Opinion

Thorns & Roses: Apples, flags, noise and racket

By Bill Moss, Published: May 18, 2012

Thorn — To the bad break on weather that is making 2012 crop prospects bleak.First the unseasonably warm weather of February and March coaxed early blooming of apples, blackberries and grapes. Then a series of hailstorms pelted the apple crops, turning table apples into juice apples in minutes. It could be the worst year for apples since the Easter freeze of 2007. The county's fledgling wine industry didn't need this setback either. Here's hoping the later varieties of apples and the remaining undamaged trees produce a good crop to get farmers through the year.

Rose — To the city of Hendersonville, for completing work in the 300-400 blocks of North Main Street and on the city Gateway Park at the southern door to downtown. The work was dusty and noisy, for sure, but it was finished in time for the season. The Gateway Park includes landscaping, a welcome sign and, thanks to military veteran Jeffrey Stonecipher and HonorAir founder Jeff Miller, an American flag. HonorAir paid to erect the American flag. The city added the North Carolina flag and Hendersonville flag. The work in the middle blocks of Main Street included larger common areas, a new stage replacing the old gazebo, new furniture and new heavy-duty receptacles for trash and recycling. The core purpose of the work was to repair failing pipes underground. As important a benefit long-range is that the work to clean up, repave the street and redo sidewalks makes Main Street better for business, more attractive for tourists and local patrons and better for the economy.

Thorn — To a high-risk move to control the noise of nightlife downtown. The City Council voted this month to study options for turning down the volume. Condos next to T's Blue Note Grill, an upstairs blues and jazz club at 114 N. Main St., have complained to the city about noise after midnight. This is understandable. But what the council ought to be wary of is killing a fly with a howitzer. We have no doubt that the city staff can find plenty of model ordinances that quell the noise after dark, right after they roll up the sidewalks and turn out the lights. That's not Hendersonville, not anymore. The Blue Note issue really ought to be settled by the building owners and tenants if there is any way possible. We're not arguing for all-night noise and a saloon environment. That would hurt downtown's surging vitality. But some accommodation to the music that makes nightlife sing is a part of urban living. After all, we've now got a first-rate entertainment venue, in the Flat Rock Playhouse downtown space, and Hendersonville Little Theatre is moving to Washington Street. The council ought not throw up roadblocks to this important component of our Main Street appeal.

Rose — To the family of Wayne Carland of Mills River. Elsewhere on these pages, the Lightning cautions against spending too much of the town's reserves. But Councilman Carland and his family are doing their part for recreation while saving the town a ton of money. A land developer and owner of Valley Ag, Carland donated $75,000 for new tennis courts at the new Town Park. With the town's contribution of $85,000, Mills River will be able to add four tennis courts. The town should thank its net prophet.