Buncombe County is excited to announce the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022 is now available.

The ACFR offers an in-depth analysis of Buncombe’s financial process and contains an independent auditor’s report from the audit firm CliftonLarsonAllen LLP.

Go to the full report.

From 11/15 – 12/31, we’re offering a Holiday Special on our subscriptions! Get tickets at a discounted price, AND get a free ticket voucher for our next play, Native Gardens! Check our website on 11/15 to purchase this limited-time deal!

We’ve got so many reasons to give thanks! In each of our program areas, we see ordinary people taking heroic action to protect our home from the pressures of a changing climate.   This year-end, we’re highlighting stories that inspired us and sharing how we’re planting seeds to create a climate-resilient future for all of us.   With our native pollinators, more is more. The more habitat we plant, the more easily our native pollinators can find shelter and food, the more resilient they become to the challenges posed by pesticides and extreme heat—the more stable our entire food ecosystem becomes.

SAHC is thrilled to be selected again this year to participate in the MountainXpress Give!Local Campaign. Our generous partners at Wicked Weed Brewing will MATCH donations up to $10,000! PLUS, anyone donating at a level of $100 or above will receive a $10 gift card from Wicked Weed.

Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy

• Donate $25+ and get a day pass to the WNC Nature Center.
• Donate $50+ and get an animal sticker and a day pass.
• Donate $100+ and get an animal tracks necklace, animal sticker, and a day pass.
• Donate $250+ and get a a guided tour of the Nature Center with animal enrichment for two people, plus the necklace, sticker, and day pass. PLUS, you’ll be entered to win a chance to go on habitat with red pandas Leafa and Phoenix in 2023!

Merchants all over Henderson County vie for the honor of best holiday window displays and lighting, Take a drive around the county then vote for your favorite store front online, All displays will be available to view by November 26, but voting is only open December 6 – 17, Find the list of participants and information for online voting.

Homeowners all over Henderson County vie for the honor of having the best holiday decorations, as voted on by you. You are invited to take a drive around the county to look at all the festive holiday displays and then vote online for your favorite. An interactive online Google map with all locations and a printable PDF will be available by Nov. 25, 2022.

Printed copies of maps will also be at the Hendersonville Welcome Center at that time. Online voting opens in December.

Santa and Mrs. Clause will be there to see the children! Hot chocolate and cookies will be served for everyone. All aboard!

Purchase tickets on the day of the event. Reservations recommended — seating is limited!

The upcoming Journeyperson course is now available AT NO COST! Due to some timely grant funding, we can offer this in-depth farmer training for farmers in years 3-7 with no associated tuition fee! The course consists of monthly cohort meet-ups and 2-3 in-depth workshops, plus mentorship!

In addition, a select number of participants will also receive matched FUNDS for your farm savings account (Savings Incentive Program) and money to spend on a professional development opportunity of your choosing! Want to attend a workshop on livestock management? OGS will contribute towards that fee! Are you saving money for a farm asset? OGS will contribute up to a certain amount to that investment.

The Journeyperson Program is for farmers who have been independently farming for three or more years and are serious about operating farm businesses in the Southern Appalachian region.

• Help Us Meet the Need This Holiday Season Round Up Campaigns & Community Events

  We are so grateful to all of our partners who are helping us during this critical time by providing various ways for people to get involved and help provide meals for neighbors this holiday season. Read through the list below to find out ways you can get involved.

• Food Lions Feeds (11/9 – 12/12): Food Lion stores will be hosting Food Lion Feeds, which is an in-store food drive program where customers have the opportunity to purchase and donate a Food Lion Feeds for the Holidays box of food that will be donated to MANNA FoodBank.

Oral History Resources

 

Why Oral History?

 

 

“You don’t have to be famous for your life to be history.” -Nell Sigmon

 

 

The words above serve as the unofficial motto of the Southern Oral History Program, a project that has inspired and guided the development of Buncombe County Public Libraries’ oral history collecting initiatives.

 

 

History doesn’t just live in public records, letters, maps, or photographs. Many people aren’t well-represented in documented history, especially those that have been historically excluded from power or property.

 

 

Oral histories gives people the opportunity to tell their stories in their own words and allow their voices to endure through times. Oral histories fill in the gaps of the historical record, and deepen our comprehension of the past and present by showing us how lives are experienced on an individual level.

 

 

Through conducting, facilitating, and collecting oral histories, we hope to help bond generations, build understanding, and strengthen community.

 

 

Oral History Backpack Loan Program

 

 

You can now check out an oral history backpack from Buncombe County Public Libraries!

 

 

Call your local library or 828-250-4740 to request a backpack. You will receive a phone call when the backpack is ready to be picked up. There is no cost to borrow a backpack!

 

 

Your oral history backpack will include everything you need (and more) to record a successful oral history interview, and (if you choose) to donate the recording to a collection where it can be made available to the public and preserved for future generations. Donating your oral history recording is not a requirement of checking out a backpack. Accepted donations must meet specific donation conditions and criteria; see “Donating Oral History Recordings” below.

 

 

Borrowing Rules and Procedures

 

 

• Only one backpack may be checked out per household at a time.
• Borrowers must be 18 years or older, with a Buncombe County library card in good standing.
• The loan period is four weeks.
• Backpacks can be picked up at any Buncombe County library.
• Backpacks must be returned during normal library operating hours, either inside or using curbside service. NO OUTSIDE DROP BOX returns.
• Files must be saved by the borrower before returning. All data on returned devices will be deleted and may not be recovered.
• Backpacks will be considered lost when 10 days overdue. The charge for lost items is: voice recorder $100; backpack $30; headphones $20; microSD card, adapters, windscreen, or hard-shell cases $10 each.

 

 

Forms and Documents

For borrowers:

• Borrower Agreement (must be signed when checking out a backpack)
• Oral History Manual (includes list of backpack inventory, guidelines, and basic tech guide)
• Video Instructions [COMING SOON]
• Oral History Question Cards (ideas to get you started)
• H1n Handy Recorder Quick Start Guide & Safety Manual
• H1n Handy Recorder Complete Operation Manual

Downtown Hendersonville
Peppermint Bear takes you on a fun-filled bear hunt in downtown Hendersonville in search of her lost cubs. Hint: the cubs are hiding in downtown businesses.

Once you have found a lost cub in at least 12 of 26 participating businesses and the shopkeeper has punched your brochure, you are eligible to win scavenger hunt prizes. Complete the entry form in the brochure and drop it in Peppermint’s mailbox in front of the Welcome Center, by Dec. 23.

For more details about the Scavenger Hunt, watch this video or stop by the Welcome Center at 201 South Main Street. Peppermint Bear Scavenger Hunt brochures are available at the Hendersonville Welcome Center.

Make A Wish Come True This Holiday Season

Buncombe County is excited to announce the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022 is now available.

The ACFR offers an in-depth analysis of Buncombe’s financial process and contains an independent auditor’s report from the audit firm CliftonLarsonAllen LLP.

Go to the full report.

From 11/15 – 12/31, we’re offering a Holiday Special on our subscriptions! Get tickets at a discounted price, AND get a free ticket voucher for our next play, Native Gardens! Check our website on 11/15 to purchase this limited-time deal!

We’ve got so many reasons to give thanks! In each of our program areas, we see ordinary people taking heroic action to protect our home from the pressures of a changing climate.   This year-end, we’re highlighting stories that inspired us and sharing how we’re planting seeds to create a climate-resilient future for all of us.   With our native pollinators, more is more. The more habitat we plant, the more easily our native pollinators can find shelter and food, the more resilient they become to the challenges posed by pesticides and extreme heat—the more stable our entire food ecosystem becomes.

• Donate $25+ and get a day pass to the WNC Nature Center.
• Donate $50+ and get an animal sticker and a day pass.
• Donate $100+ and get an animal tracks necklace, animal sticker, and a day pass.
• Donate $250+ and get a a guided tour of the Nature Center with animal enrichment for two people, plus the necklace, sticker, and day pass. PLUS, you’ll be entered to win a chance to go on habitat with red pandas Leafa and Phoenix in 2023!

Merchants all over Henderson County vie for the honor of best holiday window displays and lighting, Take a drive around the county then vote for your favorite store front online, All displays will be available to view by November 26, but voting is only open December 6 – 17, Find the list of participants and information for online voting.

the City of Hendersonville will begin their fall bulk leaf collection service for City residents. Bulk leaf collection will continue throughout the fall season and conclude on December 30.

During bulk leaf collection, City residents should pile loose leaves as close to the street, curb, or sidewalk as possible without placing the leaves in the roadway or on the sidewalk. Leaves should not be bagged by City of Hendersonville residents.

Residents can help prevent safety hazards by keeping leaf piles out of the sidewalks. Obstructed sidewalks may force people to walk into the street and pose a danger for pedestrians and motorists. Keeping leaf piles out of the roadways and sidewalks also helps prevent debris from being washed into the storm drains which can cause flooding.

The bulk leaf collection process is separate from brush collection crews; therefore, residents will need to keep their brush and leaves in separate piles until bulk leaf collection has concluded at the end of the year. Leaf piles should be free of tree limbs or other objects that may damage collection equipment. Spring bulk leaf collection typically occurs during the month of March.

It is not necessary for the public to contact Public Works with leaf pick-up requests as this service is automatically provided to City residents. Leaf piles are picked up from homes every ten to fourteen days but, depending on the volume of leaves placed out for collection, the piles could be picked up sooner or later than that time frame.

Homeowners all over Henderson County vie for the honor of having the best holiday decorations, as voted on by you. You are invited to take a drive around the county to look at all the festive holiday displays and then vote online for your favorite. An interactive online Google map with all locations and a printable PDF will be available by Nov. 25, 2022.

Printed copies of maps will also be at the Hendersonville Welcome Center at that time. Online voting opens in December.

• Help Us Meet the Need This Holiday Season Round Up Campaigns & Community Events

  We are so grateful to all of our partners who are helping us during this critical time by providing various ways for people to get involved and help provide meals for neighbors this holiday season. Read through the list below to find out ways you can get involved.

• Food Lions Feeds (11/9 – 12/12): Food Lion stores will be hosting Food Lion Feeds, which is an in-store food drive program where customers have the opportunity to purchase and donate a Food Lion Feeds for the Holidays box of food that will be donated to MANNA FoodBank.