U.S. Forest Service closing Graveyard Fields to overnight camping due to recent bear encounter

The U.S. Forest Service is temporarily closing the Graveyard Fields Area to overnight camping.   

This closure, issued in consultation with the N.C. Wildlife Commission, has been implemented due to human safety concerns after a bear entered a tent and removed a hiker's backpack. No injuries were reported.

The U.S. Forest Service will monitor the area over the next few weeks to determine when to reopen the area to overnight camping. The area remains open for day use.

"In springtime bears are opportunistically looking for food that campers and trail users bring on their trips," said Pisgah District Ranger Derek Ibarguen. "Black bear attacks on people are rare but when we do have encounters we do our best to break the cycle of success so the bears do not become habituated to humans - protecting both our visitors and the bears."

Additionally, the U.S. Forest Service is requiring overnight campers to use bear canisters in the adjacent areas of Shining Rock Wilderness, Black Balsam, Sam's Knob and Flat Laurel Creek Areas. Numerous reports have been received of bears acquiring food from backcountry campers in this area. Use of bear canisters will reduce the bear's success and enhance visitor safety.

All bear canisters must be commercially made; constructed of solid, non-pliable material manufactured for the specific purpose of resisting entry by bears.

Please 'Be Bear Aware'

• Do not Store Food in Tents
• Properly Store Food by Using a bear proof container
• Clean up food or garbage around fire rings, grills, or other areas of your campsite
• Do not leave food unattended

For more information visitors are encouraged to call the Pisgah Ranger District at (828) 877-3265.  

For tips, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/r8/recreation/safety-ethics 

Rebecca Mumpower, MD, joins Asheville Hospitalist Group, a Mission Health practice

Asheville Hospitalist Group, a Mission Health practice, is pleased to welcome Rebecca Mumpower, MD. Dr. Mumpower is an experienced hospitalist who last worked with Wellmont Medical Associates at Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, Tennessee.

“It is our pleasure to welcome Dr. Mumpower to the strong group of physicians and caregivers at Asheville Hospitalist Group,” said Angie Wills, Vice President, Clinical Programs, Mission Health, and Interim Vice President, Mission Medical Associates Operations. “We are thankful that she has come to practice alongside the team of talented caregivers already here and are confident that her talents and strengths will be an asset for both the practice and for the community.”

Dr. Mumpower received her doctorate of medicine from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond, Virginia, and completed her internal medicine residency at Virginia Commonwealth University, also in Richmond, Virginia. She is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a member of the Society of Hospitalist Medicine.

“My hope is to make a genuine connection with each of my patients during their hospital course,” said Dr. Mumpower. “The goal is to help them feel more comfortable and confident in the care they are receiving, knowing that their physician truly cares about them."

Asheville Hospitalist Group, established in 1997, provides adult inpatient care admitted to the Mission Hospital campuses (Memorial and St. Joseph). To contact a physician with Asheville Hospitalist Group, call (828) 213-4411.

The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design invites audience participation with new series

Tanya Aguiñiga, Community Felt-In, 2014. Photo by Jim Newberry, courtesy of the artist.

The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design (CCCD) is pleased to announce Back to the Drawing Board, a new program series that provides six artists the opportunity to "take-over" CCCD's Benchspace Gallery & Workshop for a 24-hour period. Collaborators invited and juried from across the United States will produce installations, performances, and other experimental activities that invite the audience to participate in the creation of a final work of art. Back to the Drawing Board seeks to make the invisible creative process visible by providing a venue for experimentation, collaboration, failure, and innovation. "Craft extends beyond what may be placed on a pedestal," program curator and CCCD Assistant Director Marilyn Zapf states, "Back to the Drawing Board is designed to allow the viewer access to the often tumultuous creative process." Using media such as ceramics, glass, textiles, and book arts, the selected artists push the boundaries of what is or is not considered craft. The focus of these six projects ranges from environmental change and immigration to community empowerment and questioning domestic etiquette. The first project will be led by Los Angeles based designer and artist Tanya Aguiñiga. Performance Crafting: Hand in Hand will be the fourth craft based performance in an ongoing series where Aguiñiga deconstructs her own making process and ideas and applies them to public based explorations. During Hand in Hand, visitors will learn the wet felting techniques best known in Aguiñiga's furniture and product design, and apply it directly to bodies, experiencing the materiality of wool and creating a communal experience of making. Visitors will be invited to felt one another's arms by lightly massaging wool continuously around the hand and forearm area in order to build up a thick layer of wool. Once removed from the body, these hollow forms will be displayed in the gallery, marking the collective action of making through care for one another. The project aims to connect community members, teach new skills, engage visitors in the making of exhibited art, satisfy the need for human contact, while exposing individuals to contemporary craft.

EVENT DETAILS

Back to the Drawing Board will consist of a series of four events beginning in April and culminating in August with a special event, featuring three artists simultaneously working in the gallery. Each project will begin with a public reception from 6 - 9 pm Friday evening and continue from 10 am - 6 pm Saturday. April 3-4, Hand in Hand, Tanya Aguiñiga (Los Angeles, CA) May 1-2, In Song Sing On: The Songbook Project, David Wilson (Oakland, CA) May 29-30, Blue Mountain, Mark Reigelman (Brooklyn, New York) August 28-29,            Material Iterations, Jennifer Bueno (Penland, North Carolina) Immigrant Citizenship Takeover, Aram Han (Chicago, IL) Domensterventions: Inventions for Domestic Interventions, Cheyenne Rudolph (Gainesville, FL) All events will be held at CCCD's Benchspace Gallery & Workshop, 67 Broadway Street, Asheville, NC and are free and open to the public. For more information, call 828-785-1357 or visit www.craftcreativitydesign.org. This program was made possible by the John & Robyn Horn Foundation and receives media sponsorship from Industrious Productions.

Carolina Vascular and The Vein Specialists collaborate with Mission Health

Mission Health is pleased to announce new collaborations with Carolina Vascular and The Vein Specialists. Carolina Vascular specializes in providing the most comprehensive care available for the treatment of vascular disease. The providers at The Vein Specialists offer a full spectrum of vein treatments, from cosmetic to medically necessary.

“By affiliating with Mission Health, we will be better positioned to serve all of western North Carolina,” said Joe Guiffrida, COO of Carolina Vascular and The Vein Specialists. “We’re eager to further enhance and extend our exceptional care, and this partnership helps ensure we are able to provide the most up-to-date treatment options available to patients.”
These affiliations will further the objective of Mission Health, Carolina Vascular and The Vein Specialists to provide a full range of high-quality care and accessible patient care to the people of western North Carolina.

“We look forward to our partnership with Carolina Vascular and The Vein Specialists and welcome these highly specialized, interventional radiologists, vascular surgeons and neurointerventional radiologists,” said Jill Hoggard Green, PhD, RN, COO of Mission Health and President of Mission Hospital and Mission Medical Associates. “Their extremely professional providers and staff pride themselves in achieving the best possible outcome with an exceptional experience for the patient and family.”

For more information on services provided by Carolina Vascular, visit carolinavascular.net, or to schedule an appointment, call (828) 213-9090. For more information on The Vein Specialists, visit veinspecialists.com, or to schedule an appointment, call (828) 670-VEIN (8346).