Home Care In Weaverville, NC

This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Michelle Pugliese's last name.

ASHEVILLE - A 229-acre tract of land, which holds a rare plant habitat and the headwaters of Reems Creek, might have become another development in the Weaverville area, but instead it was sold to the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, forever protecting it from developer interests.

The land known as the Reems Creek Bowl was sold to the nonprofit land trust May 16 for just over $1 million, partially using money from a North Carolina Land and Water Fund grant. The property used to contain the locally famous Blackberry Inn, but the 69-acre portion of the land it sits on was split from the now-preserved 229-acre portion and was sold to different buyers, according to the SAHC's website.

Locals may also know the tract of land for another reason: the Snowball Mountain Trail, which connects to the 1,175-mile-long Mountains-to-Sea Trail, runs along the northern edge.

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"It is personally one of my favorite regional hikes in the area," said SAHC Land Protection Director Michelle Pugliese, who led this conservation project. "If you're the kind of person, like me, who wants to have a hike that brings you to sort of a stunning overlook, this one brings you to Hawkbill Rock, and that is sort of on the southeast corner of the Reems Creek Bowl property."

While the 6.8-mile Snowball Mountain Trail can be accessed via the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the land now owned by SAHC is not open to the public. Pugliese said this was for a variety of safety, time, monetary and legal reasons, but also one big reason: This land holds sensitive and rare wildlife habitats.

"Reems Creek Bowl itself is actually a designated natural area that North Carolina's Natural Heritage Program designated due to the quality of the natural resources found on site," she said.

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Before being bought by SAHC, the land was owned for over a century by the Stikeleather family. When it came time to sell, former owners Jane Stikeleather, Becky Norris and James Stikeleather III could have sold it to developers, SAHC's website says. Instead, they chose to wait out the long process it takes for a land trust to gather funds, get appropriate permission and finally close on the property, Pugliese said.

"Its not every day that somebody has owned a large undisturbed tract of land for over 100 years in their family," she said.

This land connects to other SAHC protected land, like Snowball Mountain Preserve, Little Snowball Mountain Preserve and the Woodfin Watershed Conservation easement, to form a 2,219-acre wildlife sanctuary, according to SAHC spokesperson Angela Shepherd. The land also connects to the Pisgah National Forest, helping to buffer it against future development.

Protecting land in large chucks is important, Pugliese said, because it means animals have room to roam.

"If you were to take this tract of land and relocate it with all of the same features that it has in an area that's surrounded by residential subdivisions, that would not be accessible to certain species," she said. "For it to be really useful as a wildlife habitat, its got to be connected to larger tracts of land."

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The conservation of this land will also help to protect Reems Creek, as protecting a stream's headwaters protects both the quality and the quantity of its water, Pugliese said.

Overall, SAHC preserved 1,611 acres of land in 2022, according to Shepherd.

Christian Smith is the general assignment reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Questions or comments? Contact him at [email protected] or 828-274-2222.

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A Weaverville family is desperate for help as a 35-year-old husband and father is in the hospital, trying to recover from a brain injury.

'Everyone should be given a chance' Local family fights for health insurance coverage

His doctors believe he could get better if he moves to a specialized rehab facility, but his health insurance won't pay for it.

Ryan Richards has two young daughters and a wife and loved playing music at church.

But on Feb. 17, his whole world changed with an ear ache that turned into an infection and then much worse.

"He developed a small brain injury, still in the hospital, minimally conscious, part of a brain injury," said his wife Amber Richards. "It's a very slow going recovery."

He's been in the hospital for about six months now.

During that time Amber has tried over and over again to get him into a rehab facility designed to help patients like Ryan.

One of those facilities even said "he most definitely meets medical necessity criteria."

"Surgeons, hospitalists, doctors at Mission have said that is what he needs, that type of rehab, but insurance has denied, because I guess they don't have enough proof that would be helpful," said Amber.

Documents from his medical team in June show "his labs are improving... He turns his head to voice..."

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The same month, a letter from United Healthcare says "your doctor has requested admission to an acute impatient rehabilitation hospital... For strength and activity."

It goes on to say "we reviewed the health plan criteria for admission. The admission is not covered... Because you are not able to tolerate the amount of therapy required."

News 13 asked what the hardest part of all this had been for Amber:

Not seeing him get the help he needs," she said.

After appealing the decision, United Healthcare denied the request again, saying "your health plan does not consider your transfer to be medically needed."

Ana Prendergrast is now representing the family, and says she's shocked by the process.

"It's awful, it truly feels impossible," she told News 13.

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The latest healthcare denial on Aug. 3 said, "we cannot approve this because it is not medically needed....the requested hospital rehabilitation is not shown to be helpful for your condition."

"He needs this specific type of care and United Healthcare as an entity is saying, 'nah, we don't think it's worth paying for.' I don't know why they get to decide that," Prendergrast said.

Amber said she doesn't know where else to turn or what else to try as she clings to hope that her husband will someday get better.

"Everyone should be given a chance," she said. "He's 35 years old and needs some help."

News 13 did reach out to United Healthcare.

A representative tells us they are working to get more information on this case.

We will follow up when we get a response from United Healthcare.

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If you have a help desk idea, you can email it to [email protected].

A new 577-unit development with a mix of single-family lots, townhouses and apartment buildings could be coming just outside of Weaverville.

Located across I-26 from downtown Weaverville, the 88 acre tract is planned for 118 single-family homes, 163 townhouses and 296 multifamily apartment units plus three clubhouses, three pools and seven playgrounds, site plans made by Asheville-based civil engineering firm Civil Design Concepts show. Brevard-based developer First Victory, Inc., applied on Nov. 21 for the special use permit required to start building the project, which will be reviewed by the county Board of Adjustment.

Typically, planning staff put special use permit applications, staff reports, site plans and any additional documents related to developments on the county's website. However, in the case of this project, called Northridge Farms, only the site plans and traffic study were provided, not the application or staff report.

"The application is currently incomplete," Buncombe County Planning and Development Director Nathan Pennington told the Citizen Times on Dec. 29. "We have requested additional information, and once we receive that information, then we will be able to schedule a meeting date and will pass along the requested document."

At time of reporting, the county's website says the Board of Adjustment will review the project's application at its Feb. 8 meeting. However, Pennington said that date may change depending on when the county receives the completed application.

The Board of Adjustment reviews all special use permits in the county, which are required for all residential developments with greater than eight units or four structures. Board members are not allowed by state law to use personal opinions about the project to make decisions and must instead rely on expert testimony to determine whether or not the development meets county laws and standards.

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Project specifics

The project's main entrance is planned to be on Northridge Commons Parkway, the road running through the shopping center off of I-26 with a Walmart and Lowe's called Northridge Commons. At this entrance, a portion of the development is set aside for commercial use.

A secondary entrance is planned for Gill Branch Road, a rural and residential state road. According to a traffic study completed Dec. 9 by Pennsylvania-based firm Gannett Fleming, no changes to any roads except the extensions shown in the site plans should be made, despite the project generating nearly 5,000 trips per day.

Although the site will have a Weaverville mailing address and sits less than 3 miles from downtown, Weaverville Planning Director James Eller said the property is outside of city limits.

"As currently constituted, the properties in question are just outside the Town of Weaverville. Therefore, our zoning is not applicable to the properties and the development review process will flow solely through Buncombe County," Eller said.

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Two streams, Reems Creek and Gill Branch, run through the property and will be preserved, plans show. Wetland around Gill Branch is also shown to be preserved, though a smaller amount of wetland near both streams will be removed.

The 296 apartment units will be distributed throughout 11 buildings, each with three stories on half of the building and four stories on the other half. A planned 518 parking spaces will be shared between the apartment units. Floor plans included with the site plans show one-, two- and three-bedroom units could be available.

Site plans show the proposed project will have two types of townhouses: 63 traditional townhouses over 17 structures and 100 "casita" units, like duplexes, over 50 structures. Traditional townhouses will be three or four units per structure but will include a one-car garage and driveway. "Casita" units will not have a garage or driveway but will have 175 shared parking spaces.

Lots for single-family homes will be subdivided, but the homes themselves are not a part of the site plans, making it unclear whether lots will be sold as-is or whether the homes have simply not been planned yet.

Two different types of single-family lots are shown on site plans. Most of the lots are relatively small and shaped like rough rectangles. In contrast, eight large single-family "estate" lots sit to the north of Gill Branch, separated from the rest of the development by the stream. One "estate" lot will hold an existing house already on the property, the plans show.

One clubhouse is planned for each of the project's areas: the smaller single-family lots, the townhouses and the apartments. Only floor plans for the apartment's clubhouse are included with the larger site plans, but that clubhouse is set to contain a fitness room, two work-from-home suites, a lounge, a business center, a conference room, a clubroom and a game room.

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In addition to the three pools and seven playgrounds, walking trails and sidewalks are included throughout the development, plans show, and the apartments are even planned to have their own dog park.

Note: This article has been updated to include the correct name of the developer.

Christian Smith is the general assignment reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Questions or comments? Contact him at [email protected] or 828-274-2222.

ASHEVILLE - A local restaurant has announced a temporary closure following a low health inspection score.

On March 9, Tommy’s Family Restaurant, at 247 N. Main St. in Weaverville, informed customers via social media that the business will be closed for kitchen improvements and renovations.

The social media post stated:

“We are currently closed to improve our kitchen and do some minor renovations. We will be closed for now, but hope to be back up and running on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. Thanks for your patience. See y'all soon!”

The announcement follows Tommy’s Family Restaurant receiving a score of 72 out of 100 on a follow-up health inspection performed by the Buncombe County Health & Human Services on March 7 – the lowest score it's received in recent inspections.

Jessica Silver, Environmental Health Administrator for BCHHS, said in an email that Tommy’s Family Restaurant’s permit to operate was suspended on March 7.

"The facility was given 30 days to address repeat food safety violations. After thirty days, the operator failed to address food safety issues which resulted in a permit suspension," she said.

The restaurant must address issues identified in the inspection report to have the permit suspension lifted and will have to demonstrate active managerial control by addressing the violations observed on the inspection report, she said.

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On Dec. 29, 2021, Tommy’s Family Restaurant received a health score of 90.

On June 22, 2022, the restaurant received a score of 81.5.

On Aug. 2, 2022, the restaurant received a score of 90.5.

On Dec. 8, 2022, the restaurant received a score of 88.

On Feb. 2, the restaurant received a score of 78.5.

Multiple follow-up visits to Tommy's Family Restaurant were made between each inspection, Silver said.

"The lowest score a restaurant can receive and remain open is a 70. If a score is lower than a 70, an immediate permit revocation is issued and the restaurant must close," Silver said.

However, a permit may be immediately suspended regardless of the score, which may be determined by the violation and frequency of the violation observed and the risk of foodborne illness associated with continuing noncompliance with the N.C. Food Code, she said.

No recent complaints or reports of illnesses had been received by, confirmed, or linked to the restaurant by the department at the time of publication.

The reinspection report from March 7, in which the restaurant received a score of 72, notes that there were new and ongoing repeat and critical violations that required immediate action.

One of the ongoing issues is that the person in charge is not a certified food protection manager, according to the inspector’s remarks.

“PERSON IN CHARGE shall demonstrate to the REGULATORY AUTHORITY knowledge of foodborne disease prevention, application of the HAZARD Analysis and CRITICAL CONTROL POINT principles, and the requirements of this Code. The PERSON IN CHARGE shall demonstrate this knowledge by complying with this Code by having no violations of PRIORITY ITEMS during the current inspection. The same violations have been addressed repeatedly in inspections, education has been provided during the inspections, after the inspections, food safety booklet provided twice. Immediate permit action taken,” the report stated.

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Violations listed from the March 7 report included issues with food temperatures, food not properly reheated, food sitting out without refrigeration for too long, food kept past their expiration dates, mislabeling, and cleaning products and insect spray not properly stored.

Other violations included:

"Tommy’s Family Restaurant has been working with our Environmental Health staff and other food safety professionals to educate their staff and make the necessary improvements to have their permit suspension lifted," Silver said.

View the full health inspection reports at buncombe-nc.healthinspections.us/reports.cfm.

Silver recommends anyone who suspects they have a foodborne illness should seek care from their primary care physician as needed.

Complaints can be received by the BCHHS-Communicable Disease section at 828-250-5109 and/or by calling Environmental Health at 828-250-5016.

Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with asubscription to the Citizen Times.

MAY 10, 2023 - Lolly, who was rescued from a largescale puppy mill in Iowa, arrived at the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center timid and tail-tucked. After 13-15 weeks of hands-on training with behavior specialists, she’s a new dog. (Photo credit: WLOS staff)

WEAVERVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Western North Carolina is home to a one-of-a-kind facility that specializes in rehabilitating fearful and under-socialized dogs.

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ASPCA's BRC in Weaverville celebrating 5 years, 500 rehabilitated dogs and counting

The ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center (BRC) in Weaverville is celebrating its five-year anniversary with an impressive success rate.

According to Deirdre Franklin, senior manager of placement at the BRC, in its five years, the facility has rehabilitated 500 dogs and counting.

Lolly is one of them.

Rescued from a largescale puppy mill in Iowa with more than 500 other dogs, Lolly arrived at the BRC timid and tail-tucked. After 13-15 weeks of hands-on training with behavior specialists, she’s a new dog.

“She’s living her best life, and we’re so happy for her,” Franklin said.

Lolly graduated from the program but didn’t go far.

“Our vet, Dr. Ashley, adopted Lolly. She was so fortunate to be able to go from puppy mill life to living with a veterinarian,” Franklin said. “She’s just got a gregarious personality now. She’s much more social. She will come to work and will greet people in their offices, which is great because the dog that we saw before would have never been able to do that.”

From her days confined to a cage, the BRC graduate now shares a couch – and plenty of toys – with her four-legged sibling.

Lolly’s transformation is not abnormal for the BRC.

“We’ve had over 500 dogs be able to go through this program, who were severely fearful and under-socialized, and now they are companion animals all over the nation,” Franklin said.

Fifteen of the most recent program graduates are now up for adoption, including Ladybug, a Caucasian shepherd who can’t say no to a tasty treat!

“She’s about 116 pounds, and she is looking for an adoptive home where she can lounge, hang out on your porch, enjoy some sun time with you,” Franklin said.

And Pasadena, a black lab-mix eager to put her new car riding skills to the test.

“Most of these dogs are coming from hoarding cases, or they’re coming from puppy mills or dog fighting backgrounds. So, most of them have never experienced a home before, have never felt leash pressure, have never heard household sounds,” Franklin said. “Most of them have never been in a car before, so helping them be able to ride in a car and go somewhere is a big deal for them.”

NEW 'LEASH' ON LIFE: ASPCA BEHAVIORAL REHAB CENTER REHABS 'UNADOPTABLE' DOGS IN WNC

Rehabilitation differs, depending on the dog, but the happy endings are all pretty similar.

“It’s the best feeling in the world to see that come to fruition and to see them become a dog and a household pet,” Franklin said.

Without the BRC, Franklin said most of these dogs’ futures would be very different.

“Most of those dogs are euthanasia candidates. So, they are getting their second or third chance by being able to come through our program,” Franklin said.

FIRST OF ITS KIND REHAB CENTER IN WNC FOR UN-ADOPTABLE DOGS FINDS SUCCESS

ASPCA’s BRC is the only facility of its kind in the country. The staff at the Weaverville facility now train others through their 'learning lab'. The Learning Lab offers on-site, experiential workshops at the BRC for select shelter partners, in addition to virtual learning opportunities for shelter professionals nationwide.

“We’ve had [nearly] 30,000 people sign up for those courses and be able to take that information wherever they are in the world and help more animals in need,” Franklin said.

For more information about BRC and its available dogs, click here.