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Microtech Knives plans expansion adding 25 jobs (2)

Henderson County News

KnollsCam: Black bear gets DIY back rub

Thomas Brass's KnollsCam on top of Haywood Knolls caught a black bear giving itself an extended back rub.  Check it out here.     Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Fiesta celebrates Latin culture

FIESTA Hendersonville showcases the culture and contagious rhythms of Latin America through live music, dance, food, artisans, vendors and more from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24, in downtown Hendersonville in the Visitors Center block.Sponsored by Ingles Markets, FIESTA Hendersonville features a journey through over 20 represented countries and their people, music, art, food and culture. With a trio of vocalists and a killer horn section, Orquesta Mayor plays salsa straight up, the way it was meant to be enjoyed. Whether they are covering classic hits from the Fania All-Stars, the energy of El Gran Combo or the contemporary style of Gilberto Santa Rosa, Orquesta Mayor gets the crowd dancing with a powerful rich sound. Samba is Brazil’s gift to the world. Brazilian Fusion Dance Company brings Rio to the streets of Hendersonville representing Brazilian culture and Carnival through costume, music and dance. The rich, beautiful culture of Mexican dance is represented at FIESTA Hendersonville by Greenville International Dance Academy. This beautiful presentation of Mexican folkloric dance provides a glimpse into the culture of the region where the costumes and music show both the indigenous history and the Spanish influence. “Latinos love to passionately tell our stories and share our rich cultures and traditions with people of all ages. And while sharing our stories, it allows us to learn even more about ourselves and how we can best weave ourselves into the communities where we live,” said Adriana Chavela, FIESTA Hendersonville organizer. For more information, contact Chavela at (828) 989-2745 or visit www.holacarolina.com.   Read Story »

Fletcher News

Parents charged, baby is safe

FLETCHER — Law officers on Wednesday located a couple wanted on felony child abuse charges in Fletcher and took them into custody, the Henderson County sheriff's office said. Heather Cochran, Rex Douglas Cochran Jr., 39, and Cali Marie Cochran, 31,  were taken into custody at 5:25 p.m. Wednesday at 445 Coffee Lane. Officers from the Fletcher Police Department and deputies from the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office made entry and located them in the basement of a home occupied by friends of the couple. The couple is wanted in North Dakota on felony child abuse charges. The Haywood County Sheriff’s Office and the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office cancelled an Amber Alert they had issued for three-month-old Calie Marie Cochran; the child is safe. She was being evaluated Wednesday night by medical personnel, which is standard procedure when a child is involved. The investigation is ongoing, the Sheriff’s Office said.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Dr. Donaldson to run for Congress as Democrat

Scott Donaldson, a Hendersonville urologist, plans to run for the 11th Congressional District as a Democrat.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Historic Lampley Motors building could be razed for development

The historic Quonset hut style Lampley Motors building and the Southern Appalachian Coffee Co. would be bulldozed for new development if the Hendersonville Preservation Commission OKs the demolition.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Wiener races, Autumn ale on tap at SAB's Oktoberfest

Racing dachshunds, polka, beer and brats will be featured in the seventh annual Oktoberfest from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Southern Appalachian Brewery at 822 Locust St. SAB will also release of its fall seasonal — the Autumn Ale. The Mountain Top Polka Band will perform and Polka dance instruction will be offered. Haus Heidelberg and Underground Baking Company will provide German fare and hot pretzels. Games for the whole family include keg bowling, stein holding, Hammerschlagen, German costume contests for humans and dogs. Kids Zone is sponsored by Hands On!Admission is $6 at the gate. Under 16 get in for free. For more inforomation visit www.sabrewery.com. Register Wiener dogs now or day of the event at www.eventbrite.com.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

How much does it cost to name park features?

If you want your name up in lights, you can have it. But you have to get out your checkbook. The Hendersonville City Council approved a price list last week for naming various features of Berkeley Mills Park: baseball field, $150,000; dog park, $60,000; dugout improvements, $12,000 each; playgrounds, $150,000 for a single donor, $25,000 each for six donors; concession stand, $20,000; grandstand improvements, $50,000; picnic shelter, $20,000; bench, $1,500; picnic table, $1,000; scoreboard, $30,000; memorial trees, $300.Councilman Ron Stephens asked about the duration of the naming.“Let’s say somebody wants to name this baseball field after their business,” Stephens said. “Is that forever? What if they go out of business? Or they sell it to someone else and they change the name of it?”City Manager John Connet said the city can adjust the sponsorship policy to account for that.“If it is Acme, whatever, and they go out of business, you can put that in the agreement that that can be removed,” he said.The council did not act on naming of the park, which is made possible because Kimberly Clark donated 60 acres to the city in 2008.“One thing is it’s the historic name of it,” Stephens said. “But the other thing is they gave us the land.”   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Motorist appeals parking ticket to City Hall — and wins

Raymond Stone says a false assurance from city parking ambassador led to a $25 parking ticket at a city lot. He wanted the city to tear up the ticket. The city agreed.   Read Story »

Edneyville News

LIGHTNING EDITORIAL: Growth highlights need for comp plan update

Henderson County commissioners are having a hard time deciding whether to invest in a sewer line to serve the new Edneyville Elementary School because they have no idea what the longterm impact might be. It’s understandable.Development follows utility lines. Growth continues here at a pace not seen since the pre-crash days up to 2008. We’re seeing development heat up in the form of multi-family or senior housing requests that have come before the Board of Commissioners and Hendersonville City Council. The sewer line question has vexed commissioners because it could lead to explosive growth, because it would add pressure to transform apple orchards into tract housing and because it renews the bugaboo that the county would be ceding control of growth management to the city of Hendersonville, which owns the sewage treatment plant.County Engineer Marcus Jones presented a detailed study of the options for serving the new elementary school. One of the statistics was that zoning along the sewer line path would permit 10,766 multi-family units — a figure that’s more of a math equation than a market analysis. Overwhelmed by that alarming statistic and other factors, commissioners booted the sewer line decision for a second time after directing the county manager to negotiate a possible cost-sharing arrangement with the city.The issue, as Commissioner Grady Hawkins observed, is much larger than the Edneyville sewer line alone. The county’s comprehensive land-use plan, and not a sewer line, ought to guide growth in the county. Adopted in 2007 — after years of resistance by elected leaders of the day, including Hawkins — the comp plan is starting to fray from development pressure and a real estate market shift from big houses on one-acre lots to condos, cluster homes and rental units on grass that the busy retiree doesn’t have to mow.“It’s about at its shelf life,” Hawkins said of the 10-year-old land development code. “We need to be working on an update to the comprehensive land-use plan…. One way or another, we’re going to do something and I think it needs to be in concert with a plan that’s fairly well coordinated with the comprehensive land-use plan.”For veteran consumers of news about county government, Hawkins’ epiphany is meaningful. Among the five commissioners, Hawkins has the most experience in the politics of land-use planning and the deepest appreciation for the hazardous shoals of rezoning requests.In the recent past, homeowners have filled county meeting rooms to express shock and anger that:• Rural residential (R2R) zoning, which permits just two dwellings per acre, allows an event barn, which is a commercial use.• Residential One (R1) zoning (intended to “foster orderly growth where the principal use of land is residential) allows 16 dwellings per acre plus an RV park, restaurant, clubhouse, wellness center, etc.• Residential 2 (R2) zoning would allow 198 rental units on the 85-acre Horse Shoe Farm property on the French Broad River.In addition, the land-use code allows dozens of commercial or institutional uses allowed in residential zones as long as the Zoning Board of Adjustment issues a special-use permit.An Edneyville sewer line would be the latest potential driver of development that raises the need for a fresh look at the comp plan. There will be others. The Board of Commissioners is at a point how where it ought to authorize a broad review of the land development code with a goal of making the plan more compatible with the market.A standard SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) would show commissioners that the comp plan is weak when it comes to protecting established residential zones from dense and intense development.With the right land-use tools, the Board of Commissioners could turn a bullish real estate market, the baby boom retirement wave and an Edneyville sewer line into an opportunity for quality growth.   Read Story »

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