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Henderson County News

LOCAL BRIEFS: Relay for Life, Cornhole, free bone test

Relay for Life set for May 20-21 Henderson County’s Relay for Life will take place from 6 p.m. Friday, May 20, to 6 a.m. Saturday, May 21 in Jackson Park.Relay for Life is the signature fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. The theme of this year’s event is Pirates of the Cure-abbean! The event begins with a Survivor Walk and Luminaria Ceremony to honor and remember those who have had cancer begins at dusk. There will be food, games, music and fun all night. Funds raised at the event stay in Henderson County to support patient programs such as Look Good Feel Better, Hope Lodge and Road to Recovery as well as support cancer research. Pardee Hospital is a presenting sponsor. For more information on Relay for Life in Henderson County contact Caroline Wheless at caroline.wheless@cancer.org.A Relay for Life cancer survivor dinner will be held on May 17 at Blue Ridge Community College, catered by Outback. Survivors are asked to please RSVP to attend this event by calling the Asheville ACS office at 828-245-6931, ext.29194. Grace sponsoring Bearfootin’ bear In celebration of Grace Lutheran’s 100th year, the church is sponsoring a sculpture for the annual Hendersonville Bearfootin’ on Main auction. The church selected the parent and cub form and have named them Grace and Luther. The money raised at the auction will be split with 50 percent going to the Historic Downtown Hendersonville Organization, 25 percent to Interfaith Assistance Ministry and 25 percent to Homes for Youth. The big reveal of all the Bearfootin’ on Main bears will be in downtown Hendersonville at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 13. Lonesome Road Band plays at Bluegrass Bash The Lonesome Road band will perform at Hendersonville Presbyterian Church’s monthly Bluegrass Bash at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 15. The public is invited to attend the free concert, with complimentary ice cream and cookies. The band, which has been performing for over 11 years in the Southeast, Germany and Austria, plays a variety of music from traditional to classic rock. For information contact the church office at (828) 692-3211. Attributes of Godly man to be explored Twenty attributes of a Godly man will be discussed at the monthly men’s luncheon at Hendersonville Presbyterian Church, 699 N. Grove St., at noon May 19. The subject is covered in Gene Getz’s book, “The Measure of a Man.” The public is invited (small charge for lunch). For further information, contact the church office at (828) 692-3211. Congregational Church offers personal guidance First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1735 Fifth Ave. W., invites the public to Introduction to Dowsing for Personal Guidance on Saturdays, May 14 and 21, from 10 a.m. to noon. During two two-hour sessions, students will learn how to tap into their own inner guidance with basic dowsing skills using a pendulum, rods and what is called “deviceless dowsing.” Students will learn to confidently and instantly determine quality of food, supplements, services, products and much more. The fee of $30, paid at the first class, covers both sessions, written materials, a pendulum and an honorarium for use of the workshop space. Instructors Ed O’Keefe and Romella Hart-O’Keefe are longtime members of the American Society of Dowsers and have taught dowsing to hundreds of people in the U.S and Canada. To register call First Congregational United Church of Christ at 692-8630 or the O’Keefes at 890-4889. Park Ridge, Free Clinics offer bone density test During May, National Osteoporosis Month, all women in the community are invited to take advantage of free screenings for bone density through the Park Ridge Health WOW van as well as blood pressure, blood sugar and body mass index from The Free Clinics nurses. Call 697-8422 for more information, or visit from 3 to 6 p.m. to take part in the health screenings. To learn about the programs and volunteer opportunities at The Free Clinics, call 697-8422 or visit www.thefreeclinics.org. Voice of the Martyrs rep to speak Karl Gessler, Voice of the Martyrs representative for the region, will compare how evangelism happened in the early days of the church compared to how followers of Jesus share their faith today during Table Talk on Wednesday, May 18, at 6:25 p.m. at Hendersonville Presbyterian Church.The public is invited and there is no charge. For those who would like to attend dinner (small charge) at 5:25 p.m. reservations are required. To make a reservation,call the church office at (828) 692-3211. Trinity invites walkers to join Son Worshippers Trinity Presbyterian Church invites people of all ages and all walks of life to join the Son Worshippers Team at Relay for Life beginning at 6 p.m. on May 20 in Jackson Park. Team leader Helen Dearborn, a three-time cancer survivor herself, welcomes all to share in the fun and friendship in working together to support cancer prevention, celebrate cancer survivors, and raise funds for cancer research, education and services through the American Cancer Society. To join or support Trinity’s Son Worshippers Relay for Life team, contact Helen Dearborn at 828-606-9294, joedydog@gmail.com. For more information, call 828-692-6114 and visit trinitypresnc.org. Cornhhole tournament raises $10,000 for Pardee Pardee Hospital Foundation raised more than $10,000 during its third annual Cornhole Tournament last month on the tennis courts of the Hendersonville Country Club. More than 150 people attended and participated. The money raised will benefit neurology patients at Pardee Hospital. Lead sponsors include Hendersonville Country Club, Boyd Chevrolet Cadillac Buick and Horizon Heating & Air Conditioning.The tournament features both a competitive and recreational bracket. Rob Notgrass and Ivan Escobar won the competitive while Thomas Smith and Michael Smith finished as runners up; recreational bracket winners were Augstin Escobar and Megan Freeman, with runners up Daniel Bailey and Joseph Bailey. Racquet Club offers series of dance classes The Hendersonville Racquet Club will offer a new series of ballroom dance classes starting Thursday, May 19.Beginning Ballroom is for newcomers or those who would like a little refresher course. Class will cover the elements of style and basic patterns for Waltz, Foxtrot, Rumba, Salsa, Swing and more. Classes are taught in a fun and supportive setting, with no partner required. Class begins at 7:30 p.m.Swing classes begin start Thursday, May 19, meeting at 7:30 pm. Basic steps, turns, spins and some cool moves just for beginners or those wishing to polish their game. Classes are $75 per person, no partner required.Classes presented John Dietz, a DVIDA certified ballroom dance instructor, trained by Fred Astaire dance studios. For more information call 828 712-0791 or visit greatdayfordancing.com.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Mills River offers kayak safety course

The Town of Mills River will sponsor a kayak and canoe safety course at its boat launch on the bank of the Mills River at Mills River Park on Saturday, June 11. Sponsored by the town, along with the Fitzpatrick Foundation, the free safety course is open to all those interested in enjoying crafts on the river.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Sheriff sets church safety class

The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office is offering a free House of Worship Safety and Security Class for all churches. The presentation will assist church leaders and congregation members in making their place of worship a safe and peaceful place.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Four Seasons hospice names foundation director

Loretta Shelton has been named executive director of the newly launched Four Seasons Compassion for Life Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the philanthropic support of the Four Seasons Compassion for Life mission of “Co-Creating The Care Experience.” Under Shelton’s leadership, the Foundation is charged with securing the future sustainability of quality, community-based care during serious illness through charitable giving of individuals, families and community partners.Charitable gifts made to the Foundation provide the philanthropic support needed to ensure that high quality care options remain available to each patient and family regardless of their circumstances, she says.“My goal as executive director is to provide the long term fiscal stability needed to increase the permanency of Four Seasons’ services in order to offset the uncertainties of a rapidly changing health care arena.” A former hospice volunteer, Shelton is a 20-year veteran of philanthropic non-profit management and leadership. Most recently, she served as regional executive director of philanthropy at North Carolina State University, serving 21 western counties, from 2013-15, and before that as executive director of conferences and events at Mars Hill College from 2002-13. A graduate of Mars Hill College (BA) and Liberty University (MA), she also holds certifications in project management from Western Carolina University and in non-profit organizational management from Duke University.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Former sheriff divorces Republican Party

From the mid-’90s through the mid-’00s, George Erwin was arguably the most powerful elected Republican in Henderson County.After his stunning upset of popular incumbent, Sheriff Ab Jackson, in the Republican primary in 1994, Erwin went on to consolidate a base of party regulars, and win back the old Ridge Republicans who had supported his vanquished opponent. But he went further. Against the advice of skeptical supporters who said Republican-trending Henderson County didn’t need tinkering, he worked to broaden the party’s appeal among independents and Democrats — black, white and brown.Through his energy, forward thinking law enforcement innovation and personal approach, Erwin was credited with building one of the most powerful and inclusive machines in recent local political history — deploying his network to help elect a little known sureties broker named Tom Apodaca to the state Senate in 2002 while also boosting other Republicans from the moderate wing of the local party.Now, 22 years later, Erwin is no longer a Republican.“The Republican Party left me, let’s put it that way,” he said in an interview on Tuesday. “The Republican Party just is in a circular firing squad for a number of years. There’s a lot of talk about reaching out to minorities. I haven’t seen it. I always tried to do that and was pretty much successful in doing that.”Erwin recalled an early meeting in his first campaign when he told supporters, “We’re going to have barbecues in every part of the county, we’re going to have every kind of music. We’re going to Green Meadows. And they said, ‘Do you think people in Green Meadows are going to vote for you as a Republican?’ I said, ‘It doesn’t matter. I’m going to be sheriff.’”The Erwin campaign roasted hotdogs and handed them out to children. It got a band. Deputies and other campaign volunteers played basketball with young black teenagers. He didn’t stop his outreach when he won.He worked to win over every ethnic group, every party, every political stripe. When he first threw a Father-Son day for the Latino community, hardly anyone showed up. The old guard again gave him “I told you s0” looks. Erwin wasn’t discouraged.“I said, ‘They’re just testing us.’ The next time they had an event they invited us,” he said.When the League of Women Voters had an event, Erwin showed up, never mind that doctrinaire Republicans regarded the organization as a bastion of liberal Democrats. When he ran DARE camps for fifth graders, he welcomed kids of every color from every household, rich or poor. From the state and national party, he hears only lip service to the idea of broadening the party he loved.“It’s fine to talk about things and reaching out but I’ve never seen action going in that direction,” he said. “The state party had a vice chairman who was African-American and all they did was give him grief. They had a chairman who was African-American and they voted him out.”Although he cringed at the campaign, Erwin strongly supported one candidate.“In Ted Cruz we had a strong Republican candidate with strong conservative values and a strong conservative history and people just didn’t support him,” he said.“It’s so vicious and vitriolic,” he said. “I just had enough. They’re getting away from their conservative values. We’ve got a potential nominee now that makes remarks toward the handicapped and toward a number of different groups. That’s just not a part of who I am. I don’t see how you can just rip people apart and say nasty things and then say now we all have got to get together. People can forgive but they’re not going to forget.”Even so, Erwin adds that like a lot of conservatives he’ll hold his nose and vote for Donald Trump, because he considers Hillary Clinton a lot farther from his values.Erwin expressed frustration that his former party doesn’t heed the obvious warning signs of decline. Unaffiliated voters are just 457 short of leading in registration — 29,402 to 29,859 Republicans to 17,442 Democrats.“Look at these people,” he tells his Republican friends. “They’re leaving the party. They say, ‘We’re a Republican county. We’re always going to be a Republican county.’ No, we’re not.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

City giving away mulch through May

The city of Hendersonvillewill give away mulch for free to the public for the remainder of the May.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Don't miss this week's Hendersonville Lightning (83)

You won't want to miss this week’s Hendersonville Lightning.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Major and the Monbacks open R&B series next week

The city's Rhythm & Brews Music Series kicks off the 2016 season at its new location on South Main Street next to the Visitors Center on Thursday, May 19.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Ag chief seeks $5 million for DuPont State Forest

The state’s top agriculture official has submitted a wish list of $5 million for new personnel and capital improvements at DuPont State Recreational Forest in the wake of its scrapped plan to charge admission fees at the popular destination. Last month, after lawmakers shot down a proposal by State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler to impose admission fees at DuPont, state Rep. Chuck McGrady suggested that the Agriculture Department should make a budget request for the needs that it proposed to cover with the fee schedule.The department rolled out a fee schedule of $6 to $12 per car depending on the day and parking lot. The forest service calculated the cost at $2.31 per person based on average car occupancy and said that was in line with other fees charged by the U.S. Forest Service, private recreation areas and state parks.“Charging fees is definitely a big initiative and it’s not going to be easy,” DuPont Forest Supervisor Jason Guidry told the Friends of the Forest on April 19. “But our problems are not easy. We have big needs, in my opinion millions of dollars worth over time.”Those needs now have a pricetag.Troxler submitted list that includes $1.5 million to pay for 14 additional positions at the forest plus other operating expenses, equipment and vehicles. Of the total, $980,604 would be a recurring annual expense for positions and operations, said Brian Long, public affairs director of the Agriculture Department. In addition, the department identified $3.5 million in capital needs, including restrooms, parking lot improvements and utility improvements.“You’re talking about a popular place,” Long said. The number of rangers and other personnel for the number of visitors “is behind the curve. Certainly it appears that the number of visitors is far exceeding our staff capacity right now.”The crowds have grown so large that they’re forcing the forest to shut down some of the popular attractions that draw people from far and wide. The 2,200-acre forest straddling the Henderson and Transylvania county line drew 683,000 visitors last year, nearly seven times the number that visited when it first opened in 2002. Just when the rush of popularity from the hit movie “Hunger Games” was dying down, a new nature fad popped up. Last spring, crowds seeking a look at the rare blue ghost fireflies overwhelmed forest trails, damaging the habitat that harbored the blue-glowing critters. The forest service announced last month that it was closing overused trails to prevent further damage.Although the Friends of the Dupont Forest is officially on record in favor of the fee schedule, not all members see that as a positive precedent. The fees would almost surely go up, would be next to impossible to enforce and would likely cut visitation, said Dick Thompson, a Friends of the Forest member who opposes them.State Rep. Chris Whitmire vows to oppose any fee schedule that does not keep free admission for local residents.“I expressed certain concerns including the expectation that residents of Transylvania and Henderson County should be exempted from entry fees since their property taxes provide multiple essential services in the form of law enforcement, emergency medical services, fire department response, etc. and are already paying their fair share,” Whitmire said in a newsletter last week. “Furthermore, with some exceptions, the state’s long standing general philosophy of public use of state land is its residents have already paid for the property and should not be charged an entry fee to use what they already own.”When he heard about the fee proposal on April 13, “I emphatically communicated that the fee structure was problematic and the justifications used to support it included several flaws, and that if implemented, I would seek legislation to nullify its authorization,” Whitmire said. “During this time, I continued to keep area legislators in the loop and given the sense of urgency, they weighed in promptly with the Commissioner of Agriculture, who in turn, withdrew the fee proposal from the Board of Agriculture’s agenda. For this, I commend the Commissioner for ‘taking pause.’”Long said other ideas about state revenue — including whether the Legislature should make DuPont eligible for state Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grants — raise broader questions that are worth exploring.“We would be interested in learning more about that,” he said. “Right now what we do know is we’ve been asked to provide what do we see as key resources we need for DuPont. We’re looking forward to working with Rep. McGrady and Sen. Apodaca to try to address those needs.”Long noted that the Agriculture Department had submitted the fee schedule after the General Assembly authorized agencies to develop “dynamic pricing” to raise revenue for operations and improvements.“It’s still something that we’re interested in in terms of looking long term for DuPont,” he said. As for the $5 million budget request, “These are the positions we feel are necessary,” he added. “When you submit a request like this you understand that what you request and what you get can be two different things.”   Read Story »

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