Town employees to receive bonus Woodfin gives back to residents See story on page 2 See story on pages 8-9 weaverville WEEKLY


COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER


December 23 - December 29, 2010 Vol. 8 • No. 51 Woodfin • Weaverville • Barnardsville • Alexander Fifty Cents Another educator suspended for arrest


By Matt Tate For the second time this month,


a North Buncombe educator has been suspended after an arrest. North Buncombe Middle


School teacher Tammy Michelle Mason, 41, of King Road, Weav- erville, was charged Thursday (Dec. 16) with two felony counts of obtaining a controlled sub- stance by fraud or forgery. She was released on a written promise to appear in court. Jan Blunt with Buncombe


County Schools said Mason has been suspended with pay. Mason was meeting with officials this week to decide a course of action, she added. According to warrants, Ma-


son illegally obtained the drug Adderall on Oct. 5 and Oct. 10 from pharmacies at Ingles and Walmart. Mason’s arrest follows the arrest


and suspension of North Windy Ridge assistant principal Sarah Cooley. Asheville police arrested Cooley on Dec. 4 on charges of misdemeanor larceny and obtain- ing property by false pretenses. Blunt said Mason has been with


Buncombe County Schools since 2003 and at North Buncombe Middle School since 2006. She teaches math and science.


Arvato to add 408 jobs amidst downsizing


Gov. Bev Perdue announced


that Arvato, a leading provider of digital services and one of the area’s largest employers, will expand its call center facility in Buncombe County. Te compa- ny plans to create 408 jobs and invest $1.8 million during the next three years in Weaverville. Te project was made possible in part by a $200,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. “Creating jobs is my number


one priority and North Caro- lina continues to be an attractive market for the growing high- tech and customer service sec- tors,” said Perdue in a statement. “Tese four hundred new jobs are great for Buncombe County and proof of North Carolina’s top-ranked business climate.” According to a press release


Tammy Mason has been at NBMS since August 2006. Adderall is a brand-name psy-


chostimulant medication that is used to increase focus and can be


PETE


prescribed to children with atten- tion deficit disorder.


from the governor’s office, Ar- vato employs 575 in Weaverville. However, before the expansion was officially announced this week, several dozen employees


HELPING OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS!


were laid off. Salaries will vary by job func-


tion, and some positions will be management, but the average an- nual wage for the new jobs will be $26,143 not including benefits. Te Buncombe County average annual wage is $32,968, accord- ing to the governor’s office. Te company first came to the


Weaverville area 25 years ago as RCA and manufactured cassette tapes. It has since been bought by Sonopress and now Arvato. Te plant makes DVDs. Arvato Digital Services is part


of Arvato AG, a division of Ber- telsmann AG, headquartered in Germany. Arvato has over 60,000 employees in 35 coun- tries. “Our company has been a part


of the North Carolina communi- ty for 25 years and the addition of a state-of-the-art customer care facility to our existing man- ufacturing site in Weaverville


Continued on page 28 50¢


Phone 645-6300 • Fax 645-0065 • www.brankinsurance.com 9 Georgia Avenue “Just off Main Street” Weaverville, North Carolina


Megan


PATTY


LAUREN


PAUL


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