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Weather Channel to feature Hendersonville in fall celebration

Henderson County News

Sanctuary to host Bow Wow Film Festival

Bow Wow Film Festival, in coordination with Sanctuary Brewing Company and Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, is coming to the Sanctuary taproom in downtown Hendersonville on Oct. 17.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Gas shortage triggers conservation order

Henderson County imposed the first level of fuel conservation measures on county personnel as a pipeline leak continued to cause some gasoline shortages in the county. Numerous service stations across town ran out of gas and lines formed at those that still had fuel on Saturday as the area began to feel the effect of a major gas leak in Alabama that took a Colonial pipeline off of service. “I have asked out department heads to implement a level one conservation response,” County Manager Steve Wyatt said Tuesday. “Bottom line is they’re common sense measures. We’ve got four different levels of fuel conversation. So this is the basic level.” Level one urges personnel to skip non-essential travel and turn off the ignition when they’re out of the car. It does not restrict law enforcement or ambulance calls. “We think things will be back to normal probably middle of next week,” Wyatt said. County-imposed conservation measures don’t apply to schools. “I did get a report that their systems are basically in good shape,” he said. “You have had some sporadic instances of maybe some counties that don’t have their own storage capacity.” Colonial Pipeline announced on Monday that it was stepping up distribution to the affected states. 'As a result, following around-the-clock operations to effect this contingency plan, supplies of gasoline have been delivered and/or are in route to terminal locations in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina," Colonial said in a news release.  "Delivery times to mainline and stubline terminals in these markets vary." Gov. Pat McCrory issued an executive order that eased size, weight and registration requirements in order to encourage the flow of gas from other sources. Ingles' Gas Express on Spartanburg Highway was already out of gas on Saturday morning. Lines formed at Speedway on Spartanburg Highway at Chadwick Avenue. Norm's Mini-mart Shell had gasoline at mid-day and was out by 5 p.m. Stations on the I-26 interchanges were open and still selling gas. The shortage was caused by a break on Sept. 9 in a major gas pipeline that runs from Texas to New York and supplies gas to motorists on the East Coast. McCrory's office said Sunday that state officials got an update from Colonial Pipeline executives regarding plans for getting gasoline flowing again on a main line that supplies North Carolina and many other eastern states.   "Based on our ongoing updates from Colonial, the construction of a bypass pipeline is moving forward which will soon allow fuel supply operations to return to normal," McCrory said in a news release. "In the meantime, my executive orders remain in effect to protect motorists from excessive gas prices and minimize any interruptions in the supply of fuel."   While there are pockets of service stations that have experienced temporary shortages, many have received supplies and others have them scheduled for Monday. McCrory directed Emergency Management officials to stay in contact with local officials should they have any requests for assistance. Colonial told state officials that it expects to have a bypass of the leak in place by mid to late week. Upon completion of the bypass, it will take a day to test and get the line back in operation. The company has also been able to use another line to offset the shortage due to the line with the leak. Colonial continues trucking and re-supplying gasoline to the areas that need it.   On Thursday, McCrory issued an executive order temporarily waiving hours of service restrictions for fuel vehicles traveling in and through the state in order to prevent disruptions and backups at major fuel distribution hubs. Friday, the governor issued a second executive order that waives additional trucking restrictions and protects consumers from price gouging at the fuel pumps. Both executive orders remain in place for 30 days or until they are canceled.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

'Fast Cars, White Lightning' coming to BRCC

The Center for Cultural Preservation in partnership with Blue Ridge Community College will launch the third season of its “Keeping the Fires Burning” series with “Fast Cars and White Lightning: Moonshining and NASCAR.”   Read Story »

Henderson County News

County, Laurel Park win park grants

Henderson County won a $350,000 grant for the Bell Trail Park in Green River and Laurel Park won an $80,000 grant for improvements at Rhododendron Lake Nature Park in a new round of state parks and recreation grants.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Town dedicates mural honoring veterans

The Henderson County Fire Department hoisted a giant American flag above Andrea Martin’s mural honoring veterans on Sunday as townspeople and veterans dedicated the 90x20 foot salute. Led by Hendersonville Police Department and Patriot Guard motorcycle riders, Gold Star families rode up King Street to Fourth Avenue, where some of them could see their family members depicted in the mural.The wall depicts four military personnel who served in four branches of the armed services, including two who died in combat and one badly wounded.Terry Lee Varnadore Jr., 29, of the U.S. Army, died in Afghanistan in 2011. Jessie Cassada, 19, U.S. Marine Corps, died in Afghanistan in 2009. Todd King, U.S. Air Force, survived a suicide bomb in the Green Zone in Iraq. Local veterans Jessica Bayne, who served in the U.S. Coast Guard, and Tony Koone, a Navy veteran who teaches at Hendersonville Elementary School, are also depicted.“We want to make sure veterans know their sacrifices were not in vain,” said Martin, who worked on the mural in her free time during the past year.Martin, who has a full time job, said it took her 43 days to complete.At the dedication, the VFW presented Martin with a plaque for her service.“Vets are courageous, humble people of integrity,” she said.Martin’s father always taught her to honor veterans and now she has passed along that lesson to her son, who watched her paint the mural most days.“America sometimes has a short memory,” she said. “The best way to thank them is to honor their fallen and take care of their families.”In good weather and bad, Martin could be seen working on the mural throughout the past year.“Every family that I’ve met, I just adore them,” Martin said. “I can’t explain it. I feel a connection with them.”Tina Varnadore, mother of fallen Army veteran, Terry Varnadore, said, “We want to thank Andrea for what she has done to help honor our fallen.”Josh Smartt, president of the veterans supporter group Sheep Dog Impact Assistance, said, “I can’t think of a more fitting day.”He asked the audience to think about Sept. 12.“The day we were all Americans, one America,” he said. “We must remain vigilant. We must never forget the price paid for our freedoms.”During his high school years Jessie Cassada worked with Smartt in the summertime.“I look up there and I see Americans — men and women who made sacrifices for their country,” Smartt said. “Jessie and Terry made the ultimate sacrifice.”A former Marine himself, Smartt did not want Cassada to follow in his footsteps.“Jessie wanted to be a Marine since he was 13 years old and he died doing what he wanted to do,” said Chastity Bloomfield, a close friend of the Cassada family. “He was like a little brother to me. I took him to church when he was little.”“Most of the guys in our chapter are veterans, so it’s pretty emotional for us to be involved,” Smartt said. “At the end of the day, we are proud to have all of them on that wall and every branch of service represented.”Cameron Sproles, the best friend of fallen marine Jessie Cassada, attended the ceremony along with Cassada’s mother.“The mural represents our community as far as Hendersonville’s strong ties to supporting our veterans and fallen heroes,” Sproles said. “And especially today, on Sept. 11. It’s been a great day. And the work that has been put in to do this represents our community in a great fashion.” Henderson County Sheriff Charles McDonald served in the Navy toward the end of Vietnam.“Whatever branch, whatever role, those who have served should always be honored,” McDonald said.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Korean War veterans to board HonorFlight

Blue Ridge Honor Flight Founder Jeff Miller launched a program in the summer of 2006 to fly veterans to Washington to see the National World War II Memorial. The first flight took off on Sept. 23, 2006.More than 200,000 veterans later, the program that spread nationwide will celebrate its 10th anniversary and fly 102 veterans from Buncombe and Henderson counties to Washington, this time with Korean War veterans on board along with WWII veterans.The Korean War, sometimes referred to as “the forgotten war,” will be remembered by 68 Korean War veterans who are making the trip.“This day is all about the veterans,” Miller says.The itinerary includes the WWII Memorial, Korean Memorial, Vietnam Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. The veterans will see the changing of the guard and wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery Amphitheater. There will also be a wreath laying ceremony at the Korean Veteran Memorial. During lunch the group will be driven around on buses for a guided tour of D.C. Then it’s on to the Marine Corps Memorial and Air Force Memorial before driving by the Pentagon.The Transportation Security Administration allows veterans and guardians to go through expedited security at both the Asheville Regional Airport and Reagan National Airport in Washington.A few guardians will be making their second or third Honor Flight trip but for most the trip will be a new experience.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Ask Matt ... about sheriff's sale of unclaimed items

Q. I read in a recent issue of the Lightning where the Sheriff posted a notice for 162 unclaimed items. Where did they get them all? For those who missed it, the paper ran a legal ad for lawnmowers, rifle cases, laptops, power tools, bolt cutters and even a banjo! Some of these items were abandoned and turned in to the Sheriff’s Office. Others could have been recovered stolen property where the owner could not be identified. If you are the owner and you can produce a serial number, sales receipt, etc., you can get your item back.There will not be a fire sale on lost or stolen items. The disposition of recovered property is governed by law. After the deadline for claims, our Sheriff’s Office will turn over all unclaimed items to a third party, Propertyroom.com. These guys clean and test the items and destroy anything fake (like knock-off handbags). The merchandise is then added to other items from across the country. Similar to eBay, bidding is done online. Propertyroom.com gets a cut and Henderson County gets the net sales receipts. Eventually proceeds from the sale of items, again by law, ends up in the coffers of our county schools. Propertyroom.com has some pretty good deals on name brand jewelry, fashions, cars and more. Maybe we’ll see that banjo. Q. The county jail is only about 15 years old and now we are spending almost a million dollars to replace the roof. Why so soon? If you look at the County’s Detention Center’s roof from the air you get an idea just how massive it is. When it was built in 2001 the roof had a typical 10-year warranty during which time there were some repairs made that were covered. But the warranty expired five years ago and according to County officials the roof has simply reached the end of its useful service life. The roof is flat and supports heavy HVAC equipment, which is a hindrance to roof replacement and adds to the cost. The good news is that there will be no similar equipment on the roof of Henderson County’s new Health Sciences Center. Q. Can the traffic light at Asheville Highway at Haywood Road change more often? During rush hours, traffic backs up on both roads and creates a dangerous condition. I pitched the question to NCDOT traffic engineers, who said that U.S. 25 (Asheville Highway) has twice the traffic volume as N.C. 191 (Haywood Road) so any adjustments would only be minimal during peak times. This is an awkward intersection and the existing road alignment and lack of adequate right-of-way limits the potential for physical road improvements. Nevertheless, the NCDOT says technicians will review the signal settings.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

LIGHTNING EDITORIAL: Take a timeout and call the right play for HHS

Thanks to the Hendersonville High School mess, a level of mistrust has crept into the relationship between the Board of Commissioners and School Board that we have not seen since the recession-inspired budget cuts of 2007 and before that in the run-up to the failed school bond issue in 1997.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Sheriff offers emergency prep classes

The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office is offering two more Emergency Preparedness classes as part of National Preparedness Month.   Read Story »

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