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Special needs vendors to sell crafts Saturday

Henderson County News

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 News

Second class of Walk of Fame honorees announced

The Henderson County Walk of Fame Committee announced 10 honorees on Monday for the second class of the figures who contributed in a significant and positive way to the county. The committee received about 30 nominations, from which it selected 10 recipients of the honor. (A maximum of 10 was a change in the rules after the committee named 17 recipients in the inaugural class.) “If you look at the list, this year we’ve got some real heavy hitters,” said Tom Orr, a retired theater teacher and county native who is the founding chairman of the Walk of Fame. “There’s just a lot of very prominent people that were selected this year. The ones that have been notified have all responded very favorably. They’re very excited about the whole thing.” Here are the 2018 honorees, with sketches provided by the Walk of Fame Committee: Louise Bailey: Mrs. Bailey was a local historian and author. She wrote the column “Along the Ridges” for the Hendersonville Times-News for 42 years. Her lasting contribution to Henderson County was leaving a recorded history of our community for generations to come. Georgia Bonesteel: Mrs. Bonesteel is an artist and author on quilting. She is a member of theInternational Community of Quilters and host of her own television program “Lap Quilting” on North Carolina Public Television and PBS. Her lasting contribution to Henderson County was giving recognition and promoting the mountain arts and crafts. A. S. "Bert" Browning, Jr.: Mr. Browning began and ran a dairy farm known as Kalmia Dairy. He went on to become a successful builder and contractor in our community. His lasting contribution to Henderson County was his work to establish the Hendersonville Housing Authority which continues to assist those in need of housing. Dr. Kenneth Cosgrove and Eleanor Cosgrove: Dr. Cosgrove practiced internal medicine with a specialty in heart disease for over 50 years. His lasting contribution, in addition to his medical career, included founding the first Pardee Intensive Care Facility, Four Seasons Hospice, Blue Ridge Community Health Center and Carolina Village Retirement Home.Mrs. Cosgrove served as Director Emeritus of The Blue Ridge Community College Education Foundation. Her lasting contributions to Henderson County included raising support funds and in leading the change from the Henderson County Technical Institute to The Blue Ridge Community College. She was also instrumental in the formation of the Henderson County League of Women Voters. Albert Edwards: Mr. Edwards was Hendersonville's longest serving mayor from 1932-1969. During this time he led our community through the Depression and World War II. His lasting contribution to Henderson County was his active support for the building of Pardee Hospital, the construction of Interstate 26, lighting for the city, and the creation of an airport. Grace Etheredge: Mrs. Etheredge was a local artist who taught classes and encouraged art in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her lasting contribution to Henderson County was the founding of The Art League of Henderson County and helping to found the Opportunity House. Frank Ewbank: Mr. Ewbank enlisted in the army in 1942 and after his military service ran a successful insurance business for many years. His lasting contribution was as a member of the Henderson County Board of Education. He also served as a founding trustee of Blue Ridge Community College which continues to educate students of Henderson County today. Robroy Farquhar: Mr. Farquhar was a local actor, director, and member of the ProfessionalActors Union in New York. His lasting contribution to Henderson County was the founding of The Flat Rock Playhouse, the State Theatre of North Carolina, which continues to train actors and entertain people today. Josiah Johnson: Mr. Johnson dedicated his life to agriculture and truck farming. His lasting contribution to Henderson County was paving the way for future farmers to grow, sustain and market crops in our community and across the country. Robert Morgan: Mr. Morgan is a local author who has written books of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction which have brought national attention to our community. His lasting contribution to Henderson County is through his writings depicting the southern Appalachians, the Green River area and the Blue Ridge mountains. His literary works will influence generations to come. Orr announced the honorees to the Board of Commissioners and the Hendersonville City Council this week. “I want this to be representative of people from the beginning of our county to the present,” Orr said. On May 6 Carolina Village will again host a dinner honoring the recipients and the families of recipients.Orr first presented the idea for a Walk of Fame to recognize outstanding contributors to the growth and development of Henderson County in March of 2013. After the City Council and Board of Commissioners endorsed the idea and appointed steering committee members, the committee organized in December 2015. It announced the first class of honorees in December 2016. Orr rotates off the committee in June. Members elected Kaye Youngblood, a retired Hendersonville High School teacher, as chair-elect. Orr has two main goals in mind as he prepares to hand off the Walk of Fame leadership.“We need to get a financing mechanism in place that will ensure that this will continue,” he said. “The two boards gave some seed money of $1,500 each” and the committee raised money. “In the end of the year report, we had over $5,000 in the treasury. That showed we were solvent. We not only paid all our bills we exceeded that and since then we’ve gotten a donation from the Civitan Club and that makes it up to $6,000.”His second priority is education.“I think we need to let the residents and the visitors and the schoolchildren aware as to the importance of these people and what they have done in our county.” he said. “That’s what I want to get started. I want to take something to the school system that will help the schoolchildren know who C.M. Pace was and the importance of Georgia Bonesteel.”He hopes the Walk of Fame continues and that the community will continue to embrace the idea of honoring the leaders who shaped Henderson County. “Let’s just hope it has wings to fly,” he said. “I think it does.”     Read Story »

Henderson County News

LIGHTNING EDITORIAL: Saying no to positive assets

Ask Joe Sanders what the bicycle community thinks of the current retreat from bike lanes and greenways in road improvement projects and he will gently remind you that you’re asking the wrong question.   Read Story »

Laurel Park News

Bike lanes becoming first casualty of war on widening

Richmond Meadows, who won a seat on the Mills River Town Council in the Nov. 7 election, said voters on the campaign trail were decidedly cool to the idea of a greenway along N.C. 280 from the French Broad River to Brevard.   Read Story »

Flat Rock News

Leaders pitch Mud Creek greenway to replace Kanuga bike lanes

Elected leaders negotiating a scaled-back widening project on Kanuga Road have endorsed a separate greenway along Mud Creek to replace bike lanes they want scratched from the road project. Henderson County Commissioner Bill Lapsley, Hendersonville City Council member Steve Caraker and Flat Rock Village Council member John Dockendorf said in interviews last week that the three of them pitched the idea during a meeting last month with NCDOT Division 14 Engineer Brian Burch, the top-ranking state transportation official for the 10 western-most counties. During the meeting, Lapsley, Caraker and Dockendorf came up with a compromise idea of running a separate greenway along a city sewer line easement that follows Mud Creek. Mud Creek runs from Jackson Park, under South Main Street and White Street and behind the new Publix site on Greenville Highway (where the city owns a piece of property). The creek crosses Erkwood near Kanuga, runs along the bottom of the Crooked Creek and English Hills subdivisions and crosses Little River Road near Berea Church Road. “Hopefully the county will approve a feasibility study that will show that we’re not completely throwing the bike-ped community under the bus,” Dockendorf said. “I’m hoping this is an elegant compromise and not an ugly compromise.” On Monday night, commissioners did just that, after Lapsley described the meeting with Burch and urged his colleagues to endorse the greenway study. “From my standpoint, I’m not an ardent bicycle rider but I understand there are a lot of folks that are,” Lapsley said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to mix bicycle transportation and pedestrian transportation in close proximity to vehicles. I think that’s a disaster waiting to happen. If you have sidewalks, get them as far from the roadway as you can. If you have bicycles get ‘em as far away from the vehicle as you can. In that case what do you do? Greenways.” County planners estimated a study of a mile-long corridor from the Publix site to Erkwood Drive wold cost $50,000. The county plans to apply for a $40,000 NCDOT grant. Henderson County could match put up the required 20 percent match of $10,000, although commissioners asked whether the city of Hendersonville might participate in some way in the project. Caraker is scheduled to talk about the negotiations with the NCDOT to trim the Kanuga widening project and also the Mud Creek greenway idea. Although the three elected leaders said they talked only in general terms about the path, all left the meeting in support of the idea and got a tentative buy-in from Burch. When they asked whether the NCDOT could fund the greenway as part of the Kanuga widening project, Burch said no; it would be a separate project. That could be significant because bike lanes would come out of the NCDOT highway funds; the state agency's funding of separate greenways generally require a 20 percent local match. “We’ve got to get it funded the same we’ve been doing with the Oklawaha Greenway and other projects,” Laplsey said. “He said, ‘I don’t think DOT would have any objection to that.’” Caraker credited Lapsley with the idea. From his background as a civil engineer, Lapsley knew about the sewer easement running south along Mud Creek. “So he suggested we put a walking path on top to offer a consolation prize to those folks that were disappointed with losing a bike path on Kanuga,” Caraker said. Lapsley then suggested the county take the lead to apply for a grant for a feasibility study. The process has to be fast-tracked because applications for that pot of greenway money need to be submitted by Dec. 31. After Henderson County applies for the grant, the proposal would go next to the French Broad MPO, the regional planning agency that prioritizes road improvement projects. “We’re not committed to building it,” Lapsley said. “We’re committing to have a study done and a year from now if it all makes sense we could apply for funding to build it.” Lapsley, Caraker and Dockendorf all serve on the county Transportation Advisory Committee. On that board and on their own elected positions they have heard months of protest from residents opposed to the $20 million Kanuga project from Church Street to Little River Road that would expand the road to as wide as 64 feet. From from Hebron Road to Erkwood Road, initial plans showed a 5-foot sidewalk, a 4-foot bike lane and 11-foot center turn lane. The Hendersonville Lightning reported two weeks ago that Burch had agreed to the elected leaders’ appeals to shrink the widening footprint by eliminating bike lanes. Another potential compromise, Laplsey said last week, is a “valley curb” instead of traditional curb and gutter. “It’s flat and it has a V in it and a car can actually drive through it,” he said. “So what happens is that in effect it replaces the drainage ditch so now you’ve eliminated a traffic hazard. It provides drainage capability of the ditch but it also provides additional width for the road.” Although a valley curb would not replace bike lanes, it would give riders more room if they choose to use Kanuga. “You’ve in effect given the bike rider 4 to 5 feet more width than he has today to ride and the car can ease around him,” Laplsey said. On behalf of the city, Caraker suggested that a greenway could pass through city-owned property behind the Publix site and then follow the city sewer easement along Mud Creek. “If the Ecusta Trail ever got built that ends up near Ecusta trail,” Caraker said. That led to talk of a larger plan that would extend a Mud Creek greenway from the White Street-Greenville Highway area to Jackson Park. Separately, in yet another big transportation project in the pipeline, the NCDOT has plans to redo the entire Greenville Highway-Spartanburg Highway intersection. A Mud Creek greenway should be part of that discussion, Lapsley said. “I think now is the time to do it,” he said. The feasibility study should add the Jackson Park link so local officials and engineers can “figure out how we could pass a greenway through that whole area.” The elected leaders cautioned that the study itself is only a first step and that many hurdles remain, including private property concerns and funding. “In the perfect world we’d be able to connect Flat Rock and Estate Drive and Gracewood and English Hills and Crooked Creek and a lot of the other residents and come out at the Chadwick corner,” Dockendorf said. “It would be a nice transportation corridor. It wouldn’t keep the mopeds off Kanuga but it would give biking and pedestrian access to a lot of people without taking a lot of front lawns and stone walls on Kanuga.”   Read Story »

Henderson County News

City moves to ease zoning on pet sitting

The Hendersonville Planning Board is recommending a zoning code change that allows a pet-sitting business to continue at 1516 Fifth Ave. W.Michael and Melanie Gambill operate a pet-sitting service called Sleeps with Dogs out of their home. Because pet sitting was not allowed in the C-4 neighborhood commercial zone, the city staff drafted a new zoning category more limited than pet boarding. The change would allow pet sitting as a conditional use subject to Board of Adjustment approval in the neighborhood commercial and residential commercial transition zones.In its Nov. 13 meeting, the Planning Board approved the zoning code text amendment, which goes to the Hendersonville City Council next week. Restrictions include:• Only members living in the home “shall be engaged in pet-sitting.”• There can be “no change in the outside appearance of the building” other than one non-lighted sign no more than 4 feet, 2 inches in area.• Animals can’t be outdoors unsupervised.• All animals must be at least six months old. No more than six can stay in the home at a time.• The pet-sitting business must have all local and state licenses required by law.The Gambills’ Planning Board case came up one day before their next door neighbor won approval from the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a setback variance for a deck. The couple opposed the change at the property next door, which is being developed as a coffee shop and beer and wine bar.“Right now we have issues,” Melanie Gambill said. “My husband explained all of our issues but they were totally debunked. Nobody listened to anything we had to say.”Rolf Martin, owner of the property next door, declined to comment on the dispute.“No comment,” he said. “I don’t want my name connected with her.”   Read Story »

Laurel Park News

Local roaster plans coffee, beer and wine bar on Fifth

A coffee roaster plans to open a coffee shop and beer and wine bar on Fifth Avenue West at the Hendersonville city limits by spring.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Guidance counselor sent to prison for Medicaid fraud

ASHEVILLE — A 47-year-old elementary school guidance counselor from Tryon was sentenced to two years in prison after he pleaded guilty to billing Medicaid for more than $450,000 in false claims for mental and behavioral health services he did not provide,  U.S. Attorney R. Andrew Murray announced.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Valley Hill fire rating improves

Valley Hill Fire & Rescue has been awarded a Class 3 rating from the North Carolina Department of Insurance based on such factors as proper staffing levels, sufficient equipment, proper maintenance of equipment, communications capabilities and the availability of water, Fire Chief Tim Garren announced. The inspection, conducted by officials with Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal, is required on a regular basis as part of the North Carolina Response Rating System. The Response Rating System ranges from a Class 1(highest) to a Class 10 (not recognized as a fire department by the state). “I’d like to congratulate and thank the employees of Valley Hill Fire & Rescue,” Garren said. “Without the dedicated and highly skilled employees we have this achievement would not have been responsible."     Read Story »

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