Free Daily Headlines

News

Set your text size: A A A

News

National forest roads taking a beating from winter weather

Henderson County News

Mountain Home couple charged with dealing meth

A Mountain Home couple was charged with dealing methamphetamine after a traffic approach in Polk County during which they acted nervous and evasive, the Polk County sheriff's office said. Polk County sheriff's deputies encountered a suspicious vehicle on N.C. 108 just east of Columbus on Thursday. The officers approached the vehicle and made contact with the occupants after it had stopped in a convenience store in the area. Upon making contact the officers quickly became suspicious of the occupants due to their nervous and evasive behavior. A sheriff's office K9 was used to perform a sniff search of the vehicle and alerted to the presence of contraband. A search of the vehicle revealed methamphetamine and associated paraphernalia used to distribute methamphetamine along with a handgun. The handgun was determined to be reported stolen from Florida. Both occupants were arrested at the scene and charged with the following: Mance Lee Ruvolo , 39, of 136 Sweetpea Lane, was charged with: Possession with the intent to sell and deliver methamphetamine Maintaining a vehicle to keep a controlled substance Possessing a stolen firearm Providing fictitious information to an officer Driving while license revoked Possessing drug paraphernalia He was  jailed under a $25,000 bond. Mariah Gail EllisAlso arrested was Mariah Gail Ellis, 22, of the same address. She was charged with: Possession with the intent to sell and deliver methamphetamine Maintaining a vehicle to keep a controlled substance Possessing a stolen firearm Providing fictitious information to an officer Possessing of drug paraphernalia She was jailed under a $22,000 bond.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Clinical quality measures rank Pardee in top 5% in U.S.

Pardee UNC Health Care has received the 2018 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence from Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals, ranking in the top 5 percent for clinical performance among nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide. “It is an honor to receive the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence,” said James M. Kirby, II, president and CEO of Pardee UNC Health Care. “Our leadership, clinicians and staff share a vision for providing safe, compassionate medical care with excellent clinical outcomes. This recognition underscores our commitment to this vision.” Pardee has undertaken numerous initiatives during the past three years to advance quality and achieve the results recognized by this award, including investments in physicians, staff and equipment, service line expansions, and new technology implementation. Pardee is continuing to advance service and quality through recent initiatives, which include hiring Western North Carolina’s only fellowship-trained breast surgeon to lead its breast care program; expanding screening and navigation services for lung cancer patients at the Pardee Cancer Center; growing its chest pain treatment capabilities; launching Pardee Bariatrics and Weight Loss; and collaborating with local organizations to fight the community opioid epidemic.  The 250 recipients of the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence stand out among the rest of U.S. hospitals for overall clinical excellence across a broad spectrum of care. During the 2018 study period (2014-2016), these hospitals showed superior performance in clinical outcomes for patients in the Medicare population across at least 21 of 32 of the most common inpatient conditions and procedures — as measured by objective clinical outcomes performance data (risk-adjusted mortality and in-hospital complications). “We commend hospitals that have achieved Healthgrades 2018 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence, demonstrating a steadfast commitment to high-quality care for their patients,” said Brad Bowman, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Healthgrades. “Hospitals that meet these high-quality standards will continue to distinguish themselves with consumers making decisions about where to receive care.”  From 2014-2016, patients treated in hospitals receiving the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence had, on average, a 26.3 percent lower risk of dying (across 19 procedures and conditions where mortality is the clinical outcome) than if they were treated in hospitals that did not achieve this distinction. To learn more about how Healthgrades determines Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence recipients,  visit www.healthgrades.com/quality.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Now the owner of Horse Shoe Farm, developer gets OK for 132 rental units

The Henderson County Planning Board has approved John Turchin’s third attempt to develop Horse Shoe Farm, a pastoral pasture that the Miami developer now owns.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Three sentenced for running international child porn ring

ASHEVILLE – Three men involved in an international online child pornography ring responsible for producing and sharing thousands of images and videos of child pornography were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr., announced R. Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.Gregory L. Wiest, Acting Special Agent in Charge of ICE/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia and the Carolinas and Sheriff Van Duncan of the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.Dane William Anderson, 32, of Candler, N.C., was sentenced to 20 years in prison; Samuel Heineman, IV, 54, of Marietta, Pennsylvania, previously residing in Berlin, Germany, was sentenced to 21 years in prison; and Mark Christopher Klein, 38, of Hugo, Minnesota, was sentenced to 16 years in prison. All three defendants were also ordered to serve a lifetime of supervised release and to register as sex offenders after they are released from prison.“The three men sentenced today were part of a sinister network of online child predators, responsible for producing and amassing child pornography on a scale rarely seen. It took law enforcement nearly a year to shift through and analyze Anderson’s massive collection of disturbing images and videos,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “While this sentence will never repair the trauma suffered by the victims in this case, it does, hopefully, send a message of deterrence to other would-be offenders.”“This was a heinous child predator conspiracy, crossing international and state borders,” said acting HSI Special Agent Wiest. “Our deepest concern is for the victims of these horrible crimes and we hope today’s sentencing can help them continue on the path of recovery.” According to court documents and other court records, from 2002 through 2015, the three men were members of a child pornography ring referred to as the “Rippernet,” that produced child pornography through “capping.” Capping is a sophisticated method of producing child pornography by tricking victims, in this case teenage boys, into performing sexually explicit acts in front of webcams, and capturing the video to create new child pornography. Court records show that the defendants induced their young victims by creating false online personas of adolescent girls, specifically developed to be sexually explicit and enticing.Court records show that law enforcement identified Anderson as an individual responsible for producing images and videos of child pornography, which he traded with others via a peer-to-peer file trading software. According to court records, a forensic analysis of devices seized from Anderson’s home revealed that the defendant possessed more than 17,000 videos and 10,000 images of files depicting the abuse of children. Court records also show that Anderson was the “archivist” of the ring, responsible for collecting and organizing the child pornography in files, and distributing the images and videos to his capper associates.Court records show that Anderson learned the capping method from Heineman, who was the most prolific producer of child pornography using the capping method. According to court records, Heineman taught Anderson “the art of capping.” In turn, Anderson taught the method to other group members, including Klein. Court records indicate that the combined number of known production victims among the three defendants is over 2,290.Anderson pleaded guilty to one count of production and one count of possession of child pornography. Heineman and Klein each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to sexually exploit a child. All three defendants are currently in the custody of the United States Marshal pending their designation to a federal Bureau of Prisons facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Murray thanks HSI for leading the investigation. U.S. Attorney Murray also thanks the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice, aimed at combating the growing online sexual exploitation of children. By combining resources, federal, state and local agencies are better able to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue those victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Robbers shoot through door, steal purse

Henderson County sheriff's deputies charged three men with armed robbery after responding to call on Country Bear Lane in Flat Rock. At 1 a.m. on Jan. 27, a 70-year-old woman was startled by what she thought was loud banging on her door. When she opened the door, a masked individual with a handgun rushed into her home. After stealing the victim’s purse, the individual immediately fled the premises; the victim was not physically injured during the incident. The loud banging later proved to be gunshots that had been fired through the door and house. After the victim called 911, deputies quickly arrived and secured the area. Through interviews with neighbors and family, deputies were able to establish a possible suspect vehicle and person of interest. Shortly after 2 a.m., deputies located the suspects' vehicle, which eventually led them to a location on Raymond Street. After consent was given by the homeowner to search the property, deputies located not only the property taken from the victim, but other evidentiary items linking three suspects to the robbery. Deputies from Animal Enforcement, Patrol and Criminal Investigations worked closely throughout the night to quickly apprehend and detain these three individuals. All three were transported to the Sheriff’s Office for further interviews. Following these interviews detectives charged: Nicholas Michael Pacilli, age 19 of Madison Claire Ave, East Flat Rock with one felony count of Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon and one felony count of Discharging a Firearm into an Occupied Dwelling. Pacilli remains in the Henderson County Jail under a $130,000.00 secured bond. Dillon James Schimmel, age 23 of North Main Street, Hendersonville with one felony count of Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon. Schimmel remains in the Henderson County jail under a $50,000.00 secured bond. Javier Cervantes Jr, age 21 of Raymond Street, Hendersonville with one felony count of Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon. Cervantes is being held in the Henderson County Jail under a $50,000.00 secured bond.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

HMS boys win conference title, finish 14-1

The Hendersonville Middle School boys basketball team won the Blue Ridge Conference Championship on Wednesday night, defeating Macon Middle 64-54, at Macon Middle School. The Hendersonville Middle boys basketball team were the regular season champs and conference tournament champs going 14-1 on the season. The team is coached by Brent Stepp and Rick Husak.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Jay Egolf announces run for School Board

Jay Egolf, a 1989 Hendersonville High School graduate who has three children in the school system now, announced his candidacy for the Henderson County School Board in November. "Having three children in Henderson County schools and receiving all 13 years (K-12) of my primary education in Henderson County schools, I'm truly vested in, and dedicated to, serving the students of the Henderson County school system," he said in his campaign announcement. "I have been involved in all areas of our family business since age 13 and have an excellent understanding of gross and expense which translates to tax revenue and capital/other expenditures. Also, working in car dealerships here plus Raleigh and Salt Lake City, I have dealt with negotiations and compromise daily with different types of people; skills absolutely necessary to reach agreements that are beneficial to all parties." The decision by the School Board and Board of Commissioners to build a new Hendersonville High School instead of renovating the historic Stillwell classroom building and auditorium is not what drove his decision. "That's what got me interested but I've always been interested in kids and giving them the best chance they can get," he said. "I think there are three things we have to look for if we're going to continue with the Stillwell building. You have to look at safety for the kids," particularly not mixing outsiders with the high school students. "You need parking and you need to find a way to have ongoing funding. If those can be solved I'm all for keeping the Stillwell building." "What I want to make sure people know is that even though I graduated from Hendersonville High School I'm not running because of Hendersonville High School. I want every child at every high school to have the best opportunity." An active member of First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, he helps teach the Merge class which has children in grade 1 through 5. "Henderson County has many school capital improvements plus other associated issues in the very near term and in future years. I would promote communication between the School Board, County Commissioners and all other invested parties to achieve the desired outcomes with expense control," he said. "I believe in a common sense approach. Finally, I am convinced the students in our county school system will make the world a better place and be productive members of society. They're our future teachers, leaders, employers, employees, mothers and fathers. Our school system determines their success and our students deserve the best we can give them!" His Facebook page is www.facebook.com/JayEgolf4HC/. He and his family operate Egolf Used Cars and City Tire Service in Hendersonville and Ford and Chrysler Jeep Dodge dealerships in Brevard. "I'm dealing with the public all the time every day," he said. "That gives me the communications skills, the ability to find a way to get answers to problems and negotiate. People don't work together enough." Filing opens Feb. 12 and runs through Feb. 28. School Board members up for election this year are Colby Coren, Lisa Edwards and Amy Lynn Holt.       Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Metal detector seeks owner of gold wedding ring

Metal detecting hobbyist Denny Foresman hopes a groom out there somewhere will retrieve a wedding ring that he found at a soccer field at Sandhill-Venable Elementary School in Asheville.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Landlord, lender evicted Black Star Line brewery

Black Star Line Brewing Co. shined bright in its short-lived time in downtown Hendersonville. It made news regionally, winning positive coverage for what its founder and owner audaciously described as a pioneering “African American and queer-owned” microbrewery. It made the police blotter when managers reported that someone had made death threats and written racial slurs in an email. As the guest on a statewide public radio interview show, founder and brewer L.A. McCrae described a success story based on her upbringing in the African-American church and her decision to open a brewery in Hendersonville, a quiet retirement haven.A star that burned too bright, the business abruptly flickered out on Thursday, Jan. 18, when the brewery’s landlord and lender evicted the owners, padlocked the door and called police. Even then, mysterious things went on. Ten hours after the place closed, someone broke in, wrote racial slurs on a wall and took the recording machine that could have captured an image of the perpetrator.Interviews and a search of public records by the Hendersonville Lightning revealed that the brewery had piled up debt and exhausted the patience of its lender, a nonprofit called Mountain BizWorks, and the owner of the building at 131Third Avenue West, landscape architect Luther Smith. Black Star Line took over the space that had first been made into a microbrewery by Basic Brewing Co., which closed last Sept. 3. Black Star Line opened seven weeks later after making a deal to buy the brewing equipment from Basic owner Richard Wenger, according to Smith.“We had a lease with the client and after several months of not paying it we said, ‘You guys need to straighten this out,’” Smith said. “My understanding was Mountain BizWorks put up the funds to buy his equipment to help them start the business.”Smith said Mountain BizWorks personnel came back to the building on Monday to move out furniture and artwork. When he went down to the basement to check on a water leak, Smith was surprised to learn that the brewery equipment had already been moved out.“Our concern with everything going on was we couldn’t get the rent from them,” he said. “After three or four months, we said, ‘What’s going on?’” The owners responded that they “didn’t have the funding to even pay our help. The business got out of hand.” Patrick Fitzsimmons, executive director of Mountain BizWorks, confirmed that the agency had made a startup loan but said the details are not public.“The reason they went out of business was because the lease on the facility was terminated by their landlord,” he said. Asked why, he said, “nonpayment.”Mountain Biz Works is a U.S. Treasurer-certified community development lender that helps small businesses that may not qualify for loans from banks and other traditional sources. It makes loans of $1,000 to $250,000 to finance startups.“We are an SBA intermediary but I can’t say whether that loan was SBA,” Fitzsimmons said. “We also have other sources of funding.”Asked whether the agency was working with Black Star Line on the loan, he said, “That kind of depends on the client.” Residential landlord evicts brewery owner Meanwhile, the owner of the house McCrae was renting on Mountain View Street filed a small claims action to evict McCrae for failing to pay rent. Property owner Stephen Norwood said in the document that the tenant owed $1,455 in rent and had refused to vacate the house. McCrae said in an interview that the landlord and lender swooped in and closed the business down before she had a chance to bring in the revenue to pay past-due bills.“The loan was never in default,” she said.She compares her story to that of the brewery’s namesake. Founded by Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association, Black Star Line shipping company operated from 1919 to 1922.“We were drawing the parallel that there was a lot of collusion to keep Black Star Line out of business and to completely humiliate” Garvey. “We’ve experienced something very similar with our closing,” she said. “We would have been able to recover in that location right now if those actions had not been taken.”After she was evicted on Jan. 18, she never got the chance to retrieve personal belongings from the building, she said.“The lender and the landlord literally painted over the hate messages that were scrawled on the walls without even telling us what they were,” she said. “We were never notified of the break-in.”A police report filed on Friday, Jan. 19 listed Mountain BizWorks as the victim, not Black Star Line, because the lending agency had taken possession of the taproom.Police Chief Herbert Blake said there has been no progress in the investigation of the vandalism, racial threats and break-in.“The detectives have it,” he said. “They have not developed any leads. It remains open but there have not been leads to follow.”McCrae said she and four other Black Star workers lived in the Mountain View house off Hebron to save money.“We did not have the money starting up, so one of the things that we did to reduce cost and be creative was living together,” she said. “The events that were happening would have provided the cash we needed to pay our rent. So the lender making this decision … has rendered employees and team members of Black Star Line homeless. We lost tens of thousands of dollars of revenue because of the way things were handled. It literally forces us out of the community.”McCrae said the media had “hyper-sensationalized” the news about the brewing company. She added that she’s sorry her venture had to close.“I take full responsibility for our actions at Black Star Line that we’ve contributed to this situation,” she said. “Just a sincere apology to the community that was gathering at Black Star Line because it was extremely diverse and extremely unique in Henderson County and certainly in Hendersonville. I can count at least a dozen couples who met at Black Star Line Brewing Co. who would not have met otherwise. So it’s extremely unfortunate that this place that at the end of the day was a community center and brewery has been lost. … I felt like I was welcomed in the community even in the midst of the death threats and the vandalism and the break-ins. It’s a loss to me. I’m grieving. It’s a loss on every front and, yes, it’s absolutely devastating.”     Read Story »

News Archive