Mondo Monday news catch-up

Ingles Giving Tree
Julie Blunder ushered in the Ingles Giving Tree on Monday. As usual, the “tree” – really just a tree-shaped stand for canned food – was set up in the Ashvegas Mall and Julie filled time talking about how important it is to feed the hungry this time of year. Meantime, the Reynolds Band played Christmas tunes in the background.

Mayor Terry Bellamy showed up at the mall by happenstance, according to Blunder, and helped pushed the button to light the tree. It was all very holiday-ish.

The Gene and John show
John “Punnyman” Le helped Mean Gene Ellison, an Ashvegas attorney and community leader, grill 200 turkeys that will be given away as part of an Eblen Charities give-away. Gene and John yukked it up over Gene’s method of grilling the birds. Gene gave ’em a bath, dressed ’em up, gave ’em a tan, and prepared to give ’em away. All the while, John talked about how the “proof is in the poultry” and such. It was actually kinduva nice holiday story, despite the schlock.

The Seven Wonders of Ashvegas
The Punnyman finally, mercifully, ended his dumb “Seven Wonders of Ashvegas” series by telling us that – shock- the Biltmore House is a wonder. Le’s list was suspect and predictable. There was no creativity, unlike the real ABC/USA Today series that talked about the seven new wonders of the world.

Here are Le’s Ashvegas wonders: Ashvegas City Hall, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Cathedral of All Souls, the Grove Park Inn, the Grove Arcade, the Wolfe House and the Biltmore House.

Boring. Lame.

How about the view from Mount Pisgah as a wonder. How about the flushed Rebelles on a public stage on a warm night? How about when they call your name at Tupelo Honey at 1 a.m.? A fresh tag on Carolina Lane that nobody else has discovered. A soldout Avett Brothers show at the Orange Peel – only we gots tickets. The first flush of strawberries at the Farmer’s Market. Those are some of the wonders that we live for. Think a little. Live a little.

Blast of wintry weather
There were a few snowflakes in the air on Monday, so WLOSers acted like it was the second coming. Terrie Foster went up to Clingman’s Dome and talked to tourist who had never seen snow. She talked about the “white stuff” and noted that the snow “brings out the kids in most of us.”

Look, people, it snows every year. It’s nothing new.

Police academy
Ashvegas police spent a year holding public meetings to discover this – people in different neighborhoods have differnt needs. O, and targeted patrols work. O, and gangs, drugs and car-break-ins are problems in Ashvegas.

Cherub Charu told us this story, and it makes us feel frustrated that our leaders are this effing stoopid. Thank you, Chief Bill Hogan. Thank you, Citizens Advisory Board. Thank you.

Swannanoa pride
The Swannanoa Pride Community Coalition wanted the Cliffs developers to work under new rules governing building on steep slopes, but Buncombe County’s planning board grandfathered the Cliffs in, anyway. Local residents weren’t too happy about it.

Sinclair v. MediaCom
WLOSers continued to rail against MediaCom as part of their “coverage” of the ongoing dispute between Sinclair, the owner of WLOS, and MediaCom, a cable company that covers Henderson County. The WLOS version of the story Monday was this – for all you WLOS viewers out there, an antennae can still work for you.