More snow in the news on Wednesday

Breaking news: Simon snowball missing
Pat “Simple” Simon told us that his kids “built a snowball” in the snow yesterday, but it went missing. He warned everybody in his neighborhood that he would be on the lookout for it.

Leftover snow news
Even though Wednesday was a clear, sunny day, WLOSers kept harping on the little bit of snow we got on Tuesday. The snow has stopped, “but the danger remains,” according to WLOSers, who said that troopers responded to 130 wrecks today. Yesterday, they said that troopers responded to some 220 calls, or double what’s normal. So the number WLOSers reported as news today was just normal.

Terrie “Pasty-face” Foster went out to Canton to say that five cars ended up in a ditch on one stretch of shady, icy road. Foster interviewed a trooper, who gave us advice for the nasty weather after the fact – slow down, stay off secondary roads, don’t slam on breaks, steer into the slide, etc.

Foster said DOT road workers said they would have pre-treated more roads with salt brine if they’d known the weather was coming. Guess WLOS weather-guessers didn’t really do their job.

In other weather-related news, Cataloochee Ski resort was packed with skiiers. Meantime, WLOSers said Wolf Ridge ski resort was closed on Wednesday because they didn’t have enough snow. Why the hell not? Yeah, it’s been warm, but ski resorts now have the technology to make their own snow.

In still other weather-related news, WLOSers said Buncombe County closed schools on Wednesday, which messed with their high school semester exam schedule. Exams were supposed to be Wednesday and Thursday. Now they’ll be Thursday and Tuesday. That’s because Friday is a “protected” teacher work day that can’t be changed and Monday is MLK Day.

In even more useless day-after weather news, WLOSers told us that animal advocates say to give pets extra care in winter weather. Don’t leave them outside, feed them more, consider buying the little doggies a sweater and keep them away from the antifreeze.

Life without WLOS
Sheraldo went down to Horse Shoe in Henderson County to show us a woman putting rabbit ears on her television in order to pick up WLOS now that the station is off the air on all Mediacom cable company line-ups.

Sheraldo said people are finding it easy to hook up the antennaes. Mediacom has handed out more than 2,000 sets of rabbit ears to people desperate for WLOS.

January is ‘Radon Awareness Month’
WLOSer Jeremy Butterfield said that the deadly gas emitted from the breakdown of rocks and shit can kill you. So you need to test your home for radon once a year. Contact your local cooperative extension office for more info.

In other news…
Three Buncombe County stores sold tobacco to under-age buyers in a sting operation. The stores were an Energy Mart, a Chubby’s and a Market Center… Rabies cases are increasing, so get your pets vaccinated… Hendersonville is working on getting a teen center for bored kids… Jay Seltzerwater says there’s a new way to get your tonsils taken out. It’s called “coblation” or something… In advance of President Bush’s speech on his new plan for the war in Iraq, WLOSers went out and talked to one soldier. The 211th Military Police Company sergeant said the media only focuses on negative war news, not all the good stuff that Americans are doing there…

In still other news…
The body of that Laurel Park woman found dead on Tuesday was sent to the state Medical Examiner’s Office. Still no cause of death, but cops say no foul play…. A dude broke into a day care on Compton Drive in Ashvegas. He was caught on video tape…. Pisgah View Apartments is installing gates and video cameras in an effort to improve safety. The Ashvegas Housing Authority was meeting Wednesday night to give somebody a contract to install the cameras. The housing authority director said some 40 apartments stand empty at Pisgah View, and that’s directly related to safety concerns. Residents say the gates and cameras violate their rights… The deadline for musicians to apply to perform at this year’s Bele Chere street music festival is coming up on Jan. 26. The deadline is also nigh for anybody who wants to enter the festival’s poster art competition… Columbus town officials are spending $400,000 to build a new public works building… And John “Punnyman” Le talks to some award-winning guitar picker… Also, Diva Darcel doesn’t like going to the dentist.