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Neighbors cast wary eye on Horse Shoe Farm plans

Green River News

Farm City Day honors farmer of the year

Theron Maybin thought it was “surprising, really” that he was named the Farmer of the Year at the annual Farm City Day on Saturday.If Maybin was surprised, he had to be the only one in the farming community who was. The Green River farmer and his wife have been active in farming at almost every level, from helping 4-H kids to advocating before local and state agencies to making sure that county apple farmers get their crop exhibited at the State Fair in Raleigh. Theron and Mary Lois shared the award, presented during the opening ceremony of the farm showcase event on Saturday at Jackson Park.Glaucoma has taken most of his eyesight. He had to retire from farming his Rock Creek land in Green River when he couldn’t see well enough to plow a straight line. But his knowledge of farming makes him a valuable asset to agriculture even if he’s not riding a tractor. Maybin still serves as chair of the Henderson County Advisory Committee and is an elected supervisor of the Soil and Water Conservation District.“We thoroughly enjoy sharing answers to questions people have about farming,” he said. He’s been farming “totally on my own since 1967” but grew up on a farm. There was never any doubt what he would do in life. “I studied agriculture in high school (he was in the first graduated class of East Henderson) and I won a two-week scholarship to N.C. State.”One of 14 children raised in a three-room house with no electricity or running water, Maybin has devoted his life to farming, family, neighbors and his church, Cedar Springs Baptist.Theron and Mary Lois "have cultivated a simple way of life — a life of farming that for many years kept them and their five sons busier than the bees,” county Agriculture Extension Director Marvin Owings Jr. said during the presentation. “They maintain a herd of 35 cattle and continue to grow squash, beans and other produce on a small portion of what was once a 103-acre farm.”“Theron said, ‘We rely on God and our neighbors to get by — not money, but they’ve never have gone hungry.’”Mary Lois, who has been married to Theron for 43 years, “is the driving force behind the family,” Owings said. “She grew up in Henderson County, says she’s among a ‘dying breed’ of farming women, but wouldn’t have it any other way.”“Though his leadership is how Theron has truly earned the nickname ‘Mayor of Green River.’ He is the solid rock foundation of his community and church,” Owings said. “It’s his involvement and willingness to give his time and selfless service by helping others.”Maybin served in the Vietnam War in 1965-66 as a Huey helicopter mechanic with the Army’s 121st Aviation Division.“I made sure they were flyable,” he said. “I was in charge of 10 mechanics. If one of ‘em worked on it I had to be the first one to go up in it.”   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Commissioners OK $20M law enforcement training center

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners on Monday committed to a $20 million law enforcement training center at Blue Ridge Community College, buying into Sheriff Charlie McDonald's view that today's training lags behind the threat level from terrorism, anti-cop violence and domestic crime in an unsettled world.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Local man faces seven felonies in armed robbery

A 19-year-old Hendersonville man was charged with seven felonies and jailed under $380,000 bond after his arrest in connection with an armed robbery and shooting at a home on Somerset Drive on Tuesday night, Hendersonville police said. City police detectives had been working on catching two suspects in the incident since it was reported at about 7:30 p.m. Based on the ongoing investigation detectives identified one of the two. Christopher Tre Bradley of Hendersonville was arrested Thursday by the North Carolina Highway Patrol after a traffic stop on Dermid Avenue off Duncan Hill Road. Bradley has been charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, three counts of kidnapping and three counts of armed robbery. One of the three victims was shot in the ankle. He was treated at the hospital and released, said Lt. Chris LeRoy.  "There were two suspects," LeRoy said. "We've got some leads and we're still looking" for the second suspect. He was not sure whether the Highway Patrol stopped Bradley's vehicle for a traffic violation or because of the information on the suspects the police department had sent out. He was jailed in the Henderson County Detention Facility under a $380,000 secured bond. Currently the investigation is ongoing and detectives are following investigative leads developed from the crime scene and leads developed during the investigation to identify the second perpetrator of these crimes. If anyone has any information regarding the investigation they are asked to contact the Hendersonville Police Department or Henderson County CrimeStoppers at 828-697-STOP.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Wags to Riches set for Oct. 8

The Wags to Riches fundraiser for the Blue Ridge Humane Society will take place Saturday, Oct. 8.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Authorities seek missing 15-year-old

The Henderson County Department of Social Services and the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office are still seeking information on the whereabouts of 15-year-old Christopher Jordan Caulder. Christopher could be in the area of Mill Spring in Polk County or possibly back in Hendersonville, the sheriff's office said. Anyone with information about his whereabouts was asked to contact the Henderson County Department of Social Services at 828-697-5500 or the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office at 828-697-4912.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Miami builder has big plans for Horse Shoe Farm

HORSE SHOE — The scenic Horse Shoe Farm on South Rugby Road would be developed as a nature-oriented community of 136 cottages and 84 apartments if a Miami developer wins county approval of the plans. John Turchin, a third generation developer from Miami who developed a similar larger-scale model in Banner Elk, has an option to buy the 85-acre property, which he hopes to turn into the Sanctuary at Eagle’s Nest.“We’re developing a lifestyle destination community that’s a cross between a 55-and-older and independent living. It’s a hybrid product” that he plans to market not just for retiring baby boomers but younger people seeking a healthy lifestyle in a walkable community.Turchin has ambitious plans for the property, which he first learned about when he tried to sell it. He was the listing broker for the land when he started casting a concept for a cottage development with plenty of green space.“As I went through the uses of it — for single-family homes, a farm, I looked into the horse world in Tryon — I couldn’t get any interest there. I started looking at where is there a real need in the marketplace and it’s the retirees. I did all this ultimately to market and sell the property and then when I did all that I said, ‘Well, let me just develop it myself.’ I’m not new at this. So here we are. It started from trying to sell the property to becoming the buyer.” ‘Alternative to golf course’ His plans call for a 150-seat farm-to-table restaurant, walking trails, vegetable gardens and a wellness center in a development that would be “an alternative to the golf course country club community.” He built a 1,200-acre development in Banner Elk called the Lodges at Banner Elk. The Horse Shoe development scales that down, both in acreage and home size. The development on the French Broad River would be made up of 1,200-square-foot, two-bedroom cottages in “pocket clusters” of eight to 10. His market, he says, is people of any age who are interested in nutrition, exercise, gardening, aging well and open space.“There’s no age limit so it’s not a 55 or older” concept, he says. “It’s really an active lifestyle destination. We have had had much success in Banner Elk and now we’re bring it here on a more scalable basis to the masses.”Renting, he says, is an option that’s underserved.“Right now the model has always been for sale,” he says. “Not everybody wants to buy. Big builders make you buy something. I believe there’s an alternative to buying by renting. People can take that money, invest it and you live on it the rest of your life. You stay there for about 20 years until you need some type of care. Most of the independent care developments require a large buy-in price of $150,000 to $200,000 and you get nothing for it except the right to live there. Not everybody has the cash to buy in to a place and that’s an old model. …. We’re trying to build an alternative in the marketplace for the baby boomer.”He envisions developing similar communities in Charleston or Wilmington and possibly building in the option to share units.He quoted an “all inclusive” rent of $3 to $4 a square foot, which would come to $3,600 to $4,800 a month. It would include utilities, wellness center and other amenities and one restaurant meal a day. “If you can imagine living in the Ritz-Carlton suite hotel for the rest of your life where everything is inclusive” — that’s the Sanctuary, he says.Founded in the mid-1920s in Miami, the Turchin Companies has put up more than 200 high-rise structures in the Miami area and constructed more than $1 billion in projects, the company said in a news release. Zoning hurdles The developer has several zoning and environmental hurdles to clear before the project becomes a reality.The property is now zoned R-2, which allows one-acre residential lots. Turchin plans to ask for a rezoning to R-1 mixed-use category that would allow the restaurant, wellness center and residential units, said Autumn Radcliff, senior planner for Henderson County. The developer also is seeking a state permit for wastewater treatment and he must submit a traffic impact study for review by the county Planning Board, Board of Commissioners and NCDOT.“It’s still residential in nature,” Radcliff said of the mixed-use zone. “A good example is Biltmore Park. That would be like the maxed-out full version (although Turchin’s plan is much smaller in scale). They’re wanting to keep a lot of the natural beauty.”The mixed-use zone allows a maximum of 16 units per acre “but because of the floodplain they’re limited,” Radcliff said. “They could never do the maximum. What they propose to do is 136 detached residents and 84 apartment units.” That number comes to about 2½ units per acre.A barn on the property has a second floor that contains residential space. Turchin wants to make those available for guests of residents.“They’re going to create five guest rooms,” Radcliff said. “If you live there, they can stay there in one of the guest rooms. It’s like a hotel but it’s really just for the folks who live there on site and their guests. They really want to promote people to live on site (without driving). They have a whole network of trails they’re proposing that would be for biking, walking or golf carts.”The property has city water but no public sewerage. The developer plans a wastewater treatment system that is “a cross between a package plant and individual septic tanks,” Radcliff said. That plan requires state review. “It would be July before they get approval,” she said. “The development is really going to hinge on whether they get the permit. Apparently it’s an easier process than going through and doing the discharge into the river like a traditional package plant.”If Turchin submits plans on time, the rezoning request could come before the Planning Board on Oct. 20 and go to the Board of Commissioners in December.     Read Story »

Henderson County News

BRONZE METAL: The art of James K. Spratt

It's not the most visible of our public art but it may be the best.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Developers eye historic mill for hotel

The city of Hendersonville is getting strong nibbles in its recruitment of hotel developer downtown and a key part of the quest will take place next month.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Officials celebrate Career Academy construction start

Henderson County Commissioners, Blue Ridge Community College officials, and staff and board members representing Henderson County public schools turned the dirt on a project site Wednesday that’s been in the works for several years.   Read Story »

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