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N.C. history books now more widely available

Hendersonville News

Don't miss this week's Hendersonville Lightning (108)

You won’t want to miss this miss this week’s Hendersonville Lightning. You'll read about the expected next step for the potential development at Horse Shoe Farm, complete coverage of the latest twist in the long road toward a new Hendersonville High School, news about development downtown and our big list of Christmas, New Year's Eve and other holiday season events in Hendersonville. You've got to get a copy because it's only in print and only in the Lighting! Here’s where you can pick up a Lightning:  Hendersonville• Hendersonville Lightning Office, 1111 Asheville Hwy• Pop's Diner, 5 Points, North Main Street• Triangle Stop, 701 North Main Street• The 500 block of North Main Street(First Citizens Bank / Mast Gen. Store)• Black Bear Coffee Co., Main Street• The 300 block of North Main Street(McFarland's Bakery / Mike's on Main). Pardee Hospital in the lobby. Flat Rock Playhouse, downtown(100 block of South Main Street) Southside Hendersonville(Spartanburg Highway)• Hairstyles by Charlene, Joel Wright Drive• McDonald's, Spartanburg Highway• Norm's Minit Mart, Spartanburg Highway• Hendersonville Co-op• Burger King/BP, Spartanburg HighwayIngles Supermarket Southside Hendersonville(Greenville Highway)Carolina Ace HardwareWhitley Drug Store Flat Rock/East Flat Rock• Flat Rock Post Office• Flat Rock Bakery• Zirconia Post Office• East Flat Rock Post Office• Orr's Family Restaurant, Spartanburg Hwy• Energy Mart Exxon, Upward Road & I-26• Triangle Stop, 754 Upward Road & I-26Village Café and PubPage 2 Hendersonville(Kanuga Road)• Hot Dog World, Kanuga Road• Mr. Pete's Market, Kanuga Road• Norm's Minit Mart, Kanuga Road Hendersonville(Fifth Avenue)Hendersonville Post officeFifth Aenue Shell Laurel Park• YMCA H'ville, Sixth Ave & Oak Str• Laurel Park Village, Rite-Aid.• Energy Mart Exxon, Brevard Road at Daniel DriveDixie Diner, Brevard Road Highway 64(Brevard Road)• Horse Shoe Post Office• Mr. Pete's Market, Etowah, Hwy 64-W• Blue Ridge Pizza, Etowah, Hwy 64-W• Etowah Shopping Center, Etowah Highway 191(Haywood Road)• Joey's New York Bagels, Hwy 191• One-Stop Store #8, Haywood Road (Hwy 191)• Dollar General, Hwy 191 & Mountain Road Mills River• Triangle Stop, 4197 Haywood Road, Mills River• Mills River Family Restaurant. Food LionIngles Page 3 Eastside Hendersonville and Four Seasons Boulevard• Norm's Minit Mart, Dana Road• Fatz Cafe, Dana Road & Four Seasons Blvd• Grocery Outlet, off Four Seasons Boulevard• McDonald's, Four Seasons Boulevard• Energy Mart Exxon, Four Seasons BoulevardMustang Cafe Highway 64 East(Chimney Rock Highway)• Triangle Stop, 2545 Chimney Rock Road, Hwy 64-E• Mr. Pete's Market, East, Hwy 64-E • Griffin's Store, Edneyville, Hwy 64-E• Edneyville Post Office. Griffins Store, EdneyvilleShell station, 64 East and Sugarloaf RoadIngles, Howard Gap RoadMoose Cafe Highway 25 North(Asheville Highway)• The Ugly Mug Coffee Shop, Hwy 25-N• Triangle Stop, Hwy 25-N, Balfour• Mountain Home Post Office• Fletcher Post OfficeInglesNaples Post OfficeTravel Plaza, US 25 and I-26 Southern & Eastern Henderson County, Polk County• Dana Post Office• Rosco's Grocery, Green River• Saluda Post Office• Triangle Stop, 1487 Ozone Road, SaludaAll Henderson County Ingles StoresAll Henderson County Post Offices   Read Story »

Henderson County News

County's demand presents chance 'to shut this down,' O'Cain says

Henderson County School Board members appear divided on how they will vote when they take up the demand by the county Board of Commissioners to endorse the commissioners’ choice for a new Hendersonville High School. But it’s clear that two School Board members — Amy Lynn Holt and newcomer Blair Craven — are unmoved in their desire to push for a renovated HHS instead of an all-new campus and that they favor putting Edneyville Elementary School ahead of HHS.“Do I know how I’m going to vote? Come on,” Holt said Tuesday morning, hours after commissioners in a unanimous vote demanded a School Board yes vote under threat of shelving the $53 million new construction option. “I’m going to vote to stop the project because to begin with we voted to renovate it the commissioners went beyond our recommendation and decided to do what they wanted to do. I also want to put Edneyville Elementary School ahead of the Hendersonville High School project. I don’t want to that put off.”Holt said she’s also concerned about parking and fears that the commissioners’ option will end up costing more to buy land for that.“That’s one of the main things we need to address is parking,” she said.“I think what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong,” she said. “We decided 15 months ago that we wanted to renovate that building and we could’ve been well under way with that project. We weren’t asking to start on the HHS project right now. … Edneyville has always been No. 1 and in every board members’ eyes it still is No. 1. We don’t feel like that school is safe. It’s not OK to me to put that off for another two years.”Commissioner Bill Lapsley, who asked that the HHS construction plan be placed on the commissioners’ agenda Monday night, said the Board of Commissioners ought not move forward unless the School Board goes on record in support of the new HHS campus.“I submit to this board that it is very important for this project that when it is submitted that those boards receive a project that is jointly approved by both the School Board and this board,” Lapsley said. “I think to go forward, where one board is in support of it and the other board may not be in support of it, is not good for our community. I think we need to be together.”Craven, an HHS graduate, is also ready to push for the renovation-new construction option the School Board endorsed last spring.“I have not changed my stance one bit and I haven’t changed it now even with the threat issued by the county commissioners,” Craven said Tuesday morning. “We plan on getting together and making our decision next Monday. It’s been said that everybody needs to cool their heels. I think that’s the way to go. I understand the inflation but I don’t think it’s the right plan. The $53 million plan doesn’t solve all the problems. It creates more problems.”The commissioners’ move had some HHS alumni searching for two more votes to support Craven and Holt.“I think it’s a great opportunity to shut this down until they get their heads together,” said Carey O’Cain, who has led efforts by the HHS Alumni Association to preserve the historic Erle Stillwell-designed classroom building and red-draped auditorium for school use. “I’m happy that Bill Lapsley has called for a vote. I know we already have Amy’s vote and I know we already have Blair’s and I think we might be able to get Rick’s back.”Colby Coren and Lisa Edwards voted in favor of the county commissioners’ choice last spring. Rick Wood and Mary Louise Corn voted for renovation last spring but endorsed the new-school option during the joint meeting on Nov. 24.“Now that I know that we have to make that vote I want to give it a lot of a serious thought, maybe even hear further debate on Monday night,” Wood said. “I want to try to do what’s right for everyone and it’s one I have to give a lot of prayerful consideration. It’s a new board, we’ll have new leadership. I don’t know what we’re looking at there. It’s going to be an interesting meeting.”Michael Absher, the other newly elected School Board member, said he hoped to find out more from top administrators about the consequences if the School Board votes on the new-school option.“I am going to go meet with the superintendent and I’m going to go meet with Steve Wyatt and figure out what is the hypothesis if we do say no and does that mean Edneyville is going to be moved up. If we don’t move on Hendersonville we need to move on Edneyville, like yesterday.”“I am currently gathering facts and assessing the situation,” Coren said in an email. “I encourage anyone who has an interest in the discussion and next steps to join us at our Board meeting, Monday Dec. 12, at 6:30 p.m.”   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Methodist donation aids Safelight's Dandelion program

First United Methodist Church Local Missions Grant Program donated $6,000 to Safelight to support the Dandelion Job Training Program, which provides job training and support for adult survivors of trauma.Amy Treece, a church member who serves on the Safelight Board of Directors, and church Missions Team Leader Dick Weaver presented the check to Safelight’s Executive Director, Tanya Blackford on Friday, Dec. 3.“We are excited to partner with FUMC in our job training efforts,” said Blackford. “Because of this grant, more clients will learn new job skills, gain self-confidence, and realize their own self-worth through the internship program at either Dandelion Café or the Safelight Resale Store.”Safelight internships prepare approximately 30 trauma survivors for the workforce each year by teaching marketable skills in a supportive and nurturing environment. These skills include financial budgeting, personal responsibility, effective communication, teamwork, organization, and time management.“Our Missions Team at FUMC is excited to be a part of such a life-changing program here at Safelight,” Weaver said. “We know the grant is necessary to continue the program, but additionally, we are happy to offer mentorships to those who complete the program and need further support. Many of our members already volunteer with Safelight, so fostering this relationship gives us even more opportunities to serve and share with them.”   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Asheville Savings Bank appoints branch manager

Asheville Savings Bank on Tuesday announced the appointment of a new manager of its Hendersonville branch.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

County demands School Board's answer on HHS

Henderson County commissioners delivered an ultimatum to the School Board on Monday night to cast a yes-or-no vote on the all-new Hendersonville High School plan next week. If the School Board votes no, commissioners said in a motion that passed unanimously, the county will shelve the HHS plan.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Lapsley wonders if county has too much money

Thanks to aggressive expense control, Henderson County ended the 2015-16 fiscal year with a gain of $2.8 million. News that the county has been fiscally cautious has in the past inspired hosannas by board members. That was not the case Monday night in the context of efforts by two commissioners to cut taxes. Commissioner Bill Lapsley, along with Grady Hawkins, lost in two efforts to tie support of a local option sales tax to a rollback of the property and both voted no on a 5-cent tax increase in the current year's budget. While Lapsley praised the work of "an excellent management team" in controlling expenses, "the bottom line I would point out again is that this is probably the sixth year in a row this board has added to the county's fund balance, in this case $2.8 million," he said. "I have a concern that we are bringing in much more money than the county needs for its budget to expand. I think we should look seriously at this when we discuss what the tax rate should be for this county." An audit by the Asheville firm of Martin-Starnes showed that revenue of $121.5 million fell short of the budgeted amount by $2.4 million. The county more than made up the shortfall with expense control. General fund expenditures of $118.6 million came in $5.24 million under the budgeted total of $123.9 million. That difference enabled the county to toss $2.8 million into its reserves. As a result, the unassigned fund balance grew to $27.7 million. "If I'm reading this correctly, we have almost double the amount of fund balance than our 12 percent policy," Lapsley said. The state requires counties to set aside a fund balance of 8 percent of its general fund and the Board of Commmissioners have a policy of keeping 12 percent in reserves, which translates into $14.2 million. "We're carrying close to 24 percent, maybe 23 percent at this point," Lapsley said. Wyatt confirmed that the county has been able to put leftover money into the fund balance five out of last six years either because of expense savings or revenues that beat projections or both.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

COUNTY SHOOTS DOWN HORSE SHOE DEVELOPMENT

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners on Monday shot down a rezoning request for a development of 225 rental cottages and apartments at Horse Shoe Farm, agreeing with 21 opponents that the high-density use was wrong for the winding South Rugby Road and rural character of the area.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Edney elected chair of Board of Commissioners

Michael Edney, a Henderson County native in his fourth term as a Henderson County commissioner, was elected chair of the Board of Commissioners Monday night, taking over for Tommy Thompson.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Ed foundation hires new director

The Henderson County Education Foundation has hired Henderson County native Summer Stipe to lead the 30-year-old nonprofit as its new executive director.Stipe, 33, a former Henderson County schools teacher assistant, spent the last eight years working for the Children and Family Resource Center in a variety of management roles. She has managed the Family Education and Support Center, which serves teenage parents in the Adolescent Parent Program and has helped launch and supervise a number of other initiatives that support families and children.A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Stipe earned a BA in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication in 2005 after graduating from West Henderson High School in 2001.A search committee made up of HCEF board members selected Stipe from an impressive pool of candidates, said Dan Poeta, HCEF chair and president of Horizon Heating and Air Conditioning. Stipe stood out because of her extensive relationships in the community and her successful experience grant writing, running events and fundraising, he added.“Summer brings a wealth of talents to the job,” he said. “Her energy and enthusiasm will ignite a very positive era. Our board is excited and energized to start working with Summer, who we know will help guide the Education Foundation to new heights.”Stipe follows retiring executive director Dr. Paul Knott, former director of Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Center for Graduate Studies in Asheville, who took over in December 2014.“We are grateful to Dr. Knott for helping us redefine priorities, enhance our fund raisers and rebrand the Foundation with a new logo,” Poeta said. “We hope Dr. Knott and his wife will enjoy a long, happy retirement.”   Read Story »

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