Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Dang, this has been a long week. Even with the holiday, we’re glad it’s Friday. Here ya go:
N.C. Mountain State Fair Opens
The North Carolina Mountain State Fair opens today, and WLOSer Pat Simon was out at the WNC Agricultural Center to show us the set-up.
Midway workers put the finishing touches on the equipment Thursday. But Simon said, over and over, that safety would be job one at this year’s 10-day run of the fair. Carnival workers will be wearing buttons that say safety is tops. Fair officials have also put out little washing stations so that people will wash their hands more often.
A year or two ago at the real state fair in Raleigh, some people got sick after petting animals at a little petting zoo, then going to eat. Look – it’s just common sense and cleanliness, people. If you’re petting a farm animal or whatever, just wash your hands before you eat.
Soapbox: political ads suck
WLOSers pulled out their soapbox and asked people what they thought about all the negative television advertising that U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor and challenger Heath Shuler are putting up. Everyone said they’re sick of the ads.
People said they want candidates to tell them what they’re actually going to do in office, not what they want to do, or not what the other guy didn’t do. People said they want the truth, not some spin-doctored nonsense. People said the mudslinging was simply immature, childish.
Back at the anchor desk, Larry “Smoka” Blunt and Tallahassee Tammy Watford just sorta shrugged their shoulders and said “that’s politics.” And that’s because the television station is raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars from these political ads. You know they’re not going to complain.
Speaking of politics…
WLOSers talked to Max Haner, head of the Buncombe County Democratic Party, and George Keller, head of the Buncombe County Republican Party, to get their takes on controversy over ABC’s miniseries planned for this weekend, Path to 9/11. Former Clinton administration officials are complaining that the docu-drama lays too much of the blame for the Sept. 11 attacks at their feet.
The local party officials just toed their individual lines. Haner said errors need to be corrected. Keller said look, something went wrong in the lead-up to Sept. 11 and we need to fix it.
Day of Caring
Some 1,200 volunteers from 53 Ashvegas businesses fanned out across the city during the United Way’s Day of Caring. The event kicks off the United Way’s annual fund-raising drive – this year, they hope to raise $5.7 million by November.
Volunteers worked in schools and homes and did everything from landscaping and clean-up work to some carpentry and food sorting at MANNA Food Bank.
In other news…
Terrie Foster led the 6 with a story about a student in Swain County with bacterial meningitis. What the story didn’t say was that the case was diagnosed last week… Hendersonville police are looking for a murder suspect. There was a knife fight Wednesday night in the Lincoln Circle neighborhood and one guy died… The plant shutdown in Spruce Pine will affect other businesses that do business with the Ethan Allen plant that will close in November… A-B Tech is shutting down a GED program that had been offered at the Swannanoa Valley Youth Development Center. The youth prison has been in the spotlight because of unreported violence, and A-B Tech officials say GED instructors were worried about their safety. A-B Tech will look to bring the program back next year if things get straightened out.
curious, i looked as far as the wlos web site, which reports:
"The Swain County High School Junior became sick with bacterial meningitis last Thursday. She is now at Mission Hospitals."
Where else was the meningitis story reported…that you heard it happened last week?
yeah, it’s confusing. i should figure out a better way to state it.
never mind. guess I’d never paid attention and noticed this is the convention you generally use when posting about ‘los news. my most humble apologies.
How’d you do that–posting Friday’s news before they even run it? Surely this was news for a Thursday that felt like a Thursday.