Monthly Archives: February 2011

RiverLink seeks community input on paddle trail

RiverLink, through grant funds from the Pigeon River Fund, has been working on collecting input from the local community for use in the development of the French Broad River Paddle Trail. This Trail will consist of access points, campgrounds, and “Leave-No-Trace” campsites along the River. RiverLink has hosted five community meetings to gain input for the trail.

Maps are on on the walls at the RiverLink Offices. We will have these maps up in the RiverLink Offices until noon Friday, March 4. Maps in Marshall are being relocated from Zuma’s coffeehouse to the Good Stuff Store at 131 S. Main Street. The public is encouraged to stop by either location during business hours to share your history of the river, and let us know what you would like to see in the development of this paddle trail. All maps will be available until noon on Friday, March 4. Thanks to Zuma for the support, assistance and good stuff.

The French Broad River Paddle Trail concept grew from RiverLink’s River Access Guide. The trail will establish paddle in, paddle out, “leave no trace” campsites along the river through North Carolina. RiverLink is in the planning phases, with a handful of campsites already identified through meeting with the local communities. Roll out of the design plans and alternatives are scheduled for late spring.

For more information, contact Nancy Hodges, RiverLinks’s Watershed Resource Manager, at 828-252-8474, ext. 14, or by e-mail at nancy@riverlink.org.

Bike of the Irish community ride to pass through West Asheville

Asheville on Bike’s annual Bike of the Irish Community Ride will be gathering at City Hall on Saturday, March 19th at 1:00 pm for an easy-paced ride of about 10 miles throughout the city. Asheville on Bike’s is excited to use the occasion to celebrate the recent land purchase in West Asheville to extend the Hominy Creek Greenway, which will create more recreational opportunities for our residents. This ride is open to anyone, free of charge, and is simply a way to get folks out on bikes, enjoying what we hope will be a gorgeous spring day in Asheville. More information can be found at www.ashevilleonbikes.com

West End Bakery Pizza Contest ending soon.

When Craggie Brewing Company began planning its 1 year anniversary celebration, co-owner Jonathon Cort thought that beer bread would be a great companion to the Beer-B-Q party. He called his friends at the West End Bakery and they agreed. “It was so much fun partnering with those guys and the bread tasted so good!” said Cathy Cleary, co-owner of the bakery. “We really wanted to put it on our bread schedule, but there just wasn’t room.” After some brainstorming, the idea of making pizza dough instead of bread dough came up. “It made sense,” said Cathy. “Several customers had been requesting pizza dough, and one of our employees, Greg, liked to make pizza crust using beer.”

The West End Bakery’s Craggie Pizza Dough is made with beer instead of water, Craggie’s Belgian-Style Ale, Dubbelicious. This “double” ale is made with barley, rye, wheat and oat malts brewed with Belgian candy sugar and then fermented with a regional yeast strain. The flour used in the dough is 100% North Carolina Organic; the bakery is one of only seven bakeries in the region participating in the NC Organic Bread Flour Project (http://ncobfp.blogspot.com) The resulting dough proved the partnership a success. “People love it,” Cathy reports.

Now the bakery is having a contest that features Craggie Pizza Dough that will run until the end of February. They’ll be awarding lots of $10 gift cards in all sorts of categories (Most Delicious, Best Use of Local Ingredients, Best Personality, to name a few) along with one overall winner. Entering is easy, and aspiring pizza artists get rewarded just for trying! Send a picture of the pizza to Krista@westendbakery.com along with your name and contact info, and a short description of the ingredients and inspiration. Folks who enter will get a confirmation reply and a voucher to enjoy one free cup of complimentary coffee. The bakery will post pictures of entries and winners on their facebook page. For more information visit westendbakery.com, stop by the bakery or call 252-WEST.

Great Smokies Medical Center in West Asheville welcomes Mark Hoch, M.D.

Dr. Hoch received his undergraduate degree in biology at Cornell University, his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and completed his residency in Family Medicine at the University of Connecticut. He is Board Certified in Family Medicine. Dr. Hoch is a past president of the American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA).

He brings 19 years of experience in holistic medicine to GSMC, most recently for 9 years in a holistic family practice Minneapolis, MN. He has also worked as a staff physician at the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine in New York City with the renowned Dr. Robert Atkins as part of a diverse team with a focus on nutritional medicine to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease and a wide variety of other health conditions.

Dr. Hoch has extensive training and experience in osteopathic manual therapies that allow him to diagnose and treat structural imbalances that are too often undetected even though they are common causes of pain, restricted movement, feeling unwell, and eventually even disease. His post-graduate study also includes nutritional medicine, mindbody medicine, Western herbal medicine, and functional medicine. He also has special interest, training, and experience in the influence that mind and spirit have on physical health.

When asked why he focused his career on holistic medicine, he says, “Because it helps people really improve their health.” and adds that a holistic approach considers the whole person, not just the affected part, and addresses the underlying causes of health problems, rather than treating symptoms.

Dr. Hoch knew of the natural beauty and culture of Asheville before relocating here. Having become more familiar with the area, he has added the community of West Asheville to a long list of reasons that contribute to Asheville’s appeal.

Wilma Dykeman Riverway Transportation Meeting comment period ends soon.

A reminder that the Comment Period for the information presented at the Wilma Dykeman Riverway River Arts District Transportation Project Public Mtg # 1 (Saturday, January 22, 2011) will conclude February 23, 2011. Information on how to submit comments are include in the project newsletter from the meeting. Comments sent via email or regular mail are fine. Additionally, all of the project exhibits, presentations and reports from the meeting are available at the City of Asheville website.

Haywood Road now pizza alley says Citizen-Times.

Citizen-Times staff writer Carol Motsinger thinks that there is evidence of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their pizza consumption in West Asheville. First there was Digable Pizza then Standard Pizza, Ritrovo and now West End Bakery are all getting into the game to satiate everyones need for some pie. The article can be found at the Asheville Citizen-Times website.

Short Street Cakes invited to audition for Cupcake Wars.

Short Street Cakes received a call from the Food Network a week ago, asking if they would audition for the show Cupcake Wars. Though Jodi is not generally a fan of war, television, or competitive baking, she can’t pass up a chance to get in front of a camera. Enlisting the help of her friend, local artist Peter Parpan, they recorded and edited this awesome video in about a day and a half, all on his iphone.  Check the blog at My Life in Cake for updates as to whether we’ll be travelling to LA this spring to engage in cupcake warfare for the chance to win $10,000!

Bakery Boy Blog visits Short Street Cakes.

A habitual visitor of bakeries wherever he goes the Bakery Boy spent some time in West Asheville visiting with Jodi and Short Street Cakes. You can find the Bakery Boy Blog article here, http://bakeryboyblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/29/short-street-cakes-asheville-nc/.

Atlanta Food Critic Blog visits Sunny Point Cafe.

The Atlanta Food Critic Blog was visiting Asheville recently and was told by a local shop owner that “we COULD NOT leave Asheville without going to the Sunny Point Café.” After waiting a typical 45 minutes that weekend day they found that “our server, Megan, was the absolute BOMB!” and after finishing their meal they had this to say in conclusion. “We really enjoyed Sunny Point Café and so did our guests. I could not imagine a trip to Asheville without a visit here!” Find the Atlanta Food Critic Blog post on Sunny Point Cafe here, http://atlanta-food-critic.com/2011/01/road-trip-sunny-point-caf-asheville-nc/.

2011 West Asheville Little League sponsorships now available.

The West Asheville Little League is now accepting sponsorships for their 2011 season. The non-profit West Asheville Little League has a variety of sponsorship opportunitites in a wide range of donation amounts that help over 200 kids annually get a chance to play little league baseball in our community. For more information you can find West Asheville Little League on Facebook, or call Will Wolfe at 777-9380 or Amy Towe at 243-6700.