News

Fill the hole with a load of rocks

Dr. Glenn Mollette

Sixty minutes reported, on Sunday evening February third, about a gap in our border wall. The gap is reported to be about sixty miles east of San Diego and is a global destination for migrants from around the world. The news source reported that during a four day watch they personally witnessed about 600 illegal entries come through the small gap.

According to the report people from China are the fastest growing number of illegal immigrants coming into our country. Over 37,000 just last year which is a growing number. Stories were told about people who had sold their houses and gave up everything to make the trip. The trip had cost one person $14,000 and another reported the trip took ten days traveling through multiple countries.

TikTok has a video that provides all the details on where to find the gap and how to obtain the help needed in Mexico to get to the destination.

Who are these people? Are they simply well intended people who are coming here to make our country better? Is this a move to fill our country with Chinese soldiers who may be positioning themselves to attack America from inside? Hopefully, it’s just a large group of people trying to escape from a bad country where life is not good.

The dumbest part of this “60 Minutes” story is the four-foot gap so many are coming through. Reportedly, there isn’t any federal money allocated to fix the gap. We’ve sent billions to Ukraine and Israel but we don’t have any money to plug up a hole used by people who are essentially invading our country. We don’t call them invaders, but they come illegally and in massive numbers. It may not feel like an invasion in Iowa but it does to people who live on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Why doesn’t someone take a dump truck or two of rocks and close up that gap? If President Biden wanted to improve his dismal ranking in the polls, then he should coordinate such an effort. He and VP Kamala Harris could each drive a big truck of rocks and dump into the gap. I bet he would have an impressive convoy of people who would join him in the effort. I can’t see how it would be that much of a strain on the federal budget. Of couse he won’t do that nor will any other politician. There is probably some kind a rule or law that forbids such an action.

One elderly man who owns property close to the gap fired a gun in the air because migrants were burning trees on his farm. He was arrested for trying to protect his property.

Fixing that hole in the wall seems like a simple common-sense thing to do. When you bring Washington into the process there is no common sense.

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The League of Women Voters of Henderson County will host a panel discussion “Navigating
Immigration Pathways to Legal Status“ on February 22, 2024, from 11:30am – 1:00 pm in the
Trinity Room, St. James Episcopal Church, 766 N. Main Street, Hendersonville, NC 28792.
Attendees are welcome to bring lunch. Drinks and dessert will be provided.
Pisgah Legal Services Immigration Attorneys, Angie Peña and Leonel Gonzalez will discuss
their role in finding options for immigrants with specific or special needs. These programs
include legal aid to survivors of domestic abuse, child abuse or neglect, and human trafficking.
The program will also include ways that volunteers can help.
LWVHC celebrates Diversity, Equity and Inclusion by welcoming all members of our
community. For more information please go to the website www.lwvhcnc.org

Former Hendersonville High School Football quarterback Robert Livingston has been hired as defensive coordinator for the University of Colorado Buffaloes, whose head coach is former football standout Deion Sanders.

Livingston is a 2004 graduate of Hendersonville and is heading to Boulder, Colorado after spending the last nine seasons as safety coach with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Most of Livingston's coaching experience has been with the Bengals with college coaching limited to Furman in 2010 and Vanderbillt in 2011.  He played college football at William and Mary.

The 7th Avenue Brooklyn Community Garden Expansion & Revitalization Project signifies the culmination of various community advocates and partners with the City of Hendersonville such as Master Gardeners, A Place

to Go, Black History Research Group, Caregivers of Mother Earth and more to revitalize and expand the Brooklyn Community Garden. The project is expected to be completed in late spring and project highlights include

ADA accessible beds, a children's area, pollinator and native plantings, and more.

On March 4, 2024, the City of Hendersonville will begin its spring bulk leaf collection service for City residents. Bulk leaf collection will continue throughout the month of March and conclude on March 29.   

During bulk leaf collection, City residents should pile loose leaves at the edge of the street along the curb, without placing the leaves on the sidewalk or roadway. Leaves should not be bagged by City of Hendersonville residents.   

Residents can help prevent safety hazards by keeping leaf piles off the sidewalks. Obstructed sidewalks may force people to walk into the street and pose a danger for pedestrians and motorists. Keeping leaf piles out of the roadways and sidewalks also helps prevent debris from being washed into the storm drains which can cause flooding.   

The bulk leaf collection process is separate from brush collection crews; therefore, residents will need to keep their brush and leaves in separate piles until bulk leaf collection has concluded at the end of the year. Leaf piles should be free of tree limbs or other objects that may damage collection equipment. Fall bulk leaf collection typically occurs from mid-October through December.  

The public does not need to contact Public Works with leaf pick-up requests as this service is automatically provided to City residents. Leaf piles are picked up from homes every ten to fourteen days but, depending on the volume of leaves placed out for collection, the piles could be picked up sooner or later than that time frame. 

The City’s bulk leaf collection service does not include pickup for yard waste generated by landscaping companies. If any residents, businesses, or nonprofits use a contractor or landscape contractor to trim or cut trees or any yard work, the contractor is responsible for removal of the debris they generate including grass clippings, bulk leaves, tree trimmings, etc. 

For questions about this service, please call the Public Works Department at (828) 697-3084 or visit https://www.hendersonvillenc.gov/public-works.  

As Part of its 2024 National Tour, the United States Navy Band to Perform at
Hendersonville High School
Ten HCPS Students Selected to join them on Stage
HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. Feb 6, 2024 – The United States Navy Band will perform a free concert
Feb. 16th at the Hendersonville High School Auditorium at 7 pm. The performance will include one song
performed with students from Henderson County Public Schools.
Ten students from across HCPS will perform John Phillips Sousa’s Washington Post March with the U.S.
Navy Band. All U.S. Navy Band performances are free and open to the public, although ticket reservations
are required.
As part of the Navy Band’s 2024 national tour, the concert is a family-friendly event, meant to connect
community members across the country with their Navy. The U.S. Navy Concert Band is the premier
wind ensemble of the U.S. Navy. As the original ensemble of the Navy Band, the Concert Band has been
performing public concerts and participating in high-profile events for 98 years. The band performs a
wide array of marches, patriotic selections, orchestral transcriptions and modern wind ensemble
repertoire.
One of the U.S. Navy Band’s core responsibilities involves touring the country. All of the band’s primary
performing units embark each year on concert tours throughout specified regions of the country, allowing
the band to reach out to audiences in areas of the country that do not have opportunities to see the Navy's
premier musical ensembles on a regular basis.
The following HCPS students have been invited to perform with the band:
1. Elijah Bandy Percussion Hendersonville High
2. Noelle Benjamin Clarinet Hendersonville High
3. Caroline Pope Tuba Hendersonville High
4. Sebastian Sanchez Trombone Hendersonville High
5. Bryce Eames Trumpet West Henderson High
6. Sean Nakano French Horn West Henderson High
7. Sam Lewis Trombone North Henderson High
8. Jacob Houston Trumpet North Henderson High
9. Jordan Magyar Bass Clarinet East Henderson High
10. Humberto Perez Hernandez Trumpet East Henderson High
The concert is Friday, Feb. 16th at 7 pm. It is free and open to the public, but attendees are required to
claim a ticket at https://usnavyband.ticketleap.com/2024-concert-band-hendersonville/

Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey rejects insurance companies' average 42.2% rate hike request
Proposed rates called 'excessive,' 'unfairly discriminatory'

RALEIGH -- North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today said “No” to the insurance companies’ average 42.2% proposed increase in homeowners’ insurance rates.

“I haven’t seen the evidence to justify such a drastic rate increase on North Carolina consumers,” Commissioner Causey said. “The Department of Insurance has received more than 24,000 emailed comments on this proposal, with hundreds more policyholders commenting by mail. Scores more consumers spoke during a public comment forum. North Carolina consumers deserve a more thorough review of this proposal. I intend to make sure they get that review.”

Proposed rates by the North Carolina Rate Bureau on behalf of the insurance companies writing policies in the state range from 4.3% in some of the mountain counties to 99.4% in some of the beach areas.

“Homeowners were shocked with the high amount requested by the insurance companies, and so was I,” Commissioner Causey said.

In the notice for hearing, Commissioner Causey called the insurance companies’ proposed increase “excessive and unfairly discriminatory.”

The N.C. Rate Bureau, which represents companies that write insurance policies in the state, is not a part of the Department of Insurance. The Rate Bureau was created by the General Assembly in 1977. Any insurance companies writing homeowners’ insurance or personal automobile insurance policies in North Carolina must be a member of the Rate Bureau.

Commissioner Causey has set a hearing date for Oct. 7 at 10 a.m. State law gives the Insurance Commissioner 45 days to issue an order once the hearing concludes.

— NCDOI —

 U.S. Congressman Chuck Edwards (NC-11) today announced that he will be hosting a Military Service Academy Day for North Carolina’s 11th district on Saturday, March 2 at the Henderson County Historic Courthouse, 1 Historic Courthouse Sq., Suite 1, Hendersonville, NC from 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Parents, students and educators in Western North Carolina’s 11th congressional district are invited to join representatives from our nation’s five military service academies to explore the experience, admissions process and expectations of academy life.

High school students will also learn how they can be nominated by Congressman Edwards for a service academy appointment.

Edwards said, “One of my most sacred duties representing the 11th district of North Carolina is selecting nominees for students seeking appointments to our nation’s military service academies. I’m excited that this year, we will be kicking off a Military Service Academy Day for students, parents and educators to learn more about the service academies and the application process. I encourage anyone who is interested in learning how they can advance their academic and professional careers while serving our great nation to join us.”

The event will feature Congressman Edwards and admissions staff from the five military service academies: the United States Air Force Academy, the United States Naval Academy, the United States Military Academy at West Point, the United States Merchant Marine Academy and the United States Coast Guard Academy.

Constituents who have questions can contact Lisa Wiggins at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call the Hendersonville district office at 828-435-7310.

- We are having a conversation across Hendersonville about change, where we are, and where we want to be twenty years from now … and beyond. 

The City of Hendersonville invites the community to participate in a final Gen H Open House to provide input in the development of a 2045 Comprehensive Plan to establish a long-term vision for sustainable growth and conservation. The Open House will take place on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, from 4-6 PM at the Henderson Public Library, 301 N Washington Street. Community members can drop in anytime to meet with City staff and the consultant team. 

The Comprehensive Plan is called Gen H, to encourage the community to think generationally about the future of Hendersonville. This plan will build on the existing 2030 plan's foundation while updating and expanding the policy framework for the future. The Comprehensive Plan will serve as a regular reference guide for City staff, officials, and partner organizations as decisions are made for the community's future. 

Open House attendees can expect to provide input on possible land use scenarios, see ideas for character areas that will describe how land uses translate into the character or the look and feel of places in the community, provide ideas for key focus areas within the City, and review the goals and vision for the Gen H plan. Materials and ideas that will be shared at the Open House have been developed from previous community conversations and community surveys that were open from August 14 through November 14, 2023. In all, just over 4,700 people participated in the surveys and provided over 10,500 individual comments. Further input received from the community at the upcoming Open House will help refine the draft Gen H Comprehensive Plan and recommendations for Hendersonville’s future. All ages are encouraged to attend and there will be an activity table for our younger residents. 

Following the Open House, the consultant team with Bolton & Menk will compile the input and use their expertise to develop recommendations for the City. In the coming months, they will be refining the recommendations and presenting them to the City Council.  

Content from the meeting and an opportunity to give feedback online will be posted on the Gen H project webpage following the Open House. Visit www.hvlnc.gov/GenH for ongoing updates. 

AdventHealth Hendersonville names Dr. Byron Dixon, MD, MBA, FACHE, as the new chief medical officer.

According to a news release on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, Dixon's new role marks a return to AdventHealth Hendersonville, having served as the emergency department's medical director from 2018 to 2021.

"As he transitions back to our team as our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Dixon will play a pivotal role in shaping our strategic direction, enhancing the quality of our medical services, and fostering a culture of excellence throughout the organization," Brandon Nudd, president and CEO for AdventHealth Hendersonville, said in a written statement.

AdventHealth said Dixon most recently served as the vice president of clinical affairs for Novant Health's greater Charlotte Market supporting multiple hospitals.

"AdventHealth has an incredible organization with a team who is very passionate about serving and providing world-class, whole-person care to their patients," Dr. Dixon said in a written statement. "They are consistently prioritizing their patients and community when making decisions, which really resonates with me and aligns with my leadership style. This is certainly an exciting opportunity to work with some truly amazing health care professionals."

The hospital says Dixon is board-certified in emergency medicine and healthcare quality management. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, and his doctor of medicine degree from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in St. Maarten, Netherland Antilles. He trained in internal medicine at East Tennessee State University and completed his emergency medicine residency at West Virginia University. He received his master of business administration from the University of Tennessee Haslam College of Business and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOShttps://wlos.com/news/local/adventhealth-hendersonville-hospital-names-new-chief-medical-officer-byron-dixon#