Henderson County News
A Superior Court judge on Tuesday denied a request by murder defendant Phillip Michael Stroupe II to move his trial out of Henderson County but granted his attorneys' motion to delay the trial from July until next year.
Lawyers for Stroupe argued that excessive pre-trial publicity makes it all but impossible for Stroupe to receive a fair trial locally. District Attorney Greg Newman responded by telling the court that moving the trial is premature and that he believes we can seat an impartial jury in this case. “There is no requirement that prospective jurors come to court uninformed about the things taking place in their community,” said Mr. Newman. “The question is whether they can set aside the things they have read, seen, or heard about the case and base a decision of guilt or innocence on the evidence presented in the trial. Some will be able to do that while others may not. We will not know, however, until we bring in the prospective jurors into court and ask them these questions."
The defense lawyers offered results from a telephone poll of 407 Henderson County residents to measure knowledge of the case facts. Only 17 percent of persons polled knew anything about the case. Sixty-one percent knew nothing about the case.
In an affidavit in support of his motion to move the trail from Henderson County and delays its start, Public Defender Paul B. Welch III cited "the sheer geographic and durational scope of the criminal offenses alleged ... the volume and intensity of pretrail publicity ... and the unusual dispatch with which the matter has reached a trial calendar." The manhunt for Stroupe and the trail of crime the state alleges covered "seven counties in two states over a period of more than a week at the height of the summer tourism season in western North Carolina," Welch said. "Vitrually every law enforcement agency with territorial jurisdiction in western North Carolina was involved in the manhunt which ultimately resulted in the capture of Mr. Stroupe. At leaast four other individuals have been charged with being accessories after the fact to his alleged crimes and placed in pretrial detention based on evidence of actual guilt which is less than overwhelming."
Holding the trial in the District 29B would prejudice Stroupe's right "to be tried by a jury whose verdict is uninfluenced by the local notoriety of his alleged crimes or the intensely prejudicial pretrial publicity about them," Welch argued. Scheduling a trial less than a year after the crimes gives the defense inadequate time to prepare, he added. "Unless these problems are relieved by judicial action, the trial is virtually certain to be unfair, and counsel is likewise virtually certain to be constitutionally ineffective," he said.
Judge Robert Bell of Charlotte denied the motion to move the trial but granted a defense motion to delay the trial from July 23 to Jan. 28 or later. Defense lawyers argued for additional time of anywhere from 18-24 months, saying they needed more time to prepare and that the district attorney is moving too fast for a capital murder case. The judge allowed the continuance and directed the district attorney to reschedule the trial for Jan. 28 or later. Newman said he would announce a new trial date in the next few days.
Read Story »
Henderson County News
MILLS RIVER —Michael R. "Mike" Corn, who manages the historic Jersey dairy herd that Biltmore Estate owner George Vanderbilt brought to Asheville from New York in the late 19th century, was inducted into the Western North Carolina Agricultural Hall of Fame during the WNC Communities' 28th annual ceremony at the Mountain Horticulture Crops Research & Extension Center.
Read Story »
Henderson County News
Heavy rains have caused mudslides, washouts and flooding on interstates, highways and local roads across western North Carolina in recent days.
N.C. Department of Transportation crews have been working around the clock to assess damage, remove debris, clean pipes, and clear ditches in counties spanning from Cherokee County in the far west to Surry County in the northeastern mountains.
Road conditions will change throughout the day. Some roads may reopen after water recedes or small slides are cleared. It’s also possible for road conditions to deteriorate and other roads to be closed.
Transportation officials remind motorists to drive with extra caution and never cross moving water. It can takes inches — not feet — of running water to wash away a vehicle.
Below is a list of highways and primary roads that were closed in the region as of Wednesday morning:
HENDERSON COUNTYMiddle Fork RoadBrookside Camp RoadWillow Rd. at River RoadButler Bridge Road from Jeffress Road and Tap Root DairyLedbetter RoadBalfour RoadGilliam RoadHooper LaneHoopers Creek RoadNix RoadN. Ridge RoadErkwood RoadS. Mills Gap RoadHoward Gap Road between Nix Road and N. Clear Creek Raod.Old Airport Road at Blue Ridge Community CollegeEast New Hope Road off of Old Airport Road
POLK COUNTY
U.S. 176 between Ozone Drive and Harmon Field DriveSecondary RoadsHoward Gap RoadHolbert Cove RoadAbrams and Moore RoadJohn Watson RoadGreen River Cove Road
TRANSYLVANIA COUNTYSecondary RoadsIsland Ford RoadBarclay RoadDavidson River RoadCascade Lake RoadWilson Road
AVERY COUNTY
HighwayU.S. 221Secondary RoadsPilot Ridge RoadEdgemont Road
WATAUGA COUNTYSecondary RoadRominger Road near Watauga River Road
IREDELL COUNTYSecondary RoadHill Dairy Road
CALDWELL COUNTYSecondary RoadsBrown Mountain Beach RoadOld Johns River RoadCamp Carolwood Road
BUNCOMBE COUNTYI-40: Two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane near MM 67HighwaysSwannanoa River RoadFairview Road at Swannanoa River RoadSweeten Creek Road near Biltmore VillageRiverside DriveU.S. 25 in Biltmore Village
McDOWELL COUNTYI-40: Two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane near MM 67HighwayN.C. 80 northbound
MITCHELL COUNTYHighwayN.C. 197
RUTHERFORD COUNTYHighwayU.S. 64/74Secondary RoadBills Creek Road near Antioch
MACON COUNTYSecondary RoadRiver Road
Read Story »
Henderson County News
Kent Parent has been named the director of capital projects and safe schools for Henderson County public schools, a new administrator position serving under the direction of the Associate Superintendent for Administrative Services John Bryant.
Parent’s new position will provide overall leadership and management of the district’s capital improvements program and safe school initiatives, including planning, design, contracting, construction, and program monitoring and evaluation. He moves to the new role on July 1.
“I’m excited to get into the planned building projects for Henderson County public schools, and to work with principals and local law enforcement to improve school safety in our district,” Parent said.
Specific to capital projects, Parent will identify new site and facility needs as well as remodeling needs, oversee contractors, anticipate and develop strategies and programs that respond effectively to anticipated needs and the changing educational environment, prepare and monitor capital fund expenditures, and more.
Regarding school safety, Parent will serve as the school system’s representative on departmental issues with external agencies, evaluate the district’s overall security program, update school safety plans, review incident reports, serve as liaison with local law enforcement regarding the School Resource Officers’ program in elementary, middle and high schools, and more.
Parent is currently the principal of the Henderson County Career Academy (formerly Balfour Education Center), where he has served as principal since 2011. He began his education career with Henderson County public schools in 2005 as a business teacher at Balfour Education Center, then served as assistant principal at Flat Rock Middle from 2006-2007. Parent moved to West Henderson High in 2007, where he served as assistant principal and athletic director until 2011.
Prior to his work in education, Parent served with the U.S. Army Military Police from 1983-1994. He holds a bachelors degree from Worcester State University and a Masters in School Administration from Western North Carolina University.
Read Story »
Henderson County News
RALEIGH — Republican legislative leaders’ decision to hold secretive budget deliberations was bad politics, and could further motivate angry Democrats to flood the voting booth this fall, political observers say. GOP leaders counter that the budget they unveiled Monday night merely makes some minor adjustments in the two-year agreement enacted last year. In their view, Democrats used similar tactics when they had a lock on the General Assembly. And the spending plan for the upcoming year is fiscally sound, including higher pay for teachers and state employees, more tax cuts, and a boost in state rainy-day savings — a tough budget to reject in an election year, Republicans say. Even so, analysts say the choice to offer the budget as a conference committee report, allowing no amendments, gives Republicans, with supermajority margins in both legislative chambers, a tactical advantage. “I certainly think that they recognize there’s energy on the Democratic side," said Catawba College political science professor Michael Bitzer. Cutting the process short will deny Democrats a high-profile platform in budget debates to criticize GOP policies. “I think this could be the real test this November — how far a party can go in using absolute power to their advantage,” Bitzer said. “It’s hard to compare, but it feels like the Democratic side is having their 2010 kind of a year.” Then, Republicans gained control of the General Assembly after more than a century of Democratic rule. Rather than amend the 2018-19 budget, Republican legislative leaders chose to strip language out of an old insurance bill, and replace it into a conference report with the $23.9 billion General Fund budget proposal. The Senate Joint Appropriations/Base Budget Committee will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday to review the report. Lawmakers can only vote up or down on the budget. Democrats condemned the tactic on Twitter last week and through the weekend. “The disregard for the spirit of the democratic process is breathtaking,” wrote Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue, D-Wake. “There is a real fear of civil discourse from #ncga leadership.” “Perhaps we can make it much more ‘efficient’ for #ncga leadership” to pass a budget, said House Minority Leader Darren Jackson, D-Wake. He sarcastically suggested Republican lawmakers “could just sign a proxy [and] let just a handful of people write it and then approve it.” “Transparency is a hallmark of a democratic republic, and when the process is done behind closed doors, and only presented for ratification where the votes are already there, it raises real questions about the civic process,” Bitzer said. Shelly Carver, a spokeswoman for Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, disagreed with the critics. “The purpose of the short session is to adjust the two-year state budget that was fully vetted, debated, and passed over a six-month period last year — not to write an entirely new plan,” Carver told Carolina Journal by email. “Lawmakers of both parties will have the opportunity to vote on the bill, and make their voices heard,” Carver said. “But we fully expect legislative Democrats and Gov. Cooper will attempt to use this to justify their opposition to a budget that will include a fifth consecutive teacher pay raise and substantial tax relief for millions of North Carolinians.” Joseph Kyzer, spokesman for House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, defended the budget process. “As appropriations leaders have emphasized, the legislature is only making adjustments to the biennium budget passed last year based on the state’s $356 million revenue surplus and record reserve fund,” Kyzer said. “This year’s state budget will continue to deliver strong investment growth in North Carolina’s priorities like education and public safety while maintaining tax relief for families and businesses,” Kyzer said. The process Republicans chose is legal, but unconventional, according to Gerry Cohen, former General Assembly special counsel. He told the News & Observer he researched budget bills dating to 1985. This is the first instance when amendments will be prohibited on the House and Senate floors. Over 34 years, only three times did one chamber adopt the other’s budget without amending it. But former House Majority Leader Paul “Skip” Stam recalls Democratic power plays. “We protested loudly” as a minority party in 2007, the Wake County Republican said. Republican senators urged their House counterparts to pass the Senate’s budget unamended. Minority House Republicans sought nine Democratic colleagues to join them, backing the Senate budget so it wouldn’t go to a conference committee. House Democratic leaders foiled the scheme. The ensuing conference report contained a half billion dollars of new spending neither the House nor Senate had approved separately. It also created land transfer taxes that failed in both chambers. “I won’t say there was no debate, because we debated it hard. But just like this one, there will be debate but no amendments, and no real part of the process,” Stam said. In 2004, Stam said, Democrats brought a budget conference report to the House floor for an immediate late-night vote. He objected, and then-House Speaker Jim Black allowed less than an hour to review 500 pages of budget documents before voting. N.C. State political science professor Andy Taylor said Republicans’ decision to budget by conference report is not surprising. Power has crystallized for many years among a small cadre of leaders who control budget decisions, the legislative process, committee appointments, and district maps. Some veteran lawmakers who weren’t part of the negotiations still don’t know what’ll be in the final package and have bristled at being excluded. Retiring state Rep. John Blust, R-Guilford, in late April spoke about that concentration of power. In a letter to House and Senate Republicans dated May 10 he strongly urged colleagues to reject a budget dropped into a conference report. He said Republicans have accelerated abusive practices Democrats started. “It is elementary that each citizen of this state is entitled to equal representation in the chambers that make the laws which those citizens are bound to follow,” Blust wrote in the May 10 letter. “This is fundamental constitutional law and fundamental to the very essence of a republic. It should never be abused or traded away for any reason short of a public emergency.” The conference process shuts out minority party members, Taylor said. But rank-and-file majority members also are affected because they can’t offer amendments. Taylor said there’s no question the budget will pass. But it’s unclear if it will get the 60-percent vote needed to override a gubernatorial veto. Some Republicans upset about being excluded from the process, and what’s put in the spending plan, may vote no. Rep. Jeff Collins, R-Nash, who’s also retiring at the end of the session, said the conference committee approach would be OK merely to tweak the budget. But the Republican caucus is split. If big policy issues or objectionable spending items were inserted, he might vote against it. UNC-Greensboro political science professor Thomas Little said legislative leaders may prefer a speedy process, but it doesn’t inspire faith in representative government. “It’s not a healthy process for democracy. If your argument is efficiency, democracy’s not efficient. That’s not one of its qualities. Never has been, never will be,” Little said. “The quality is representation and responsiveness, and you don’t get either with this.” Read Story »
Henderson County News
Seven years ago, when the recession forced the Legislature to make deep budget cuts, landslide mapping in Western North Carolina was among the victims.
Read Story »
Henderson County News
Subtropical Storm Alberto, which is on course to make landfall in the Florida Panhandle on Memorial Day, is likely to bring heavy rain, flooding and potentially landslides to the already saturated southern Appalachian mountains, the National Weather Service and local emergency managers said.
Over the course of the next three days Henderson County area could see an additional 5-8 inches of rain, Henderson County Emergency Management Director Jimmy Brissie said in an advisory Monday morning. The heaviest rain should be Tuesday.The heaviest rain is forecast for the upslope of the Blue Ridge Escarpment and the French Broad River is likely to flood again, the National Weather Service said.
"Flash flooding of streams and creeks may develop very quickly under these circumstances," the National Weather Service said. "Landslides will be quite possible — especially in mountainous terrain known to be prone to landslides, and even along some steep slopes where landslides have not occurred for many years."
Here's the local forecast from the NWS:
Monday: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Patchy fog before 11am. High near 75. Northeast wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.Monday night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Patchy fog after 9pm. Low around 64. East northeast wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.Tuesday: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Patchy fog before 10am. High near 75. Southeast wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.Tuesday night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 65. South southeast wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.Wednesday: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 77. South wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.Wednesday night: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 3am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3am. Cloudy, with a low around 65. Chance of precipitation is 70%.Thursday: A chance of showers, then showers and thunderstorms likely after 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. Chance of precipitation is 60%.Thursday night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64.Friday: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 9am. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. Chance of precipitation is 40%.Friday night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65. Chance of precipitation is 40%.Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83.Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Read Story »
Flat Rock News
Presented with the proposition that a board game can serve as the foundation of a musical theater production, you might wonder what’s next — a movie exploring the inner motivation of an emoji?
Read Story »
