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Pardee to open urgent care clinic in Mills River

Hendersonville Business

Ask Matt ... about right on red, training center cost

Q. What’s in all those yellow crates on the vacant lot at Busy Bend on Kanuga Road? Sea-Doo jet skis. There are about two dozen stacked on the vacant lot across from Dal-Kawa Cycle Center, the motorcycle and motor sports dealership at 312 Kanuga Road. For the record, “jet ski” is actually a Kawasaki brand name for personal water craft, just like Sea-Doo.I spoke to Corey Noble, Dal-Kawa’s general manager. The dealership has been in business in Hendersonville for 47 years. They carry Suzuki and Kawasaki motorcycles plus Kymco, which makes ATVs (4-wheel all-terrain vehicles). Noble shared some big changes in the motor sports business. Last spring Hunter Volvo in Asheville closed its Patton Avenue business and at the same time acquired Dal-Kawa. After the merger, Hunter moved the Bombardier brand of power sports equipment and the Sea-Doo “jet skis” to Hendersonville, which is now the new market hub for a large region that reaches as far as Knoxville and Charlotte.The new Sea-Doo is not your father’s power watercraft. Noble said models range in price from $7,000 to $30,000. OK, but what do you get for the high end model? “Speed and power,” replied Noble. “It’s a monster with 300 hp and it can pull a water skier.” Noble expects to sell out of the Sea-Doo inventory just as they did last year. See you on the water. Q. What happened to House Bill 48? Last March I did a piece on HB 48, a bill that would have extended the “cooling off” period for state legislators where, if passed, they must wait 12 months (rather than six) after their terms end before they can become a registered lobbyist. Well, as predicted by Rep. Chuck McGrady, the bill’s sponsor, the measure died in committee. Q. What would be the increase to the county tax rate to pay for the construction of the sheriff’s proposed training facility? Technically none, according to Henderson County officials and the Board of Commissioners. The county doesn’t pay cash for major capital projects. When it’s time to start the project, which has not been approved in a final form yet, the county will borrow the money and pay it back over time. Although the law enforcement training center is budgeted in the long-range capital plan at $20 million, Sheriff Charlie McDonald is working now on cutting the cost. One might argue that taxpayers could receive a tax cut if the project was not in the county budget. Interestingly, the debt service for the law enforcement training center, $1,282,000 a year, is almost exactly the amount that 1 cent on the tax rate generates — $1,283,332. The current county tax rate is 56½ cents per $100 valuation. The county’s financial forecast shows that total debt reaches $192 million in 2019 while debt service peaks at $21.9 million in 2020. The outstanding debt goes back as far as the county jail (2001) and includes newer projects such as the Health Sciences Center, the Innovative High School, Edneyville Elementary School, Hendersonville High School and the emergency services headquarters. Q. Before I get a ticket, when driving from Asheville exiting I-26 onto U.S. 64 going toward Hendersonville, can I make a right turn on red at the stop light? There is no sign that says you can’t. Better not. This is not a true “T” type intersection; in fact, it’s more of a “Y.” Four Seasons Boulevard has multiple lanes and according to the Hendersonville police, driver visibility is poor. A right turn on red is an unsafe movement and you could be cited. That intersection is similar to the northbound turn from Spartanburg Highway to South Main Street, where there is a “no turn on red” sign. * * * * * Send questions to askmattm@gmail.com.   Read Story »

Henderson County Business

WHHS teacher chosen for statewide program

West Henderson High School health sciences teacher Jodi Rector has been selected as one of 50 middle and high school teachers across the state to participate in the Teachers@Work program, a joint initiative between the North Carolina Business Committee for Education and the state Department of Public Instruction that helps teachers connect the classroom curriculum with the skill sets needed by local businesses. Each of the state’s eight education regions will be represented by at least two teachers in this year’s initiative.“Teachers@Work is about helping our state’s educators make relevant connections between the workplace and their classroom,” NCBCE Executive Director Caroline Sullivan said in a news release. “This, in turn, will help to create a highly skilled, competitive workforce that will strengthen economic development across North Carolina.”Participating teachers spend one week during their summer monitoring a local company in or close to their community. Teachers will be paired with employees of the company and will be exposed to different aspects of the business. . Rector will spend a week on-site at Mission Health and then create a lesson plan that showcases both hard and soft skills needed by future employees that are specific to Mission Health and the local health care industry.   Read Story »

Henderson County Business

Event barn sparks neighborhood war

Bill Crane is working long hours alongside his two older sons to get an event barn ready for an October wedding.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Business

Construction value up 44%

Housing starts and renovations continued to show an upward trend this calendar year and for the first 11 months of the fiscal year, the Henderson County Inspections Department reported.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Business

Townsend joins Lightning as reporter

Natasha Townsend, a 2015 graduate of Hendersonville High School and rising junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has joined the Hendersonville Lightning as a summer correspondent.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Business

Pardee finances remain strong in FY'17

Pardee Hospital continues to show strong gains in its financial performance this year over last year’s numbers, the Board of Directors was told.   Read Story »

Flat Rock Business

Flat Rock gallery to 'expose' 20 artists

They generally toil behind closed doors, safely out of view, in tucked away studios near and far. But over 20 local artists have been coaxed into the spotlight for one special weekend get-together from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 17, and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 18, at The Gallery at Flat Rock. Reversing the idea of an “open studio tour,” the gallery will gather everyone together in one convenient spot for a lively informal two-day event which will include numerous demonstrations and some hands-on participation. Most will be bringing along additional work for display and sale. If you’ve ever wondered about the talented artists behind the fine art that graces our gallery walls and pedestals – the painters, the sculptors, the jewelers, weavers and clay shapers – now is your chance to meet the makers, ask questions, and discover who they are and how they do what they do so well. For a full schedule of the artists appearing each day, please visit the gallery website at www.galleryflatrock.com or call the gallery at 828-698-7000. “Artists Exposed” is free and open to the public. In addition to the “Artists Exposed” weekend event, jewelry makers Molly Sharp and David Voorhees will be exhibiting their collaborative designs known as “Silveramics” during the monthly Gallery Hop from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday evening, June 16. The Gallery at Flat Rock represents finely curated art and craft, and is located in Flat Rock Square at 2702-A Greenville Highway in Flat Rock, North Carolina. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm; Sundays Noon to 4:00 pm; or by appointment.   Read Story »

Mills River Business

German manufacturer praises city water

MILLS RIVER — The quality of Mills River water was a big factor when a German company chose a 15-acre field on School House Road for its first American manufacturing plant, the company’s president said.   Read Story »

Henderson County Business

'Brunch bill' allows booze on Sunday morning

RALEIGH — No discussion. No debate. No drama. A lopsided vote. A couple of hours after slipping through a skeptical Senate Rules Committee, Senate Bill 155, aka the brunch bill, breezed through the full Senate Thursday by a 32-13 vote. Republicans were split, 22-12, and those divisions became apparent, mainly during a Wednesday meeting of the Senate’s Finance Committee and to a lesser extent at the Thursday Rules session. If the House concurs with the Senate and the bill becomes law, North Carolina distillers will be able to sell five bottles per customer annually to patrons who take a distillery tour. The current annual limit is one bottle. Distilleries will be able to hold tastings at festivals, trade shows, and conventions that allow alcohol tastings. Restaurants and retail outlets also will be able to serve and sell alcohol beginning at 10 a.m. Sundays rather than at noon with the approval of local governing bodies. This will put North Carolina evem with 47 other states that allow alcohol to be served Sundays before noon, noted Sen. Rick Gunn, R-Alamance, the bill’s chief sponsor. The five-bottle provision would take effect July 1, if the bill becomes law by then. Taylor Howard, co-owner of H & H Distillery in Asheville, says the five-bottle law will help distilleries the most of any part of the bill. It would bring more people in more often, making the distillery more like a brewpub. “It’s not that we’re not trying to not support ABC stores, but being able to push our products out of the distillery would be a huge aspect for growth,” he said. The major objection among Rules members came from Sen. Jerry Tillman, R-Randolph. He scoffed at a provision in the bill charging a $750 per-event fee to auctioneers marketing beer, wines, and spirits — primarily aimed at auctions of high-dollar vintage merchandise or from estates. The events happen rarely. Legislative staff estimated the provision would raise a mere $3,000 a year, but said business might improve if they could include vintage spirits and other rare alcoholic beverages. The Rev. Mark Creech of the Christian Action League implored the committee to reject the bill on religious grounds, giving a speech much like the one he delivered at the Finance meeting. Scott Maitland, proprietor of Top of the Hill Distillers in Chapel Hill, owner of the popular Top of the Hill Restaurant, and president of the N.C. Distillers Association, told the committee the law would make a huge impact on distilleries. The five-bottle rule would make a big difference at his business and allowing alcohol sales before noon on Sundays would boost his restaurant’s business (and its ability to employ people) dramatically, Maitland said. The committee approved the bill by voice vote in what appeared to be a narrow margin. But when the bill reached the Senate floor, it passed quickly without any discussion or debate.   Read Story »

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