The Tues, Wed news catch-up

Here’s a run-down on the Wednesday WLOSer news. Scroll down for the Tuesday run-down…

The return of the Glory Hole Hunter
WLOSer Larry “Gloryhole” Blunt defiantly told us tonight that 15 months after he earned his “gloryhole” nickname by going after local adult bookstores that allow anonymous cocksucking, nothing has been done about it. Larry didn’t use such stark terminology, but that’s essentially what he said.

More than a year ago, Larry did a report called “Dirty Little Secret,” where he used hidden camera video to show us the waist-high holes punched in walls that divide video viewing booths at local adult books stores, such as Bed Tyme Stories in Asheville and Fantasy World in Swannanoa. After Larry’s report, Bed Tyme Stories shut down their booths.

But Larry says the glory holes still exist, and that the anonymous dick sucking is “illegal and unhealthy, and some say disgusting.”

Larry again took his case to the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department, which admitted that they like posing as underage girls on the Web to lure sexual predators, but their not posing as gay men looking for a blow job. Well, they didn’t put it like that, but they admitted they haven’t been doing much to address the glory hole situation.

So Larry took his case to Buncombe County Commissioner David Gantt, who said something needs to be done.

More at 11, Larry said.

Breaking news – it’s going to rain on Thursday
That’s what WLOSer Mike “Cuervo” Cuevas predicts. Weather sure has been nice lately, but Mikey says it’s time to pay.

School calendar change?
State Rep. Bruce Goforth wants school calendar decisions put back into the hands of local school districts. This comes as the Buncombe County school system is on track to lose a waiver that allows it to change the start date of school. State law mandates that schools start after Aug. 25, said WLOSer Pat “Simple” Simon, unless school systems prove they have snow days and get a waiver.

Graduation rates suck
The state said that Asheville High School’s graduation rate is 63 percent, below the state average of 68 percent, WLOSers said. School officials said they’re working on keeping kids in schools.

High school students charged with rape
WLOSers said two Franklin High School students face rape charges. The incidents happened off campus, they said. One 18-year-old is charged with assaulting a 14-year-old, while a 17-year-old is charged with attacking an 11-year-old. Both are being held in jail under bond.

More high school crime news…
Three teens from Reynolds High School have been charged with stealing a car and smashing it through the Fairview General Store on Sunday. The teens are charged with stealing guns from the store. They’re also accused of breaking into their high school and stealing computers, WLOSer said.

Breaking news – gas prices suck
WLOSers, in their never ending quest to try and explain why gas prices go up and down, jumped on the story Wendesday after noticing that the average price of gasoline is $2.35 a gallon nationally, with some local stations selling fuel for $2.50 or more.

Cherub Charu stood outside the gas station closest to WLOSer studios and talked to people who offered all kinds of explanations about the recent increases – the stock market sucks, refinery flow sucks, consumption sucks.

Bottom line – the oil companies will charge what the market will bear.

Sheraldo, we didn’t understand your story
WLOSer *Sheraldo brought us a story about a resolution that Transylvania County commissioners have recently passed asking for some sort of amendment to the state constitution regarding the definition of a legal marriage. Only Sheraldo never explained what the resolution was calling for. He said the state constitution already defines marriage as between a man and a woman, but this resolution would somehow add a requirement for a statewide vote to change it or something.

We don’t know, but it does sound like a story. McDowell and Davidson counties have passed similar resolutions. Sheraldo talked to one man on the street who said the county has no business passing such a resolution. A second man he talked to said the resolution sounded good.

In other news…
WLOSer Sheraldo says Brevard City Council wants to double the length of term for mayor, from 2 to 4 years. The current mayor asked for the change, which state lawmakers would have to approve, Sheraldo said. One person on the street said good idea, another man on the street said no, keep it 2 years. The current mayor hasn’t decided whether to run for another 2-year term, Sheraldo said… People are coping with the detour on U.S. 19/23, WLOSers said… Eleven people have been arrested on meth charges in Rutherford, Polk and Cleveland counties… And the Police Benevolent Association wants a review of the decision to drop charges against Fletcher Police Chief Langdon Raymond, but Hendersonville District Attorney Jeff Hunt says there’s no need. Raymond had been charged with assaulting a couple of his officers by grabbing the balls of one dude and shoving another or something. The SBI investigated and found there was not enough evidence to pursue.

Top stories from Tuesday…

Town of Marshall losing water, but not as much as first thought
Town officials who on Monday said a massive water leak was causing the town system to lose 200,000 gallons of water a day said on Tuesday they were only losing 50,000 gallons a day and they found a couple of leaks to fix.

Woman wants governments combined
WLSOer Pat “Simple” Simon did one of the dumbest stories we’ve seen from him yet – he did an entire story about some woman’s plan to consolidate Asheville city and Buncombe County governments.

Who the hell cares, Pat? Who is this woman, this Carol Keleher? Are you going to do a story on every letter to the editor you read? It was beyond lame. We could see a story on the issue, using the woman as one source, but do a story centering on her? C’mon. Bush league, dude.

Tryon wants to annex property
The town of Tryon wants to annex 600 acres, but residents outside current town limits don’t like the idea. WLOSer Jeremy “Boring” Butterfield brought us the boring story.

Aiming to end euthanization
A group of local animal welfare organizations vowed to stop killing healthy shelter animals within five years. Their plan is called “Countdown to Zero.” Good luck with that. Tuesday was also Spay and Neuter Day, and WLOSer Tallahassee Tammy Watford went down to Tupelo Honey to help raise money for the cause.

911 call released
WLOSer Cherub Charu brought us a 911 call made back in November after a toddler in Waynesville was found dead. The child reportedly ate her mama’s percocet and oxycontin. The mother, Heather Lacey, is charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Frat boy falls
A Western Carolina University fraternity dude named Caleb Linder fell from the roof of his frat house last weekend, said WLOSer Terrie Foster. The 20-year-old was drinking at another party when he fell about 4 a.m., Foster said.

The Sig Ep house is apparently known for some kick-ass drinkin’ parties, according to a couple of students that Foster talked to. “People do crazy things,” said one dude. The Sig Ep house was in trouble a couple of years ago for serving alcohol to minors, Foster said.

Child porn charges added
Jonathon Ward, a former West McDowell Junior High School band director charged with some sort of sex charge had 40 more child porn charges slapped on him, WLOSers said.

Store scanners don’t work
Four stores in our area were cited for having scanners that over-charged. The K-Mart on Patton Avenue was cited, as was the K-Mart in Hendersonville, Fred’s in Canton and Blue Ridge Hardware.

Nice day
The high on Tuesday was 60 degrees. Nice for Feb.

Sylva hearing
Hundreds of people jammed a meeting of Jackson County officials Tuesday night who were considering a moratorium on construction so they can get some rules on the books regarding development on mountainsdies.

Dunkle likes chocolate
WLOSer Victoria Dunklehead went down to the Chocolate Fetish to eat some chocolate and announce that the annual Chocolate Festival at the Grove Arcade will be held June 2.

Injured man returns to U.S.
Daniel Houghton, the Air Force paramedic injured when the helicopter he was in crashed in Iraq, has been moved to Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington.