POSTPONED - Peak Oil, Fossil Fuels, Climate Change: The Evidence

On Wednesday, January 27 at 6:30 p.m. Dr. John Brock, professor of Environmental Science at Warren Wilson College will be hosting a conversation about peak oil and climate change at Good Stuff in downtown Marshall. Dr. Brock is an incredibly engaging speaker who brings rational insight into questions and concerns facing society about the topics of climate change and peak oil. Come learn more and join in the conversation.

All I Want For Groundhog's Day

A big boy wood splitter please.

Flood Stage Level Revised For French Broad River at Asheville

Don't know if any revisions are planned for the flood stage level at Marshall, NC on the French Broad River but thought this was a statement worth noting from the National Weather Service about changes for the Asheville station on the French Broad. Stay high and dry.

Statement as of 10:15 am EST on January 27, 2010

To: subscribers:
-family of services
-NOAA weather wire service
-emergency managers weather information network
-noaaport
other NWS partners... and NWS employees

From: Patricia Tanner
service hydrologist NWS Greenville-Spartanburg SC

Subject: change in flood stage along French Broad River at Asheville
effective March 1 2010

Noaa's National Weather Service at Greenville-Spartanburg (nws)
announces a change in the flood stage for the French Broad River at
Asheville effective March 1 2010. The flood stage will be raised
from 8 feet to 9.5 feet based on data collected daily over several
years and new flood plain inundation mapping.

Improving flood forecast accuracy is an important part of noaa's
mission and is part of noaa's NWS continuing effort to serve
society's needs for weather and water information.

More than 100 people, on average, lose their lives due to floods in
the U.S. Every year. Accurate flood forecasts provide valuable time
for people to take action and help reduce loss of property and life.

The revised flood stage is based on information provided by the
Buncombe County emergency management at Asheville, and the Buncombe
County planning and development division, as well as data collected
by the National Weather Service.

During the past several months, the local community noticed that
property damage and loss of life did not occur at the previous 8
foot flood stage. The Greenville-Spartanburg NWS worked closely
with its partners during the past several flood events to determine
that flooding did not occur until the French Broad River rose above
9.5 feet on the river gage located at Asheville.

The French Broad River at Asheville is a daily forecast point
included in the NWS advanced hydrologic prediction service (ahps)...
a web-based suite of accurate and timely forecasts related to
hydrology. A graphic and text display shows how long it will take
the river to rise to flood stage... how high the river will rise and
how long the flood will last whenever a forecast is issued.

The stream gage located on the French Broad River at Asheville is
operated by the United States geological survey (usgs)... a key
federal partner of noaa's National Weather Service. The USGS
maintains the gage equipment for data accuracy providing key
information to help the NWS forecast for our nation's rivers.

On the web:
National atmospheric and oceanic administration: www.NOAA.Gov
NWS Greer, south carolina: http://www.Erh.NOAA.Gov/er/gsp
ahps program: http://newweb.Erh.NOAA.Gov/ahps2/index.Php?Wfo=gsp
National weather service: www.Weather.Gov
National Weather Service, eastern region: www.Erh.NOAA.Gov

If you have technical comments or questions... please contact:

Patricia Tanner, National weather service: (864) 848-9970 ext 234
Patricia.Tanner@noaa.Gov

Still Life Drawing and Painting: From Chardin to Morandi 1/20 & 1/21 at Marshall High Studios

An intensive representational painting workshop is scheduled for January 20 and 21, 2010 at the beautiful Marshall High Studios - D.Helgemo Studio of Drawing and Painting. Internationally renowned painter Julyan Davis and Boston School trained impressionist/realist painter Dan Helgemo will be instructing students in a variety of disciplines relevant to the representational painter in an ongoing series of workshops designed for serious students.

This workshop, the second of the series, will focus on Still Life drawing and painting. Frequent future workshop/classes will follow regularly that will cover a range of genres/practice including portrait drawing and painting, still life painting, figure drawing and painting, the plein air landscape (on location in scenic Marshall), how to 'make it' as an artist and more. The focus of each workshop will be catered to the individual direction and area of pursuit of each student but with a push to do whatever it takes to improve on any area of weakness. Teaching will proceed through demonstration and discussion but emphasize practical application and individual instruction and critiques. Emphasis will also be given to imparting to the students the right tools for their own work in their own studios in order to develop independently as artists.

Interested students should call Dan at 864-201-9363. Inquire quickly, for these classes are small and are filling up quickly .

Fiction Workshop at the Arts Council (starts January 20)

Do you have a story in you?

This six-week fiction workshop will be a writers' laboratory--a place for experiments, invention, and discovery. Participants will engage in a variety of creative exercises, both in and out of class; read literary texts that may inspire their own work; share their writing and receive feedback; and, most importantly, write something new every week.

If you are looking to revise or polish a piece you've already written, this is not the class for you. Instead, it's a chance to learn fresh approaches and generate new work. My aim is for each person to finish the course with a story in progress and lots of motivation for future writing.

6-week class, January 20 through February 24, 2010, Wednesdays 4-6PM at the Madison County Arts Council (90 Main St., Marshall). Fee: $180.

To register, contact the Arts Council at info@madisoncountyarts.com or (828) 649-1301.

Instructor Leni Zumas is the author of the story collection FAREWELL NAVIGATOR (Open City, 2008). Her award-winning fiction has been published in Quarterly West, New York Tyrant, New Orleans Review, and many other journals. She has taught creative writing at the University of Massachusetts, Hunter College, the Juniper Summer Writing Institute, and Columbia University. Visit her on the Web at www.lenizumas.com.