News

On Friday, Feb. 21, a YMCA in Hendersonville held an event honoring black leaders during Black History Month.

This free community event featured black leaders who made a difference in Henderson County.

Attendees enjoyed BBQ while listening to the keynote speakers.

The keynote speakers are Hendersonville natives who were influential in promoting global diversity, equity and inclusion work.

The event honored local black leaders and the Hendersonville YMCA's global DEI efforts.

"I hope people took away from this that we need to keep black legacy or black history alive," said Vice President of Human Resources, Kevin Young. "There's so many things that are happening that are trying to alter that memory. We want to make sure we are doing everything that we can to be sure that those things don't get pushed to the wayside."

The keynote speakers were:

• Rhonderia Waters, Assistant Vice President, First Citizens Bank
• Donnie Parks, retired Hendersonville Police Chief and current Chief of Staff, Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office
• Blair Craven, Senior Financial Advisor at Baird Wealth Management and Henderson County School Board Member

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOShttps://wlos.com/news/local/ymca-hendersonville-honors-black-leaders-dei-henderson-county-black-history-month#

 (10:15 a.m. update): Hendersonville authorities confirm Carol Ann Hanlon has been located safe.

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The Hendersonville Police Department is requesting help in finding a missing 85-year-old woman, Carol Ann Hanlon.

Hanlon was last seen on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at her home on Ewbank Gardens Drive in Hendersonville around 11 a.m. a press release said. It is also believed that she left her home on foot.

She was last seen wearing black pants or slacks, a yellow knitted sweater and a black jacket.

The press release describes Hanlon as white, female, 5'6" and 125 lbs. She has short blonde hair with bangs.

If you have any information that can help with finding Hanlon, you can call the Hendersonville Police Department at (828) 697-3025.

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSUPDATE: 85-year-old woman reported missing out of Hendersonville found safe

A special meeting - called by Henderson County Commissioners - will be held MONDAY, February 24th in the Bat Cave Baptist Church, 5095 Chimney Rock Road.
Information will be given regarding the recovery from Helene that has been completed and plans for the future.
Also on Monday, February 24th, a number of agencies will hold the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Disaster Resource Fair at the Bat Cave Baptist Church from 1 til 6:30 PM.

— A Henderson County man was arrested on charges of sexual exploitation of a minor on Thursday, Feb. 13.

Nathan David Furr Coble, 20, was arrested in Mills River and taken into custody after local and state law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence.

Coble faces four counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Coble appeared before a magistrate after his arrest, who set a secured bond of $400,000.

The Criminal Investigations Division Major Crimes Unit, Henderson County SWAT and the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation assisted on this case.

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSHenderson County man faces 4 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor

Friday morning WHKP celebrated a decade of the George Real Estate Group radio broadcast on WHKP, where the spotlight is shined on incredible Hometown Heroes every Friday morning on WHKP contributing to our vibrant community. Pictured are Noah George(l) Randy Houston(c) and Tippy Creswell(r).

Dear Friend,
The 119th Congress is well underway, and I’m excited to continue serving the people of Western North Carolina from my seats on the House Appropriations and Budget committees.
In addition to serving on the Appropriations Committee’s Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, I am honored to have been appointed to the role of vice chairman of the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Subcommittee.
Under a unified government, the new majority has a rare opportunity to reverse America’s spiraling debt and create a safer and stronger future for our nation. I’m eager to work with my colleagues to make real changes that will better the lives of the American people, continue to bring federal resources to aid in WNC’s recovery, and fix how Washington works.
The people of WNC are not forgotten

It was a privilege to welcome U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to our mountains and accompany him to see the devastation brought by Hurricane Helene as well as our efforts to clean up and rebuild.
During his time in Haywood County, we surveyed the damage at I-40 near the Tenessee line, and it was confirmed that I-40 is set to partially reopen on March with one lane available in each direction.
The people of Western North Carolina continue to be reminded that we are not forgotten, and I appreciate Secretary Duffy for his attention to helping our mountain folk rebuild.
Fixing a broken agency

It’s an honor to be named by President Trump to the FEMA task force to fix how this broken agency works.
After being on the ground throughout the Hurricane Helene response, it’s clear that an overhaul of FEMA is necessary to more effectively and efficiently respond to natural disasters.
I’ll be lending the insights I’ve gained so that our nation will be fully prepared to prevent and respond to future disasters, and to save lives.
Protecting U.S. communities from the fentanyl and border crisis
In the House, we have voted on and passed multiple bills - including the HALT Fentanyl Act and the Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act - to make our communities safe again by combatting the fentanyl and border crises wrought by the previous administration’s open border policies.
The temporary order designating fentanyl-related substances (FRS) as a Schedule I drug is set to expire soon. If this designation expires and is not made permanent, these substances will become street-legal, taking away law enforcement’s authority to seize fentanyl and allowing drug traffickers to continue funneling deadly drugs into our country.
I voted in support of the HALT Fentanyl Act to permanently classify FRS as Schedule I drugs as defined by the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I drugs have high potential for abuse with no accepted medical uses, and this bill would make sure that law enforcement has the resources to keep these drugs off our streets and allow for further research of FRS.
In addition to the fentanyl epidemic, many Americans have paid the price for illegal immigrants breaking our laws and engaging in high-speed chases to avoid detention. The Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act would make it a criminal offense to operate a vehicle within 100 miles of the southern border while fleeing from Border Patrol agents or any law enforcement officer assisting Border Patrol, including jail time and being prohibited from ever receiving legal status in the U.S.
Streamlining the FEMA application process for disaster victims
After Helene hit Western North Carolina, I saw how complicated and difficult the disaster recovery assistance applications were. Many folks had to apply to multiple agencies, including FEMA, the SBA and USDA, for disaster assistance, each of which had its own extensive applications.
That’s why I introduced the Disaster Survivors Fairness Act, which would streamline FEMA’s application process and improve coordination among federal agencies to more effectively aid disaster victims.
This bill would direct the FEMA administrator to develop a universal application for federal disaster assistance to be used across agencies and authorizes information sharing across these agencies. This is an important step toward making sure we are prioritizing the people and not the bureaucracy after disaster strikes.
With my warmest regards,

WASHINGTON DC OFFICE
1505 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-6401 HENDERSONVILLE DISTRICT OFFICE
200 North Grove Street, Suite 121
Hendersonville, NC 28792
Phone: (828) 435-7310

The City of Hendersonville will sponsor its popular Document Shred Event for City residents on Friday, May 16, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. This year’s event will be held in Patton Park located at 114 E. Clairmont Drive in Hendersonville. The Hendersonville Police Department will also offer a Drug Take Back as part of the event for community members to safely dispose of their unwanted or expired medications.

Shred-it will have its shredding truck at the Patton Pool parking lot to allow residents to dispose of sensitive materials. City of Hendersonville residents are invited to bring up to two boxes (or up to 50 lbs.) of paper items to be shredded. Suggested items to shred are financial statements, canceled checks, credit card statements, payroll stubs, insurance forms, old tax returns, forms from doctor's offices, etc. This event is not for business shredding. The public can simply drop their documents off or stay and watch their documents be destroyed. The event will happen rain or shine. If the shredding truck fills up before 10:30, the event will be over.

During this time, the Hendersonville Police Department along with Hope Coalition will host a Drug Take Back event to allow the public to dispose of expired/unused medication, such as prescription and over-the-counter pills, vitamins, ointments, and patches. No chemotherapy drugs, needles, inhalers, or EpiPens will be accepted. The Hendersonville Police Department also provides a permanent medication disposal box located in the lobby of the Police Station at 630 Ashe Street that is available during business hours, Monday – Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The Drug Take Back portion of the event is open to everyone.

To make this part of a community outreach effort, the City is asking residents coming to the event bring non-perishable pantry items to donate to Interfaith Assistance Ministry (IAM). Suggested items are listed on IAM’s website at https://www.iam-hc.org/current-needs.

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced that Pactiv Evergreen has agreed to a settlement with state and local governments following the closure of its Canton paper mill in 2023. The settlement ends the

Department of Justice's lawsuit against the company to repay millions in grant funds to the state.

According to a Feb. 13 news release from the attorney general's office, Pactiv will pay $6.25 million in financial restitution and has agreed to drop its legal effort to secure a refund on its 2023 and 2024 property tax payments. Pactiv also agreed not to bill Canton for the operating costs of the town's wastewater treatment plant.

"Pactiv broke its promise to the state and the people of Canton, and today's settlement holds it accountable for violating its agreement," Jackson said in a written statement. "This settlement will allow the people of Canton and Haywood County to immediately put millions back into rebuilding their economy after the mill's closure, and it will shield them from future litigation from Pactiv. After a devastating few years, this deal gives the people of Canton funds they desperately need right now."

The attorney general's office broke down aspects of the agreement as follows:

• Repay $6.25 million to Canton, Haywood County, and the state. Canton and Haywood County will receive $5.75 million, and the state will receive $500,000.
• Waive its right to bill Canton for any cost of wastewater treatment services that Pactiv provided to Canton between 1964 and when it sold the plant last month, including substantial costs Pactiv paid to repair the wastewater plant after Hurricane Helene.
• Withdraw all legal challenges to its 2023 and 2024 property tax payments to Haywood County and Canton for the mill sites and other locations, which could have required the county and town to refund as much as approximately $4.5 million to Pactiv.

Pactiv announced the closure of the century-old plant in 2023, leading to the loss of hundreds of jobs. It was one of the largest employers in Haywood County, Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers previously told News 13.

In May 2024, then-Attorney General Josh Stein filed a lawsuit against Pactiv Evergreen on behalf of the state's Department of Commerce, claiming the company breached a 2014 grant agreement and owed $12 million to the state.

"This settlement marks the beginning of a new chapter for Canton—a chapter that will build the 'hometown of tomorrow' that reflects our grit, resilience, and commitment to our community," Smathers said in Thursday's news release. "I am grateful to the state for their hard work in securing these resources, which will allow us to create new opportunities, jobs, and lasting stability without Pactiv."

Pactiv sold the Canton mill site last month to Spirtas Worldwide and has ended all business in Canton.

See a copy of the settlement below:

 

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSPactiv Evergreen settles with state over 2023 Canton mill closure

IRS and partners highlight Earned Income Tax Credit and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the EITC

One in five eligible taxpayers in North Carolina don’t claim this credit worth up to $7,830.

NC-2024-01, Feb. 11, 2025

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Internal Revenue Service and partners around the nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) with the launch of this year’s Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day campaign.

The annual campaign, now in its 19th year, helps increase awareness among the millions of working Americans with a low-to-moderate income who are eligible for the EITC. The IRS estimates that roughly one in five eligible taxpayers miss out on claiming this valuable credit.

EITC was signed into law on March 29, 1975. Through numerous legislative changes, the tax break has helped encourage work and lift many financially challenged families out of poverty.

As of December 2024, approximately 23 million workers and families had received about $64 billion total from the EITC, according to IRS statistics. On average, eligible taxpayers received $2,743 from the credit in tax year 2023.

In North Carolina, more than 800,000 workers and families received $2.25 billion total in EITC for tax year 2023. On average, taxpayers in North Carolina received $2,812.

Workers may use the EITC Assistant, an online tool, to check their eligibility, which may be affected by changes in marital, parental or financial status. Workers also may visit the Child-related Tax Benefits Comparison page to learn more about basic eligibility rules for the EITC and several other tax credits.

The Where’s My Refund? tool, which allows taxpayers to monitor the status of their refunds, will be updated with projected deposit dates for most early EITC/ACTC refund filers by Feb. 22. Most EITC or ACTC related refunds should be available in bank accounts or on debit cards by March 3 if there are no issues with a taxpayer’s return and they chose to receive their refund by direct deposit.

Whether they qualify for the EITC, taxpayers may be eligible for other valuable tax credits like the Child Tax Credit (CTC), the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) or the Credit for Other Dependents (ODC). The Interactive Tax Assistant is a helpful tool for taxpayers to check their eligibility for those credits.

As a reminder, the quickest way to get a tax refund is by filing an accurate tax return electronically and choosing direct deposit as the method to receive a refund.