I am adding one star back to the health department…read more When we went to get my kids' flu shots at an evening flu clinic, the Public Health Director, Patrick Johnson, was there to make sure that people felt welcome. He had good reason to. As I approached the building, three cheerful women asked me if I was going to get a flu shot. I heartily answered,"Yes!" while taking a flyer from one. I figured it was part of the protocol. As I walked further, I noticed that the flyer had too much print and too much of it was in red. My first hard copy of anti-vaccine propaganda! I did speak my mind. It was only one sentence and one body lingual gesture that ended in basic origami, but they got me. I was not rude. I was not extra erudite. It felt good to defy their ignorance. My kids got their shots by Mr. Johnson's posse, and, as usual, everyone was super sweet. In fact, my younger brat always states that the shots there are given in the gentlest manner possible. She loves getting shots there. The staff is efficient, and you are in and out in no time. We came late, and they did not hassle us. How the anti-vaxxers convinced a seven-year-old that night that a vaccination can give you cancer is beyond me. An article in our local paper stated that the chid started crying and stated that she did not want to get cancer. How long was the conversation? Where was her mother? Because it seems like they got to the mom, too. Hopefully, the mom and child left because the child was in such a state, and planned to go back another day. Because if my kid was crying, I would let her know that I am her boss, and that the three strangers on the sidewalk are not. One of the anti-vaccination protesters that night was a woman who has a child with autism. My child has autism as well. She has not become progressively autistic because she gets yearly shots. In fact, she could run the lab at the health department. She could change the world by inventing a vaccine that prevents strep throat. Maybe when an anti-vaxxer sees her child with a severe illness, maybe then she would alter her stance. The state of intense illness is not a time to discuss immunity as the science lesson for that day. It is the everyday become bare night. Mr. Johnson is endorsing vaccines and educating people about vaccines. That is admirable. He even appeared at an anti-vaxxer forum last summer. That takes courage and dedication. Sense and scientific intelligence are not dead. Yeah, so, if you want great health care, go to the health department. They even have an evening clinic one Thursday a month, but call first to set up an appointment. Klaatu barada nikto.

Every time I come here (which is often, I'm in nursing school and need lots of physicals and…read morevaccinations), I am met with friendly front desk ladies, the nurses are wonderful, and of course the lab tech/phlebotomist Cheryl is always so helpful and sweet. I never hesitate to refer someone here. I know they all have tough jobs, and I leave impressed every time.

The book collection is old. Needs better collection development. One staff member is rude and bossy.read more

I am removing one star for rudeness. I had to call the other day in order to renew my books. The…read moreemployee who answered the phone was annoyed that she had to do her job. Chill- you work in a library, possibly the most stress free workplace on earth. Speaking of those books, when we originally attempted to check them out, the lady in the kids' room was rude, too. She acted like I wasn't there, and kept on talking with her friends. I could not tell if her friends were employees or patrons. She finally said that she could not check me out, and told me that I could go the self-check-out kiosk or go upstairs to get checked out. I asked her how to do the self thing, and she showed me the kiosk. I stared at it for several long seconds before telling her that I would go upstairs. Tell me: why do they need a self-check-out if they have time to endlessly yak it up and there are never more than six people in the kids' room at a time, not counting employees? Libraries should feel inviting, not alienating.

Extremely professional, courteous and efficient! We walked in without an appointment and were seen…read moreright away. The whole process of renewing military ID's took about 10 minutes. Many other services are also available making this facility a great and convenient location.

Buncombe County was formed in 1791 and named for Edward Buncombe, a Revolutionary War officer…read more Nestled in the mountains of western North Carolina, the county quickly became a cultural and political center, with Asheville as its seat and growing rapidly in the 1800s thanks to railroads, tourism, and the region's reputation for restorative mountain air. The Buncombe County Courthouse, completed in 1928, stands as a towering example of Beaux-Arts architecture with subtle Art Deco touches. Designed by Douglas Ellington (who is also responsible for the neighboring Asheville City Hall), the courthouse rises seventeen stories, making it the tallest county courthouse in North Carolina. Its limestone façade, classical ornamentation, and richly appointed interior ‐ with marble floors, coffered ceilings, and bronze fixtures ‐ reflect the civic optimism of Asheville's boom years, just before the Great Depression slowed further development. Beside the courthouse stands a three-tiered empty plinth. From 1905 until its removal in 2021, it held a monument to Confederate soldiers, taken down following a vote by county commissioners. The vacant pedestal now serves as a quiet marker of the region's evolving public memory. Asheville is a city of smart parking meters and parking decks. You won't find free parking here. [Review 1234 of 2025 - 4419 in North Carolina - 24786 overall]

So....I got pulled over by the police for what they said was excessive speed....but they didn't…read morehave a Radar in their car, so it was his word against mine....what he did have was me and a car with an expired tag........hey....he had to get me on something if he couldn't nail me for speeding *grin* Having dodged the speeding ticket I still had to get my car inspected and off to the court house to get my ticket dismissed. Now.....mind you...I grew up in this town and have visited this place only a few times in my life (and NO I wasn't locked up here*wink*), but back in the day...you could come in and walk around anywhere....thanks to the idiots overseas, that world of being open has changed completely. You have to enter on the side of the building and pass through metal detectors? If you have a bag it is searched.....ugh! Then as you make your way up to the main foyer you can see what excellent old school architecture and craftsmanship is all about....... 1 more floor up and there is a "assembly line-esk" set up for VERY young attorney like folks that take your ticket.....see you've solved the problem....and send you on your way. And in 2 shakes of a lambs tail I was back out the building.

I previously reviewed this department of Haywood County under my "Town of Waynesville" review…read more Several years ago, we contacted this department with questions about a tree near our property or possibly on our property. There were at least two phone conversations about that. They never returned a call after those two calls. I again contacted this department a few years after that to ask them about whether or not they had cut down a wild rosebush that was growing on my side of the fence, but had most of its roots on the outside of my fence. They talked to me, and seemed helpful, although now I trust no one that works for this county. So, I called this department a couple months ago, to again ask if a tree is on our property or not. The woman that I spoke with was nice, but was adamant that the tree was ours. That statement was strange to me, as I would think that one would have to look at maps with property lines and the like. (This woman did give me the number for land records. Land Records sorta cared and directed me towards their website, but I would go to their office in person to get more info. When property lines are defined by pipes sticking out of the ground, especially when several are present, I get nervous.) But what really creeped me out is that the woman I was speaking with at F&M knew where I lived. She described my house to me! Like I said, she was sweet, but I would not want to anger her. I never could tell if the tree was indeed ours, and the problem was solved, anyway. Look for my series of reviews on Haywood County agencies in the future. In the recent past, I have been deeply disappointed by many of them. I am writing these reviews so that no one has to go through pain in order to get simple answers and standard courtesy.

The Haywood County Courthouse is adjacent to the modern Haywood County Justice Center. The historic…read morecourthouse was completed in 1932 in a Classical Revival / Neo-Classical style, a three story stone-veneered structure. It has a projecting entrance pavilion, a pedimented frontispiece (the triangular "temple front" design) and engaged Doric columns, all characteristic of the style and of the times when counties were still choosing monumental, traditional forms to project stability. The county was formed in 1808 from Buncombe County and named for John Haywood, longtime North Carolina state treasurer. The county seat has always been here, though it was originally named Mount Prospect and renamed Waynesville in 1811. Adjacent but part of the same street address is the Haywood County Justice Center, a contemporary purpose-built judicial complex that was designed for efficiency, security and high-volume daily court operations. It's a sharp contrast to its neighbor and was completed in 2005. On a drizzly Saturday afternoon, both buildings were secured but that did make it easy to find parking and then walk the grounds to get photos and examine the many war memorials. The Confederate veterans memorial is a simple granite stone with a brass plaque. [Review 535 of 2026 - 4630 in North Carolina - 25717 overall]

OK, quick anecdote. In the very late eighties, I had an Estée Lauder addiction. Once, at the shore…read moremall, I went for my tri-monthly fix of blue liquid anything. The woman who worked the EL counter was annoyed that a teen was trying to buy her products. In fact, she would not let me buy what I wanted. She suggested a spray hair oil. As I used to be majorly passive, I bought the spray. When I went to use it, I discovered it was broken. Flash forward to the mid-late nineties this time to Center City Philly, Strawbridge's. A well dressed employee was berating her fellow employee loudly, basically telling her to get out of her way. The yellee just smiled and tried her best with her huge, awkward burden to get out of her way. I instantly recognized the yeller as the EL seller from South Jersey. I quickly found out how to complain, and marched up faux Greek temple steps and into the arms of devastating Englishmen. Well, not quite, but I did lodge a complaint about that monster. Moral of the story: You never know who you will have to deal with in the future- Dike or Medusa. Which ties in to this review. June Ray, the past clerk, has moved on to be the clerk of Cherokee County. Sometimes, she was OK. Other times, she was not. If I had known that nobody had ever challenged her position as clerk, I would have run for clerk, pigeon toe and all. The first time I went to the clerk's office, Ms. Ray did not want to give me a copy of my grandmother's will. In the time it took to subtly harass me, she would have finished the task. Sometimes she acted bothered, sometimes she gave you a free copy or extra info. Despite the fact that she kept an all-female staff, I think she liked men better. Speaking of Ms. Ray's staff, some of them may still be there. And some of them were not so great. One woman was visibly annoyed that she had to work. If you rung the bell for service, most of the women ignored your plea for help. The women who came to the window seemed random; it may have very well been their job to help the public. The estate clerk was a sweetheart. She was an expert and took the time to educate me. Here is the crux: We had been trying to evict my deceased father's wife and company from our shared business premises. When my Ashevillian lawyer faxed in a continuance for the case to the clerk's office, she was told that she could not do so. They told her that she had to do it in person. That was a lie. After I fired my lawyer, we went shopping for a local one. One local lawyer told us that he had no problem faxing over continuances. That means that the clerk's office employees- some of who may still work there presently- had no problem lying to us or wasting hundreds, nay, even thousands of my dollars. Even though my lawyer was going on her third monthly vacation, the employees who refused her continuance fax cost me extra because I had to pay her to work through that problem. Every day that my father's wife and her alcoholic clique stayed at our business caused us to lose business and property (due to destruction and theft). Was someone just in a bad mood that day? Or was it favoritism? An anti-urban/Asheville element? I will never know. On top of that, later, when I was composing a complaint about my former lawyer to submit to the state bar, I asked an employee to speak with the magistrate, Mr. Wood, whom had presided over my eviction case. The employee told me that he had left the building and told me to go the sheriff's office, as Mr. Wood had headed over there. This may have been a lie. Mr. Wood never showed up at the sheriff's, or he arrived through the back door and hid, or he was still chillin' at the clerk's office. (In a bizarre twist, the Sheriff's office gave me the same runaround.) Ironically, if you want to complain about a clerk, you have to ask to talk to a magistrate. You may be thwarted from doing so. Even worse, Mr. Wood, who campaigned to become the new clerk after Ray left, was found to have acted unethically while he was a magistrate. Can you imagine if he had become clerk? We may provide through taxes the salary of the clerk and the employees who work at the clerk's office. We deserve to be treated justly and fairly. We are their job security. If nobody needed wills or judgement documents, they would not have a job. In the end, this clerk's office affected my past, present, and future- both positively and negatively. I hope you have better luck. Note: Mr. Hunter Plemmons is the new clerk. Re: Yelp review on the Sheriff's Office of Haywood County.

Located on a busy stretch of College Street near the courthouse and city hall, this marker points…read moreout the history of this post-Civil War educational institution. The marker has the same text on both sides. It reads, "Established in 1887 to educate African Americans in western N.C. Emerged as residential preparatory school for Black women. Was 1/3 mil east until 1974." There is more information online. It began as the Industrial School on College Street, established by missionaries L. M. and Ann Pease, and was later operated by the Women's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Renamed Allen Industrial Home School in 1897, it served students from across western North Carolina and beyond, with half of its graduates attending college by the 1950s. Notable alumni include musician Nina Simone and NASA scientist Dr. Christine Darden; the school closed in 1974 due to declining enrollment. It is marker number P-101 and it was erected in 2023 by North Carolina Office of Archives and History. [Review 1296 of 2025 - 4441 in North Carolina - 24848 overall]

This marker is along a busy stretch of Broadway south of Asheville. It points out that the…read moreRiverside Cemetery is nearby. It has the same text on both sides. It reads, "Graves of Thomas Wolfe & "O. Henry," authors; Zebulon B. Vance, governor; Thomas L. Clingman and Robert R. Reynolds, U.S. senators. One-half mile west" Riverside Cemetery, established in 1885 in Asheville's Montford Historic District, spans eighty-seven acres and offers a tranquil setting rich in architectural, historical, and botanical significance. Originally founded by the Asheville Cemetery Company and later maintained by the City of Asheville, it contains over 13,000 graves, 9,000 monuments, and a dozen mausoleums ‐ with guided tours and genealogical services still available. The cemetery is the final resting place of notable figures, reflecting more than a century of western North Carolina's civic and cultural legacy. Designated a Buncombe County Tree Preserve in 1997, Riverside remains a solemn yet vibrant public space where the region's history is quietly honored. This is marker number P-3 and it was erected in 2014 by the North Carolina Office of Archies and History. I did not have time today to visit the cemetery. Next time I'm in Asheville for sure. [Review 1233 of 2025 - 4418 in North Carolina - 24785 overall]