Alrighty then – let’s get caught up. Here’s what WLOSers had on Friday:
Gambling case
WLOSers said Demetre Theodosis pleaded guilty in federal court on Jan. 30 and has agreed to cooperate with the feds. That spells trouble for former Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Medford, a couple of his deputies and his friend Jackie Shepherd, who all face charges related to an alleged gambling ring.
Theodosis, who owns several Hot Dog King restaurants around town, had $1.8 million in cash stashed in a false wall in his home when police raided it a year ago, WLOSers said.
Medford’s trial is scheduled for March 25.
Shooter was a gang member
Not sure why this was a top story, but WLOSers told us what we already knew – the guy charged with shooting up the Stephens Lee Center last summer and injuring three people was a gang member. His gang – the M Zone Ridas. They used to be based at McCormick Heights (the M Zone) but since that’s shut down, they’ve moved on. WLOSers went to lengths to say that, while shooter Tillman Jackson was a gang member, the Stephens Lee shooting was not gang related.
In other news…
Somebody at the Buncombe County jail had tuberculosis and may have exposed others at some point… Developer Robbie Kirkpatirck has a dispute with the city over a water line for the Briar Cliff Terrace mobile home park. WLOSer Kassandra Pride did a terrible job of explaining the issue. Something about how the city wants the developer to extend the water line a bit farther than the developer wants to. The upshot is that the trailer park goes without water for days at a time because Kirkpatrick is sometimes late in paying the bill. He says the folks in the park have been getting free water for eight years… Fontana Village wants to be its own town… The Asheville Downtown Commission approved plans for the 11-story Parkside Condos, which are planned for a stone’s throw from City Hall on Pack Square.
In still other news…
Cops are still looking for thieves who yanked a change machine out of a couple of car washes in Marion… Somebody hacked into computers at Western Carolina University and stole hundreds of Social Security numbers of students and alumni. Some 500 people may be affected… The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has a new biodiesel shuttle it hopes will cut down on air pollution… The American Chestnut Foundation got a $1 million donation from a North Carolina family. Meghan Jordan said the association is happy about it and will use the money to plant more trees and keep researching a blight-resistant tree.
Man on the street
WLOSers asked people on the street what they would do if the federal government sent them a rebate check. One guy said he’d spend it in Asheville bars. Somebody said they’d pay bills. Another dude said he’d put it away and move to Colorado.
Restaurant Report Card
WLOSer Frank Fraboni has apparently ditched the camera crew and his method of barging into restaurants to confront them with health inspection grades. On Friday, Fraboni green-screened video of the restaurants on the hot seat and stood, super-imposed, over them like the reporting god that he is.
The Rite Aid Coffee Shop on Merrimon Avenue has a lunch counter, and it got a 90, which is an A, but it had eggs at room temp and a broken fridge. The health inspector told the place he’d yank their license if they didn’t get that cooler fixed. They should consider contacting an Appliance Repair expert to sort that out for the future.
The Ingles deli on Highway 64 in Etowah wasn’t keeping food hot enough. It also had greasy pans and duct tape on a cutting board. It got a B but was re-inspected five days later and received a 92.
And Fraboni said the Subway in Hendersonville got a “sinking feeling” (get it?) when the inpsector arrived to find frozen pizza on the floor in a freezer and knife washing with no sanitizer. The place received a B with an 84.5 but was re-inspected and now has an A.
Canton Middle School teachers arrested
Heather Graf said two Canton Middle School teachers have been arrested in the last two weeks. That has parents concerned about the school’s hiring practices.
Heather met with what looked to be about a hundred Haywood County School officials (OK, maybe only five or six), who all said they’re doing everything possible to protect the precious children.
Heather gave us the run-down – one 46-year-old teacher was arrested for soliciting sex from teen boys on the internets. He was a seventh-grade social studies teacher. Then a 46-year-old female teacher who worked with special needs kids was busted for trying to buy some opium-based narcotic from an undercover police officer. Both teachers have been fired and banned from all school campuses, school officials told Heather.
Shooting rampage raises security questions
WLOSers did what I predicted and localized the story about the shooting rampage in suburban St. Louis that left several city officials dead after a man came into a city council meeting and shot the place up.
WLOSers talked to Asheville’s risk manager said there’s a four-phase plan in the works to make sure City Hall is safe.