Free Daily Headlines

News

Set your text size: A A A

News

Fiesta celebrates Latin culture

Fletcher News

Parents charged, baby is safe

FLETCHER — Law officers on Wednesday located a couple wanted on felony child abuse charges in Fletcher and took them into custody, the Henderson County sheriff's office said. Heather Cochran, Rex Douglas Cochran Jr., 39, and Cali Marie Cochran, 31,  were taken into custody at 5:25 p.m. Wednesday at 445 Coffee Lane. Officers from the Fletcher Police Department and deputies from the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office made entry and located them in the basement of a home occupied by friends of the couple. The couple is wanted in North Dakota on felony child abuse charges. The Haywood County Sheriff’s Office and the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office cancelled an Amber Alert they had issued for three-month-old Calie Marie Cochran; the child is safe. She was being evaluated Wednesday night by medical personnel, which is standard procedure when a child is involved. The investigation is ongoing, the Sheriff’s Office said.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Dr. Donaldson to run for Congress as Democrat

Scott Donaldson, a Hendersonville urologist, plans to run for the 11th Congressional District as a Democrat.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Historic Lampley Motors building could be razed for development

The historic Quonset hut style Lampley Motors building and the Southern Appalachian Coffee Co. would be bulldozed for new development if the Hendersonville Preservation Commission OKs the demolition.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Wiener races, Autumn ale on tap at SAB's Oktoberfest

Racing dachshunds, polka, beer and brats will be featured in the seventh annual Oktoberfest from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Southern Appalachian Brewery at 822 Locust St. SAB will also release of its fall seasonal — the Autumn Ale. The Mountain Top Polka Band will perform and Polka dance instruction will be offered. Haus Heidelberg and Underground Baking Company will provide German fare and hot pretzels. Games for the whole family include keg bowling, stein holding, Hammerschlagen, German costume contests for humans and dogs. Kids Zone is sponsored by Hands On!Admission is $6 at the gate. Under 16 get in for free. For more inforomation visit www.sabrewery.com. Register Wiener dogs now or day of the event at www.eventbrite.com.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

How much does it cost to name park features?

If you want your name up in lights, you can have it. But you have to get out your checkbook. The Hendersonville City Council approved a price list last week for naming various features of Berkeley Mills Park: baseball field, $150,000; dog park, $60,000; dugout improvements, $12,000 each; playgrounds, $150,000 for a single donor, $25,000 each for six donors; concession stand, $20,000; grandstand improvements, $50,000; picnic shelter, $20,000; bench, $1,500; picnic table, $1,000; scoreboard, $30,000; memorial trees, $300.Councilman Ron Stephens asked about the duration of the naming.“Let’s say somebody wants to name this baseball field after their business,” Stephens said. “Is that forever? What if they go out of business? Or they sell it to someone else and they change the name of it?”City Manager John Connet said the city can adjust the sponsorship policy to account for that.“If it is Acme, whatever, and they go out of business, you can put that in the agreement that that can be removed,” he said.The council did not act on naming of the park, which is made possible because Kimberly Clark donated 60 acres to the city in 2008.“One thing is it’s the historic name of it,” Stephens said. “But the other thing is they gave us the land.”   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Motorist appeals parking ticket to City Hall — and wins

Raymond Stone says a false assurance from city parking ambassador led to a $25 parking ticket at a city lot. He wanted the city to tear up the ticket. The city agreed.   Read Story »

Edneyville News

LIGHTNING EDITORIAL: Growth highlights need for comp plan update

Henderson County commissioners are having a hard time deciding whether to invest in a sewer line to serve the new Edneyville Elementary School because they have no idea what the longterm impact might be. It’s understandable.Development follows utility lines. Growth continues here at a pace not seen since the pre-crash days up to 2008. We’re seeing development heat up in the form of multi-family or senior housing requests that have come before the Board of Commissioners and Hendersonville City Council. The sewer line question has vexed commissioners because it could lead to explosive growth, because it would add pressure to transform apple orchards into tract housing and because it renews the bugaboo that the county would be ceding control of growth management to the city of Hendersonville, which owns the sewage treatment plant.County Engineer Marcus Jones presented a detailed study of the options for serving the new elementary school. One of the statistics was that zoning along the sewer line path would permit 10,766 multi-family units — a figure that’s more of a math equation than a market analysis. Overwhelmed by that alarming statistic and other factors, commissioners booted the sewer line decision for a second time after directing the county manager to negotiate a possible cost-sharing arrangement with the city.The issue, as Commissioner Grady Hawkins observed, is much larger than the Edneyville sewer line alone. The county’s comprehensive land-use plan, and not a sewer line, ought to guide growth in the county. Adopted in 2007 — after years of resistance by elected leaders of the day, including Hawkins — the comp plan is starting to fray from development pressure and a real estate market shift from big houses on one-acre lots to condos, cluster homes and rental units on grass that the busy retiree doesn’t have to mow.“It’s about at its shelf life,” Hawkins said of the 10-year-old land development code. “We need to be working on an update to the comprehensive land-use plan…. One way or another, we’re going to do something and I think it needs to be in concert with a plan that’s fairly well coordinated with the comprehensive land-use plan.”For veteran consumers of news about county government, Hawkins’ epiphany is meaningful. Among the five commissioners, Hawkins has the most experience in the politics of land-use planning and the deepest appreciation for the hazardous shoals of rezoning requests.In the recent past, homeowners have filled county meeting rooms to express shock and anger that:• Rural residential (R2R) zoning, which permits just two dwellings per acre, allows an event barn, which is a commercial use.• Residential One (R1) zoning (intended to “foster orderly growth where the principal use of land is residential) allows 16 dwellings per acre plus an RV park, restaurant, clubhouse, wellness center, etc.• Residential 2 (R2) zoning would allow 198 rental units on the 85-acre Horse Shoe Farm property on the French Broad River.In addition, the land-use code allows dozens of commercial or institutional uses allowed in residential zones as long as the Zoning Board of Adjustment issues a special-use permit.An Edneyville sewer line would be the latest potential driver of development that raises the need for a fresh look at the comp plan. There will be others. The Board of Commissioners is at a point how where it ought to authorize a broad review of the land development code with a goal of making the plan more compatible with the market.A standard SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) would show commissioners that the comp plan is weak when it comes to protecting established residential zones from dense and intense development.With the right land-use tools, the Board of Commissioners could turn a bullish real estate market, the baby boom retirement wave and an Edneyville sewer line into an opportunity for quality growth.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

No thanks, county says to Lake Osceola offer

Henderson County won't buy Lake Osceloa. Henderson County commissioners on Wednesday devoted a short discussion to the idea before voting unanimously to tell the lake's owner thanks but no thanks for his offer to sell the lake. Owner Todd Leoni last month offered to sell the lake to Henderson County for $3 million, saying that the 32-acre lake could be developed for fishing, walking and other recreation. "I would not be for it right now or maybe never with the condition of the dam," said Commissioner Charlie Messer. "We've got sewer issues and a lot of other issues down the road." "It is a potential opportunity but I just don't think the county is in a position to consider it," said Chairman Michael Edney. Commissioner Grady Hawkins added: "I would tell him thanks for the offer but at this point between want and need I don't think we're in a position to venture into the lake business." Leoni told Henderson County officials in an email he is offering the county the exclusive right to buy the lake as long as it remains a lake forever, maintained by the county and open to the public. The lake, which has had problems with its dam for many years, is not currently filled as work continues on the structure. "I am upgrading the dam and it will be in full compliance when I turn it over to the county," Leoni said. Besides the 32-acre lake, Leoni owns lakeside land that he said could be developed for public access. He also owns Mountain Lake Inn on North Lakeside Drive. "It’s killed my business for the past two years to have it down," he said of the dam. The inn is still open "but we have very limited check-ins because we don’t have a lake." Once filled, the lake could be a destination for local people and tourists, he said. Under conditions of his offer, Leoni asked that the property be "maintained as a lake forever, that the county maintains it and manages it and opens it up to the public." Commissioners made no comments and took no action after Leoni appeared before the board on Sept. 5.     Read Story »

Henderson County News

Don't miss this week's Hendersonville Lightning (143)

You won't want to miss this week’s Hendersonville Lightning. Only in the Lightning will you read aboutthe settlementthat will lead to the distribution of $5.5 million to Seven Falls property owners. Only the Lightning reports on a new pizza chain coming to Seventh Avenue East, the possible demolition of the historic Lampley Motors building on Church Street and read about a fourth generation Bearcat who leads the senior class at Hendersonville High School. You'll read dozens of local and community briefs, Ask Matt and more. You've got to get a copy because it's only in print and it's only in your Hendersonville Lightning.Here’s where you can pick up a LightningHendersonville• 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 Gen. Store)• Black Bear Coffee Co., Main Street• The 300 block of North Main Street(McFarland's Bakery / Mike's on Main). Pardee Hospital in the lobby. Flat Rock Playhouse, downtown(100 block of South Main Street)Southside Hendersonville(Spartanburg Highway)• Hairstyles by Charlene, Joel Wright Drive• McDonald's, Spartanburg Highway• Norm's Minit Mart, Spartanburg Highway• Hendersonville Co-op• Burger King/BP, Spartanburg HighwayIngles SupermarketSouthside Hendersonville(Greenville Highway)Carolina Ace HardwareWhitley Drug StoreFlat Rock/East Flat Rock• Flat Rock Post Office• Zirconia Post Office• East Flat Rock Post Office• Orr's Family Restaurant, Spartanburg Hwy• Energy Mart Exxon, Upward Road & I-26• Triangle Stop, 754 Upward Road & I-26Village Café and PubPage 2Hendersonville(Kanuga Road)• Hot Dog World, Kanuga Road• Mr. Pete's Market, Kanuga Road• Norm's Minit Mart, Kanuga RoadHendersonville(Fifth Avenue)Hendersonville Post officeFifth Aenue ShellLaurel Park• YMCA H'ville, Sixth Ave & Oak Str• Laurel Park Village, Rite-Aid.• Energy Mart Exxon, Brevard Road at Daniel DriveDixie Diner, Brevard RoadHighway 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, EtowahHighway 191(Haywood Road)• Joey's New York Bagels, Hwy 191• One-Stop Store #8, Haywood Road (Hwy 191)• Dollar General, Hwy 191 & Mountain RoadMills River• Triangle Stop, 4197 Haywood Road, Mills River• Mills River Family Restaurant. Food LionInglesPage 3Eastside Hendersonville and Four Seasons Boulevard• Norm's Minit Mart, Dana Road• Fatz Cafe, Dana Road & Four Seasons Blvd• Grocery Outlet, off Four Seasons Boulevard• McDonald's, Four Seasons Boulevard• Energy Mart Exxon, Four Seasons BoulevardMustang CafeHighway 64 East(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. Griffins Store, EdneyvilleShell station, 64 East and Sugarloaf RoadIngles, Howard Gap RoadMoose CafeHighway 25 North(Asheville Highway)• The Ugly Mug Coffee Shop, Hwy 25-N• Triangle Stop, Hwy 25-N, Balfour• Mountain Home Post Office• Fletcher Post OfficeInglesNaples Post OfficeTravel Plaza, US 25 and I-26Southern & Eastern Henderson County, Polk County• Dana Post Office• Rosco's Grocery, Green River• Saluda Post Office• Triangle Stop, 1487 Ozone Road, SaludaAll Henderson County Ingles StoresAll Henderson County Post Offices   Read Story »

News Archive