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Missing person report could be connected to fugitive

Henderson County News

PUBLIX BREAKS GROUND

A contractor broke ground today on a 50,000-square-foot Publix store on Greenville Highway at White Street expected to be finished in 10 months. Falsely rumored to have pulled up stakes, Publix and the developer of its grocery stores, Halvorsen Development Corp., have been working behind the scenes to win permits from environmental, zoning and traffic regulators.  Publix hired general contractor Benning Construction Co. of Atlanta, which paid $30,688 for building permits at the Henderson County Building Permit office on Monday. Benning described the job as a $4.4 million structure. "Halvorsen is the owner representative" for pre-construction work and development, said Anthony Long, senior project manager for Benning. "Our contract is with Publix. It'll be a 10-month project. We're just kicking off today." The contractor and representatives of the city, county, NCDOT and others met on the site under two canopies for a preconstruction meeting. Heavy equipment was being trucked in and unloaded and stacks of 24-inch pipe were already on the ground. They will be used for the intensely planned and much-scrutinized hyrdrologic engineering job to build a 50,000-square-foot store and parking lot in the Mud Creek floodplain. Engineers have designed a system of 659 geo-piers, a structural support used to support large buildings in wet areas. Motorists will see dump trucks hauling in hundreds of loads of dirt to raise the site above the floodplain. "In eight to 10 weeks they should see the building come out of the ground," Long said. Other contractors identified in the building permit were electrical contractor Haynes Heating and Cooling of Asheville, plumbing contractor Lloyd Blackwood of Woodleaf (near Salisbury) and Diboco Fire Sprinklers of Flat Rock. The city, which is the clearinghouse to check off those permits, issued a zoning permit on Friday, said city planner Daniel Heyman.“They submitted plans and they have final site plan approval,” Heyman said. “We got confirmation from DOT, from the state and all our city departments that they met all the requirements.”Charlotte-based Publix spokeswoman Kim Reynolds confirmed the approximate timeline of construction. "Weather and other factors certainly can affect construction, yet our plan is to have the store completed in mid-late 2018," she said. “We don’t have a confirmed opening date at this time."Word that the Lakeland, Fla.-based grocery giant was looking to build a store here first surfaced in February 2015 when the city attorney told the Hendersonville City Council that Publix needed a small sliver of city-owned land to complete a seven-acre site on Greenville Highway at White Street. Since then, Halvorsen has been working on getting the permits and preparing the site. After Publix bought the land for $5,795,000, in June 2016, contractors cleared the site. Receiving a permit from the Federal Emergency Management Agency consumed several more months of studies and negotiations.One of the last steps occurred last month when Publix bought a .0767-acre strip of land along Greenville Highway from Chadwick Square Shopping Center LLC, the owner of the old Food Lion site. The land cost $100,000, according to Henderson County land records.Publix also negotiated agreements with landowner William A. Pace Jr. for a drainage easement and temporary access for construction staging.The NCDOT is requiring Publix to add a northbound center turn lane into the southern-most driveway entrance. The property sale and easement agreements were recorded on June 28.Plans submitted by Halvorsen’s traffic engineers also show a 130-foot southbound right turn lane on Greenville Highway across from Copper Penny Street and a right turn lane from White Street into the store parking lot. Plans show that Greenville Highway and White Street bordering on the supermarket will be milled and repaved.   Read Story »

Laurel Park News

Laurel Park supporters spar over nonprofit

LAUREL PARK —Laurel Park residents who are questioning a proposal to change the legal makeup of a 60-year-old nonprofit that supports the "Town on the Mountain" debated the change on Tuesday night at the First Congregational United Church of Christ.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Meadows hosts Veterans Solutions Seminars next week

U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows will host a time for veterans to ask questions and bring up concerns about health care coverage during his fourth annual NC-11 Veterans’ Solutions Seminars next week, including one from 1 to 5 p.m. at Fletcher Town Hall, 300 Old Cane Creek Road. In partnership with the Charles George VA Medical Center staff, the NC Division of Veteran’s Affairs and the Veterans’ Affairs Winston-Salem Regional Benefit Office, Meadows host the events for veterans and their families. Constituents will be invited to meet with members of Meadows’ staff, representatives from the VA hospital, the benefit office and the NC division of Veterans Affairs to get assistance with issues surrounding VA benefits, healthcare and disability. Meadows has other Veterans’ Solutions Seminars scheduled for Waynesville and Morganton.     Read Story »

Henderson County News

Law officers close more of forest as manhunt continues

Law officers have now closed the entire area east of U.S. 276 and south of the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Pisgah Ranger District including all campgrounds and campsites in the area as a massive manhunt continues for an armed fugitive.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

'No, I'm not resigning,' Absher says

The Henderson County School Board took just eight minutes to call for the resignation of board member Michael Absher on Monday afternoon — delivering a form of public censure that Absher immediately vowed to defy.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

IAM names new director

The Board of Directors of Interfaith Assistance Ministry announced Monday that Elizabeth Willson Moss has been hired as IAM’s new executive director.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Report: Dangerous suspect spotted, flees again

A man hunt in Pisgah National Forest involving multiple law enforcement agencies continued Sunday, shutting down much of the forest. Roads and trails on the Pisgah Ranger District east of Highway 276 and south of the Blue Ridge Parkway are closed because of the intense hunt for a suspected house burglar who, armed with a handgun, stole a mountain bike and pedaled into the woods to elude pursuing deputies. Visitors to the Pisgah National Forest should avoid the area which includes trails and roads in the Mills River area, Yellow Gap Road, Turkey Pen Gap, Trace Ridge, and Wash Creek, the Transylvania Sheriff's office said. U.S. 276 is also closed from the Pisgah Ranger District office to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Attractions along this stretch of road are closed today including Sliding Rock, Cradle of Forestry, Looking Glass Falls, and Pisgah ranger station visitor center and the regularly scheduled Songcatchers Music Series was called off. Numerous law enforcement agencies led by Transylvania County Sheriff's Office are engaged in a search for a suspect who is known to be armed and dangerous. Transylvania County sheriff’s deputies received a BOLO (be on the lookout) alert from Henderson County on Saturday in reference to a suspect vehicle in a breaking and entering in Mills River near the Transylvania and Henderson County line. Transylvania Sheriff’s deputies spotted a vehicle matching the description in Pisgah National Forest, just off U.S. Highway 276 North. When a patrol deputy attempted to initiate a vehicle stop on Avery’s Creek Road, the suspect refused to stop and a vehicle pursuit ensued.The suspect continued on Avery’s Creek Road, and at one point quickly exited his vehicle, and stole a mountain bike, while pointing a firearm at the owner. The suspect placed the stolen bike in his vehicle, and the vehicle pursuit continued. Deputies were unable to make contact at that instance due to the crowded nature of hikers and campers on the roadway. The suspect then blocked the roadway, parking his vehicle sideways, hopped on the stolen mountain bike, and fled into the woods. A perimeter was established in the area, and the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team (SRT) was called out to attempt to locate the suspect. Other agencies assisting in the manhunt include the Brevard Police Department, the U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement, the NC State Highway Patrol (including helicopter support), the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office (including a Special Response Team), the NC State Bureau of Investigation, and the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office. At the time of this press release, the suspect has not been located. The suspect has been identified as Phillip Michael Stroupe II, 38, with a last known address of Weaverville. He is described as a white male, approximately 5-feet 8-inches tall, with a small build; he has a shaved head and a large distinct tattoo on his neck just under his chin. He is considered armed and dangerous. The suspect has a history of violence and resisting law enforcement. He has outstanding warrants in Buncombe County for kidnapping, and he also has pending charges in Yancey County. Law enforcement agencies involved in the search included the Brevard Police Department, the U.S. Forest Service, State Highway Patrol and helicopter support, Henderson County Sheriff’s Office and Special Response Team, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office. If anyone has any information, please contact the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office at (828) 884-3168.     Read Story »

Henderson County News

Elections board upholds ruling on candidate's age

The Henderson County Board of Elections on Thursday unanimously upheld a ruling by elections administrators that 20-year-old John F. Moore Jr. is too young to run for the Hendersonville City Council.   Read Story »

Mills River News

Pardee to open urgent care clinic in Mills River

Pardee UNC Health Care plans to open a 2,500-square-foot urgent care center in the Ingles Shopping Center in Mills River by February, the hospital announced Thursday. The urgent care center on N.C. 280 at North Mills River Road would be Pardee's third in Henderson County. It also operates clinics off of Four Seasons Boulevard and at the Mission Pardee Health Campus in Fletcher. “We are excited to see the population and industry growth in the Mills River and Etowah areas of Henderson County,” Johnna Reed, chief administrative officer at Pardee, said in a news release. “As demonstrated with previous market growth, we see an increased demand for urgent care centers. Urgent care continues to play an integral role in the continuum of care and we want to make sure residents have the care they need, when and where they need it.” The decision would appear to suspend, for now, any plans to develop a 20-acre parcel aross the road that Pardee bought in 2015. “We continue to evaluate the best use for the property across the street,” Reed said. “Our board and our administration want to ensure that the health care services offered are in alignment with the long-range needs of the area.” According to the American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine, urgent care facilities fill the gap in health care that exists between the primary care provider and the emergency room. There are approximately 8,000 centers in the United States and another 1,200 retail clinics operating in mainstream drugstores. The difference in the two is that urgent care centers, like the one set to open in Mills River, provide a broader scope of services than a retail clinic. Wounds, injuries, fractures, asthma attacks and mild concussions can be treated, in addition to the sore throats, common cold and allergic reactions treated in retail clinics. In addition, Pardee’s urgent care center will have X-ray and lab facilities, with board-certified providers providing medical services. Pardee’s urgent care centers also offer sports physicals and pre-employment physicals and testing. “Since our urgent care centers are part of the larger Pardee UNC Health Care system, our physicians and medical staff can make the appropriate referrals if a patient presents with something more complicated,” said Reed. “In addition, patients usually find that the average cost of a visit to an urgent care center is significantly less than to an emergency department, with much less time spent waiting for care. While urgent care centers are not meant to replace the primary care physician, we do see them as transforming how patients access care, particularly after hours when their doctor may not be available.”   The opportunity for an urgent care center in the Ingles shopping center accommodated the immediate timing and needs of the community, she added.   Read Story »

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