LOCAL

Answer Man: 'Banshee screaming noise' at Jacob Holm plant? Streetlight burns 24/7?

John Boyle
The Citizen-Times
The Jacob Holm plant in Enka spent more than $100,000 over a year ago to fix a noise problem, but some local residents say they're again hearing a high-pitched whining sound.

Today’s batch of burning questions, my smart-aleck answers and the real deal:

Question: The Jacob Holm plant is back to its old tricks. The jet engine sound coming from their giant vacuum is as loud as ever. I live on Brookside Circle, and the noise is terrible. They put on a muffler or baffle a couple of years back, on the Biltmore Lake side, but the side facing east is as loud as ever.  Maybe getting louder. Even though they have their industrial zoning, why do they get away with so much noise pollution?  I have been trying to sell my building and that sound is a deal breaker. It is worse from 11 p.m.-7 a.m., when street noise is very low. It wakes me up and my building has very thick walls. You can hear the banshee scream for more than a mile at night, when it counts. No one cares about the noise during the day because street noise muffles it out. But at night, when they usually run their giant vacuum, the noise is terrible.  

My answer: Fun fact: A banshee is "a female spirit whose wailing warns of an impending death in a house," according to Irish lore. The Irish -- always there with the warm fuzzies.

Real answer: I've actually heard from three readers in recent weeks about this issue, all describing similar noise -- a high-pitched whine, particularly at night.

So I asked Jeffery Sellers, vice president and plant manager at Jacob Holm, about the issue. He noted that the plant fixed a noise issue over a year ago, at a cost of more than $100,000, and they're "convinced it's not coming from the new equipment."

About six months ago, they had a fan that was scraping on its metal shroud, causing a whining noise, and they fixed that, too.

"Right now, we’re kind of stunned that we’re hearing (complaints)," Sellers said. "I go outside and it sounds like it’s always sounded. But we’re definitely taking this seriously, and we want to be good corporate citizens."

The plan is to bring in the same sound engineering firm that worked on the previous issue. In the coming weeks, they'll be doing audio testing at several locations near the plant to get a fix on the problem.

The complaints they've gotten are coming from the north side of the plant, Sellers said, so they'll concentrate efforts there. But the testing will be comprehensive.

The Jacob Holm plant on Sand Hill Road made noise-dampening improvements more than a year ago, but some nearby residents say they're hearing a high-pitched whining sound.

Jacob Holm makes fibrous materials that go in baby wipes and disposable wipes. The company, at 1265 Sand Hill Road, employs about 150 people.

Several neighborhoods are nearby, and Sellers says they take the noise complaints very seriously.

"We want to make sure we're going after the right stuff," Sellers said. "Obviously, this is not cheap (to fix). We’re going to find out what it is and we’ll fix it, but I’m afraid it’s going to take a few months to get there."

The plant has not added any new equipment, and it runs 24 hours a day.

"There's nothing we're doing special at 2 a.m. in morning that’s any different than what we’re doing at 2 p.m. in the afternoon," Sellers said.

The material the plant makes is a woven dry good, and it can be flammable, so the plant takes very seriously any potential metal-on-metal noise that could generate heat or sparks, creating a fire hazard.

I also touched base with Buncombe County Commissioner Joe Belcher, whose district includes the Enka-Candler area. He worked with Jacob Holm on behalf of constituents with the previous noise issue, but he said he's not heard about the recent complaints.

The county does not have a noise ordinance that would apply to the factory, but Belcher said Jacob Holm has always been an excellent employer and responded positively to the previous noise issue. He's confident they will again.

"This is the type of company we want in Buncombe County," Belcher said.

This streetlight in front of the Flat Iron Building in downtown Asheville has been burning 24/7. The city said it was malfunctioning and has been fixed.

Question: At the corner of Battery Park Place and Wall Street, right outside the Flat Iron Building, there’s a streetlight that stays on 24 hours a day. It seems really wasteful. I asked the city about it, and I was told no one can find where the switch is to turn it off. Surely this can’t be the case. Can’t they put a day/night sensor on it to make it come on and off automatically?

My answer: It's all part of the city's new marketing slogan: "Asheville: We'll leave the light on for you. Forever."

Real answer: "This light was experiencing a malfunction," said Polly McDaniel, spokeswoman for the city of Asheville. "It was reported to Duke Energy, who made the necessary repairs."

McDaniel said the city encourages people "to inform us when they see issues like these so that we can get them fixed. Call City of Asheville Customer Service at 828-251-1122."

This is the opinion of John Boyle. Contact him at 232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com