News

A sizeable reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in a recent burglary that took place at a Western North Carolina sporting goods store.

A press release from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said a reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of suspects involved in a burglary that took place Tuesday, Jan. 2, at the Blue Ridge Mall.

Authorities say shortly before 3 a.m. that morning, suspects broke into the mall, entered Dunham's Sports and stole multiple firearms.

Suspects were seen exiting the business and crossing the mall parking lot toward Freeman Street.

ATF is working with the Hendersonville Police Department on this ongoing investigation. Anyone with information about these thefts should contact the Hendersonville Police Department at 828-697-3025.

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOS$5,000 reward offered for info leading to arrest of suspects who stole firearms from store | WLOS

The city of Hendersonville said that as of 6 a.m., Wednesday, the majority of road barricades were removed as flood waters receded on city streets. However, the following closures remain in place:

• South King Street will remain closed as Public Works scrapes silt off the roadway.
• Patton Park and the Oklawaha Greenway remain closed due to flooding.

A News 13 crew captured video around noon of an area of Banner Farm Road, near Cams Path, that had flooded. Crews were on scene helping a driver who was stuck in a ditch near the flooded area.

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSSome roads remain closed Wednesday due to flooding | WLOS

The City of Hendersonville is working on creating its first Sustainability Strategic Plan, following the establishment of the Sustainability Division in 2023. The plan aims to set measurable goals that integrate environmental, social, and economic values to reduce the overall impact on the environment while strengthening the community. 

“This survey is an important step in gaining valuable input to help drive the recommendations for the City’s Sustainability Strategic Plan,” said the City of Hendersonville’s Sustainability Manager, Caitlyn Gendusa. “The plan will ensure there are actionable and tangible goals to expand sustainability efforts while realizing long-term cost savings for City operations.” 

The plan’s primary focus areas include energy, transportation, waste management, land management, and water. While the primary actions will be at the municipal level, community input is crucial. To gather perspectives, an online survey is being launched at www.publicinput.com/sustainability24. It takes approximately ten minutes to complete the survey. 

Feedback will contribute to understanding the challenges and opportunities for improving the quality of life for all residents and community members through sustainability efforts. In-person public input sessions took place in 2023, but the online survey provides an additional way for the opinions of the community to be heard. The City of Hendersonville encourages community members to share the survey with friends, family, and colleagues. Responses will be accepted until March 31, 2024. 

For more information about Hendersonville’s Sustainability Division and to stay informed about news, events, and engagement opportunities, please visit www.hendersonvillenc.gov/sustainability. 

Heavy and persistent rainfall caused flash flooding across several counties in Western North Carolina on Tuesday.

As of 1:30 p.m., Rutherford County declared a State of Emergency due to severe weather.

Tuesday afternoon around 12:15 p.m., McDowell County Emergency Management issued a voluntary evacuation order for Riverbreeze Campground located on Riverbreeze Road. in Marion. Campers are encouraged to move to higher ground as a flash flood warning remains in effect for McDowell County. This action is occurring to protect life and property due to 3-4 inches of rain that has already fallen and projected river levels for the Catawba River through late afternoon on Tuesday.

NCDOT reported around 12:22 p.m. that US-64 was closed in the Cullasaja Gorge area of Macon County. A photo posted to X shows what appeared to be part of a washed out road. The highway is closed from Buck Creek Road to Brush Creek Road in both directions for an undetermined amount of time.

An alert from the Henderson County Sheriff's Office said floodwaters from both Mud and Bat Fork Creeks will worsen as the day wears on and considerable flooding is expected throughout greater Hendersonville. Developing flooding is also expected on other tributaries of the French Broad River such as Mills River and Cane and Clear Creeks.

News 13 crews in Transylvania County found flooding along Glade Creek Road.

Heavy rain flooded roads and forced some schools to close their doors early Tuesday.

Flood Watches, High Wind Warnings, and Wind Advisories are in effect for areas around North Carolina's mountains and Upstate South Carolina until Tuesday evening.

Drenching rains are expected to continue through the morning, causing rain totals to add up quickly, leading to problems with flooding.

Hendersonville leaders say the city has upgraded to a Level 3 - Significant Flooding Phase response plan. News 13 crews found Greenville Highway and White Street in Hendersonville were blocked off around 5 a.m.

As of 9:15 a.m., the following Hendersonville roads are closed:

• Caswell between King and Grove
• Greenville Hwy/Spartanburg Hwy/White Street area
• South Main Street/South King Street
• South Grove Street and Barnwell
• Patton Park is closed

Click here to view NCDOT's real-time road conditions map.

The City of Asheville is providing rolling updated on city services, programs, roads, and parks at ashevillenc.gov.

An area in Black Mountain experienced an ice storm during Tuesday's rain. Broad River Volunteer Fire & Rescue said NC-9 near High Rock Acres was closed due to downed power lines and trees and ice in the roadway.

POWER OUTAGES

As of 1 p.m., Duke Energy says about 450 customers are without power in Buncombe County. See updated information about power outages on Duke Energy's Outage Map.

LOOKING AHEAD

Aside from rain, gusty conditions are expected to persist through the afternoon Tuesday.

Drier air moves in this afternoon, which will cut rain chances quickly later in the day.

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSHeavy rainfall causes flash flooding in multiple counties, prompting road closures | WLOS

38 year-old Vanessa Ledbetter was charged with the murder of a 58 year-old male, Robin Bracken, in an altercation that took place at 16 Lake Drive in Laurel Park resulting in her being jailed at the Henderson County Detention Center.

Laurel Park and Hendersonville police officers were dispathched at 10:31 a.m. Sunday morning according to a news release by Laurel Park Police Chief Bobbie Trotter. The victim was pronounced dead by Henderson County EMS.

Comments

 Heavy rain, damaging wind, and even a shot of wintry weather will return to Western North Carolina (WNC) during the first half of the new week.

Monday will be the last quiet day before the next weather-maker, with a mix of sun and clouds and seasonal temperatures for January.

A powerful low-pressure system moves into the southern U.S. Monday, bringing a threat of severe weather to the southern Gulf states. That system aims at WNC on Tuesday.

Showers lift from the southwest starting late Monday, turning widespread overnight.

Temperatures could briefly drop to the freezing mark by early Tuesday morning, which could result in some light icing for parts of the mountains before sunrise. This won't happen everywhere, and the threat for icy conditions will be short-lived.

More widespread impacts to the Tuesday morning commute will be moderate to heavy rain, making for wet roads and slow travel.

Rain will continue to fall through Tuesday morning, adding up quickly where the heavier rain bands set up. After several hours of steady rainfall, showers will taper off during the afternoon hours.

Most rainfall totals could add up to 1-3 inches, but higher totals could be found along the southern Blue Ridge Escarpment. Rainfall could reach 4-5 inches in these areas.

Flooding threats will increase along creeks, rivers, streams, and other low-lying areas, prompting a Flood Watch for Rutherford, Polk, Henderson, Transylvania, Macon, and Southern Jackson counties.

Aside from rain, this system will bring howling wind gusts. Winds will increase Monday night and continue through Tuesday. Gusts on the higher ridge tops will reach up to 70 mph at times. Asheville and surrounding valleys gust to 50 mph.

There's enough moisture left over to squeeze out some snow on the backside of this system. This could happen late Tuesday through early Wednesday morning. Any accumulation looks to favor the higher elevations along the Tennessee state line.

Thursday will be quiet and dry, but our next moisture maker moves in later in the week.

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSHeavy rain, strong wind, possible icing forecasted for parts of WNC | WLOS

The Carolina Panthers now need a head coach and a general manager.

The Panthers announced Monday they have fired GM Scott Fitterer one day after the team finished with an NFL-worst 2-15 record.

“As we move forward with the new direction for our franchise, I have made the decision that Scott Fitterer will no longer serve as our general manager,” Panthers owner David Tepper said in statement. “I appreciate Scott’s efforts and wish the best for him and his family.”

Fitterer joined the team in 2021 and the Panthers have gone 14-37 since. Tepper previously fired head coach Frank Reich just 11 games into his first season after the team started 1-10.

Fitterer did not immediately return text messages left by The Associated Press.

Fitterer orchestrated a trade with the Chicago Bears last year that allowed the Panthers to move to the No. 1 spot to get quarterback Bryce Young in exchange for wide receiver D.J. Moore and four draft picks — one of them that turned out to be the No. 1 overall pick in 2024.

That move hasn’t worked out well for the Panthers and has been widely criticized, particularly given the success of No. 2 overall pick and rookie of the year candidate C.J. Stroud, who has the Houston Texans headed to the playoffs in his first season.

Fitterer also swung a deal last year that sent the team's best player, Christian McCaffrey, to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for draft picks, but none of them in the first round.

Two of Fitterer's top free agent additions this past offseason — running back Miles Sanders and tight end Hayden Hurst — were major disappointments in 2023.

In addition, Fitterer turned down a trade offer from the Los Angeles Rams that would have brought two first-round draft picks in exchange for outside linebacker Brian Burns. The Panthers have been unable to sign Burns to a long-term contract extension and he will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

But the Young trade has a chance to go down as one of the worst in league history.

The Panthers have struggled to find consistency at the quarterback situation ever since Tepper purchased the team in 2018.

Fitterer, who said he was “always in on every deal,” dealt for Sam Darnold and later Baker Mayfield, but neither of the former top three draft picks panned out. Fitterer gave the New York Jets a sixth-round pick in 2021 along with second- and fourth-round picks in 2022 for Darnold. He traded a fifth-round pick in 2024 to Cleveland for Mayfield.

The team also made a big push to trade for Deshaun Watson, but he ended up in Cleveland on a fully-guaranteed contract.

Growing desperate, Tepper wanted the team to move up to the No. 1 spot in the draft and land a quarterback.

NFL FINES PANTHERS OWNER DAVID TEPPER $300,000 FOR TOSSING DRINK AT JAGUARS FANS

The Panthers did, but the results didn’t follow.

The 5-foot-10, 204-pound Young, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2021 at Alabama, suffered through a miserable rookie season in which he went 2-14 as a starter and threw for just 179.3 yards per game with 11 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions, three of which were returned for TDs.

He didn't get much help from his offensive line and was sacked 62 times, tied with Steve Beuerlein for the most in franchise history. Outside of veteran Adam Thielen, Carolina's wide receivers struggled and the team didn't get much consistent production from its tight ends.

The Panthers were shutout in back-to-back games to close the season, the first time that has happened since the 2008 Cleveland Browns. The Panthers never ran a play in the fourth quarter this season while in the lead. Both wins came on last-second field goals when they were trailing.

But Chris Tabor, who served as the team's interim head coach for the final six games, said Sunday he still sees a bright future for Young.

“I think when he is in year 12 and winning a lot of games and slicing people up a little bit, I think he will remember this first year and probably look back and say, ‘you know what, it stunk at the time but this helped me get to where I am at,’” Tabor said. “He has a really bright future.”

Aside from Young, the Panthers didn’t have much other success in the draft under Fitterer.

They selected wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. in the second round in 2021, but he has been inactive most of the season and asked for a trade before the deadline.

The Panthers drafted Ickey Ekwonu No. 6 overall last year, but after a promising rookie season, he struggled mightily at left tackle this season. The Panthers also moved up into the third round last year to draft quarterback Matt Corral, but the Mississippi product never played a down for Carolina in the regular season and was released. Corral is no longer in the league.

Most of the team’s late-round draft picks over the last three years are no longer with the team.

With Fitterer out, assistant general manager Dan Morgan will handle day-to-day operations until a new hire is made.

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSPanthers fire GM Scott Fitterer after finishing with NFL-worst 2-15 record | WLOS

Fletcher police are investigating an armed robbery at the Cheap Chips Citgo station on Hendersonville Road as the store was closing for the day Sunday.

Police said a man with a gun entered the store about 9 p.m. and demanded money from the register and safe.

The store manager said the robber scuffled with a female employee before running away with the cash. The employee was not injured, but she was shaken up, the store manager said.

The man was wearing a mask, hoodie, jacket and shoes -- all black -- and was armed with a black firearm.

The Fletcher Police Department asks that anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Fletcher police at 828-687-7922. Confidential tips may also be left on the police department website.

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSArmed robbery at Cheap Chips Citgo station in Fletcher leaves employee shaken | WLOS

 City of Hendersonville offices will be closed in observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday on Monday, January 15, 2024. 

Garbage, recycling, leaf, and brush collection for City of Hendersonville customers will not be taking place on Monday, January 15, 2024, due to the City's holiday schedule. Collection for Monday customers will be delayed by one week with collection resuming on Monday, January 22, 2024. Any extra bagged garbage for the impacted customers will be picked up on Monday the 22nd. 

For more information, please visit https://www.hendersonvillenc.gov/public-works/garbage-collection or contact Hendersonville Public Works at 828-697-3084. 

For water/sewer issues occurring on the City holiday, please use the afterhours number at (828) 891-7779. 

 Henderson County has been chosen for a signature matching pilot program following the March primary election.

The program is required by a new state law. The bipartisan State Board of Election selected 10 counties to participate in the program.

The selected counties will use signature verification software to compare signatures on mail-in absentee ballot applications and envelopes against voters' signatures on file.

This is just for experimental purposes. It will not impact primary ballot counts.

All counties, including the 10 pilot counties, will accept absentee by mail ballots from registered North Carolina voters who meet the current criteria of properly requesting a ballot, marking it, signing it, having it witnessed, and providing a copy of an acceptable photo ID or an ID exception form before returning it to the county board of elections,

The counties participating in the pilot program are: Bertie, Cherokee, Durham, Halifax, Henderson, Jones, Montgomery, Pamlico, Rowan and Wilkes.

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSHenderson County chosen for signature matching pilot program following March primary | WLOS