Welcome to DKos Asheville.
This space appears each weekend to share links to news and opinion from Asheville and Western North Carolina. The floor is open for comment and discussion. Wishing all a good day from this beautiful part of the world.
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Below are links to stories I found interesting this week. They include an exploration of the National Park Service’s, visitors with disabilities program, with several great photos. UNCA’s vital and award winning Drama program faces elimination over budget cuts, but big money from outside is funding $4m in tennis courts. And finally a whimsical look at local store pets.
Growing up, Blount County native Carly Pearson considered time outdoors a way of life. When she wasn’t exploring the stunningly diverse landscape of nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park, she was giving it her all on the soccer field. In adulthood, she became a wildland firefighter for the National Park Service.
Then, in 2002, she suffered a line-of-duty spinal cord injury while deployed in Oregon. Ever since, Pearson has been paralyzed from the waist down.
“One of the harder parts of that injury for me was that, after having children, I couldn’t share my enjoyment of nature with them in the same way that I experienced it growing up,” said Pearson, who now serves as ADA coordinator for Knox County, Tennessee, and volunteers with Catalyst Sports, a nonprofit dedicated to providing recreational opportunities for people with physical disabilities. “For 20 years, almost, I didn’t really go to the park that much, because it frustrated me to not be able to get past the overlook.”
Now, a partnership between the park, Catalyst and Knox County is making the Smokies more accessible than it’s ever been before. Whether by participating in a menu of free ranger programs or taking a hike using one of the park’s new, reservable, off-road wheelchairs, people with disabilities can keep exploring after the pavement ends.
UNC Asheville Director of Athletics Janet R. Cone announced on July 18 that a $4 million outdoor tennis facility will be built on the campus of UNC Asheville.
According to a news release, the project is part of the ALL IN Comprehensive Campaign and will be funded through donors' gifts, alumni, grants and also corporate partners. And the courts won't be only for the players at UNC Asheville. Community members will be able to reserve court time for lessons and play, the release said.
The new facility will replace the hardcourts the Bulldogs have been using on the property of the Asheville Racquet Club. According to the release, those courts will be demolished due to the Interstate 26 connector project.
UNC Asheville announced the proposal of its plan to cut four programs to help with budget deficits just over two weeks ago. The Drama Department was one of them.
"It was like a punch to the gut," said Valerie Lounsbury, senior in the department. "It was one of the most upsetting things I think I've ever heard. It's shifted my perspective on everything in my entire life by being a part of this program."
The department was for more people than just those under the major.
"It's a living art form, and we don't have many of those left," said Mikayla Wilson, an alumna of the department. "There were psychology or stem majors that would come and do acting classes because it was a fun thing to do to let the weight off. It's for the weirdos, the kids that don't fit in, and for people that want to try something new."
The ubiquity of Ashevilleans bringing their pets everywhere is a common subject of mockery, as not every pet is as well-behaved as its caretaker might think. (This author tried to do the “dogs in bars” thing and ended up scrubbing pee off the floor of Haywood Country Club.) But others are so friendly, well-behaved and chill that their owners bring them to work.
Xpress conducted a thorough and highly scientific survey of Asheville’s shop pets. We’ve interviewed a few of their owners, but that’s just scratching the surface. (Get it? A pet pun!)
Marty at The Golden Pineapple
Guests at The Golden Pineapple, a cocktail bar and restaurant in West Asheville, will notice a few menu items with the name Marty on them. There’s a mango cocktail known as the Marty Robbins (which is also the name of a country Western singer). Another beverage is called Marty’s Mugshot. And on Sunday nights, the establishment sells a bar-style pizza named Marty’s Way.
Millie at Jonny’s Barbershop
Folklore has it that a stork delivers a baby on the doorstep. But for Jonny Katzmarek of Jonny’s Barbershop, located in the Grove Arcade, the little bundle of joy who appeared unannounced was a poodle mix named Millie.
Hoover at Saniway Vacuum Cleaner Company
Cats shed every single day, and twice a year they lose their coats even more. Fortunately, Hoover the cat lives in a vacuum cleaner shop.
Lou at The Local Barber & Tap
People walking along West Walnut Street may peek into the windows of The Local Barber & Tap expecting to get a glance at someone receiving a shave. Instead, they might see 4-year-old shih tzu poodle mix Lou getting a belly rub from her dad, barber Eric Gold.
Thanks for stopping by, wishing all a good weekend.
“Be safe out there.” Lamont Cranston
