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So how does Duke go about restoring power?

Henderson County News

Ask Matt ... about open-box returns

Q. Blue Ridge Bargains gets items from Amazon for resale. How does all that work? Need a brand new crock pot, shop vac or cooler? Check out these items and more at Blue Ridge Bargains located on the corner of Jackson Loop Road and Upward Road a mile north of I-26. Owner David Portugal took me through the warehouse surrounded by apple orchards. Most of the items on the shelves were still in their distinctive Amazon shipping boxes. Portugal said the business is "open box return" where he receives tractor trailer loads of items returned to Amazon. His team opens, inspects, photographs, prices and finally routes each box either to the retail shelf or to a holding area for online sales. A quality control system ensures that all parts are included with the product and if it's an electronic item – that it works. I watched a technician test a returned microwave. If the unit was dented in shipping a radiation leak detector would have been used. Portugal said that he seldom gets TVs because they are hard to fix. He said he sells no damaged goods and offers a return policy. The items in Blue Ridge Bargains inventory were first returned to Amazon for any number of reasons such as the purchaser got another toaster as a gift, or the deep fryer didn't work when they plugged it in or the bike rack they ordered didn't fit. "About 5 percent of Amazon's shipments get sent back and they don't have the manpower nor the time to handle returns," said Portugal. That's where Blue Ridge Bargains fits in. They purchase items by the truckload without even knowing item for item what's in them. Everything is mixed together although Portugal admitted he has a better idea of what he's buying than a speculator who bids on abandoned storage lockers. Portugal's business in unique and his closest competitor is 300 miles away in Nashville, Tennessee. Blue Ridge Bargains does a lot of business online (blueridgebargains.com) and ships right from the warehouse. Kristen Jones heads up a team of customer service agents, part of the 16 company employees. The online inventory includes mostly small or specialty items. Heavy items such as car seats or rubber yoga mats typically don't get shipped long distances and are put on the shelves for local resale. Those items are discounted 25%, 50%, and 75% from list price and each week the discounts are rotated. This adds interest to the savvy customer who could get that weed trimmer today for 25% off list price but two weeks later the price might be cut in half – if, of course, the trimmer is still there. The hottest selling items at Blue Ridge Bargains are car seats, cookware and baby items. I saw a hoverboard listed for $150 but I'm not betting it's a hot seller. * * * * * Send questions to Askmattm@gmail.com.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Butterworth appointed to N.C. Charter Schools Board

Jeanette Butterworth has been appointed to the N.C. Charter School Advisory Board by the North Caolina General Assembly, Sen. Chuck Edwards announced. House Bill 1111 which passed both chambers unanimously confirmed her appointment.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Don't miss this week's Hendersonville Lightning (191)

You won't want to miss this week’s Hendersonville Lightning. It's our annual Top 10 News Stories of the year, plus an explainer on how Duke Energy plans and executes the work to restore power in a big snowstorm. There are tons of community briefs and local briefs, the popular Stuck in the Late Middle and Chapter 5 of our Civil War saga, Brave Women.Here's where you can pick up a Lightning: Downtown Hendersonville• 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 General Store)• Black Bear Coffee Co., Main Street• The 300 block of North Main Street(McFarland’s Bakery / Mike’s on Main )• 100 block of South Main(Flat Rock Playhouse) Southside Hendersonville(Spartanburg Highway)• Ingles, Spartanburg Hwy.• Hairstyles by Charlene, Joel Wright Drive• McDonald’s, Spartanburg Hwy.• Norm’s Minit Mart, Spartanburg Hwy.• Hendersonville Co-op• Burger King/ BP, Spartanburg Hwy. Flat Rock/East Flat Rock• Flat Rock Post Office• Flat Rock Bakery• Zirconia Post Office• East Flat Rock Post Office• Whitley Drug, Greenville Hwy.• Energy Mart Exxon, Upward Road & I-26• Triangle Stop, 754 Upward Road & I-26 Along Kanuga Road• Hot Dog World, Kanuga Road• Mr Pete’s Market, Kanuga Road• Norm’s Minit Mart, Kanuga Road Laurel Park Area• Economy Drug on Fifth Ave. West• Fifth Avenue Shell• YMCA Hendersonville, Sixth Ave & Oak St• Laurel Park Village, RiteAid• Energy Mart Exxon, Laurel Park• Dixie DIner, Brevard Road West on Highway 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, Etowah• Ingles, Brevard Road• Bandana’s Restaurant, Brevard Road North on Highway 191 (Haywood Road)• Joey’s New York Bagels, Hwy. 191• One Stop Store # 8, Haywood Road (Hwy. 191)• Dollar General, Hwy. 191 & Mountain Road• Triangle Stop, 4197 Haywood Road, Mills River• Ingle’s, Mills River, Hwy. 280 Eastside Hendersonville (Four Seasons Blvd.)• Norm’s Minit Mart, Dana Road• Fatz Cafe, Dana Road & Four Seasons Blvd.• Grocery Outlet, off Four Seasons Blvd.• Energy Mart Exxon, Four Seasons Blvd.• McDonald’s, Four Seasons Boulevard• Mustang Cafe, Dana Road East on Highway 64 (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• Edneyville General Store• Walmart Shopping Center North on Highway 25(Asheville Highway)• The Ugly Mug Coffee Shop, Hwy. 25-N• Alykat, US 25-N• Triangle Stop, Hwy 25-N, Balfour• Mountain Home Post Office• Fletcher Post Office• Ingles, FletcherSouthern & Eastern Henderson County • Dana Post Office• Rosco’s Grocery, Green River• Saluda Post Office The Hendersonville Lightning is available at mostHenderson County post offices and Ingles supermarkets     Read Story »

Henderson County News

School makeup days tacked on to year end

Having lost a full week of school last week for the big December snow, the Henderson County school year will be extended for a week and end June 14, administrators announced. The makeup days apply to traditional and Henderson County Early College calendars, with a few other minor changes to satisfy the state’s requirement of instructional hours.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Bio sketch revisions remove reference to a four-year degree for Meadows

U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, the House Freedom Caucus who had been prominently mentioned as a possible choice as President Trump's chief of staff, has had an update of his official congressional biography and Wikipedia biography. The biographical sketches no longer say that he earned a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida. That's because he didn't, the Tampa Bay Times reported Tuesday. Meadows official biographical sketch on a U.S. House website listed his education as "B.A., University of South Florida, Tampa," said the story by the Tampa Bay Times, which also included a screenshot of the House bio. Instead of a four-year degree, Meadows earned an "associate of arts" from USF in December 1980, USF spokesman Adam Freeman told the Florida newspaper. That degree is "similar to a degree an individual might earn after completing two years at a community college," Freeman told reporter Steve Contorno. The House historian corrected Meadows' biography Monday after the Tampa Bay Times inquired about the discrepancy. Meadows spokesman Ben Williamson told the Hendersonville Lightning on Wednesday that no one in Meadows' office had made the Wikipedia revisions on Dec. 11 and that Meadows and his aides had never been the source of the references to a four-year degree from USF. The Washington press corps and newspapers that cover the 11th Congressional District, including the Hendersonville Lightning, have routinely repeated the reference to Meadows as a graduate of USF, sometimes reporting that his B.A. was in "business management." There's no business management degree for two-year students, Freeman told the Florida newspaper. The Tampa Bay Times was apparently looking into Meadows' upbringing and early adult years in the Tampa Bay area as the possibility increased that he would become Trump's third chief of staff. While several other possible candidates publicly took their names out of consideration, Meadows, one of the Trump's earliest and strongest supporters in Congress, made his interest clear. He told a reporter on Monday, Dec. 10, that it would be "an incredible honor" to serve in the White House. The next day, the Wikipedia page was changed. One day later, on Dec. 12, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders announced that Trump had eliminated Meadows from consideration. “Congressman Mark Meadows is a great friend to President Trump and is doing an incredible job in Congress," she said. "The President told him we need him in Congress so he can continue the great work he is doing there.” Not every reference to his college education has been changed to describe an associates degree. "He graduated from the University of South Florida with a degree in business management," Meadows' bio on the election news site Ballotpedia says, citing the National Journal as the source of the information. Although references to a B.A. or a degree in business management are common in stories about Meadows, the Tampa Bay Times report noted that "none of these stories directly quote Meadows claiming (to have) such a degree from USF. It also does not appear that Meadows has ever professed a four-year degree from USF on his Congressional website, according to a review of archived web pages." The person who tweaked the Meadows' Wikipedia bio made two other changes, removing a claim that he had "joined Sigma Chi Fraternity" at USF and that he previously had attended Florida State University. An FSU spokesman confirmed to the Florida newspaper that Meadows attended the university in 1977-78. On Wednesday the Wikipedia page had been updated yet again to reflect the facts the Tampa Bay Times uncovered.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

City honors firefighter, fire officer of the year

John Will Justice was named Firefighter of the Year and Capt. Joshua Poore was honored as Officer of the Year during the Hendersonville Fire Department's Christmas dinner on Saturday. Both honorees were nominated and selected by their peers. Hendersonville Fire Department command staff members Chief Joseph Vindigni, Deputy Chief James Miller and Fire Marshal Justin Ward presented the recipients with their awards during the ceremony. Their names will be added to the Firefighter and Officer of the Year plaques displayed at Fire Station 2. A city firefighter since June 2017, Justice was selected for the award based on his passion for the job and his eagerness to train and learn. During the presentation, Miller spoke of Justice’s positive attitude and his habit of jumping in to help wherever needed without being asked. Poore, who has been with the department since January 2007, was selected based on his support of the mission of the fire department and his ability to create an environment for those he supervisors that promotes training, fitness, ownership and personal growth. Poore is an "outstanding leader and great motivator who pushes everyone, every day, to be better," one of his peers said in a nomination.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

LIGHTNING EDITORIAL: Hotel proposals encouraging sign downtown

The city could score a home run if one of two prospects for a downtown hotel comes to pass.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Third annual Apple Rise is set for New Year's Eve

The 3rd annual New Year’s Eve Apple Rise at the Historic Courthouse will feature a kids' countdown at 7 p.m. — Greenwich Mean Time midnight — and a late-night party with the traditional countdown at midnight local time. During the family celebration starting at 6 p.m. children will have the opportunity to decorate a New Year's Eve party hat. After a recess until 11, the Midnight Apple Rise party will start. Noisemakers, glowsticks and hot beverages will be given out during both celebrations while supplies last. A DJ will play top hits from 2018 as everyone celebrates the New Year. Warming stations, cornhole and giant Jenga games will be available. In the event of inclement weather, the Apple Rise party may be called off. That happened last year, when the county scrapped the second annual celebration amid a forecast of lows in the teens and freezing drizzle.     Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Mill developer's financing pushed to January

The Hendersonville City Council is expected to extend a lease with the developer of apartments in the historic Grey Hosiery Mill so the company can complete financing details. The council meets Thursday morning to take up the matter.City Manager John Connet described the delay in closing and the council’s action as routine.“We’ve just got to extend the lease for 30 days,” he said. “We’re real close but the lawyers aren’t going to get it done by Dec. 31.” The City Council selected Belmont Sayre to convert the historic mill into a boutique hotel with event space in April 2017. Belmont Sayer president Ken Reiter informed the city last June that he failed to get financing hotel and instead proposed a development of 35 apartments. The council agreed to the backup plan provided he rent a portion of them at affordable rates. Under terms of the sale, before Belmont Sayre completes financing for the project, it is leasing the property back to the city. Under the lease, for a nominal $1 per month, “we keep it secure and keep insurance on it until he takes full ownership on the property and starts construction,” Connet said. Originally scheduled for Friday, Dec. 14, the closing of the arrangements for borrowing has been postponed until after the holidays.Connet said he is confident the financing is solid and that Reiter will start construction.“We’re expecting him to pull a demo permit and have building plans” soon, he said. “At this point it’s just getting all the legal documents put together for a closing.”Carrboro-based Belmont Sayer, which specializes in adaptive re-use, has opened a 170-unit apartment project in the historic Chatham Mill in Winston-Salem.     Read Story »

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