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Spring has sprung in the Carolinas and with it comes blankets of airborne tree pollen. In addition to causing watery eyes and sneezing, pollen can also wreak havoc on vehicles.

Even for motorists who park their vehicles in a garage, it’s an impossible task to avoid pollen completely. During this time of year, pollen affects vehicles both inside and out.

“While pollen can be a springtime enemy for allergy sufferers, it can also be a nemesis to your car,” said Tiffany Wright, AAA Carolinas spokesperson. “It’s important not to neglect the effects pollen can have on your vehicle.”

AAA recommends the following tips for motorists to protect their vehicles from pollen:

Clean your cabin air filter. Most vehicles manufactured on or after the year 2000 have an air filter for the interior that filters out airborne particles – including pollen. Many motorists are unaware of these filters altogether and therefor do not know that they need to be changed. Luckily, they are easy to locate and change without having to take it to a mechanic. They’re normally located under the hood, often near the base of the windshield, or behind the glove compartment. This information can be found in the owner’s manual as well. It is recommended to change these filters at least once a year. The filter replacements can be found in local auto stores and usually range from about $10-$35. If your vehicle does not have a cabin air filter, most of the time it can be added in. Click here for an air filter video with AAA Carolinas Car Care Technician Jason Karp.

Keep the vehicle’s exterior clean. Wiping pollen off a vehicle can cause scratches. The best remedy for a pollen-coated car is to take it to a car wash or rinse it off with water at the very least. AAA recommends starting with a freshly washed car and then applying a solid coat of wax. This will allow motorists to just rinse the pollen off weekly or more.

Keep pollen from finding its way inside the vehicle. Though it’s tempting to roll down the windows and enjoy the spring breeze, motorists looking to avoid pollen should keep windows rolled up to prevent a pollen build-up. The early morning and early evening are the most prominent times for pollen. A damp cloth can remove built-up pollen on the dash and a small vacuum can get it up off the floor boards..

Story courtesy of "Hendersonville Lightening"

The “duck pond” that inundates the Jackson Park segment of the Oklawaha Greenway could be fixed if the state approves a parks and recreation grant for a realignment.

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday OK'd an application Wednesday for a $216,712 grant from the state Parks and Recreation Trust Fund to pay for a project to realign the trail. Often flooded by the rising waters of Mud Creek, the trail between Jackson Park to Martin Luther King Boulevard is the southern-most segment of the 3-mile greenway, the remainder of which is maintained by the city.
“It floods consistently,” County Manager Steve Wyatt told the commissioners during their April 1 meeting. “The proposal would be to do an engineered fix, to take it above the flood line.”
There are two options, said John Mitchell, the county’s business and community development director. A boardwalk would raise the trail over the lowland but could be vulnerable to damage from floods and storms. “The other is we build it up, which does require a no-rise permit” from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “From my perspective, not being an engineer but just as a taxpayer, the idea of building it up seems better to me just because I’ve got this fear of the water sweeping away” a boardwalk.
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board ranked the Oklawaha Greenway as the No. 1 priority in park improvements followed by drainage work and walking trail repairs at Etowah Lions Park.
“All those are good projects but I would say the Oklawaha Greenway has been something of an embarrassment,” Commissioner Michael Edney said. “Every time it rains more than two drops they have to close the trail, so that would definitely be my priority.”
Commissioner Charlie Messer, the board’s most consistent advocate for parks and recreation investments, said the county should apply for the PARTF grant, even though the city of Hendersonville plans to apply for one, too. The city is seeking $341,800 to help build the $933,600 Clear Creek Greenway from Berkeley Mills Park — the northern end of the Oklawaha Greenway — to Carolina Village.
“Last year, we chose not to participate in this,” Messer said. “One county’s not going to get two grants. We’ve used it in the past. It’s definitely a lot of money. We voted on a greenway tonight. And I think this would be one way of saying we’re going to step out and fund our parks and our greenways.”
The city has set aside $173,031 as payment for a sewer line easement through Jackson Park several years ago, reducing the county’s share of a potential $217,000 match at $43,682.
Commissioner Bill Lapsley asked whether applying for an amount less than the maximum PARTF grant of $500,000 might help the county’s chances, especially given the fact that the county would be competing with Hendersonville.
“If they’re smaller projects, dollarwise, they’re able to make more people happy,” Wyatt responded. “On the other side, most of the projects I’ve seen are $400 or $500,000 projects.”
“If Hendersonville was going to apply and we apply, if we had a smaller one, they might be inclined to do both,” Lapsley said. “But if we they both want a million dollars they may bump one of us out.”
The deadline for the PARTF application is May 1 and cities and counties expect to hear from the PARTF board around August. County approval of the PARTF application is on the commissioners’ agenda on Wednesday. The city of Hendersonville, moving ahead with its Clear Creek greenway application, held a public input meeting on Tuesday night to receive comments on the proposal.

Some state news making headlines:

North Carolina’s legislature gave final passage Tuesday to a bill that would require all doctors and nurses to care for babies born alive during a failed late-term abortion or face big penalties, a measure opponents deemed legally unnecessary and a threat to abortion providers.
House lawmakers followed a day after Senate counterparts in approving the bill, which would mean prison time and big fines for medical practitioners who don’t give children born despite a botched abortion the same protections as any other newborn.

A spokesman for Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper criticized the measure later in the day on Tuesday, raising expectations the governor would veto the legislation.
“This unnecessary legislation would criminalize doctors for a practice that simply does not exist,” Ford Porter wrote in an email.

Republicans speaking in favor of the measure said it had nothing to do with abortion. The aim was protecting an infant if a late-term abortion was botched and the baby was born breathing and with a beating heart, said Republican Rep. Pat McElraft of Carteret County.
Abortion-rights lawmakers and activists strongly opposed the bill, saying state medical licensing boards and current criminal laws already punish doctors and nurses who fail to offer care to a newborn. Rather, they argue, the measure seeks to force medical actions between a physician and a pregnant woman, interfering with her right to an abortion.

They added that medical providers could be charged with murder for some of the acts the bill’s supporters described.
“Do any of you really think that infanticide is legal in North Carolina?” responded Democratic Rep. Susan Fisher of Buncombe County. She questioned why Republicans who have controlled the legislature for nearly a decade hadn’t acted earlier if they believed babies were being left to die or even killed after being born alive.

Fisher said the measure’s real purpose, and motive was to intimidate health care providers from conducting legally allowed abortions. The legislation would impose prison time and potential $250,000 fines for medical practitioners who fail to provide sufficient care.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported more than 140 infant deaths involved induced terminations nationwide from 2003 to 2014. It hasn’t specified what level of care those newborns received.

North Carolina Republicans have passed abortion restrictions this decade, including one that extended the waiting period for the procedure to 72 hours. But a North Carolina law adjusted in 2015 to limit abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy to only those during a medical emergency was struck down by a federal judge. He delayed enforcement of his decision so the state could appeal or rewrite that law.

Hendersonville Lightning Reports:

Just over 2,500 property owners have appealed new assessed values under Henderson County’s 2019 reappraisal, or about 3.8 percent of the 68,000 parcels the county reappraised for tax purposes.
Tax Administrator Darlene Burgess reported the number of appeals, 2,536, as the county Board of Equalization & Review convened on Monday for the first time to begin hearing appeals. County appraisers reviewed and made a call on the informal appeals received through the April 12 deadline. Notices of the county’s decision went out last week, Burgess said. She did not yet have a count of how many of those property owners had appealed to the Board of E&R. Property owners may appeal through May 15, when the board adjourns and closes the appeal period.
The tax office was prepared for an appeal rate as high as 10 percent, or nearly 7,000 cases. The 2019 appeal rate of 3.8 percent is higher than the rate in 2015 of 2.02 percent and in 2011 of 1.34 percent.
The Board of E&R took up just two cases when it convened this week. It upheld continuing present use value for agriculture purposes for land that was in the process of changing hands. In a second case, it upheld a staff recommendation to deny present-use value on property where the owners had failed to apply for the farm-use deferment as required by law.
The Henderson County Board of Commissioners has not yet announced the revenue neutral rate for the 2019-20 tax rate. Two cities have signaled that they plan to adopt tax rates higher than the revenue neutral rate.
In Mills River, the Town Board tentatively agreed last month to a tax rate of 17 cents per $100 valuation, from 18 cents currently. The town did not yet disclose the revenue neutral rate, although the overall taxable value increased by 19.2 percent.
The Hendersonville City Council voted 4-1 last week to keep the city tax rate the same, 49 cents per $100 valuation, even though the city’s overall taxable value spiked by 24.4 percent. Council members have committed to an array of capital and personnel costs over the next four years, including debt service on a new $11½ million police station, a potential new southside fire station, Seventh Avenue improvements and downtown restrooms; an expanded employee health insurance benefit costing $300,000 a year; and adding nine firefighters, plus an engine and ladder truck. In the meantime, the city has committed to $480,000 a year for SROs in four schools and started an animal control squad, has seen its sales tax share from the county fall and lost $400,000 when the state killed the privilege license tax.
The revenue neutral rate is 41.8 cents per $100 valuation, city officials said. One cent on the tax rate generates about $210,000 a year in the city.

Pardee Hospital Foundation Raffles Tickets for Paul McCartney Concert

(Hendersonville, NC, April 15, 2019)- Entegra Bank has generously donated to Pardee Hospital Foundation two box seats and VIP parking to the Paul McCartney Concert to be held May 30 at 8pm at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.

A $50 raffle ticket gives you a chance to win the two seats and parking, and tickets will be on sale through the Pardee Foundation through May 1, 2019. All proceeds from the raffle will benefit the work of the Pardee Foundation.

You do not have to be present to win. To enter the drawing, visit pardeehospitalfoundation.org or call 828-233-2700.

Blue Ridge Community College and the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development to Host 3rd Annual Made in Henderson County Advanced Manufacturing Job Fair on Tuesday, April 30

Hendersonville, N.C. (Apr. 16, 2019)– Blue Ridge Community College and the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development will host the Made in Henderson County Advanced Manufacturing Job Fair on Tuesday, April 30 from 12:00 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Blue Ridge Conference Hall, located at 49 East Campus Drive in Flat Rock. 30 manufacturing companies are expected to attend the event and are hiring for both production and non-production jobs. Interested job seekers should come with their resume and be prepared to discuss job opportunities.

“The Made in Henderson County Job Fair is truly unique and a great picture of collaboration in Henderson County,” said Brittany Brady, President of the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development. “We are fortunate that community partners can shine a light on the wonderful opportunities around advanced manufacturing and how these job openings are an entry into a great career.”

In conjunction with Henderson County Public Schools, there will be a special session held exclusively for local high school seniors before the event is open to the general public. During that time, students will participate in career readiness exercises and visit with the employers. Interested students can sign up by speaking with their local guidance counselors.

"Through our partnership with Henderson County Public Schools and the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development, we help students connect to jobs and training through initiatives like the Made in Henderson County Job Fair--ultimately elevating their futures and meeting the increasing advanced manufacturing workforce needs of Henderson County." said Dr. Laura Leatherwood, president of Blue Ridge Community College.

"As a school system, we recognize our responsibility to help prepare tomorrow's workforce. To that end, the collaboration between Henderson County Public Schools, the Partnership for Economic Development and Blue Ridge Community College serves to bolster career readiness opportunities,” said Dr. Jan King, Assistant Superintendent of Henderson County Public Schools. “As a coalition of organizations committed to a thriving Henderson County community, we know that cooperative work around job fairs opens doors for both students and local industries."

To learn more about the job fair or to see a list of participating employers, visit www.hendersoncounty.jobs or www.blueridge.edu/jobfair.

FLAT ROCK — Occupants of a car that led law officers on a chase emerged uninjured and with their hands aloft after flipping their car in the center of the Village of Flat Rock on Monday afternoon. The two men face multiple charges, a sheriff's deputy said.

A deputy handcuffs an occupant of the Buick Regal that fled from a deputy, lost control and flipped in the middle of Flat Rock.
"They saw a deputy behind them, freaked out and took off," said sheriff's Cpl. Billy Brittain. The car sped up, crossed a double yellow line and lost control on Greenville Highway at Flat Rock Square in the main retail and dining center of the usually quiet village. The driver and a passenger were able to get out and, facing a deputy with his handgun drawn, raised their hands in the air, a witness told the Hendersonville Lightning.

A fire truck from Blue Ridge Fire & Rescue, six sheriff's vehicles and a Highway Patrol cruiser lined the northbound lanes of the highway while the Buick, with both driver's side doors open and belongings scattered about, remained upside down on a grassy shoulder between the road and brick sidewalk.

The two occupants remained on the scene, too. They appeared to be unharmed and both had refused medical attention, Brittain said. Charges will be brought by a Highway Patrol trooper and possibly sheriff's deputies, he said. He did not yet have information on whether the driver was impaired or what caused him to speed away from the flashing blue lights.

Photo courtesy of Hendersonville Lightening.

Rolling Roadblock to Assist I-40 Traffic Shift
Delays expected on westbound I-40 near state line

 A contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation will initialize a traffic shift on Tuesday morning with the assistance of a rolling roadblock on Interstate 40 west through the Pigeon River Gorge.

Traffic heading toward Tennessee will be slowed on Tuesday, perhaps stopped at times, to safely allow crews to remove the temporary concrete median. Once this operation is complete in the afternoon, westbound traffic will be placed in the regular outside lane of I-40.

Motorists heading toward Tennessee should plan for significant delays on Tuesday. An alternate route from Asheville to the I-40/I-81 junction takes drivers up I-26 West to I-81 south and adds about 45 minutes to a trip.

This traffic shift will allow crews to begin preparing the final surface and pour new concrete to build a permanent center median between eastbound and westbound traffic.

Traffic has been utilizing one lane in each direction since Feb. 28 when the interstate reopened following a rockslide on Feb. 22.

For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on social media.

Speed A Little. Lose A Lot. Campaign Underway
Law Enforcement: The Speed Limit is The Law

GARNER – The statewide ‘Speed A Little. Lose A Lot.’ campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of speeding is underway, which not only means water-cooler and dinner table discussions about the simple truths about speeding, but increased law enforcement and driver checkpoints.

“More blue lights, less yellow tape, that’s at the core of our mission,” said Mark Ezzell, director of the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program, which aims to eliminate preventable deaths on North Carolina roads.

“We hope that during this week, through a combination of enforcement, education and empowerment we can all help reach the goal of the Governor’s NC Vision Zero initiative: a coordinated effort to change traffic safety culture and bring North Carolina’s traffic deaths to zero,” Ezzell said.

NC GHSP held a kick-off event at Fort Bragg on Friday, April 12, in front of nearly 200 military and civilians. Fort Bragg is not only the largest military base in the country, but sits in a county that has fifth highest rate of speeding in North Carolina.

The message was simple: 'Speed A Little. Lose A Lot.'

Ezzell told the crowd: “We’re rushing to work, school, to eat, to play. We’re rushing to get there first, and ultimately, we’re rushing to die. The rush is claiming too many lives on North Carolina roadways.”

Speed is the number one factor in preventable deaths and the statistics don’t lie.

Fast Facts:

Speed-related fatalities ranked by county in 2018:

Mecklenburg: 38
Wake: 16
Harnett (tied): 15
Cumberland (tied): 15
Forsyth: 11
Overall speed-related fatalities, 2014-2018:

2014: 349
2015: 322
2016: 370
2017: 336
2018: 313
Total reportable speed-related crashes, 2014-2018:

2014: 19,699
2015: 20,348
2016: 18,982
2017: 17,495
2018: 21,339
Governor’s Highway Safety Program Assistant Director Cheryl Leonard helped kicked off the annual anti-speeding event. “We really need drivers to slow down, they put their lives at risk and the lives of others when they go even a little beyond the posted speed limits,” Leonard said.

Speeding is more than just breaking the law. The consequences are far-ranging.

“Losing a lot doesn’t just mean life or death, people can lose their freedom, employment, respect, money and more,” Leonard added. “It’s just not worth it.”

Read here to brush up on guidelines for drivers, motorcyclists and bicyclists safely arrive at their destinations.

The Governor’s Highway Safety Program promotes highway safety awareness through grants and safe driving initiatives like: Click It or Ticket, BikeSafe NC, Watch For Me NC, Speed a Little. Lose a Lot, and North Carolina’s Vision Zero initiative.

This Fridays George Real Estate Group hometown hero will be the late Lt Jimmy Case.WHKP is expecting a couple of Case fellow police officers to join us at 8:45am as we honor Case to passed away unexpectantly last Thursday.