civil Rights Revolution” is a reminder to me of a question that must haunt every American who lived through the 1960s and did noth-ing, or very little, but sit on the sidelines as historic changes rushed by.

The question: Why didn’t I do more?Howell asks the same question even as

he describes how he led demonstrations for equal rights in Charlotte while he was a stu-dent at Davidson College in the early 1960s. Howell claims he did not do nearly enough. But as he cheerfully recalled last year to a reunion of Civil Rights workers in southwest Georgia, his son’s eighth grade social studies paper had asserted, “There were three great leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King, Junior, John Lewis, and my dad, Joseph T. Howell.”

Howell’s diary of his and Embry’s experi-ences during summer 1966 in southwest Georgia is the core of the new book. Howell recorded in detail the struggles of the rural black family with whom they lived, the door-to-door challenge of persuading blacks to buck the system by registering to vote and voting, the acquittal by an all white jury of the accused and very guilty white man, and the frustration of attending scheduled mass meetings that began hours late and had only 15 people in the audience.

While the Howells were fighting white rac-ism that summer, they found out that racism

could work both ways. Early in the sum-mer Howell learned about internal conflicts among the Civil Rights leaders in southwest Georgia.

An inspirational fellow seminary student and leader of the Student Non-Violent Coor-dinating Committee (SNCC), Charles Sher-rod, recruited the Howells and other white students to work for SNCC at its Southwest Georgia Project.

What he Howells did not know was that just as they were signing up to work for SNCC, “the idea of moving from an integrat-ed movement to an all-black movement was being fiercely debated within SNCC.”

The advocates of “self defense” and “black self-determination” led by Stokely Carmichael won the debate over Sherrod, John Lewis and other advocates of SNCC’s original non-violent civil disobedience and integrated foundations.

“But,” Howell writes, “we did not know this before we got down there and were the first to experience what it meant.”

“What it meant” according to Howell’s diary was a summer of confusion and inept leadership taking on the monumental prob-lems that faced an oppressed black population in the area. And it meant an adjustment of at-titudes by the Howells as they worked for an organization and people who viewed whites as the enemy.

Howell’s diary records his humiliation under the SNCC leadership on the same pages he describes the humiliations of the lo-cal blacks under the oppressive white power structure.

It is a moving and well-told personal story, but, more importantly, an insider’s record of an often-overlooked part of the Civil Rights revolution.

•D.G. Martin hosts UNC-TV’s North

Carolina Bookwatch, which airs at 9:30 p.m. Fridays and 5 p.m. Sundays.

The Civil Rights Revolution — inside and on the ground

D.G.Martin

Letters to the EditorMotown review praised;but it’s ‘Berry’ not ‘Barry’

May I thank you (the Daily Planet) for the excellent article (review of the musical “The Music of Motown” at Flat Rock Play-house) by John North of my dear friend Sidney Barnes.

I run Sidney’s website from here near Leicester, England.

One typo I have found in the article is in the sentence “He then said that, ‘once upon a time in the early ‘60s in Detroit, Mich., a man named Barry Gordy’ was writing hit songs, such as “Reet Petite ...”

The name should read BERRY GORDY (Jr.), not BARRY (Gordy).

Hope this helps and we’ve added a link to your paper on the website.

MARK HANSONon behalf of SIDNEY BARNES

Leicester, England

Fisher blasted for ignoringDems’ redistricting legacy

I read with amazement Rep. Susan Fish-er’s comment on the front page of the C-T today (July 14), regarding the redistricting proposals being made in Raleigh.

Did she REALLY say: “They are trying to weaken the Democratic advantage”? For an elected public official, she must be VERY STUPID!

Isn’t this what the Democratic Party has been doing for 140 years??? And it had EARNED the right to do that by winning elections! So why is it “unfair” or “unjust” for the Republican Party to do exactly the same thing?

The Republican Party EARNED that right just as HER party has done for over a century. Why does “playing by the rules” always upset Democrats if doing so is to their disadvantage? The Republicans are playing by the SAME rules that the Dems have played by all those years. Does she expect them to change the rules so as to benefit their opponents? Is she REALLY that stupid?

I am astounded at the number of com-plaints in the local papers about the Republican Party redistricting to their own

advantage. My comments above also apply to THEM!

Now I understand how Fisher got elect-ed: We really DO have that many STUPID voters — and Fisher deserves every one of them!

WALTER M. PLAUE Asheville

To be business-friendly.Living Wage advocated

I must say I am a No. 1 supporter of the Living Wage.

I once had to work three jobs seven days a week — and still found myself coming up short. Now granted ... I did not have a degree at the time, but frankly even after I did attain a bachelor degree, the best I could find was a mere 12 bucks an hour. I know of many people in Asheville who have bachelors and even masters degrees, but work in two to three part-time service industry jobs while scraping by.

I have not lived in Asheville, but did live in Eastern North Carolina. The only way out is to move out!

But for some, Asheville and all the cul-ture and charm it has to offer are worth the struggle.

My concern with the Living Wage effort is the following:

• Raising wages may decrease food quality. While trying to increase living standards for workers, owners must cut costs somewhere and rent and utilities are out of their control along with tax hikes and regulation not to mention insurance.

• Raising wages to increase the market value by association with the Living Wage listing is in effect black-balling those owners who can’t make the cut; eventually driving them out of business.

• Raising wages for health care work-ers raise the cost of health care especially for nursing homes where the residents can barely afford to live there in there in the first place.

I suppose what I am saying, make sure the Asheville business environment is tax- and regulation-friendly and has some other kudos for the owners to go along with it. Make sure that businesses that choose to regulate their own wages well are not black-balled because they don’t want to be on a list.

Perhaps, having grades of participation, rather than black-and-white guidelines that say “thumbs up or thumbs down; try to “speak” the language of all business own-ers, not just those who meet guidelines.

We are all job scaredThe Candid Conservative

Continued on Page 11


Berry Gordy Jr.


If Asheville were a business-friendly place, it would hopefully trend into a wage-friendly place as well. After all, isn’t the goal to have dedicated, happy and healthy employees? That requires dedicated, happy and healthy employers.

I think encouraging businesses (employ-ers) to consider the state of their employees is a great idea! Obviously, many haven’t a clue of how low wages hurt families across the city. It is painful to want to live a peaceful and loving Asheville-life yet can-not pay your bills. I only know this because my amazing daughter lives there and it is a perfect environment for her thriving mind and huge heart for her small frame.

I say GOGOGO Living Wage, but help businesses at the political and city policy level to protect their interests as well. Praise those who are actively giving back to the community in donations and ser-vice even if they aren’t on the “list.” Keep Asheville diverse in this respect as well.

JANET SILCOXDumfries, Va.

Eichenbaum says he reached out to Jeff Miller

In response to Jeff Miller’s recent state-ment to WHKP-AM radio (in Henderson-ville), he is correct, I did not endorse nor “promise” to “endorse” him.

I did, however, agree to support the win-ner of the 2010 Republican primary, and I did reach out to Jeff Miller on more than one occasion. I received no response from him or anyone on his team.

In addition, I ask my supporters to look at the source of this political nonsense. Af-ter a while, like rotting fruit on the ground, it begins to stink. These attempts by my detractors to sabotage and misdirect my focus have failed.

I remain committed to meeting the folks of this district to share their concerns and my ideas to restore limited government, our freedoms and prosperity for future genera-tions.

DR. DAN EICHENBAUMMurphy

EDITOR’S NOTE: Eichenbaum is running again for the 11th District con-gressional seat.

LettersContinued from Page 10

Continued on Page 15

On the left

A question of moralityThe ongoing effort by Republicans and

their allies to eliminate Medicare and Medicaid is nothing less than appalling, and their success in dragging some centrist Democrats over to their side of the debate is frightening.

As a man who believes that we have a moral obligation to care for the least of our sisters and brothers, I could never vote to undo the hard won progress we have made toward addressing the common good embodied in the U.S. Constitution. I chal-lenge Heath Shuler to explain his vote to kill Medicare. The “Cut, Cap and Balance” legislation he supported artfully stated that it protected the program, while absolutely ensuring devastating cuts in the future.

In many ways the history of civilization has been one of discovering better and better forms of government that address our common needs while preserving our individual freedom. And short of imprison-ment, there is nothing that crushes indi-vidual freedom more certainly than serious illness without hope of help.

As guidance in our treatment of others we tend to fall back on the moral teachings of our religious faith. The Golden Rule has rung down through the ages in various forms. “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them,” attributed to Jesus of Nazareth, is more commonly phrased in modern English as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” In Judaism, the sage Hillel was asked to summarize the Torah and replied, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary; go and learn.” However it is phrased, the idea is that of reciprocity: “What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander,” is the ver-sion we read in Shakespeare.

In my own church, the Unitarian Univer-salist, our first two principles speak to the same issue. We believe in “The inherent worth and dignity of every person,” and in “Justice, equity and compassion in human relations.” This is the basis for our com-mitment to work in both the church and the wider community, ministering to the home-less, the disenfranchised, the hungry and the poor. One of our fellow believers, John Adams, second president of the United States and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, put it this way, “If we do not lay out ourselves in the service of mankind

whom should we serve?”When I look at our nation’s history, I see

that we have struggled to extend help to the helpless. Before Social Security was introduced, old age meant abject poverty for many. While it’s a grand idea that ev-eryone should save for the day when their bodies are weary and aches become a daily companion, it isn’t easy in the press of everday living, when immediate needs and some few pleasures have our full attention. The organized collection of a payroll tax and distribution of benefits created modern retirement, where those who have paid their dues are rewarded with a far kinder and gentler sunset than our ancestors.

Yet still, the extraordinary cost of some medical care meant that even with a government retirement plan, many seniors and many with debilitating illness or injury were sentenced to a life of poverty. So we implemented Medicare for all, and Med-icaid for the very poorest in our midst. Those plans have worked well, with far lower overhead than private insurance plans, and clear benefit to our society and our economy. The poor and ill cannot offer their gifts to our community, they can’t give full expression to the wisdom gained through experience that makes all of our lives better.

Conservatives bemoan the expense of our social safety net in order to distract us from easy answers. If we would sim-ply eliminate the income cap on payroll withholding, Social Security and Medicare would be solvent far into our future. To those who say that increasing that tax on the rich is unfair, I ask “What would you do if you were in their shoes?”

I would gladly pay.If I do not lay myself out in service of

mankind, whom should I serve?•

Cecil Bothwell, a member of Asheville City Council and a self-proclaimed progressive-libertarian, is running for the Democratic nomination for the seat now held by U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville.

CecilBothwell

Plug-ins


The Volt and other new electric vehicles are pricey — about $40,000. However, a $7,500 federal tax credit drops the price down to about $32,500. Recharging costs for the electrics averages about $1.50 per day. An estimated 400 Volts are on the road in the U.S. now.

The estimate for electric vehicle use was provided by Land of Sky Regional Council. Buncombe County already has the second-highest number of hybrid car-owners in the state, lagging only Wake County, officials said.

By year’s end, the network of charging stations should be completed around the area. The project is being financed by a $150,000 federal grant.

Biltmore Town Square has two recharg-ing stations that were constructed locally by Eaton Corp., while Buncombe County plans to install stations at the Department of Social Services on Coxe Avenue and at the county parking deck across from the county courthouse.

About 50 people attended the 45-min-ute ceremony that featured speeches by local elected officials, Asheville chamber President Kit Cramer, sponsoring organiza-tion representatives and GM officials. The event was hosted by the Land-of-Sky Clean Vehicles Coalition, Clean Air Campaign, North Carolina Division of Air Quality, General Motors and the chamber.

Cramer welcomed everyone to Asheville — and particularly singled out General Motors’s representatives and the Chevro-let Volt. She said chamber officials “are thrilled to welcome” the Volt “because it means green jobs in Asheville. Cramer noted that the city emphasizes energy efficiency, sustainability and green jobs. She then quipped, “In fact, we’d like to have one of the first charging stations in Asheville” at the chamber’s Visitor Center on Montford Avenue.

Next, Bill Eaker, of the Land-of-Sky Clean Vehicles Coalition, spoke of the regional electric vehicle initiative and the

charging station deployment for the electric vehicles.

He also noted that the 2011 Chevrolet Volt was the choice for the green vehicle for Bele Chere.

“Back in the mid-’90s, those of us at Land of the Sky Council first started hear-ing about an air-quality issue in Western North Carolina,” he said. “We did re-search” and, in the late ‘90s confirmed that ground-level ozone pollution, especially in summer, formed a haze in the mountains and also acid rain, or acid decimation ....

“The solution is to use less electricity ... There’s been a lot of publicity about these plug-in vehicles.” He said great strides are being made in making the plug-ins operate efficiently.

To that end, he said the first of two charging units in the area were installed earlier this year in front of the Hilton Hotel at Biltmore Park in South Asheville. “They (the remaining charging stations) should be installed by the end of the year, hopefully by November,” he said.

Giving the Buncombe perspective and plans was David Gantt, chairman of the

Buncombe Board of Commissioners, who said, “I am so thrilled to be here and talk about something good ... We have to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. We have to have energy independence.”

He said the county has a large fleet of energy-efficient vehicles. “We’re using way too much energy, way too much gasoline ... We’ve got to go solar. If it makes sense, we (the county) are going to do it. If it’s close,” Buncombe will go solar.

City Councilman Jan Davis provided Asheville’s perspective and plans, noting, “It’s been very important to make our fleet” of vehicles energy-efficient.

“We’ve made a commitment (on coun-cil) to reduce our (the city’s) carbon foot-print 4 percent per year. “We strive to be clean and green.” He noted that Asheville has five hybrid buses, “thanks to Congress-man (Heath) Shuler. We’ve also gone to clean lightweight diesels for the result of our fleet.”

Davis added, “We’ve partnered on regional transportation with Buncombe, Henderson and Haywood counties.”

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The woman told Wright that she had a choice between a couple of things — and that she would be sure to leave them under the checkout counter in a box at the Asheville Mall store.

“She said her name was Amy and there was a sense of urgency in my coming by to get my box,” Wright recounted. “The only sort of personal thing was that she asked when the last time I had shopped at Victo-ria’s Secret — and I said around Christmas-time, mainly because I’m busy with work” and her paranormal activities.

“She said she’d be there till 7 p.m. I think I said I’d get there that night. But it was just one thing after another — and I couldn’t get there.” Wright added that the caller “implied that she worked there and, if I showed up, I’d see her.

“The next night, I came in (the store) and said I was Shelley Wright and that I came for my prize. They said, ‘We don’t do that.’ I said, ‘OK, here’s my story.’ They didn’t seem that interested ... They told me about a week ago, somebody (a woman) said the same thing” about winning a prize at the store. Wright said store employ-ees also told her it had happened another woman about a year ago.

Wright was stunned at being scammed. “To be a hardened coin dealer, you develop a sense (of people) — and I didn’t get any

red flags” from the woman who called her about the prize.

“They (the store’s employees) just wanted to get me out of there,” she said. “They said they’d call the Loss Prevention Department and then get in touch with me. I volunteered to call the Loss Prevention Department myself, but they said they’d do it ... They wanted me out of the store.” Wright said she was perturbed that “they would not give me the information,” so that she herself could call the Loss Prevention Department.

Wright said she was less-than-impressed with the attitude of those she spoke with at the local Victoria’s Secret store. “Did they call in my complaint?” she wondered. “They didn’t even bother to get my name” and other information with which to get back in contact with her.

As a businesswoman, Wright said, “If someone was going around scamming people” in the name of her family’s busi-ness, she would be very interested in look-ing into it and, at the same time, trying to appease customers who were misled.

“I didn’t ask for anything” from the store, she noted. “I just want people to be safe. Whomever’s doing this, I’d like for them to be caught.”

As for the caller, Wright admits she thought it was strange that she was called at work rather than at home.

“It could be a prank ... but the fact that it had happened to other people ... It was just weird ... They (the store personnel) said they don’t have anyone named Amy work-ing there ... The fact that it was lingerie, that some other lady had” been scammed, too. Wright noted that the store personnel had told her that the other scammed woman “had received a second phone call (from a woman) and was asked questions that were perverted.”

After a pause, she added, “I kind of wondered if I’d shown up, somebody might have followed me back to my car.” Wright also noted that the caller did not identify herself until she asked for her name near the end of the conversation.

“This is truly serious ... They called my place of business, called me specifically to try to lure me to a particular place at a par-ticular time. And it was lingerie” that was involved, adding a twist to the mystery.

As for “Amy,” Wright said “she sounded like she was in her 30s or 40s. She had a maturity about her. She sounded profes-sional. She sounded like she was from around here. She was friendly, helpful and sounded” like she needed to get the items to Wright to keep her boss happy.

Despite Wright’s enthusiasm for para-normal investigation, with a special love for forensics, she said she did not sense any paranormal aspects to the case, so she is at a loss — for now — for leads in the baf-flling case of the mysterious lingerie scam.

Continued from Page 1Lingerie

Chamber chief Kit Cramer welcomes everyone to the July 28 news confer-ence focusing on electric cars and recharging stations for them.



Faith NotesSaturday, Aug. 6

RUMMAGE SALE, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., Oakley United Methodist Church, 607 Fairview Rd., Asheville. The church will feature a rummage sale.

CAR SHOW/BBQ, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., New Morgan Hill Baptist Church, 370 Lake Drive, Candler. The church will hold a car show and serve a barbecue lunch. Meal prices are $8 for adults and $5 for children.

PET BLESSING, 10 a.m., front lawn, Mills River Presbyterian Church, 10 Presbyterian Church Rd., Mills River. The church will hold a service titled “Blessing of the Pets.” The third annual outdoor event will include tributes to pets lost during the past year, adopted animals and rescued pets. A free-will offering will be collected during the sevice to benefit the Blue Ridge Humane Society, a nonprofit animal shelter in Henderon County. For the casual event, attendees are encouraged to bring blankets or chairs to sit on, under trees on the church’s lawn. Dogs should be on leashes and cats in crates.

GALA, 3-6 p.m., Hominy Baptist Church, 135 Candler School Rd., Candler. A “Back to School Bluegrass” bash will feature live music, clogging and a bake sale. Attendees are asked to bring a donation of school supplies.

SUPPER/SINGING, 4 p.m., Calvary Road Baptist Church, 77 Sutton Loop, Waynesville. A fundraiser supper and singing will be offered. The spaghetti supper will be served from 4 to 6 p.m. Music by The Porter Family & Chosen will begin at 6 p.m.

CONCERT, 7 p.m., Fellowship Baptist Church, Howard Gap Road, Hendersonville. The Jimmy Justice Family & Archie Watkins will perform. For tickets, which are $10 in advance and $12 at the door, call 685-3730 or 696-5150.

CONCERT, 7 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Fel-lowship of Hendersonville, 2021 Kanuga Rd., Hendersonville. The UUFH will host a concert to benefit its community outreach programs, including Lunch Box for Children, Care Givers, Interfaith As-sistance Ministry, Free Clinics, the Humane Society and more. The show will be opened by Primrose, an Appalachian folk band from Weaverville, followed by Friction Farm, especially known for its classic ‘60s-style harmonies.

Sunday, Aug. 7MEN’S DAY, 11 a.m.,Tabernacle Missionary

Baptist Church, 56 Walton St., Asheville. The annual Men’s Day will be feature a speaker, Theodis Beck, former director of the N.C. Department of Correc-tions.

CONCERT, 6 p.m., Piney Mountain United Meth-odist Churc, 14 Piney Mountain Rd., Candler. The Redeemed Quartet will perform in concert.

Wednesday, Aug. 10DRAMA MELLOWING, 7-9 p.m., Unity Center,

2041 Old Fanning Bridge Rd., Mills River. The program, led by the Rev. Chad O’Shea, will explore a deeper way of looking at life and what one per-ceives as their stress at times the individual labels challenging. O’Shea claims that one’s reality is a “do-it-yourself project.” The program will include a bit of discourse, some discussion and a time of meditation together. Admission is free, but a love offering will be taken.

HAPPINESS PROGRAM, 7-9 p.m., Center for Spiritual Living, 2 Science of Mind Way, Asheville. A program titled “The Happiness Project” is held each Wednesday. It is billed as one of the most thought-ful works on happiness to have emerged from the recent explosion of interest in the subject, weaving together philosophy, scientific research, history, analysis and real-life experiences.

Friday, Aug. 12BLOCK PARTY, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Mount Zion

Missionary Baptist Church, 47 Eagle St., Asheville. A block party will be held for youths ages 6-18. Features will include youth choirs, mimes, praise dancers and speakers.

SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVIE, 7-8:30 p.m., Unitar-ian Universal Church of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place, Asheville. The documentary “Bag It” will be screened on UU Social Justice Movie Night. The plot involves a self-described “average guy,” Jeb Berrier, who notices that plastic bags are piling up in his house. As a result, he embarks on a personal quest to figure out where they come from, why they are so ubiquitous and where they end up after they

are thrown away. A discussion will follow the film. Admission is free, but donations are welcome.

Sunday, Aug. 14CONCERT, 2 p.m., Colonial Theater, Park Street,

Canton. The Chuck Wagon Gang will perform in concert. For tickets, which are $15, call 235-2760.

Wednesday, Aug. 17SACRED PROGRAM, 7-9 p.m., Unity Center,

2041 Old Fanning Bridge Rd., Mills River. Dale Allen Hoffman will lead a program titled “Kadosh Shmakh: Intoning the Sacred Name of God. Hoff-man, billed as an international mystic, will share what he considers the most sacred and transfor-mative sounds in the Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic languages and the simultaneously subtle and profound direct experience of these vocal intona-tions on human consciousness, the body and one’s psycho-spiritual emotional architecture. Admission is $25 per person.

Saturday, Aug. 20BREAKFAST/FLEA MARKET/BAKE SALE, 7 a.m.-

noon, New Morgan Hill Baptist Church, 370 Lake Drive, Candler. A breakfast, flea market and bake sale wil be held. Meals are $4 for adults and $2 for children.

Sunday, Aug. 21FRIENDSHIP POTLUCK, 12:45 p.m., Unity

Center, 2041 Old Fanning Bridge Rd., Mills River. A Friendship Potluck luncheon will be held. Attendees are asked to bring food to share, including six to eight servings of a main dish, salad or dessert.

PROSPERITY PROGRAM, 2 p.m., Unity Center, 2041 Old Fanning Bridge Rd., Mills River. Dan Beckett will be offering a program on “Prosperity: Living a Life of Joy and Abundance” for five straight Sundays through Sept. 18. The program is billed as offering participants the opportunity to learn how to experience more joy, serenity, inner peace and financial freedom in their lives and to be a shining example to others. Topics include cultivating a consciousness of abundance, developing one’s spiritual compass, breaking down barriers to success, getting what one wants in life and living a life of joyful service. Admission is free, but a love offering will be taken.

Wednesday, Aug. 24HEALERS’ NIGHT, 7 p.m., Unity Center, 2041

Old Fanning Bridge Rd., Mills River. A potpourri of mini-sessions will be offered by serveral of Unity’s healers. Admission is free, but a love offering to Unity will be taken.

Wednesday, Aug. 31LABYRINTH WALK, 7 p.m., Unity Center, 2041

Old Fanning Bridge Rd., Mills River. Sam Rich-ardson will lead a five-path labyrinth walk, billed as enabling one to discover the healing, magic power of the ancient energy pattern. Labyrinths are used for healing, instropection, meditating, prayer, pilgrimage and transformation. Admission is free, but a love offering will be taken.

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LETTERS


What’s this about men scoringwith women in supermarkets?

Men’s magazines and blogs always have some article telling guys to pick up women at grocery stores. Really? I’ve ac-tually never heard of a guy successfully asking a girl out in the vegetable section. The meat counter doesn’t seem all that conducive to romance, either. What’s the real deal on meeting women at the supermarket?

— Cleanup In Aisle Two

There’s all this breathless encouragement for guys to go meet women at the super-market, as if the place is the key thing. As if a guy who always strikes out at the bar just needs to lurk in the organic lettuce section and picking up women will play out like the deer trotting up to the hunter and saying, “Hi, my name’s Tiffany, and I’ll be your dinner.”

The guy most likely to score at the super-market is one who has the mojo to score at a wake, while leaning over the embalmed dead body. Sure, if you spot some babe foraging in the probiotic dairy products, try your luck. But, as the author who calls himself “Mystery” points out in his book “The Pickup Artist,” the supermarket is a poor place, statistically speaking, to go to meet women. You might see one hot one there some night, but, in his words, “Why run around searching for one woman at a time when you can wait in a valley where all the animals will come to drink from the water hole?”

Although Mystery tries to pick up wom-en everywhere he goes, he finds there’s no “water hole” that compares to clubs. (In his definition of “clubs,” he includes bars, “social restaurants,” and parties.) Even if you don’t like venues like these, they’re the best training ground for a guy who needs to get game, because there are lots of women who are single and looking, and not just for fresh cilantro.

Having lots of women to hit on is how you get practice, which is how you get good. (Essentially, you fail your way to success.) The high volume of women in a club also helps keep you in a more positive mindset. If one disses you, it’s just a sign to move on to the next — in an environ-ment conducive to approaching them. There’s sexy music and lighting, and you can ask a woman to dance, buy her a drink afterward, and talk. What do you say in the supermarket, “Lemme buy you that head of cabbage”?

Part of what you need to practice is hav-ing the right stuff going on in your head. Mystery talks about conveying personality rather than convincing a woman you’re worthy of her. This takes having fun trying to meet women. You do that by making your goal going out and having a good time working on your mojo instead of being on some grim life-or-death mission to score.

Once you get good at hitting on women in clubs, you increase your chances of success everywhere … increasing your chances that some woman will follow you out of the supermarket, determined to get into your pants, and not just because she saw you on the security tape sticky-finger-ing a box of Pop-Tarts.

Hold me, Mr. TightwadMy boyfriend moved in with me after

his landlord raised his rent. He an-nounced that he’d give me $400 a month (half of what he was paying at his place), then cut that to $350. I pay $1,250 a month for my home loan and utilities, and more for groceries, lawn care, etc. Now he’s decided he shouldn’t have to

pay anything because he never charged me when I stayed over frequently at his apartment one year. He occasionally buys groceries, takes me out to dinner monthly, and had a little remodeling done ($1,200). He also bought a freezer ($400) and a side of beef ($1,000). I love the guy. He’s lots of fun, sex is great, and he only started being this way when he learned that I was helping my sons out with about $60 a month. (Both just graduated with extensive student loans.) He said he was never helped like this by his parents, and apparently money’s no problem for me if I do this.

— Disturbed

There’s a time in a man’s life when he shouldn’t expect to contribute to keeping a roof over his head, and it’s when he’s waking up on sheets with little cartoon spaceships on them to go to his day job — attending fourth grade.

What kind of disturbed cheapskate tells his girlfriend she’s lucky he didn’t charge her for rent, gas and electric on all those nights she didn’t drag herself out of his bed and drive home immediately after sex? But, wait — it gets better. He’s so petty that he justifies his freeloading by pointing to where some of your money’s going — to help your just-graduated kids out in a tough economy. (Some ladies have meth habits; it seems you have a nasty mothering habit.) And not that it’s any of his business, but wow, $60 a month? Why, with that kind of loot, your boys’ll be able to go in on a 2011 Jag — in another 1,166 years.

Nothing says “We’re in it together, babe” like a man telling a woman she’ll be cover-ing all the bills. Okay, so he was never helped out financially by his parents. We all have some point in our lives when Mommy didn’t give us a cookie. If it affects us long-term, the correct thing to do is work it out at Mr. Therapist’s office, not make it part of an elaborate rationale to stiff the girlfriend on living expenses. Sure, he contributes in some ways ($1,400 of frozen beef), maybe because he likes steak and maybe because he feels guilty for being a mooch, but your mortgage documents surely don’t allow you to pay with cash, check, or cow.

It shouldn’t be hard to get him to start contributing. Just hold him by the ankles and shake all the change out of his pockets. What you can’t cure is the character flaw that leads him to show all the generosity of spirit of an angry accounts receivable clerk. Of course, it takes two to make the sponge dynamic work — one to do the squeez-ing and one to ignore being squeezed. Ask yourself whether you need a relationship — any relationship — so badly that you’ll settle for parasite/hostess. That’s what you’ll keep settling for as long as you stay focused on the positives here, like how two can live as cheaply as one when one’s stiff-ing the other on the rent money, and how he’s so much fun and sex is so great. (It had better be. You’re paying $625 a month for it.)

•(c) 2011, Amy Alkon, all rights re-

served. Got a problem? Write Amy Al-kon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or e-mail [email protected] (www.advicegoddess.com)

The AdviceGoddessAmy Alkon

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Debt ceiling crisis sparksslap of politicians, media

A few observations on the fall out from the debt ceiling crisis:

1. The mainstream media, (and I mean ALL of it) has clearly shown itself to be sup-porters of the status quo and of the political establishment in Washington. Not once in this debate was the tea party referred to as a reform movement, even though it was the only entity trying to change the culture of “borrow and spend” in Washington.

2. The politicians and media were com-pletely united trying to scare voters about soaring interest rates if the debt limit was not raised. In the real world, during the en-

tire month-long saga, interest rates on our debt plunged to historic new lows. In fact, the drop in rates was historically greater than in the any time in the past 4 years!

3. It has become painfully obvious that there is really no incentive for Washington to change its ways. We are borrowing $6 bil-lion each and every day ($1.5 trillion a year) just to stay afloat, and the changes proposed are statistically insignificant. Hence the market’s reaction.

To me, it seems the main problem fac-ing us it that there is no positive, political pay-off for any statesman seeking to address the fundamental issue — the ever increasing role of government in our lives, and the real costs of this.

STEVEN CHASEBoone, N.C., and Miami, Fla.

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Asheville Daily Planet - August, 2011