Pumpkin time.

AP: NC transportation cash bailout OK’d by legislature

From the Associated Press: RALEIGH — The North Carolina legislature has agreed how to help the Department of Transportation overcome a recent cash crunch that’s already resulted in layoffs of temporary workers and paused construction. The House and Senate voted overwhelmingly on Thursday for a bailout package that includes $100 million toward past and future...

Hendersonville Lightning: Outgoing Village Council majority remains in favor of road project

From the Hendersonville Lightning online: . . . [Council member Ginger] Brown lost her re-election bid last week to Anne Coletta, a former council member who led a three-candidate slate that rode an anti-road widening movement to victory. Along with Mayor-elect Nick Weedman, who cast the lone vote against the road project last year, the...

Hendersonville Lightning: Study takes a look at possible Oklawaha Greenway extensions

From the Hendersonville Lightning online: . . . The Board of Commissioners will hear a report next week from a team of three planning and engineering firms on possible next steps for northern and southern extensions of the Oklawaha Greenway. The 3.5-mile greenway, which currently runs from Jackson to Park to Berkeley Mills Park, could...

T-N letter to the editor: ‘Slash and burn’

From the Sunday Times-News letters to the editor (note that this letter was sent in before last week's council election): ‘Slash and burn’ To the editor: Driving along North Highland Lake Road, past The Park, I realized that soon I may no longer see a mature canopy of trees here. The willows and oaks nearing...

T-N: Highland Lake Road project could be halted by new Flat Rock council

From today's Times-News: The North Highland Lake Road widening project in Flat Rock could go the way of the defunct Balfour Parkway following the election of a new majority on the Village Council opposed to the project. Newly elected Mayor Nick Weedman has a difficult task right out of the gate: bringing together the three...

T-N editorial: Flat Rock’s message is clear

Voters in the Village of Flat Rock spoke loudly and clearly that they want the state to undo a controversial plan to widen North Highland Lake Road. Now it’s up to the state to listen. It was the first race in the village’s history in which every council seat that was up for election was...

Hendersonville Lightning: Anti-road widening slate wins control of village council

From this week's Hendersonville Lightning: . . . Using an unprecedented war chest for a Flat Rock election and issuing a yard sign warning that “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone,” [Anne] Coletta, Tom Carpenter and David Dethero easily won the three Village Council seats on the ballot over incumbent Ginger Brown,...

T-N: Carpenter, Coletta, Dethero celebrate wins in Flat Rock

A quartet of Flat Rock Village Council candidates opposed to the North Highland Lake Road project won their races Tuesday, shifting the power balance on the seven-member council. Thomas Carpenter, Anne Coletta and David Dethero won the District 1, 2 and 3 races. The trio ran as a team on a platform of fiscal conservancy,...

T-N letter to the editor: Character at risk

From the Times-News letters to the editor: Character at risk After retirement almost 10 years ago, my late wife and I chose Flat Rock as our home because of its uniqueness and heritage. The character of our community is at risk by the current Village Council. I urge Flat Rock voters to elect Anne Coletta,...

T-N letter to the editor: Healthy democracy

From the Times-News letters to the editor: Healthy democracy Contrary to Flat Rock Council Member John Dockendorf’s feelings, having a difference of opinion is not partisanship — it’s a sign of a healthy democracy to offer voters a choice. The Cultural Landscape Group is an advocacy organization whose mission is to preserve the cultural landscape...

Shaping the NCDOT of the future

Shaping the NCDOT of the future, an eight-page report of how NCDOT manages multiple funding accounts and expenditures, initiated by the Office of State Budget and Management

T-N letter to the editor: A boondoggle

From today's Times-News letters to the editor: A boondoggle “If you’re in a hurry, don’t move to Flat Rock,” said my cousin, Joe Carr from New Orleans. Our charming village is composed of descendants of early settlers and new families who came because they like it just like it is. The current village council members...

T-N letter to the editor: They have failed

From today's Times-News letters to the editor: They have failed My wife and I chose Flat Rock for our retirement years. The North Highland Lake Road project pushed me to ask questions about Flat Rock governance. Elected officials should represent the people — our mayor and some council members have failed. Taxes increased unnecessarily by...

T-N letter to the editor: Church and state

From today's Times-News letters to the editor: Church and state Sometimes people feel only the “big” elections are important. All elections are important, whether local, state or national. On Nov. 5, several municipalities have candidate elections. In Flat Rock, you might think it is these three against those three. Much more is at stake. Voting...

T-N letter to the editor: Elect grown-ups

From today's Times-News letters to the editor: Elect grown-ups Owning road frontage on Little River Road has made the possibility of adding 10-foot-wide asphalt cycle paths wholly unacceptable. These plans are clearly seen on page 16 of the Village of Flat Rock Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Add to that the current council’s lawyerly denials that...

T-N letter to the editor: Pandora’s box

From today's Times-News letters to the editor: Pandora’s Box To the editor: As every commercial developer knows, infrastructure leads development. The North Highland Lake Road project will result in new traffic permits and heavier traffic. Consider just a few clues: The project will increase the stacking lane for left-turning traffic onto Greenville Highway; it will create...

T-N letter to the editor: Village healing

From today's Times-News letters to the editor: Village healing To the editor: The national political scene is so contentious and negative, and we have the very same thing going on here in the village of Flat Rock. The Highland Lake Road and multiuse path project has the citizens very divided and has created hard feelings for...

T-N letter to the editor: Overdevelopment

From today's Times-News letters to the editor: Overdevelopment To the editor: “If you build it, they will come” seems to be the theme for many of the people who moved here in order to escape overdevelopment/population at their previous locale. Discontent with the beauty and peace here, they want to desecrate our area, too. I am...