Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Neighbors and veterans press Henderson County on recovery center funding and memorial signage
Summary
Public commenters at the June 3 meeting urged the county to erect Veterans Memorial Highway signs and voiced opposition to a nearby men’s recovery facility, citing licensing and safety concerns; county staff heard multiple speakers and no board action on the facility was taken at the meeting.
Several residents used the public-comment period at the Henderson County Board of Commissioners’ meeting June 3 to press the board on two separate community concerns: a veterans group petitioning for five countywide memorial-highway signs, and multiple neighbors objecting to the operation and county support of a nearby men’s recovery facility.
Shuford Edminston, speaking for members of the VFW, American Legion and Honor Guard, asked the Board to install five signs labeling the county’s primary entry routes as the “Henderson County Veterans Memorial Highway” to honor veterans who lived or served in Henderson County. The request named routes where signage was requested: NC 64 East, NC 64 West, NC 176 (Spartanburg Highway), US 25 South (Greenville Highway) and US 25 North (Asheville Highway). The item was recorded during the public-comment period; no formal board vote on the signage was taken that day.
Several speakers raised concerns about First Contact Men’s Recovery Center (and a related First Contact Ministries facility) adjacent to residences in the Fork Creek community near Saluda. Kirk Hall asked that county funding for the facility be discontinued. Louise Harvey said she “lives in fear” of the facility and opposed county funding for the nonprofit; Charles Harvey raised safety concerns for children at the nearby Orchard Lake Campground, cited long law-enforcement response times in the area (he stated response can take up to 30 minutes), and asserted the facility was unlicensed. The record does not show a county staff or board response addressing licensing status or immediate enforcement action during the meeting.
Other public comments included Ward Sequin, a retired NOAA meteorologist, who encouraged citizens to volunteer with the CoCoRaHS rainfall-observation network to help emergency services monitor slide- and flood-prone areas; and Margaret L’Hommedieu, who asked the Board to be proactive about possible data-center development in Laurel Park and raised a separate question about whether the Pledge of Allegiance is taught in schools.
Next steps: The meeting minutes record the public statements but do not show any formal board action on First Contact funding or the veterans-signage request at this session. Any follow-up—such as licensing checks, funding decisions, or sign placement—would require separate staff reports or future board action.
