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Brooks’ promotion, Powell’s retirement
 trigger turnover in judiciary

Hendersonville News

COUNTY KILLS HHS PLAN

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday voted to pull the plug on a new Hendersonville High School, ending, at least for now, a three-year political fight that has pitted city against county and the elected commissioners against the School Board.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Don't miss this week's Hendersonville Lightning (182)

You won't want to miss this week’s Hendersonville Lightning. You'll find coverage of the political conflict ahead of today's meeting of the Board of Commissioners to discuss the Hendersonville High School construction plan and the scoop on new judgeships that will become vacant with a retirement of a Superior Court judge and appointment of a District Court judge to a Superior Court seat. Inside, you'll find coverage of a 21-year-old Laurel Park man crusading for the end of student debt, plus the popular Ask Matt and Stuck in the Late Middle columns and more. You've got to get a copy because it's only in print and only in the Lightning! Here's where you can pick up a Lightning: Downtown Hendersonville• Hendersonville Lightning Office, 1111 Asheville Hwy.• Pop’s Diner, 5 Points, North Main Street• Triangle Stop, 701 North Main Street• The 500 block of North Main Street(First Citizens Bank / Mast General Store)• Black Bear Coffee Co., Main Street• The 300 block of North Main Street(McFarland’s Bakery / Mike’s on Main )• 100 block of South Main(Flat Rock Playhouse) Southside Hendersonville(Spartanburg Highway)• Ingles, Spartanburg Hwy.• Hairstyles by Charlene, Joel Wright Drive• McDonald’s, Spartanburg Hwy.• Norm’s Minit Mart, Spartanburg Hwy.• Hendersonville Co-op• Burger King/ BP, Spartanburg Hwy. Flat Rock/East Flat Rock• Flat Rock Post Office• Flat Rock Bakery• Zirconia Post Office• East Flat Rock Post Office• Whitley Drug, Greenville Hwy.• Energy Mart Exxon, Upward Road & I-26• Triangle Stop, 754 Upward Road & I-26 Along Kanuga Road• Hot Dog World, Kanuga Road• Mr Pete’s Market, Kanuga Road• Norm’s Minit Mart, Kanuga Road Laurel Park Area• Economy Drug on Fifth Ave. West• Fifth Avenue Shell• YMCA Hendersonville, Sixth Ave & Oak St• Laurel Park Village, RiteAid• Energy Mart Exxon, Laurel Park• Dixie DIner, Brevard Road West on Highway 64 (Brevard Road)• Horse Shoe Post Office• Mr Pete’s Market, Etowah, Hwy. 64-W• Blue Ridge Pizza, Etowah, Hwy. 64-W• Etowah Shopping Center, Etowah• Ingles, Brevard Road• Bandana’s Restaurant, Brevard Road North on Highway 191 (Haywood Road)• Joey’s New York Bagels, Hwy. 191• One Stop Store # 8, Haywood Road (Hwy. 191)• Dollar General, Hwy. 191 & Mountain Road• Triangle Stop, 4197 Haywood Road, Mills River• Ingle’s, Mills River, Hwy. 280 Eastside Hendersonville (Four Seasons Blvd.)• Norm’s Minit Mart, Dana Road• Fatz Cafe, Dana Road & Four Seasons Blvd.• Grocery Outlet, off Four Seasons Blvd.• Energy Mart Exxon, Four Seasons Blvd.• McDonald’s, Four Seasons Boulevard• Mustang Cafe, Dana Road East on Highway 64 (Chimney Rock Highway)• Triangle Stop, 2545 Chimney Rock Road, Hwy. 64-E• Mr Pete’s Market, East, Hwy. 64-E• Griffin’s Store Edneyville, Hwy. 64-E• Edneyville Post Office• Edneyville General Store• Walmart Shopping Center North on Highway 25(Asheville Highway)• The Ugly Mug Coffee Shop, Hwy. 25-N• Alykat, US 25-N• Triangle Stop, Hwy 25-N, Balfour• Mountain Home Post Office• Fletcher Post Office• Ingles, FletcherSouthern & Eastern Henderson County • Dana Post Office• Rosco’s Grocery, Green River• Saluda Post Office The Hendersonville Lightning is available at mostHenderson County post offices and Ingles supermarkets   Read Story »

Laurel Park News

Let School Board decide HHS plan, mayors tell county

Three mayors on Tuesday urged the Henderson County Board of Commissioners to defer to the School Board when it comes to the future of Hendersonville High School while another city council member’s remarks caused the county manager to scoff and walk out.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

No accord in sight ahead of HHS discussion

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners is set to take up the future of Hendersonville High School once again on Wednesday with no apparent agreement on the way forward.   Read Story »

Mills River News

What should Mills River greenway be called?

MILLS RIVER — The Town of Mills River is soliciting ideas for a name for the future N.C. 280 multi-use path that will connect the French Broad River to the heart of Mills River.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

East Flat Rock man charged with sex offenses

After an investigation by the Violent Crimes Unit from the Henderson County Sheriff's Office, detectives have charged Jesus Hernandez Flores, age 37 of Brooks Avenue in East Flat Rock, North Carolina with two felony counts of Indecent Liberties with a Child and one felony count of Statutory Sex Offense with a Child by an Adult. Flores was arrested today and remains in the Henderson County Jail under a $200,000 bond.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Ask Matt ... about new sandwich shop

Q. What do you know about the new restaurant in Horse Shoe on Highway 64 West? The corner storefront in the Horse Shoe Plaza mall has been less than kind to restaurants. Casualties include MoJo's Coffee, the Horse Shoe Grill, and just recently Bandana's. But there is a new chef in town and her name is Sandi Novak. I asked her why when so many other eateries have failed, hers would break the chain. Novak said it's a combination of knowing the business and knowing what customers want. The business part is hard to dispute. Novak has 30 years in the food service industry and holds a CIA certification (that's Culinary Institute of America, folks). Her concept is light breakfasts and pastries but you can get a breakfast wrap if you want. The lunch menu offers 10 different sandwiches plus soups and salads. You order at the counter and food is brought to your table but it's not served on china. Sandi's Kitchen uses eco-friendly biodegradable plates and cups. She said it saves water too. Sandi's Kitchen is open from7:00 am to 2:30 pm Monday through Saturday. They plan to do lunchtime catering in the future. Hey, if you can make it in Horse Shoe Plaza, you can make it anywhere! Q. How are the animals housed at the county animal shelter cared for at night and are they safe? Yes, they are safe. Brad Brayfield, Director of the Henderson County Animal Services Center confirmed that there is an employee at the Stoney Mountain Road facility every day to feed and clean but there is no one on a continual basis during non-operating hours (5:00 pm to 8:00 am and on weekends). Brayfield did share that our local law enforcement officers are trained to properly check-in dogs and cats when the Center is closed to the public. Based upon what I observed at the facility and my "conversations" with the dogs and cats, there was no reason to believe that the animals were not well cared for and secure. Q. I read where the Mills River Town Council voted for a 5-lane widening of NC 191 from NC 280 to Mountain Road. Will they really need all five lanes over the French Broad basin where it is swampy and a center turning lane is questionable? According to Brian Burch, NCDOT Division Engineer, the NC 191 project (R-2588-B) is being designed for a 5-lane undivided section within the town of Mills River but only a median divided 4-lane section from Ladson Road to South Rugby Road. This would include the river crossing. Burch added that the 4-lane section is the state's preferred highway alternative. However, Mills River asked for the five-lane design and it should function adequately when built. * * * * * Send questions to askmattm@gmail.com.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Davis Mountain property among 'best homes for gardeners' in the U.S.

A regular feature of The Week news magazine, “Best properties on the market,” spotlights a Hendersonville home as the “Steal of the week.”In the magazine's July 6 issue, the real estate feature focuses on “Homes for gardeners.” A 2,396-square-foot home on three private acres on Davis Mountain is among the six properties featured. Easy to understand why it’s the steal of the week. Listed at $350,000, it’s the only home that sells for less than $2 million. The other best homes for gardeners were in Mount Vernon, Wash. ($2.28 million); Sarasota, Fla. ($5.5 million); Bedford Hills, N.Y. ($2.88 million); Lyme, Conn. ($3.8 million); and Bend, Ore. ($3.45 million).   Davis Mountain home features hardwood floors and a wood stove.Listing agent Kelly Hetherington, of Beverly-Hanks & Associates, was delighted to learn that the home had been chosen for the feature.“It’s just a beautiful setting,” she says. “She does have some nice garden area.” The home also has an outdoor pool and decks. Built in 2001 of railroad ties and Carolina pine, the three-level home has a woodstove, a master bedroom with a clawfoot tub, front and back porches and a whole-house generator. Gardens? Of course. It has flower gardens, a large vegetable garden and fruit trees.The listing has generated “a lot of inquiries," she says. "We were in the counteroffer stage at one point but the buyer decided to go elsewhere.”A caller from Italy, who plans to visit Hendersonville, “wants to see it when he gets here.” The address is 45 Mack Hill Drive. Reach Hetherington at 850-509-0488.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Rescue dogs star in movie filmed here

After David Sullivan made a movie starring neighborhood dogs back in Dallas, fans asked him if planned a sequel. He did but in the meantime he and his wife, Jan, had retired to Hendersonville.“I thought I was going to have to go back to Dallas to do it,” he said. “Then we arrived in Hendersonville and we discovered this community full of incredible actors and musicians. It was a bonanza.”That’s how Hendersonville became the shooting location for Sullivan's sequel. “The Rescue Dogs of Western North Carolina: A Christmas Caper” premieres next week at the Regal Biltmore, starring local actors and 35 Hendersonville dogs.As soon as they arrived here in 2017, Sullivan and his wife bought season tickets to the Flat Rock Playhouse. It didn’t take him long to realize everything he needed for movie-making was right here in Hendersonville.After howling at Mark Warwick's performance in “Little Shop of Horrors,” Sullivan decided he had to have Warwick in the movie. He recruited Mark and his wife, Paige Posey, both professional actors. When he started laying the groundwork for the movie, he was astonished at the cooperation he received at every turn. County Engineer Marcus Jones helped arrange shooting involving county property; Hendersonville City Manager John Connet and Police Chief Herbert Blake made the downtown shooting easy.“They couldn’t have been nicer. It was not, ‘What do you want to do?’ It was, ‘How can we help you?’ We just did the whole production there. And now Hendersonville is going to be the central location for my future films. … The people’s enthusiasm keeps me going. They just love dogs here, and cats. So it’s a perfect place.” The Christmas Caper opens when, crossing the Smokies, a strong wind blows all the presents out of Santa’s sleigh unbeknownst to Santa. When he reaches the last stop of the night, Hendersonville, he realizes what's happened. Three dachshunds become the first enlistees to save Christmas when Santa’s sleigh lands on their roof. Hearing Santa’s sad story, they hatch a plan to “let themselves in” to all the stores downtown and collect gifts for everyone in Hendersonville, leaving Santa’s credit card as payment. The dachshunds visit the Blue Ridge Humane Society to recruit a rescue for the Christmas rescue. “There’s a dog there with lots of leadership capabilities. They talk her into coordinating this effort,” Sullivan says. She's a golden collie mix named Sasha.The villain is dog catcher Snidely McFish from “Tennalina,” a town so mean neither North Carolina nor Tennessee will claim it. Hendersonville’s police chief, played by Warwick, and an FBI agent, played by Posey, investigate a break-in at Renzo’s Ristorante, where the dogs have stolen gift certificates. “They call Renzo, so he’s in the film and he does a good job getting all excited,” Sullivan says.At Mast General, 60-pound Hungarian sporting dogs, or Vizslas, race through the store. The crew got permission to film in the store before it opened. “They really run fast,” Sullivan says of the Vizslas. “They allowed us to have these Vizslas running through their store at full speed. It really is funny just to look at.”A Vizsla in charge of disabling the burglar alarm accidentally sets off the sprinkler system and fire alarm. Meanwhile, the dogs who are supposed to be guarding Santa’s sleigh instead decide to take the sleigh for a joy ride, causing air traffic controllers to report a UFO, which results in the governor’s order to dispatch F-16s and the National Guard to Hendersonville while the first responders race to the fire alarm at Mast General … you get the idea.Two Newfoundlands break into Dancing Bear Toy Store, with the dog catcher on their tail. The Newfies freeze in front of a stuffed animal display and blend in, escaping capture.Preston Dyar plays Santa Claus. Scott Treadway, in the voice of a miniature dachshund, sings “Dog Bones o’er Carolina.” The dog catcher, played by Charlie Smith, gets doused by balloons filled with paint and then pea soup dropped by dogs piloting red miniature biplanes deployed to thwart him. The dog catcher nabs Sasha, the hero, and puts her on trial in Tennalina. The police chief and FBI agent save the day, with help from Frank “Fineprint” Peterson (specializing in 1-point fonts and missing semicolons), played by Page Collie, a real-life attorney who handled the real estate closing for the Sullivans.Recruiting the dog stars was easy. “We put an ad in the Pet Gazette and we got an immediate response,” Sullivan says. “People were so excited about having the dogs in the film. We bring the dog in and we want the dog to be comfortable and not nervous. We either have them sit or run and their parents are right there. The idea is we keep filming until we get a funny expression or some type of thing that looks like they’re talking. So it’s completely relaxed but we get footage that’s comical, and then write around that.”He hired nine or 10 voiceover artists who did three or four parts each. (A Doberman sings like Ethel Merman.)At 32 minutes, the film is short enough to leave plenty of time to introduce actors and entertain questions during the premiere, Sullivan says. The revenue comes from ticket sales plus a director’s cut DVD, including outtakes and scenes that didn’t make the finished product. His next step after the premiere is to try and sign a distributor. If that doesn’t happen, he hopes word of mouth will create enough buzz to warrant more showings in Hendersonville.Sullivan’s next project is a musical comedy based on a Battle of the Bands between beach music and Rolling Stones bands. (He’s recruited guitarist Bill Altman, drummer Paul Babelay and his wife Susan and their daughters Elizabeth and Rebecca, and is still casting otehr roles for that one.) “It’s Hollywood East as far as I’m concerned,” he says.  * * * * * “The Rescue Dogs of Western North Carolina: A Christmas Caper” premieres Wednesday, July 18, at the Regal Biltmore in Biltmore Park Town Square. Shows are at 5 and 6:30 p.m. Twenty-five percent of the gross revenue (not profit) goes to the Blue Ridge Humane Society. For tickets email jdmsullivan@att.net.     Read Story »

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