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Henderson County News

Only Hope declares support for Absher

The Board of Directors of Only Hope WNC, the organization that Michael Absher founded to serve homeless youth, issued a statement Thursday night expressing confidence that Absher "will be cleared of the charge against him and that these allegations are false." Absher, who is also on the Henderson County School Board,  was arrested on Wednesday and charged with permitting a 15-year-old male resident of the Only Hope group home off Upward Road to drink alcohol, the Henderson County sheriff's office said. Absher, 27, turned himself in on Wednesday afternoon on the misdemeanor charge. He also submitted a letter at the school administration central office requesting a leave of absence from the School Board, Chair Amy Lynn Holt said in a message to the Hendersonville Lightning on Thursday morning. Schools Superintendent Bo Caldwell made her aware of the letter Wednesday afternoon, she said. Absher faces a court appearance in District Court next month. He has hired Doug Pearson, a former assistant district attorney who is now in private practice. “North Carolina State Bar rules of professional conduct prohibit me from any further discussion of the case details at this time," Pearson said Wednesday night. "We are confident once a court discovers all the evidence Mr. Absher will be cleared of any wrongful conduct.” The offense of allowing the 15-year-old to consume alcohol "whereby he could become adjudicated delinquent and undisciplined," was alleged to have occurred between Nov. 1, 2016, and Jan. 1 of this year, according to the arrest warrant. "We had some allegations made and we investigated it and after our investigation and consultation with the district attorney these were the charges against Michael," said Sheriff's Office Maj. Frank Stout. "The investigation showed that he had knowedge of them consuming alcohol at his home for homeless children." In its statement, the board of Only Hope WNC stressed that it has strict policies against drug and alcohol use in the home. "The main priority of the Board of Directors of Only Hope WNC Inc. has always been and will continue to be the safety and protection of the youth within our care," the statement said. "This commitment includes obeying the law in regard to drugs and alcohol. We at Only Hope have a strict policy against drug and alcohol use at our youth home. Violation of this policy may cause students to be dismissed permanently from our program. "Because of the commitment, we have made to work with homeless youth, we often encounter young people working to overcome challenging backgrounds. Some students refuse to adhere to our policies and regulations and as a result become ineligible to continue participating in the program. The youth who has brought these allegations was terminated from our program on 4/1/17. These events occurred a few days before the allegations were reported. In our internal investigation, we have found no evidence to support the claim made by this student. "As a Board, we want to reassure our many supporters and the Henderson County Community that we do everything in our power to provide a safe environment for the youth in our care. We are confident Michael Absher, our President and CEO, will be cleared of the charge against him, and that these allegations are false." A graduate of East Henderson High School who was homeless himself in high school, Absher won a School Board seat on his third try last November. He has won wide acclaim for his work on behalf of homeless teenagers, forming the Only Hope organization and opening a home for homeless teenagers in April 2016. When he was a parttime teller at Wells Fargo bank, Absher received a "Heroes of the 500" honor from Fortune magazine that recognized Fortune 500 employees who had helped their community.       Read Story »

Laurel Park News

Laurel Park hosts music festival, Jump Off Climb

Music lovers can enjoy a popular cover band at one of the area's best outdoor venues on Saturday afternoon and bicyclists ready to burn  quads can race 5½ miles up the mountain to Jump Off Rock the next day. It might be called Laurel Park Weekend with the two events, starting with the popular Jump Off Rock Music Festival. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. for the picnic, music and dancing festival organized by the Laurel Park Civic Association and sponsored by Pardee UNC Health Care. Dashboard Blue provides the entertainment. "It's a great band and a great view of the mountains," said Mark Morse, president of the civic association, which raises money for projects to improve the town. "It's the only time of year you can have beer and wine there." A couple of years ago, the association stopped having a barbecue truck serve plates. Now it's a picnic, so people bring their own food, beverages, picnic blankets and chairs. Festival-goers can drop off their supplies and their party and drive down to designated parking. A shuttle is available for those who want a ride back to Jump Off. The association partnered with iDaph events of Asheville to host the first Jump Off Rock Hill Climb, a part of the Lung Buster Time Trial series. The time trial is one of seven cycling events in western North Carolina open to riders who want a professional race experience, no matter how fast they are. All levels and abilities are welcome. The Jump Off race starts at 3 p.m. "Our unique mix of different racing environments allows riders of different strengths and focuses to level the playing field amongst competitors," organizers say. "Also, having seven separate events means that one poor showing won’t decimate your opportunity to do well in the series as a whole. So as to not leave out any cyclist: whether you’re an elite time trailer or a recreational rider on your road bike wanting to prove your merit in our Merckx/Standard division, we have both categories." For more information or to register visit click here. "With younger people and younger families moving in, we've got more bike riders," Morse said. "We thought it would be a fund thing to watch."         Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Publix close to breaking ground

The developer building a new Publix has assured city officials that it’s close to breaking ground on the grocery chain’s first store in Hendersonville.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

NWS issues tornado watch

In addition to flash flood and severe thunderstorm watch, the National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for a wide area that includes Henderson County and all of Western North Carolina. Here is the weather service statement: Numerous thunderstorms are expected to develop today. Conditions are favorable for some of these storms to produce severe weather, in the form of damaging winds, large hail, frequent lightning, and very heavy rain. A few of the severe storms will be organized enough toproduce a tornado. The most likely time for any severe weather will be through mid afternoon over the mountains, during the early to midafternoon over northeast Georgia, the western upstate of south carolina, and the foothills of North Carolina, and then the mid to late afternoon over the western Piedmont of North Carolina and the Charlotte metro area. The threat for severe weather will end from thewest in the late afternoon and early evening.   Read Story »

Mills River News

Extension agent to test pressure cookers at farmers market

Extension agent Renay Knapp will be at the Mills River Farmers Market to run pressure checks on home pressure canners. Anyone who does home canning may have their pressure chamber checked for safety and for proper preservation of their foods. The Mills River Farmer's Market is open from 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays May through October at the parking lot of Mills River Elementary School, 94 Schoolhouse Road. The market accepts SNAP with a Double Dollars program, debit and credit cards.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Nitrograss headlines Sandburg folk festival

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site will host the 31st annual Carl Sandburg Folk Music Festival on Memorial Day, Monday, May 29. This free festival offers live music performances from 11 am to 3:30 pm. The folk festival honors Carl Sandburg and his preservation of traditional folk music as found in his collection The American Songbag. The festival’s performers each skillfully demonstrate the tradition of performing live music to tell stories while capturing the heritage of America through song. • At 11 a.m., Don and John Humphries perform folk music from Carl Sandburg’s American Songbag.• At noon, The Gypsy Swingers perform uptempo jazz in a style reminiscent of the European swing jazz scene.• At 1 p.m., Nitrograss performs old-time and bluegrass music on banjo, mandolin, bass and guitar. Two-time national banjo champion Charles Wood has appeared on the David Letterman show performing with Steve Martin and Earl Scruggs.• At 2 p.m. Peggy Ratusz and Daddy Longlegs perform swing, jazz and slow burning Blues. Peggy Ratusz has placed in the top ten or been voted the very best in Blues in WNC for 8 straight years. In 2016 she captured additional 1st place wins in categories for Best Vocalist and Artist Who Gives Back. Her band includes Duane Simpson, one of Asheville's finest guitar players; internationally acclaimed bassist Shannon Hoover and “Big” Tez Sherard, drummer for platinum recording artist Edwin McCain.• Steve and Jean Smith will be performing Hammered dulcimer music at the historic barn area from 11:00 am -3:00 pm. Carl Sandburg began playing the guitar in the early 1900s to enhance his lectures and performed during the era of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie and was the mentor for Burl Ives. The festival began in 1987, and is supported by the National Park Service, Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara, Eastern National and a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council administered by the Arts Council of Henderson County.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Bear visits downtown

Maybe the bear just wanted to see the newest edition of the Main Street bears.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Hotel guests busted for guns, meth and opioids

Hendersonville police charged two hotel guests with drug and weapons felonies after hotel employees smelled marijuana smoke coming from their room. Hendersonville officers were dispatched to the Cascades Mountain Resort at 201 Sugarloaf Road at 7 p.m. Sunday. They met with Cascades employees who complained of a strong odor of pot smoke coming from a room in the hotel.Officers made contact with the occupants and gained access to the room. Officers seized two handguns, 217 grams of methamphetamine, 26 doses of oxycodone and 2.86 grams of pot. Arrested at the scene were Felix Garcia Jr., 34, of Immokalee, Fla., and Martin Santos Garza, 21, of Asheville. Garcia is charged with trafficking in methamphetamine, maintaining a dwelling for the purposes of controlled substances, possession of schedule II controlled substance (oxycodone) possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of marijuana and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was jailed on a $62,000 bond. Garza is charged with trafficking in methamphetamine, maintaining a dwelling for the purposes of controlled substances, possession of schedule II controlled substance (oxycodone), possession of marijuana and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was jailed on a $57,000 bond.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Rain here through Thursday, NWS issues flood watch

A cold front pulling moisture from the Gulf of Mexico is expected to bring rain, heavy at times, through Thursday. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for most of the area and said the heaviest rainfall was likely to be along the Blue Ridge and just east of the ridge, moving south to north throughout the day on Sunday. The forecast called for cooler temperatures, with highs in the high 60s, and showers and thunderstorms through Thursday. Sun doesn't return until Friday, when the high should be around 70.   Read Story »

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