Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Charges dropped
WLOSers at 11 led with the news that Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan and District Attorney Ron Moore had conferred and decided to drop flag desecration charges that had been lodged against Debbie and Mark Kuhn of Asheville.
Last week, a sheriff’s deputy, responding to a complaint from a friend in the National Guard, went to the Kuhns’ house to investigate and ended up in a little scuffle with the Kuhns. But the sheriff and the DA did a little research and discovered that the U.S. Supreme Court, years ago, had invalidated the state’s flag desecration law. So no case.
WLOSers followed the Kuhns over to the sheriff’s department to watch them pick up their flag. They unwrapped it and showed it off – it had the picture of Bush with the word “Liar” pinned to it, as well as a couple of other small sheets of paper with messages. Debbie Kuhn said the upside-down flag will probably go up again on her porch, but without the little signs.
In other news…
Somebody lost their footing walking around Triple Falls in the DuPont State Forest and fell 30 feet. There are warning signs telling people to be careful… Locals are worried about bridge safety after the collapse of that bridge in Minneapolis. WLOSers said Buncombe County has the third most bridges of any county in the state, with several of them deemed deficient by the Department of Transportation…. Sheraldo went to Transylvania County to watch deputies search from the air and on the ground for marijuana plants. Sheraldo never said if they found anything… Gas prices are dropping. The average price in the state is $2.86, but Russ Bowen said a lot of people are going to an Ingles where the advertised price is $2.65. Russ had a lot of crazy camera angles and stuff to make his story look cool… This year is the 80th anniversary of the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival. There are lots of pickers, fiddlers and cloggers there keeping mountain tradition alive… They’re still saluting Bob Caldwell, who retired earlier this week.
Question for BCSD: So it’s okay to harrass someone and destroy their property because you don’t agree with their view of the Iraq war or the President?
What that fool deputy did was not only illegal, but was the actions of a fascist.
What the Kuhns need to do now is to sue the department for violating their First Amendment rights, illegal search and seizure, and then sue the deputy in civil court for harrassment and property damage.
Good luck. I support the Kuhns!
Lesson learned for new Sheriff Duncan… don’t go on vacation and leave Randy Sorrell in charge.
Or at least call and see what is going on once in a while.