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McDonald gets opponent in 2018 election

Edneyville News

Edneyville school comes with a bonus

Edneyville is getting a new school that will serve not only grammar school kids but the entire community. Architects on Monday unveiled a design that includes a high school-sized gym that can accommodate community recreation needs as well as the regular phys-ed programs.Construction is set to begin in March with a completion date of Aug. 1, 2019.The goal of the design by the county architects Clark Nexsen was to create a 21st century learning environment, preserve the rural character of the school, capitalize on outdoor activities and maintain a strong relationship with the community, yields a two-story structure with an arc in the middle that allows for a complete view of the surrounding land and mountains. Architects kept the view in mind when designing the building’s orientation.The first floor of the building will contain administrative offices, the multi-purpose gymnasium and the kindergarten and first grade classrooms while the second floor will include second, third, fourth and fifth grade classrooms.The multi-purpose gymnasium will be 1,500 square feet larger than the average elementary school gymnasium, architect Chad Roberson said. The space will have its own entrance, so it can be utilized by the community during weekends when the school is closed.“The new gym will be a big plus for Henderson County recreation on weekends,” said Commissioner Charlie Messer.The site also includes rain gardens, an outdoor amphitheater, a playground, a butterfly garden, an upper and lower terrace, an outdoor dining area and an outdoor art space and reading space. It could also have an outdoor basketball court and a baseball field.The internal structure will allow natural light to enter and will offer many open spaces for teachers to talk with students individually. Cars will reach drop-off and pick-up sites off Pace Road, while delivery trucks use a service road from U.S. 64.When the new building opens for the 2019 school year, contractors will demolish the old school, causing a temporary rerouting of traffic until the site is cleared.Parents, teachers and students have praised the school. During an initial community meeting at the start of the project, 30-40 teachers and administrators met with architects to discuss school design and innovation. Commissioners on Monday unanimously endorsed the design and gave the go-ahead for construction.Sewer service for the project added a big capital expense.Commissioners looked at an on-site drip-irrigation system, a discharge system and a pump station or gravity sewer line to Hendersonville as options. They’re leaning toward the gravity sewer line but plan to look at how to pay for it. Even though that option was the most expensive — at $4.5 million plus and $19,000 in annual user fees — it remains the most reliable option for the long term, engineers said. The line from Edneyville would run next to Clear Creek and a tributary. It would be maintained by the county or the city utility system. It would delay the school’s opening by one year because it takes longer to install and needs acquisition of easements by nearby landowners. The new school can still open on time if it continues to use the current septic system until the sewer line is done. WGLA Engineering recommended the gravity sewer, agreeing that in the long-run it would require less maintenance.The county had allocated just $500,000 for the sewer system. The additional cost could be offset by a potential $1 million grant from the N.C. Department of Commerce and possible contributions from the city of Hendersonville and the WNC Justice Academy. Commissioners agreed to further discuss funding options for the sewer line next month.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

S.C. man charged in old sex abuse case

A man on the run for five years from child sex abuse charges was arrested in Henderson County. Detectives from the violent crimes unit of the Henderson County Sheriff's Office arrested Brooks Gordon Ross, 67, of Greenwood, South Carolina. Ross was charged with one felony count of Sexual Offense with a Child. Ross, who fled the area in 2012 when the allegations were first made, was arrested and waived extradition early today. He was jailed in the Henderson County detention center under a $500,000 secured bond.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Three charged with drug felonies

A drug enforcement squad of the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, along with assistance of patrol deputies, charged three people with multiple felonies after serving a warrant at Fletcher home. The deputies who were serving a habitual felon indictment on Bruce Wayne Glover at 33 Andy Darity Drive saw drug paraphernalia in plain view at his home, the sheriff's office said. Arrested were: · Glover, 50, charged with felony maintaining a vehicle/dwelling/place for controlled substance, felony possession of heroin and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Glover is jailed under a $10,000 bond. · Crystal Sue Daniels, 43 of 259 Laurelwood Lane in Mills River, charged with was charged with felony maintaining a vehicle/dwelling/place for controlled substance, felony possession of heroin and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Danielswas jailed under a $20,000 bond. · Mary Glover Thrift, 36, of 105 Plantation Drive in Hendersonville, charged with felony possession of heroin and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. She was also arrested on failure to appear and probation violations. Thrift was jailed under a $27,500 bond.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

City promotes Pahle to assistant manager

Hendersonville City Manager John Connet has promoted city budget specialist Brian Pahle to the new position of assistant city manager. "The establishment of the Assistant City Manager position was necessitated by the increasing day to day demands of managing our rapidly growing city,” Connet said. Pahle began working for the City of Hendersonville as an administrative intern in May 2014 and has advanced to several positions of greater responsbility, including Assistant to the City Manager/ Budget and Evaluation Director, during his tenure. He has Bachelors of Science and Masters of Public Administration degrees from Appalachian State University and is a Certified Budget and Evaluation Officer in the State of North Carolina. Over the past three years, Pahle has been responsible for the development and management of the City’s annual budget process. He annually prepares the City of Hendersonville’s comprehensive budget document. The document has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Governmental Finance Officers Association for three consecutive years. Brian has also overseen the development and implementation of a comprehensive Capital Improvement Program and numerous human resource, financial and administrative policies. “Brian has proven himself as a strong local government professional," Connet said. "He has taken the initiative to improve himself by attending numerous professional development courses and developed a strong network within the local government environment. He has proven that he can work well with both internal and external customers and has volunteered to serve as the City’s representative on several local boards and committees.” As assistant city manager, Brian will oversee the finance, human resources, downtown development and fire departments. He will also continue his role as the city's information technology manager. The promotion was effective on Friday.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Deadline extended for Day of Action volunteers

The United Way of Henderson County has extended the registration period for the second annual Day of Action until Monday. Sponsored by Pardee/UNC Health Care in partnership with Henderson County Public Schools, the half day volunteer event will help get 22 local schools ready for the upcoming school year through projects that include painting walls, cleaning playgrounds, mulching and more. In addition to serving at local schools, volunteers are asked to help pack a school bus with food donations for MANNA’s Packs for Kids and school supply items for Henderson County Public Schools.Interested volunteers can find the service projects and an online sign-up by visiting United Way’s website at clicking here and clicking “Day of and going to Day of Action. Volunteer registration will close on Monday August 14. Any registration questions can be directed to Kara Ashley-Gilmore at volunteer@liveunitedhc.org.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Rollover crash damages city's gateway sign

The Hendersonville “H” at downtown’s northern gateway is in the shop for repairs after a vehicle damaged it in a rollover crash Thursday evening at 6:45.A 2000 Lincoln traveling west on U.S. 64 ran the red light, T-boned a 2016 Honda Pilot, causing it to flip once and strike the heavy-duty sign with its signature copper “H.”Both drivers were taken to the hospital by ambulance. “The driver of vehicle is fine. She was just in here to pick up a copy of the report,” said police Capt. Bruce Simonds. He did not have a condition of the Lincoln driver, who got out of the vehicle and was walking around after the crash.Charged with running the stop light and having no driver’s license was Cyril Edwin Boyce, 32, of Hendersonville.A city public works crew removed the sign, which is bolted to two granite slabs weighing a half-ton each. It’s under repair.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Ask Matt ... who made those street lights?

Q. In June there was a crew from South Carolina replacing streetlight fixtures in downtown Hendersonville. The new ones look like LED lights. Why are they changing the streetlights and are those lights made locally by GE? City Public Works Director Tom Wooten said that the goal of the re-lamping project is to improve the overhead lighting on the avenues between Church Street and King Street plus the alleys and the areas around the Dogwood Parking Lot. There are about 75 lighting fixture change-outs of various intensity ratings. All are LED lights.Streetlights are not individually metered so the City pays Duke a monthly rate based upon the number and type of outdoor lighting fixtures. The new LEDs will cost the City slightly more than the old mercury vapor or sodium vapor lamps but the lumen rating (brightness) is higher. Plus there is a benefit from having presumably safer nighttime activities. Duke Energy will not charge for doing the replacements but the utility benefits from using considerably less power than the old lights required plus there is less maintenance for utility crews because the LEDs last longer.But on the source question I had to dig deep. Engineers at GE were quick to tell me that these were “not our lights.” The Contractor that Duke Energy hired to hang the lights was closed mouth and Duke was slow to come forth with specifics. But the folks with American Electric Lighting (AEL) in Ohio confirmed that the flat cobra head type fixtures just installed in Hendersonville were made in one of two places – Conyers, Georgia or Monterey, Mexico. AEL is a subsidiary of Acuity Brands, a large lighting corporation with home offices in Georgia.GE’s newly renovated facility in East Flat Rock makes LED streetlights so I asked our Chamber of Commerce to comment on the fact that Duke was not shopping locally for streetlights. The Chamber quickly recognized the contributions that GE has made in the community dating back to arriving here in 1956 –treading carefully because Duke is a member too. But neither the Chamber nor the City can dictate which fixtures Duke Energy will use. Duke officials stated that their company selects their products “based on pricing, product quality, light output, product availability and product support from the supplier.” Duke has used GE products in the past and has some in service now. With headquarters in Charlotte, Duke is a $23 billion utility that operates in the Carolinas, Florida, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio serving 7.5 million customers.One more thing. GE recently announced it was considering selling its lighting division which is headquartered in Cleveland. It is unknown if and how such a move could affect their East Flat Rock plant. The company recently changed the name of the lighting division to “Current, powered by GE.” Stay tuned.   *  * * * * Send questions to askmattm@gmail.com.     Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Brewery planned for Busy Bend

Although it’s not Beer City yet, Hendersonville seems to be trying to catch up to the craft beer capital to the west.. Dry Falls Brewing Co., a father-and-son team from Weaverville, plans to open a brewery in the 77-year-old Oates Paint & Body Shop by late this year.Jeff Golliher, 56, and his son, Evan, are weekend home brewers who have plans to transform the 5,900-square-foot shop by constructing the brewery on the right and a taproom on the left, behind double garage doors.Figuring there were enough breweries in Asheville, they asked a real estate agent to look for a suitable building in Hendersonville.“When our realty agent found it and we first looked at it, we said, ‘Hey, this is it.’ … We want to do our very best to maintain the historic character of the building and appreciate the long tradition and history of it,” he said. “My wife’s a social studies and history teacher.”They plan to add parking behind the building.“We actually own both the buildings,” he said. “We plan to do some remodeling to the smaller one to increase space between the two. We talked about maybe leasing it out for a potential coffee shop. Our main focus is to get the main building back in restored condition.” Like Asheville, which has won national polls as Beer City USA several times, Hendersonville is becoming a craft beer hotbed in its own right. Dry Falls would be the seventh brewery in Henderson County ranging from one of the largest on the East Coast to microbreweries. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. attracts thousands of craft beer drinkers to Mills River. The Blue Ghost pours beer in Fletcher. Hendersonville has three now, with Triskelion and now Dry Falls set to open this year.A contractor pulled a permit last week for the body shop renovation construction last week.“We’re doing interior demolition and a roof,” said Alfred Bottego of Precision Craftsmen of Asheville. “We’re going to put new roof and dry out the whole building and reconfigure the inside for a tasting room.”Plans call for brewing tanks on the right side and the tasting room behind the double garage doors on the left.“You’ll be able to see the brewing process and get the beer right out of pot and into the cooler and right out of the tap,” Bottego said. “This is new coming out of the ground. He’s just a local guy and this is a venture he wanted to pursue.”Bottego said he plans to be done with the construction work by Thanksgiving.“I know he’s going through all the due diligence and licensing,” he said of Golliher. “My concern is obviously the construction.”Golliher both have fulltime jobs now.“We’ll eventually do this fulltime,” he said. “We’ll be hiring a brewer to take care of the brewing operation we’ll have kind of a taproom manager to oversee the taproom activities. This thing’s kind of a family affair for us. It’s me, my wife and son. Home brewing is kind of a weekend passion for us.”They plan to be open 4- 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon-midnight Friday and Saturday and Sunday afternoon until 8 p.m.Golliher likes the location.“I always tell everybody, ‘Do you know where the hot dog place is and they say ‘oh yeah, yeah.’” The owners have no plans for food other than offering snacks for sale and possibly partnering with food trucks. They hope to open in late November or early December.The family is considering calling the public side of the house the Busy Bend Taproom.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Fair adds funny divers, roving dinosaurs, puppets

FLETCHER – High-diving firemen and roaming dinosaurs are just two of the new entertainment acts joining the 2017 N.C. Mountain State Fair Sept. 8-17 at the WNC Agricultural Center. High Dive Fireman Show, an acrobatic comedy, features performers doing Olympic-style dives from platforms up to 80 feet tall. Another new act, Dakota and Friends, is an interactive and educational experience featuring six types of dinosaurs. The main attraction is Dakota, a lifelike roaming Deinonychus. Fairgoers can see the dinosaur move and have a photograph taken with the creature. Children of all ages also will be able to touch dinosaurs and learn more about the work of paleontologists. Other new attractions are The Great Atlanta Puppet Show, a specialty puppet show filled with music, action and unique puppets; The One Man Band and Son, a father-and-son duo that covers songs from the 1960s to now; Jay Mattioli Family Magic, a comedic magic show; and bluegrass instrumentalists Little Roy and Lizzie. The fair’s lineup also will include returning crowd favorites Sea Lion Splash, Kenya Safari Acrobats, the Hogway Speedway racing pigs and Dixie Starlight Express. The N.C. Mountain State Fair will feature more than 40 rides and games on the midway. James H. Drew Exposition is bringing three new rides to the fair this year: Cherokee, a swing ride for small children; Dalmatians, a spinning ride for older children; and Surfer, an exhilarating ride for teenagers and adults. Advance tickets for the fair are available now at participating Ingles stores, the WNC Ag Center and the WNC Farmers Market. More details are available at www.mountainfair.org.   Read Story »

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