We would like to update you about the news for the new year here at the BICC. It has been a long time since we have been able to publish a newsletter available for our community.
Our newsletter will include information about the previous months programs and events, as well as update you on future events. We will also include a community announcement section in future editions. This will allow the community to be able to announce other events going on in the community.
a few sections to keep you informed and we also hope to be able to add a spotlight section which will include information about our Board of Directors, Community members that are helping our community thrive, local businesses and organizations. We also hope to include information from other sources about our Big Ivy History for the enjoyment of every community member.
THIS MONTH’S
TOP STORIES
The Board of Directors would like to announce the new members that were elected by community vote in February 2021. Our Board members then elected amongst themselves the officers that would serve as the executive board. The members are as follows:
President: Kathy Ledford
Vice President: Tina Chandler
Treasurer: Ashlie Kromis
Secretary: Kalyn Cogdill
Board Member: Chris Ball
Board Member: Sheresa Slagle
Food Pantry
Our Food Pantry has been operating on a drive thru basis only during the pandemic shut down. We have still been able to serve between 70 and 90 families each week. The number of individuals served has ranged between 120-230 people. We have a great need in our community and through private donations we have received from a number of individuals and local churches, we have been able to keep going. We are also partnering with Manna Food Bank to receive the TEFAP allotment from the federal government. These donations along with funds from grants received have kept us going strong through these winter months. We are still in need of donations of non perishable food items as well as personal hygiene and cleaning supplies. If you or anyone you know is interested in donating any of these items please feel free to contact the community center via email; bicc@bigivy.org.
We also could use volunteers to help us make this successful. We are currently operating on Monday to unpack the Manna food delivery trucks between 8-12pm. As well as distributing food boxes on Tuesday from 8-12pm. Exception being first tuesday of the month the food pantry is closed for inventory and maintenance. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. As always prayers and just spreading the word helps also.
Upcoming Events
Community Club Meeting: Scheduled for March 8 @ 7pm via zoom. We are still not doing in person meetings due to covid restrictions, but if you are interested in attending the zoom meeting please see our facebook page for more information on how to register for the meeting. Or feel free to email us at bicc@bigivy.org for more information. Agendas for this meeting will be posted prior to the meeting on the facebook page for community viewing.
Easter at Big Ivy: We are hoping to schedule an outdoor event for our Easter celebration. We are looking into planning an Easter egg hunt for the community children. Anyone interested in helping to organize this event. Please contact us through the email. We will still be practicing social distancing and mask wearing to help ensure the safety of all our community members and will also schedule multiple times throughout the event so as to remain in compliance with the states gathering recommendations. If for some reason we are unable to get this event up and going due to time constraints we will be planning for a spring event later on in the spring.
ATTENTION: The fireworks show has not been canceled, but under review and our final decision will be made in the later part of June.. NO MEETING Monday night due to COVID-19
We are working VERY HARD to make this happen and in contact with all the powers to be. we still have to abide by the gathering limits and waiting for formal updates for outdoors, you can email any questions to bicc@bigivy.org
CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.
CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.
Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.
The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.
Should cloth face coverings be washed or otherwise cleaned regularly? How regularly?
Yes. They should be routinely washed depending on the frequency of use.
How does one safely sterilize/clean a cloth face covering?
A washing machine should suffice in properly washing a face covering.
How does one safely remove a used cloth face covering?
Individuals should be careful not to touch their eyes, nose, and mouth when removing their face covering and wash hands immediately after removing.
Sew and No Sew Instructions
Sewn Cloth Face Covering
Materials
Two 10”x6” rectangles of cotton fabric
Two 6” pieces of elastic (or rubber bands, string, cloth strips, or hair ties)
Needle and thread (or bobby pin)
Scissors
Sewing machine
Tutorial
1. Cut out two 10-by-6-inch rectangles of cotton fabric. Use tightly woven cotton, such as quilting fabric or cotton sheets. T-shirt fabric will work in a pinch. Stack the two rectangles; you will sew the mask as if it was a single piece of fabric.
2. Fold over the long sides ¼ inch and hem. Then fold the double layer of fabric over ½ inch along the short sides and stitch down.
3. Run a 6-inch length of 1/8-inch wide elastic through the wider hem on each side of the mask. These will be the ear loops. Use a large needle or a bobby pin to thread it through. Tie the ends tight.
Don’t have elastic? Use hair ties or elastic head bands. If you only have string, you can make the ties longer and tie the mask behind your head.
4. Gently pull on the elastic so that the knots are tucked inside the hem. Gather the sides of the mask on the elastic and adjust so the mask fits your face. Then securely stitch the elastic in place to keep it from slipping.
Quick Cut T-shirt Face Covering (no sew method)
Materials
T-shirt
Scissors
Tutorial
Bandana Face Covering (no sew method)
Materials
Bandana (or square cotton cloth approximately 20”x20”)
In preparation for the arrival of the coronavirus in our area, the Buncombe County Health Health Department is recommending having several weeks of food storage. Don’t wait until everyone is panicking and the store shelves are empty.
These are the basic items you will need. As long as there is power you won’t need to store water.
Peanut Butter
Flour or Masa
Nuts and trail mix
Cereal and breakfast bars
Medicine and Vitamins
Dried or canned fruit
Canned meat such as tuna, salmon, chicken, and turkey
Canned vegetables such as beans, carrots and peas
Canned soups and chili
Dried Beans, Rice, Pasta
Sugar, salt crisco/oil
Powdered or canned milk
DONT FORGET YOUR PETS
You will also need a supply of bleach, hand sanitizer of at least 60% alcohol solution. Don’t forget toilet tissue and paper towels.
Cling Webb, Serving for 52 years, He began his career at the age of 18. In 1944, he took over the fire tower atop of Little Snowball Mountain. The Job meant he had to walk 10 miles to and from his spotters tower each day.
Reassembled and at it’s new home, The Big Ivy History Park.
Little Snowball Tower was first manned by Mote Allen, who helped build it as a member of the CCC. When his CCC term ended and he was too old to enlist in World War II, the Forest Service hired him to be the lookout’s fire warden. After Mote’s retirement, Cling Fabe Webb was its dispatcher for twenty years, until the Forest Service retired the tower. After Lloyd Allen removed Little Snowball around 1985, the tower that cost less than a man’s suit was stored in pieces at Allen’s house for twenty years, waiting for a new home. In 2007, at Big Ivy Historical Park in Barnardsville, after one year of volunteer labor, the reassembled Little Snowball Fire Tower was dedicated. U.S. Forest Service supervisor Marisue Hilliard delivered the speech: I’m proud to be here today representing the Forest Service in saying thank you…[for] finding a permanent home for this wonderful legacy. Later, Mote Allen’s great-granddaughter in Florida returned his tower journal back home in Little Snowball Fire Tower.
