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Yes, Carl Sandburg was a golfer

Henderson County News

LIGHTNING EDITORIAL: We still don't get the $20M training center

If the Board of Commissioners and Sheriff Charlie McDonald are now having to scramble to describe what the $20 million law enforcement center is not, they’ve got a problem.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Sandburg Home reopens Little Glassy Trail

FLAT ROCK — The Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site has reopened Little Glassy Trail after extensive rehabilitation. Little Glassy Trail was considered by park staff to be in the poorest shape of any of the trails in the 5-mile network.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Freeze threatens peaches, early apples, berries

A late winter cold blast could bring up to 3 inches of snow this weekend and — worse news than that for apple and berry farmers — sustained lows in the 20s that could wipe out peaches and early apple varieties and damage strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. Lows tonight were expected to fall to 27 degrees followed by even colder overnight lows through Thursday. The forecast called for an 80 percent chance of snow and 1 to 3 inches of accumulation Saturday night and Sunday. Low temperatures could fall to 20 degrees Tuesday night and 22 Wednesday night, cold enough to kill young buds coaxed into early blooming by weeks of springlike temperatures. "It's going to be rough," said meteorologist Harry Gerapetritis of the National Weather Service office in Greer, S.C. "It's going to be a shock after all the warm weather we've had." An arctic cold front moving across the Plains will settle across the mid-Atlantic this weekend, bringing a January-like deep freeze that we didn't have in January. The National Weather Service called for a 30 percent chance of rain Saturday, turning to snow tonight, with 1 to 3 inches of accumulation. Lows were expected to drop to 27 tonight then just get colder — 21 Tuesday night and 20 overnight Wednesday. "My biggest hope is that they've missed the forecast on how cold it will get," Kenny Barnwell, who grows apples and peaches in Edneyville, said Friday. "It will take out all of the peaches. There will not be any peaches in this county and it will damage a lot of the apples. If it gets down to 21 a lot of the early varieties will really take a beating." The most vulnerable are early bloomers like Galas, Red Delicious and Granny Smith. Barnwell said Henderson County typically sees wide variations in apple damage from early freezes based on location, elevation, wind and other factors. "Some of the late blooming varieties are tight enough (in their buds) to survive it," he said. "I've seen some Romes that are really tight. It's going to be site specific. It'll be a greatly reduced crop if it gets down to 21." Barnwell and the county's other growers have suffered peach crop losses to frost far more often than apple losses. Frosts or freezes have killed his peach crop about every other year, Barnwell said, making that fruit a losing proposition. "I've got about 5 acres and after this year I probably won't have any," he said. "I've already pushed half of them and I've already ordered apple trees to plant in their place." A hard freeze that takes out some of the early varieties is not unusual. Often a cold snap in April or even early May will kill apple blossoms that are much more vulnerable than this stage. Henderson County's apple crop suffered spotty damage from an April 9 frost in 2016. More widespread wipeouts occured in the Easter freeze of 2008 and an April 10-11 freeze of 2012. Strawberry growers will cover their plants with protective blankets, said Karen Blaedow, a small fruit specialist with the Henderson County Cooperative Extension Service. "Growers are using row covers for the strawberries so hopefully that will be enough of a buffer so it won't be a total loss," she said. Blueberries buds appear to be tight enough to withstand the freeze, she added,  but blackberries could suffer leaf burn or freeze damage that kills the crop.     Read Story »

Fletcher News

Dollar General robbers get 7 years in prison

Two men charged in the November 2015 robberies of Dollar General stores in Hendersonville and Fletcher were sentenced to more than seven years in prison after pleading guilty to the chargesin Henderson County Superior Court on Feb. 28.   Read Story »

Flat Rock News

Sandburg volunteer makes farewell tribute to Brandyburg

FLAT ROCK — A volunteer with the Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara has made a video tribute to Tyrone Brandyburg, who was named superintendent of Harpers Ferry National Historic Park in West Virginia after serving for 4½ years as superintendent at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Hyman Heights greening up

Residents of historic Hyman Heights are greening up their neighborhood.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Nashville Country Roadshow opens Playhouse season

Jason Petty and Katie Deal kicked off the Flat Rock Playhouse Main Stage season this week with Classic Nashville Roadshow, a country tribute featuring a live Nashville band, an authentic set, vintage costumes, classic Opry-style comedy and real country music. On stage through March 18, the show features country music’s greatest hits like “Golden Ring,” “Louisiana Woman,” “Crazy,” “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” and “Mississippi Man.” Known for displaying the poetic simplicity of a generation of trail-blazing country music legends, Petty and Deal also mix in family-style humor and share the stories behind country’s legendary hits and the singers who made them famous. Hailing from Manchester, Tenn., Petty has thrilled audiences across the United States, Canada and Europe with his veracious portrayal of country music legend Hank Williams. From the famous Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, to his Obie Award winning portrayal of Hank in the Off-Broadway Hank Williams’ Lost Highway, Petty has delighted audiences with his storytelling, classic country twang and down-home charm. A Georgia native, Deal has traveled the nation wowing audiences with her authentic portrayal of the late country great, Patsy Cline. After finding her voice as a country singer while working with a theatre company in Memphis, Deal has found success in numerous productions, including two sell-out national tours of A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline and her hit one-woman show, Katie Deal in Today, Tomorrow & Forever: A Tribute to Patsy Cline. She can also regularly be heard swinging with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, crooning the blues or belting it out in theatres across the country.Tickets are $15-50 and can be purchased by calling the Playhouse box office at 828-693-0731, toll-free at 866-737-8008 or visiting www.flatrockplayhouse.org. The Executive Producer of Classic Nashville Roadshow is DHG Wealth Advisors.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

BRCC names new director of business center

Blue Ridge Community College has named Ben Kish as the director of the Small Business Center (SBC) at Blue Ridge Community College. Kish succeeds Gary Heisey who retired on Feb. 28. Kish is responsible for administering the Small Business Center Program, providing counseling to existing and aspiring entrepreneurs, teaching seminars and courses, managing the business incubator, and serving as the college liaison to the small business community in both Henderson and Transylvania Counties. Kish has served as Director of Business Training and Personal Enrichment at Blue Ridge Community College since 2012 and was instrumental in the development of new continuing education training programs in craft beer, culinary arts, entrepreneurship, outdoor recreation and leadership, as well as the addition of continuing education courses at the Fletcher Town Hall. Kish’s professional background includes more than 30 years of experience as a business executive in numerous industries, including serving as a management consultant for Cooper’s and Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) and marketing director for Sara Lee Intimates. He also owned his a small business in the Triad area for 14 years. Kish serves on the Boards of Habitat for Humanity, Fletcher Area Business Association, Vision Henderson and Transylvania Counties, Blue Ridge Center for Lifelong Learning. He formerly served as Board Member and Board Chair for Associates in Christian Counseling. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University and holds an M.B.A. from Case Western Reserve University. To contact Ben, call (828) 694-1751, email b_kish@blueridge.edu or visit blueridge.edu/sbc.     Read Story »

Henderson County News

Free Clinics, jail cooperate to help inmates

At a time of precious few successes in mental health delivery, Judy Long is celebrating one.   Read Story »

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