News

The old Valley Hill School on South Carolina Avenue, just off Willow Road, and across from the #5 green on the Hendersonville Country Club is now being torn down. 

Demolition crews have made good progress in completely tearing down several buildings on these some four acres of land. 

Neighbors of the school have been complaining for some time about the dangerous condition of the still standing school buildings.

No time-table of the finish is indicated but speculation is that the old buildings will be gone in the near future. 

Nielsen's Audio Today 2019 Finds Radio Still #1 Platform

 Nielsen's Audio Today Report for 2019 offers insights regarding listening trends, in all of its various forms, including podcasting and smart speakers.

AM/FM radio notably stands out from the crowd as radio reaches more Americans each week (92%) and 272 million Americans than any other platform.

Across age, gender and ethnicity, radio consistently connects with a large number of consumers.

Adults, 18-49 are the demographic that tunes in most.

COUNTRY is the format they prefer most with ADULT CONTEMPORAY having just half of the listeners.

WHKP RADIO changed to an ALL COUNTRY FORMAT four years ago upon putting an FM SIGNAL on the air at 107.7...allowing it to maintain its top-listening position in Henderson County as it has since the sign-on some 73 years ago in 1946.  WHKP is the only LOCALLY OWNED STATION heard in the county

Hendersonville City council is looking to potentially purchase some downtown property off Church Street within the next year in order to construct a parking garage.

The council has worked together to adopt various resolutions authorizing the city manager to execute option contracts for three pieces of land on the south side of Fifth Avenue between Church Street and Wall Street for the construction of the garage.

The option contracts will give the city exclusive rights to purchase the property. The option for all three properties will last until June 4th, 2020.

We will update, as more information develops on this story.

From the WHKP Newsroom: Tyler Sams reporting.

Governor Cooper signed a bill into law on Friday that will require North Carolina drivers to replace their license plates every seven years.

Under HB 211, the law states, "All registration plates shall be replaced every seven years."

 Prior to the bill, drivers were able to keep their license plate as long as it held up.

The DMV says the new replacement requirement will not produce any additional costs for customers.

 The change will take effect July 1, 2020 and applies to registration plates issued or renewed on or after that date.

Continental shocks Henderson County leaders with their big announcement to close Fletcher plant, causing 650 to lose their jobs. 

Continental is a German tire and auto parts supplier where hydraulic brake systems are produced. 

Although layoffs will not be immediate, the economic impact to Henderson, Buncombe and surrounding counties will be massive, where these 650 employees work, live and spend their money according to civic leaders throughout the area.

Layoffs will begin in 2021 and the plant will close at the end of 2022. 

Continental says they will assist workers by identifying vacancies in other of their plants, including one in Morganton, N.C.

In 2013, a more happy announcement from Continental said they would invest $35 million dollars in this Fletcher plant to create more jobs. 

Some 15,000 of 244,000 world-wide Continental jobs will be lost by 2023. 

Henderson County Commissioner, Mike Edney, issued a Facebook statement saying "very disheartening to learn that Continental Automotive in Henderson County, NC is closing a new state of the art facility employing 650 great people and moving to Mexico - I assume for the cheap labor and to save a buck. Penny wise and pound foolish".

Story posted by Art Cooley on Thursday, September 26, 2019.

Contract Bids Opened for Henderson County I-26 Widening
Companion project to Buncombe County widening set for November

SYLVA – A timeframe to start a construction project on Interstate 26 in Henderson County is becoming clear.
Construction will commence in November on a Henderson County stretch of I-26 to reduce traffic congestion and improve travel in Buncombe and Henderson counties.

A companion project to widen I-26 from Airport Road to Brevard Road in Buncombe County has been awarded and is slated to start in mid-October. The projects will help increase capacity on one of the most critical corridors in western North Carolina.
The N.C. Department of Transportation recently opened bids to widen I-26 to eight lanes from Airport Road at the Buncombe County line to U.S. 25 Business at the Mountain Home exit, and six lanes from there to U.S. 64 at the Four Seasons Boulevard exit.
A partnership team of Archer-Western and Wright Brothers Construction — Archer-Wright Joint Venture — is the low bidder on the project and will likely be awarded the contract for $271 million at the NCDOT’s Board of Transportation meeting on Oct. 3.
“It’s no secret to anybody that lives in our area or who drives on I-26 that we have issues with congestion,” Division 14 Engineer Brian Burch said. “People have to base their schedules around that. They need to leave for work earlier, or factor traffic when going to a doctor’s appointment or a child’s ballgame.
“This project will be more reliable for people getting to their destinations and will improve their lives because they’re not sitting in traffic.”

The Henderson County portion includes reconfiguring the intersection with U.S. 25, remodeling rest areas in both directions, replacing three bridges on the interstate and five bridges over the interstate. Other project highlights include multiple retaining walls, upgrading all drainage systems, new concrete pavement and additional safety improvements to this corridor.
"We are thrilled to come together on this joint venture to create an interstate that will benefit the people of western North Carolina, those who come to visit and those who are just passing through," said Jeff Ball, Construction Manager for Wright Brothers. "We will do our absolute best to deliver a project that residents will be proud of and one that will make their lives better."
At least two lanes of traffic will remain open in each direction during the day. The project should be completed in the summer of 2024. Division 14 engineers and officials from Archer-Wright are meeting regularly to determine project schedules, review and revise traffic-control plans, finalize other details, and prepare for the first official day of construction.
NCDOT employees and engineering partners have been preparing for this project for years by developing roadway and traffic control plans, securing the necessary environmental permits, developing a river usage plan and coordinating efforts with local officials to prepare for emergency response situations including winter storms.
A wide variety of agencies have helped prepare for the project, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, U.S. Geological Survey, Buncombe County, Henderson County and other stakeholders.
“We have accomplished a monumental task in getting to this point when you think of how many thousands of hours people have poured into the planning, designing and permitting efforts,” Burch said. “We are elated to announce construction starting soon.”
(Note: NCDOT officials will hold a media event for the entire I-26 widening projects on Wednesday, Sept. 25. Contact David Uchiyama for more information.)

After a short absence, the WHKP RADIO WEB POLLS are BACK. 

Due to an electronic update, polls that had been a regular feature of the WHKP WEB SITE (www.whkp.com) was taken out of use for a while, but as of last week, it is up and running again, after being updated, according to a station spokesman. 

The new poll location is on the very FRONT PAGE of the WHKP WEB SITE (www.whkp.com) for easy access and allows those visiting the page to make a simple YES or NO vote. 

The first question posed for this new poll was - "DO YOU THINK THE APPLE FESTIVAL SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO SELL BEER".  From the 51 who cast a vote, 26 said YES and 25 said NO.

Actually, what has been suggested for the Apple Festival organization is to consider the sale of beer at central locations after proof of age has been determined and then allowing those choosing to purchase, the free access to carry the beer in a non-glass container throughout the downtown streets.  Currently the Rhythm & Brews feature during certain Thursdays in downtown Hendersonville allows beer to be purchased with a wrist-band to be worn while at the event.  However, the public can consume these alcoholic products only in the aresa of the event. 

Some commentary against the selling of beer during Apple Festival time in downtown Hendersonville mentioned that the Apple Festival is a 'family event' and that alcoholic products being consumed during this time by event-goers walking around would not be in the best interest of the general public.  Other comments pointed to the wildly successful Bele Chere event staged for many years in downtown Asheville which allowed the street sale of beer.  Some say that fact alone is what finally caused the event to be discontinued. 

The current poll being displayed concerns the proposed NCDOT renovation to Highland Lake Road that runs from the Spartanburg to Greenville Highways.  The Flat Rock Council has approved the plan that is said to straighten curves on the existing road and add bicycle paths and sidewalks.  

This is your invitation to visit this new POLL LOCATION (www.whkp.com) and cast your vote.   It can be found on the very front page of the WHKP WEB SITE.

Hendersonville's city council last Thursday issued a temporary 'moratorium' on issuing any additional permits for electronic signs in the current permitted city districts that allow such signs until November 4th.  The matter could again be taken up by council at its November 7th meeting. 

The city says this will give them time for their workers to count the number of signs that are currently in operation with prior permit approval of the city and to adopt a sign ordinance for these types of signs. City officials will meet with the city's planning board a part of this process according to staff reports. 

In a story by WLOS-TV on Wednesday evening, the female reporter was standing in front of the WHKP ELECTRONIC (LED) MESSAGE CENTER in front of BROADCAST HOUSE at the corner of Dana Road and Four Seasons Boulevard, where she incorrectly named WHKP as WKHP and went on to show video footage of the WHKP display along with several other structures at business firms around town which she labeled as 'flashing messages'. 

The WHKP RADIO MESSAGE CENTER has been in place for some 22 years and has become known not only as a 'landmark', but also as the COMMUNITY COMMUNICATOR. It is currently used as a promotional display for the radio stations WHKP AM 1450 and FM 107.7, and their programs, and also as an adjunct for local businesses and non-profit organizations in the area to talk about their businesses and services.   The WHKP DISPLAY is the only LED sign in the city that is legally permitted by both the City of Hendersonville and by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, giving it the right to perform off-premise advertising. 

The manager of WHKP also told reporters that the station is 'grand-fathered' with the permitting of their Message Center by the city and state, which would allow the continuation of their operation as it is now with their 'changing messages' being controlled by NCDOT rules and regulations.   

Several 'on-camera' interviews were conducted by the TV station with local sign owners coming under this new 'city edict', one of which indicated that the electronic sign was a very costly item of some $20,000 for them to purchase and install and very important in telling the motoring public what her business was about and drawing them inside their store. 

The council may address the issue again at its Nov. 7 meeting, which will occur a few days after the moratorium expires.

Weichert Realtors "Monday Night Lights", Owen 13 North 0. Join us on Friday for the game of the week as Mt. Heritage travels to bearcat territory to take on Hendersonville. Airtime 6:45PM, with game kick off at 7:30PM, here on WHKP.