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Dat's Cajun Cafe to open on Fourth Avenue East

Henderson County News

Woman convicted in death of man thrown from vehicle

A 21-year-old woman was sentenced to 13½ years in prison after a jury convicted her of second degree murder in the death of 28-year-old Deque Taylor, who died after being thrown from a vehicle on Ninth Avenue West in December 2015.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Meadows gives Trump an A-plus

U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows says he judges President Trump not on what Congress has managed to pass — or not pass — in the first 82 days in office. Despite a goose egg so far on major legislation, Trump gets a glowing report card from the third-term Republican.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

City feels 'kicked in the teeth' by McGrady water bill

Hendersonville City Council members said they were surprised that state Rep. Chuck McGrady filed a bill subjecting city water rates to state regulation just three days after a seemingly constructive two-county summit on utility issues. McGrady orchestrated a meeting Friday with officials from Henderson and Buncombe counties, Hendersonville and Asheville and other legislators from both counties, including state Sen. Chuck Edwards. Hendersonville officials came away from the meeting confident that McGrady would hold off moving ahead on any plan that would heavily regulate the city water system. McGrady filed a bill that bars cities from charging differential rates unless they get state approval. “We thought we had a good meeting Friday but obviously Chuck has escalated things,” said Hendersonville mayor pro tem Caraker, who represented the city along with Councilman Ron Stephens. “We’re going to work on bringing our inside and outside rates closer together. And we would welcome continuing the conversation with the county to get our water utility and our sewer utility more responsive according to the county’s criticism. “Chuck told us he was going to file a bill as a placeholder. He didn’t indicate it was going to be this bill, which is quite a surprise,” Caraker added. “We were perfectly willing to have the rate structure conversation but obviously Chuck thinks about it over the weekend and decides this was not quick enough.”   ‘Productive in tone and substance’ The City Council had been bracing for an attack in the form of legislation ever since the Board of Commissioners failed in an effort to force the city into ceding its water system to a countywide authority. McGrady’s bill bars cities from shifting water revenue to any other purpose. The proposed law would allow the expenditure of enterprise fund revenue for things like construction and new pipelines, repaying debt and paying into a city’s general fund for officials’ time devoted to utilities management and other shared costs such as vehicle maintenance. Cities could charge outside users a different rate only if the Local Government Commission, a state board that oversees local government finances, approved the rates after a public hearing. Instead of targeting Asheville specifically, as McGrady and the Legislature did two years ago with a bill invalidated by the state Supreme Court, or targeting Hendersonville, the bill applies statewide. “It does (apply to Hendersonville) to the extent that it’s a statewide bill,” McGrady said. “It applies to everybody.” Like Caraker, McGrady characterized Friday’s meeting as positive. “We had an all-parties meeting on Friday with representatives and managers and it was productive in tone and substance,” he said. McGrady said he hoped that the cities and counties would be able to “deal with some of the representation issues that Henderson County has put forward,” possibly through an interlocal agreement. His bill subjecting differential rates to Local Government Commission approval is lighter in oversight than a version that would have subjected the city’s utility system to control of the North Carolina Utilities Commission. That was an idea McGrady had raised after a Hendersonville officials rejected the idea of joining a countywide water authority. The commissioners endorsed the idea of Utilities Commission jurisdiction over the city’s rates and capital spending after negotiations with the city collapsed. “I call that a hard oversight,” McGrady said. “This is what I would call more soft oversight. There are cities across the state that are functionally bankrupt” and are extending water lines well beyond the city limits to capture water customers and balance their budgets. Because of that, he said, he found that the idea of restricting out-of-city rate differentials was gaining wide appeal. He characterized the water legislation as a work in progress, a draft that could effectively keeps the parties at the negotiating table. “I told the parties based on their good faith I will stand down on what I called the nuclear option,” forcing a water authority. “My bill does have a study provision in it. It’s not a heavy handed approach,” he said. “I think all the parties recognize I have plenty of other options if they can’t work it out themselves.” City Manager John Connet said the staff was still evaluating the consequences of McGrady’s bill. He said the city likes oversight by the Local Government Commission better than the Utilities Commission idea. “We know them. We work with them on a regular basis,” Connet said. As for the impact of the bill statewide, Connet said there’s no doubt that many cities have tuned in to a power struggle that started here. “There are a lot of cities and a lot of systems that charge a rate differential so obviously it’s going to affect them and I expect they’ll have questions,” he said. “I think our folks are willing to sit down and talk to the county. Exactly what the topics will be is yet to be determined. Obviously, we heard from Rep. McGrady that rate differential is something he’s concerned about.” McGrady and county officials are also pushing for some form of representation for outside users, Connet said. A constructive meeting on Friday did not mean, McGrady said, that the city has signed off on the bill. “They’re not going to be OK with the bill but they’re certainly OK directionally and I’ve also told them this is not a take it or leave it,” he said. “I’m quite open to input and willing to make changes that make sense. But I do intend to move the bill.”   ‘Kicked in the teeth with this’ Caraker and Miller say they’ve been stunned by the way the water war blew up. “They act like they’re the only people that have any moral authority and have the wellbeing of the people in the county in mind and that’s just not true,” Miller said of McGrady and the county commissioners. He said he could understand the county’s position if the city was not running its water system properly and communicating openly. “But as long as it’s going as nicely as it is now and we’re inclusive, why go in there and stir it up if it’s not a grudge or heavy-handed politics,” he said. “No one can come in and look at our books and say we are pulling money out of that enterprise fund and spending it inappropriately…. It’s a huge business and we are not good ol’ boy networking this.” Caraker agreed. “He’s going to be affecting the pocketbooks of a lot of people,” he said of McGrady’s proposal. “I don’t see that he’s making a lot of people statewide happy. It’s kind of astounding to me that all this is going on.” The city signaled that it was willing to work toward equal rates, involve the county in long-range planning and look at some form of representation to outside users. “And all of a sudden we get kicked in the teeth with this. We had such a good relationship with the county up until very recently, with the high school thing and this water situation. I feel like I just walked by Rod Serling and he pointed me to the ‘Twilight Zone.’ I took the lead in the meeting Friday because somebody had to come forward and come toward the middle. But forcing the issue in legislation is kind of nasty.”   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Planning Board recommends City Council deny HHS plan

The Hendersonville Planning Board in a split vote on Monday recommended that the City Council deny a rezoning for a new Hendersonville High School, saying that the plans raised safety and traffic concerns and were incompatible with the surrounding neighborhood.The Planning Board also recommended denial of a special-use permit in a 5-3 vote.The board took the action, which is not binding, after the county’s architect of record and engineers explained the $54 million new school, which has been strongly opposed by HHS students, faculty and alumni. Architect Chad Roberson said after the meeting that as far as he knows the county plans to go forward with the application before the City Council on May 4. The meeting seemed for the first hour to be the watched pot that failed to boil. The county made a straightforward presentation of the rezoning and special-use permit application, going into detail about traffic, parking and security. Opponents raised the same objections they had been making for nearly two years — on traffic, failing to use the historic Stillwell building and neighborhood concerns. After the public hearing was closed, Planning Board members had only four questions for Roberson. But then, when it came time to discuss the application, Steve Johnson asked to have his three minutes, as the public had been given, “to air some things that may not sound relevant.” He recounted that his hometown in Tennessee spent five years to site and build a new school, reaching an agreement on the "perfect spot" after much public discussion. “But the situation here is a little bit different,” he said. “We’re talking about building a new high school that’s larger than the one we have now on top of it, I know it’s not literally on top of it.” Among his concerns were areas the Planning Board is allowed to consider — “namely safety, traffic, neighborhood compatibility and just acreage,” he said. “It’s a beautiful looking concept if it were in the right place. I have a hard time going along with it with all the consternation that has been drummed up about it.” Given the concerns, "I’m not sure it’s time to make this decision,” he said. “I don’t why the city and county can’t get together on this and come up with something that’s suitable.” John Coker seconded Johnson’s motion to recommend the City Council deny the development applications. Supporting the motion were Jay Thorndike, Aaron Black and Jon Blatt. Ray Mundy, Peter Hanley and Ben Pace voted no. Planning Board Chair Steve Orr does not vote. When it came to the concerns about the acreage, Mundy said the Planning Board had raised the same issue when Ingles applied for a permit to build a new store on Spartanburg Highway. “They put a large building on a postage stamp,” he said. He was dubious, but “it looks really good.” “Somewhere along the line it comes to the point where it’s time to proceed or put it to bed,” Mundy said of the long HHS debate. Now the future of HHS is anything but put to bed. The Planning Board’s no vote revived the spirits of HHS alumni and other supporters who want the county to maintain original Stillwell building as an integral part of the school and it set up a big decision for the City Council on May 4. HHS Alumni Association President Bill Orr said the Planning Board decision was the first time he'd seen an attempt to stop "a wagon running downhill without brakes." "We don't need something crammed down our throats like a law enforcement center," he said. "I've told City Council members, 'Don't let county commissioners kill your elected body like they did the Board of Education."   Read Story »

Henderson County News

City police arrest man on child exploitation charges

Hendersonville police detectives and agents with the Department of Homeland Security arrested an Arden man after an investigation involving child exploitation. Detectives charged Johnathan Cody Alexander, of Arden, with solicitation of a child by a computer to commit an unlawful sex act resulting in an appearance at a meeting location, and dissemination of obscene material to a child under 16. Mr. Alexander was taken into custody without incident and was jailed at the Henderson County Detention Center under a $10,000 secured bond. The Hendersonville Police department continues to conduct proactive investigations into Internet crimes against children . The public is asked to contact the Hendersonville Police Department at 828-697-3025 or Henderson County Crime Stoppers at 828-697-STOP with any information involving the exploitation of minors.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Jackson Park check results in a dozen felony drug charges

A Henderson County sheriff’s deputy making a security check at Jackson Park came across a suspicious vehicle and ended up arresting three occupants on a dozen felony charges. When the deputy drove through the park at 8:30 p.m Sunday, he spotted the car with three passengers, one of whom had a knife in his lap. After backup arrived, deputies took the three into custody. Bobby Wise, 56, of 614 Buena Vista Drive, was charged with possessing 19.7 grams of methamphetamine, a small amount of heroin, 22 doses of the stimulant Vyvance (a schedule II narcotic) and drug paraphernalia. Wise was charged with: -- Felony maintaining a vehicle for controlled substance-- Felony possession of methamphetamine-- Two counts of felony conspiracy to sell/deliver methamphetamine-- Two counts of felony conspiracy to sell/deliver heroin-- Two counts of felony conspiracy to sell/deliver Vyvanse, Sch II CS-- Misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia Wise is being held in the Henderson County Jail under an $87,000 secured bond. Monica Buckner, 34, of Fairview, was found to be in possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Buckner also concealed methamphetamine that was found after arriving at the Henderson County Jail. She was charged with: -- Two counts of felony conspiracy to sell/deliver methamphetamine-- Felony possession of methamphetamine when entering the Henderson County Jail-- Misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia Buckner is being held in the Henderson County Jail under a $14,500 secured bond. Deanne Bautista, 46, of 74 Little Mountain Drive, was charged with felony conspiracy to sell/deliver methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. She is being held in the Henderson County Jail under an $8,500 secured bond.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Nik's Run seeks to raise addiction awareness

Patti Fredrick-Enloe kept hoping for the best. Her son, a star athlete in high school, had fallen into addiction, first with alcohol, then pain pills and finally heroin. She hoped he would not become a statistic, one of 13,000 North Carolinians since 1999 to die of an accidental overdose. That hope was dashed when a law officer knocked on the family’s door on Oct. 29, 2013.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Scholarships help single moms pursue BRCC degrees

Taking five college classes while working full-time would be a tough balancing act for any 22-year-old. Victoria Hayes has an even higher priority every day — spending time with her daughter, Holly.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

LIGHTNING PHOTOS: Here are the banners of ArtScape

Hendersonville's newest public art display, ArtScape, debuted this spring in downtown Hendersonville, from Mud Creek to Mud Creek. Forty-one depictions of artwork by artists from Henderson County working in forms from watercolor to wood are displayed on light posts and power poles from the Visitors Center to Seventh Avenue East near the Oklawaha Greenway. The outdoor exhibit includes 2x3-foot photos of the artwork on Main Street and Seventh Avenue and on the avenues on either side of Main Street. Made possible by sponsorships and a grant from the Community Foundation, the ArtScape pieces are for sale at Art MoB on Fourth Avenue East and Art on Fourth on Fourth Avenue West. Check out all the pieces here.     Read Story »

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