The news was so slow in Ashvegas that WLOSers had to go to Tennessee to get their big story. Here we go:
Tennessee truck wreck ties things up
There was a truck wreck on I-40 in Tennessee that snarled traffic in WNC. Sheraldo talked to people driving through the area who said they didn’t really mind too much because they were on vacation already. Besides, driving in the mountains is pretty. Sheraldo told us what we already knew: when you’re driving through the Pigeon River Gorge, you don’t have many detour options.
Debit card stolen
Some young guy with a 6-month-old kid said the bank mailed his girlfriend’s debit card and pin number to the wrong trailer park, so he and the fam were without pork and beans for the weekend. Actually, he was going on and on about how he had bills due over the weekend and couldn’t pay and they didn’t have money for anything, blah, blah, blah. OK, wait right there – who has “bills due over the weekend”? The dude said the illegal withdrawls of $55.65 and $78.99 “strained” his family budget and caused frustration and embarrassment. C’mon, dude. Quit yer cryin’. You setting up to sue the bank or something? Good luck with that. WLOSers never said exactly how much was stolen out of the kid’s account.
Anyway, WLOSers made this into a big story, quoting Celeste Collins of a nonprofit credit counseling outfit that you have to watch your accounts and be sure you have important financial documents mailed to a secure location. Thanks for that.
In other news…
A former Yancey County teacher was found guilty on 25 counts of child sex abuse. He appealed immediately… A grandmother of a dead 3-month-old in Transylvania County protested outside the county courthouse for TV cameras after she heard of a plea bargain in the works for Deandre Curry, who is charged with second-degree murder in the child’s death. Grandma don’t play – she wants the max… The ESC sided with fired Fletcher police offier Tim Fox, who said the town was wrong for accusing him of stealing stuff and firing him. He’s going to get some back pay… The assistant police chief in Hendersonville, John Nicholson, has been named acting chief while the town looks for somebody to replace washed up Chief Donnie Parks. Nicholson takes over Friday…
They’re going to move to a middle school system for public shools in McDowell County and build a second high school, which is big doins in Mac-Dowell… The work to verify 5,000 signatures on a petition calling for a referendum on partisan elections continues. The deadline to finish is Monday… And the Rotary Club of Asheville says it is adopting the Honor Air program and will raise money to send 100 local vets to Washington to see the World War II memorial. The trip is set for Sept. 29. WLOSers quoted a Rotarian as saying that 1,200 WWII vets die each day in the U.S., so time is of the essence. If you’re a vet and want to go, apply by Aug. 29.