Bonclarken from across Highland Lake

Tea Party forum to host Republican and Democratic congressional candidates

For those of you interested in keeping up with regional politics, here's info on an upcoming candidate forum on January 28, from Mountain Xpress:

Eight candidates for the NC 10th and NC 11th Congressional Districts have accepted invitations to participate in a non-partisan candidates’ forum on Saturday, January 28, at 1:00 p.m. at the Skyland Fire Department.

There will be a Meet & Greet at 12 noon, giving the public an opportunity to meet the candidates personally. As an added benefit to the public, other candidates running for office at the state and local level who have either stepped up to the iCaucus Citizen Led Job Interview or who have committed, have been invited to attend the noon Meet & Greet.

Republican candidates Dr. Dan Eichenbaum, Jeff Hunt, Mark Meadows, Vance Patterson, Kenny West, and Ethan Wingfield, all seeking the NC 11th district nomination to oppose incumbent Democrat Heath Shuler, will participate. Democrat Cecil Bothwell, who will challenge Shuler in a primary, will also be there. Republican candidates Spencer Campbell, Christopher Petrella did not respond to any of the three invitations issued. Shuler responded, but said he could not make the scheduled event....

To get all the info, read it all.

"Flat Rock Playhouse celebrates 60th birthday"

From the Times-News:

Flat Rock Playhouse has been a fixture in the Western North Carolina arts community since 1939 when Robroy Farquhar and his company of Vagabond Players arrived in the Hendersonville region, searching for an audience and a home.

After several summer seasons, the Vagabond Players had found their audience, but remained transient in their borrowed space. In 1952, Farquhar and his newly formed board of directors initiated the purchase of the historic home and estate "Rockworth"...

In 2012, the Playhouse will produce 17 shows between the two venues in Flat Rock and Hendersonville. The new and popular Music on the Rock Concert Series, launched by Marini in 2010 — will include 10 concerts. In addition to serving as the new home for Music on the Rock, the new Playhouse Downtown will also host many Henderson County community events....

Sounds like an interesting season; read it all.

Occupy Flat Rock!

Well, they occupied the post office on Saturday anyway:

Two dozen or so members of Occupy Hendersonville came to support the Postal Service and chanted “Save America’s Postal Service” during the gathering. Members of the group said they want to support the 200 postal workers at the Asheville Regional Mail Processing Center, which has been marked for possible consolidation with the center in Greenville, S.C., as a cost-containment measure. “We support local jobs and local jobs for local people, and getting the money and power out of government,” Occupy Hendersonville member Carole Repici said....

The U.S. Postal Service ended its 2011 fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2010–Sept. 30, 2011) with a net loss of $5.1 billion, according to a news release from the service.

Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe stated the service “must reduce our annual costs by $20 billion by the end of 2015” to be profitable....

Read it all.

A couple of points:

• Why were they protesting the closing of the Asheville Regional Mail Processing Center at the Flat Rock post office?
• Think about the statement quoted here: "We support. . .getting the money and power out of government." What does that even mean? We shouldn't pay our taxes (because that will get the money out of government)? Somehow I don't think that's the Occupy philosophy--from everything I've read, the Occupy movement wants more taxes.
• Snail mail is still important, but technology has severely reduced the need to send out physical material. Email, faxes, social networking, etc. have cut drastically into the business of the post office, and that's not going to change. The U.S. Post Office is trying to adjust to these changes--and that's going to require, unfortunately, some hard decisions. From CNNMoney:

  USPS mail volume declined 20% in the four year period through fiscal year 2010 resulting in net losses of over $20 billion.

Often in life, there are no easy choices--I'm afraid this is one of those times for the U.S. Postal Service.

Village updates website

The Village of Flat Rock has updated their website--check it out.

I think it's much easier to navigate and much nicer to look at, but there are still holes that need to be filled and some clean up to be done: it's still a work-in-progress, but very much an improvement over the old site.

January village council meeting: "Playhouse asks Flat Rock council for support in 2012"

A recap of Thursday's monthly village council meeting in the Times-News:

The Playhouse is seeking financial support from municipalities for activities planned during its anniversary year. In 2011, the Village of Flat Rock donated $25,000 to the Playhouse.

On Thursday, council members said they would consider the request for another donation but did not make a commitment....

The Playhouse's annual economic impact on Henderson County is between $10 and $12 million, and the theater brings 45,000 people into Western North Carolina....

Also during the meeting, council members approved a conditional district rezoning fee of $250 to be added to Flat Rock's schedule of fees.

The council also approved a $4,700 expense to fix a masonry problem in the office at the Flat Rock Village Hall, according to council member Jim Wert....

Flat Rock continues to move forward with a plan to add sidewalks down West Blue Ridge Road, from Greenville Highway to Bonclarken Lake....

Read it all.

One thing I would add: during the public comment time, Flat Rock resident John Dockendorf requested that the village council consider adding a play structure somewhere in the village (location to be determined) as a place for young children to play.

If you're interested. . .

Because you get the government you deserve--so get involved:

January - June 2012
Village of Flat Rock

Schedule of Meetings

Tuesday, January 3, Agenda Workshop

Thursday, January 12, Monthly Council Meeting

Monday, January 30, Agenda Workshop

Thursday, February 9, Monthly Council Meeting

Monday, February 27, Agenda Workshop

Thursday, March 8, Monthly Council Meeting

Monday, April 2, Agenda Workshop

Thursday, April 12, Monthly Council Meeting

Monday, April 30, Agenda Workshop

Thursday, May 10, Monthly Council Meeting

Monday, June 4, Agenda Workshop

Thursday, June 14, Monthly Council Meeting

All meeting locations are in the Flat Rock Village Hall unless otherwise dictated by space requirements or other circumstances.

All Monthly Council Meetings are scheduled for the second Thursday of each month, unless that Thursday is a holiday, and start at 9:30 a.m.

Agenda Workshops also start at 9:30 a.m. and precede Monthly Council Meetings by 10 days, unless that Monday is a holiday.

Check the village council agenda and meeting minutes online here.

The Times-News now owned by Halifax Media

From the Times-News:

The New York Times Co. and Halifax Media Holdings LLC announced on Friday the finalization of the sale of 16 newspapers, including the Times-News.

Daytona Beach, Fla.-based Halifax Media purchased the New York Times Regional Media Group for $143 million in cash....

"Halifax is a company that believes in a strong local franchise, a quality news report, and active participation within the community it serves," Times-News Publisher Ned Cowan said Friday. "We look forward to their guidance and leadership."

Read it all.

. . . and a Happy New Year!