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Four Seasons Politics

Mills River Town Council elects Davis as mayor

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Edwards to run for re-election to state Senate

State Sen. Chuck Edwards announced on Tuesday that he would run for re-election next year, saying he wanted to continue his work in Raleigh to boost the economy, lower taxes and promote more efficient government.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

'No excuse' for slide that makes light of drug overdose, sheriff says

Sheriff Charlie McDonald is strongly condemning a slide leaked from an interoffice email that mocks the use of the drug overdose treatment Narcan, calling the image "a tasteless attempt at humor" that he had not authorized and had never seen. An image under the title "Laugh of the Day" shows the drug being sprayed from a syringe. A tagline underneath says, "Robbing Darwin of his bountiful harvest since 1971." The image and the phrase implies "that the many lives that have been saved by the timely use of Narcan to reverse the deadly effects of opioid overdoses were not worthy of being saved," McDonald said in a statement his department sent to media organizations on Friday afternoon. "This was the first time I was aware of the existence of this slide." The slide had appeared in an interdepartmental email about crime analysis information on May 23, he said. The sheriff became aware that someone had leaked the image to news organizations. "As families struggle with the sudden loss of their sons, daughters, mothers and fathers our Sheriff in Henderson County thinks this opioid crisis is funny," an anonymous source said in an email to reporters and editors who cover Henderson County. The picture, the email writer continued, suggests "Charlie McDonald thinks these deaths are funny and by this picture thinks lives should not be saved. Time for a change in Henderson County." Nothing could be further from the truth, McDonald said in the news release. "The Henderson County Sheriff's Office has worked very hard to lead the way in combatting the devastation inflicted on our community by this nationwide crisis," he said. "We were one of the first law enforcement agencies in our area three years ago, to train and equip our deputies with this life-saving tool. To date we have over 20 reversals of opioid overdoses by Henderson County deputies and detention staff. I am aware that every person saved is someone's child, parent, spouse, neighbor or employee caught in a desperate web of addiction from which, I am certain, they desire to be free. I am well aware of the resulting heart-ache, pain and gut-wrenching despair that addiction brings to those who struggle with this disease." As for the slide and the subordinate who included it in an email to deputies, McDonald said there's "no excuse for it, regardless of the intention ... I am told it was an attempt at dark humor but it was in no way humorous and I know it does not reflect the true heart of the actual sender." The department dealt with the issue according to its policy and guidelines, McDonald said, although he did not identify the sender nor specifiy what consequences the sender faced. "As Sheriff, I accept the fact that this happened on my watch, in my agency, by one of my employees," he said. "It showed a lapse in judgment and has been appropriately addressed." He called the episode "an opportunity for humility, true remorse and lessons learned. I assure you that all have taken place and I apologize that in this instance there was a failure to maintain the highest standards of what I believe is 'a brotherhood in pursuit of excellence.'"     Read Story »

Flat Rock Four Seasons Politics

Revised plans for Kanuga, Highland Lake pushed back to spring

Revisions of state transportation plans to widen Kanuga and Highland Lake roads won't be ready until next spring, the NCDOT says. After public meetings on the proposals and receiving input from residents, property owners and elected officials, engineers are looking alternatives and plan to come back next spring with other options, NCDOT spokesman David Uchiyama said in a response to a request for an update from the Hendersonville Lightning. "NCDOT is looking at various ways to reduce to footprint of improving Kanuga Road, including the possibility of eliminating 4-foot bike lanes," he said. "We are aiming to present revised proposals on Kanuga in the spring." On Highland Lake Road, Uchiyama confirmed that the agency is looking at other options there as well. "We are addressing concerns presented by Pinecrest (Presbyterian) Church and greenway opponents," he said. "We have informed Flat Rock that we would like to present multiple options for them to review in the spring." The Flat Rock Village Council has heard from opponents of the Highland Lake Road widening at its last several meetings. The board voted in August to endorse the widening, with Vice Mayor Nick Weedman and Council member Anne Coletta voting no. Members of Historic Flat Rock Inc. have appealed to the Village Council to reverse its support of the widening, which members say is not in keeping with the historic character of the village. Pinecrest church leaders have said the widening would eliminate the church's septic system and take a line of evergreens that provides a visual and sound barrier. Meanwhile, opponents of the Kanuga widening project have gained the support of boards that advise the Hendersonville City Council on environmental matters and trees. After hearing from project opponents at its Nov. 7 meeting, the Tree Board voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council oppose the Kanuga widening. "The proposed improvements would result in the loss of an incaluculable number of trees and cause a major reduction in the city's urban canopy," the Tree Board said in a Nov. 17 memorandum to the council. The Tree Board determined that a number of trees in the path of the widening would qualify for Heritage Tree status under city ordinance. Several Kanuga Road homeowners have applied for Heritage Tree designation and more are expected to, the Tree Board said. "The Board feels that the environmental damage caused by this project will far outweigh any benefits it might have," the memo said. "Furthermore, the board feels that an endorsement of this project by the city would not be in keeping with our status as a Tree City USA and Bee City USA." On Nov. 16, the city Environmental Sustainability Board, after hearing from widening opponents, echoed the tree board's position and called on the City Council to continues its efforts to negotiate a compromise that would "minimize the overall footprint and environmental impact of the project." Henderson County, Hendersonville and Flat Rock officials met last month with NCDOT engineers to hammer out compromises that would minimize the impact of the Kanuga and Highland Lake improvements. County Commissioner Bill Lapsley, Hendersonville mayor pro tem Steve Caraker and Flat Rock Village Council member John Dockendorf proposed a separate Mud Creek greenway to replace bike lanes they want removed from the Kanuga project. On Monday night, the Henderson County Board of Commissioners agreed to apply for a grant to fund a feasibiity study of a greenway along a sewer easement from the Publix site to Erkwood Drive. The Hendersonville City Council is scheduled to discuss the greenway at its regular meeting on Thursday night.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Commissioners make their football championship picks

Henderson County commissioners covered all four choices in their annual college football championship picks, a tradition started several years ago by County Manager Steve Wyatt. The college football playoff includes Clemson, Oklahoma, Georgia and Alabama. "I said last year that my first son and my money went to Clemson and I had to go with Clemson," Commissioner Bill Lapsley said. "I’ll go with them again." Grady Hawkins: "I’m going to go with one of my alma maters: Oklahoma." Michael Edney: "We all know the Georgia Bulldogs are going to win." Charlie Messer, who picked Alabama over Clemson last year, stayed with the Tide. Tommy Thomson, who doesn't follow sports, also went with Alabama. After saying, "I’m going to pull for Appalachian," Wyatt, a big Mountaineer fan, predicted an Oklahoma win.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Board re-elects Edney as chair, Hawkins vice chair

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners re-elected Michael Edney as chairman and Grady Hawkins as vice chair Monday night, keeping the same lineup of leaders for the next year. There was no discussion and no other nominees for the top two spots. Hawkins, a retired Air Force colonel, is in his fourth term on the board. Edney, an attorney who is up for re-election in 2018, is also in his fourth term.     Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Thompson looks back on 40 years of service

Seldon Osteen, Henderson County’s clerk of superior court, was already on the ballot in 1974 when he received a diagnosis of cancer. Looking around for a replacement, the county’s Republican leaders settled on a young banker and recent college graduate who had grown up in Dana. “In about July, the Republican Party called me and said, ‘Tommy, he’s got to drop out. We want you to step in and run in his place.’ Well, that kind of blew me over but I thought, I’ll take the opportunity,” Thompson said in an interview. Last month, after serving eight terms as clerk of court and two on the Board of Commissioners, Thompson, 66, announced his retirement from political office. In an interview with the Hendersonville Lightning, he talked about his life of public service, from that 1974 campaign cardfirst campaign to his recent work on Board of Commissioners. What he lacked in experience back in that ’74 campaign, he made up for in youthful energy. He had a name that was well-known around the county, especially in the apple country. “I did a door-to-door campaign, saw about 5,000 households and won that election,” he said. He beat Democrat Neal Grissom, who had been chief deputy under Sheriff Jim Kilpatrick, back in the days when Democrats were competitive in the county. After that 631-vote margin, he would never have a close race again. He turned back challengers decisively in 1978 and 1982, then won re-election without opposition five more times without opposition. He retired in 2006 at age 55.   Colorful courthouse figures TIMELINE   1951: Born at Patton Memorial Hospital to Preston and Gertrude Thompson. (The late Harry Thompson, of Harry’s & Piggy’s, was an uncle.) 1969: Graduated from East Henderson High School. 1973: Graduated from Western Carolina University. 1974: Elected Clerk of Superior Court, re-elected through 2002. 2006: Retired from clerk’s job. 2010: Elected to the Board of Commissioners, serving as chairman in 2012 and 2015 and 2016, vice chair in 2013 and 2014. Oct. 23, 2017: Announces his retirement from the Board of Commissioners. December 2018: Travel, spend time with Sherri, spoil the grandchildren, fish. Serving most of his career in the 1905 county courthouse before criminal and civil courts moved to the Grove Street building, Thompson recalls colorful figures and trials. “We had this dude that was known to run,” he said. “He was fast as lightning. Given the opportunity he would just streak away and take off. The law enforcement people told the judge, ‘If he gets half a chance he’s out of here and we know that.’ “This judge carried a .45,” Thompson said. “So he called me up to the bench and he called the bailiff. He pointed to the back wall and said, ‘You see that thermostat with that little gold dial on it. I can hit that from here. Now, Mr. Bailiff, you put one of your men back there and you stand over here and, Tommy, you just lay low and if he runs I’ll get ‘em right here.’ He took the .45 out and laid it on top. He didn’t run either.” After 32 years, Thompson decided he had enough. The timing was right. His first two grandchildren were toddlers and he would look after them during the day. His wife, Sherri, was still working fulltime and both spent most of their time outside work caring for their elderly parents. “We basically went nowhere,” he said. “We had those responsibilities and we took them to heart.”   Drinking through a firehose In 2010, he agreed, somewhat reluctantly, to run for the District 1 Board of Commissioners seat that Mark Williams was vacating. Thompson knew plenty about civil and criminal court, foreclosures, mediation, adoptions, divorces and small claims. But when he was sworn in and installed as vice chairman that December, he plunged into a swirling eddy of a $120 million budget, tough decisions on spending cuts during the recession and crowds of people caterwauling about rezoning cases. “Even though I had gone to every meeting for a year, I was sucking through a straw,” he said. After fellow commissioners elected him chairman in his second year, he quickly learned that the gavel gave him no extra power. He was still only one vote. “Clerk of Superior Court is the hub of the court system,” he said. “When I was clerk I could shoot out some orders. I walk out (into the Board of Commissioners room) and I get into this five-man deal where I’ve gotta get at least two other people to agree with me. I can’t go out there and spit out orders. That’s not always easy. All of us have got egos. I know what I want. Charlie (Messer) wants what he wants. Bill (O’Connor) wants what he wants. You gotta work it together. So I was drinking through a firehose.” If he was gulping hard, he also led the board during a series of capital projects and industrial catches unparalleled in recent county history. With Thompson as chair or vice chair, the county built or committed to build the Health Sciences Center, Innovative High School, Edneyville Elementary School, Hendersonville High School, the law enforcement training center and the emergency management complex. During his seven years so far, the board has authorized tax breaks that helped land Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Bold Rock Hard Cider and GF Linamar. Calling on his experience mediating contentious disputes as clerk of court, he guided the Board of Commissioners through the resignation of Sheriff Rick Davis, the Duke Energy transmission line project and water wars with the city of Hendersonville and the city of Asheville. County Manager Steve Wyatt attributes Thompson’s effectiveness to an ability to be patient and gather information. Tommy Thompson and County Manager Steve Wyatt, in 2012.“I’ve been doing this for 30-some years and I’ve worked with a lot of elected officials but the neatest thing I can tell you about Tommy is his ability to change his mind,” Wyatt said. “Tommy can look at things from all the angles and he can see things from different points of view as he gathers information. Tommy will gather information constantly and we’ll talk about it. He is open to changing his mind based on the facts. How refreshing.” “There’s no guile, there’s not a hidden agenda,” Wyatt added. “He wants to figure out what’s right. He’s going to be a hard one to place. His vision, his ability to see the various sides of issues is very much a strength of his.” A 'signature' John Hancock Someone who has made a career of signing public documents — from custody orders to foreclosure notices to resolutions of the Board of Commissioners — might be expected to cut a few corners for the sake of speed. That would not be Tommy Thompson. His signature stands out for its clarity. “When I was learning cursive in school I was trying to learn to write like my mother did. She would do this with a T,” he said, demonstrating the upper case letter that starts his first and last names. “Mrs. Arledge in third grade said, ‘Tommy, I don’t like that.’” So he changed the T slightly and came up with a style that Mrs. Arledge endorsed. He later added a sweeping reverse arc that creates a neat dome over this name. “I get a lot of comments. I get a lot of people tell me, ‘That’s beautiful,’” he said. “If I’m going to sign my name, if it’s valuable enough to sign, it’s valuable enough to know who signed it.” If you ask Tommy’s son, T.C., about his father’s signature, T.C. will recall what his dad told him: “If I’m going to sign my name on a document that takes a man’s property or takes custody of his children or sends him to jail, I want him to be able to read it.” “That’s exactly the way I feel,” Tommy adds. “If it’s worth putting my signature on they need to know that I take responsibility for.”   Gone fishin’ A year from now, Thompson, 66, and Sherri will both be retired and ready to enjoy family, the beach and fishing. Tommy Thompson, with his wife, Sherri, holding Bible, takes oath of office after his 2014 re-election.“I’ve given 40 years — that’s 10 elections — I think it’s time to enjoy my family and be more of a part of those grandbabies and the children than I was able to be early on,” he said. “I’ve got a trip planned for all of us in June or July to Destin.” When he thinks about what his record of service, he puts family first. “If I leave behind two wonderful children, four wonderful grandbabies who have had some direction from me and they are an asset to humanity, that’s a legacy,” he said.     Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Freeman appointed to state childhood education council

Elisha Freeman, executive director of the Children and Family Resource Center, has been appointed to the state’s Birth To Third Grade (B-3) Interagency Council, Sen. Chuck Edwards announced. “It is one of my primary goals to strengthen the voice of District 48 in Raleigh," Edwards said. "The appointment of Elisha, which also came with a strong recommendation from Rep. Chuck McGrady, will certainly help accomplish this. Elisha is strong advocate for our children and her passion is easily contagious. She will no doubt be very influential in this role. Rep. McGrady and I are grateful that Elisha is willing to serve our area in such an important capacity to help make a difference.”   Freeman has been working in the administration and operation of nonprofit organizations for more than 26 years. She began her career as an intern with the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro. She became executive director of the Children and Family Resource Center in 2010. She is passionate about children and their needs, and writes a monthly column in the Times-News called Speak Out for Kids. A dedicated and involved member of the community, she serves in the Rotary Club and the WNC Early Childhood Coalition.  Freeman earned a bachelor of arts in psychology, focusing on child development and family relations, from UNC Greensboro and received a masters of business administration from Lenoir-Rhyne University. As a member of the B-3 council, she will work with the superintendent of public instruction’s office and the council to coordinate and create an interagency plan for early childhood education. The B-3 Interagency Council was created in legislation this year to design and implement a coordinated interagency plan for early childhood education. The Council will look at different agency changes that may need to occur to shift a focus on Early Childhood Education and to implement a statewide evaluation of the progress of children in Early Childhood Education programs.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Guest column: For love of country, teach children to stand

America is a melting pot of different cultures, backgrounds, beliefs, and nationalities.   Read Story »

Fletcher Four Seasons Politics

VOTERS OUST MILLS RIVER, FLETCHER MAYORS

Voters ousted the mayors of Mills River and Fletcher on Tuesday night, installing younger challengers in place of long-serving incumbents. In Mills River, challenger Brian Caskey defeated Mayor Larry Freeman, who had been elected to the top job by the council under the town's charter. "It looks like it was a night for the newcomers and some of us incumbents pretty much lost all the way around," Freeman said. "It looks like the people are just in the mood for a change. Those of us who have been around for a while ran on our record and challengers ran new promising change. And we’ll see how it works out." Caskey successfully used a controversy over a new plant across from Mills River Elementary School as a campaign issue in a way that Freeman called distorted. Caskey used "a total distortion and misinformation to frighten the parents at Mills River Elementary School," Freeman said. "I tried to answer in every way I could. We did our due diligence, the county did, the state did. That's something he used to win the election and we both know that's the way it is in politics sometimes." Freeman and Caskey also differed on a $775,000 contract with the sheriff's office for police coverage in Mills River. "The contract for law enforcement services between Mills River and the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department was a bad one, and one that Mills River never should have signed," Caskey said in a Lightning Q&A. "It was handled badly on both sides, and the end result is that Mills River is being double-taxed for law enforcement services, since we also pay Henderson County taxes." Billy Johnston, the other Mills River incumbent, was defeated in District 2, where Paul Richmond Meadows Jr. won by 19 votes. Chae Davis won in District 3, defeating Nathan Garnett and James Smith Humphrey III in the race for an open seat. Rod Whiteside, who had made his youth an issue in the campaign, defeated Bill Moore, the 73-year-old incumbent who was seeking a fifth term. Whiteside defeated Moore with 54 percent of the vote, 255 to 212. "If I go based on comments that voters shared with me today, specifically they were appreciative of the fact that I took the effort to reach out, walking their neighborhoods and knocking on their doors," said Whiteside, 44. "They were very interested that someone was actualy at their door. They indicated that had never had happened before." Whiteside said his first inititiative as mayor will be to work with the council to set up a student recognition program in cooperation with Fletcher Elementary School. He also vows to continue to engage with the public openly. "I have heard from residents that Fletcher government seems distant and non-responsive," he said during the campaign. "I would like to improve communications between the government and the residents. One way to do that is by being more accessible to the residents. As mayor, I would continue the meet-and-greet concept that is used during campaigns. Just because you get elected doesn’t mean you stop listening to the voters" By recognizing elementary students at council meetings, "the parents would learn about the Town business and students would get some much deserved attention," he said. In his campaign for re-election, Moore said he would "continue to work with local industry and small business people in Fletcher to insure good paying jobs for our citizens which is the back bone of our community" and "continue to provide quality education and training as well.." In Hendersonville Jeff Miller and Jerry Smith cruised to re-election over challengers Debbie Roundtree and Diane Caldwell.     Read Story »

Four Seasons Politics Archive