From Staff Reports 

As Democrats, once again, won all of the contested seats in Buncombe County and Asheville in the Nov. 5 general election, in perhaps the most-watched race, Democrat Amanda Edwards won 60.8 percent of the vote to wallop her unaffiliated challenger Van Duncan in the battle for the chair of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners.

The county-certified election result on Nov. 16 was Edwards with 89,528 votes, or 60.8 percent, and Duncan with 57,729 votes, or 39.20 percent.

Edwards, 47, now serves as a commissioner, but not as the chair, which is being vacated by Brownie Newman, who is retiring and endored Edwards. Duncan, 60, served three terms as Buncombe sheriff (2006-18) and is a former Democrat.

Edwards will be the first woman to hold the job of commissioners’ chair. She is the executive director of the A-B Tech Foundation.

Duncan, an investigator and police officer for The Biltmore Company, had said that, “if elected, he would use the position to stop current county policies on jail reduction and homelessness,” the Asheville Citizen Times noted on Nov. 7.

“After the election results were announced, Duncan told the Citizen Times that he called Edwards and wished her well,” the ACT reported. “He said Edwards has a huge job ahead of her, as recovery in the wake of  (Tropical Storm) Helene won’t be an easy task.”

From Staff Reports 

This year, Asheville’s Annual Holiday Parade “will take on a fresh twist as it transforms into a vibrant Holiday Jamboree” in Pack Square Park from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 23, according to a Nov. 11 press release from the Asheville Downtown Association

Produced by the ADA with the City of Asheville, the Jamboree is billed as “a family-friendly celebration of holiday cheer and community spirit, happening...

“The Holiday Jamboree will bring the community together with crafts, games, and fun activities for all ages. Stroll through the festive Holiday Market, featuring local artists and retailers, and savor delicious food and drink from popular food trucks and beverage vendors.” 

Holiday Jamboree highlights are the following:

• 11 a.m.-3 p.m.— Festive performances from community groups on the Pack Square stage

• 11 a.m.-3 p.m. — Free photos with Santa,

• 11 a.m.-5 p.m. — Holiday Market featuring unique gifts, crafts and goodies

• DJ Phantom Pantone “will keep the holiday spirit alive with great tunes,” the release stated. 

• U LEAF STAGE Performances by local musicians all day at Pack Square Plaza

“Plus, the Holiday Jamboree offers an opportunity to celebrate Asheville’s local heroes. Mayor Esther Manheimer will serve as grand marshal, honoring our city’s first responders, civil servants and volunteers who have shown incredible dedication to the community, “ the release stated.

From Staff Reports 

WAYNESVILLE — Interstate 40 in Haywood County (between here and the Tennessee state line) may reopen by New Year’s Day, although travel through the Pigeon River Gorge “will be a bit slower than usual,” according to a press release from the N.C. Department of Transportation. 

With more than a mile of the eastbound lanes of I-40 washed away by Tropical Storm Helene, traffic will be confined to a single lane in each direction on the westbound side, NCDOT noted. 

The lanes will be 11 feet wide, a foot narrower than the interstate standard, so the speed limit will be 40 mph. 

The timing of the reopening hinges on when contractors can finish stabilizing the westbound lanes and installing a concrete barrier down the middle, NCDOT stated. 

The $8.5 million stabilization contract set a completion date of Jan. 4. NCDOT said it has determined that using the westbound lanes for traffic will leave enough room for contractors to rebuild the damaged and missing eastbound lanes.

From Staff Reports 

City of Asheville officials were estimating on Nov. 15 that the boil water notice will be able to be lifted by Nov. 19 as a result of reduced turbidity levels in the North Fork Reservoir and the capacity to push treated water into the system, Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) reported on Nov. 15.

Specifically, the TV station stated, “Clay Chandler, a public information officer for the City of Asheville’s Water Resources Department, said in a Nov. 15 briefing that as the capacity for the North Fork Reservoir to push treated water into the system continues to rise, residents of Asheville may be nearing the end of being without domestic water use.

“We’ve been able to feed a sufficient amount of filtered water into the distribution system without blending it with raw water,” News 13 quoted Chandler as saying.

Chandler added that the system currently has the capacity to push 20 million gallons of treated water daily — and the last time the system pushed raw water was Nov. 9.

From Staff Reports 

In a six-candidate race for three open seats on Asheville City Council on Nov. 5, the winners were (in vote order) incumbents Sage Turner and Kim Roney and newcomer Bo Hess.

The top vote-getter, Turner, 46, is a finance and project manager.

Roney, 42, is a music educator and a small-business owner.

Turner and Roney were each first elected to council in 2020.

The third and final winner of an Ashevlile council seat, Hess, 41, is a licensed psychotherapist, licensed clinical addiction specialist, and psychiatric social worker.

He previously ran unsuccessfully in a crowded field in the 2022 Democratic primary for the 11th Congressional District seat.

Also of note, the only avowed political conservative in the race, Charles “CJ” Domingo finished last in the field of six.

The final certified vote tally for Asheville council is as follows:

• Sage Turner, 27,949 votes, 22.84 percent

• Kim Roney, 25,736 votes, 21.03 percent

• Roberto “Bo” Hess, 24,188 votes, 19.7 percent

• Kevan Frazier, 18,990 votes, 15.52 percent

• Tod Leaven, 14,975 votes, 12.24 percent

• Charles “CJ” Domingo, 10,051 votes 8.21 perccnt.