Category Archives: Asheville Attractions

MATTHEWS, NC (WBTV) –

There’s a new recreational complex for amateur sports in the Carolinas but officials in Mecklenburg County and the Town of Matthews believe they’ve built a Sportsplex that stands out.

“We’ll have 12 synthetic turf fields in one complex which will be unique to the entire region – not just Charlotte – it will be unique to the Southeast” says Preston Buckman, of Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation.

Officials say while other cities have recreational facilities, they believe the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex at Matthews will draw large tournaments because it will have a stadium, and several fields that can accommodate many all-field sports, such as football, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and rugby.

Buckman says “it maybe one weekend we have soccer tournament. Next weekend we have lacrosse and we’ll be playing another sport during the week so having tick marks allows us to convert quickly.”

Phase 1 of the project is complete. Five fields will be dedicated Wednesday morning.

Jamie Justice, the Assistant Town Manager of Matthews, says “it is very significant. The benefit is we’ve got a recreational facility that’s going to draw so many different

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   Box Score: Gardner-Webb 2, UNC Asheville 1

   Buy your GWU photos now at GWUPhotos.com!

Boiling Springs, N.C. – Senior Karyn Latorre scored the go-ahead and game-winning goal in the 65th minute off a Meagan Reynolds assist, and Gardner-Webb overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit to rally for a win at home in the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ season finale, 2-1, over UNC Asheville Tuesday night at Greene-Harbison Field.

With her squad tied midway through the second period in the home and season finale, GWU’s Latorre picked a good time to net the first goal of her collegiate career, timing a run perfectly off a pass from Reynolds to avoid an offsides call and earn a one v. one opportunity with Asheville keeper Heather Muller. The senior made good on her opportunity, chipping a ball from left to right over the Bulldogs’ keeper and into the back of the net to give the Runnin’ Bulldogs a 2-1 lead in the 65th minute.

The well-timed assist from Reynolds provides a fitting end to a

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Article source: http://www.citizen-times.com/usatoday/article/3287189 If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

Thousands of visitors are expected on Dillsboro’s Front Street this Saturday (Nov. 2) for the ninth annual Western North Carolina Pottery Festival.

“The festival has more potters from more places than any show in the Southeast,” said co-organizer Joe Frank McKee of Tree House Pottery.

The event runs from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., rain or shine.

Some 42 master potters will show their work (available for purchase) and educational demonstrations will line the street. This year’s featured potter is internationally known Gay Smith of Bakersville, who specializes in single-firing porcelain ware in a soda kiln.

The festival, which has now developed a nationwide reputation, began almost a decade ago when McKee said “let’s do a pottery festival.”

McKee said the town allowed him to stage the event, which had 21 potters that first year. Attendance has grown each year since, said co-organizer Travis Berning, also of Tree House. The event is now Dillsboro’s largest annual draw, he said.

“Now people ask us

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BEIJING — Chinese authorities named a pair of suspects from a heavily Muslim western region of the country as suspicions grew that a deadly car crash and fire near Tiananmen Square was a terror attack.

Five people were dead after the vehicle plowed through dozens of pedestrians and police at the center of the capital city at lunchtime Monday.

Strengthening suspicions it was an act of terror by Muslims from China’s northwest, the Beijing police issued a notice late Monday to hotels in the Chinese capital that named two suspects from the Xinjiang region, according to the text of the notice posted online by some Chinese Internet users, and reported Tuesday by the Global Times, a Communist Party-run newspaper.

Xinjiang, a huge area of desert and mountain in Chinese Central Asia, has witnessed regular unrest in recent years involving the Muslim Uighur ethnic group, now only a slim majority of Xinjiang’s population after decades of immigration by China’s majority Han people.

The Uighur have long complained about repressive rule by Beijing. The Chinese government argues it has brought badly-needed development, and says violent incidents there are fomented by ‘hostile foreign forces’.

The two named suspects are both male, with Uighur-sounding names. One is aged 25

Article source: http://www.citizen-times.com/usatoday/article/3284551 If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

Drew Stevenson, community relations and outreach manager for Highland Brewery, attended each of the Asheville Moogfests and is a Mountain Oasis passholder.

“(My wife and I) buy the tickets the very day it goes on sale, no matter the lineup,” Stevenson said. A fan of the eclectic, adventurous musical bill, Stevenson is also interested in Mountain Oasis’ educational and experiential programming, such as today’s Inventors’ Roundtable and Artist Spotlight with festival headliner and electronic music legend, Gary Newman.

“There is just a lot of good energy with this time of year and type of music,” he said. This year, however, Stevenson is both involved in the audience and behind-the-scenes.

On Friday afternoon, Highland Brewery welcomed a group of Mountain Oasis attendees who signed up for a sold-out tour and tasting. “(A.C. Entertainment) were looking for an opportunity to add some of the local beer culture to the those attending the festival,” he said. “A lot of these people are from out-of-town or out of the country who haven’t heard of Asheville. … It was a good opportunity to get some good exposure to be associated with something like this that is Asheville

Article source: http://www.blackmountainnews.com/article/20131026/NEWS/310260021/Festival-has-strong-local-ties If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

Hundreds of state workers are having trouble signing up for health insurance, forcing North Carolina officials to extend the enrollment period for the State Health Plan. The situation is drawing comparisons to the problems plaguing the roll out of the federal health care law, as complaints mount about premium increases and glitches with websites and clogged phone lines run by private contractors.

And now the State Employees Association of North Carolina is wondering why there aren’t legislative hearings here – like in Washington. Rep. Jeff Collins, the Republican chairman of the House Insurance Committee, said he hadn’t heard about the problems.

The enrollment period for the plan – which is managed by Democratic State Treasurer Janet Cowell – was scheduled to end Oct. 31. But on Wednesday, state officials extended the deadline to Nov. 15 because more than half of the 660,000 state workers and retirees in the system had not yet selected insurance coverage.

***More on the emerging problems at the treasurer’s office and North Carolina’s new dubious title – all below in the Dome Morning Memo.***

COWELL’S OFFICE DOWNPLAYS TROUBLES: Schorr Johnson, a spokesman for the state

Article source: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/10/25/3311294/morning-memo-state-health-plan.html If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com