Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Fire chief defends department
WLOSers led the six with a story about an Asheville Fire Department firefighter getting arrested and charged with soliciting sex from a minor by computer. The 32-year-old firefighter was charged Monday, so the news Tuedsay was that Chief Greg Grayson said one bad apple doesn’t ruin the whole bushel of Ashvegas firefighters. The department was “comprised of heroes yesterday and is comprised of heroes today,” he said.
The firefighter, who also worked at the Leicester Volunteer Fire Department and a local hospital as an EMT, was caught in a Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department operation, where they have someone pose as an underaged girl online.
In crime news…
Henderson County charged a man with statutory rape and indecent liberties with a child… The trailer in Swannanoa where a man was shot and killed last week was set on fire last night, WLOSers said. Holly Headrick will have more on the arson scene at 11… And police in Henderson County are looking for a dude who robbed the BB&T bank in Dana. He slipped a teller a note demanding money. He wasn’t armed.
Boy reunited with mother
Terrie Foster, the hardest working WLOSer of late, went to the Asheville airport to witness a reunion between a mother and her 6-year-old son who she said was abducted by her father Aug. 28 in Maryland.
The dad and boy were hiding out in Bryson City, a place the father had visited before and apparently liked. The father, whom Terrie described as “non-custodial,” has been charged with felony child abduction.
How did the cops find him? The mom sent e-mails to libraries in several states, asking librarians to be on the lookout for her missing son. A couple of librarians noticed the man and boy and called the cops, who tracked them down at a local Ingles.
Shuler flying the friendly skies
WLOSers asked their “Washington correspondent” to do a story on U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler introducing a bill that would require airlines to create a section of planes that won’t show R-rated movies. The issue was sparked by Katie Kelly, who wrote a letter to Shuler.
The Washington reporter put his own spin on the story, saying that some critics called Shuler’s bill another example of a “nanny government” that’s overstepping its bounds.
In other news…
Buncombe County government’s Christmas in September campaign to collect cocoa and beef jerky for soldiers was a success, WLOSers said… Blue Ridge Food Ventures showcased the products of local people who use the incubator to develop stuff. One product shown was Popcorn Central popcorn.
In other news…
The Buncombe County Honor Air program will fly 101 local veterans to Washington on Saturday to see the World War II memorial and Arlington Cemetery… The high today was 84, just two degrees off the record high… Saturday is a day you can visit the Carl Sandburg house for free… The Haywood County Fair started today… And they’re still working on the new VA center in Franklin, but vets need to sign up now to be able to use it.
Pat goes to the junkyard
Finally, Pat Simon told us that there’s a new program that will allow residents to drop off their scrap metal, like appliances and lawn mowers, at Biltmore Iron and Metal or a special blue dumpster at the landfill transfer station
TUESDAY news
Pat goes to the landfill
300,000 pounds of scrap metal comes to a recycling place called Biltmore Iron and Metal
new program that allows you to drop off alum and metal at Biltmore Iron and Metal, or blue dumpster at the transfer station. Simple Simon said the new program will help save landfill space.
