WLOS Christmas Eve nightly

Up in smoke

With Russ “Beefcake” Bowen holding down the anchoring duties while everyone else had a chance to enjoy their Christmas Eve, the newscast Saturday at 11 started with Russ telling us about a series of brush fires.

Local volunteer firemen spent their day working, too, Russ said, because people had been careless. One fire chief said several of the fires had been started with people burning Christmas wrapping paper.

What’s up with that? I’ve always thought it unusual that so many people in the mountains burned their garbage and leaves to begin with, but burning wrapping paper? And on Christmas Eve?

Coral Bay fever
Seems this Coral Bay story just won’t go away. You remember it – restaurant owner tells employees it’s closing Monday. No notice, and just days before Christmas. Then customers express outrage that their gift certificates won’t be any good, although the Coral Bay owner says people can get their money back or use them when the new Hamm’s opens up in the Coral Bay location next year.

Now this – the owner of the Fisherman’s Quarters restaurant in town says he’ll honor the Coral Bay gift certificates, even though he has no affiliation with that restaurant. Now that’s a smart move – steal your competition’s business and build up lots of community goodwill. Nice move!

Celebrity homeless event
I can’t remember if it was Holly Headache or someone else who brought a report of local folks volunteering at the WNC Rescue Mission to feed the homeless on Christmas Eve. Folks got served up heaping plates of ham, black-eye peas and green beans.

And our own brazilliant Hollywood star, Andie MacDowell, was doing some of the heaping. I miss Andie. I want more Andie on my evening news. I want more Andie in my life in ’06, I’ve just decided.

Last-minute shopping
Russ did a short report on last-minute shoppers. I guess it had to be short because there’s not much else to say at 11:05 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Russ told us that pretty much everything was closed, but if we really needed something we could hit up a gas station or two.

Yes! That’s the inspiration I needed! A pack of hard-top Marlboros, a case of Natural Light and one Harley lighter for my baby, coming up. O, and go ahead and toss a coupla them Bear Claws in for a stocking stuffer.

Santa tracking
Russ and Julie Blunder also had fun in the weather Santa doing a little Santa tracking. Russ told us that those crack intelligence guys at NORAD or somewhere had Santa on radar. Our government’s spies informed us that Santa works his way up from Florida, crisscrosses the entire U.S., then moves on to Canada or soemething. Russ said Santa had already hit Japan and a couple of other countries before getting to us.