AUGUST
• Polk County Sheriff Officers partnered with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport nine illegal aliens by August. Sheriff Donald Hill said the department doesn’t go and round people up but will work with ICE when individuals commit crimes.
• Pavillon Treatment Center in Mill Spring was awarded a $50,000 grant from the Cannon Foundation for its new Patient Admissions Welcome Center.
• Construction of the new Department of Social Services building was a month behind schedule in August. County Manager Ryan Whitson said there were issues with getting the roofing completed.
• Reclassification of Lake Adger was passed onto the state after Henderson County expressed little to no interest in giving its support for the effort. Polk County officials aim to eventually use the lake as a water source if necessary. To do so, the lake must be reclassified from Class C (recreational use) to a Class III.
• Polk County Commissioners approved the creation of an Economic and Tourism Development Commission Aug. 1.
• Columbus City Council members denied a voluntary annexation request from Giardini Trattoria Aug. 2. The restaurant owners had hoped to add on-premise alcohol sales with the annexation into Columbus.
• Area native Joe Fenten opens Dark Corner Distillery, homage to his home, in downtown Greenville.
• Protex Investment Group Inc. officially closed on Bright’s Creek golf development Aug. 3.
• The Columbus Police Department seized $159,000 in drug money during a checkpoint held at Hwy. 108 near Polk County Isothermal Community College.
• The USDA ranked North Carolina 10th in country for its number of farmers markets.
• Saluda Board of Commissioners Aug. 8 approved moving forward with plans to renovate its city hall. The historic building needed new brick, a new roof and new windows among other updates.
• Saluda BOC voted to hike property taxes by 10 percent. The city’s tax valuation is now 60.5 cents per $100.
• Polk County was classified under a D1 drought this summer. Records at the Tryon water plant showed the area only garnered 1.12 inches in July.
• Margaret Louise Forbes, a notable champion of education and philanthropy, passed away Aug. 12. Forbes and her husband, Stuart, founded the Stuart and Margaret L. Forbes Scholarship Program and later donated the building where the Forbes Preschool now exists.
• Police spent the day Aug. 16 searching for a suspect who robbed the Medicap Pharmacy in Columbus. The suspect, Michael Spencer Bolling, 31, of 77 Medford Rd., Tryon, was eventually captured and taken to the hospital after ingesting medication. He was charged with robbery with a  dangerous weapon, two counts of second degree kidnapping, two counts of trafficking opium, one count of felony possession and one count of felony maintaining a vehicle for a controlled substance.
• Bright’s Creek announces it will not host the 2012 BMW Pro-Am celebrity golf tournament. The tournament raised $625,000 fro area charities in 2011.
• A 5.9 magnitude earthquake that took place in Virginia was felt in Polk County Aug. 23.
• On Aug. 24, Polk County Sheriff’s officers busted the largest methamphetamine lab in Polk County’s history. Two toddlers were also found in the home. Jessica Nicole Hardin, 22, of 3201 Hwy. 9 North, Columbus, was charged with manufacturing methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute, both felonies. Jason Carroll Barnes, 33, also of 3201 Hwy. 9 North, Columbus, was also charged with manufacturing methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute.

In Memoriam
Shirley Harris Wallace
Roy Julian Vehorn
Charlie Hirst Lovelace
Esther C. Brown
Ricky Neal Day Sr.
Harriet Fortune Hall
Charles Searcy
Arthur “Chip” Jones
Juanita Johnson
Phillip Leon Champion
Wiley Graham Newman
Audrey Primrose Ingles
Robert M. Brown
Martha Garrett McCall
Margaret Louise Forbes
Helen Gilbert
Kathleen Wright Peoples
Ansel ‘Bud’ Wilson
Faye Farrell
Launa Burrell Metcalf
Helen Robinette
Pete Byars
Archie Pearson
Lt. Gen. George C. Axtell
Barbara Pierce Clement
Margaret Dumoulin
Arlee Burns Graham
Gale Henry King
Edna L. McCraw
Dr. F. L. ‘Terry’ Chase III
Alfred Payne Jr.
Gwendolyn Bennett Goodwin
Judy G. Collins
Nathan Philpott
Donnie Mae Burnett
Donald Greenway
Raymond C. Cantrell