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In ‘Chasing Rainbows,’ creators shoot for Broadway

Henderson County News

Don't miss this week's Hendersonville Lightning. (5)

Don't miss this week's Hendersonville Lightning.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

McGrady to run for re-election

State Rep. Chuck McGrady plans to seek re-election to a fourth term in the North Carolina House, ending speculation that he might retire after the long 2015 legislative session.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

S.C. man sentenced to 29 years for statutory rape

A Landrum, S.C., man who befriended an underaged girl in order to have sex with her was sentenced to 29 years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of statutory rape and one counting of solicting a child by computer, District Attorney Greg Newman said in a news release.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Trio charged with three robberies

Detectives with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office on Friday arrested two men and a woman charged them with   Sunday night armed robberies of Dollar General stores in Hendersonville and Fletcher two weeks apart and the robbery of a Dunkin Donuts shop in Asheville in September. The three are charged with armed robberies of the Westside Village Dollar General on N.C. 191 on Nov. 1 and of the Dollar General on Hendersonville Road in Fletcher. Both happened at 10 o'clock on a Sunday night. The Dunkin Donuts stickup was on Sept. 6. The sheriff's office said in an arrest warrant that two robbers brandished a handgun and stole $4,321 from the Hendersonville Dollar General store on Nov. 1. Charged with armed robbery were Ozni Misael Vergara Baez, 22; and Jasper Robert Marshall, 25. Elizabeth Louise McMenomy, 28, was charged with aiding and abetting armed robbery, alleging by driving the robbers. All listed an address of 1201 Greenville Highway.The Fletcher Police Department and the Asheville Police Department have separate charges relating to the crimes occurring in their respective jurisdictions. The investigation is continuing and additional charges may be filed, the sheriff's office said.     Read Story »

Henderson County News

Home sales tilting toward seller's market

A sizzle in real estate sales is moving Henderson County into a seller’s market for the first time in nine years, real estate agents say.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Ask Matt ... about new Starbucks, church traffic cops

Q. What’s happening with the new Starbucks that’s supposed to be built on Mitchelle Drive at Orr’s Camp Road? All the landscaping is in but it has stayed that way for weeks. First reported by the Hendersonville Lightning last February, the long-awaited city ubiquitous coffee shop is going to open. Starbucks has confirmed that the store will open next year. I asked their home office if our new store was going to be a “modular” store, since the site was so small and the plans call for a long rectangular building. It will not, but you may be interested in what the coffee company, widely known for innovation, has been doing lately with store design.Seattle was the natural birthplace of Starbuck’s modular stores. At company headquarters on the Puget Sound, you could look out the windows and see a busy port with colored metal shipping containers stacked everywhere. This view inspired company designers to develop a prototype for a modular drive-through and walk-up (but no sit and sip) coffee shop. And yes, the first such store actually was made from used shipping containers. The unit was assembled then lowered by crane to a pre-constructed site in a Seattle suburb. If you want to see the bizarre exterior, search online for “Starbucks - modular.” I suspect Hooterville was not ready for the West Coast look.Our new Starbucks will have a drive-thru window and will employ three to five baristas —oops, that’s old school; they now call them “partners” but they still wear green aprons. Anyway, the company is eyeing 1,500 new U.S. locations in the next five years with 60 percent being the smaller pull-through stores. It seems that Starbucks has figured out that a driver on I-26 can Google up a Starbucks in Hendersonville, zip through one stop light, grab a cup of Joe and be back on the road before the coffee hits the lips. Sweet. Q. Are the sheriff’s deputies directing traffic on Sunday mornings paid? Yes. Churches pay $30 an hour for the services of off-duty uniformed deputies. A portion of the payment is returned to the county to cover overhead. Among the churches using deputies are Mud Creek, Grace Community, Etowah United Methodist and Biltmore Baptist (Upward campus). Each church makes the request directly to the Sheriff’s Office, which schedules the officers. The Sunday duty is strictly voluntary. Off-duty work is common throughout law enforcement.   Read Story »

Flat Rock News

Cattle farmer, landowners want to close Middleton Road segment

FLAT ROCK — A lightly used dirt road would be closed from Crail Farm Road to Old Town Way if the Henderson County Board of Commissioners goes along with a petition of property owners who support the closure.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

LOCAL BRIEFS: Community Thanksgiving service, Boy Scout grant, art show

Trinity kids learn fire safety The Hendersonville Fire Department visited Trinity Preschool in October to show young children fire equipment and talk about fire safety. The children got to see the gear a firefighter wears and enjoyed the big fire truck covered in pink in recognition of breast cancer awareness month. Trinity Preschool welcomes children ages 2 to 5 years in preschool and transitional kindergarten classes. For information, call Peggy Hunnicutt at 696-4110 or visit preschool@trinitypresnc.org. Grace Lutheran donates $45,000 to charities The Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Foundation will present $45,000 in benevolence grants to 11 local organizations on Sunday morning, Nov. 22, at 10:30 a.m. in the church sanctuary. The fund will donate to the Interfaith Assistance Ministry operating fund and capital campaign, Hendersonville Rescue Mission, The Storehouse, Homes for Youth, Mainstay, Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Youth Fund (National Youth Gathering), NovusWay Ministries (Lutheran retreat centers and camps), Feed the Kids, Thrive (Sixth Avenue Rehabilitation Partners) and Pisgah Legal Services. Thanksgiving service focuses on gratitude All are invited to a Community Thanksgiving Service sponsored by Henderson County Churches United at Grace Lutheran Church at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22.Combined choirs of HCCU member churches will sing. The Rev. Grace Boyer, interim pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Hendersonville PCUSA, will deliver the worship message on “Gratitude.”“The Thanksgiving Service is a wonderful opportunity for people from different faith backgrounds to experience their unity in the common spiritual language of gratitude to God,” Boyer said.The child and grandchild of former missionaries in South Korea, Boyer has served as a minister, associate presbyter, chaplain and overseas mission volunteer. She holds theological degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, Columbia Theological Seminary and the Presbyterian School of Christian Education. HCCU member churches include Immaculate Conception Catholic, Trinity Presbyterian, St James Episcopal, First United Methodist, First Congregational United Church of Christ, Grace Lutheran, Providence Baptist and First Presbyterian Church of Hendersonville PCUSA. Square dance club holds Harvest Ball Southern Lights Square and Round Dance Club will hold its Harvest Ball dance on Saturday, Nov 21, at the Whitmire Activity Building, Lily Pond Road. Advanced dance is at 6 p.m. followed by early rounds at 7 p.m. and squares and rounds at 7:30. Rudnick Foundation gives $5,000 to BSA The Perry N. Rudnick Endowment Fund of the Community Foundation of Henderson County has donated $5,000 to the Daniel Boone Council of the Boy Scouts of America to help ensure no youth in Henderson County is denied access to Scouting due to financial challenges.“Our organization has a positive impact on the youth and families of Henderson County, and throughout Western North Carolina, helping young man achieve their full potential,” said Joshua Christ, Scout Executive/CEO. “We are extremely grateful for the grant from the Community Foundation of Henderson County. It will give us additional resources to help our families in need with scholarships to Cub Scout Day Camps, Boy Scout Summer Camp and assistance for uniform needs, handbooks and activity fees.”Currently, the Daniel Boone Council serves approximately 900 Scouts in Henderson County and nearly 4,000 youth and families throughout the 14 WNC counties in the Daniel Boone Council. Voorhees Art Show is set for Nov. 21-22 The 18th Voorhees Family Art Show and Sale will be held on Saturday, Nov. 21, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 22, from noon to 5 p.m., in a renovated historic Arts and Crafts style home at 89 Woodward Avenue in the Norwood Park area of North Asheville. The weekend show and sale is free and open to the public.This year’s annual event will feature new work created by five Voorhees family members along with two guest artists. The arts legacy began with Edwin Voorhees (1919-1999), known for his NC coastal watercolor seascapes; and Mildred Voorhees and now their children and grandchildren. Mildred (1924-2007) was best known for her colorful, patterned watercolors and rich oil still-lifes and landscapes. Reproductions of Edwin and Mildred’s artwork will be available. Three of Edwin and Mildred’s six children plus one grandchild and two daughters-in-law will be showing their work at this event: Susan Voorhees, oil and pastel paintings; Jane Voorhees, watercolors, pastels, prints, cards and calendars; David Voorhees, wood-fired stoneware and porcelain pottery; David’s wife, Molly Sharp Voorhees, sterling silver jewelry, some incorporating natural beach stones; and David’s daughter Elizabeth Voorhees Becker, color photography; and Amy Voorhees, oil paintings. Also exhibiting are guest artists Chad Alice Hagen, felted art and handmade books, and Cheryl Stippich, stained glass.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Highway budget advances local projects

State transportation funding reforms have accelerated the Balfour Parkway from U.S. 64 East to N.C. 191, widening of N.C. 191 from Hendersonville to Mills River, a White Street improvement and upgrade of Highland Lake Road from Greenville Highway to Spartanburg, Rep. Chuck McGrady announced Thursday.   Read Story »

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