Election night welcomed Bo Hess to City Council and saw the approval of GO bonds. | Photo by AVLtoday
This election year, Buncombe County had an ~74% voter turnout, slightly above the state average turnout but slightly less than during the 2020 General Election.
Here are some of the local takeaways.
Note: These are unofficial results, sourced from the NC State Board of Elections with 100% of precincts reported.
Bo Hess joins Asheville City Council
Asheville City Council incumbents Sage Turner and Kim Roney, as well as newcomer Roberto (Bo) Hess, won the three open seats on the six-person council. Turner led all candidates — with Roney and Hess securing second and third place, respectively.
Hess says his priorities for City Council include economic security, mental health and addiction care, infrastructure, environmental stewardship, and solutions for crime and safety.
GO bonds passed
Voters approved all four general obligation bond referendums, totaling $80 million. The $20 million bonds were voted on separately. The approval of the bond package means a 2.6-cent increase in Asheville property taxes for every $100 in valuation.
Due to the storm, some events on our website may be canceled or postponed. Please check the event links and websites to confirm details before attending.
Thursday, Nov. 7 Drive-By Truckers | 7 p.m. | The Orange Peel | 35+ | Jam out to the sounds of this classic Southern rock band.
Friday, Nov. 8 Big Fiber Giveaway | Friday, Nov. 8-Sunday, Nov. 10 | 10 a.m.-3 p.m. | Folk Art Center Auditorium | Free, RSVP | WNC fiber artists and farmers impacted by Helene can browse the donations Local Cloth has received to replace their lost tools and supplies.
Block Printed Gifts | 5-8 p.m. | Center for Craft | $120 | Join the folks from ArtPlay Gallery to create your own linoleum stamps to print designs on fabric.
Saturday, Nov. 9 RADFest 1.0| Saturday, Nov. 9-Sunday, Nov. 10 | 12-6 p.m. | Roberts Street, Clingman Avenue, Artful Way, Depot Street | Free | Celebrate the soft opening of portions of the RAD by visiting open studios, buying art from displaced artists, and enjoying live music and food trucks.
Sunday, Nov. 10 Power Yoga + Pilates | 10:30-11:30 a.m. | The River Arts District Brewing Company | Free | Bring your yoga mat to join instructors from Flow at Foundy for a morning workout — donations benefit Brother Wolf Animal Rescue.
Monday, Nov. 11 Mental Health Monday | 2 p.m. | Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce | Free, RSVP | Dr. Stephanie Citron of All Souls Counseling Center will host a session titled “Tools for Resilience” — attend in person or via Zoom.
According to Election Services, operations in Buncombe County during the General Election went smoothly. All 80 precincts opened on time, and the county had results posted before 9:30 p.m. Over the next 10 days, an audit will be conducted and results will be certified during a public meeting on Friday, Nov. 15.
Outdoors
The 11-mile Asheville corridor of the Blue Ridge Parkway — from US 70 near the Folk Art Center (milepost 382.5) to NC Route 191 near the NC Arboretum (milepost 393.6) as well as the French Broad Overlook (milepost 393.8) — has reopened. The Asheville Visitor Center is also open now, with the Folk Art Center following on Saturday, Nov. 9.
Community
Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry has opened a Code Purple shelter next to its soup kitchen on 20th Street in West Asheville. Code Purple is called to provide emergency overflow shelter to people experiencing homelessness during extremely cold weather. (WLOS)
Open
All Asheville Parks and Recreation-operated community centers have reopened with normal operating hours. Although the buildings and their outdoor spaces are open, most regularly scheduled events remain on hold. For info on when regular programming will resume, sign up for Asheville Parks and Recreation’s monthly newsletter.
Number
61,000+ cubic yards. That’s how much debris has been collected in Buncombe County. There are 38 trucks running in the county, with seven more on the way. Right now, trucks are prioritizing Swannanoa, Black Mountain, Barnardsville, Lower Brush Creek, and Julian Shoals. Learn more about storm debris collection on private roads.
Feel Good
More than 20 New Orleans chefs and restaurateurs are coming together for the Cooks for Carolina dinner series down in the Crescent City. Several local chefs, including Bull and Beggar’s Matt Dawes and Gourmand’s Peyton Barrell, will join the dinners to share their experiences in rebuilding. All proceeds from the dinners will benefit the Always Asheville Fund.
Cause
Did you know? When you donate blood, you can save lives andget rewarded (think: gift cards). The Blood Connection hosts blood drives across Asheville seven days a week, making it convenient to find a location + give back. Make an appointment.*
Progress continues in the North Fork reservoir’s recovery. | Photo via City of Asheville
The following article is being updated on our website daily. Click the button at the bottom of this section to read the full story.
Wednesday, Nov. 6
New numbers from North Fork reservoir
As of Wednesday morning, the turbidity in the North Fork reservoir had dropped below 18. A third round of aluminum sulfate and caustic soda treatment will be deposited beginning Monday, Nov. 11 and will take four days in total.
In the meantime, crews have been able to push 17 million gallons of filtered, treated water through the system, a process that is contingent on turbidity continuing to fall. PIO Clay Chandler clarified that crews have been testing with the on-site pilot plant to see how the filters would handle the turbid water and what maintenance would look like, and they concluded that running this water through the system would be possible for now.
However, the department is still aiming for 1.5-2.0 Nephelometric Turbidity units (NTUs) before pushing the necessary 25-27 million gallons through the system.
Here are some before and after photos of the Asheville corridor of the Blue Ridge Parkway that reopened yesterday. Crews worked hard to remove the 350,000 cubic feet of storm debris that littered the 11-mile stretch, bringing the total number of miles of the parkway that have been reopened to more than 310.
