Blueberry lovers can pick at UNC coach’s home

BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. — North Carolina women’s basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell allows anyone to pick blueberries from about 200 bushes at her western North Carolina home.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reports Monday that the charge is $5 a gallon, and payment is on the honor system. Hatchell asks that pickers at her cabin in the woods halfway between Black Mountain and Lake Lure honor her request that payments be sent to Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill.

Hatchell has an 812-282 record in 34 seasons of coaching, including a 540-202 record during 23 years in Chapel Hill.

She also had a cancer scare nine years ago when ovarian tumors were found. The tumors were benign, but Hatchell wants to spread the word about Lineberger, using blueberries as a fundraising tool.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)