ASHEVILLE (Citizen-Times) - The state's highest court has decided in favor of the City of Asheville in a challenge by a Civil War historical group that opposed the removal of a prominent monument to Confederate Gov. Zebulon Vance.
The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the Society for the Historical Preservation of the 26th North Carolina Troops, which had paid for the repair of the granite obelisk in 2015.
The court said the group failed to show that the removal amounted to a contract breach that must be remedied. In a twist, the justices said the N.C. Court of Appeals was wrong in saying the plaintiffs did not have standing — that they were harmed and that the city could repair the harm. But in appealing the case, Justice Phil Berger Jr., said the society failed to make the arguments about its original breach of contract claim.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) - The decision to remove a prominent Confederate statue in downtown Asheville is now final, and folks on both sides of the argument had plenty to say.
The unanimous decision from the North Carolina Supreme Court was announced Friday, March 22, rejecting a lawsuit challenging the city's removal of the Vance Monument in Pack Square Plaza.
The monument was erected in honor of former North Carolina governor and slave owner Zebulon Vance, who was born in Buncombe County. Vance was opposed to rights for Blacks, believing their place was in servitude.
In 2020, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners and the Asheville City Council voted to remove the statue, saying it "had become a public safety threat in the community."
The monument, which has stood in Pack Square Plaza since 1898, was dismantled down to its base in May 2021. The Society for the Historical Preservation of the 26th Regiment North Carolina Troops sued to stop the removal.
HCA Healthcare, which owns Mission Hospital in Asheville, had to submit an amended plan of correction to regulators March 13, which the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved in a notice to Mission Hospital CEO Chad Patrick. That plan was made public March 20.
HCA’s amended plan of correction includes an addendum on the hospital’s staffing strategic plan. But while the plan has some positive changes, Mission Hospital nurse Kerri Wilson said management isn’t following all of it.
“Most of it is actually not new,” she said. “It’s just different ways that the hospital actually can get away with short staffing.”
Wilson works in medical cardiology. While HCA’s plan includes staffing to patient acuity, she said, that’s not the reality. Management has continually staffed less than what staff agreed to in their contracts, she said, and is instead putting the onus on staff to go through learning modules.
There were better staffing numbers when surveyors were present at the hospital, but that hasn’t been sustained, Wilson said. It’s also frustrating that management didn’t ask nurses for their input or share the plan of correction with them, she said.
HCA spokesperson Nancy Lindell said in an emailed statement, “We respect the CMS process and are confident that by accepting our plan of correction, the surveyors are satisfied with our improvements.”
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”Be safe out there” Lamont Cranston