News

 Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller is bringing on longtime former Hendersonville Police Chief Donnie Parks to serve in a few new roles at the sheriff's office.

Miller announced Thursday, April 13 that Parks has been hired to manage special projects at the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office as well as serve as an advisor to Miller and the command staff.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to be a part of the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office and to be a part of the goals and initiatives Sheriff Miller and his staff have committed to as we serve community members across Buncombe County,” Parks said.

Parks was the Hendersonville chief of police from 1987 to 2007.

He most recently served at the N.C. Justice Academy for 10 years as an Instructor-Coordinator for Leadership Development/Law Enforcement Executive Training.

“Chief Parks brings experience and leadership into this new role, and I am proud to announce he has joined the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office. Our staff and our community will benefit from his experience as a police chief and his extensive expertise and background with law enforcement training,” Buncombe County Sheriff Miller said.

Chief Parks is a graduate of Southern Wesleyan University and the FBI National Academy.

Chief Parks has been married to his wife, Theresa, for more than 45 years, and they have three adult children; Scottie, Carissa, and Lezette (daughter-in-law), all of whom serve in organizations committed to serving the public. Chief Parks has one granddaughter.

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOShttps://wlos.com/news/local/former-hendersonville-police-chief-takes-on-new-role-buncombe-county-sheriffs-office-donnie-parks-hired-special-projects-manager-sheriff-quentin-miller#

The Board of Directors of the North Carolina Apple Festival were recognized among thirty-eight North Carolina Main Street Champions at the North Carolina Main Street Conference in Statesville on March 16, 2023.

“There are three common elements that are found in successful communities.  These elements are asset based economic development strategies, public and private partnerships, and local champions,” said Kenny Flowers, Assistant Secretary of Rural Economic Development at the N.C. Department of Commerce.

“Main Street Champions are the key to success in downtown revitalization. They possess courage to move downtown forward; they fight for positive change and do that with creativity and innovation; and they actively get things done, while staying focused on the downtown’s economic development strategies,” said Liz Parham, Director of the N.C. Main Street & Rural Planning Center at Commerce.

“The North Carolina Apple Festival's Executive Board is receiving this recognition for their work as an all-volunteer group of Hendersonville community members, apple growers, and overall community cheerleaders,” said Jamie Carpenter, Downtown Manager.

“This five-day festival brings over 250,000 attendees and produces a $12 million economic impact in the Hendersonville economy. Volunteering to put on the festival is often a family affair, with generations coming together for the love of the event and community,” said Downtown Manager Carpenter.

A public recognition was held at the monthly meeting of Hendersonville City Council on April 12, 2023.

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ABOUT DOWNTOWN HENDERSONVILLE

The Friends of Downtown Hendersonville and Downtown Advisory Board exist to identify, preserve, and enhance the key factors that contribute to the authentic small town urban character of historic downtown Hendersonville. Organizational projects are identified, assessed, and prioritized based on their contribution to and potential to enhance and support a vibrant entrepreneurial environment and the livability of downtown.

– Hendersonville businesses and residents may see lower insurance premiums thanks to Hendersonville Fire Department’s new ISO Class 1 rating. The Public Protection Classification (PPC) Class 1 rating from the Insurance Services Office (ISO) is the best rating possible and represents Hendersonville’s superior level of preparedness and defense against fire risk and property loss. 

“This accomplishment not only reflects the dedication and professionalism of the men and women serving at the Hendersonville Fire Department,” said Hendersonville Fire Chief D. James Miller, “but it also shows years of commitment to improving public safety by Hendersonville City Council.” He explained that by City Council prioritizing investments in the water system and fire department stations, equipment, and personnel, the community is seeing a return on their investment in the rating improvement and level of fire protection provided in Hendersonville. 

Residents and business owners are encouraged to contact their insurance providers directly and share Hendersonville’s significant rating improvement from a Class 3 to a Class 1. Insurers create risk model formulas and use the PPC rating to determine their risk and what the subsequent insurance premiums are within fire districts. Depending on the insurer, City of Hendersonville community members may see a reduction in insurance premiums, though the greatest decrease is expected in the commercial property industry. 

Last week, North Carolina Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Mike Causey visited Hendersonville and announced Hendersonville Fire Department’s achievement of earning the status of an ISO Class 1 designation. This designation places the fire department in the top 2% of fire departments in North Carolina and in the top 1% nationwide. During their meeting on April 12, the Hendersonville City Council formally recognized the fire department on the achievement. 

“Out of approximately 45,000 fire departments in the U.S. only 411 have achieved a Class 1 ISO,” said Fire Chief Miller. “The fantastic water system provided by Hendersonville Water & Sewer, combined with the 911 services provided by the Henderson County 911 Center and the support of our automatic aid partners all played important roles in this accomplishment.” Chief Miller added the fire department is responsible for leading the evaluation process and is responsible for fifty percent of the overall score, with the water system accounting for forty percent and emergency communications accounting for ten percent respectively.  

Additional points were garnered through the accomplishments of the Hendersonville Fire Department’s Life Safety Division. This team is responsible for annual inspections, fire prevention and educational outreach, juvenile fire setter programs, and providing certified arson investigators to determine the cause of fires. 

City of Hendersonville businesses and residents can be proactive by contacting their insurance providers to make them aware of the Hendersonville Fire Department’s rating change from a Class 3 to a Class 1.

The ISO rating change officially takes place on July 1, 2023. 

The Hendersonville Police Department is participating in a trust-building campaign organized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

The campaign is built on six pillars and 25 objectives related to bias-free policing, community relations and use of force.

Hendersonville Police Chief Blair Myhand says the department has three years to complete all objectives in the campaign.

He said he hopes this will position the department as a leader in 21st-century policing.

“Part of this is us being able to show our community, demonstrate to our community that we are operating at the highest levels of professional law enforcement, based on what other groups are saying, not what Chief Myhand says," the police chief told News 13 Wednesday, April 12.

Myhand said the department is working to find ways to make its progress in the trust-building campaign publicly available to the community.

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSPolice department working towards completing objectives in trust-building campaign | WLOS

— A strange growing season, as farmers have described it, isn’t over just yet.

This past weekend, mountain farmers faced more freezing temperatures, which took another swipe at crops that are still blooming.

Terry Kelley, the director and tree fruit agent for Henderson County, said an exceptionally warm February caused crops to jump out a lot quicker than farmers wanted them to.

Cooler temperatures returned in March and now April, damaging many of the blooms that were already out.

“Every little cold snap tends to chip away at things,” Kelley said.

Kelley said it’s one of those situations where farmers are just going to have to wait and see what kind of crop they end up having. He said farmers are fortunate that temperatures this past weekend didn't drop as low as they have in the past.

Kelley said temperatures remained around the 30-degree mark, which was a bit lower than farmers would have liked but not quite down to the critical range.

What’s more concerning around this time of year, Kelley said, is the frost that comes from those freezing temperatures. He said the frost crystals that form on the trees can damage the tender bloom materials.

“It can hurt the quality, which is something we keep an eye on,” Kelley said.

He said many of the county's apple growers will probably not be sleeping until this next month is past.

While Kelley said their peach crop took a major hit in those early freezes, he feels like they’re okay in terms of apples right now.

But, he said the jury is still out a bit to see how these fruits really set onto the trees to see what kind of crop they’re actually going to have.

Kelley said it only takes 20% of the blooms that come out to pollinate and make an apple to have a full crop, so they can take a little bit of chipping away and still come out OK.

“We still have a lot of hope of having a fairly decent crop this year,” he said.

There are growers in the county, Kelley said, who have frost protection for their apples and that protection definitely came in handy over the weekend.

One of those growers is Mike Stepp, who runs Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard in Henderson County.

Stepp said he knew the warm weather in February would bring problems down the road. He said they’re just having to deal with the damage the best they can.

Stepp said, luckily, he only saw a few blooms that had been affected by the frost over the weekend. He credits that to his wind machines, which keep the air moving and prevent the dew from forming so that there isn’t frost.

“You know God's given us what we got and we’ve still got apples, so we’re thankful,” Stepp said.

Kelley said that every day that passes, the chance of getting a damaging freeze lessens.

The “sweet spot,” he explained, will be Mother’s Day.

Once Mother’s Day hits, Kelley said farmers can be confident their crops have made it through the worst of any freezing weather.

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSWhen it comes to freezes, Henderson County farmers say they're not out of the woods yet | WLOS

Country Singer John Rich Makes Decision Involving Bud Light and His Bar in Nashville

Rich made an appearance on Fox News Monday night to comment on the brand’s decision to partner with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney and why he is pulling the beer from his bar.

“The customers decide. Customers are king,” Rich said.

Rich explained, “I own a bar in downtown Nashville. Our number one selling beer up until a few days ago was what? Bud Light. We got cases and cases and cases of it sitting back there. But in the past several days you’re hard-pressed to find anyone ordering one. So as a business owner, I go, hey if you aren’t ordering it, we got to put something else in here. At the end of the day, that’s capitalism. That’s how it works.”

Additionally, Rich commented on every brand’s right to market how they want to.

He continued, “What’s happening, Tucker, is people who have been loyal to brands for decades and decades are finding it hard to stay loyal to them, so they start hunting down other brands that they can support. There are tons of up-and-coming American brands out there that people are flooding to, kind of like mine.”

The interview comes less than a week after Rich took to his Twitter account to ask what beer he should replace Bud Light with, adding, “[Redneck Riviera].”

According to the Redneck Riviera’s website, the bar “celebrates the men and women who make America the greatest nation in the world.”

The bar is “based on not only a work ethic that’s second to none, but also a passion for making the most of every moment. With Redneck Riviera, we’re honoring this unique American mindset by celebrating those folks who play every bit as hard as they work,” per the website.

He added, “It could be a tempest in a teapot, could be temporary. But it’s enough that distributors have rung the bell.”

According to Schuhmacher, “There was a little bit of worry, especially in the South and the Midwest and especially in rural areas where retailers were reporting the, you know, their customers weren’t happy with Bud Light and some retailers themselves weren’t happy with Bud Light.”

He noted the distributors “also tend to be smaller and more reliant on the Anheuser-Busch brands to pay their bills. And so, yeah, there is some concern about it.”

Summer is approaching, and so too is the Rhythm & Brews Concert Series, presented by Horizon Heating & Air! Beginning in May and running through September, these free outdoor shows will ramp up downtown fun on the third Thursday of each month, complete with craft beverages, food trucks and kids’ activities. Each concert will take place at the south end of Main Street, closing off the blocks between Allen and Caswell streets. Also contributing to the presentation of this concert series are Norm’s Minit Mart, Yoga and Massage, B Squared Realty, Optimum, Van Winkle Law Firm, and BGW CPA. Rhythm & Brews and the Friends of Downtown Hendersonville have also received generous support from the Henderson County Tourism Development Authority.

As the premier live music series of Hendersonville, Rhythm & Brews brings in a variety of established acts as well as up-and-coming artists from around the nation. Whether you love soul, rock, bluegrass or the funky stuff, Rhythm & Brews will put a smile on your face and broaden your musical horizons.

2023 Rhythm & Brews Concert Series Lineup:

May 18: Hawktail [[Bluegrass/Americana/String]] with Holler Choir [[Americana/String]]

June 15:  Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights [[Blues Rock/Southern Rock]] with Carolina Drifters [[Southern Rock]]

July 20: The Stooges Brass Band [[New Orleans Brass Band]] with Zydeco Ya Ya [[Zydeco/Cajun Swing]]

August 17: Fireside Collective [[Progressive Bluegrass]] with The Roving [[ Americana/Indie/Rock]]

September 21: Melissa Carper [[Americana/Western Swing]] with Angela Easterling & The Beguilers [[Singer/Songwriter]]

Opening acts will kick off each evening at 5:30 p.m. followed by the headliner performance from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Doors open at 5:15 p.m.

For the youngest in the family, the Hendersonville Honeycrisps & the Hendersonville Toy Company Kid Zone will provide kid-friendly fun, including hula-hooping and activities provided by Hands On! Children's Museum. Meanwhile, adults can enjoy downtown Hendersonville’s first fully integrated beer and wine garden featuring locally crafted drinks from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Bold Rock Hard Cider, Guidon Brewing Co., Oklawaha Brewing Co., Dry Falls Brewery, Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards, and Flat Rock Cider Company.

All net proceeds from adult beverage sales will benefit the Friends of Downtown Hendersonville 501c3 nonprofit, whose mission is to identify, preserve and enhance the key factors that contribute to the authentic small-town urban character of historic downtown Hendersonville. In recent years, the Friends of Downtown Hendersonville has supported downtown businesses with over $35,000 in direct business support through the façade and pivot grant programs.

The Rhythm & Brews Super Fan Tent, sponsored by B Squared Realty, provides an enhanced experience with a shaded viewing area including beer, wine and light refreshments. Individuals can become R&B Super Fans by purchasing a season package sponsorship for $200, LIMITED quantities remain! The package includes two tent tickets to each show, four beverage tickets for each show and two R&B season t-shirts. Becoming a R&B Super Fan sponsor will not only help sustain R&B, but other Downtown Program events including Hendersonville Farmers Market, the Bearfootin' Art Walk, and more. Visit the event website for more information on how to become a Super Fan.

Looking for a fun volunteer opportunity? Lending your time at Rhythm & Brews is a great way to meet new people and get involved in a community event. Fill out the Volunteer Interest Form to get started.

Rhythm & Brews Concert Series was started in 2013 by Friends of Downtown Hendersonville, a 501c3 nonprofit operated by the Downtown Division of the City of Hendersonville Community Development Department. For more information, visit downtownhendersonville.org.

The City of Hendersonville Public Works Department has announced its plan to conduct roadside mowing starting April 24 and continuing until late September. Roadside mowing helps ensure safety by improving the visibility of signs and preserving sightlines for road users. It also helps to keep sidewalks clear and free from overhanging limbs and branches.

“Managing the vegetation along our streets is an important function of our Public Works Department,” said Public Works Director Tom Wooten. “The main goal is to keep our City streets safer for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.”

Residents are encouraged to maintain their property adjacent to the street right of way to avoid the need and effect of the City’s sidearm mower. With 68 miles of streets to maintain, the sidearm mower is the only viable way Public Works can manage this volume of roadside maintenance. 

A general guideline for homes adjacent to roadways is to keep any bushes, tree limbs, or other vegetation out of the roadway and 1-2 feet behind the curb or edge of the pavement. The height should be approximately 16 feet above the road surface. 

For streets with sidewalks, the same applies to the roadway while sidewalks should be clear of obstructions to a height of 7-8 feet. 

Property owners near intersections are also asked to keep vegetation and debris trimmed far enough away from the intersections to allow motorists a reasonable line of sight before entering the intersection. 

For more information about the roadside mowing program, please visit https://www.hendersonvillenc.gov/public-works or contact the City’s Public Works Department at 828-697-3084.

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Preparations are underway for one of the largest gardening shows in Western North Carolina, and this year there's a new host!

 Hendersonville's 31st Garden Jubilee is set to take place on Saturday, May 27 and Sunday, May 28 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Memorial Day weekend. With over 200 plant and craft vendors lining Main Street, downtown is set to be transformed into a garden wonderland.

HENDERSONVILLE'S DOWNTOWN GARDEN JUBILEE KICKS OFF ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

The Friends of Downtown Hendersonville will be taking over the management of the festival this year. The Friends of Downtown Hendersonville host several events downtown each year, such as Rhythm & Brews, the Hendersonville Farmers Market and the Bearfootin’ Artwalk and Auction. The group is planning the Garden Jubilee festival in partnership and with full support of the Henderson County Tourism Development Authority in marketing and promotion of the event as it enters its 31st year.

Local and regional nurseries, orchards and crafters will offer a wide variety of plants and handmade delights and gardening experts will be on hand to share the latest gardening tips and techniques.

STORY AND PICTURE COURTESY OF WLOS-TV.

Henderson County State Senator Timothy Mioffitt is one of three state senators who have introduced a bill which would eliminate participation trophies awarded to children who play recreational sports though leagues operated by local governments.

S.B. 430 was sponsored by Sens. Timothy Moffitt, Eddie Settle, and Bobby Hanig, and reads:

“Youth sports or other youth recreation activities operated under the authority of a local government shall not include awards for participants based solely on their participation in the sport or other activity. Awards provided in connection with the activity, if any, shall be based on identified performance achievements.”

Spokesman for the bill said - ” “What we’re not teaching our children is to be prepared for life, be prepared for failure.”

The conversation around participation trophies has grown over the past several years, with politicians, parents and coaches speculating that children have become less motivated in the classroom, and in their future careers.

“When kids are growing up they’re being taught it’s okay to just be OK,” “You don’t have to be the best.”

“If children can get a trophy regardless,” “they’re not going to give it their everything. It can transfer over into life. It can transfer over into the classroom.”

Sponsors of the bill hope the bill’s filing would encourage a greater conversation that would lead to a more, fine-tuned bill to be passed in the future.