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Local farmers tell Sen. Tillis of need for farm labor

Hendersonville Business

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Penny certified, nurses honored

Will Penny certified through Wharton School   Will Penny, president of Penny Insurance Agency in Hendersonville, North Carolina, has been awarded the Certified Advisor of Personal Insurance designation from the Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Chubb Insurance. Will PennyPenny is among a group of only 38 agents this year to receive the certification after completing a one-year intensive educational program on understanding the lifestyle and risk management and insurance needs of successful individuals and families. Created by Wharton and Chubb in 2014, the CAPI program is the first of its kind to focus on a specific client segment in the personal insurance marketplace. A Henderson County native, Penny is the third generation president of Penny Insurance Agency. He is a graduate of Wofford College, and has been with Penny Insurance since 1994. Courses are taught by Wharton faculty, Chubb subject matter experts and other professionals. Agents received instruction on the Wharton campus at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and through virtual classes, webcasts, reading assignments and other online activities throughout 2017. Founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. Chubb is the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company, and the largest commercial insurer in the United States.   Austin named PeriAnesthesia Nurse of the Year Pardee UNC Health Care nurse Debbie Austin has been named PeriAnesthesia Nurse of the Year by the North Carolina Association of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. The award recognizes a nurse who demonstrates excellence in the practice, management and teaching of PeriAnesthesia nursing, and promotes high standards in the profession. Austin, an RN, is a charge nurse in the hospital’s post-anesthesia care unit, where she treats patients recovering from anesthesia. She also serves as a faculty instructor for advanced cardiovascular life support, pediatric advanced life support and basic cardiac life support certification training.             For more than a year, Austin has spearheaded a pilot program for the safe disposal of narcotic medications given to patients for post-operative pain. The program uses education regarding safe storage and disposal, as well as Deterra bags, which allow patients to safely dispose of unused narcotics at home after a surgical procedure. Not only did Austin obtain funding from the Pardee Hospital Foundation for the first 200 packs of Deterra, she also educated the Day Surgery nursing staff on the need for these bags and worked closely with Pardee administration, Hope Rx and the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office to make the pilot program successful.             “Debbie has always had a heart for serving others and our community, whether she is feeding and clothing the homeless, sponsoring a food drive, or volunteering at church,” said nurse Jennifer White a colleague of Austin’s who nominated her for the award. “By confronting the drug epidemic head on and gaining hospital support, Debbie is making a lasting impact on the prescription narcotics problem in our community. She is most deserving of this award.”   Darlyne Jarrett honored as DAISY award winner Darlyne Jarrett has received the DAISY Award at Park Ridge Health. A part of the Home Health team, Jarrett, 82, was recognized for her outstanding character and work ethic. Darlyne Jarrett“She is always willing and works every day that we have visits for her to do. She will go to any area, and is always smiling and cheerful,” a nominating letter said. “Patients ask for her specifically. She consistently goes above and beyond for her patients and for her team. She takes call even though she is not obligated to do so as a PRN nurse, and is often helping others by switching out call so they can be with family or meet other personal obligations.” Jarrett also serves as a Spiritual Ambassador for the department, and is currently going to a particular patient’s home on Sunday afternoons for Bible study because the patient said she wished someone would talk with her about the Bible. She takes meals to patients in need and provides them with community resources on her own time. The DAISY Award was created by the family of J. Patrick Barnes to thank the nurses who cared for Patrick and for them as he battled an autoimmune disease. Patrick lost his battle, but his family realized the impact his nurses had on the final days of his life and wanted to create a lasting opportunity for all families who experience the benefits of the extraordinary care of nurses to show their appreciation.     Park Ridge Imaging Center is accredited Park Ridge Health’s Diagnostic Imaging Center, located at the main campus, has earned the American College of Radiology Accreditation for a new 128-slice CT Scanner, the hospital announced. Park Ridge Health installed the GE 128-slice imager earlier this year. At that point, Wendy Miller, one of Park Ridge Health’s Diagnostic Imaging Radiology Technologists, took the lead to begin the process of attaining the ACR accreditation.  “Wendy ensures patient safety and clinical quality are top priorities in our Computerized Tomography (CT) Suite,” said Todd Guffey, Park Ridge Health Director of Diagnostic Imaging. “Wendy not only made sure the Diagnostic Imaging team met all the ACR requirements, but she did so without interrupting the exceptional care each of our CT patients received. Achieving this accreditation shows this team’s passion for exceeding the expectations of providing high-quality care to our patients.” To learn more about the Park Ridge Health Imaging Center or to make an appointment, call 855.PRH.LIFE (855.774.5433) to speak with a member of the Park Ridge Health Patient Resource Team.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Business

Developer seeks city OK for 67 homes on Howard Gap

Thirty acres of farmland on Howard Gap Road near Nix Road would become a gated community of 67 cottages if the city of Hendersonville OKs a rezoning change and an application for annexation. RDV Development has applied for a rezoning from Henderson County's R-1 residential to planned residential development for the Cottages at Cypress Run, a development of 67 cottages about 1,600 square feet each. City planners will hold an initial public hearing on the application at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, at the City Operations Center, at 305 Williams St. The request would go to the city Planning Board and then the Hendersonville City Council. The property owner is seeking annexation in order to tie into the city sewer system — a requirement under city policy. The 16.7-acre subdivision would be on a larger 30.2-acre parcel of land owned by Mitchell Gaither (Mountain Bean Growers of Horse Shoe). The houses, 26-foot wide subdivision roads, driveways and sidewalks would cover 200,000 square feet, or 27 percent of the overall acreage. A site plan shows a single gated entrance onto Howard Gap Road, 5-foot sidewalks along Howard Gap and in the development and a playground that would be owned by the homeowners association. The property, on the west side of Howard Gap Road between Nix and Big Pine roads, is assessed at $282,400 but has a taxable value of $1,418 because of an agriculture-use exemption, county land records show. RDV plans to buy the property from Mountain Bean Growers Inc., said Mike Anderson, an Asheville engineer handling the zoning application.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Business

Police probing racially charged, anti-gay threats against downtown brewery

A downtown brewery that bills itself as a safe space for people of color and the lesbian and gay community was the target of vandalism and racially charged threats this week.The Hendersonville Police Department is investigating a series of threatening emails sent to Black Star Line Brewing Co. Thursday and Friday.“We had multiple threats on our website, different threats,” said Simon Melendez, a Black Star Line employee who spoke for owner and chief brewer L.A. McCrae. “Also we came in today and the keg electrical wires were cut. We had a few alerts go off in our building, we had a sign stolen among other things. It all started just about racism and hate.”An email Friday afternoon followed previous messages and the damage that the brewery workers said they found when they opened.“We are just getting started N----,” the email said. “We hate N----. Especially gay, men hating n----. We still coming …”Detectives are investigating the threats.“We took a communicating threats report last night on some vulgar and racial tones that were sent to them via email and on their website,” Hendersonville Police Capt. Bruce Simonds said. “It’s currently being investigated by the detective bureau.”“It’s very disturbing,” he said of the language. “We take it seriously. The chief went down there and met with the owners. Problem is tracing an IP address” to a sender that disguises the origin.Police have stepped up their watch over the bar on Third Avenue West.“Absolutely,” Simonds said. “We do that with any threat or any break-in for the foreseeable future to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”Describing itself as “the first black, family, & woman owned brewery” in the Asheville area, Black Star Line says that it aims to “create space for women, people of color, queer folks, and other folks with marginalized social identities. It is the spot that is truly for us and by us.”In the meeting with the owner and employees, Chief Herbert Blake pledged support from police.“He basically reassured us that this movement we have going here is going good for the city, that no matter what everybody has our back,” Melendez said.He said the brewery has received a positive reception since it opened last month.“We’re trying to be cautious and at the same time maintain a balance of peace and not have violence break out here and/or anywhere else, because of our cause,” he said. “We have people fighting for our side and people fighting against our side. People that agree and disagree feel very strongly on both sides.”“Business wise, it’s been fantastic,” he added. “People have been coming in, having a good time. We’re just going to be welcoming. Hopefully, everybody will just be peaceful and we can stay the happy medium.”Bartender Javier Naranjo, who recently moved here, said bar patrons have been uniformly supportive.“It’s been all positive,” he said. “I haven’t had any inkling of any such belief or disdain for people like this.”     Read Story »

Laurel Park Business

Arcadia Views opponents want NCDOT to bar entrance on U.S. 64

Residents opposing the Arcadia Views development across from two large subdivisions on U.S. 64 are urging the NCDOT to require a single entrance on Davis Mountain Road instead of U.S. 64. Gregory Plumb and Peggy Smith, two leaders of the anti-development movement made up of Hawthorn Hills and Hunters Crossing residents and others, urged the state transportation agency "to effectively limit ingress and egress for the Cottages at Arcadia Views to Davis Mountain Road, Smith said in a letter to NCDOT District Engineer Steve Cannon dated Oct. 26. That followed Plumb's letter a month earlier recommending the same thing. WXZ Development is seeking approval from the Laurel Park Town Council to build 199 cottages on a 91-acre ridge with road frontage on U.S. 64 and Davis Mountain Road, a winding road that runs from Daniel Drive to Hebron Road. The first of six phases would contain 56 units on the lower part of the property on U.S. 64 across from Hunters Crossing. A single entrance/exit road on Davis Mountain Road, Smith said, "would bypass the unsolvable problems (unsafe sight distances and unsafe offset driveway distances) (posed by) the developer’s desired driveway access onto U.S. 64" and would disperse "Arcadia Views traffic in four directions via Daniels Road and via Crystal Spring Drive to White Pine, Hebron Drive, and 5th Avenue." Here's the entire letter:   October 26, 2017 Mr. Steve Cannon, PEDistrict EngineerNorth Carolina Department of TransportationHighway Division 14, District l4142 Haywood RoadMills River, NC 28742 RE: Follow-up to Cottages at Arcadia Views Street and Driveway Access Permit Application,Gregory M. Plumb’s Response dtd 9/25/17 and US64W Traffic Survey Request dtd 9/25/17 Q6AAXXYQVH Dear Mr. Cannon: The concerned residents of the US64W corridor realize that improvements to our road are inevitable in some form, probably within the 10-12 year timeframe you have suggested. However, to deal with the immediacy of the Arcadia Views approval in a well-thought-out, compliant and logical fashion, we believe North Carolina Department of Transportation should effectively limit ingress and egress for the Cottages at Arcadia Views to Davis Mountain Road, as previously suggested by Gregory M. Plumb on 9/25/17. We cite the following compelling reasons why this alternative should prevail: 1. It would bypass the unsolvable problems (unsafe sight distances and unsafe offset driveway distances) with the developer’s desired driveway access onto US64.2. There are already intentions by the developer to eventually build one access “driveway” onto Davis Mountain Road (as mentioned at the Laurel Park Town Council meeting in September).3. A Davis Mountain Road entrance would funnel Arcadia Views traffic in four directions via Daniels Road and via Crystal Spring Drive to White Pine, Hebron Drive, and 5th Avenue; dispersing traffic throughout the entire area. In addition, Davis Mountain Road connects to Etowah. Having no entrance on 64W prevents the Arcadia Views road from becoming a cut-through for Davis Mountain Road converging into a single intersection on US64W.4. Laurel Park police would likely travel up Davis Mountain Road from the police station if required to make a call in Arcadia Views since it would be the most direct and fastest route.5. We understand current developments (i.e. Charlotte, NC) are reducing theft and vandalism problems by deliberately designing their communities with a single entrance to cut down on easy escape routes for perpetrators . (Obviously, the necessity of a criminal having to drive right by the Laurel Park Police Department after committing theft/vandalism would deter such incidences, thereby increasing the overall safety of Arcadia Views residents.)6. Arcadia Views IS a Laurel Park medium density housing project and Laurel Park should attempt to solve the resulting traffic issues they are creating. As current 64W corridor residents, we would like to see a single entrance on Davis Mountain Road, with a landscaped berm along 64W to buffer noise and maintain the country feel that we wish to preserve. Again, referring to the 500 petition signatures already obtained from US64W corridor residents, we remind NC DOT and the Henderson County Traffic Advisory Committee that your mission is to listen to the public as stated at the Transportation Advisory Committee meeting this past Wednesday, October 18, 2017, prior to recommending transportation decisions that are not felt to be in the best interests of the community. Sincerely, Peggy Smith, PresidentHunters Crossing Homeowners Association     Read Story »

Laurel Park Business

NIMBY NATION: Greatest hits of grassroots uprisings

Residents rising up against big developments, road projects and disruptive land-use changes have had some remarkable successes over the years. The grassroots movements to prevent development have staged fights against the big and hugely consequential — a TVA proposal to build 14 dams — to the trivial — the playground at the Park at Flat Rock. Here’s a look at some of the notable past and current fights in our area’s colorful nimby history.   Dam fighters defeat TVA, 1968-72 A David and Goliath battle pitting natives and newcomers against the giant TVA and its many powerful allies ended in 1972 when voters locally and statewide replaced project advocates with those who opposed the ambitious flood-control project. Organizer Jere Brittain called the effort a “perfect storm” of politics and timing. The new National Environmental Policy Act gave opponents a strong weapon to force the government into accountability and public hearings. Retirees with expertise joined natives with their family homesteads at stake to form a powerful grassroots coalition that finally prevailed. Here's an in-depth look at the historic fight. Ingles on N.C. 191, 1995-2005 Bob Ingle badly wanted to build a supermarket on N.C. 191 in the Rugby area. Rugby residents wouldn’t allow it. Ingles Markets tried unsuccessfully in 1995 to build a store next to Rugby Middle School. It tried in 2003 on N.C. 191 at North Rugby Road — withdrawing a zoning request before it reached the Board of Commissioners — and again in 2005. Five-hundred residents who turned out at the West Henderson High School auditorium cheered when commissioners voted 5-0 against the rezoning. Clear Creek Connector, 2000 Residents of neighborhoods on N.C. 191 in Hendersonville and tenants of the Beverly Hanks Center packed hearings to oppose the NCDOT’s plans for the Clear Creek Connector, a new bypass from I-26 to N.C. 191 that had the strong support of the Chamber of Commerce. The roadway would have sliced through the office complex and Patton Park, and residents of the Haywood Road neighborhoods feared a flood of traffic. In June 2000, the Hendersonville City Council reversed an earlier vote in favor of the project and voted to kill the project. The Cliffs at Brevard, 2000 The Friends of DuPont Forest had members and support far beyond the area adjoining the 2,200 acres of waterfalls, trails and woods they ultimate saved. Hikers, campers, hunters and conservationists made up a broad coalition that successfully blocked developer Jim Anthony from turning the forest land into an upscale subdivision called the Cliffs at Brevard. Led by Chuck McGrady, a summer camp owner who would become a county commissioner and state legislator, the Friends of DuPont Forest raised money, wrote letters and lobbied local and state officials. In October 2000, the state Cabinet voted to buy the property under its power of imminent domain. The state’s initial payment of $12 million was doubled to $24 million in a settlement filed in Transylvania County Superior Court. Anthony, who bought the land for $6.35 million in 1999, said he had invested another $14 million on improvements. Grimesdale asphalt plant, 2001 In 2001 residents of the neighborhood off Brookside Camp Road packed hearings and organized Citizens Against the Asphalt Plant to fight an asphalt plant Tarheel Paving Co. planned on 16 acres on Asheville Highway. The CAAP, held rallies, distributed pamphlets, sponsored public forums and attended hearings to warn of what they regarded as the plant’s adverse effects on air quality, water quality, health and property values. It was a valiant fight that failed. When a Superior Court judge upheld the issuance of a permit by state air quality regulators, the Grimesdale Homeowners Association gave up. The plant has operated since with no air quality complaints. I-26 widening, 2002. A federal judge blocked NCDOT’s plan to widen I-26 to six lanes after opponents filed a lawsuit on environmental grounds. Opponents, who had formed Citizens for Transportation Planning, argued that the Federal Highway Administration and the NCDOT failed to study how the I-26 widening in Henderson County and three other related projects in Buncombe would affect air pollution, traffic and growth. The plaintiffs won their case at trial, effectively blocking the I-26 widening for almost 20 years. (A six-lane project in Henderson County is scheduled for 2019.) Crail Farm Road bridge, 2008. Residents of Middleton Road and the vicinity in Flat Rock objected to a plan by the NCDOT to replace a 43-year-old wooden bridge on Crail Farm Road, a lightly traveled dirt road that connects Kanuga and Middleton roads. DOT engineers described the bridge as “structurally deficient” and “functionally obsolete” and said floodwaters would likely “take out a center support” and wash the bridge away. A discussion of the bridge construction dragged on for 5,400 words in minutes of a Board of Commissioners meeting. The NCDOT ultimately redesigned and constructed a new bridge. Duke Energy transmission line, summer of 2015 The biggest nimby uprising since the TVA battle, this was another grassroots battle that involved regular folks against a powerful adversary. Unlike developments that can be stopped at the local level, a utility’s plans for new transmission lines and power plants are exempt from zoning and other local laws. But one characteristic common to nearly all successful nimby movements is their refusal to be cowed by long odds. A coalition of homeowners, environmentalists, tourism industry businesses and farmers turned out people by the hundreds at hearings in Henderson County and Upstate South Carolina to oppose Duke’s plans. Every city in Henderson County except Hendersonville adopted resolutions opposing the 45-mile 230-kilovolt transmission line and the Hendersonville City Council and county Board of Commissioners urged a second, independent look at whether the project was needed. After five tumultuous months of protests, public hearings and negative publicity, Duke pulled the plug. Bradley Road event barn, October 2015 Stan Shelley has led the fight against an event barn in his backyard.Although the Zoning Board of Adjustment granted a permit for the event barn for weddings and other gatherings two years ago, the opposition has not retreated. Homeowners and dozens of allies from as far away as Crab Creek and Asheville have protested the decision at subsequent Zoning Board of Adjustment and county commission meetings, saying commercial uses should be barred in residential zones. Although the permit was upheld by the state Court of Appeals, homeowners have continued to press their case at the zoning board meetings, asking it to revoke the permit. Flat Rock Playground, summer 2016 Residents of the Highland Golf Villas implored the Flat Rock Village Council to suppress the noise at a children’s playground at the Park at Flat Rock or move the facility far from their homes. After several months of protest and a noise study, the Village Council says no. Moving the playground would be too expensive, Mayor Bob Staton said, and would disrupt future development spelled out in the park master plan. Eagles Nest at Horse Shoe Farm, December 2016 The Henderson County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to deny developer John Turchin’s rezoning request for 225 cottages and apartments at Horse Shoe Farm on the French Broad River. Residents of Tamarac and other subdivisions on South Rugby Road packed Planning Board and county commission meetings to oppose the project. Carl Sandburg Home Historic Site parking lot, April 2017 Planned for years by the National Park Service, a second parking lot on Little River Road triggered a small but effective nimby response by across-the-street neighbors. When a contractor bulldozed 36 trees, the neighbors called their congressman and the Flat Rock Village Council, complained to the chief ranger for the historic site and mounted a petition drive to block the project. Work has stopped since the opponents sought to block the parking lot. Senior living apartments, Aug. 3, 2017 The Hendersonville City Council unanimously denied a rezoning that would have allowed 126 senior apartments plus a café, movie theater and library on eight acres in the city’s extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction on U.S. 64 east of Laurel Park. Neighboring homeowners argued that the development was incompatible with the residential area and would overburden already congested U.S. 64. The Farm at Eagles Nest, Oct. 19, 2017 The Henderson County Planning Board rejected a 299-unit development in Etowah.Nine months after the county killed his Horse Shoe Farm plan, developer John Turchin stood before the Henderson County Planning Board and asked for the green light for a 299-unit development of rental cottages, apartments and RV spaces on a 225-acre tract in Etowah that’s currently a cow pasture. The Planning Board said no, agreeing with the nimby assembly’s objections based on traffic, water and sewer access and neighborhood compatibility. Arcadia View cottages, pending Residents of Hunters Crossing and Hawthorn Hills have organized strong opposition to a development of 209 rental cottages on Davis Mountain across from their subdivisions. Wearing green “Fix U.S. 64” buttons, opponents have attended public hearings on road projects and meetings of the Board of Commissioners, the county Transportation Advisory Committee to demand U.S. 64 improvements. The Laurel Park Town Council asked the NCDOT for a second in-depth traffic impact study, which is pending. Boyd Drive bridge, pending Residents of Boyd Drive, Flat Rock Forest and other subdivisions have decried a planned bridge replacement over Memminger Creek as an overdesigned monstrosity that would bulldoze dozens of large hardwoods and destroy the aquatic habitat. NCDOT says the bridge is unsafe and has to be replaced. Residents and Village Council member John Dockendorf have been negotiating with NCDOT engineers for a more modest design. Highland Lake Road widening, pending Residents turned out in large numbers to oppose the Highland Lake Road widening project.Opponents of the NCDOT project that would widen Highland Lake Road, straighten curves and add a separated multi-use lane have organized to block the project on the grounds that it’s an overreach that takes too many trees and threatens the Park at Flat Rock. Although the Flat Rock Village Council endorsed the project earlier this year, two council members are pushing their colleagues to reverse the endorsement or demand changes. Historic Flat Rock members oppose the project as inconsistent with the historic character of the village. Kanuga Road widening, pending Signs saying “No widening Kanuga,” “Yard Not for Sale,” and “Save the Trees!” dot Kanuga Road from Church Street in Hendersonville to Little River Road in Flat Rock. Kanuga residents are rallying against the $20 million project. They argue that widening the travel lanes to 11 feet and adding 4-foot paved shoulders as dedicated bike lanes is “government overkill” that would take hundreds of trees, remove rock walls and subdivision gates and turn a rural road into a speedway. The 4.2-mile project also would include turn lanes at the Kanuga-Erkwood intersection and a 5-foot sidewalk north of Erkwood. U.S. 64 improvements, pending Residents on either side of U.S. 64 in Laurel Park have raised objections to planned improvements from Blythe Street to White Pine Drive that include 12-foot travel lanes, 5-foot striped bike lanes in each direction, 5-foot sidewalks on either side, a 17-foot grass median and roundabouts at (realigned) Windsor Drive-White Pine, Pisgah Drive and Glasgow Lane. After the NCDOT moved roundabouts and made other changes to accommodate businesses, the Laurel Park Town Council endorsed the plan on Feb. 21. The 1-mile project also passes through Hendersonville and unincorporated Henderson County. Meanwhile, residents further west, in Hunters Crossing and Hawthorn Hills, oppose a development on Davis Mountain and say the highway should be improved before more development is allowed. Sources: “Gun Fights, Dam Fights and Water Rights: Essays on the History of Henderson County, North Carolina, and Vicinity,” James Brittain, 2001; History of Grimesdale (grimesdale.org/history) by Merle D. Thornton (president, 1950-1986), Arthur F. Drant Jr. (1987-1991) and Evelyn M. VandenDolder (1992-2008); minutes of Henderson County Board of Commissioners, Hendersonville City Council, Flat Rock Village Council, Laurel Park Town Council; Henderson County Transportation Advisory Committee, NCDOT public information brochures on road improvement projects, City of Hendersonville NCDOT Road Projects Update, Hendersonville Lightning, (Hendersonville) Times-News, interviews.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Business

Saint Paul winery wins two best of show awards

Henderson County’s first commercial winery, Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards, won two of three Best of Show awards at the 2017 N.C. State Fair Wine Competition. The family-owned winery won the Best of Show award in the bunch grape category for its Laurel Hill semi-dry Vidal Blanc blend and the Best of Show award in the fruit/honey category for its Chestnut Gap Cottage dry blackberry wine.The Old North State Winery in Mt. Airy won the Best of Show award in the muscadine category.In addition to the Best of Show medals, St Paul wines won 12 other medals — one double gold, six silver and five bronze — in the N.C. State Fair Wine Competition.“We are very excited to receive two of the highest recognitions given in North Carolina for wine,” Alan Ward, the owner and operator of Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards, said in a news release. “We are fortunate at Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards to be able to grow grapes in such a unique growing region. The Appalachian mountains are the second oldest in the world with more geological and plant diversity than any other location in the world. That makes this a perfect place to grow vinifera. We are honored to receive these awards and thank our winemaker Stephen Rigby, who deserves recognition as well.”The state fair competition was held Aug. 18-19 at the N.C. Viticulture and Enology Center at Surry County Community College. Only wines made from a minimum of 75 percent N.C. grown fruit or honey were allowed to enter the competition. The top awards were verified by the N.C. Wine and Grape Council before being made public.Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards, at 588 Chestnut Gap Road off of U.S. 64 East, recently celebrated its fifth anniversary.The winery is located on acreage that has been in Ward’s family and farmed for more than nine generations. The Saint Paul tasting room includes both indoor and outdoor seating with views of the vineyards.Saint Paul wines are made from 14 varieties of grapes grown in two vineyards at elevations of 2,300 and 3,000 feet, the highest in Henderson County and some of the highest in the state.Ward recently opened a tasting room for Appalachian Ridge Artisan Ciders across the road from Saint Paul’s tasting room.Full results from the competition can be found at www.ncwine.org.     Read Story »

Edneyville Business

Edneyville sewer line 'could change that community forever'

EDNEYVILLE — Henderson County commissioners are confronting a decision in Edneyville that they say could lead to a building boom and pressure to bulldoze apple orchards for new houses and apartments. Before they make such a momentous move, they want to hear from Edneyville residents.   Read Story »

Henderson County Business

Moss column: Tate guided a surge of job creation

For a guy who is paid good money to keep things out of the press, Andrew Tate was always as open as he could be when I asked him questions.You do what you can do this in reporting job. My zeal to know everything first and tell everything first usually pays off. Sometimes you hit a wall. Because I respected Andrew, I usually ended up backing off, at least temporarily, until the fruit got ripe.In interviews with people who worked with Andrew and knew him well, I had tried to get at why he was so effective leading the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development for the past 10 years. He’s leaving to manage real estate for the North Carolina Railroad, a corporation that’s actually more of an economic development engine than a train operator.Tate comes across in public as anything but a slick salesman. His mastery of the job came from his understanding of the community’s strengths and weaknesses, a steel-trap grasp of facts factory owners want to know, a tireless work ethic and maybe most of all a gift for building relationships.In our exit interview over IPAs at Southern Appalachian Brewery on Monday afternoon, Andrew and I reminisced about what became kind of a joint mission in the summer of 2013 — an effort to tell the epic story of the recruitment of the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. The Lightning was only a year old then and many of the sources I spoke with, including the top executives of Sierra Nevada, would never have cooperated without a signal from Andrew that they could trust me. Trust is the currency in his line of work.“He never drew attention to himself,” state Rep. Chuck McGrady told me. “He’s very understated and he’s very much about building relationships so it’s all for the long-term. I’ve talked to enough decision-makers that ultimately decided to move here and they’re all really quick to come back to the relationships they’ve built with him. He also was really good at keeping relationships with people in the community so he could bring other people to the table very very quickly.” ◆ ◆ ◆Before he was a county commissioner, Bill Lapsley was a civil engineer who drew up the site plans and orchestrated the dirt-moving for hundreds of large developments in Henderson County and beyond. He has been involved with industrial recruitment efforts, from the Committee of 100 on, throughout his career.“Oh my,” Lapsley said when I asked him to assess Tate’s service. “He’s just been a great asset to our county. I hate to see him go but I’m not surprised. His talent and abilities are going to lead him to much higher levels in economic development. He just has great ability and I’ve really been pleased we’ve been able to hold him here as long as we have.”If Tate has mastered the soft skills of relationship building, he’s also a quick and agile technocrat.“He has a grasp of the knowledge that he can sit down with power people and water and sewer people and road people and know what questions to ask, what’s critical information and what isn’t,” he said. “It’s been my experience that he can answer quickly by himself without having to hand it off. He’s gathered the information. He knows.”◆ ◆ ◆Sometimes public officials are reluctant to return calls for fear that I’m going to ask the hard question or dig into a behind-the-scenes drama they’d rather not share. But when I left word that I was calling about Andrew Tate, they were glad to step to the plate.County Manager Steve Wyatt recalled what happened when a delegation from the partnership made a visit to his office.“When they came to see me to deliver the bad news they looked like their dog had been run over,” he said. “I knew before they opened their mouth what they were going to tell me. I said, ‘That’s not bad news. Bad news would be, “We’re having to run this guy off because we’re not getting anything done.”’”It was inevitable, he said, that a recruiter with Tate’s record would move up the food chain.“I’ve been doing this for 35 years,” Wyatt said. “In his role, he is as effective as anyone I’ve ever worked with. The results speak for themselves. We have seen an unprecedented period of success in the last 10 years. There are a lot of reasons for that. One of them is Andrew Tate. He brought the right skill set at the right time to the right place. I tell the commissioners, over the last several years, it came together with the right people with the right assets to do those things that were previously unimaginable.”Like what? you ask. Like this: Demmel, Empire Distributors, Legacy Paddlesports, UPM Raflatac Specials, Norafin, the DirtyDancing film production, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Microtech Knives, Raumedic, PMA Tools,Bold Rock Hard Cider, Smart Products, Wingate University, Country Malt Group, GF Linamar. Taxable investment: $796,458,000. Jobs: 2,070.“That’s going to change hundreds of lives,” Wyatt says. “Sierra Nevada, Raflatac, Raumedic, you say those are just businesses. But those businesses are made up of people and those people have lives and these job opportunities allow them to put their kids in school, pay their bills and have lives. Andrew Tate’s impact, his legacy in this community, will play out for generations.” ◆ ◆ ◆We had good hunting hounds before we got Andrew and we’ll have a good hound again. After all, as Tate himself points out, we are selling one of the most desirable places to live in the whole country. But there was a sense from people I’ve spoken with that Tate has done about all he can do. Although he says that’s not why he’s leaving for the job in Raleigh, he acknowledges that the partnership has checked off nearly everything its leaders charted for him 10 years ago. It’s a model of success in economic development, respected and admired around the state.It feels like the partnership and our economic development efforts are at a crossroads and that’s not a bad thing. If they asked me — which they didn’t — I’d tell the Partnership that the next priority should be the recreation/tourism industry, starting with the 45-mile greenway connecting parks.We’re lucky that Andrew Tatehas helped to bring us this far. A high peak does not have to be a point that leads downhill. It can be the place from which we spring to the next level.   Read Story »

Laurel Park Business

Laurel Park police make arrest in bank robbery

Laurel Park police have arrested a suspect in an Aug. 18 bank robbery of the Wells Fargo Bank during which a robber threatened bank employees with a knife. An intense investigation by the Laurel Park police, making use of video surveillance from multiple sources and witness interviews, led to Marquis Dechane Harrison as a suspect, the town said in a news release. Investigators secured a warrant for Harrison’s arrest on one count of Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon.Chief Bobbie Trotter thanked the FBI, Hendersonville Police Department, Fletcher Police Department, Henderson County Sheriff’s Office and Buncombe County Sheriff’s Officefor their assistance in this case.   Read Story »

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