Free Daily Headlines

News

Set your text size: A A A

News

Sheriff's candidates diverge on training center, animal control, body cams

Henderson County News

Don't miss this week's Hendersonville Lightning (170)

You won't want to miss this week’s Hendersonville Lightning.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Middle school student in custody for threat

A middle school student was taken into custody for making a threat via text message and Apple Valley Middle and North Henderson high schools were placed on a precautionary lockdown for about 20 minutes today. The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office and Henderson County Public Schools were made aware of the threat sent via text to a student by an unknown number. The student reported the threat to the School Resource Deputy. The lockdown was lifted and school resumed normal operations after the middle school student was removed.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Meeting on fate of Highland Lake project called off

FLAT ROCK — An anxiously awaited vote on the fate of the Highland Lake Road improvement project won't happen Friday as scheduled. The Flat Rock Village Council on Monday called off the meeting because of a conflict with a funeral and because council members came up with new questions after seeing revised roadwork plans on April 13. The council has moved the Highland Lake meetings to the parish hall of St. John in the Wilderness because crowds interested in the issue overwhelmed Village Hall. “The main reason we canceled is there is a burial service at 10 o’clock on Friday morning and it’s a private family service and the funeral is in early afternoon," Mayor Bob Staton said. "When we met before, we took every bit of parking we had on the parish hall side and much of what was in the church. It also would delay setting up for the reception to follow the funeral, plus the fact I don’t think we’re ready to move on it.”The council scheduled the meeting on Friday because that was the last day all seven council members would be in town until late June. Now it looks as if the council won’t take up a crucial yay-or-no vote on the controversial project until late June “or even later,” Staton said.That may be for the best, he added, because the council still has questions about some pieces of the project. “This will give the council more time to get some answers from the DOT about things we’re not happy with,” he said. “One proposal by DOT is to bring the multi-use path into the park so it coincides with our soft surface perimeter trail. Whatever DOT puts in has to be paved and we want to keep that soft surface trail. People really enjoy the use of the trail. It’s a lot easier on the knees and other joints especially for joggers.”Council members also were surprised to see the DOT’s plan for a new park entrance. It would close the existing entrance — saving two majestic oak trees — and replace that with a shared entrance to the park and to Highland Golf Villas. “We’re not sure we like that idea,” the mayor said. “Then there’s some question about a box culvert running under the road. What the heck is that going to look like, and how long is it going to take? We hope to learn more in the interim.”Two organizations strongly opposed to the project have called on the Village Council to reject the project, even though the revisions included concessions like saving the parking and septic field of Pinecrest Presbyterian Church and minimizing encroachment on the Flat Rock Historic District on the south side of Highland Lake Road.A group of project opponents called Cultural Landscape Group on Friday urged the Village Council to kill the project.“There are so many unknowns and negative impacts that will happen if this project continues,” said Annie Coletta, a Flat Rock resident and CLG member. “NCDOT has acknowledged that they did not initiate this project—it is unnecessary and a waste of taxpayer money. Pinecrest Presbyterian is losing all of their tree buffer, historic properties are being significantly damaged, and I can’t even imagine how much harm and visual devastation will occur around King Creek and the Highland Lake dam as the roadway is expanded, walls are constructed, and a box culvert is added.” Historic Flat Rock Inc. also wants the Village Council to pull the plug.NCDOT Division Engineer Brian Burch on Monday assured Village Councilman John Dockendorf that the transportation agency remains “committed to continuing to work with the Village Council to deliver a project that will be conducive to your vision for the Village.” The council’s liaison for transportation issues, Dockendorf has been trying to steer compromise on the plans.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Sheriff's office seeks owners of recovered stolen property

The Henderson County Sheriff’s office is seeking the victims of theft after deputies recovered stolen property when they stopped a vehicle and arrested four burglary suspects. Henderson County Sheriff’s deputies early last Wedndsday stopped and identified four suspects involved in suspicious activity in the River Stone subdivision off Butler Bridge Road. Further investigation revealed the suspects were breaking into unlocked motor vehicles and stealing unsecured items. Several stolen items were recovered and the investigation continues. Detectives are asking for assistance in identifying the owners of the recovered property. Evidence suggests the affected vehicles were from High Vista, River Stone and The Glens of Aberdeen. Please contact Detective Travis Pierce directly at 828-694-2825 if you believe you are a victim of this crime spree or you have information that would identify other victims or aid in the return of recovered property.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Ask Matt ... about tourism and Tar Heel signs

  Q. I understand there is a “Vacation in Hendersonville” billboard outside Atlanta. How many of those are there? None right now, but for a three-month period during the winter off-season, there were three: one on I-85 outside Atlanta, one on I-20 in Columbia, SC, and one on I-85 in the Charlotte area. According to Henderson County Tourism Development Authority Director Beth Cardin all the billboards were positioned in heavy traffic areas “just a gas tank away” from here. Lamar, the nationwide advertising company that owns the billboards, lists vehicular traffic at the Atlanta billboard site at 2.2 million “impressions” per week. In the billboard industry, an impression is the method of counting all motorists who pass and read the signs. Each of the other two billboard locations had impression counts over 400,000. The science for billboard advertising is more complex than just putting up a sign. Cardin said that the billboards are used in conjunction with other marketing tools including print and digital media. For example, a billboard might trigger something TDA has used in magazine ads. “The idea is to build name recognition for Hendersonville and plant a seed in the motorist’s mind — like ‘Gee, I could be up on that mountaintop and not fighting traffic down here,’” said Cardin. The response has been positive. Cardin said that many visitors have mentioned the billboard ads to her staff. Great care was taken in selecting the mountain scene and wording on the billboard. “We wanted the sky to pop out so we didn’t use typical green and gray colors,” said Cardin. “When the speed limit is 70 mph, the less clutter the better.” So whose legs are protruding from the blue tent? We don’t know but we have a crack team of researchers on the hunt. Stay tuned. Q. Driving into North Carolina on I-85 I saw a large green sign that boasts the Tar Heels 2017 men’s basketball championship. Are there similar signs on I-26? Eight signs were erected across the state, two each on I-95 and I-85 just inside the Virginia and South Carolina lines, two on I-40 in the Chapel Hill area, one on I-85 north of Charlotte, and one on I-40 in Haywood County at the Tennessee State Line. I-26 has no signs but two immediately became problematic. One I-85 sign caught the attention of UNC-Charlotte students who had it moved because it was in the “backyard” of their campus. NCDOT admitted it was an oversight. Its new home is on I-77 near the South Carolina border. And a sign on I-40 in Raleigh was mysteriously removed from its posts shortly after it went up in late January. This one seemed to be too close to Carter-Findley stadium where the N.C. State plays home games. The sign has yet to be replaced. NCDOT approved the signs last November. I suspect they were patterned after the signs that South Carolina’s highway department erected after Clemson’s 2017 national championship in football. Each Tar Heel sign cost $2,000 and UNC-Chapel Hill officials said that no public funds were used. After two years, the signs must come down. I found it puzzling why the Tennessee line location was chosen. Traffic on I-26 just down the road in Polk County at the state line is significantly higher, by 8,000 vehicles per day.   Read Story »

Laurel Park News

Laurel Park to celebrate new Rhododendron Lake park

LAUREL PARK — Mayor Carey O’Cain stood at the edge of a bank and pointed out the water level of the Rhododendron Lake back when he was a boy.The lake was 10 acres then, instead of a more modest one acre now. Built originally in 1909 by Walter A. Smith, the visionary developer of Laurel Park, Rhododendron Lake provided swimming, entertainment and socializing for residents and tourists alike. After building a 30-foot earthen dam to block the stream running down the cascades from the town reservoir, Smith added a canal that connected to Rainbow Lake. People could take the Dummy Line electric street car from Hendersonville to the lake. “I learned how to swim in this lake,” said O’Cain, who grew up in Hendersonville. “I used to teach lifesaving at this lake. We would come out here and give them their final exam.”After nine years of planning, rehab and development, the new Rhododendron Lake Nature Park makes its public debut next week with a celebration, picnic and walking tours. The celebration from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, April 27, features a history walk, ribbon cutting and an “ask the experts” opportunity with master gardeners, birders, conservationists and others. People are encouraged to bring a picnic dinner and (for the park celebration event only) beer and wine are allowed.Mayor Carey O’Cain points out the water level of the original 10-acre Rhododendron Lake.The park project started in 2009, when the town acquired 109 small parcels of the 10-acre Rhododendron Lake property from individual owners of Laurel Park Villas condominiums. A $250,000 mitigation credit project through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers relocated the stream away from Lake Drive, eliminating a severe road erosion threat. The stream now meanders through the park. A $70,000 Clean Water Management Trust Fund grant, matched by the town, paid for dredging and restoring the lake in 2016. A $55,000 matching grant from state Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant funded about a mile of walking trails, pedestrian bridge, parking, donor acknowledgement, exercise stations and additional landscaping. The city of Hendersonville donated old curbing taken up during a repaving project in the West Side Historic District. Quarried in Laurel Park, the thick slabs of granite are now a stepping stone bridge across the lake. Private citizens have made donations for trees, benches and other amenities.A town with no parks department and a public works crew strained by roadwork and waterline repair has limited horsepower to spend on the park. As a result, transformation of an overgrown lake to new nature park has been a labor of love. O’Cain, along with council members Paul Hansen and George Banta, were working in the park last week along with other volunteers. It’s a common sight. In the past five years, council members have devoted hundreds of volunteer hours to the project, doing everything from stocking fish to planting trees. Boy Scouts and Americorps volunteers have erected bluebird houses and bat houses, cleaned lake banks and cleared brush. “The initial concept is 25 years old,” O’Cain said of the park project. “It’s a culmination of all the different councils and parks and greenway boards and the civic association to finally be able to dedicate this wonderful lake.” The work has resurrected a Laurel Park attraction as a place for people to enjoy nature, cool off and socialize, in a way that Walter A. Smith likely would appreciate. “He would be proud,” O’Cain said.     Read Story »

Henderson County News

You can sign a Barbara Bush registry at Shepherd funeral home

A register book in memory of Mrs. Barbara Pierce Bush is available at Thos. Shepherd & Son Funeral Directors, 125 South Church Street, Hendersonville; the book will remain at the funeral home for several weeks. Thos. Shepherd & Son will be shipping the book to the Bush Library in Houston, Texas.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Local author Heather Bell Adams on Bookwatch Sunday

Hendersonville native Heather Bell Adams will appear on UNC-TV’s North Carolina Bookwatch at 11 a.m. Sunday, April 22, and 5 p.m. Thursday, April 26, to talk about her award-winning novel. Host D.G. Martin will interview Adams about Maranatha Road, her debut novel based in a small mountain town like Hendersonville called Garnet. The book has won the James Still Fiction Prize, the Carrie McCray Literary Award and the Independent Book Publishers Gold award as the best novel in the Southeast. Southern Literary Review called Maranatha Road “an exquisite story with characters so real they could step off the pages into your living room.” The daughter of Doley Bell, Adams is a graduate of Hendersonville High School. She earned undergraduate and law degrees from Duke University and is senior counsel for First Citizens Bank.       Read Story »

Henderson County News

Leaders reject training center in Polk County

Polk County leaders said Thursday they will not support locating a law enforcement training center in the county, an idea that Henderson County Manager Steve Wyatt and county commissioners had said they would pursue instead of a site in Saluda. The preemptive decision by Polk County was yet another twist in the apparent collapse of the fourth try by Henderson County Sheriff Charlie McDonald, county administrators and the Board of Commissioners to site a law enforcement training center and shooting range in the county. After three previous attempts to find a location for the project — including two with an outdoor range — commissioners voted unanimously on April 2 to authorize administrators to offer $655,000 for 99 acres on Macedonia Road in rural Saluda. Meetings on Saturday in Hendersonville and Monday in Saluda drew 150-200 people and neighbors geared up for a political and legal war to defeat the firing range. The town of Saluda and Polk County commissioners notified Henderson County that they opposed the shooting range. Wyatt told the Henderson County commissioners on Wednesday morning that he had received the letter and spoken with Polk County Manager Marche Pittman about partnering on a shooting range. In light of the "apparent decision Wednesday by Henderson County commissioners to abandon" the Saluda site, Polk County issued a statement that unequivocally rejected a site in their county. "We are pleased that Henderson County appears to have chosen a different solution for their public safety training facility location," the letter said. "We look forward to working with them in helping choose a site that won't negatively affect Polk County citizens, tourism, or economic development. We are very aware of the fact that the location of a new facility would be a challenge for any citizen, so a new training facility being placed in Polk County would not be something we would be interested in."   Read Story »

News Archive