Sandburg goats win at mountain fair

From the Hendersonville Lightning:

Shamrock and Shadow, Toggenburg dairy goats from Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, won first and second place respectively for Best in Class, intermediate doe kid class, at the North Carolina Mountain State Fair on Sept. 7.

The does are a seventh generation descendents from Lillian Sandburg's champion Toggenburg Jennifer II, who in 1960 earned a Top Toggenburg World Record for milk production. Mrs. Sandburg was often recognized for her accomplishments as a champion goat breeder and these goats winning awards fifty years later with the same genes is a testament to her legacy. The goats were shown at the competition by youth volunteers Evan and Mara Shook. . .

Youth from the site's volunteer program are selected each year to compete at the fair. They form the group of volunteers known as Flat Rock Exceptional Sandburg Helpers, or FRESH, which assists with farm chores and provides visitor information. . .

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Hornets' nest soon to be gone

Awwww, I was kinda' getting used to it, but. . .already on its way out, I suppose:

The hornets' nest or wasp nest has been visible for several weeks on the traffic signal facing Highland Lake Drive where it tees it into Greenville Highway. The traffic light is still working despite the busy work in the lower right corner of the device.

"They're not too particular about where they build, whether it's in a tree or a stoplight or wherever," said Marvin Owings, the director the Henderson County Cooperation Extension Service and a longtime farm agent. "The question we normally get is how to get rid of them.". . .

The state Department of Transportation last week sprayed the nest with wasp killer and will come back, probably next week, to take it down, a traffic engineer said.

The DOT crew responded to calls about the nest last week, said Roger Ayers, a deputy traffic engineer for Division 14. The Hendersonville Lighthing reported a story on its website Wednesday about the nest and had not been able to reach the DOT. It turns out that the crew sprayed the nest. . .

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More on the Flat Rock Park grant

From the Hendersonville Lightning:

The Village of Flat Rock has won a $475,000 grant that will cover just under half the purchase price of the town's new park.

The office of Gov. Pat McCrory notified village officials on Monday that the state had approved the town's application. The village council agreed to buy the Highland Lake Golf Club property for $1.15 million. The state Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant will cover a January payment of $475,000, Mayor Robert Staton said. . .

The Village Council on Thursday authorized landscape architect Ed Lastein to proceed with the first phase of park improvements, which includes a new entrance and a new lower parking lot, rest rooms and a walking trail. The Village Council allocated $487,000 in its current budget for park construction. . .

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Flat Rock gets $475K grant for new park

Great news! From the Times-News:

The village of Flat Rock got word Monday that the N.C. Parks and Recreation Authority has approved a $475,000 grant to put toward the village’s purchase of Highland Lake Golf Course for a municipal park. . .

[Mayor Bob Staton] said he was pleasantly surprised by the grant’s approval, since the village’s park project was initially put on a waiting list. He said the village was told in June the Parks and Recreation Authority was holding off to see how the state budget shook out.

“From the scuttlebutt we got, we were encouraged we would get an award, but the surprise was it was for the full amount we had applied for,” said Staton, who praised the grant writing help given the village by Rebekah Robinson, administrative director of the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy. . .

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