Henderson County News
Republican leaders in Washington sweat about a blue tide in November. Talking heads on (non-Fox) cable TV news predict Democrats will take control of Congress. Court rulings threaten legislative maps gerrymandered to ensure a supermajority of safe seats for the Republican Party. The leader of the party is a polarizing figure who infuriates opponents and bewilders allies with a steady stream of White House tweets.
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Henderson County News
Forums set for sheriff, D.A., commission seat
The Henderson County Republican Party along with the Republican Women’sClub and Men’s Club will host these primary candidate forums (all at 7 p.m.):
Tuesday, April 10, Community Room in the Historic Courthouse. District Attorney Greg Newman and challenger Mary Ann Hollocker.
Thursday, April 12, Community Room of the Historic Courthouse. District 4 County Commission candidates Don Ward and Rebecca McCall.
Tuesday April 17, Bo Thomas Auditorium, BRCC, Sheriff Charlie McDonald and challenger Lowell Griffin.
Progressive Women focus on gun control
Gun control was the subject of the First Friday Focus at Sanctuary Brewing Co. sponsored by Progressive Women of Hendersonville. The group that included high school students wrote more than 700 postcards in favor of gun safety regulations and against arming public school teachers and thanking corporations that have severed ties with the National Rifle Association. John Owens, a member of Moms Demand Action and a victim of gun violence, answered questions about the goals of Moms Demand Action. The event had been planned before the February mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a student killed 17 people and injured 16.
PWH has been hosting postcard writing events for over a year on Fridays at Sanctuary Brewing Co. More than 13,000 postcards have been mailed. Local artists have designed the postcards. Postage and the cost of the postcards are provided through donations. Recently, the group decided to expand the postcard writing to include First Friday Focus where people impacted by current issues attend to facilitate citizen involvement. On Friday, April 6, the focus will be the environment. Representatives from groups who focus on protecting the environment Mountain True and Citizens’ Climate Lobby will attend to answer questions. Postcard parties are still held every Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
NCDOT engineer is guest at GOP breakfast
Jonathan Woodward, senior engineer for NCDOT District 14, will be guest speaker at the Republican Party breakfast gathering at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, March 17, at the Dixie Diner in Laurel Park. A 1995 graduate of N.C. State University with a degree in civil engineering, Woodward has worked for the NCDOT for 20 years. He will talk about potential road improvements to Henderson County.
Ward announces campaign committee
Don Ward, candidate for the District 4 Board of Commissioners seat, announced the appointment of his campaign steering committee, chaired by Shuford Edmisten, president of Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Other steering committee members are Fletcher Town Council member Sheila Franklin, School Board member, Blair Craven, Shaw’s Creek Baptist Church Pastor Jerry Mullinax, former Mills River Town Council member Billy Johnston and his wife, Nancy, interior designer Meghan Penny, retired teacher Rosemary Pace, Sara Boyd Grant, who works in radiation technology at Pardee UNC Health Care, Valley Hill Fire and Rescue Chief Tim Garren and his wife, Lori, who is a director of nursing, retired county Code Enforcement Officer Sam Laughter, Nancy Randall, who is retired, Tony Hill of Apple Ridge Farms, former Mills River Mayor Larry Freeman and grower Kirby Johnson of Flavor 1st and Johnson Family Farm.
Incumbent Tommy Thompson is not running for re-election. Since no Democrat has filed, the winner of the Republican primary on May 8 would win the seat barring an unprecedented write-in campaign.
Meadows seeks appropriation for school resource officers
U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows says more money for school resource officers — not gun control — is the best way to protect schools.
Meadows introduced two bills last week to enhance school security after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
“Our country is in the midst of a defining moment where we have an opportunity to come together and develop common-sense solutions to safeguard our children in school,” Meadows said in a statement.
One bill would appropriate $1.5 billion through the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) for school resource officers. A second bill, the Veterans Securing Schools Act, would allow state or local veterans to serve as school resource officers.
North Carolina has a similar law allowing school districts and local sheriffs to set up a volunteer SROs program. Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page announced plans Feb. 28 to set up such a program, with the support of state House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, and Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham.
“While gun control is not the answer, the best and most effective path forward, I believe, is one that safeguards our schools from becoming ‘soft targets,’ or areas with little to stand in the way of someone with bad intentions,” Meadows said.
Henderson County Sheriff Charles McDonald expressed support for the bills.
“As counties like ours look at the myriad of options to improve school safety, this initial funding for School Resource Officers is a great step to ensure that our local governments have access to the funding they need should they determine that increased officer presence is one facet of the strategy they want to adopt,” he said in a statement.
— LINDSAY MARCHELLO, Carolina Journal
League forum focuses on substance abuse
Substance abuse and addiction, from alcohol to opioids, has reached epidemic proportions across the country and here in Henderson County, health care and law enforcement officials say.
According to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, 75 percent of those in jail are suffering with an addiction problem. Substance abuse and addiction are vital health concerns. Drug overdose is the number one cause of accidental poisoning deaths.
The League of Women Voters Henderson County will focus on the subject with a program at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 22, at the Kaplan Auditorium in the Public Library, 301 N. Washington Street. Julie Huneycutt, director of HopeRX, and Maj. Frank Stout of the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office will speak. The program is free and open to the public.
For more information visit www.lwvhcnc.org or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
High school students plan walk on March 24
High school students plan to march on behalf of school safety at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 24, from Hendersonville High School to the Historic Courthouse. The student-led march is a peaceful protest to let surrounding people know that students care about issues of school safety and gun control. All students are welcome.
McDonald opens campaign headquarters
The Committee to Re-elect Sheriff Charles McDonald has opened its campaign headquarters at 822 Locust St., Suite 400, in the Historic Seventh Avenue District. Hours of operation are 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. Monday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturdays. Yard signs, bumper stickers and all campaign materials are available for pick up. Tickets for the campaign’s March 24 Bluegrass and BBQ fundraiser are also available. For information call 828-595-0617.
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Henderson County News
Henderson County deputies charged a 31-year-old Hendersonville man with assault and three other felonies on Sunday after a call to Harper Drive about a gunshot.
The victim wounded by the gunshot was taken to a local hospital and released the same day. Following interviews and crime scene investigation, deputies arrested Alexie George Wideman, of 431 N. Harper Drive, off Stoney Mountain Road, and charged him with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, possession of a stolen firearm, possession with intent to sell and/or deliver cocaine and maintaining a dwelling for the use of controlled substances, all felonies; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor. Wideman was jailed under a $42,500 bond. Read Story »
Henderson County News
Propelled into action by the Parkland High School shootings and a rise in threats to schools here, Henderson County Sheriff Charlie McDonald, elected officials, school administrators and parents on Thursday announced broad and aggressive strategies to make schools safe.
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Henderson County News
Before the Parkland High School shootings, classrooms in Henderson County were not locked. Now they are.
Before Parkland, which left 17 students and faculty members dead on Feb. 14, a report on school security may have seemed theoretical. Not now. Parents, teachers and administrators, and School Board members, listened intently to a report on school safety measures on school safety measures.
Before Parkland, public comment time at a county School Board meeting was mostly routine. Not anymore. A mother in tears told the School Board that her son is afraid to go to his high school, not just because of a horrific shooting in South Florida that made for wall-to-wall cable news coverage, but because his school was the target of a threat that resulted in the arrest of a 17-year-old.
Before Parkland, a request from the county school system for a huge increase in spending for a full-time law officer in every school and more psychologists to counsel troubled young people might have been politely received and quietly dismissed. Now the security investment looks like a near certainty.
Columbine. Sandy Hook. Parkland.
Datelines in the news. Familiar but not intimate.
But something felt different this time. In the past 10 days, we did not have to look south, to a spring break beach town, or north, to a snowy place, or west, to a Rocky Mountain state, to imagine children bleeding out on a classroom floor. We could imagine it right here. And in that same time period, the political stars aligned to form what looks like a consensus: School safety will drive education investment and law enforcement focus in the coming weeks and months.
17-year-old threatens Rugby girls
On Sunday, March 4, sheriff’s deputies arrested 17-year-old Hunter Scott Aly and charged him with threatening to harm two girls at Rugby Middle School and telling them that he “would bring an AK-47 to their school on Monday, March 2” to commit “an act of mass violence,” according to an arrest warrant.
Aly threatened to kill a 13-year-old girl if she didn’t send him naked pictures of herself and threatened to rape her “if she was going to be difficult and not do what he was asking,” according to a sworn statement the girl’s mother made to a magistrate on March 4. He emailed or texted a 12-year-old girl, “I’m coming in and shooting you in the face,” the warrant said.
Aly had been charged in February 2017 with having a butterfly knife on school property; the charges were dismissed in July 2017 after he committed “no other offense,” according to District Court records.
‘Layers of security’
At the tail end of a Board of Commissioners meeting last week, Commissioner Bill Lapsley brought up school safety.
“I’ve had numerous citizens from the county stop and ask me what’s the county doing to address the issue,” he said. “Quite honestly, I say I don’t know. There’s no specific action this board has taken. I think the issue in my mind is one for the School Board and the sheriff to address and for this board to keep its eye on the ball.”
County Manager Steve Wyatt said he and Sheriff Charlie McDonald “had been in constant communication” from the time of the Parkland shooting. He had met with schools Superintendent Bo Caldwell and with School Board chair Amy Holt.
“Basically what we have done has been an assessment of the situation as we know it from our particular vantage point and what the role of county would be. The sheriff and obviously the School Board and school administration are the lead agencies,” Wyatt said.
Those meetings culminated in a meeting on March 2 with school administration staff Friday.
“The analogy that the sheriff used is that in the situation you use layers — layers or security in the form of physical barriers, protocol and security personnel and in between that there are lot of different options. The discussion I had with the school superintendent did focus on budget and priorities. School safety and school security will be priority items that will have to be addressed.”
Commissioners sounded like they were ready to invest heavily in security.
Charlie Messer said he favors a school resource officer in every school.
“That’s going to be No. 1 in my priority,” Messer said. “I hope that decision is made pretty quick because in my opinion any incident would be a tragedy. The way I look at it, something will happen sometime somehow.”
Mental health coverage is also in the mix.
“As much as we place emphasis on school nurses, maybe we should start looking at school psychologists and school psychiatrists,” said Chair Michael Edney.
‘Not a one-time expense’
At Monday night’s School Board meeting, Associate Superintendent John Bryant said in the past 30 days school administrators have assessed and reaffirmed current safety practices and met with SROs on ways to enhance security. In the next 30 days, administrators plan to identify safety improvements at all 23 schools, continue to conduct emergency response drills, develop training for faculty on mental health first aid, emergency procedures and “student in crisis” support strategies, form a school safety advisory committee and hold public forums on school safety at all four traditional high schools.
“That is not a one-time expense,” Caldwell said of new SROs and school counselors. “That is an expense that will go on for a long period of time. We’re also looking at the mental health aspect to provide our teachers with more help,” by hiring more psychologists and social workers.
‘Cultural change’
McDonald said he had been “pleased with the support we’ve had from the board and school administration.”
“When we’re talking about safety there are going to be a lot of things that require cultural change. I know about cultural change and it hurts,” he said. “I can’t keep schools safe by myself. Dr. Bryant and school administrators can’t keep our schools safe by themselves.” Change will happen “in a way that’s not fearful or scary but in a way that’s multi layers. It’s a whole new way of looking at things.”
The school system is already taking steps that cost nothing.
“The first layer, which is the internal classroom, and that’s why we made the culture change,” Caldwell said. “We’re locking all teachers’ doors. That’s not happened in Henderson County in a while. It’s happening now.”
Board member Rick Wood praised the work administrators have already done.
“There’s not any one answer to keep our kids safe and that is our first priority,” he said. “Mental health. I think we need to look at school psychologists. SROs in every school, which we don’t have now. More security cameras. I think it’s important that we do have a safety assessment as soon as we can to make sure we’re not missing something when we’re looking at safety concerns.”
Chair Amy Lynn Holt said she had “numerous pages of notes” from thoughts, conversations and study of school safety since the Parkland, Florida, shooting that killed 17 students and teachers.
“One huge thing is I appreciate is (Rep.) Chuck McGrady reaching out, saying that in Raleigh they want to help and get a handle on what we need for a budget point,” she said. She met with Sheriff McDonald for 2½ hours “and asked every question I could think to ask and I came away from that meeting that we need to communicate to the public” how emergency response works. She’s alarmed when parents tell her “they want to know as soon as something happens because they want to come and get their kids,” she said. “You don’t understand. You’re not coming to get your kids because that school is locked down and you can’t get to the campus.”
Jane Bilello, a Tea Party activist and substitute teacher in the county schools, urged the School Board to allow teachers to carry guns.
“When that armed shooter comes through the door while we are getting an A-plus on lockdown, what am I supposed to do? Throw a book at them? … All we’re asking is that you look at this in layers, and don’t leave out the confrontation part.”
Karen Beijer, whose son is a student at West, implored the School Board to move forcefully on security improvements.
“It’s difficult because it’s so many entrances to the school and it’s a money issue and I’m kind of tired of hearing that,” she said. “My son didn’t go to school last week because he was too scared. He just felt like he didn’t know enough to feel OK. I think that a lot of us probably feel this way and this is so not OK. There’s a fear now and no child can learn in that environment, nobody can. … But I don’t want more guns in schools. I want someone who has some training with a gun. What we can do is secure the building, make the kids feel safe in a building so they can actually learn.”
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Laurel Park News
The threat of winter weather has caused WastePro to delay trash pickup service this week from Thursday to Friday, the town of Laurel Park announced. If a household's trash is missed Friday, residents should call Town Hall by 8 a.m. Saturday to report it and it will be picked up Saturday. Leave a voicemail if the office is closed. Messages will be checked Saturday morning. Include your name, address, and phone number. Call 828-693-4840.
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Henderson County News
Ronald Henderson put tomatoes, onions, kale and other fresh produce on display outside his brand new Seafood and Country Market about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. A couple hours later, "I came back down here and my stuff is freezing." Plus, it was snowing.
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Henderson County News
You won't want to miss this week’s Hendersonville Lightning.
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Henderson County News
Around 250 runners will be racing through Henderson County on Saturday, April 14, during the Ville to Ville Craft Brew Relay.
The popular race from Asheville to Greenville is already sold out. Teams of six runners cover 12 legs ranging from 3 to 10 miles (except ultra teams, which have three runners). Each team provides its own race vehicle to drop off and pick up runners at designated transition areas along the course route. About 1,500 runners total have signed up.
The first flight of runners will leave Highland Brewing Co. around 5 a.m. on the first leg, to A.C. Reynolds Middle School. Switchoffs in Henderson County are Fletcher Community Park, Carter Landscaping, Southern Appalachian Brewery, Hillandale Elementary School, Tuxedo Park and Talisman Camps in Zirconia. From Zirconia, there are only four more legs. Teams will finish near downtown Greenville with a celebration featuring a variety of local brewers, music, and food trucks. Read Story »
