Engage with Asheville: Sharing ideas and finding jobs

Blue Ridge Roller Girls open season

ASHEVILLE ? The Blue Ridge Roller Girls will open the 2012 season at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Davis Event Center on the grounds of the WNC Agricultural Center.

The event is a double-header and marks the first year that the flat-track roller derby team will compete at the Ag Center. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 on game day, with children younger than 12 free. Go to www.blueridgerollergirls.com for more information.

Occupy Asheville plans protest

ASHEVILLE ? The Occupy Asheville group is planning a protest outside City Hall at 4 p.m. Thursday.

The protest targets an ordinance the group claims further criminalizes homelessness. The Occupy Asheville group is no longer camping outside City Hall, but it continues to hold protests and rallies.

Business idea competition set for Saturday

FRANKLIN ? SiteDart Hosting and the Macon County Economic Development Commission are inviting aspiring entrepreneurs to kick-start Macon County BizWeek 2012 by participating in a business idea competition.

The event is intended for Macon County residents. The concept is simple: Tell a group of judges what problem you are solving, how you?re going to solve it with your idea, how you would use $1,000 to make it happen and do all that in 90 seconds. The judges will select a winner and award prizes, including a check for $1,000 and a mentoring lunch with a local entrepreneur.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Fun Factory. The winner will be announced April 10 during the BizWeek 2012 Entrepreneurial Networking Night at The Rathskeller in downtown Franklin.

Sign up at www.sitedart.net/awesome. To learn more about the April 9-12 Bizweek 2012, visit www.maconedc.com. For hints, tips and more information visit www.sitedart.net/awesome.

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Asheville LETS group marks 5-year anniversary

ASHEVILLE ? Asheville LETS will celebrate its fifth anniversary on April 15 with an orientation to the group at noon at Magnolia Park in the Montford neighborhood, followed by a potluck and seedling swap 1-3 p.m.

The meeting is open to the public. The Asheville Local Exchange Trading System is a credit-based exchange network that allows members to exchange services for credits, which can in turn be swapped for services by other members.

Go to www.ashevillelets.org for more information.

Transportation workshop planned for Saturday

ASHEVILLE ? If you?re confused by transportation planning projects or seek more money for bike paths, sidewalks and greenways, consider attending a workshop 9 a.m.-noon Saturday in classroom 206 of the UNC Asheville Reuter Center.

Planner Don Kostelec will talk about engaging and influencing the transportation planning process. Cost is $5. The event is sponsored by the Western North Carolina Alliance and Transition Asheville. To register, email julie@wnca.org.

Harrah's awards $25,000 to teaching center

CHEROKEE ? Harrah?s Cherokee Casino & Hotel recently awarded $25,000 to the Development Foundation of the N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching Inc. to conduct professional development seminars specifically designed for educators from Cherokee Elementary School in Cherokee.

Seminars developed by Deb Teitelbaum, a center fellow, will help more than 20 educators align curriculum with the Common Core state standards in English language arts and mathematics, and create pacing guides for the 2012-13 school year.

City launches new online hiring system

ASHEVILLE ? The city has launched a new online hiring system at www.governmentjobs.com.

The goal is to make the application process more efficient by cutting down on the use of paper and making it easily accessible from the front page of the city?s website, www.ashevillenc.gov.

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All applications must now be submitted online. Candidates without access to the Internet should visit the city?s human resources department, where computers and technical support staff will be available.

The new software allows applicants to save a profile online to make applying for future vacancies easier, check the status of an application, view a history of applications submitted online and sign up to be notified of future job openings in specific job categories.

For more information about the city?s human resources department visit http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Departments/HumanResources.aspx.

A-B Tech offers job board

ASHEVILLE ? Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College has launched a job-posting website to help area employers fill vacancies, as well as aid students in finding jobs.

Job Board will support employers in Buncombe, Madison, Haywood, Henderson, McDowell and Yancey counties by providing free listings that will be accessible to students 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Current and former A-B Tech curriculum students will be able to search and apply for those openings online.

Users will create an account with Job Board via the A-B Tech website and apply for or post job openings. There is no limit on the number of jobs an employer can post or the number of positions for which curriculum students can apply.

For more information, visit abtech.edu.

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