Hendersonville News
Henderson County School Board members reacted with dismay on Monday to a suddenly announced $11 million cost overrun for the new Hendersonville High School, casting the project into uncertainty and reviving the intramural conflict that has marred the project for three years.
Read Story »
Henderson County News
Two days after Sheriff Charlie McDonald lost his re-election bid, County Manager Steve Wyatt has recommended to county commissioners that they drop work on a law enforcement training center, an idea that the sheriff-elect, Lowell Griffin, has opposed.
Wyatt, after consulting with Chairman Michael Edney, noted that Griffin would "no doubt have new priorities" and said it's up the Board of Commissioners "within our resources" to work with him. The Board of Commissioners, which paid a deposit and made an offer to the owner of property on Macedonia Road that McDonald had identified as a potential training center site, has to act on the property purchase before the end of May. It's expected to take up the question in its May 16 meeting. If it takes Wyatt's recommendation, it will withdraw its purchase offer and drop the training center discussion for the foreseeable future.
Here's the memo:
"December will bring a new Sheriff’s Administration to Henderson County Government. As with the previous Sheriffs we have worked with, he will no doubt have new priorities and bring strategies perhaps different from his predecessors. It is our duty and responsibility to work with him, within our resources, to help him accomplish the mission of the Sheriff’s department to protect and serve our citizens."Given the long term design and implementation process of a Law Enforcement Training Center project, in consultation with Chairman Edney, it is my recommendation that further work on the project be suspended until the incoming Sheriff assesses and determines the overall needs of the department."You will need to make a decision prior to the property purchase deadline. Official action cannot be taken until your May 16th budget work session. Please consider how you want to proceed and be prepared to instruct staff accordingly." Read Story »
Henderson County News
Justin King said "there's something about that kid" when he took down his enrollment registration as a high school freshman. The kid was named Alex Studer and King, North Henderson High School's baseball coach, was right. That kid turned out to be something special, throughout his high school career and beyond.
"He's a huge part of North Henderson and for eight years he's been nothing but the biggest fan of North Henderson," King said."He's amazing. I tell my players, 'We're not here for him. He's here for us, to make us better people.'"
One player said of Alex, "If you know Alex he is going to love you with all his heart and make you feel like a hundred dollars."
Before the second inning of every Knight home game, Alex steps up to bat, takes a swing and connects, rounds the bases and then figures out a creative and entertaining way to cross home plate. He always hits a home run. When Alex graduated from North, Coach King told him not to worry; he'd always have a place in the Knight's dugout. Alex stayed on, and has been team manager since 2011.
For his boundless loyalty, enthusiasm and love for his team, Alex was named the 2018 Ricky Sparks Spirit Award winner on Thursday during the Hendersonville Kiwanis Club's 58th annual All-Star awards lunch honoring prep athletes in spring sports.
Alex's mother, Tracy Studer, thanked the Kiwanians for giving Alex the one thing she always wished for him — acceptance.
"As parents of a child with special needs, we tried to keep him involved in everything," she said. "It's been wonderful watching him go from high school to community involvement. Alex's school spirit will never die and he will always bleed purple."
It was the first time the award recognized a special needs adult, one like Ricky Sparks himself, a Hendersonville High School graduate and one of its biggest fans.
"Rick loved sports and he always cheered for his favorite team," said his sister, Brenda Sparks McCleerey. "He always was active in the Special Olympics. One of his specialties was the softball throw. Rick spent 40 years sitting on our grandparents' porch cheering for his Bearcats" as they walked to and from football practice along Ninth Avenue West.
Winner of the Lou Ann Morgan Leadership Award, named for a phys-ed teacher who displays the leadership and enthusiasm of Ms. Morgan, was Beverly Danielson.
A Henderson County native and West Henderson High School graduate, Danielson is the phys-ed teacher at Sugarloaf Elementary School. She attended Brevard College, won an undergraduate degree at Mars Hill and has masters in education from Gardner Webb. She taught in Henderson County schools, founded and served as director of the Mud Creek Baptist Church's preschool, from 1995 until 2004. She returned to the county schools, and was named a Walmart teacher of the year in 2007 and teacher of the year at Fletcher Elementary School in 2011.
Morgan's daughter, Mandi Fletcher, told the club members about Lou Ann Morgan and her love of teaching. She loved her hme and family. "She also loved her school family," Fletcher said. "She was not only passionate about life but she was passionate about people. Every child that walked in that school door was one of hers."
Danielson said she felt especially honored to win the award because Lou Ann Morgan had been her mentor when she was a young teacher.
"I got to see her every week interact with my first graders," she said. "It gave me a strong background in what I needed to do to make my first graders successful." The word legacy came to her mind when she thought of Morgan. "It's said that words can be written on a tombstone but legacy is etched in the hearts that you touch."
Danielson thanked her children for accepting the fact that they have to share their mom with hundreds of other kids who are always under 13 years old.
"They know that when I leave school, I don't leave my kids there," she said. "I take them home with me and they are in my heart and in my thoughts."
After congratulating the 64 male and female athletes who were honored as Kiwanis All-Stars, Henderson County schools Superintendent Bo Caldwell asked them to go back to their schools and do one thing.
"Take a pencil and piece of paper and write a note to a teacher or coach that has meant something to you," he said — and not by text, tweet or Snapchat photo. "You take a pencil and a piece of paper and say thank you for the time you took and what you meant to me through my high school career. In the short time it will take you to do it, multiply that by a hundred times and that's what it will mean to that teacher or coach."
Read Story »
Henderson County News
Lee Henderson-Hill, a nonprofit organization leader, community volunteer and mentor for hundreds of girls and young women through the Girl Scouts, was honored as this year's Athena Award winner at the Business and Professional Women's Luncheon at Kenmure Country Club on Thursday.
Nominated by Judy Stroud, Henderson-Hill worked as a paralegal in a Hendersonville law firm before working as operations and member services manager of the Chamber of Commerce, from 2000 to 2005. She led Downtown Hendersonville Inc. from then until 2009 and is currently senior program officer for the Community Foundation of Henderson County.
"Lee always shows initiative and creativity," Stroud said. "She is not afraid to think outside the box and is adaptable to the ever-changing needs and demands of a project. If given a task, you will never hear Lee say that “it can’t be done” – she will find a way. Lee will look at all aspects of a project and encourages others to use their voice to become involved in the process. She often mentors youth and young professionals to inspire and encourage them in their professional careers. While serving as the executive director of Downtown Hendersonville, Inc., she mentored a female high school senior intern in event planning and management. She worked with the intern to increase capacity and offerings in the downtown area. After the internship, the student went on to attend Johnson and Wales in Charlotte, NC and was awarded a BS degree in Sports, Entertainment, Event-Management."
Established in 1982 in Lansing, Mich., the Athena Award recognizes individuals — usually but not always a woman — for professional excellence, serving their community and helping women attain professional goals and leadership skills. Locally, it's named for Vanessa Y. Mintz, a Chamber of Commerce member who brought the award to Hendersonville in 2008.
Other nominees were District Court Judge Athena Brooks, Dr, Janet Bull, chief medical officer of Four Seasons Compassion for Life; Laresa Griffin, director of development for Safelight; Suzanne Sherrill, a manager at the Council on Aging; Debi Smith, general manager of the Cascades Mountain Resort; Julie Thompson, vice president of economic and workforce development at Blue Ridge Community College; and Martha Lamb Whitaker, a lifelong member of the Hubert M. Smith Unit 77 American Legion Auxiliary, a founding member of a local DAR chapter and a lifelong member of the Ladies Auxiliary VFW.
"I'm saddened that my friend Vanessa's not here for this," Henderson-Hill said. "She's not here physically but everyday that we talk about Athena, every opportunity that we have to raise women up to do things in our community, that is our Vanessa. She's always with us."
Stroud said that Henderson-Hill has inspired young women and others in her professional and volunteer life.
"Lee will often remind you that there are many ways to make a difference – through your time, talent and treasures," she said. "She uses this daily in her professional life and in her leadership within the local community. When meeting Lee for the first time, she may introduce herself as “Lee Henderson-Hill from Hendersonville”. Many laugh when hearing the jingle, but it embodies all that Lee is – she even carries the badge of her community within her name. Lee is a person that stands for making a difference in her profession and local community by making the world a better place. These ideals and values are at her core.
She chairs the Youth Services Committee of Kiwanis Club of Hendersonville, where she is incoming vice president; serves as the club liaison for local Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts; worked to implement programming to recognize area high schoolers in Fall and Spring sports programs and created and implemented a recognition program for Fine and Performing Arts students in area high schools. She also helps to administer the Terrific Kids program and 4-H district and state competitions within the Kiwanis Club.She has served as a parent volunteer and Girl Scout troop leader for the past 25 years. In 2017, she trained as a Global Action Volunteer (GAV) at the Edith Macy Training Center in New York and serves as the GAV for the Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont Council. In March 2018, she led a group of five girls from across Western North Carolina to the 62nd Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations in New York. In 2014, she served as a Travel Patrol Leader for girls across Western North Carolina traveling to Our Cabana, Girl Guide/Girl Scouts World Center in Mexico. In the summer of 2019, she will serve as the Travel Patrol Leader for girls traveling to Our Chalet, Girl Guide/Girl Scout World Center in Switzerland, for a Swiss Challenge Adventure.She is a board member since 2007 of the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce, a past Athena award committee member and immediate past chair of the Vision Henderson County Alumni Association. She is also a community volunteer and board member for the North Carolina Apple Festival, serving as a volunteer from 1996 to 2006 and a board member from 2007 to present. She served as president of the 71st North Carolina Apple Festival last year.
She served as the funds allocation panel chair and member for the United Way of Henderson County from 2000 to 2009 and has been a Team Captain for the yearly giving campaign with three employers.
Growing up in the small community of Fontana Dam, she talks about her upbringing and influential women in her life. Two of the most important were her grandmother and her Girl Scout Leader. Lee will tell you that her grandmother, Reba, was a very strong mountain woman who always did whatever it would take, always with love and compassion.
She has won numerous awards for her Girl Scout leadership, including recently the Juliette Gordon Low Pearls award for her commitment to Girl Scouting locally and internationally. In 2014, Lee was named a “Dedicated Women of Western North Carolina” by area news professionals for her commitment to Girl Scouting and making the world a better place. She also received the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor, for completing 4,000 or more hours of volunteer service with Girl Scouts.
"Lee will tell you one of her most proud accomplishments and honors is being a Wife, Mom and Grams," Stroud said. She is married to Dale Hill, who is employed by L&L Hill’s Body Shop in East Flat Rock. They have two children, Drew Hill and Brittney Lee Holder. Drew, who lives in Horse Shoe, has four children who call Lee “Grams.” Brittney, who was the 2005 NC Apple Festival Apple Ambassador, is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and is assistant director of development for the Catamount Club at Western Carolina University.
Read Story »
Edneyville News
Lowell Griffin was in workout clothes, hoping to get to the gym on Wednesday, when a television news crew asked for an on-camera interview. The newly elected sheriff of Henderson County agreed to the sit-down — and scrambled to change into an orange plaid shirt.
Read Story »
Henderson County News
Tom Savage, a science teacher at Henderson County Early College High School, will sail on June 4 to assist scientists on an 18-day hydrographic survey in Southeast Alaska as part of NOAA’s Teacher at Sea program, which bridges science and education through real-world research experiences.
“Through my experience with NOAA, my students will not only be able to learn first-hand about exciting research projects at sea, they will be witnesses to them, and on some level, participants in them,“ says Savage. “Making their learning relevant through my own hands-on experiences is vital to getting students excited about science.”
Savage will board NOAA Ship Fairweather in Juneau, Alaska, and will work with scientists daily as they conduct an ongoing hydrographic survey in Southeast Alaska. Savage is writing a blog detailing his experience—photos from the blog are free and available for use by media with proper credit.
"NOAA's Teacher at Sea Program gives teachers the professional opportunity of a lifetime with a chance to participate in cutting edge science, on the ocean, working side-by-side with world-renowned scientists,” says Jennifer Hammond, the program’s director. “Teachers describe this authentic research experience as transformative and one that allows them to bring new knowledge and excitement back to their classrooms.”
Now in its 28th year, the program has provided nearly 750 teachers the opportunity to gain first-hand experience participating in science at sea. This year, NOAA received applications from nearly 300 teachers, and chose 35 to participate in research cruises. These educators are able to enrich their curricula with the depth of understanding they gain by living and working side-by-side with scientists studying the marine environment.
NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources.
Read Story »
Henderson County News
Asked for his reaction to his stunning re-election loss on Tuesday, Sheriff Charlie McDonald repeated an interviewer’s question.
Read Story »
Hendersonville News
Challenger Lowell Griffin defeated Sheriff Charlie McDonald Tuesday in the Republican primary after a campaign that swung on issues that included a law enforcement training center, arming schoolteachers and the use of body cameras.
“We don’t know yet,” McDonald said with almost 90 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday night. “It’s not looking real good. I would tell you I'm surprised.”Earlier in the evening, Griffin said the campaign had been a rewarding experience.“I’ve been able to meet people I would never have met before and that part has been really worthwhile regardless of the outcome,” he said at a campaign gathering at Grandad’s Apples on U.S. 64. He did not know then the outcome three hours later would be a stunning upset of the incumbent that he had worked for before his termination in November 2014. “I really didn’t expect to have this much support. We’ve got a crowd here. I’m overwhelmed with the amount of support we’ve had in this campaign.”Appointed to the office in February 2012 after Sheriff Rick Davis resigned the previous November, McDonald ran as a reformer in 2014 and continued to talk about modernizing the department throughout his four-year term. “We have buried once and for all the good ol’ body system that inevitably leads to inefficiency and corruption,” McDonald said during a campaign forum. “Despite what’s being said by those with axes to grind, I would submit that we can’t afford to turn back. We’ve shown Henderson County what can be accomplished when an agency comes together as a team to accept necessary change, embrace best practices and organizational management. Morale is high, our staff is well-trained.”Among the issues that separated the challenger from the incumbent were body cameras — Griffin favors them, McDonald resisted them — and animal control in cities. But the issue that produced power at the polls and peril for McDonald was his proposed law enforcement training center — an idea that was both a three-year goal and ultimately a political liability. While McDonald had quietly dropped the idea of a $20 million training center at Blue Ridge Community College, he continued to look for a site for a center. The announcement in April that he had found a new site in Saluda revived the controversy just two weeks before early voting started and fired up hundreds of motivated single-issue voters. Griffin shellacked McDonald in the two precincts closest to Saluda — winning 72 percent of the vote in Green River and 84 percent in Raven Rock, the would-be home of the proposed Macedonia Road firing range. During a forum last month, McDonald defended the facility.“We’re asking our men and women to do more and more and to be trained to a higher level of efficiency,” he said. “I think everybody understands law enforcement needs to have the ability to train realistically in rapidly evolving situations so they can practice critical decision skills and combat tactics.”Griffin argued against the training center but for a broader outdoor training facility that would cost less and involve all first-responders.“If we do this right, we can create a village that becomes a total emergency services training area. … If we decide to go with an outdoor training center, we’ve got to have transparent studies that show the effect on the quality of life of everyone that may be around or affected by that. There are a lot of options," he said. "I think we really need to slow down and discuss and choose what’s right.”
McCall edges Ward
The Republican primary for the District 4 Board of Commissioners seat was a contest between two county natives, both graduates of East Henderson High School — Ward in 1970 and McCall in 1974 — both with grandfathers who served on the Board of Commissioners.McCall pulled away for the win, becoming the first woman to serve since 2002.“I think most of the people probably thought I was the incumbent,” Ward said. “I knew Lowell was gonna win. I think the people just wanted somebody new on all counts, in the sheriff’s race and the commissioners. I think the people wanted change. They’re tired of the same old politicians in office and I think the people spoke and I respect their opinion. “Rebecca’s going to do a good job,” he added. “I've got total confidence.”
Ward was an early vocal opponent of the law enforcement training center and also came out against the Balfour Parkway. McCall opposed the parkway. She said she favored a training center but not one at the Saluda site.
“They need to have scenario training … to be able to mimic what is going to happen in schools or any area they have to be able to set up these scenarios. … There is money to pay for that,” she said. Ward called for shifting that investment to schools.“With $6 million, if I choose between a law enforcement center that’s a year off and the immediate need that’s in the schools, I will pick the school and teachers,” he said.Both opposed arming schoolteachers.“It’s a whole different thing being armed and pulling the trigger and killing somebody,” Ward said. “If you hesitate for a second, you’re dead and might be somebody dead besides you.”“My daughter-in-law is a teacher,” McCall said. “She teaches fifth grade. She’s very strong-willed. I asked her that question and she said she would not want to carry a gun. She has enough to do as a teacher to deal with that.”
Newman turns back challenger
District Attorney Greg Newman easily defeated Mary Ann Hollocker.
Hollocker, a magistrate, said on the campaign trail that law enforcement officers had asked her to run.“This is not a personal attack against Mr. Newman. I just think with my skill set I can do a better job,” she said.A county magistrate for the past four years, she said she hears “first-hand how upset they are about how their cases are being handled. And I think with the skill set I have and experience I can fix those problems.”Newman scoffed at that. Gathered at the Elizabeth Leigh Inn on Fifth Avenue West Tuesday night, Newman said he’d never heard law officers express any concerns about his office.“She claimed law enforcement was supporting her and were afraid to come forward,” he said. “The ones that I know aren’t afraid. If there was a problem they would have told me.”“I think merit matters,” he said of his decisive win. “I think results matter.”
Sheley takes Democratic nomination
In a Democratic primary for the District 1 seat held by Michael Edney, Pat Sheley defeated Michelle Antalec with 70 percent of the vote.
Sheley had become active in the contentious issues that drew voters' interest down the stretch, coming out against the Saluda firing range and against the Balfour Parkway.
Read Story »
Henderson County News
Saturday is the day to fill a bag and help feed needy families.
Residents are asked to bad healthy nonperishable food and place it by their mailbox for pickup by mail carriers. Examples of items to donate include pasta, cereal, canola oil, peanut butter and canned goods including beans, fruit, vegetable, soup, tuna in water, meat and sauce. Avoid glass containers. Donations stay in the community. Read Story »
