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Day 4: Still frozen; school year extended

By Bill Moss, Published: February 19, 2015

On Day 4 of the Arctic Blast of 2015 meetings postponed from Monday and Tuesday were again postponed. Some parks were closed. The Kiwanis Club  called off its meeting. Henderson County school administrators threw in the towel for the week on Wednesday, freeing students until Monday. Students had been scheduled to attend class for a half day today. Friday was already a teacher workday. Now, they'll be in school two extra days at the end of the year — when it will be 70-80 degrees warmer than today.

The first traditional calendar make-up day will be Friday, March 27. The school year is now extended by two days, to Friday, June 12.
The Laurel Park Town Council, which because of " inclement weather and unpredictable travel conditions" had postponed its Tuesday meeting until today, again called off the postponed meeting for the same reason.
The Hendersonville Kiwanis Club scrapped its regular Thursday lunch meeting at the Chariot. President Darla Lindeman said when she polled the board by phone Wednesday she learned that "most people could not get out. Only the people that were working were going to be able to come. We would have had a really small turnout. Because of conditions and temperature we erred on the side of safety for the members."
With kids out of school and snow on the ground, parks are generally a good option for play. Not so with the dangerously cold temperatures and icy ground. The Fletcher Parks & Recreation Department closed Fletcher Community Park & Kate's Park "because of the frigid weather and icy conditions on the greenway trails," Recreation Director Greg Walker said. "Park staff will check the trails again tomorrow to determine if conditions are safe for public use. We hope to return to a normal schedule once the ice has melted in the Park."
That might take a while.
The wind chill could be as low as minus-9 today and minus-14 tonight with a daytime high of 14. Friday warms up to just 24 and brings a new chance of snow and sleet. Chance of precipitation was 50-60 percent Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, the National Weather Service said. The first chance of real melting comes Saturday with a high of 36 and Sunday with a high of 50.
Henderson County Manager Steve Wyatt said the county was prepared to open shelters if there were any power outages.