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Four Seasons Politics

LIGHTNING PHOTOS: Hundreds march for school safety and gun control

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

POLITICS BRIEFS: Training center, lunch & learn, Democratic convention

Did Grady Hawkins just offer Sheriff Charlie McDonald cover to recast the purpose (and slash the cost) of a controversial training center?   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Budget 'embraces polar opposite' of conservative goals, Meadows says

U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, leader of the Freedom Caucus, ripped the $1.3 trillion budget that the House passed on Thursday, saying the spending plan "flatly rejects" promises conservative Republicans made to voters. Here's his statement Meadows issued Thursday: This omnibus is nowhere close to what Republicans promised to fight for. When the American people sent us to Congress, their message was loud and their mandate clear: Secure the border; Repeal and replace Obamacare; Protect Second Amendment rights from bureaucrats in Washington; Defund Planned Parenthood; Cut wasteful spending; ‘Drain the swamp’ and change the unsustainable way Washington, D.C. does business. This budget embraces the polar opposite of these principles. We are not funding the wall. We are putting Second Amendment rights at risk. We are failing to provide families relief from Obamacare. We are still sending taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood. We are not cutting federal funds to sanctuary cities. We are growing the size of government at a break-neck pace. And we are doing all of this through a 2,300 page spending bill, written privately by four leadership members, that became public only 24 hours ago. This is wrong. This is not the limited government conservatism our voters demand. Our constituents—our employers—deserve better. Republicans in Congress today were faced with a choice: Vote ‘yes’ and fund the military while embracing record levels of spending with a list of unfulfilled promises; or vote no, go back to the drawing board, and get to work on a real proposal, with a real process, that funds our troops and actually fights to deliver the bill of goods that we promised the American people. Members of the Freedom Caucus chose to vote no, because this omnibus doesn’t just forget the promises we made to voters—it flatly rejects them.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Four Seasons Politics

Student-led March for Our Lives set for Saturday

After the Parkland High School shootings, Ashleigh Jackson started seeing talk about school safety locally on social media sites.“I saw a family who really wanted to protest as a family and they have some elementary age kids,” she said. “A lot of people were saying some really rude things to them. I told them if you guys are serious I will start this up.”That’s now Jackson took on the leadership role in Saturday’s March for our Lives in Hendersonville. Students, parents and others plan to gather at 11 a.m. outside the Hendersonville High School auditorium and march on Main Street to the Historic Courthouse. After that, there will be a congregation at Sanctuary Brewery “for anyone and everyone who wants to express their opinions,” organizers said in a Facebook posting.
“I just think there were a lot of students and people in the community who wanted to stand up in Hendersonville,” said Jackson. “I met a group of students in Hendersonville who were eager to march but a lot of them didn’t want the responsibility of leading it. I think it’s important. I have worked hard to keep it about school safety vs. making it about the gun divide.”She said people have asked her what they should write on their signs.“I’ve just given them the freedom to put whatever they want on their signs,” she said. “When I have talked about it, I’ve made it about school safety.”A Facebook site and a March for Our Lives website indicate around 120 people have said they plan to march.“But I have also seen people who say they someone who hasn’t signed up that I know are coming,” she said.A 2015 graduate of East Henderson High School, Jackson, 20, works fulltime as a preschool teacher and attends Blue Ridge Community College. She marched in the Philadelphia women’s march and has participated in other protests.“We just want all community members to feel welcome and feel free to say whatever they want to say,” she said.     Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Blue wave more like a ripple, GOP is told

Republican leaders in Washington sweat about a blue tide in November. Talking heads on (non-Fox) cable TV news predict Democrats will take control of Congress. Court rulings threaten legislative maps gerrymandered to ensure a supermajority of safe seats for the Republican Party. The leader of the party is a polarizing figure who infuriates opponents and bewilders allies with a steady stream of White House tweets.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

4 SEASONS POLITICS: Forums set, Progressive Women, student walk

Forums set for sheriff, D.A., commission seat   The Henderson County Republican Party along with the Republican Women’sClub  and Men’s Club will host these primary candidate forums (all at 7 p.m.): Tuesday, April 10, Community Room in the Historic Courthouse. District Attorney Greg Newman and challenger Mary Ann Hollocker. Thursday, April 12, Community Room of the Historic Courthouse. District 4 County Commission candidates Don Ward and Rebecca McCall. Tuesday April 17, Bo Thomas Auditorium, BRCC, Sheriff Charlie McDonald and challenger Lowell Griffin.    Progressive Women focus on gun control Gun control was the subject of the First Friday Focus at Sanctuary Brewing Co. sponsored by Progressive Women of Hendersonville. The group that included high school students wrote more than 700 postcards in favor of gun safety regulations and against arming public school teachers and thanking corporations that have severed ties with the National Rifle Association. John Owens, a member of Moms Demand Action and a victim of gun violence, answered questions about the goals of Moms Demand Action. The event had been planned before the February mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a student killed 17 people and injured 16. PWH has been hosting postcard writing events for over a year on Fridays at Sanctuary Brewing Co. More than 13,000 postcards have been mailed. Local artists have designed the postcards. Postage and the cost of the postcards are provided through donations. Recently, the group decided to expand the postcard writing to include First Friday Focus where people impacted by current issues attend to facilitate citizen involvement. On Friday, April 6, the focus will be the environment. Representatives from groups who focus on protecting the environment Mountain True and Citizens’ Climate Lobby will attend to answer questions. Postcard parties are still held every Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. NCDOT engineer is guest at GOP breakfast Jonathan Woodward, senior engineer for NCDOT District 14, will be guest speaker at the Republican Party breakfast gathering at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, March 17, at the Dixie Diner in Laurel Park. A 1995 graduate of N.C. State University with a degree in civil engineering, Woodward has worked for the NCDOT for 20 years. He will talk about potential road improvements to Henderson County.  Ward announces campaign committee Don Ward, candidate for the District 4 Board of Commissioners seat, announced the appointment of his campaign steering committee, chaired by Shuford Edmisten, president of Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Other steering committee members are Fletcher Town Council member Sheila Franklin, School Board member, Blair Craven, Shaw’s Creek Baptist Church Pastor Jerry Mullinax, former Mills River Town Council member Billy Johnston and his wife, Nancy, interior designer Meghan Penny, retired teacher Rosemary Pace, Sara Boyd Grant, who works in radiation technology at Pardee UNC Health Care, Valley Hill Fire and Rescue Chief Tim Garren and his wife, Lori, who is a director of nursing, retired county Code Enforcement Officer Sam Laughter, Nancy Randall, who is retired, Tony Hill of Apple Ridge Farms, former Mills River Mayor Larry Freeman and grower Kirby Johnson of Flavor 1st and Johnson Family Farm. Incumbent Tommy Thompson is not running for re-election. Since no Democrat has filed, the winner of the Republican primary on May 8 would win the seat barring an unprecedented write-in campaign. Meadows seeks appropriation for school resource officers   U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows says more money for school resource officers — not gun control — is the best way to protect schools. Meadows introduced two bills last week to enhance school security after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. “Our country is in the midst of a defining moment where we have an opportunity to come together and develop common-sense solutions to safeguard our children in school,” Meadows said in a statement. One bill would appropriate $1.5 billion through the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) for school resource officers. A second bill, the Veterans Securing Schools Act, would allow state or local veterans to serve as school resource officers. North Carolina has a similar law allowing school districts and local sheriffs to set up a volunteer SROs program. Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page announced plans Feb. 28 to set up such a program, with the support of state House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, and Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham. “While gun control is not the answer, the best and most effective path forward, I believe, is one that safeguards our schools from becoming ‘soft targets,’ or areas with little to stand in the way of someone with bad intentions,” Meadows said. Henderson County Sheriff Charles McDonald expressed support for the bills. “As counties like ours look at the myriad of options to improve school safety, this initial funding for School Resource Officers is a great step to ensure that our local governments have access to the funding they need should they determine that increased officer presence is one facet of the strategy they want to adopt,” he said in a statement. — LINDSAY MARCHELLO, Carolina Journal League forum focuses on substance abuse Substance abuse and addiction, from alcohol to opioids, has reached epidemic proportions across the country and here in Henderson County, health care and law enforcement officials say. According to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, 75 percent of those in jail are suffering with an addiction problem. Substance abuse and addiction are vital health concerns. Drug overdose is the number one cause of accidental poisoning deaths. The League of Women Voters Henderson County will focus on the subject with a program at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 22, at the Kaplan Auditorium in the Public Library, 301 N. Washington Street. Julie Huneycutt, director of HopeRX, and Maj. Frank Stout of the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office will speak. The program is free and open to the public. For more information visit www.lwvhcnc.org or email communications.lwvhc.com@gmail.com High school students plan walk on March 24 High school students plan to march on behalf of school safety at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 24, from Hendersonville High School to the Historic Courthouse. The student-led march is a peaceful protest to let surrounding people know that students care about issues of school safety and gun control. All students are welcome. McDonald opens campaign headquarters The Committee to Re-elect Sheriff Charles McDonald has opened its campaign headquarters at 822 Locust St., Suite 400, in the Historic Seventh Avenue District. Hours of operation are 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. Monday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturdays. Yard signs, bumper stickers and all campaign materials are available for pick up. Tickets for the campaign’s March 24 Bluegrass and BBQ fundraiser are also available. For information call 828-595-0617.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

SCHOOL SAFETY: 'They're asking parents to parent'

Propelled into action by the Parkland High School shootings and a rise in threats to schools here, Henderson County Sheriff Charlie McDonald, elected officials, school administrators and parents on Thursday announced broad and aggressive strategies to make schools safe.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Griffin: Shift training center cost to school security

Henderson County Sheriff's candidate Lowell Griffin issued a statement on Wednesday opposing a $22 million training center that Sheriff Charlie McDonald has proposed. Griffin says he would accomplish training for less money and would shift the cost of the center and its operation to school security. "If I receive your support and the nomination as sheriff in May, I will immediately push to revisit the issue of the training center," he said. "I will offer an alternative idea that I feel will benefit everyone involved. Better training for the officers at a tremendously reduced price tag for the public, should be the win win we all would appreciate." Here is Griffin's statement: I consider myself a conservative with a true background in public safety. As both, I recognize that tax money is real money and that there is no magical tree from which to obtain this money. Being fiscally responsible must be paramount to anyone that manages tax money or is responsible for any part of the budgeting process. Let’s look at an issue that is the $22.5-million question. $22.5 million for a training facility is a prime example of the exorbitant spending that is currently taking place. While there are many more pressing issues plaguing our sheriff’s department today that taxpayer dollars could help fix, one whole cent of property tax was added to the budget in 2016 specifically for this facility. While this may not seem like much to some, this equates to $1.2 million per year that could be better spent. While training is of great importance for the officers, this can be accomplished at a much lower cost in more effective ways. The 6-year-old facility that the sheriff’s office now occupies contains classrooms with state of the art technology to facilitate both teaching and learning. To satisfy the immediate needs of firearms training and qualification, there is an indoor range in the county, which is already maintained by taxpayer dollars, at the Western North Carolina Justice Academy in Edneyville. As a law enforcement officer and law enforcement instructor, I truly realize the need for realistic training. The world is dynamic and the training necessary to meet our current demands must be as well. Thousands of hours of training as both an instructor and a student has provided me with the ideas to develop a training facility that would provide better quality training at a mere fraction of the cost of the proposed center. This facility would not only serve the need for law enforcement training, but also provide additional fire, rescue, and EMS training. My ideas would provide optimal training that would benefit officers enrolled in basic training, patrol, S.W.A.T., K-9 units, investigations, and much more. The 22.5 million dollar price tag does not include the annual operational cost which, when adding personnel to run such a facility, would be well over $100,000 per year. The proposed center is perplexing in that it is slated to be under the control of the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office. It should fall under the control of our law enforcement and emergency services training partners at Blue Ridge Community College. Under their administration, the center would directly benefit all county and municipal officers while offering BRCC the option to host accredited training and conferences. This option essentially allows the college to recover some enrollment and training fees from North Carolina. The bottom line is this investment could benefit law enforcement and emergency services while also providing a benefit to our college, which is a direct benefit to our entire community. In my opinion, the money that has been earmarked for the proposed facility could be used in a more beneficial way for Henderson County. One consideration for this funding is strengthening school security. Additional school resource officers, re-engineering existing facilities to maximize security needs, and adding or updating camera systems are just a few ideas that could be realized. This is money that the taxpayers are already paying, so its use would not increase current taxes on you, the taxpayer.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

School Board candidate banned from schools

Randy Ward has been shooting pictures of high school sports and other extracurricular activities for 25 years in his native Henderson County. But what he described as an April Fool’s Facebook message sent to a former student last spring started of a series of complaints that school administrators say they have received and that School Board members say they have been made aware of, according to the woman, school administrators and School Board members. School officials say Ward received an oral no-trespass directive at a meeting on Sept. 21 banning him from school campuses. But school officials have not enforced the ban and never issued a written order to Ward. “Am I being banned? No,” Ward, a candidate for School Board, said in an interview Monday. “I’ve got no letter. I’ve never had nothing.” In response to a public records request from the Hendersonville Lightning, Henderson County Schools Superintendent Bo Caldwell released a statement last week. “In a meeting at my office on Sept. 21, 2017, Mr. Ward received a no-trespass directive in person,” Caldwell wrote. “This directive applies to all Henderson County Public Schools buildings, grounds, parking lots, roads and walkways, during and after school hours, including extra-curricular functions. As is always the case, such directives may be reviewed and reconsidered one year from the date of the notification, at the written request of the banned individual.”   Letter never sent Administrators never sent Ward a letter, Caldwell said, nor did they think it was necessary to take the matter to the School Board. “When we have situation arise at a school campus that we feel like it’s best for that person not to be on the school grounds, that is the superintendent’s job,” Caldwell said. “That is an administrative job to handle that. That doesn’t reach the board level.” As for Ward’s recollection that the School Board would take it up, Caldwell said that didn’t happen. “As far as Randy, we sat and talked with him,” he said. “Sometimes it’s better to talk in person rather than send a letter.” Some School Board members were aware of the complaints and some weren’t. “I was not (aware of it) until I was made aware of it” by another board member, said Lisa Edwards.  Board member Rick Wood said he’d never heard of the Ward situation until questioned about it this week by the Lightning. Both said the matter was not taken up at a School Board meeting in open or closed session.After the 2015 North Henderson High School graduate complained, administrators said other girls, including some students, came forward to tell them or School Board members that they felt uncomfortable around Ward. The 60-year-old factory worker and 1977 East Henderson High School graduate often shoots pictures at games and other school events, posting the photos on Facebook and offering them free to whoever wants them. A Facebook message he sent to a former NHHS student last spring has been misinterpreted, he said. “Coming out of the parking lot, I see this girl that I knew had graduated at North. I didn’t think much about it,” he said. “I was shooting baseball that day. “I just sent her a text. It’s April Fool week. I said, ‘I saw a sexy girl at the ballgame today.’ And that’s all I said. Next thing you know it went to this to that and this to that and I said, screw it. I just blocked her (on Facebook). She’s not even a student. It’s April Fool and that’s what I did.” After complaints from several girls reached the school superintendent’s office around last April, associate superintendent John Bryant called Ward, according to Ward. Ward said he failed to reach Bryant and went on shooting picture at school events. “I shot North Henderson’s graduation at Biltmore Baptist Church,” where Bryant shook seniors’ hands as they received their diplomas. “I talked to John Bryant there. He ain’t never said nothing about nothing about nothing. “And then one day I go over there (to North Henderson) to shoot (volleyball coach) Sue Moon and one of the vice principals comes over and says, ‘You’ve been banned from Henderson County school property.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ ‘John Bryant said he’s going to send you a letter.’ First I’ve heard of it. I ain’t got no letter.” When Ward reached Caldwell by cell phone, Caldwell asked if Ward would come in and meet. Ward agreed. Ward said he met with Caldwell, Bryant and Scott Rhodes, the school system’s human resources director, at central office in September. “I told them the story,” Ward said. “And they said, ‘We’ll go forward, we’ll send you a letter.’ “Well, send me a letter, I don’t care. … I’ve been taking pictures for 25 years. I’m 60 years old. I don’t care if I ever see another ballgame in my life. I’ve seen enough. … I’m not going to force an issue over a girl that’s probably not stable to sacrifice a friendship with those people.” At a time of heightened security on school campuses nationwide, the lack of enforcement of the ban could raise concerns. School Board Attorney Chad Donnahoo said Tuesday that “it would be (a violation) if he (Ward) indeed went to those games. If he said he was there I would suppose that he was. There was a meeting in which said he was banned for one year from all school activities including extracurricular activities.“I can’t speak to if he attended those events and I will certainly let the administrators in Henderson County central office know that. I’m not aware of that and I’m not sure they are either. I can tell you that, if he indeed attended those events he shouldn’t have.”As for the evidence school officials used to ban Ward, Donnahoo said most of what he was aware of was on social media in words and photos.“I believe that the documentation was put on Facebook by Mr. Ward and was on the Facebook of these girls,” he said. “Depending on the nature of the information that was shared, if it was student information it could be confidential.”   Ward admits dispute Ward acknowledges that he ended up in a Facebook dispute with the 20-year-old woman he had communicated with via social media. The woman, who spoke to the Lightning on Monday but does not want her name to be published, said she and her girlfriends felt uncomfortable with the messages. “He’d send messages like, “Go to bed, you’re up late.’ It was kind of weird,” she said. “My parents did not like it.” Ward had also shot pictures of her best friend, she said. That friend’s parents “got involved,” she said. “I finally made it public (on Facebook) what he did. I had so many messages from girls.” She said she doesn’t know if her picture or those of her friends are still on Ward’s Facebook page. Numerous messages on his Facebook page last spring say that his site had been hacked. “He blocked me,” said the woman, who is 20 years old. “He blocked a lot of us girls once he got in trouble for everything, around this time last year.” The woman said she was surprised when Ward showed up at a court appearance of a member of her family last spring, though he had no connection to the case. She was alarmed when she learned that Ward had filed for School Board. Because he never received a letter formally banning him from schools, Ward said he’s continued to make pictures at high school events. “I was over at Hendersonville the other day when they played Pisgah in the second round of basketball,” Ward said. “That was what, a week ago? Go back to football. I took Hendersonville and East (photos last fall). That was for the county championship, wasn’t it? I got a picture of Bo Caldwell there. The last thing I was told by the three was, ‘We’ll have a meeting with the board and we’ll send you a letter.’ And I’ve never seen a letter. So if I’ve not had a letter, what would you presume?” -30-       Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Don Ward names campaign steering committee

Henderson County Commission candidate Republican Don Ward announced that those who will be serving on his campaign’s steering committee leading up to the May 8 primary election. I am pleased that Shuford Edmisten, president of Forest Lawn Memorial Park, will chair his committee. Our steering committee will include Fletcher Town Council member Sheila Franklin, School Board member, Blair Craven, Shaw’s Creek Baptist Church Pastor Jerry Mullinax, former Mills River Town Council member Billy Johnston and his wife, Nancy, interior designer MeghanPenny, retired teacher Rosemary Pace, Sara Boyd Grant, who works in radiation technology at Pardee UNC Health Care, Valley Hill Fire and Rescue Chief Tim Garren and his wife, Lori, who is a director of nursing, retired county Code Enforcement Officer Sam Laughter, Nancy Randall, who is retired, Tony Hill of Apple Ridge Farms, former Mills River Mayor Larry Freeman, and grower Kirby Johnson of Flavor 1st and Johnson Family Farm. "Being a former commissioner and a third generation commissioner in Henderson County, I am overwhelmed at the support I am receiving and at the caliber of citizen volunteers who will be steering his campaign," Ward said. "I did first announced as a School Board candidate this year then I switched to run for commissioner in District 4 when my good friend Tim Griffin withdrew as a candidate, I am committed to working with the schools and to a new spirit of co-operation on the Board of Commissioner with all the citizens and municipalities in Henderson County. Commissioner Tommy Thompson is not running for re-election. Since no Democrat has filed, the winner of the Republican primary on May 8 would win the seat barring an unprecedented write-in campaign. “I am urging all registered voters to participate in the elections this year, beginning with absentee voting and the early one stop voting starting on April 19 and in all 35 county polling places on May 8," Ward said.   Read Story »

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