Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Snow strikes WNC
WLOSers didn’t actually lead with the weather at 6, a good move since it wasn’t much of a story. WLOSers still pumped it up. Diva Darcel said “winter weather strikes” with “brutal cold” and slick roads. WLOSers normall give us a wreck count, but they didn’t have any numbers on Monday.
The dusting of snow closed schools all over WNC. But that was about it. Mike “Cuervo” Cuevas said the low on Monday was 9 degrees, still a good ways off the record of 2 degrees in 1966.
Man pleads guilty
William Case, the man accused of shooting and killing two people at the Henderson County Employment Security Commission office three years ago pleaded guilty Monday in a Henderson County courtroom.
WLOSer Holly Headache said the April 2, 2004, shooting left two people dead because Case was apparently ticked off about not getting unemployment benefits. Holly reminded us that members of Case’s family had called dispatchers to warn that their family member could go off, but the dispatchers just blew it off.
Case was sentenced to life without parole.
Man found dead
Ashvegas police are investigating the death of James Lovin, who was found dead under the Smoky Park Bridge on Sunday night. They’re treating the death as a homicide.
Autopsy in Polk death
WLOSers said an autopsy in the case of a man found buried in his sister’s backyard down in Polk County in September 2006 showed the guy had been shot in the head with a shotgun. The body had also been partially dismembered, WLOSers said.
The sister and the sister’s boyfriend are in jail charged with murder.
Pipes freeze
WLOSer Terrie Foster said a lot of people woke up to frozen pipes on Monday morning. In a mini-commercial for Lowe’s, Terrie interviewed a Lowe’s employee who said the first 30 people through the door had frozen pipes and were looking for help. Then the Lowe’s employee showed insulation and heat tape and a bunch of other stuff you could buy at Lowe’s to keep your pipes from freezing.
Chimney Rock Park sold
Gov. Mike Easley dropped in to Chimney Rock Park on Monday to announce that the state had bought Chimney Rock Park for $24 million.
The Morse family has owned the park since 1902 or something. But they’ve been feeling financial pressures and were getting burned out on running the attraction, so they announced last year that they would seek $55 million for their property.
The state stepped in and bought the land at its assessed value and said they would keep the land from being developed. It’s going to be part of the new Hickory Nut Gorge State Park.
Pastors v. police
Ten local African-American pastors met behind closed doors with Ashvegas police Chief Bill Hogan to work out some issues. The pastors believe that police officers are rougher with black suspects, use racial profiling and don’t promote blacks.
Hogan said he explained how police operate and that three African-Americans are in the police academy right now.
The Punnyman and the Mailman
WLOSer John Le followed a mailman on his rounds. The mail doesn’t stop, Le said. Here are a few samples: the mailman was “pushing the envelopes” on his rounds, or “frigid fieldwork” as Le described it. The postman, who made deliveries “pounding the powdery pavement” used to be a jailer who changed jobs two years ago. The new job is a “pedestrian profession that’s delivered,” Le said.
Sigh.
In other news…
A 28-year-old in a Morganton jail died in jail over the weekend… CarePartners has a “BalanceMaster” to help people with vertigo… The county’s zoning meetings are still going on out in the community… And Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro is dead. His owners euthanized him because of ongoing issues with his broken leg.
The bluetooth earpiece was never cool. It makes people look like wannabe Borgs.
Finally found the clemson article online.
http://www.wyff4.com/news/10872878/detail.html
I guess it proves that idiots can and do go to school in both texas and clemson
I had’t heard of the clemson party.
The one getting all the news coverage after pictures were posted on face book happened in Texas….
Did WLOS do a story on the Clemson students who threw a MLK theme party? I was watching FOX Carolina last night instead.
Some students were in blackface, others with gold grills and 40s. One girl stuffed the back of her pants. The students put the pictures up on Facebook.
FOX had the story and hyped the top of the news with the pictures. Only the picture of 3 students they showed first wasn’t blurred out. Once into the story all the other pictures had blurred faces.
One white student they interviewed looked at the pictures and said he didn’t think it was racist because he saw a black guy in one of the pictures. The reporter then had to point out it was a guy in blackface… (cue a Carlos Mencia "dee-dee-dee").
One black student they interviewed said he did attend the party dressed in a suit and tie. He said he went to try and dissuade against stereotypes.
Is it just me, or is the whole bluetooth headpiece thing now not cool? It seems like everyone is wearing them, from school bus drivers, to WalMart customers, to hipster wannabees at the mall. At first, they were kind of cool, but now, I think they’re passe and look ridiculous.
Damn, you guys are getting good at breaking the shiznit down. Yer makin’ me look bad…
My favorite moments:
1. Larry doing the tossoff to Chief Meteorologist Mike Cuevas but referring to him simply as "Chief Mike Cuevas."
2. The chat with the school bus driver with the bluetooth earpiece stuck on the side of her head. How comforting that must be for parents.
Yeah, no kidding. Did you tape it and watch it over and over? Or write them down?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Couple (OK, three) o’ things I found interesting:
1) Apparently not happy with using his wife’s last name for the hire-me-because-I-might-not-really-be-a-white-guy benefit, now Mike Simon-Cuevas is trying out being a Native American: Ol’ Glory tossed to "Chief Mike" in the accuhunch center.
2) After reporting Sunday night and Monday morning and noon that the homeless guy’s death was not suspicious, the ‘LOSers do a quick 20 second story saying police are treating it as a homicide, with no mention of why this sudden change in what they’re reporting.
3) The "closed door" meeting about alleged racism at APD was reported with a nice long sound bite taken from the meeting and several shots of an obviously open door meeting. If it’s truly a "closed door" meeting, how were we able to see and hear what was happening? Did they have a short open session first, then shut out the media, or was it just not really a closed meeting?
That was an amazing post. I have never remembered a John Le pun for more than 5 seconds after he said it.