Disease could have ‘devastating’ effects PISGAH FOREST — Using only her headlamp to illuminate the little brown bat in her hands, Gabrielle Graeter carefully spread open the animal’s wings. As the bat shrieked and chewed at her white gloves, Graeter hunched over the small light box on the table in front of her and methodically looked for any damage to the bat’s thin black wings, one sign that it could be infected with white-nose syndrome. It’s a disease biologists say could have devastating impacts at multiple ecological levels. “We haven’t detected it, but it could be here already,” said Graeter, a biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and one of a team of scientists catching and monitoring the bats on the Davidson River on Monday night. “If they haven’t (been in- fected) already, it’s going to be happening soon.” The infection, named for the white fungus that forms on the faces and wings of affected bats, has been called the most serious threat to wildlife in a century. It’s killed hundreds of thousands of bats in the Northeast, where it was first discovered in 2006. Right now, JOHN FLETCHER/[email protected] N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission biologist, Gabrielle Graeter, studies an Eastern red bat in Pisgah National Forest Monday night as state and federal biologists help monitor and prevent the spread of white-nose syndrome. Bats monitored for white-nose syndrome By Nanci Bompey [email protected] Please see BATS on A8 HOW TO TELL ■ Signs include white fungus, especially on the bat’s nose but also on the wings, ears or tail, damaged wings including holes in the wing tissue, bats flying outside during the day in tempera- tures at or below freezing, bats clustered near the entrance of hibernation sites and dead or dying bats on the ground or on buildings, trees or other structures. This bat is checked for signs of white-nose syndrome. For more photos, visit CITIZEN-TIMES.com. ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES VOICE OF THE MOUNTAINS • CITIZEN-TIMES.com Thursday 75 cents August 5, 2010 BACK FOR MORE: The Tuscola High football team returns 12 start- ers off a 12-2-1 team but must find a new quar- terback. Page C1 REINHARDT: For our columnist, nighttime child- hood fears turned into a lifelong inability just to get a good night’s sleep. Page B4 FAVRE’S INDE- CISION: Brett Favre’s agent and a Vikings’ coach say the wishy-washy superstar will play if healthy. Page C1 A GANNETT NEWSPAPER | VOL. 141 | NO. 217 | 24 pages | © 2010 QUESTIONS ABOUT CIRCULATION? Call (800) 672-2472 Afternoon showers High 94, Low 67 Weather, C8 Forecast CLASSIFIEDS C5-7 COMICS B6-7 LIVING B4-8 LOTTERIES B1 MOUNTAINS B1-3 MOVIES B5 NATION/WORLD A2 OBITUARIES B2-3 OPINION A6-7 PUZZLES C6 SPORTS C1-4 STOCKS A4 Index ASHEVILLE — A one-time $3 mil- lion appropriation by the state General Assembly will be a shot in the arm for some children. The money in Buncombe County alone will pay for more than 2,000 doses of childhood vaccines, important given the county leads North Carolina in the percentage of students al- lowed to go without state- mandated vaccines. Health officials warn that fail- ing to vaccinate more children could cause a drop in herd immu- nity, the theory that vaccinating a certain number of people against a disease protects those most vul- nerable. Leaving too many people with- out vaccinations also could lead to the re-emergence of potentially fatal diseases. “In some areas we’re dropping dangerously low,” said Buncombe County health director Gibbie Harris, citing an outbreak of whooping cough in 2009. “Haywood had the bulk of it, but a lot of exposure started here in this county,” she said. The new funding is intended to ease the transition as North Caro- lina stops providing free vaccines NC bucks up for child vaccines By Nanci Bompey [email protected] Please see VACCINES on A3 Aim: Get all kids shots by the start of school ASHEVILLE Hiking, swim- ming, biking, jogging — all are great outdoor activities and all require some type of specialized shoes, clothing or equipment. If you’ve worn out your favorite sneakers or swim- suit this summer, tax-free weekend arrives Friday to help you out. Designed to help parents afford school supplies, the tax-free weekend — 12:01 a.m. Friday through 11:59 p.m. Sunday — includes an ex- emption for most sports equipment. That helps many parents with athletic chil- dren, but it’s also a boon to outdoor enthusiasts. Even better, many equip- ment retailers offer sales and other discounts during the weekend, including Black Dome Mountain Sports, Diamond Brand Out- doors, Mast General Store, Dick’s, REI and other sports equipment and outdoors re- tailers. One example: All of Black Get outdoors, but get the deals first By Damien Chambers [email protected] Please see OUTDOORS on A5 JOHN FLETCHER/[email protected] Beth Hardin works on a display of shirts at Mast General Store in downtown Asheville. The store will have specials this weekend. WASHINGTON — The Oba- ma administration plans to send $600 million to help unemployed homeowners avoid foreclosure in five states, including $159 million for North Carolina. The Treasury Depart- ment said Wednesday that mortgage-assistance pro- posals submitted by North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island and South Carolina received approval. The states estimate their ef- forts could help up to 50,000 homeowners. The administration is di- recting $2.1 billion from its existing $75 billion mortgage assistance program to a total of 10 states. Each state de- signed its own plan. Treas- ury approved money in June for Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Ne- vada. The Obama administra- tion has rolled out numer- ous attempts to tackle the foreclosure crisis but has made only a small dent in the problem. More than 40 percent, or about 530,000 homeowners, have fallen out of the administration’s main effort to assist those facing foreclosure. So far, it has provided permanent help to about 390,000 homeowners, or 30 percent of the 1.3 million who have enrolled since March 2009. NC gets $159M to stop foreclosures By Alan Zibel THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Product: ASH_Broad PubDate: 08-05-2010 Zone: Main Edition: First Page: frontpage User: KHatton Time: 08-04-2010 21:54 Color: C M Y K