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Kiwanis Club honors Glenn Marlow Award winner

Henderson County News

GOOD NEWS (SO FAR): Light wind, no ice

Emergency officials have two words of advice as the big snowstorm socked Henderson County: Stay home.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

LOCAL BRIEFS: Candidates, Junior Welfare Club, DAR winners

Junior Welfare Club fetes 300 children The Junior Welfare Club hosted more than 300 children during Special Pops Christmas parties. The Junior Welfare Club has been serving women and children in the community, especially those with special needs, since 1931. Because of the generosity of Special Pops sponsors and hundreds of individuals that supported the annual Wreath Sale, club members brought Christmas joy to 274 children in 17 Henderson County schools and 72 more children in five Helping Hand Developmental Center classrooms. This year’s sponsors included
Glennwood Custom Builders,
1-800 Water Damage of WNC,
 Camp Ton-A-Wandah, 
Coleman Freeman Auto Sales, 
Cooper Construction, 
Ted and Allison Duncan, 
Garrison Family Dentistry, 
Probuild, 
Pryor Insurance, 
Rainbow International Restoration, 
 Reid & Reid Family Dentistry 
and Skyline Plastics.Each of the 23 classroom teachers received a $100 gift card to use for students at their discretion and each student received a gift. The Junior Welfare Club also will be presenting Helping Hand Developmental Center with an additional $1,000 check and this spring it will donate to the Believe Child Advocacy Center (CAC), a collaboration of law enforcement agencies, Henderson County DSS, the office of the District Attorney, Mainstay, The Healing Place, Blue Ridge Community Health Services and the Health Department.Junior Welfare Club’s efforts to raise funds for Believe CAC will include a raffle basket auction to be held on April 5. For anyone interested in donating to these raffle baskets, or for more information about our Club, please visit our website at juniorwelfareofhendersonville.org Edwards and Henson speak to GOP women State Senate candidate Chuck Edwards and state House candidate Cody Henson will be speak at the Henderson County Republican Women’s Club luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, at the Cedars. To attend send a check for $15 by Jan. 22 payable to The Cedars to P.O. Box 2734, Hendersonville, NC 28793. Immaculata announces winners of DAR contest Winners of the Abraham Kuykendall Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution Essay Contest from Immaculata Catholic School were fifth grader Ariah McMillan, seventh graders Kimber Belk and Patrick Jones, and eighth grader Rachel Ursin.The students wrote essays based on the prompt, “Describe a colonial family’s discussion about the new Stamp Act and what role it played in organizing the colonists against the British King and Parliament.” Twenty-two students from Immaculata’s middle school grades participated. The winners will read their essays and receive awards at the Abraham Kuykendall Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, at Flat Rock Village Hall. Trinity welcomes singers on 5th Sunday Trinity Presbyterian Church invites the community to participate in the Fifth Sunday Hymn Sing on at 9:45 a.m. on Jan. 31. Led by Andrew Hiler with Stephen Klein on piano and organ, the lively sing-alongs are driven by friends in the church and community who request favorite hymns and join together singing them in the Trinity sanctuary on the four months of the year with five Sundays. Associate Pastor Dwight Christenbury welcomes hymn requests emailed to him at dc.trinity@mac.com.Trinity Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) is at 900 Blythe Street. Casting for Hope to hold fundraiser Casting for Hope will host “From Water to Wine,” a wine-tasting and auction fundraiser from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, at Burntshirt Vineyards.While sampling wine and beer offerings and the Vintner’s Table hors d’oeuvres, participants will be invited to bid on a treasure trove of items donated by individuals and businesses. Auction items include original jewelry pieces, a float trip, a custom fly rod, beautiful pottery, porcelain figurines, professionally framed embroidery pieces, item-specific gift certificates, distinctively sewn articles and other items. Tickets are on sale for $50 at the Henderson County Visitors Center, 201 South Main St. For an online purchase option, go to www.castingforhope.org. For more information contact Kathy Haney at 828-712-2716 or Kathy@castingforhope.org. Auction items are pictured on or linked to www.castingforhope.org.The mission of Casting for Hope is to heighten awareness of ovarian and gynecological cancers, to grow the knowledge base of women and their families about elusive symptoms and to use fundraising proceeds to meet the needs of women diagnosed with a gynecological cancer. Musicians invited to join orchestra Rehearsals start Feb. 7 for the spring concert of the Community Orchestra of Hendersonville and musicians are invited to join.Conducted by Stephen Klein, the orchestra is for musicians who want to be part of a community orchestra and for people who played instruments in the past and would love to get back to making music again.Klein invites players to “get out your clarinets and trumpets, violins and flutes and rediscover the joy of being part of an orchestra as we practice and perform beautiful music together.”Rehearsals will be held Sunday afternoons from 2:30 to 4:15 at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 900 Blythe Street. The orchestra’s spring concert will be held in the Trinity sanctuary on May 1 at 3 p.m.The Community Orchestra of Hendersonville is part of the Hendersonville Community Music Center. Located at Trinity Presbyterian Church, the Community Music Center is directed by Andrew Hiler and offers voice and instrument lessons for children and adults as well as Kindermusik for infants and toddlers. Contact Hiler at 828-692-6114 ex 115 or andrewhiler76@gmail.com to register for the Community Orchestra and/or learn more about lessons for children and adults at the Community Music Center. Christian classics is Table Talk topic Christian classics — works that everyone should read — will be discussed by the Rev. Bill Campbell at Hendersonville Presbyterian Church’s weekly Table Talk on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 6:25 p.m. The public is invited and there is no charge. For those who would like to attend dinner (small charge) at 5:30, reservations are required and can be confirmed by calling the church office at (828) 692-3211. Hendersonville Presbyterian is on Seventh Avenue at Grove Street. St. James to host Candlemas concert St. James Episcopal Church will present its 26th annual Candlemas Concert at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31, featuring award-winning multi-instrumental Celtic/folk artist Robin Bullock.Bullock has been hailed as a “Celtic guitar god” by the Baltimore City Paper and a “world class musician” by Grammy-winning folk legend Tom Paxton, with whom he frequently tours internationally. His virtuosity on acoustic guitar, cittern and mandolin blends the ancient melodies of the Celtic lands with those of their Appalachian descendants and has made him one of the country’s most sought-after Celtic performers.His recorded work includes nine critically acclaimed solo CD’s and numerous collaborations. A 2003 dual CD, “Celtic Guitar Summit” with California guitarist Steve Baughman, won three of Acoustic Guitar magazine’s “Editor’s Pick” awards as one of the top ten CDs of the year.Bullock says his program will include Celtic, Appalachian and Baroque music “ranging from traditional folk melodies of Ireland, Scotland and the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the exquisite harp tunes of the legendary Irish bard Turlough O’Carolan, to the masterworks of Bach.”Created by St. James in 1990 as a means of raising money for outreach, the yearly benefit concert celebrates the ancient Christian holiday of “Candlemas,” commemorating Mary’s return to the temple at Jerusalem to present her son to God. Proceeds from the concert will fund local hunger relief, supporting the work of Interfaith Assistance Ministry, The Storehouse and the Hendersonville Rescue Mission. The price of admission includes a catered reception in the parish hall following the concert.Tickets are $20 and are available at the St. James receptionist desk, the Henderson County Visitor Information Center and Diamond Rush Jewelry in Laurel Park Village. Any remaining tickets will be available at the door. Trinity invites all to help pack food Trinity Presbyterian Church, 900 Blythe Street, invites men and women, boys and girls, fully able and with limited abilities, singles, families, neighbors and friends, anyone from 5 to 100 years of age willing to participate in a two-hour Stop Hunger Now food packing event at Trinity Presbyterian Church on Saturday, March 12.The intergenerational labor of love to help pack food for people in need is from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 12.“We need volunteers to register on-line now at events.stophungernow.org/Trinity2016 so we know who we can count on to help pack these much needed meals,” project coordinator Judi Weeter said. “We plan to pack 12,096 meals in two hours on March 12, up from the 10,368 meals packed by our 132 volunteers last year. We’re not asking for money. We need a lot of volunteers, hands to pack, smiles to share, as many as will help. Please go on-line and register now, then join us on March 12 as we all work together to Stop Hunger Now!”The 12,096-meal project is fully funded by the Trinity Presbyterian Women, Global Missions, and Christian Nurture Ministries of the church at the $3,500 needed for the food ingredients, meal bags, gloves, boxes and transportation. The volunteers will work together in assembly-line format packing small bags with rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and a flavoring mix that includes 23 essential vitamins and minerals. Each of the 12,096 bags can feed a family of six. The food is stored easily, transported quickly and has a shelf-life of two years.Stop Hunger Now is an international hunger relief agency that has been working to end hunger for more than 12 years. Based in Raleigh, Stop Hunger Now was founded in 1998 by Ray Buchanan, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and ordained United Methodist minister, to give people hands-on opportunities to participate in an international hunger relief program and become educated, engaged advocates for the world’s poor and hungry.More than 180,000,000 meals have been packaged and distributed to 65 countries impacting millions of lives. The organization is driven by a mission to end hunger in our lifetime by providing food and life-changing aid to the world's most vulnerable people and by creating a personalized global commitment to feed the hungry and stop hunger now. St. Gerard House receives $500 grant The Dennis and Ada Gough Family Fund has donated $500 to the St. Gerard House to support the delivery of proven therapies and programming to the individuals and families living with autism in Henderson and surrounding counties, Caroline Long, executive director of St. Gerard House, announced. St. Gerard House is an independent non-profit committed to helping families facing autism, a disability that affects 1 in 58 children in North Carolina. Since its founding in 2010, St. Gerard House has become one of the most successful and respected autism centers in the region. The organization’s four core program areas include: The Grotto Therapeutic Center, Connect: Social Skills training, Feed the Need Garden and Culinary training and Family Group Night for special needs families.St. Gerard House has launched a campaign to raise $935,000 to expand autism programming in a house it bought across the street from it present location at 620 Oakland Street. The Expanding Hope campaign will enable St. Gerard House to add autism evaluation, education and treatment programs for more families, as well as offer services to children 8 to 12.To learn more about St. Gerard House’s autism services or the Expanding Hope campaign, call 828-693-4223 or visit www.stgerardhouse.org. Special Hearts social will be held Feb. 13 On Feb. 13, Special Needs Sports will host a Special Hearts dance/social for Special Needs children and adults and residents of assisted living centers. The dance will be at West Henderson High School from 2 to 6 p.m.There will be music for every generation and genre. Refreshments, finger food and desserts will be furnished. The event for people ranging in ages 2 to 90 is an opportunity for new friendships and fun for many generations. There is no cost. However, organizer, Donnie Jones would appreciate an estimate of residents who plan to attend in order to help with the planning. Please email that count to jomesdtl@yahoo.com by Jan. 22. For information call Jones at 606-5691 or email jonesdtl@yahoo.com. Nominations open for top N.C. award Nominations are being accepted for the 2016 North Carolina Award, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the state, now through April 15. Created by the General Assembly in 1961 and administered by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the award recognizes “notable accomplishments by North Carolina citizens” in literature, science, fine arts and public service. Award nominations may be submitted by anyone and must include a completed nomination form, cover letter, and the nominee’s biography or resume. Letters of support and examples of the nominee’s work will also be accepted. Applications may be submitted online at http://www.ncdcr.gov/ncawards/nominations or materials may be sent to the North Carolina Awards Committee, N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, 4601 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-4601. The North Carolina Awards Committee will review the nominations and make its selections in early summer. The recipients will be honored during ceremonies in Raleigh in September. Past award recipients have included some of the country’s most distinguished artists, poets, writers, performers, journalists, scientists and public servants, including William Friday, Romare Bearden, James Taylor, Gertrude Elion, John Hope Franklin, David Brinkley, Maya Angelou, Billy Graham and Branford Marsalis.For a nomination form and guidelines visit ncdcr.gov. To receive forms by mail or by e-mail contact Jennifer.fontes@ncdcr.gov or call (919) 807-7256.     Read Story »

Henderson County News

Pardee offers cancer education series

Pardee Hospital Foundation invites the public to attend "Right Here, Right Now: A Cancer Education Series" each Monday in February from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Flat Rock Cinema, 2700 Greenville Highway.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Board orders new review of HHS renovation cost

Henderson County commissioners decided on Wednesday to delay any decision on Hendersonville High School while getting a more detailed estimate of renovation costs. Two commissioners said after tours of the 90-year-old building that they want to see an in-depth projection of renovation cost. There’s no hurry to decide on the fate of HHS, they said, because the county has other projects ahead of that and a finite amount of money they can spend. Commissioner Bill Lapsley toured HHS with the county’s construction manager, David Berry, and John Mitchell, the county’s director of business and community development.“To be honest I thought it was in better shape than what I expected to see,” said Lapsley, a civil engineer with more than 40 years experience. “For a building that’s 90 years old it was in pretty decent shape.” That surprised him, he said, “because listening to Commissioner Edney in his presentation a month or so ago kind of led me to believe that the building was about to fall down. I’m not a building contractor but I do think with some engineering background I look at it a little differently than the average person.”Renovation of the 1926 core classroom building and auditorium has been a hotly debated topic. Hendersonville High School alumni, the school faculty and current students have argued for preserving the Erle Stilwell-designed building, saying the classrooms and the auditorium are closely tied to the school’s tradition. Renovation is one of five options the county’s consulting architect, ClarkNexsen, has proposed for the high school and the associated buildings. Other options involve building a new school on the site of the old Boyd auto dealership, which the county owns, and plans that combine renovation and new construction.“I think the commissioners need to thoroughly vet the options to decide,” Lapsley added. “To me, you’ve either got to tear it down or use it as it exists today or you’ve got to rehabilitate it. If you rehabilitate it do you keep using it as a school or do you use it as something else. That’s a key question. I’m recommending that we get into a little more in-depth review of that 1926 building and hire an expert contractor to go through it and give us their cost on what it would cost to renovate the building.” During a daylong budget retreat on Wednesday, Lapsley presented responses he had received from two general contractors who said they would make the cost projections. The board agreed to hire Vannoy Contractors, the same builder that is erecting the $30 million health sciences center on the Pardee Hospital campus. Vannoy said it would first provide an overall review of the structure at no charge. It would then deliver estimates by a structural engineer and would estimate the cost of the outside rehabilitation, safety code compliance, asbestos removal and other work. Vannoy officials said that the contractor would review original 1924 building plans and would review plans for renovations and major repairs in 1990, 1991 and 2007. "We are confident given our local presence, local professional contacts and extensive background in historical renovations both as general contractor and construction manager that we can provide Henderson County with a concise review of possible options and associated cost estimates," Brian Walker of Vannoy Construction said. Vannoy said it would provide estimates for renovation of the core classroom and auditorium both for educational use and for "business occupancy." Although ClarkNexsen presented a projected renovation cost for the 1926 building, Hawkins and Lapsley say the number is soft.“That cost number is a critical,” Lapsley said before Wednesday's meeting. “We have a number from them. In that same meeting I asked the architect what his basis for that number was and I really didn’t get a very solid answer. I’m not comfortable making a $50-60 million decision based on that response.”The HHS project would come after a career academy combining Balfour programs and the Early College. That project at BRCC is already in design. HHS could be behind Edneyville Elementary and a new $12 million emergency services headquarters in the timeline the commissioners approve. Groundbreaking is far from imminent.“We’ve got time,” Lapsley said. “Moving ahead with whatever option the board decides is a couple of years down the road. That was one reason I wanted to go through the building. Some have painted a picture like the building is a health hazard for the kids. I wanted to see if the 1926 building was presenting some kind of hazard. Frankly, I didn’t see it.” From his tour of the building, Commissioner Grady Hawkins said he saw plenty that needed fixing.“It certainly is in need of some repairs and some adjustments,” he said. “We went through underneath. I guess there’s like a spring underneath. It just generally is in need of repair. One of the things that will be on the agenda (Wednesday) is that we went back and asked couple of contractors to take a closer look to see what it would cost to make a reasonable renovation of it. We have a partial number. The information that will be forthcoming from these folks is in a lot more detail than what ClarkNexsen gave us.” County Manager Steve Wyatt is aware of commissioners’ desire to gather more information before deciding the next step for HHS.“I have no indication that it will be made,” he said. “I would be surprised. I do not anticipate anything other a continued discussion and a thoughtful process.”Wyatt compared the school decision to the board’s reaction to the Duke Energy transmission line. The board moved deliberately and cautiously “and took criticism for that,” he said. “They want us much information as possible to make especially big decisions.” In some ways, a consolidated emergency services headquarters would be an easier call. That project is expected to be new construction in a site that does not currently houses the ambulance service, emergency management office or rescue squad. Nothing would be disrupted.“The next imminent project is the emergency services headquarters,” he said. “We’ll have a presentation of the timeline by the architect and the board will decide whether they’re willing to say OK, we’re good with that. Then it becomes a contract with the architect.HHS Alumni Association say they’re remaining vigilant about the future of the school and they’re encouraged that the commissioners are listening to them and taking a closer look at the options.“I think that right now the commissioners are doing the right thing,” said Bill Orr, the new president of the HS Alumni Association and a retired banker. “I think they’re taking their time and trying to get better information. You’ve got to find out what the contractors are going to do and how you’re going to finish it. I think what they’re doing is trying to figure out what the real cost might be.”Orr and Boren both said from their conversations it appeared that people were misled about the cost.“A lot of people think that the $53 million was just for that building instead of being for an entire new campus,” Orr said.That projection, from ClarkNexsen, covers renovation of the core building plus demolition and replacement of the old and new gyms, the vocational-tech building, the band room and the cafeteria.“I know that the students’ safety is the utmost importance during the construction period,” he said. That may account for why the architects estimated the renovation option would 47 months. “One of the things is you’re going to have from the end of May to around Labor Day when you’re not even going to have students there,” he said, adding that the time frame could be shorter. “I think the commissioners are being judicious at looking at the cost” while also juggling other capital projects. “I don’t know that they would want to do them all at once,” he said. “They’ve got a lot on their plate.”“Whatever happens we still hope the renovation will house classes and the auditorium” and not some other use, said Carolyn Borman, who as immediate past president of the Alumni Association has been tracking the debate for several months. “We are interested in keeping that intact. We respect the position of the School Board and the county commissioners. They have a lot on their plate to consider and we’re aware of that. We also want to be part of the discussion and look at the options and make suggestions that will work for everybody. We’re still talking to commissioners and interested in coming up with a plan that will be feasible and good for the students and for the county commissioners.”   Read Story »

Henderson County News

In split vote, county OKs EMS project

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners in a split vote gave the OK on Wednesday to a new emergency services headquarters at the Balfour School property. Commissioners have talked for more than a year about the consolidated headquarters for the county ambulance service, emergency management office and county rescue squad. The new EMS headquarters is one of many projects the commissioners are taking up as part of their 2016-17 budget review and four-year capital plan. Chad Roberson, of the ClarkNexsen architectural and engineering firm, presented a construction scheduled that would start immediately with design work. The project would be bid a year from now and complete by August 2018. It would be built on the property that contains the Balfour Education Center on Asheville Highway. Commissioner Bill Lapsley said he was not convinced that the Balfour property was the best choice. "I do not support further action on this project until more reviews of other sites are available," he said. Chairman Tommy Thompson responded: "This board has already concluded that Balfour is the best property we have." He added that the board would give Lapsley 30 days to find another piece of property that was workable. The county had projected that the headquarters would cost $10 million. It would include administrative offices, a combined EMS and rescue squad headquarters and training facilities.     Read Story »

Henderson County News

Commissioners eye taxes, garbage fee

Henderson County commissioners, crunching numbers in a daylong budget retreat in the Historic Courthouse, uttered the T word several times and talked about assessing a $20 annual fee on property owners to offset losses at the county landfill.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Don't miss this week's Hendersonville Lightning (74)

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

Flat Rock News

St. John dedicates cross honoring slave cemetery

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.’ 1 Corinthians 13:12 FLAT ROCK — Shortly before he ascended the pulpit of St. John in the Wilderness Church on Sunday afternoon, the Rt. Rev. Porter Taylor had learned a relevant piece of church history.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Brush with racism is turned to good

Erik Dowdy, one of the top real estate sales agents in Atlanta, could have been scarred for life from his first brush with racism at age 11.   Read Story »

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