Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Crank up the snow sirens
Here are a few words and phrases we heard from WLOSers on Monday: “snow;” “ice;” “snow showers;” “rime ice;” “frosty;” “big chill;” “winter wonderland.” We usually don’t hear these bon mots until November. But on and on it went as WLOSers cranked up the snow sirens after temperatures plummeted and some tourists saw a few flakes on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
A snow sighting could mean only one thing. Sheraldo, in his Indiana Jones hat and parka, up on top of Mount Mitchell reporting about how cold it is at 4,000 feet above sea level. Yes, it is early to see it quite so cold, but still. Sheraldo shouted about the sub-zero weather and talked to some touristas, who all said they liked the brisk shot of cold air. Mike Cuevas said we’re 20 degrees below normal temperatures.
Carolyn “Little Red” Ryan stood out in her studio’s parking lot at 11 to look cold and tell us that “residents knew it was only a matter of time” before the cold weather got here. Wow? Really? She said people at Wolf Laurel ski resort hope this means we’ll get lots of snow this winter.
Laura Bush to visit
WLOSers reported last night that First Lady Laura Bush will visit the mountains to stump for U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor. WLOSers cited a mailing sent by Taylor that said she was coming, but did not give a time, date or place.
RiverLink to buy property
A junkyard on Amboy Road is selling its property to RiverLink. Edaco is selling out for $1 million and the property will help RiverLink connect its great greenway along the river.
John “Punnyman” Le went to junkyard to watch them crush cars and interview manager Mikey Allen, who several years ago served as Buncombe County’s elections director. Mickey said the junkyard is a necessary business that’s been going for 45 years. The junkyard processes 7,000 vehicles a year, Le said. The car crushing business will probably move to a big warehouse over on Lyman.
RiverLink plans to make an announcement about the sale of the property on Friday.
Man faces murder charges in baby’s death
A Hendersonville man faces murder charges in the death of his four-week-old baby. Kassandra “Special K” Pride said the 21-year-old man had a first court appearance on Monday. She had few details, other than to say Shaken Baby Syndrome may be a possible cause of death.
Parking, always a pain
Pat “Simple” Simon had a dumb story about downtown parking, a topic he said Ashvegas City Council will take up on Tuesday. He said council will go back to look at the possibility of a Battery Park Avenue parking deck, a plan that council sunk millions into and then scuttled after the last election.
Simon said council could build up, on top of existing decks, but that might be a safety concern. They could build new decks. Or people could just walk, because Simon said he found several empty parking spaces just a couple of blocks from downtown.
In other news…
Woodfin police are still looking for a suspect in a hit-and-run early Saturday that left a 19-yeear-old dead on Merrimon Avenue near HB’s Drive-In… An Asheville mom has returned home after a tour of duty in Iraq… A-B Tech is building a modular home for a West Asheville family, and college president K. Ray Bailey drove the ceremonial first nail. Tallahassee Tammy Watford also looked right at home weilding a nail gun… State Rep. Wilma Sherrill, who is retiring from the N.C. House, was honored at First Step Farm for helping people overcome substance abuse problems… Blue Ridge Parkway campgrounds close Oct. 30… Speranza’s Weather House is sponsoring a contest to have people guess how much snow will fall between Dec. 2 and April 1 at an elevation of 2,000-feet-and-something. You have to guess within one tenth of an inch to win a bunch of prizes. The contest is also sponsored by Hometrust Bank, where you can enter…. Borg Warner, a maker of turbo-chargers, is expanding a line and adding new workers… Ashvegas City Council is looking at changing bus fares to keep people riding… Cherub Charu interviewed an 18-year-old former drug dealer she called “P Boy.” She interviewed his shadow as part of a story about the Ashvegas Drug Commission and its work with a program to turn drug dealers into honest, taxpaying citizens.
I thought Mr. Simon’s story about parking and the Laura Bush story were quite enlightening. Keep it up! Taxpayers and voters alike need to know this important information.
i knew you’d be interested in that, Catnap!
yes. closing. i’ll bring you pix sometime soon.
the junkyard is closing!!!??? For real??? I should have hung on to that house!!!! Durn, my baseball fence will sell for beaucoup francs now.