Trek for peace See story on page 6 WEEKLY


COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER


July 1 - July 7, 2010 Vol. 8 • No. 26 Woodfin • Weaverville • Barnardsville Fifty Cents Town gets tough on trailer park


By Matt Tate Confirmed reports of raw sewage


dumping and a litany of permit and code violations prompted the Town of Woodfin to revoke a grandfather status for a mobile home park Tues- day (June 30) in an unprecedented move for the town. Woodfin Town Administrator


Jason Young sent notice Wednes- day (June 30) of the Board of Al- dermen’s decision to the owners of Ponder Mobile Home Park off Old Marshall Highway in Woodfin. Buncombe County tax records list the owners as Cynthia and Cheri Ponder. “It’s a big step. It’s something we


have never done,” Young said of the move. Young said the latest issue at the


park is straight piping from one of the homes. Raw sewage is being dumped into a nearby ditch that flows into a pond and eventually the French Broad River, he added. In addition, there have been reports of trash burning and electrical dan- gers. “Te situation there presents an


imminent danger to the safety and health of the people of Woodfin,” he told the aldermen. Te town, which already has liti- gation pending against the Ponders


Group to appeal plant decision


By Matt Tate Te North Buncombe Associa-


tion of Concerned Citizens refuses to fold its hand just yet. Te group will appeal a recent


decision by a regional air quality board to grant Blue Ridge Con- crete the final permit it needs to begin mixing concrete at the pro- posed Flat Creek site. NBACC President Aaron Pohl-


Woodfin officials say there are several situations at Ponder Mobile Home Park that represent major town violations.


that is awaiting a court date, will likely seek to file an injunction to cease and desist should the owners proceed with a legal course of ac- tion in hopes of reversing the alder- men’s decision.


By revoking the grandfather sta-


tus, the goal is to eventually dis- solve the park if the town’s codes are not met, Young said. Mobile home parks are only allowed within


Continued on page 5 Biscuits • Hot Dogs • Fountain Sodas • Beer • Wine


Zartesky said his group is meeting with attorneys and did not know when reached Tuesday (June 29) whether the appeal would be brought to an internal board at the WNC Regional Air Quality Agency or to another court. Nevertheless, the group remains


determined. “We will do everything in our


power to reverse a decision we feel is unjust,” he said.


Te board voted 3-2 to grant


Blue Ridge Concrete an air qual- ity permit Tursday (June 25). At the hearing, board member


Vonna Cloninger made the most impassioned plea against awarding the permit to the group seeking to build on 14 acres at the corner of Murphy Hill Road and Old Mars Hill Highway. “I cannot see how a concrete


plant in the middle of a residential neighborhood can ever preserve the quality of life,” she said, refer- ring to the group’s mission state- ment. Fellow board member Loyd


King agreed with Cloninger that the board had been put in an in- evitable position as the last line of defense for the North Buncombe community. But, he added, “Te collective judgment of the staff is this plant,


Continued on page 2


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