e-Focus Monthly Newsletter

Town of Weaverville

Message from Mayor Patrick Fitzsimmons

Descriptions of the Town's Volunteer Boards & Committees:  

Learn more about the Town's Volunteer Boards & Committees

Boards & Committees Application:  Download Boards & Committees Application

A Message from Weaverville's Police Department

The Weaverville Police Department continues to focus on ways to encourage drivers to maintain a safe speed and practice other safe driving behaviors. The Town of Weaverville has been dedicated to creating safer walking environments for you, your loved ones, and others in the community. At one time or another, though, we all are pedestrians and must be mindful of a few walking safety practices. The following are tips from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

1. Follow the rules of the road and obey signs and signals.
2. Walk on sidewalks whenever they are available. (*Stay on the walking trail when you are at Lake Louise.)
3. If there is no sidewalk, walk facing traffic and as far from traffic as possible.
4. Cross streets at crosswalks or intersections. Look for cars in all directions, including those turning left or right. Watch for drivers turning right on red.
5. If a crosswalk or intersection is not available, locate a well-lit area where you have the best view of traffic. Wait for a gap in traffic that allows enough time to cross safely; continue watching for traffic as you cross.
6. Watch for cars entering or exiting driveways, or backing up in parking lots.
7. Avoid alcohol and drugs when walking; they impair your abilities and judgment.
8. Turn your whole body – not just your neck- to scan for traffic.
9. Be safe, be seen. Wearing brightly colored clothing anytime of day or night makes it easier for drivers to see you. At night, use a flashlight or wear reflective material.
10.  Pedestrians listening to music, texting, talking, and otherwise absorbed in their phones can make themselves more vulnerable by tuning out the traffic around them. When walking, get your head up and put your phone down before crossing the road. Try to make eye contact with the driver before stepping out.

Let’s continue to work together. Walking safety requires the focused attention of both drivers and pedestrians.

Notice for Weaverville's e-Statement Water Bill Customers

Several of our customers utilize the e-statement option for receiving their water bills electronically. This service is provided through SouthData who prints and mails/emails our bills. Over the last few months, SouthData has been experiencing an issue sending emails to our customers who use Gmail addresses. The Google servers are rejecting all emails that SouthData sends out, so customers have not been receiving their monthly email stating that their bills are ready to be viewed. SouthData is actively working on finding a permanent solution to resolve this issue. In the meantime, you can still view your bill at the first of each month (you just won’t receive an email letting you know it is ready). The link to view your e-statement is: https://weaverville.estmt.net/ . We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused our customers.  

A Message from the Weaverville Fire Department

It’s hard to believe now, but cooler weather is on the way! Here’s a few tips from the Fire Department to help everyone be safe.

1. Replace the batteries in your smoke alarms.
2. Locate and inspect fire extinguishers.
3. Check your heating system:        

• Regularly replace furnace filters
• Keep areas around the furnace clean and unobstructed.
• Keep all combustible items away from the vent pipe.
• Never close off more than 20% of heat registers.
• Keep your fireplace clear of debris and have it inspected.

If there are any issues with your heating system, contact a professional immediately. Have your central heating system cleaned and serviced by a certified HVAC contactor once annually.

News from Curbie

The Town contracts with Curbside Management (“Curbie”) to handle our recycling collection every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. They visit approximately 2,230 locations each week and collected 40.95 tons of recyclables in June. Our town’s average collection of recyclables has been steadily increasing during the pandemic. This has caused Curbie to make a change in their schedule to complete their collection efforts during each of the 3 garbage days. The town begins its garbage collection each day with its 3-man crew at 8:00 am in order to finish by 4:30 pm, including a trip to the landfill or transfer station. Curbie runs the same daily route as the town crew, except they only have a 2-man crew, therefore taking longer to complete their route. They now are starting their daily route at 7:00 am, in order to complete their collections during daylight hours. This means that town residents now need to place their blue recycling carts at the street by 7:00 am on garbage day or the night before. As long as residents wash out their containers prior to recycling, this should not create a problem by attracting our local bear population since there will no food to attract them.

Also, Curbie will soon begin to place yellow tags (see attached picture) on recycling carts in which their employees find non-recycling items. The Public Works staff recently visited the Curbie facility and saw first hand the amount of non-recyclable items that are collected every day. This means that Curbie has sort the garbage from the recycling and then send a tractor trailer load of the garbage each day to the landfill each day, averaging 18 tons per day. In order to address this problem, they will be increasing their efforts to limit the amount of prohibited materials from the recycling stream. This includes such items as scrap metal, plastic bags (as well as the blue recycling bags which are not allowed), food waste, styrofoam, shredded paper, wood, medical waste, clothes, tanglers (cords, hoses, wires), and pizza boxes. If you find a yellow tag has been placed on your blue cart, then your recycling has not be picked up and will have to wait until next week’s garbage day, and will be picked up after you remove the improper items. You can contact Public Works at 828-645-0606 if you have any questions.

Volunteers Needed for Art in Autumn

The 15th Annual Art in Autumn returns September 17th, 2022 from 10am - 6pm. This event is hosted by the Weaverville Business Association, and brings over 100 juried artists from across the Southeast to Main Street. It is free and open to the public. Booths will line Main Street from Weaver House to Maggie B's. Regional musicians will play beginning at 10:30 a.m. in front of Rodney’s. Local restaurants will be open.

The Art in Autumn Committee is seeking a few more volunteers for the show. Volunteers help with a variety of tasks, including booth relief for the artists, parking, and staffing the information booth. Each volunteer gets a free t-shirt and a super fun day working with great people. More information is available here. 

Weaverville Center for Creative & Healthy Living News