Fletcher News
You won't want to miss this week’s Hendersonville Lightning.
The Lightning has an exclusive story on the sentencing of the Fletcher Fire and Rescue secretary who pleaded guilty of embezzling more than $300,000 from the fire department over seven years. The Lightning reports on the law enforcement training center and efforts to make it a regional training center and contains more than two dozen other all-local stories, pictures and news briefs.
You've got to get a copy because it's only in print and it's only in your Hendersonville Lightning.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• 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
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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 »
Fletcher News
The Fletcher Fire & Rescue secretary who pleaded guilty last summer to stealing more than $300,000 from the department over seven years was sentenced to prison last week.
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Henderson County News
For a second year in a row, Henderson County commissioners have loaded an ambitious list of capital projects in the buggy and are racing for the checkout line.
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Henderson County News
Asheville Regional Airport set another record for total passengers in 2016, the highest in its 56-year history, with enplanements up 5.6 percent (414,606) and deplanements up 4.5 percent (412,042), for a total of 826,648 passengers flying in and out of the airport.
That was a 5 percent increase over the previous record year, set in 2015, and sustains AVL as the fourth largest commercial service airport in North Carolina."We have experienced three consecutive years of record-breaking growth," said Executive Director Lew Bleiweis . "We have excellent air service available, provided by four airline partners, and travelers are choosing to fly from AVL. The strong numbers are a reflection of the airlines' success, our region's economic strength, as well as the vibrancy of WNC as a tourism destination. I would like to personally thank our local travelers for their patronage and loyalty to our region's airport."
"The Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority Board continues to focus on air service, infrastructure needs and development at the airport to best serve Western North Carolina," said authority Chair Bob Roberts. "And it is very positive to see continued strong utilization of our local airport. The board will continue to stay focused on our mission to provide an exceptional airport experience."
All four airlines at AVL - American, Allegiant, Delta and United - saw annual growth in passengers. The largest growth in enplanements by percentage was experienced by Allegiant (12.5 percent) and United (8.5 percent), due to additional routes and increased frequencies to existing routes. Specifically, Allegiant added less-than-daily non-stop service to three new destinations in 2016: Jacksonville, Fla. (summer seasonal); Washington, D.C. via Baltimore/ Washington International (seasonal); and New York City via Newark Liberty International. United increased flights and frequency of service to Chicago during peak travel times. American and Delta both experienced growth, as well.
In response to recent growth trends, the airport is constructing a new five-story parking garage, slated for completion later this year.
"We are ready for continued growth, and look forward to a strong 2017," said Bleiweis. "We encourage our local travelers to continue to check AVL first for their travel needs, and we look forward to welcoming them to the airport soon." Read Story »
Henderson County News
You won't want to miss this week’s Hendersonville Lightning.
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Henderson County News
Blue Ridge Honor Flight is inviting veterans to join the organization on its next trip to Washington, D.C., to visit memorials and other sights on Saturday, May 13. Invited to fly to the nation’s capital on the free one-day trip are:• World War II veterans who have not had the chance to visit the National World War II Memorial.• Korean War veterans who served in Korea between 1950 and 1953 and has not visited the Korean War Memorial on an HonorAir flight.• Any veteran of the Vietnam War or any other war or conflict and who has a life-limiting condition.To download an application visit blueridgehonorflight.com. For questions or for help call registration coordinator JoAnn Naeger at 828-776-0650. Read Story »
Henderson County News
Haus Heidelberg German restaurant, which first opened its doors in 1994, is celebrating its 23rd anniversary with a throwback menu and throwback prices.
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Henderson County News
Q. What are they doing with that land on N.C. 191 next to the Mills River Town Hall? And what are those round structures in the middle of the fields?
That land is being prepared for Henderson County’s newest dairy and those round structures are for irrigating what will soon be grass. The 35-acre dairy is operated by Bradley Johnston, a third-generation dairy farmer who owns the Mills River Creamery just up the road. His dairy products will be sold through the family business.To get the dairy started, Johnston bought 30 Jersey dairy cattle from Biltmore Farms. He will eventually double that herd. Cattle don’t come cheap and Jerseys start at around $1,300 and go up from there depending on age, pedigree and milk production. Johnston’s cows now produce 175 gallons of milk per day and they will rotate among three outdoor paddocks (enclosed grazing areas). Johnston has an underground irrigation system for the grass drawing water from the Mills River but the cattle will drink well water.Johnston has done a good bit of research on milk before embarking upon this venture. Gee, how much science can there be in the dairy business you might ask? Well, for starters, one in four Americans suffers from lactose intolerance and for some time consumers in New Zealand and Australia have been drinking a brand of milk called “A2” with good results. You see, most of what we have been buying is A1 milk that carries a protein less easily digested than that produced by A2 cows. Holstein cows for example, produce A1 milk which is the milk of choice of dairy farmers because the cows produce a lot of it. To put an A2 label on a quart of milk, Johnston has to have his cattle DNA tested plus jump through legal hoops. The Creamery’s milk products are pasteurized and also labeled “RBGH Free” which means the cows are not injected with a genetically engineered artificial hormone to increase milk production.What is significant about Bradley Johnston’s dairy is that the dairy industry had almost left the county after the 200-plus acre Taproot Dairy on Butler Bridge Road recently closed. Taproot, which Bradley ran with brothers Billy and Timmy and sister Mary Louise Corn, has been considered for many years as a prime industrial site. Now the oldest dairy is Small Acres Dairy on Jeffress Road in Mills River, which has a connection to the Johnston family. It’s operated by Mike Corn, Mary Louise Corn’s husband. Mark Williams, who heads the county’s agribusiness development office, said that there were once some 200 dairies in the county. “I remember back in 1987 the number was down to just sixteen dairies,” said Williams. “We were just down to one so it’s good to keep dairies in the county.” On the agritourism side, Williams was upbeat. “Johnston’s dairy will be open to the public and the milking parlor will employ glass tubes where one can follow the flow of milk from the cow’s udders into the containment jars. This will be a great experience for school kids and adults alike.”Dairy farming is hanging on in Henderson County. Got milk?
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Henderson County News
A middle school basketball referee's behavior after a hotly contested girls game last week resulted in a fan's complaint and a response by the referee's supervisor.
The behavior in question came after Waynesville Middle School's girls defeated Hendersonville Middle School 39-30 in a second-round playoff game on Wednesday. A fan at the game complained in an email to state high school athletics officials about the referee, who he said "was completely out of control" when a student approached him after the game.
""The teams, coaches and fans conducted themselves very well," said the email from C.P. Massey. "However one referee stepped out of line and made three flagrant ethics violations. After the girls game he was approached by a young man who asked if he needed water. The referee screamed at the young man, 'You touched me! Get out of the gym right now!' The young man stepped back with his hands up and repeated, 'Sir would you like some water?' The referee then spoke to the uniformed Waynesville police officer, 'He touched me! Get him out!'"
HMS principal Luke Manuel said the young man who approached the game official is a Hendersonville High School student who volunteers at the middle school games and helps with scorekeeping and the scoreboard and in the concession stand.
"The officials were leaving the court and he came over and tapped the official and then says, 'Would you like some water?'" Manuel said. The official may have thought the tap was from an angry hometown fan after a heated game. "I think the official turned around and thought somebody was trying to maybe harm him," Manuel said. Manuel said he did not see the incident but spoke to the game official about it. He told the official the HHS student would not have done anything confrontational. No one escorted the student out and he was not asked to leave the game, Manuel said.
Massey perceived the episode as more serious.
"This referee was completely out of control," he said. "He needs to be immediately reprimanded and reminded that, 'I will shape my character and conduct so as to be a worthy example to the boys and girls who play under my jurisdiction." Massey cited several examples from an ethics manual officials are supposed to adhere to and demanded that the referee be punished.
"He needs to be immediately reprimanded and the young man involved deserves nothing less than a face to face apology," he said.
Responding to Massey's complaint, Rick Smart, the supervisor of middle school referees in the area, said he had acted immediately to look into the situation.
"On Jan 26, I received your email at 11:52 p.m. in reference to the verbal assault allegations," Smart wrote to Massey. (Emails were shared with other athletics officials and the press. "After reading your email I contacted the administration at Henderson Middle School at approximately 2:44pm on January 26th and had a detailed conversation with Mr. Manuel. At 3:28pm on January 26th I contacted the official who was involved in this incident. From the time I received your email and the time I contacted the official was less than 4 hours. Administrative action was taken at the time of my conversation with the official which Mr Manuel and I both feel is more than adequate. ... My position as the supervisor of the middle school officials is to always up hold the officials code of ethics as demonstrated in the NCHSAA Handbook. Rest assured this matter has been addressed."
Manuel said he assumed Smart had followed through.
"As far as i know it has been," he said. "I know he said he was going to take care of it. I trust that he addressed it and it's going to be taken care of."
Efforts to get a further explanation from Smart and Massey were unsuccessful.
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