August 23, 2015

Congressman McHenry Weekly Update

Hearing From You


As Congress continues with our August district work period, I continue to spend time back at home in Western NC. This week, I continued with my annual town hall meetings, hosting three across the 10th District. Monday I was in Columbus for a town hall meeting with the great folks in Polk County.


Tuesday evening I was in Forest City for a town hall meeting with Rutherford County residents. As has often been the case at this summer's town hall meetings, the nuclear agreement with Iran, Planned Parenthood, and the economy continued to be topics of concern.


I concluded the week with a town hall meeting at Cleveland Community College's Keeter Auditorium in Shelby.


This coming Tuesday afternoon I will have the final of my seven town hall meetings in Catawba County. Full details about Tuesday's town hall meeting can be found here.


Meeting Business & Community Leaders Across NC-10


Prior to my evening town hall meetings, I had the pleasure of meeting with a number of local business and community leaders across the 10th District. I began the week by meeting with the leaders of the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock communities in Rutherford County.


Following that meeting, I traveled to Forest City to address members of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce at their legislative luncheon.
 

That afternoon, I visited the Rutherford Health Center in Spindale for a tour of the facility and meeting with their CEO and other staff members.


I spent Wednesday in Cleveland County beginning the day with a tour STEAG Energy Services in Kings Mountain.


My next stop was the Cleveland County Chamber of Commerce's Legislative Luncheon where I provided an update on Congress' work in Washington.


I began my afternoon by touring IMC-MetalsAmerica in Shelby. During my tour I learned about their continued success while dealing with the many economic headwinds facing American manufacturers.


Following my visit to IMC, I had the honor of presenting a flag flown above the Capitol to Chief Jeff Ledford and the Shelby Police Department. As I mentioned in this space last week, Shelby PD was responsible for bringing the Charleston church shooter into custody. I was proud to present them with a flag to recognize their professional work.


I concluded my day in Cleveland County by visiting Newgrass Brewing, the county's first brewery which is helping lead the great progress and revitalization ongoing in downtown Shelby.


Thursday I was back in Buncombe County for a visit to DigitalChalk, an Asheville company providing online training services for numerous businesses.


For additional photos from my numerous visits throughout the 10th District, be sure to like my Facebook page and follow me on both Instagram and Twitter.


Meeting With NC-10 Education Leaders


Western North Carolina is blessed with numerous, high quality public, private, and charter schools as well as a number of fine universities and community colleges. This past week I had the opportunity to visit a number of these schools beginning Tuesday in Rutherford County. There I participated in the ribbon cutting at Lake Lure Classical Academy's beautiful new building.


That afternoon, I was in Spindale to present a grant check to Isothermal Community College and its President Walter Dalton. The grant check will be used to support construction of the school's Comprehensive Applied Sciences and Workforce Development Center.


While spending Wednesday in Cleveland County, I had the pleasure of presenting a grant check to Cleveland Community College and its president, Dr. L. Steve Thornburg. The grant funds will be used to support low income, first generation, and disabled students.


While in Buncombe County on Thursday I visited two local colleges. My first visit was to Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community college where I toured the school and met with President, Dr. Dennis King.


Following my visit to AB Tech, I headed over to the UNC School of Medicine's Asheville Campus at Mission Health. There I met with leaders of the Mountain Area Health Education Center and learned about the collaboration between Mission, MAHEC, and the UNC School of Medicine.




What I Have Been Reading

​Martin Luther King's Rocky Mount dream speech rings out again                               

​Raleigh News & Observer                               


Amazing story from the N&O on the North Carolina origins of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I have a dream" speech. Dr. King first delivered these now unforgettable remarks in 1962 at Rocky Mount's Booker T. Washington High School. While this speech had only been remembered by those who heard it, a recording of the Rocky Mount speech was recently found and played for the first time at NC State University. 


Gaston County Schools superintendent shares special bond with coach of two-time defending Legion World Series champion

​The Gaston Gazette                                                               


Neat story on the long time ties between Gaston County Schools superintendent Jeff Booker and Dennis Barth, the head coach of the two-time winners of the American Legion World Series. Booker and Barth were college roommates and baseball teammates at the University of Virginia. As Coach Barth brought his defending champion Brooklawn, NJ team back to Shelby for the ALWS last week, Booker was there to support his longtime friend.
 

Adventurous Spirits

​Bold Life                                                               


While it is the 10th District's breweries that get most of the headlines, a distilling industry has also emerged throughout our area. Above is a profile of one of those new products, Defiant Whisky. Created by Tim Ferris and distilled by Blue Ridge Distilling Co. in Bostic, Defiant is quickly making a mark throughout the area.





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