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Henderson County News

Sheriffs honor Apodaca as 'Defender of Public Safety'

The North Carolina Sheriffs Association honored state Sen. Tom Apodaca as its 2015 Defender of Public Safety for advocating for law enforcement issues on behalf of law officers statewide. "Sen. Apodca took a leadership role in advancing the legislative priorities of the North Carolina Sheriff's Association, which represents all 100 sheriffs in the state," Hoke County Sheriff Hubert Peterkin, president of the association, said in a news release. "As a result our sheriffs are better equipped to protect lives, liberties and property of North Carolina's citizens." During the 2015 legislative session, the General Assembly took action on hundreds of bills that had an effect on law enforcement and public safety.       Read Story »

Henderson County News

New network gives library users access to 5M resources

The Henderson County Public Library’s computer system will be unavailable this week while the library transitions to a cooperative statewide network and a new online catalog.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Twice postponed tourism conference needs 'a snow date for the snow date'

The Henderson County Tourism Conference has been canceled for the second time in five days because of the snowstorm.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Ask Matt ... about I-26 widening

Q. There is a stretch of interstate highway in Asheville that has large trees planted in the median. Can that be done on the I-26 widening project in Henderson County? Yes. Our highway department friends still allow trees in interstate medians. That stretch of I-240 in Asheville is known as the “Beaucatcher Cut.” The oak trees have survived there for many years. Work on the Cut began in 1977 amid much controversy including a thousand people showing up for a “save the mountain” rally. Two million cubic yards of rock were eventually blasted and hauled out of the Cut.NCDOT offers a “betterment” program, which some cities have used to gussy up the interstate to enhance tourism. The marginal cost of trees is usually funded by local government. I could not get a per foot cost on betterment items as they must be designed and bid but ballpark estimates are available. So if Hendersonville, Fletcher or Henderson County want trees to spring from a concrete barrier section of the Interstate, they need only contact NCDOT.Some readers may remember the 2001 proposal to widen I-26 to six lanes throughout Henderson County. Opponents won a federal lawsuit that blocked the project on the grounds that the NCDOT had not adequately studied the environmental impact. Among other things, the feds didn’t like creating a bottleneck by omitting the expensive South Buncombe section. Well, the project is back — and with a vengeance. Throughout Henderson County’s 13.6 miles of interstate plus another 8.6 miles in Buncombe County grassy medians will be replaced by Jersey barriers. Their four-foot height may vary throughout depending on the superelevation (changing road levels around curves). Glare screens could also adorn the barriers. Admittedly, none of these improvements are pleasing to the eye but trees would soften the blow.But there’s more. Our little four-lane Interstate 26 will swell to eight lanes because it must tie in to the Asheville Connector, the $600 million 7-mile project designed to fix “Malfunction Junction” and the I-40 mess in West Asheville. In short, to eliminate the bottleneck they must “connect the Connector.” That piece of 8-lane interstate widening (project STIP # 4700) begins on I-26 just south of I-40 near the Farmers Market and continues for 8.6 miles to N.C. 280 at the Airport. This section will be packaged with Henderson County’s project (STIP # 4400) to make a 22.2 mile project that will terminate near the Polk County line. I’m officially dubbing our piece “The Terminator.” Any implied movie reference to a cyborg assassin is purely coincidental.For Henderson County’s own 13.6 mile section, the design engineers told me they are looking at three alternatives: a six-lane highway, an eight-lane highway (a trucker’s paradise), or a combination design where eight lanes would narrow down to six probably at the Fletcher-Mountain Home exit at U.S. 25. The estimated price of the 22.2 miles is $264 million. I suspect that widening the bridge over the French Broad River and rebuilding the 79-foot Blue Ridge Parkway bridge over I-26 is a big chunk of the cost. The first public hearings will be held this year with construction to begin in 2020. Hope you like the color orange. Send questions to askmattm@gmail.com.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

25 restaurants participating in 'Food for Thought' benefit

On Tuesday, Jan. 26, more than 25 restaurants, diners, coffee shops and other food businesses in Henderson County will participate in the Henderson County Education Foundation’s first Food for Thought: Dine Out for Education event.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Building costs raise choice of sales tax v. property tax

It would be impossible to avoid a property tax increase to fund more than $100 million in capital projects unless voters OK a quarter-cent local option sales tax, Henderson County officials say.   Read Story »

Fletcher News

Senate, House candidates make their pitch

No one would have predicted that in a political season with no marquis local races several dozen loyal Republicans would brave black ice and freezing temperatures for a cattle call at the Fireside restaurant.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

SCHOOLS CLOSED TUESDAY

Henderson County public schools will be closed Tuesday because of the road conditions, the school system announced Monday. It will be an optional teacher work day.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

CLOSINGS: Pound, dump, library

If you want to read, stay home. Adopt a dog, stay home. Recycle, ditto. All of those are a wait till Monday proposition as the big snowstorm resulted in closing of all those county facilities. Given that the weather is continuing to cause unsafe conditions on roadways, those optional visits can wait, the county said in a news release.   Read Story »

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