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Two charged in series of city car break-ins

Henderson County News

Police organization treasurer charged with stealing $110K

The former treasurer of a Fraternal Order of Police Lodge has been indicted on charges for embezzling more than $110,000 from the non-profit organization, Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced on Tuesday.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Deputies seize an ounce of meth after I-26 traffic stop

Henderson County Sheriff’s deputies seized more than an ounce of methamphetamine and arrested two South Carolina residents after stopping their car for erratic driving on I-26 near the weigh station early Sunday, the sheriff's office said. During the traffic stop at 5:15 a.m., deputies discovered the driver and occupant possessed approximately 34 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Deputies have charged Yesica Suheidi Moreno, 26 of Blacksburg, S.C., with felony possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver methamphetamine, felony conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine, felony maintaining a vehicle for controlled substances, operating a motor vehicle without a driver’s license and failing to maintain lane of travel on a highway. Moreno was arrested and booked into the Henderson County Jail under a $10,500 secured bond. Deputies also charged Kevin Matthew Grisson, 34, of Gaffney, with felony possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver methamphetamine, felony conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Grisson was arrested and booked into the Henderson County Jail under a $9,000 secured bond.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Fourth generation Bearcat leads HHS seniors

Suzanne Thompson’s ties to Hendersonville High School go back to her great-grandmother, Geneva Thompson, class of 1929. Almost nine decades later, Suzanne is among the leaders of the first graduating class of HHS students that knows the historic building is going to be retired. Suzanne’s grandfather, Harry Thompson, graduated in 1950, and her dad, Jeff Thompson, who graduated, was in the class of ’81. Those that married into the family, like Piggy and Suzanne’s mother, didn’t attend HHS, although the entire Thompson family lives in Hendersonville. “I feel a strong connection to it,” Suzanne says of her high school.The senior class president, she laments the decision by the Board of Commissioners to replace the historic Stillwell-designed HHS with a new school.“There’s a lot of people that think it’s just a building and that traditions carry over, but that building has something special about it,” she says. “A new building isn’t going to have the hundreds of years of history behind it, it’s not going to feel the same. It really breaks my heart that there are people that have went there and say it’s just a school.”Despite HHS’s future, Thompson is determined to give her all to the school. She looks forward to the senior play, her favorite HHS tradition. This year it will be “The Wizard of Oz.” It was her idea to paint the senior steps with a rainbow.“We wanted to connect the senior play with the steps, but still keep it part of the high school,” she says. “That’s why it’s really colorful and whimsical, because ‘The Wizard of Oz’ has a lot of magic. I did the backbone of everything, but I consulted a lot with my peers because it’s their senior steps too. It was great to see how much of a communal thing it was.” Besides her position as senior class president, she’s also president of the Keywanettes, an all-girls service club sponsored by the Hendersonville Kiwanis Club, and a member of Leadership, a faculty-selected club that organizes social events such as homecoming and the senior prom. Additionally, she plays on the high school tennis team, is a member of National Honor Society and the Spanish Club. “For me I have a social life too, and I balance it really well,” she adds. “I have a job where I try to work a few days a week, so it’s all about prioritizing.” Born into the family business The job didn’t require an application. She was born into the family business, where her grandfather Harry Thompson is the namesake of the restaurant side of Piggy’s Ice Cream Parlor and Harry’s Grill. Suzanne started working there at 14.The ice cream shop opened in 1980. It was Suzanne’s grandmother’s idea to add the ice cream parlor onto the apple stand Harry’s brother ran.“When my dad and his brothers got older, they made the ice cream parlor bigger, and then they (her grandparents) wanted to try the restaurant business,” Thompson says. “The restaurant officially opened in 1993. That was the same year that my grandfather died, but they kept it going. They started with simple things like hot dogs and hamburgers and then in the late ‘90s they started barbeque, and that’s what they’re most famous for now. We’ve been blessed to have it for this long.”Suzanne’s father, Jeff, cooks the barbecue and runs the business, working six days a week from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Suzanne’s mother, Tamra, helps in the restaurant when she isn’t taking care of Suzanne’s younger sister, who is 4. Jeff’s brother and sister-in-law also help in the summer.“All of our customers are personable and we have our regulars,” says Thompson, whose duties include scooping ice cream, taking orders, cooking and helping her dad with catering jobs. “They all know us by first name and we know their orders by heart before they walk through the front door.” Lots of Sallie Thompsons Although Sallie was Suzanne’s grandmother’s given name, friends and family called her Piggy for most of her life.“Whenever she was little she was chunky, and her brothers called her ‘Little Piggy’,” Thompson says. “The nickname stuck. Everyone called her Piggy through high school and college. My grandfather’s name was Harry. When they met in college, Harry and Piggy became a thing. When they started the business they decided to keep it. That’s what we call her to this day.” The ice cream shop was named after Piggy, while the restaurant was named after Harry, a combination that led to a successful business.Many of the females on the Thompson side of the family are named Sallie. It’s Suzanne’s first name as well. And her cousin, Sallie Thompson, the daughter of Michael and Elaine, is a freshman at HHS.Thompson is leaving her mark on HHS and looks forward to college; she hopes to attend Clemson University.“I like to be the leader, not the follower,” she says. “I want to lead my peers to the best of my ability, and leadership allows me to give back to the high school community. I think everyone should do that because the school itself has given a lot of people so much.”   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Four charged with drug felonies

Henderson County Sheriff's deputies charged four people with multiple drug felonies after an ongoing investigation of a home at 302 Beverly Avenue. The SWAT and drug enforcement team executed a search warrant at the home on Sept. 21 and recovered a .45 caliber handgun previously reported stolen in Buncombe County, methamphetamine and Schedule II and IV prescription medication, as well as drug paraphernalia. The Henderson County Department of Social Services also responded to the scene regarding the welfare of two children who were found to be living in the residence. Both children were placed in DSS care. As a result of the investigation to date, the following individuals have been arrested and charged by the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office with the below offenses: Donald David Lewis, 57, of 302 Beverly Avenue, Hendersonville Felony possession with intent to manufacture/sale and deliver methamphetamineFelony maintain vehicle/dwelling place for sale and delivery of methamphetamineMisdemeanor simple possession of schedule II narcoticsMisdemeanor simple possession of schedule IV narcoticsSecured Bond: $27,000 and he remains incarcerated in the Henderson County Jail Leah Maureen Staton, 19, of 302 Beverly Avenue, HendersonvilleFelony possession of methamphetamineMisdemeanor possession of drug paraphernaliaMisdemeanor child abuseSecured Bond: $10,500 and she remains incarcerated in the Henderson County Jail Alicia Jane Moore, 40, of North Marley Drive, HendersonvilleMisdemeanor possession of drug paraphernaliaSecured Bond: $500. Bond posted and released Dylan Thorne West, 24, of Knoll Ridge Road, Mills RiverMisdemeanor possession of drug paraphernaliaSecured Bond: $100. Served two days and given credit for time served on Henderson County charges; released to Buncombe County on outstanding warrants The investigation continues and charges against additional defendants are anticipated.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Brush pile in Dana goes boom

A Dana resident used too much of the wrong kind of accelerant and caused an explosion that shook buildings more than a mile away earlier this month.“That was a huge explosion,” Lt. Dakota Newman of Dana Fire and Rescue said of the big boom about 10 p.m. on Sept. 6 on Simple Lane off Upward Road. “It shook the firehouse. I thought someone had wrecked into the building.”Assistant Henderson County Fire Marshal Joe Swain got there quickly because he lives nearby.“Somebody put gas on a brush pile and lit it but there was 5 gallons,” Swain said. “It actually turned out to be an illegal burn. He was cleaning out his mother’s house and she had a bunch of paper. He decided to use gas instead of kerosene or diesel. I live in Dana. It shook my house and I live about about a mile and a half way.”Newman said the two men who caused the explosion were “white as a sheet of paper” when firefighters arrived and Swain said, “When I got there I think they were in shock, to be honest with you, from the blast.”Swain issued a verbal warning for an illegal burn.No one was hurt.“They had a guardian angel is all I can say,” Newman said.The debris pile with paper on top was in a hole about 15 feet deep, Swain said.“When he lit it, the fire went straight up instead of going out,” he said. “If it had been sitting on flat land he’d either been dead or had third-degree burns.”Gasoline is not recommended to help start fires.“You could use accelerant but we recommend diesel,” Swain said. “It has a lower flashpoint.”   Read Story »

Henderson County News

BRCC to add food trucks on campus

Blue Ridge Community College students and the public could get lunch and snacks at food trucks on the BRCC campuses here and in Brevard by the middle of next month.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Marco's Pizza coming to Seventh Avenue

The Historic Seventh Avenue District is getting its first chain restaurant, a fast-growing pizzeria that features dine-in, carry-out and delivery of pizza, wings and subs.   Read Story »

Etowah News

Seven Falls lot owners reach agreement on sharing $5.5M

Owners of residential lots in the Seven Falls development have agreed to a distribution of $5.5 million in bond money Henderson County received after the development failed.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

East Flat Rock man arrested for indecent liberties

Henderson County deputies charged a 45-year-old East Flat Rock man with two child sex abuse felonies after responding to call to Leisure Lane in East Flat Rock on Sept. 5.   Read Story »

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