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Stein blesses Mission sale after negotiating sustained rural coverage

Henderson County News

Boards to hold joint meeting to review details of HHS plan

Henderson County commissioners asked questions about a $59.2 million renovation-new construction plan for Hendersonville High School but otherwise reacted positively to the plan.   Read Story »

Mills River News

Citing shutdown, defense seeks delay of Stroupe murder trial

Chalk up another unintended consequence of the government shutdown. The shutdown has prevented defense lawyers representing accused murder Phillip Michael Stroupe II from receiving a potentially key piece of evidence from the federal government, a lapse in service that the public defender cites to support a request to postpone the trial for a second time.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Don't miss this week's Hendersonville Lightning (200)

You won't want to miss this week’s Hendersonville Lightning. Only the Lightning has the scoop on a possible delay in the Phillip Michael Stroupe II murder trial, a feature on a new staging company that has announced more than 50 performances in Hendersonville and the first inside look at Shine, the long-awaited rooftop restaurant.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Two Pardee physicians named 'America's Best'

Pardee UNC Health Care physicians Chris Parsons and James M. Radford have been named among the Best Doctors in America for 2017-2018. The prestigious recognition marks the second and eighth times, respectively, that Drs. Parsons and Radford have earned this honor.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Cost gap (again) provokes conflict (again) on HHS

A difference in School Board architects' cost projection and a higher cost blessed by a contractor retained by Henderson County has again led to conflict in the Hendersonville High School project. The Henderson County School Board on Monday night unanimously endorsed and sent on to the Board of Commissioners the new plan for Hendersonville High School that renovates the historic Stillwell core building and auditorium while adding classroom space and other new buildings. The plans were drawn by a partnership of firms — Asheville-based PFA Architects and LS3P, a Charlotte-based education construction specialist. After a meeting Friday with the contractor that has worked for Henderson County on numerous large projects, the cost projection went up from $52.6 million to $59.2 million. County Manager Steve Wyatt on Tuesday objected to the way the School Board and its architects characterized the new cost projection as "add-ons" that the county wanted. He objected to the characterization of the additional cost as add-ons, when those things, including fixtures, furniture and equipment, and the architects' fees, are essential and fundamental. “Apparently somebody said last night the county wanted to add some stuff. It’s stuff you had to have to have school," he said. "Let me be clear, that’s the total to operate a school or design a school or build a school, like the architects’ fees. I’d be happy to zero that line item out but I don’t think they’d be happy.” The School Board's projection also failed to include a fee for a construction manager at risk, a contractor who coordinates the project and agrees to bear cost overruns. “They left that out and we put it back in,” Wyatt said. Wyatt said it was at his insistence that the county brought in “a third party,” Vannoy, to check behind the architects’ projections. That meeting took place Friday after Wyatt and Commissioner Bill Lapsley, a civil engineer with decades of construction experience, met with PFA principal Maggie Carnavale and her team in December and pointed out what Wyatt describes as significant omissions. The architectural team, led by Carnavale, Scott Donald and Jamie Henderson, told the School Board on Monday, Jan. 7, that they stood by the $52.6 million projection. “That’s concerning because again we pointed that out in December,” Wyatt said. “She knew about it last week. We pointed out several things that were not included in that budget.”Wyatt said he's confident in the Vannoy-blessed projection of $59.2 million, “which I think now is a good number. It’s concerning that as late as a week ago the architect was touting the $52.6 million with buffer.”Although new artificial turf for the high school football field has never been a part of the overall construction budget, Wyatt said the commissioners expect to include that if they authorize the overall project.“My frustration has been I’ve got to know how much money we’re going to borrow so we can pay these people,” he said. “It looks like it’s right at $60 million.” The school system hired PFA Architects in October to do the preliminary design for $130,142, with that amount refundable as a credit if the county school system retains PFA to complete the final design and construction drawings, a job that's expected to take a year.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

IAM offers to help furloughed federal employees

Interfaith Assistance Ministry, the largest provider of crisis services in Henderson County, is extending its food pantry and basic emergency services to Henderson County federal government employees who are being impacted by the partial government shutdown. Affected workers will need to provide their federal government ID to receive food from IAM’s pantry. The ongoing partial government shutdown has officially become the longest running shut-down in history. Approximately 800,000 of the 2.1 million federal workers in the United States have been furloughed or deemed as an essential employee and are required to work without pay. Over one-third of the federal government workforce did not receive paychecks last week and have been out of work for 25 days. The lack of a paycheck is placing many federal workers in dire financial situations. “Interfaith Assistance Ministry wants to assist our struggling residents who work for the federal government during this unprecedented time of need,” said Elizabeth Willson Moss, IAM’s executive director. “Please share this information with any federal employees you may know. We will give them a hand-up to help them survive this financial crisis.” In Henderson County, federal workers are employed at the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site, the Social Security Administration office, as federal marshals, airport security and others. IAM, located at 310 Freeman St., just past the Blue Ridge Mall, provides services from 9 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

AVL celebrates 1 million passengers in '18

For the first time in its 58-year history, Asheville Regional Airport passed the 1 million mark in annual passengers. In 2018, 1,134,568 passengers utilized a commercial flight at AVL, on one of six airlines: Allegiant, American, Delta, Elite, Spirit and United. Passenger numbers grew by 18.6 percent compared to 2017, making 2018 the second consecutive year of double-digit growth and fifth consecutive record year overall. The number of passengers has grown by 67 percent since 2013, when AVL served 678,023 passengers. Additionally, the airport on the Henderson-Buncombe county line is the fourth largest commercial service airport in North Carolina, and one of the fastest-growing small hub airports in the country. A recent economic impact study showed that the airport contributes nearly $1.5 billion annually to the local economy. "One million is a milestone," Lew Bleiweis, Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority executive director, said in a news release. "The unprecedented growth we have experienced in the past few years reflects the vitality of our region as a whole. We thank our airline partners, our dedicated airport staff and tenant organizations, and we especially thank our local community for choosing to 'fly local.'" To celebrate the "one million" milestone, the airport is kicking off 2019 with a 58th birthday party with a regional Chamber of Commerce networking event, followed by a week of surprises in the terminal. "We want to surprise and appreciate travelers, and thank them for choosing AVL," said Bleiweis. "They are all truly 'One in a Million,' and that's our theme this week. We have some amazing surprises in store - and this week will only be the beginning. To celebrate our 58th year - and the amazing one million milestone - we plan to provide at least 58 random acts of kindness for our travelers in 2019. This airport continues to grow with and for our region, and it's because our local travelers embrace Asheville Regional Airport. It is our pleasure to thank them all." Last year new or expanded routes announced included:- Denver (Allegiant)- Dallas/Ft. Worth (American)- Ft. Lauderdale (Spirit)- New York (American - starts May 2019)- Orlando (Spirit)- Philadelphia (American - starts May 2019)- Sarasota (Allegiant - starts February 2019)- Tampa (Spirit)- Washington, D.C. (United - starts February 2019)- Year-round daily service to five international hubs   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

School Board sends county costlier — by $7 million — HHS construction plan

The Henderson County School Board unanimously endorsed and sent on to the Board of Commissioners on Monday night a new plan for Hendersonville High School that preserves the historic Stillwell core building while adding a second large classroom building, second gym, new courtyard space and numerous security improvements.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

City may reduce buffer between dog kennels and homes

The city could allow overnight dog boarding closer to homes if the Hendersonville City Council OKs a zoning code amendment.   Read Story »

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