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Q&A: What's ahead in the water war?

Henderson County News

LIGHTNING EDITORIAL: Power politics poisons the well

Henderson County’s governance by ultimatum continued in stunning fashion last week with Commissioner Bill Lapsley’s prosecution by PowerPoint of the city water system and its owner, the city of Hendersonville.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Shelley’s Jewelry hosts shelter animal meet and greet fundraiser

Shelley’s Jewelry, 429 North Main Street, Hendersonville, will host a meet and greet with Blue Ridge Humane Society animals on Monday, March 27, 10 am to 3 pm. Meet dogs from the shelter and bring monetary donations for the shelter to put towards supporting the animals from the recent hoarding and neglect case. In March, a hoarding and neglect case was discovered in Fletcher involving 8 cats and 32 dogs. These animals were living in absolutely deplorable conditions; many packed into crates without food or water. Blue Ridge Humane Society was able to offer safe shelter to one cat and twelve dogs from this case. These animals are now warm, loved, and being cared for on a daily basis. Many of the dogs have medical and dental issues that are being addressed. A conservative estimate for getting these dogs the care they need is around $6,000.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Report shows city salaries

For many municipalities in Western North Carolina, the salaries of their employees make up the largest line item in the budget.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Trump says he's 'coming after' Meadows over health care vote

U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows is at the center of the political fight over the future of health care as the conservative group he leads — the House Freedom Caucus — makes demands on a Obamacare repeal bill that House leaders are reluctant to grant.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Get in shape — or not — for Rotary’s ‘Zero-K’

While most organizations count on serious athletes to make their 5K, 8K or 10K fundraisers successful, Four Seasons Rotary is counting on the opposite. The club is sponsoring a “Zero-K” that requires absolutely no preparation or athleticism.The event will be held on Saturday, April 1, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Oskar Blues REEB Ranch, 315 Shoals Fall Road, off Crab Creek Road near DuPont State Forest. Tickets are $40 per person and available online via Eventbrite (www.fourseasonsrotary.org) or from club members.“We were looking for a unique idea that wasn’t already being done in Western North Carolina, and we felt like this was something that would definitely catch your attention,” said Tiffany Ervin, event chair and past president of the club. “Having it on April 1 – April Fool’s Day – is just an added benefit.”The event will raise funds for The CART Fund (Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust), a nonprofit organization that contributes 100 percent of every cent donated into research grants to help find a cure for Alzheimer’s.Ticket price includes a buffet BBQ lunch catered by Trinity View Retirement, raffles and games, live entertainment by the Carburetors and a cash bar for beer and wine. Organizers encourage attendees to bring their lawn chairs and mountain bikes if they want, but please leave coolers and pets at home.“We’re still selling tickets obviously, but we’d also love to have additional sponsors or in-kind donors,” Ervin said. Anyone who would like to contribute financially or otherwise may contact Ervin at 828-243-5870 or tiffany@tiffanyervin.com.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Don't miss this week's Hendersonville Lightning (122)

You won't want to miss this week’s Hendersonville Lightning. You'll read our in-depth coverage about the battle over control of Hendersonville's water system, our scoop about a new buyer of land at Seven Falls, a new development coming to U.S. 64 across from Hunters Crossing and tons of local news Four Seasons Politics briefs, community news and photos, read Ask Matt's answers on stink bugs and the NCDOT plus the Lightning editorial that questions the county commissioners' "governance by ultimatum. You've got to get a copy because it's only in print and it's only in your Hendersonville Lightning. Here’s where you can pick up a LightningHendersonville• Hendersonville Lightning Office, 1111 Asheville Hwy• Pop's Diner, 5 Points, North Main Street• Triangle Stop, 701 North Main Street• The 500 block of North Main Street(First Citizens Bank / Mast Gen. Store)• Black Bear Coffee Co., Main Street• The 300 block of North Main Street(McFarland's Bakery / Mike's on Main). Pardee Hospital in the lobby. Flat Rock Playhouse, downtown(100 block of South Main Street)Southside Hendersonville(Spartanburg Highway)• Hairstyles by Charlene, Joel Wright Drive• McDonald's, Spartanburg Highway• Norm's Minit Mart, Spartanburg Highway• Hendersonville Co-op• Burger King/BP, Spartanburg HighwayIngles SupermarketSouthside Hendersonville(Greenville Highway)Carolina Ace HardwareWhitley Drug StoreFlat Rock/East Flat Rock• Flat Rock Post Office• Zirconia Post Office• East Flat Rock Post Office• Orr's Family Restaurant, Spartanburg Hwy• Energy Mart Exxon, Upward Road & I-26• Triangle Stop, 754 Upward Road & I-26Village Café and PubPage 2Hendersonville(Kanuga Road)• Hot Dog World, Kanuga Road• Mr. Pete's Market, Kanuga Road• Norm's Minit Mart, Kanuga RoadHendersonville(Fifth Avenue)Hendersonville Post officeFifth Aenue ShellLaurel Park• YMCA H'ville, Sixth Ave & Oak Str• Laurel Park Village, Rite-Aid.• Energy Mart Exxon, Brevard Road at Daniel DriveDixie Diner, Brevard RoadHighway 64(Brevard Road)• Horse Shoe Post Office• Mr. Pete's Market, Etowah, Hwy 64-W• Blue Ridge Pizza, Etowah, Hwy 64-W• Etowah Shopping Center, EtowahHighway 191(Haywood Road)• Joey's New York Bagels, Hwy 191• One-Stop Store #8, Haywood Road (Hwy 191)• Dollar General, Hwy 191 & Mountain RoadMills River• Triangle Stop, 4197 Haywood Road, Mills River• Mills River Family Restaurant. Food LionInglesPage 3Eastside Hendersonville and Four Seasons Boulevard• Norm's Minit Mart, Dana Road• Fatz Cafe, Dana Road & Four Seasons Blvd• Grocery Outlet, off Four Seasons Boulevard• McDonald's, Four Seasons Boulevard• Energy Mart Exxon, Four Seasons BoulevardMustang CafeHighway 64 East(Chimney Rock Highway)• Triangle Stop, 2545 Chimney Rock Road, Hwy 64-E• Mr. Pete's Market, East, Hwy 64-E • Griffin's Store, Edneyville, Hwy 64-E• Edneyville Post Office. Griffins Store, EdneyvilleShell station, 64 East and Sugarloaf RoadIngles, Howard Gap RoadMoose CafeHighway 25 North(Asheville Highway)• The Ugly Mug Coffee Shop, Hwy 25-N• Triangle Stop, Hwy 25-N, Balfour• Mountain Home Post Office• Fletcher Post OfficeInglesNaples Post OfficeTravel Plaza, US 25 and I-26Southern & Eastern Henderson County, Polk County• Dana Post Office• Rosco's Grocery, Green River• Saluda Post Office• Triangle Stop, 1487 Ozone Road, SaludaAll Henderson County Ingles StoresAll Henderson County Post Offices   Read Story »

Etowah News

Land trust buying riverfront property at Seven Falls

Once envisioned as an upscale Arnold Palmer-designed golf course at the Seven Falls Golf & River Club, a 146-acre tract on the French Broad River could become a public park. The land that was to charted for the golf course for the failed Seven Falls development is under contract to Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, which plans to preserve the riverfront property and would like to ultimately make it available to the public for walking trails and passive recreation. Marketed under a new name that tries to put the Seven Falls debacle in the past, the property is listed for $716,000. It contains 14 acres of lakes and ponds and nearly a mile of frontage on the French Broad River, the sales agent says.Seven Falls left the community with “a black eye and that was unfortunate,” said listing agent Terri King, CEO of the Western North Carolina Coldwell Banker office. “But what we’re doing is we’ve sat down with the owners of this property, we’ve looked at the property, went over it very carefully and said, ‘How can we set this sale up so this becomes a very positive piece of property for the future of the community and how do we set it up so whoever comes in has an opportunity to be a good steward of the land?’ That didn’t happen the first go-round. I’ve presented this property in a way that would draw the buyer that did have an interest in moving forward in a positive direction for the community.” Kieran Roe, executive director of CMLC, said the land trust had been aware of the property for several years. "We had been talking to Scott McElrath for a while and when we learned recently that they were putting it on the market for a lower price than he'd been mentioning we decided that there was enough importance to the site in terms of conservation that it was something we wanted to pursue," he said. "It is right along the French Broad, it's about 80 percent in the floodplain and it has a tributary creek that flows into the French Broad," he said. "We've really begun to regard land along the French Broad and land of that character to be a high priority in terms of retention of water quality, restoration of the bottom land and wetlands protection." If the sale is consummated, CMLC may explore ways to allow public access. "We would need to work with partners on those kind of things," Roe said. "Ideally for us, a public park would be ultimately owned and managed by a local government entity so probably general public access would await for us to create that park with a partner." In the seven years since Seven Falls was selling lots, the buyers have had either no news or bad news about the future of the 1,400-acre tract of land. Seven Falls developer Keith Vinson is serving an 18-year prison sentence on fraud charges arising from the development. The Henderson County ultimately exhausted all avenues for trying to jumpstart infrastructure improvements and lot owners are in mediation over how to distribute $5.5 million from a surety bond. Now, at least those owners know that one of the most precious natural features will be preserved. "I would hope that people who have lots in that development and anybody else in that part of the county would see what we're trying to do as a positive step," Roe said. "Part of what we're creating is an amenity that would be different from what was once envisioned and it's creating an amenity not just for those nearby residents but for other people. Seven Falls is kind of a poster child for failed development in Western North Carolina but we've been involved with a number of these kind of post-economic downturn situations where we can take some lemons and make some lemonade and make a positive public benefit." The part that is most important from a conservation point of view is along the river. Along the road, the developer built the clubhouse and put in some roads. The CMLC is interested in selling that part. "We'd look for a partner that might see that area as maybe a good place for some sort of business that might see proximity to the river as a good place to locate," he said. Developer Scott McElrath, who has built subdivisions in Mills River and is currently a real estate broker in Brevard, owns land on either side of Pleasant Grove Road. The sales agents have rebranded the 146-acre as the Pleasant Grove Valley River Park and are marketing a 208-acre piece across the road as the Pleasant Grove Valley Meadows tract. The 208-acre tract has a list price of $2.2 million, and the sellers are offering to sell an 80-acre northern parcel and a 128-acre southern parcel. King does not have a buyer for the Meadows tract yet.“We broke it up for sales purposes into several tracts,” King said. “We feel really good about this (River Park) piece of property. We really painted the picture for the future of this property for just this kind of a buyer. I think we’re heading in the right direction and it’s the right thing for the community.” ‘Perfect for crops, gardens, fishing, bird watching’ The Coldwell Banker website pitched the River park land as “perfect for crops, gardens, fishing, bird watching and river enjoyment” and invites a buyer to “create your conservation, farm, luxurious retreat or eco-development near Asheville, Hendersonville and Brevard.”King said she understand that neighboring property owners are curious, and a little concerned, about land sales and what new buyers have in mind. “At this stage we can tell the community that what we have done is set this sale up and presented this property in such a way that it draws the kind of buyer that will be good for the community and good stewards of the land,” King said before the brokers got permission to identify the conservancy as a buyer.The 146- and 208-acre parcels are not part of the individual home lots covered by a bond that guaranteed infrastructure improvements. McElrath’s group, McElrath Carolina Investments, bought dozens of other parcels in the Seven Falls subdivision from a lender. McElrath owes a total of $25,610 in 2016 property taxes on 91 parcels in Seven Falls, according to Henderson County delinquent tax notices published last week in the Hendersonville Lightning.Separately, Seven Falls LLC owns 31 lots with unpaid taxes totaling $3,209, according to the tax listings.     Read Story »

Henderson County News

City's 'Friends of Downtown' a model for volunteerism

The North Carolina Main Street Conference for the fourth year in a row honored honored Historic Downtown Hendersonville for its volunteer  program. The city received an “Award of Merit” during the annual Main Street Awards Ceremony for Best Volunteer Recruitment, Training & Recognition program for Friends of Downtown Hendersonville, a volunteer program. “We were grateful to receive this recognition and happy to bring attention to the nearly all volunteer crew that keeps the downtown program and the events we put on powering forward,” said Lew Holloway Downtown Economic Development Director. In addition to the program award, the N.C. Main Street Conference provides programs with an opportunity to recognize their “Champions.” This year the program took advantage of that opportunity to recognize the chief “show up early and stay late” volunteer energy of Walt Slagel. Slagel has been working with the Friends of Downtown Hendersonville for a little over a year and half, but has used that time to make a big splash. “Whether it is tearing down at R&B in a late evening rain storm or showing up on a cold morning to hang Christmas lights, Walt has found a lot of ways to make our lives easier," said Downtown Promotions Coordinator Dalleen Jackson.At the end of 2016 the city recognized our volunteers for contributing more than 1,800 hours of volunteer time, double the total logged in 2014.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

City announces this year's Rhythm & Brews lineup

The city of Hendersonville announced the lineup of headliners for this summer's Rhythm & Brews season, featuring rock'n'roll, R&B and Americana bands. Beginning in May and running through September, the free outdoor event opens May 18 and continues on the third Thursday on South Main Street between Caswell and Allen streets. The shows feature local singer songwriters at 5 p.m. followed by opening acts at 6 and headliners at 7. This season opens with The Get Right Band, a three piece unit hailing from Asheville. The Get Right Band’s music combines styles from funk and rock n’ roll to reggae. Their melodies are a perfect blend of energy and fun supported by smart lyrics. The band’s newest album was released on August 5, 2016 and was recorded at famed Echo Mountain Studio with production duties assumed by Julian Dreyer, GRB frontman Silas Durocher and group. Dreyer (The Avett Brothers, Zac Brown Band) also engineered and mixed the record which was mastered by six-time Grammy winner Brian Lucey (The Black Keys and Beck). June’s show features the return of the six-piece ensemble Major and the Monbacks, from Norfolk, Va. The band features a lively horn and powerful rhythm section that merges retro 60’s rock and roll with the high energy and horn laden grit of southern soul! Think Chicago meets the Grateful Dead meets The Band and with a new album slated for release this spring, you don’t want to miss this fantastic return to the R&B stage! July’s concert showcases one of the great Americana acts touring today. The Steel Wheels have captured audiences across the country with their heady brew of original soulful mountain music and their deep commitment to roots and community. Based in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the dynamic four-piece string band marries old-time musical traditions with their own innovative sound and lifestyle, generating a truly magnetic revival. With a new album out in 2017 the band is one you won’t want to miss. August swings us back into the world of rock'n'roll with Come Back Alice, with its brand of Southern Gypsy Funk, a blend of rock, soul, gypsy jazz and funk music. With improvisational influences and a love of bands known for killer live performances—including The Band, Dave Matthews, Tom Petty and the Allman Brothers Band—even the biggest Come Back Alice fans don't know what to expect. Fronted by multi-instrumentalist (and newly-weds) Tony Tyler and Dani Jaye, the connection onstage is electric. Switching between slide guitar, B3 organ, Violin, and keys, these two have a knack for captivating audiences with a true Rock N Roll stage presence. Closing out the season is Backup Planet, a progressive funk-rock band based out of Nashville, Tennessee. Elements of jazz, funk, roots, blues, electronic, and progressive rock all emerge during the course of their shows. While their sound draws from much of what you’ve heard before—‘70s rock and funk, high-energy improv, a touch of pop, and a sliver of metal, the band members mix and match those elements—with just a hint of modern tech—in ways that never fail to astonish. With a fantastic repertoire of original songs, they’re able to build fluid sets interspersed with improvisation. The shows will once again feature local brews alongside the best concert line-up in Henderson County. Featured drinks will include the craft brew stylings of Henderson County’s own Sierra Nevada and Southern Appalachian Breweries, wine from Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards and hard cider from Flat Rock Ciderworks and Bold Rock Cider.     Read Story »

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