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Local man gets 20-year sentence in sexual assault case

Henderson County News

STATE ISSUES AIR QUALITY WARNING

The Henderson County Department of Health urged residents to take precautions related to the deteriorating air quality in Henderson County associated with a number of intensifying wildfires in the western North Carolina region.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

WHKP accepting donated water for wildfire crews, evacuees

WHKP radio is collecting donations of bottled water, Gatorade and packaged snacks for evacuees and for the firefighters fighting the 2,000-acre Party Rock wildfire in the Lake Lure area. Someone will be at the station on Seventh Avenue across from Lowes from 6 a.m. to noon Sunday to accept the donated supplies. A shelter has been set up at the Bat Cave Baptist Church for evacuees. Anyone who would like to donate any of these items for the firefighters and those who are evacuated can drop them off by WHKP’sBroadcast House Sunday morning from 6 a.m. to noon. News and Program Director Larry Freeman said the radio station would collectthe donations and at noon will take them to Bat Cave Fire and Rescue. Freeman said he’d talked with Bat Cave fire officials andthey are shuttling supplies to the firemen up on the mountain fighting the blaze.     Read Story »

Edneyville News

Conditions making Party Rock fire hard to extinguish

The Party Rock Fire, now 3,457 acres in size and only 15 percent contained, is more resistant to firefighting efforts because of the warm, extremely dry conditions and leaf fall, authorities said Monday. Recent calm weather has helped reduce the fire’s spread somewhat, though smoke continued to impact the area. The fire, which started in the Lake Lure area, continues to advance west of Round Top Mountain, adjacent to and west of Chimney Rock Village and to areas on the north side of the fire, the sheriff's office said in an update. The unusual weather conditions are resulting in the fire burning throughout the day and night. This differs from seasonal fires that burn mostly during warmer afternoon periods, and just smolder at night. This makes the fire more resistant to control. Firefighters are successfully defending homes and structures as the fire creeps downhill toward properties at risk. Engines are staged at each home and hose lays are deployed and used to put out the fire as it nears property. This suppression strategy is used to completely combust all available fuel so reburn potential is minimized.  These structure protection tactics will continue as long as necessary.  No structures have been lost to date. About 1,000 people continue to be affected by evacuations. Fire officials meet regularly with local emergency management services to review when people may be allowed back in and to assess if additional evacuation notices may be needed. There were no changes in the status of evacuations over the past 24 hours. A new evacuation shelter opened today at Grace Lutheran Church, 1245 Sixth Avenue West, in Hendersonville; the shelter contact number is 828-693-4890. The Bat Cave shelter closed due to poor air quality. The Greenhill Baptist Church shelter has also closed. For public and firefighter safety, travelers are encouraged to adjust speed for reduced visibility and firefighting equipment on the roads. Area residents with respiratory ailments or sensitivities should keep their doors and windows closed and operate their HVAC system to avoid breathing smoke-filled air. Air quality alerts can be obtained from the NWS at http://www.weather.gov/gsp/. A stretch of Highway 74-A leading into Chimney Rock Village from the north and south remains closed. Road information can be accessed on the NCDOT Travel Information Management System website at  https://tims.ncdot.gov/tims/regionsummary.aspx. Party Rock Fire information can be found on INCIWEB (http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/) or on the Town of Lake Lure website (http://www.townoflakelure.com/). The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Saturday that it has authorized federal funds to reimburse costs to North Carolina to fight the Party Rock fire counties. The authorization makes FEMA grant funding available to reimburse 75 percent of the eligible firefighting costs for managing, mitigating and controlling the fire. Eligible costs can include labor, equipment and supplies used for fighting the fire and costs for emergency work such as evacuations and sheltering, police barricading and traffic control.     Read Story »

Fletcher News

Canongate, HHS perform award-winning plays tonight

Canongate Catholic High School in Fletcher and Hendersonville High School are headed to the North Carolina Theatre Conference competition at Greensboro College next weekend after winning top honors at the western regional NCTC Play Festival at Gardner Webb University Nov. 4-5. Local people can see both plays on Monday night in a preview performance on Monday night at HHS. In preparation for the upcoming festival, the young actors will  perform the plays at the HHS auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 and will be available at the door.Canongate’s theatre program, led by director Jennifer Murrey, won a Superior rating and the Judges’ Choice award for Distinguished Play for “The Crane Wife,” a traditional Japanese folk tale. Murrey won an Excellence in Directing award and senior Quinn Kelsch was honored for Excellence in Acting. Additionally, Canongate, which opened in 2013, won a Festival Spirit Award and Excellence in Set & Properties honors.Led by Todd Weakley, Hendersonville High School's theatre program won a Superior Rating, Distinguished Play, Outstanding Achievement in Ensemble Acting, Excellence in Directing, and Excellence in Design and Production for the performance of of "Nine Forty Six Post Meridiem."Canongate and HHS and 13 other high schools will complete in the NCTC High School Play Festival for top state honors.The NCTC High School Play Festival, named one of the “Top High School Theatre Festivals” by Stage Directions magazine, is the largest high school theatre event in the Southeast and has been replicated in nine other states. This year, 3,000 students from 90 schools performed 126 plays.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Wildfire closes main roads in Lake Lure

LAKE LURE — A wildfire beside Lake Lure has forced the immediate closing of U.S. 64/74A and N.C. 9 in Rutherford County, the NCDOT said Friday afternoon.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Wildfires close Chimney Rock, other state parks

Chimney Rock State Park and other state parks in the N.C. mountains are closed because of nearby wildfires or to deploy employees to the firefighting effort, the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation said Friday. Several state parks in western North Carolina have been closed to allow additional staff and resources to be deployed to fight wildfires in South Mountains State Park and in and around Chimney Rock State Park, the In addition to those parks, where fires have burned approximately 1,000 acres in both locations, the division has closed New River, Gorges, Elk Knob, Lake James and Mount Mitchell state parks and Mount Jefferson State Natural Area. People planning to visit other state parks in the western part of the state are advised to check the division's web site at http://www.ncparks.gov/ before making the trip. The parks will reopen when the fires are contained or extinguished and staff are able to return to their assigned parks. A handful of staff will remain on duty in the closed parks for security purposes. "It is never an easy decision to close parks, but our utmost priority is the protection of life and property in the parks and the surrounding communities," Mike Murphy, director of the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, said. "The dedicated park rangers, maintenance staff and other staff from our agency are working diligently and cooperatively with partner agencies and the local communities as part of this effort." The division has also expanded its burning ban on all fire, including charcoal, to all parks west of Interstate 95.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

HHS graduate called to global trouble spots

If there’s trouble in the world — of the intractable, decades long, genocidal magnitude— David Tolbert gets the call.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

HHS alumni induct three to Hall of Fame

Tom Shipman said surprise was his main reaction when he learned he had been inducted into the Hendersonville High School Hall of Fame.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Total fire ban in effect for Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests

ASHEVILLE, NC- November 10, 2016 - The Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests are implementing a TOTAL FIRE BAN due to the extremely dry conditions, high fire danger, and little chance of rain in the immediate forecast. Beginning on November 10, 2016, the following restrictions are in place for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests until further notice: Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire or campfire (including charcoal based fire whether in a grill or not) is NOT ALLOWED anywhere on the National Forest. The use of commercially available portable lanterns, stoves, or heating equipment that utilize gas or pressurized liquid fuel is allowed. The updated order expands the restrictions issued on October 28, 2016, to include restrictions in fee-area campgrounds. This restriction only pertains to the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests, however, the State of North Carolina has also issued a burn ban for 25 western counties. Everyone has a part to play in preventing wildfires. Do not have open flame anywhere on the forest and be very cautious about activities that could produce fires such as extinguishing tobacco products or operating equipment without a spark arrestor. For more tips, go to https://smokeybear.com/en/prevention-how-tos. More than 20 wildfires are burning on over 17,000 acres across the Nantahala National Forest. All fires are being investigated for suspected arson. Please call the National Forests of North Carolina at 828-257-4200 if you have information about persons setting fires or bragging about setting fires. If you see someone starting a fire, call 911.   Read Story »

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