Sorrells said he recently heard about an incident in Texas where police went into a home where a suspect had barricaded himself in an attic. “He shot and killed two officers from the attic,” Sorrells said.
With a small, two wheeled “throwbot” officers can get real time pictures and information about the layout of an area, the location and number of suspects, whether they are armed and if they have hostages. The small unit can go into places, such as an attic or basement, which larger pieces of equipment have no access to.
The Buncombe Sheriff’s Department currently has a larger robotic mobile surveillance system, but it does not have the mobility of the smaller unit. The smaller throwbot will cost around $6,000 and can be tossed through an open window, up into an attic or down a staircase.
“The larger unit can carry and deploy items such as pepper spray, smoke or even take in a phone so we can establish communications,” Sorrells said. “But we can’t toss the larger unit into an attic or basement where suspects will often hide.”
According to Sorrells, the sheriff’s department has numerous incidents where a throwbot could mean the difference between life and death for officers. He cited one incident a year ago where a suspect invaded a home, stole a vehicle and guns, robbed a convenience store and returned to the home where he barricaded himself in a closet.
“The officers had to be close to him [the suspect] and in danger to determine where he was and establish negotiations,” said Sorrells. “When using human resources our only option in a situation like this is to use people to clear the house.”
Sorrells said when the officers went in to the house to try and establish negotiations, they didn’t know if the home owners where still there, if the suspect had guns, or exactly where he was. Sorrells explained the throwbot contains a video camera which gives officers real time pictures to see if the suspect is alive and mobile, deceased, conscious and where the person is in the home or business.
“Sometime you may think there are hostages, when what you really have are two bad guys,” said Sorrells.
Along with the throwbot for the sheriff department, Asheville Police are hoping to receive funds for six to eight cameras vehicle surveillance cameras. These cameras will be used for vehicle stops to assist in criminal proceedings, to help protect officers and as evidence if there are allegations of officer misconduct.
Asheville Police Captain Wade Wood said the grant is part of the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) 2012 Local Solicitation program. The US Department of Justice is sponsoring the funding in order to enhance partnerships between federal, state and local governments to create safer communities through preventing or reducing crime and violence.
Wood said the grant application requires they notify the public and invite public comment regarding the grant and the intended purchases. Anyone interested in making a comment can contact Wood at (828) 259-5885 or at wwood@ashevillenc.gov. Wood said the departments should hear the results of the application sometime between August and October of this year. If they receive the funding, then they will use the bid process to notify vendors.
“This is a great use of technology to lessen the danger some of our folks have to place themselves in,” said Sorrells. “I call it a no brainer.”

Greene announced there were no plans to increase the property tax rate. It will be held at 52.5 cents. A 1-percent increase in the tax base is projected for next year. Greene explained the county has been on a “roller coaster ride” since 2008. It has had to deal with revenue losses as the economy slowed, and revocations of state and federal dollars as those two bodies grappled to manage runaway spending. Because intergovernmental transfers, which are expected to comprise 16.2 percent of the county’s revenue, can stop on a dime; Greene explained the county must now budget with extreme flexibility.
Making matters worse is the inverse relationship between revenues and services demanded. As people lose their jobs and homes, and are unable to participate in taxable transactions; they also become more dependent on government services. In just over a decade, food stamp use has tripled in Buncombe County. A graph presented by Greene showed the upward trend went hockey-stick in 2008. Anticipating concerns about the county investing in a huge new addition to the jail, Greene assured the audience that crime would increase in the foreseeable future.
“While conditions continue to improve in certain sections of the economy,” observed Greene, “public sector revenue streams have not returned to the prerecession levels.” She said more than one expert is convinced the recession may hang around for another four to six “really tough years.” Even though Greene described herself as fiscally cautious, she said the county had to take a “This, too, shall pass,” attitude toward some budget items.
Even though governments operate outside the market with force and taxing power, Greene tries in many ways to run the county like a business. While mass media outlets chant that job creation is the summum bonum behind economic recovery; to hold the line on taxes, the county has implemented hiring freezes and cut positions, but it has transferred some jobs to the private sector. It has also automated procedures to reduce payroll when possible. Automation also provides paper trails that allow the county to have data “at its fingertips,” rather than contracting out for studies.
The county is required by general statute to provide certain services or make sure somebody else provides them. These “core services” have been the focus of county budgeting during the economic crunch, and they fit into the broad categories of education, public safety, and human services. Hits to funds available for these services have occurred when the federal government revoked $2.5 million. Then, the federal government created guidelines for narrow-band communications that forced the county to invest $700,000 in erecting seven new communications towers.
Higher fuel costs caused the county to budget an extra $400,000 for carbon-burning activities, and the depressed housing market claimed $200,000 from reappraisals. While the private sector was sagging, county heads thought it wise to invest in economic renewal, and so it spent $340,000 on Civic Center improvements and $640,000 on a public safety training facility. Greene justified the investments as taking advantage of low interest rates and construction bids. A $2.5 million line item called “job creation incentives,” touted as a state-mandated core service, fooled nobody. Greene spoke with hesitation as she described how the county’s purchase of the old Volvo plant for Linamar, and its partnering with city and state coffers to grant the company tax breaks, would eventually pay off.
Another source of public ire was the county’s intention to take out debt for capital improvement projects. The public had assumed the quarter-cent tax approved by voters for new buildings at AB Tech would cover the new construction. Greene said there were “critical path issues” that required some work to commence before tax revenues could be collected.
Greene impressed Commissioner Carol Weir Peterson with a primer on all the state sales taxes and the restrictions imposed on their redistribution. She and Finance Director Donna Clark shared graphs comparing Buncombe’s budget to those of ten other North Carolina counties. Rice suggested they compare apples to apples, “not apples to oranges, tangerines, or . . . grapes.”
Commissioner Holly Jones was more vocal than her peers in commenting. She said she would prefer to see the waiting period for new employee healthcare coverage to be reduced to thirty days. That, she said, would be more just and help the county with recruiting. She requested a cap of $3000 in annual longevity payouts, and asked that the commissioners take a 17-percent pay cut.
The public hearing on the budget will be held at the commissioners’ next regularly-scheduled meeting, June 5.

The top-of-the-line MST-R’s chassis features the upgrade of Öhlins suspension components front and rear. Up front is a set of R&T NIX adjustable fork legs, mated to a rear twin-tube TTX mono-shock with remote preload adjustment. For more information about Motus and its dealer network, visit: motusmotorcycles.com.
The Öhlins USA Open House was Saturday 10am-3pm at 703C S. Grove St. The event included more than 30 displays of custom and race motorcycles and cars, and live music.
Öhlins USA distributes and services the world’s leading performance suspension components for automobiles, motorcycles, and ATVs. Öhlins develops its proprietary and trend-setting suspension components, steering dampers and oils, at the highest levels of racing from open-wheel car racing, to Moto GP, to off-road competition on two and four wheels. Öhlins USA also provides training for service centers and dealers. Öhlins USA can be contacted at: 828-692-4525; www.Ohlinsusa.com.

Commissioner Carol Weir Peterson correctly noted the beauty of the plan, adorned with photographs optimizing light techniques while capturing the natural beauty of the region in splashes of vibrant color. Peterson said others had asked her where they might get a copy. Peterson said it looked like a coffee table book, and then had to explain to the average Buncombe County renter, who decorates with orange crates and ripped vinyl seating, what that meant.
Analyzing the artwork in more detail, one sees the genius of a Renaissance master at work. The composition far outpaced the anticipated trite photos of three children, each of a different color, all playing as one. For instance, the cover features a montage showing the county courthouse and city hall peering through the bushes, poised for their moment to attack the reader. In the corner is the Great Seal of Buncombe County – that image on the commissioners’ dais showing the mountains blowing smoke.
The plan starts like everything today, with its collectivist mission and vision statement. Just think of a lot of highfalutin words, and you’ve captured the essence. Ignore meanings, feel the energy. This mission/vision statement would not be complete without the “commitment to continual improvement,” which has been part of just about every mission/vision statement since the management-du-jour fad of writing them flourished and the economy tanked. Don’t let the anonymous “we” fool you, just gear into group-think.
The plan is the brainchild of CDM Smith, the same consulting agency that helped the City of Asheville with its sustainability plan. Smith guided stakeholders through community buy-in sessions for the standard visioning for goals, strategies, and the other blah, blah, blah. Accent quotes from the county commissioners, managers, and department heads add just the right appeal for ratification.
Sustainable living is a no-brainer for anybody sufficiently mature to realize the dangers of severing one’s lifelines. Poor mountain folk still carry on earth-friendly, low-impact traditions that the hippies were only discovering decades ago. The concept of government imposing a sustainability plan, however, is the stuff that inspires one to take an engine-revving joy ride in a gas guzzler, tossing recyclables out the window just to spite those who insist on treating him like a child.
Much of the plan, including the pushes for greenways, alternative transportation, wage and rent controls, you could read with your eyes closed by now. Yes, “we” already know the average household burns 1050 kwh per month, and “we’re” coming after you to “reduce your average household energy use.” Are you OK with your body image? Well, “we” might not be. One of the plan’s uber goals is to attack obesity. It explicitly calls for “increasing the percentage of Buncombe County adults who get moderate exercise more than one day per week.”
And just to prove your body is really “ours,” there are hints of Obamacare drizzled throughout the document. The plan sets out to “improve equality in access to healthcare,” “decrease the percentage of uninsured adults by 10 percent,” and provide “a medical home” for everybody, where they can undergo screenings. Falling, in a physical and not spiritual sense, receives a lot of attention, with a call for screening and classes to help people combat associated fears.
Other “shoulds” from the leftist agenda include enticing even more people to forsake self-sufficiency in matters as basic as sustenance. The plan multiple times advocates for allowing people to use their EBT (food stamp) cards at farmers’ markets. It also wants to increase the capacity of food kitchens and subsidized feeding programs. You no doubt caught the subsidized housing element with your eyes closed. Climate change is mentioned a couple times as a nemesis, people are asked to put their property rights in conservation easements, “businesses we want” like a meat processing facility are to be recruited, and Hispanics and youth are to be sought out for involvement in the political process.
Perhaps most importantly, vanity of vanity, “we” want to “increase the number of [Buncombe County’s] Twitter and Facebook followers. And, just when you thought you’ve heard it for the last time, “we” will “promote partnerships to reduce poverty.”
Chair David Gantt said of the plan, “It’s nice to have a target to know if we’re hitting the bull’s eye.” Aaah, it’s nice to know the commissioners were just shooting the – or were they?

The most permissive of nine referendums passed on the primary May 8, with around 60 percent of votes each allowing the sale of beer and also wine, in restaurants and from groceries and convenience stores. These took precedence over more restrictive options, on the ballot May 8.
Now, establishments anywhere in the county including its municipalities can get a license to sell beer or to sell wine, and without having to first secure a costlier full-liquor permit. This opportunity takes effect immediately, and consumers will see the effect as soon as permits are acquired in coming days and weeks.
Two stand-alone referendums passed with a strong two-thirds majority. One allows state-run ABC liquor stores throughout the county. The other permits sale of mixed alcoholic beverages in restaurants, private clubs, community theaters, hotels and convention centers.
Alcohol sales is seen as a potential economic boost along the business corridor of U.S. 64 west of Laurel Park limits into the Etowah-Horse Shoe area. That route into Transylvania County is well traveled by people going to DuPont State Forest and Pisgah National Forest, and choose to dine on the way back which makes the alcohol-serving Etowah area more of a stop than before. That keeps tax dollars in-county, rather than “leaking” to Brevard.
Other previously “dry” main roads include N.C. 191 between Hendersonville and Mills River, and 64 East that heads east of the city into the Dana-Edneyville area and toward Lake Lure.
Expanding Business
Already business owners such as the Sanders family of Blue Ridge Pizza Company in Etowah are talking about expanding, and hiring more workers to handle the expected increase in business due to alcohol sales. Tom Sanders Sr. told The Tribune he will soon boost his work force by about one-third, from 18 to about 24 people. He is expanding into a fourth “bay” in the strip mall, and plans to add patio dining out front with a view of the mountains and increase seating by 50 percent up to 150. His son Tommy said they might have acoustic musicians on weekends. “We’re excited.”
As Tom Sanders said, “we’re not a beer joint and won’t allow rowdy behavior,” but will soon offer beer and wine with meals.
The five municipalities within the county already allowed varying degrees of alcohol sales. Now they all allow beer and wine, both on and off-premises. The referendum supersedes any cities’ laws that are more restrictive and prohibits a town from enacting a stricter code even with its own referendum, according to state rules. That bothers those who wish their incorporated town could change and become “dry” or at least stay more restrictive than the new countywide standard.
The fact people could already buy alcohol in towns within the county was seen as a reason to extend that right to non-incorporated areas. Also, since the mid-Seventies there has been a steady influx from alcohol-allowing cities of retirees and others not as committed against alcohol use as are Baptists among others. And some took their business and tax revenue out of county, to have wine with a meal.
Some Staying Dry
This is still a landmark vote, as merely the third alcohol legalization in a western North Carolina county. The public vote was the first countywide on alcohol, since a referendum was soundly defeated a half-century ago in 1955. Then, the county was one-third its current size, and much more entrenched in the Bible Belt.
Yet not all businesses that can now sell alcohol choose to do so. An example of an owner sticking to his principles is Edneyville General Store’s Ronald Jones. He said he will not sell alcohol. Asked why, he said “that’s between me and God.” He said of the outcome of the public vote, “I’m displeased with it. There’ll be (alcohol) availability more to our young people.”
In contrast, design engineer Paul Sexton of Etowah said though he no longer drinks he is for the rights of those of legal age to do so. “I don’t have a problem with it. A lot of people drink,” he said while eating in Blue Ridge Pizza. “And if it’s not allowed here, they’ll go somewhere else to drink.”
Indeed, many restaurant owners say customers have requested beer and/or wine. Some have popped into Grass Roots Cafe in Horse Shoe but left without staying, after asking and finding out beer and wine were not served, said co-owner Carol Adams McLean. “When they found out ‘no,’ they went right out the door.”
Tommy Sanders said several said they are glad they no longer “have to drive 16 miles roundtrip with these high gas prices, to eat and drink. We’re providing another service to the community.”
While a nearby restaurant had someone stop in and complain about any plans to start serving alcohol, Sanders said so far “we’ve heard zero negative comments, from our (regular) customers.”
Other establishments along U.S. 64 West stand to gain business, in previously-dry areas. Julie Thorn co-owns Villa Roma Italian Pizzeria and Restaurant at 3754 Brevard Road (64W), Suite 108 in Horse Shoe. She and husband Jason are among those already applying for beer and wine sale permits. They plan to put up a wine rack. She said of customers, “They’re excited. Many people wanted to get beer with their pizza and Italian food. So we did BYOB (bring your own booze) for almost a year. It’ll help the businesses around here.”
Blue Ridge Pizza Co. also accommodated alcohol interest by allowing BYOB, at no charge and keeping it cold in their big cooler. About 15 percent “brown-bagged” on Friday nights, Tommy Sanders estimated. More telling, he said, is that most customers wanting alcohol with their meal said they preferred to buy it with the meal rather than bring their own. Many want to try local craft brews. “At least 15 customers asked when we’re going to start to serve beer and wine,” he said. He hopes to get the permit any day now.
Cheaper Permits
Meanwhile, those in municipalities who already could serve alcohol are grateful they can skip the costly ($1000 initially and $700 per annual renewal) full-liquor permit. They can go directly to beer or wine permits that are each $400 initially and $200 to renew, now that they are specifically allowed throughout the county.
“We’re real pleased,” Flat Rock Cinema co-owner Howard Melton said. He is seeking a refund of the liquor permit, which was due April 30. Every dollar conserved counts as the cinema raises money for its $60,000 conversion to digital projection, required by film distributors. It paid a $6,000 down payment, and needs $10,000 more toward its loan to cover equipment.
The Hendersonville High band including the Melton’s son Brice (on trombone) performs a movie-themed fundraising ($10 donation requested) concert for the cinema in the HHS auditorium 4 p.m. on Monday, May 28 which is Memorial Day.

The NBHS girl’s 4x800 meter relay team won their event. The team consisted of Leah Wilson, Julia Bennet, Katarina Ruehl and Allison Fox. The girl’s 4x400 meter relay team also won their event with a time of 4.06. The relay team consisted of Allison Fox, Sage Proffit, Elizabeth Sparrow and Faith Jewkes. Allison Fox also finished 2nd and Sage Proffit 3rd in the 800 meter. Katarina Ruehl won both the 1600 and 3200 meter. Emily Reeves finished 3rd place in the 1600 meter race. Sage Proffit won the pole vault event.
The Boys 4x800 meter relay team, consisting of Cannan Frisbee, Travis Leppi, Eli Clevenger, Kent Mann, finished in 2nd place. Eli Clevenger won the 3200 meter race and Lucas Perrine won the pole vault event.
Special to the Tribune

The Tour includes twenty-two artists working in a wide range of media, including five painters offering works in oil, watercolor and acrylic. Other media featured are jewelry, pottery, ceramic tile, glass beads, furniture, mixed- media, photography, paper, turned wooden bowls, wooden flutes, and collage. Artists’ ages range from 14 to 92. This year’s Tour features four artist husband-and-wife couples, including two who collaborate with each other to create their art. Edward Bent, also known as Red Ute, was born on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation of Colorado. His interest in flutes began at age 7 or 8 when he was drawn to the captivating sound of the instruments that were being made by the Elders in his tribe. Now 92, he divides his time between making flutes and getting kidney dialysis treatments several times each week. He courted now-wife Diane Box in 1990, who still remembers the first time Red Ute played the flute for her at a celebration at Ute Park in Ignacio, Colorado. “All of the folding chairs had been taken away except the one I was sitting on. Red Ute came over and played his flute just for me. A Ute woman walked by and remarked, ‘Eddie is trying to get himself a wife!’” It worked, and now Diane’s elaborate Plains Indian-style beadwork is often included on Edward’s flutes.
Ann and Sandy Batton are another husband-and-wife team, operating a busy pottery business out of their home while raising two small children. Being lovers of nature, the Battons produce forms that are based on the organic shapes that surround them. Customers, friends and art lovers alike frequently comment on the “Dr. Seuss” or “Alice in Wonderland” aspect of their work. When asked, they say that it was not intentional, but they do live their lives with a sense of spontaneity and whimsy. Other neighborhood artist couples are Diana Gillispie [ceramic tiles] and Michael Robinson [oil paintings] at Asheville Tileworks and Kathie [pottery] and Robert Kline [turned wooden bowls] at Centerpoint Studios.
Each year, the Kenilworth Art Studio Tour is planned by participating artists and sponsored by local businesses. For the first time, three visiting artists have been invited to share studio exhibition space with Kenilworth artists: potter Robin Kirby of Saluda; jeweler Christie Calaycay, of West Asheville; and photographer/poet Tracey Schmidt of Weaverville.
Visitors to the Studio Tour may also want to stop for lunch at the Art Café at the Kenilworth Presbyterian Church from noon through 3pm each day, where snacks and lunches will be offered. Proceeds will benefit the Kenilworth Residents Association. Also featured at the Art Café will be examples of artist’s work and tour brochures. Café menus will be available at each artist studio.
Studio maps are available at area art galleries, retail stores, hotels, and tourist information sites. A tour map and brochure can be downloaded at kenilworthartists.org. Now a tradition with Kenilworth Artists, each artist will donate 5% of sales to Loving Foods Resources, the Kenilworth-based charity that provides basic necessities to people living with HIV/AIDS. Additional information, photos, tour map: kenilworthartists.org

Both Ohio and North Carolina have traditional family values at their core. While North Carolina supported the marriage amendment 61% to 39%, Ohio was polling at 62% to 38% on that very subject. It has long been analyzed by political minds that Mr. Obama would need both of these states to win reelection. Will these states which have just affirmed their stance on gay marriage change to support a candidate that does not share their belief system?
In a further breakdown of the issue, it has been found that 67% of black Americans do not support gay marriage, as voted in the NC primary. This same demographic overwhelming supports Mr. Obama, with a roughly 90% approval rating. Will two-thirds of the black community now withdraw their support of a man who doesn’t share their values? Or will they continue to support him regardless of his stance?
A recent report by The Daily Beast shows a shocking, or perhaps not-so-shocking, revelation. When interviewed, many blacks said that they would not only support Mr. Obama despite his newly clarified viewpoint, but that they themselves would change their opinion. One lady interviewed by The Daily Beast was quoted as saying “’He’s smart, that’s why I voted for him,’ Johnson says. ‘So why wouldn’t I listen to what he has to say and listen to all of it. The right may not do that, but I do.’”
Furthermore, a Pew Research Poll stated in April of this year that the number of blacks against gay marriage was down 20 percentage points nation-wide just since 2008. Perhaps this is an indication of blind following of the first half-black president by the black community. Before his election the community stood in firm support of traditional values, yet now overwhelming support their president and are willing to change their values to do so.
After a careful look at what seemed like political suicide, Mr. Obama may just be providing a distraction. While families are suffering in jobless poverty, the subject has now changed to the marriage rights of 1% of the population. An entire community is even changing its stance on the issue because of the president. In stead of debating the unemployment rate, the president is tapping into people’s emotions. Words such as compassion, rights, and fairness are replacing statistics and numbers. $4/gallon gas and 9% unemployment aren’t pretty, but the rich paying their fair share while gays have equal rights invokes a different kind of candidate. More hope and change is the message, clouding the track-record of a one-term presidency.

Buncombe resident, RL Clark, NC Senate 49 candidate, handily beat his rival with 82% of the vote. Dan Forest, Lieutenant Governor candidate came out on top beating his second place rival by 17%, narrowly missing the 40% mark needed to avoid a run-off. Nationally and the first to be ousted for 2012, Senator Richard Lugar, a 35 year Republican veteran, was trounced by Tea Party backed Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock. This is just the opening salvo. We’ve other compromised incumbents to trounce. Get involved and help us elect and hold our representatives accountable for putting this out of control government back into its Constitutional box!
Jane Bilello
Hendersonville
Chair, Asheville Tea Party/PAC