Form will add vehicle property tax information in 2013

The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles is now mailing a larger, more detailed vehicle registration renewal form designed for easier reading and offering additional information about payment, inspections and plate recalls. The new form has also been designed so that vehicle property tax information can be added in compliance with a law scheduled to take effect in 2013.

The renewal notices provide information about passing vehicle inspections no more than 90 days before the license plate expires. They also notify vehicle owners when their license plate is slated for replacement because of age or wear. Exchanging old plates ensures proper visibility and is required by law.

The Friends of the Greenway have been informed that sewer construction in areas adjacent to Tassee Shelter and its parking lot off Ulco Drive will begin the week of April 25.

According to the construction contractor, the public will not have access to the parking lot or to the Shelter for a minimum of three weeks.

Mountain Mediation Services will hold a three-day Community Mediation Training May 24, 25 and 26, in Bryson City, for individuals who want to learn neutral ways to mediate conflict in their workplaces, families, churches, community organizations and neighborhoods.

The training will be held at the Bryson City United Methodist Chuch, 76 Main Street, Bryson City, from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. each day. The fee of $195 covers all materials, the training, and the snacks and beverages provided throughout the day.

Juan’s motorbike sputtered to a near standstill as we bounced up yet another rocky hill. I felt the throttle release and prepared for the downshift that would send the bike lurching forward and nearly topple me backwards onto the gouged up excuse for a “dirt” road behind us. Fifteen hundred miles from home, one kilometer to La Sevita.

Perhaps I should back up for a moment.

In the fall of 2008, I traveled with my family to India for two months. To say the very least, that trip opened my eyes. I had heard the term “global water crisis” thrown around in a couple of my science classes at Franklin High School, but to me it had always been some obscure event far from the here and now.