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Four Seasons Politics

4 SEASONS POLITICS: Forums set, Progressive Women, student walk

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

SCHOOL SAFETY: 'They're asking parents to parent'

Propelled into action by the Parkland High School shootings and a rise in threats to schools here, Henderson County Sheriff Charlie McDonald, elected officials, school administrators and parents on Thursday announced broad and aggressive strategies to make schools safe.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Griffin: Shift training center cost to school security

Henderson County Sheriff's candidate Lowell Griffin issued a statement on Wednesday opposing a $22 million training center that Sheriff Charlie McDonald has proposed. Griffin says he would accomplish training for less money and would shift the cost of the center and its operation to school security. "If I receive your support and the nomination as sheriff in May, I will immediately push to revisit the issue of the training center," he said. "I will offer an alternative idea that I feel will benefit everyone involved. Better training for the officers at a tremendously reduced price tag for the public, should be the win win we all would appreciate." Here is Griffin's statement: I consider myself a conservative with a true background in public safety. As both, I recognize that tax money is real money and that there is no magical tree from which to obtain this money. Being fiscally responsible must be paramount to anyone that manages tax money or is responsible for any part of the budgeting process. Let’s look at an issue that is the $22.5-million question. $22.5 million for a training facility is a prime example of the exorbitant spending that is currently taking place. While there are many more pressing issues plaguing our sheriff’s department today that taxpayer dollars could help fix, one whole cent of property tax was added to the budget in 2016 specifically for this facility. While this may not seem like much to some, this equates to $1.2 million per year that could be better spent. While training is of great importance for the officers, this can be accomplished at a much lower cost in more effective ways. The 6-year-old facility that the sheriff’s office now occupies contains classrooms with state of the art technology to facilitate both teaching and learning. To satisfy the immediate needs of firearms training and qualification, there is an indoor range in the county, which is already maintained by taxpayer dollars, at the Western North Carolina Justice Academy in Edneyville. As a law enforcement officer and law enforcement instructor, I truly realize the need for realistic training. The world is dynamic and the training necessary to meet our current demands must be as well. Thousands of hours of training as both an instructor and a student has provided me with the ideas to develop a training facility that would provide better quality training at a mere fraction of the cost of the proposed center. This facility would not only serve the need for law enforcement training, but also provide additional fire, rescue, and EMS training. My ideas would provide optimal training that would benefit officers enrolled in basic training, patrol, S.W.A.T., K-9 units, investigations, and much more. The 22.5 million dollar price tag does not include the annual operational cost which, when adding personnel to run such a facility, would be well over $100,000 per year. The proposed center is perplexing in that it is slated to be under the control of the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office. It should fall under the control of our law enforcement and emergency services training partners at Blue Ridge Community College. Under their administration, the center would directly benefit all county and municipal officers while offering BRCC the option to host accredited training and conferences. This option essentially allows the college to recover some enrollment and training fees from North Carolina. The bottom line is this investment could benefit law enforcement and emergency services while also providing a benefit to our college, which is a direct benefit to our entire community. In my opinion, the money that has been earmarked for the proposed facility could be used in a more beneficial way for Henderson County. One consideration for this funding is strengthening school security. Additional school resource officers, re-engineering existing facilities to maximize security needs, and adding or updating camera systems are just a few ideas that could be realized. This is money that the taxpayers are already paying, so its use would not increase current taxes on you, the taxpayer.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

School Board candidate banned from schools

Randy Ward has been shooting pictures of high school sports and other extracurricular activities for 25 years in his native Henderson County. But what he described as an April Fool’s Facebook message sent to a former student last spring started of a series of complaints that school administrators say they have received and that School Board members say they have been made aware of, according to the woman, school administrators and School Board members. School officials say Ward received an oral no-trespass directive at a meeting on Sept. 21 banning him from school campuses. But school officials have not enforced the ban and never issued a written order to Ward. “Am I being banned? No,” Ward, a candidate for School Board, said in an interview Monday. “I’ve got no letter. I’ve never had nothing.” In response to a public records request from the Hendersonville Lightning, Henderson County Schools Superintendent Bo Caldwell released a statement last week. “In a meeting at my office on Sept. 21, 2017, Mr. Ward received a no-trespass directive in person,” Caldwell wrote. “This directive applies to all Henderson County Public Schools buildings, grounds, parking lots, roads and walkways, during and after school hours, including extra-curricular functions. As is always the case, such directives may be reviewed and reconsidered one year from the date of the notification, at the written request of the banned individual.”   Letter never sent Administrators never sent Ward a letter, Caldwell said, nor did they think it was necessary to take the matter to the School Board. “When we have situation arise at a school campus that we feel like it’s best for that person not to be on the school grounds, that is the superintendent’s job,” Caldwell said. “That is an administrative job to handle that. That doesn’t reach the board level.” As for Ward’s recollection that the School Board would take it up, Caldwell said that didn’t happen. “As far as Randy, we sat and talked with him,” he said. “Sometimes it’s better to talk in person rather than send a letter.” Some School Board members were aware of the complaints and some weren’t. “I was not (aware of it) until I was made aware of it” by another board member, said Lisa Edwards.  Board member Rick Wood said he’d never heard of the Ward situation until questioned about it this week by the Lightning. Both said the matter was not taken up at a School Board meeting in open or closed session.After the 2015 North Henderson High School graduate complained, administrators said other girls, including some students, came forward to tell them or School Board members that they felt uncomfortable around Ward. The 60-year-old factory worker and 1977 East Henderson High School graduate often shoots pictures at games and other school events, posting the photos on Facebook and offering them free to whoever wants them. A Facebook message he sent to a former NHHS student last spring has been misinterpreted, he said. “Coming out of the parking lot, I see this girl that I knew had graduated at North. I didn’t think much about it,” he said. “I was shooting baseball that day. “I just sent her a text. It’s April Fool week. I said, ‘I saw a sexy girl at the ballgame today.’ And that’s all I said. Next thing you know it went to this to that and this to that and I said, screw it. I just blocked her (on Facebook). She’s not even a student. It’s April Fool and that’s what I did.” After complaints from several girls reached the school superintendent’s office around last April, associate superintendent John Bryant called Ward, according to Ward. Ward said he failed to reach Bryant and went on shooting picture at school events. “I shot North Henderson’s graduation at Biltmore Baptist Church,” where Bryant shook seniors’ hands as they received their diplomas. “I talked to John Bryant there. He ain’t never said nothing about nothing about nothing. “And then one day I go over there (to North Henderson) to shoot (volleyball coach) Sue Moon and one of the vice principals comes over and says, ‘You’ve been banned from Henderson County school property.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ ‘John Bryant said he’s going to send you a letter.’ First I’ve heard of it. I ain’t got no letter.” When Ward reached Caldwell by cell phone, Caldwell asked if Ward would come in and meet. Ward agreed. Ward said he met with Caldwell, Bryant and Scott Rhodes, the school system’s human resources director, at central office in September. “I told them the story,” Ward said. “And they said, ‘We’ll go forward, we’ll send you a letter.’ “Well, send me a letter, I don’t care. … I’ve been taking pictures for 25 years. I’m 60 years old. I don’t care if I ever see another ballgame in my life. I’ve seen enough. … I’m not going to force an issue over a girl that’s probably not stable to sacrifice a friendship with those people.” At a time of heightened security on school campuses nationwide, the lack of enforcement of the ban could raise concerns. School Board Attorney Chad Donnahoo said Tuesday that “it would be (a violation) if he (Ward) indeed went to those games. If he said he was there I would suppose that he was. There was a meeting in which said he was banned for one year from all school activities including extracurricular activities.“I can’t speak to if he attended those events and I will certainly let the administrators in Henderson County central office know that. I’m not aware of that and I’m not sure they are either. I can tell you that, if he indeed attended those events he shouldn’t have.”As for the evidence school officials used to ban Ward, Donnahoo said most of what he was aware of was on social media in words and photos.“I believe that the documentation was put on Facebook by Mr. Ward and was on the Facebook of these girls,” he said. “Depending on the nature of the information that was shared, if it was student information it could be confidential.”   Ward admits dispute Ward acknowledges that he ended up in a Facebook dispute with the 20-year-old woman he had communicated with via social media. The woman, who spoke to the Lightning on Monday but does not want her name to be published, said she and her girlfriends felt uncomfortable with the messages. “He’d send messages like, “Go to bed, you’re up late.’ It was kind of weird,” she said. “My parents did not like it.” Ward had also shot pictures of her best friend, she said. That friend’s parents “got involved,” she said. “I finally made it public (on Facebook) what he did. I had so many messages from girls.” She said she doesn’t know if her picture or those of her friends are still on Ward’s Facebook page. Numerous messages on his Facebook page last spring say that his site had been hacked. “He blocked me,” said the woman, who is 20 years old. “He blocked a lot of us girls once he got in trouble for everything, around this time last year.” The woman said she was surprised when Ward showed up at a court appearance of a member of her family last spring, though he had no connection to the case. She was alarmed when she learned that Ward had filed for School Board. Because he never received a letter formally banning him from schools, Ward said he’s continued to make pictures at high school events. “I was over at Hendersonville the other day when they played Pisgah in the second round of basketball,” Ward said. “That was what, a week ago? Go back to football. I took Hendersonville and East (photos last fall). That was for the county championship, wasn’t it? I got a picture of Bo Caldwell there. The last thing I was told by the three was, ‘We’ll have a meeting with the board and we’ll send you a letter.’ And I’ve never seen a letter. So if I’ve not had a letter, what would you presume?” -30-       Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Don Ward names campaign steering committee

Henderson County Commission candidate Republican Don Ward announced that those who will be serving on his campaign’s steering committee leading up to the May 8 primary election. I am pleased that Shuford Edmisten, president of Forest Lawn Memorial Park, will chair his committee. Our steering committee will include Fletcher Town Council member Sheila Franklin, School Board member, Blair Craven, Shaw’s Creek Baptist Church Pastor Jerry Mullinax, former Mills River Town Council member Billy Johnston and his wife, Nancy, interior designer MeghanPenny, retired teacher Rosemary Pace, Sara Boyd Grant, who works in radiation technology at Pardee UNC Health Care, Valley Hill Fire and Rescue Chief Tim Garren and his wife, Lori, who is a director of nursing, retired county Code Enforcement Officer Sam Laughter, Nancy Randall, who is retired, Tony Hill of Apple Ridge Farms, former Mills River Mayor Larry Freeman, and grower Kirby Johnson of Flavor 1st and Johnson Family Farm. "Being a former commissioner and a third generation commissioner in Henderson County, I am overwhelmed at the support I am receiving and at the caliber of citizen volunteers who will be steering his campaign," Ward said. "I did first announced as a School Board candidate this year then I switched to run for commissioner in District 4 when my good friend Tim Griffin withdrew as a candidate, I am committed to working with the schools and to a new spirit of co-operation on the Board of Commissioner with all the citizens and municipalities in Henderson County. Commissioner Tommy Thompson is not running for re-election. Since no Democrat has filed, the winner of the Republican primary on May 8 would win the seat barring an unprecedented write-in campaign. “I am urging all registered voters to participate in the elections this year, beginning with absentee voting and the early one stop voting starting on April 19 and in all 35 county polling places on May 8," Ward said.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Legislators talk jobs, schools and mental health

MILLS RIVER — Breakfast at the Sierra Nevada taproom Friday featured legislative leaders from Henderson, Transylvania and Buncombe counties talking about their priorities in the upcoming legislative session. Speaking at the event were North Carolina State Sen. Chuck Edwards and state Reps. Cody Henson and Chuck McGrady. Before the General Assembly convenes in May, the breakfast gave the legislators a chance to discuss their priorities going forward. Some of the topics included workforce training, mental health care and drug addiction. Edwards opened by emphasizing the economic strength of North Carolina, saying that if it was its own country it would boast the 19th largest economy in the world. Despite that, he feels that the Legislature can do more to grease the wheels for business.  “There’s a study by Appalachian State University and North Carolina State University from a short time ago that indicates in North Carolina there’s $25 billion of revenue annually that is not taking place because of unnecessary regulation,” he said. Edwards went on to address the skills gap, saying that there are 6,000 information and technology jobs and other jobs in the medical and mechatronics industries that are currently unfilled because of a skills gap. However, both Edwards and representative Henson said that the community college system in North Carolina has been effective in helping to close that gap. Henson pointed to Blue Ridge Community College’s brewing, distilling and fermentation partnership with Oskar Blues as an example of relevant job training. McGrady emphasized that education funding will be a priority. Henson said that the state House is working on streamlining the process of moving money from the state down to local school systems, but claimed that currently that money changes hands too often in the trickle-down process. All three legislators agreed that mental health is a priority issue, if a complicated one. “Groups have coalesced and so you’ve got major mental health providers, hospitals, the sheriff’s department, the education system and all the non-profits currently working to try to come up with maybe a local approach to dealing with mental health that they would then come back to us, the legislators, and say ‘can we do a trial process here in Henderson County?’” McGrady said. Henson said mental health facilities will bring greater ongoing costs. “We can fund to have a bed for every single person in the state of North Carolina, but at the end of the day we got to have providers to take care of those people as well and actually evaluate them and give them the treatment that they need,” Henson said. The event was produced in partnership by the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce and the Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce and was sponsored by Park Ridge Health and Duke Energy.   Read Story »

North Carolina Four Seasons Politics

State officials break ground on $110M Apodaca science building

There is an empty lot behind the Natural Sciences Building on Western Carolina University's campus. It's covered in grass and on Friday afternoon it was muddy. During a groundbreaking ceremony, Western Carolina and an all-star lineup of state officials praised the $110 million building that will rise from the site over he next three years. The new building, named for former State Senator Tom Apodaca, will contain 182,989 square feet and be six stories tall. The Natural Sciences Building that it will replace dates back to 1970s. Apodaca retired from the North Carolina Senate in 2016. Apodaca is one of the more well-known alums of Western Carolina University. Having graduated with a degree in Business Administration and a minor in Economics. “I never went in the science building,” Apodaca told the crowd, provoking laughter. “I made it a point not going into the science building when I was at Cullowhee.” Despite the jokes, Apodaca certainly does see the merit in higher education having sponsored such legislation during his time in the NC Senate. One such bill was the Access to Affordable College Education Act from 2016. He has a scholarship endowment at WCU. The Pilar C. Apodaca Schalorship is named for his grandmother, a second-generation American from Mexico. According to WCU's website, the scholarship is granted to students of high academic performance, good citizenship and community service with a preference given towards Hispanic Americans. After the groundbreaking ceremony, WCU officials Apocada's colleagues in the North Carolina Senate. Tom Belt, coordinator for WCU's Cherokee Language Program, delivered a Cherokee blessing. Speaking to his accomplishments as a member of the NC Senate was president pro tempore Phil Berger, who jokingly described his colleage as part teddy bear and part grizzly bear because you would never know which one you were going to get. Berger also joined in on jokes about Apodaca having a science building named after him. “Everyone knows that economics is referred to as the 'dismal science,' so this building is perfectly apt for someone who is a economic minor,” Berger said. “Tom understands that college is a significant investment that leads to higher paying jobs, a better-skilled workforce and stronger local economies. He knows that escalating costs and rising student debt are threatening the value of that investment. That’s why, as a state senator, he spearheaded the NC Promise program, which guarantees in-state undergraduate students at three public universities across our state – including Western Carolina University – pay just $1,000 in tuition each year.” The tuition plan starts this fall at WCU and at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and Elizabeth City State University. UNC system President Margaret Spellings noted that Apodaca had always supported his alma mater. “Growing up in North Carolina, you went to Cullowhee, forged a deep bond with your school, then stayed in the region and launched a highly successful career creating companies, serving the state and ultimately succeeding at the highest levels of state government,” Spellings said. “And at every step along the way, you gave back to your alma mater, lifted it up alongside you and fought for it in Raleigh. And you’ve delivered results for this university, just as you delivered results for the entire UNC System and for the entire state.” Made possible through funding from the 2016 statewide $2 billion Connect NC bond referendum, the Apodaca building will replace WCU’s existing, 1970s-era Natural Sciences Building. Construction will begin later this year, followed by completion and occupancy by June 2021. The building will include five stories of laboratory, classroom, assembly and office space, with the sixth story serving as a “mechanical penthouse.” It will feature a large, 150-person lecture hall, a science commons area on the first floor and a rooftop plaza for astronomy observations. The WCU Board of Trustees voted in December 2016 to name the building in honor of Apodaca in recognition of his years of service to and support of the Western North Carolina region and the university, including his time as a member of the WCU Board of Trustees and his extensive advocacy for the university in the General Assembly.     Read Story »

Hendersonville Four Seasons Politics

County GOP meets on Saturday

U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows and State Treasurer Dale Folwell will headline the annual convention of the Henderson County Republican Party at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 10, at Apple Valley Middle School. “We believe this year’s Convention will be one of our best," said party Chair Merry Guy. "We have seen so much enthusiasm this year for conservative candidates who support our platform. I think the tax cuts and booming economy have helped encourage Republicans to get involved because they know they can make a difference.” Republican activists will also hear from primary candidates and conduct party business. "Delegates are elected at precinct level and from there are eligible to move up the levels of organization, even to the National Republican Committee delegate level if elected," Guy said. “We hear so much about the delegates sent to the RNC to nominate our Presidential candidates, but few understand that they started as credentialed delegates at the Convention in their own precinct and county before they could move up.” For more information visit http://hendersoncountygop.com/ or call 828-693-6040. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the time of the event as 11 a.m.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Bar reprimands attorney for neglecting estate

The North Carolina State Bar reprimanded attorney Michael Edney for professional misconduct in the handling of an estate, according to an order issued last Aug. 9.The bar’s Grievance Committee investigated a complaint against Edney filed by a client identified only as S. M. According to the committee, Edney was hired to handle the estate of the complainant’s father in December 2014. At that time, “the complainant’s mother, Mrs. L.M., gave you two checks made payable to her late husband or his estate,” Grievance Committee Chair DeWitt “Mac” McCarley wrote in the reprimand. “You did not place those checks in a fiduciary account, but placed the checks in a file where they remained until the complainant spoke with you in April 2017.”Edney, the chairman of the county Board of Commissioners, admitted to the bar that he took no substantive action on the estate for two years and that he did not “adequately stay in touch” with the client “due to your busy law practice and other obligations.”The Grievance Committee found that Edney violated state bar rules by failing to communicate with the client and failing to place the decedent’s checks in a trust account.The state Bar suspended Edney from practicing law for two years in June 1999 for what it said was his mishandling of a client’s appeal of a criminal conviction and his failure to respond to either the client’s letters or the state Bar’s notifications. The state Bar reinstated his license in April of 2000 after it determined he had complied with the terms of disciplinary order.“That’s gutter politics,” Edney said when asked about the disciplinary action. He suggested someone planning to run against him leaked the order to the press. “That’s what these folks are trying to dig up. It’s not newsworthy and I’m going to comment on it.”     Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

House candidate against gerrymandering, for Medicaid expansion

Gayle Kemp, a retired attorney and law enforcement instructor from Fletcher, announced her candidacy for the District 117 state House seat on Tuesday. Kemp vowed to bring her 30 years of legal experience and her deep concern for fairness and equality to the job of representing District 117, which covers the northern two-thirds of Henderson County.“Local communities know what is best when it comes to issues like water and sewer and local voting districts,” she said. “Democracy is preserved when each person’s vote is counted," she added. "Democracy is preserved when voting districts are fairly drawn to allow the voters to choose their representatives rather than the other way around. Extreme gerrymandering must stop.” “Democracy is preserved when all citizens are guaranteed life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These Democratic standards and values are best served when everyone, rural or urban, white, black, Hispanic or Native American, rich, middle class or poor, can expect a living wage for working forty hours a week.” She believes that Western North Carolina has been left behind when it comes to economic growth. “We have talented folks here. They need to be valued and paid for their labor.”“Rejection of Medicaid expansion makes no common sense when our tax dollars are sent to Washington DC but could be used here for people who need healthcare and to increase good-paying healthcare jobs," she said.A mother of three and grandmother of three grandsons, she is active in her community and works toward goals like community libraries to teaching children to sew at 4H clubs. Kemp plans to file for election at the Henderson County Board of Elections on Wednesday at 9:30 am.For more information on Gayle’s campaign, please contact her 828-551-6169 or by email at gaylekemp@gmail.com. The address for Gayle Kemp for State House is P.O Box 126, Hendersonville, NC 28793. Gayle’s Facebook page and website are under development.   Read Story »

Four Seasons Politics Archive