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Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jerry Smith, former Hendersonville City Council member, announces mayoral campaign
HENDERSONVILLE - Former Hendersonville City Council member Jerry Smith announced a 2026 run for city mayor at a kickoff event Aug. 18. On a cloudy, gusty day, Smith stood on the sidewalk in the middle of downtown Hendersonville and addressed a crowd of about 50 people, his wife, Anne, estimated. He highlighted some of his priorities are upholding the city's obligation to provide high-quality municipal services equally for all, investment and planning for the city's water and sewer system, good training and resources for first responders, attracting industry and business investment to increase jobs, and making sure growth is compatible with the scale and character of the city. 'As your mayor, I will decide development and zoning requests on a case-by-case basis, balancing the need for adequate housing the guidelines of our comprehensive plan with the need to keep Hendersonville's culture and neighborhoods thriving,' he said in his speech. More: Ribbon cutting marks completion of Hendersonville Seventh Ave. Streetscape renovation He promised to promote 'greenways, parks and public amenities that enhance our quality of life,' and to attract both remote and in-person workers who he said would make the local economy resilient in the face of recession or natural disasters. Smith served on the Hendersonville City Council from 2009 to 2023 and was mayor pro tem from 2019 to 2021. Smith is registered as a Democrat, according to a North Carolina State Board of Elections database, but city council elections are nonpartisan. He was a high school teacher at Henderson County Public Schools for 24 years, at Hendersonville and East Henderson high schools. He resigned from the city council in 2023, saying it would let him be more present for his family and parents, according to previous Times-News reporting. Smith moved from Arden, where he lived briefly after leaving the city council, back to Hendersonville with his wife and three children in June, around the same time that he returned to practicing as an attorney at Derek Jones Law Office, according to his campaign website. He practiced law in North and South Carolina from 1993 to 1997, before deciding to become a teacher, according to his website. He also teaches public safety as an adjunct at Blue Ridge Community College. 'It's the best place ever,' Smith said of being back in Hendersonville. He had told his wife that, if he was going to run for office again after his resignation from City Council, it would only be for mayor, he told the Times-News after his speech. 'When (Mayor Barbara Volk) decided not to run, then that really made it easy for me to decide,' he said. Volk has been mayor for 15 years. Smith is up against current Hendersonville Mayor Pro Tem Jennifer Hensley, who has served on the city council for five years and announced her campaign for mayor last month, immediately after Volk announced her retirement. Smith has been considering a run since earlier this year but had the idea in his head as far back as 2021, he said. 'I've had 14 years on council, so I've done 14 budgets. I've dealt with a lot of issues,' he said. That's meant navigating working with people with different viewpoints and handling uncomfortable conversations, he said. 'I've been connected here a long time, and I'd like to be able to use those connections to continue to help our city thrive,' he said. More: Democrat Lynne Russo announces run for Henderson County's NC House District 117 More: Hendersonville Council's Jennifer Hensley runs for mayor on steadiness, continuity George Fabe Russell is the Henderson County Reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News. Tips, questions, comments? Email him at GFRussell@ This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Former Hendersonville council member Jerry Smith to run for mayor Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
07-07-2025
- Climate
- USA Today
Start to Transylvania Co. private property debris removal delayed, funding 'not secured'
Transylvania County's program to remove storm debris from private property is delayed after the county government was informed by federal officials last week that there is no federal funding allocated for it. In a June 25 meeting with FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, county officials were told that 'funding was not secured for Transylvania County' to remove debris left on private property by Tropical Storm Helene, County Manager Jaime Laughter told the Times-News July 3. Tropical Storm Helene killed more than 100 people, destroyed thousands of homes and downed countless trees when it struck Western North Carolina in September. The lack of county funding for debris removal will not necessarily affect certain municipalities, including Brevard, which have their own storm cleanup programs. Transylvania County never began private property debris removal, and a contractor hasn't been selected to do the work, Laughter said, though the Army Corps did hire a contractor to accept and review applications. 'Prior to that (June 25 meeting), we were being told (by the Army Corps and FEMA) that all the applications were almost done being reviewed,' she said. 'We had property owners that were expecting any day that contractors could show up.' Laughter said the county is now 'waiting to see' what happens and whether federal funding will appear. The county is also looking at other options, like the State Mission Assigned Recovery Taskforce (SMART) program, which is funded by the state of North Carolina. She said the county's been speaking with the Army Corps, FEMA and North Carolina Emergency Management to resolve the situation. 'There has been some additional funding,' Laughter said. 'But that does not necessarily mean that Transylvania County will be part of that.' In other places, debris removal has worked differently. In Henderson County, for instance, the county has paid for much of its debris removal and was waiting on around $8 million in reimbursement from FEMA, Henderson County Manager John Mitchell told the Times-news July 3. Mitchell and several County Commissioners have expressed unease at this situation and have said several times over the last months that debris removal might need to be paused in Henderson County if reimbursement doesn't come soon. Mitchell said July 3 that he hopes out-of-pocket costs for debris removal can be shifted to the state. The North Carolina Department of Transportation is completing right-of-way debris removal in Transylvania County and the Army Corps has done some waterway debris removal that is now being completed by FEMA, Laughter said. Individual cities and other jurisdictions within Transylvania County won't necessarily be affected by the funding development. Brevard Assistant City Manager David Todd told the Times-News July 3 that debris removal there will continue as planned. 'City staff has been engaged in doing the debris removal,' he said, so the issue of funding for the county 'doesn't really impact what's happening inside the city limits.' Whether federal money comes through for Transylvania County is 'going to be a lot more complicated, I think, than just a single decision point,' Laughter said. 'We should have clarity on this by the end of July.' A representative for the Army Corps of Engineers directed the Times-News to a FEMA press office, which said, in a written statement, 'We are working closely with Transylvania County on private property debris removal,' and referred any questions to the county. More: NC's Helene-related death toll rises to 108 with McDowell County fatality More: Stein signs law making it easier to declare missing people dead after natural disasters George Fabe Russell is the Henderson County Reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News. Tips, questions, comments? Email him at GFRussell@
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Henderson County passes 2026 budget, fully funding public school request
The Henderson County Board of Commissioners approved a fiscal year 2026 budget after a public hearing June 2. Those giving public comment spoke overwhelmingly in favor of greater funding for public schools, which was ultimately included. One after another, 10 public education advocates wearing matching shirts, light blue, with a red heart and the words 'Public School Strong!' above North Carolina's state outline, came to the podium. Katie Gash, a former math teacher at Hendersonville Middle School, told the board she was an 'exhibit A' case for more public school funding. 'I can tell you that the teachers are doing all they can do, and they need all the help they can get,' she said. This all comes after a budget workshop meeting May 21, when the board went line by line through County Manager John Mitchell's proposed budget and voted on increases to items to fund public services non-profits, including hospitals and addiction treatment organizations. According to Mitchell's presentation to the board in that meeting, top areas of recommended funding for 2026 include education, public safety and human services. Together, they make up $160 million, or around three-quarters of the roughly $214 million budget. On June 2, the board voted in favor of more funding for school facilities and teacher pay. It added $500,000 for capital improvements and another $763,463 for other expenses, including supplements to otherwise state-funded teacher salaries, Henderson County Financial Services Director Samantha Reynolds told the Times-News June 3. That's on top of more than $36 million that was already included in the budget for public schools. Henderson County Public Schools Superintendent Mark Garrett, who addressed the board June 2, requested around $1 million less this year than last. 'We all appreciate you going back and … finding over a million dollars in cuts,' Commissioner Jay Egolf told him in the meeting. Reynolds provided documents to the Times-News that show the additional education funding was the largest change to the budget in the latest meeting. Revenue to balance additional spending will come from fire inspection fees, the Capital Project Fund and sales and use tax. 'The most important thing about the budget this year is that we were able to hold our tax rate the same, and especially in light of all the Helene issues going on,' Reynolds said. The Board of Commissioners added around $340,000 in equipment and pay for new county staff, including a fire marshal, a position at the recreation department to mow grass and another at the Henderson County Public Library to organize a collection of antique photographs. It also added close to $60,000 to the budget for equipment to maintain public parks and ballfields and $50,000 for the Heritage Museum. Commissioner Rebecca McCall told the Times-News June 3 that she was pleasantly surprised how quickly, and smoothly budget adoption went this year. 'We don't always agree on everything … (but) we got through it quicker, and we were able to come to a consensus,' she said. In the past, the board has gone without an agreement until the second or third meeting in June to make the July 1 deadline, she said. More: Henderson County Commissioners comb through recommended budget for 2026 ahead of hearing More: Hendersonville budget draft accounts for more staffing and infrastructure George Fabe Russell is the Henderson County Reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News. Tips, questions, comments? Email him at GFRussell@ This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Henderson Co. '26 budget passed with additional funding for education
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Hendersonville man in coma but stable after Memorial Day weekend crash in Mills River
A Hendersonville man is in a coma after a serious highway crash May 25 in Mills River. Samuel Mullenax, 31, of Hendersonville, was in stable condition as of May 26. He was driving a Ford Explorer on North Carolina Highway 280 Sunday night when he collided with an empty gasoline tanker truck whose driver had made an improper left turn out of a driveway, North Carolina State Highway Patrol Sgt. Cory Hipp told the Times-News. Hipp said that doctors at Mission Hospital, where Mullenax is being treated, told the Highway Patrol that he was 'placed in a coma, basically, because he's in and out of surgery so much,' but that he would make a full recovery. 'We don't believe impairment was a factor,' he added. He said this type of crash, involving a driver making a left turn onto a highway, is 'one of the more prevalent crashes that we see on a five-lane highway." NC 280 was choked down to one lane in each direction near the site of the accident, near Gash Road, for around three hours afterward, Hipp said. Traffic from vacation travel tends to contribute to higher rates of crashes over holiday weekends, he said, but this crash was between two local drivers at 9:41 p.m., when the roads were relatively clear. 'I'm not sure that anything would have happened' differently even if the truck had been full of gasoline, because the crash 'didn't penetrate the tanker,' he said. The driver of the tanker truck, Stephen Neill, 30, of Hendersonville, did not suffer any injuries and was charged with failure to yield. More: Weather in Asheville, Western NC: Flood risks? More: 'A debt that cannot be repaid:' Fallen service members honored at Memorial Day ceremony George Fabe Russell is the Henderson County Reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News. Tips, questions, comments? Email him at GFRussell@ This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Outlook good for Hendersonville man in collision with semi truck
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Climate
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Answer Man: Fires, fields and gardens: What to do with the giant mulch piles from Helene debris?
Editor's note: The Asheville Citizen Times and Times-News will answer your Helene-related questions in our Sunday column. Email Executive Editor KChavez@ Your question and answer could appear in an upcoming issue. Question: What are the plans for the mountains of wood chips left over from (post-Helene) cleanup efforts? I drove by Mills River Park just today and the wood chip piles look to cover acres. Are there plans to sell the wood chips, use them on state and county projects, give them to residents to control erosion or for other projects? Collecting the debris is only part of the effort, disposal is the next step. Answer: As anyone in Western North Carolina is aware, Tropical Storm Helene uprooted and toppled countless trees last fall with its catastrophic flooding and severe high winds, sometimes topping 100 mph according to the National Weather Service. Local governments have been making steady progress toward cleaning up the pervasive debris, from brush to entire trees that fell on cars and houses. After it's collected it's often fed through woodchippers to reduce its volume and more efficiently store it. The Times-News spoke with Henderson County Engineer Marcus Jones, who's in charge of the debris removal effort. He had updates on how that massive, 'unprecedented' undertaking is moving along and offered some answers to what will happen to all the material from the county's three debris removal programs: removing debris from the roadside, from waterways and from private property. He said the county has handled more than 750,000 cubic yards of debris, much of which has been chipped. There's around 5% left to be collected and processed, he said, 'but that's 5% of a whole lot, there's not (just) a few sticks out there.' The Asheville Citizen Times reported in April that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had removed 4.12 million cubic yards of Helene debris in Western North Carolina. Most of that, 2.1 million cubic yards, was removed from waterways in Polk, Buncombe and McDowell counties, the towns of Chimney Rock and Lake Lure and the City of Asheville by disaster remediation contractor Ash Britt. Another 1.9 million cubic yards were collected from the sides of roadways as part of the Army Corps of Engineers' right-of-way debris removal program. Asheville and Buncombe's private property debris removal program ended April 15, the Citizen Times reported. The towns of Woodfin and Weaverville had their own independent debris removal programs, which wrapped up their application process in March and April. There is 'many times more than the normal routine appetite for (mulch) in this region,' Jones said, so some will need to be shipped somewhere else. 'We're finding a home for it,' slowly but surely, he said. 'The only problem we're having is finding enough people to haul it.' One issue that the county's been dealing with is maintaining the woodchip piles once they're mounded up. Jones said that there have been several fires from spontaneous combustion — when moist, decomposing wood generates heat, like a compost pile, to the point that it catches on fire. 'You should be concerned about big mulch piles catching on fire,' he said. 'It does ignite' of its own accord. But, he said, those fires are manageable with the same heavy equipment used to process and mound the chips, which can also be used to put it out. Jones said that, as far as environmental impact, the piles aren't perfect, but that they're all permitted by the Department of Environmental Quality and are a strictly temporary measure. FEMA contractor Southern Disaster Recovery is tasked with collecting and disposing of Henderson County's debris. To answer one seemingly obvious solution: no, the material can't simply be sent to a landfill as garbage. 'Wood chips are banned from landfills,' Jones said. That said, they can be used in a landfill as 'daily cover,' or the layer, usually of dirt, that landfills are required to bury a day's deposit of garbage under. That's only making a dent, though. Jones said the county was burning mulch, using a method called air curtain burning where wood is burned in a metal container or a pit and air is blown onto it with a 'huge' fan. This makes the wood burn hotter and produce much less smoke that open burning. It 'eliminates a good bit of the pollutants,' Jones said. Still, the county shut that operation down after neighbors of the Edneyville-area site raised concerns about the still-significant amount of smoke. Some of the woodchips will be sold to wholesalers, who will turn it into your normal, garden-variety landscaping mulch. The county's also giving loads of mulch to farmers 'for rehabilitating their fields that … lost topsoil from the storm.' Clearing the backstock of woodchips could take 'months and months,' Jones said, but said that he's been happy to be wrong about that kind of estimate before. 'I thought we would be doing the roadside debris program for 12 months, and it's turned out to be seven, eight.' May 1 was the deadline to put debris out along the roadside for pickup, but the county is still in the thick of picking up all of it. Jones said in a May 21 Board of Commissioners Meeting that he hopes to finish that process by the end of June. More: 4.2 million cubic yards of Helene debris has been removed. What to know about debris deadlines More: Henderson County shares storm debris update, spending concerns, at Board meeting Citizen Times reporter Will Hoffman contributed to this report. George Fabe Russell is the Henderson County Reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News. Tips, questions, comments? Email him at GFRussell@ This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Answer Man: Where is Hurricane Helene debris going?
