Click Here for an Important Message Regarding COVID-19 from Town and Mountain Realty
Town and Mountain Realty is committed to ensuring that our buyer and seller clients feel supported, educated and safe during this period of confusion. It is in times of crisis that the human spirit best exhibits its resilience and capacity to love. Read more about local Asheville and Western NC resources below.
Stay tuned for more updates on how to support our local community and businesses!
Good evening, BCS Families and Staff:
Earlier today, Governor Cooper announced an executive order affecting all K-12 public schools. As such, Buncombe County Schools will now be closed for students beginning Monday, March 16, for at least two weeks. This closure affects all programming, including before- and after-school activities, all athletic and extracurricular practices, and competitions, and weekend events.
Monday, March 16, will be a regular day for employees, including teacher’s assistants unless you are ill and wish to take sick leave. Please note that school nutrition employees will be reporting to assigned meal sites. Further information will be shared via email. Bus drivers will receive separate communication, as well. Important additional information will be provided to all categories of employees soon.
In consultation with state and local leaders, we will determine a schedule to re-open school at a later date.
BCS Virtual Days
Our school system has been preparing for this closure. As such, Buncombe County Virtual Days will soon be in effect. Our teachers have worked diligently to prepare students to remain connected to our curriculum and their classmates virtually, despite our campuses being closed. Please check your email and ask your children to check their school email for more details about assignments and upcoming lessons. If your child did not bring their device home on Friday, we will formulate a plan to get those devices to them. We will share those details with you soon.
Emergency Food Services
Also, we want to ensure all in our community have uninterrupted access to nutrition. With the help of dedicated partners, Buncombe County Schools will host drive-through food pick-up stations (breakfast and lunch) in all of our districts. We will begin this program with:
Oakley Elementary,
Johnston Elementary,
Emma Elementary,
West Buncombe Elementary,
Woodfin Elementary,
Hominy Valley Elementary,
Pisgah Elementary,
Owen High School,
Black Mountain Primary,
Weaverville Elementary,
North Windy Ridge Intermediate,
and, Estes Elementary.
We will use yellow buses to deliver food to high population areas of the district that are area eligible. We will announce more details including meal service time on Sunday.
For our employees, we are awaiting further guidance from the NC Department of Public Instruction regarding pay options during this shutdown period. We ask for your patience as we seek further guidance on this matter.
This is an unprecedented situation for school systems across the state. Be sure to check BuncombeSchools.org for the latest information. Please follow @BuncombeSchools on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And, please download the BCS app and “opt-in” for notifications.
Read More - This message is also available in Spanish, Russian, Romanian/Moldovan, Ukrainian, and Chinese.
Click here for FULL list of restaurants providing free meals for children while school is out, food banks, and more organized by area from www.familyfriendlyasheville.com.
Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing in Buncombe
To serve all members of our community, Buncombe County Health and Human Services will begin operating two drive through COVID19 testing sites, starting Tuesday, March 17. Testing sites will be located at Biltmore Church in Arden and at UNC-Asheville on WT Weaver Boulevard. The sites will be open tomorrow, March 17, 2020 from 1-6 p.m. Based on the availability of testing supplies, the sites will continue to operate throughout the week from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. each day.
We will be operating this drive-through clinic as long as tests are available and ask that community members be patient throughout the screening and testing process. The testing site is staffed by medical providers from BCHHS. Testing is available to all members of our community, regardless of their income or ability to pay.
This COVID-19 drive-thru testing is specifically available for community members who:
Have a fever combined with either a cough or shortness of breath.
Have contact with someone with known COVID-19 and are experiencing any of the symptoms: fever, cough, or shortness of breath.
Community screening drive-thru testing instructions:
Drive to one of the following locations:
Biltmore Church at 35 Clayton Road, Arden, North Carolina 28704
UNC-Asheville Campus, parking lot P28 on the UNCA Campus off of WT Weaver Boulevard
Follow the signs for the parking lot where testing will be conducted. Stay in your vehicle. An employee will direct where to go and will give you the necessary paperwork before conducting testing and guide you throughout the entire process.
As we expect a large number of community members to participate, we ask for your patience with our dedicated healthcare workers as we strive to provide this important community service. This is an unprecedented public health event in our community, and it will take all of us working together to stop the spread of COVID-19.