Weekend news

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Fire
WLOSers briefly mentioned a house fire near the Grove Park Inn, perhaps on Kimberly Avenue or another road off of Kimberly. Russ “Beefcake” Bowen said nobody was home, and nobody was injured in the blaze. But that was all the detail they had.

No guards at youth prison
Carolyn “Little Red” Ryan said that despite the fact that the governor pledged to send more guards to the Swannanoa Youth Development Prison where a series of assaults inside the youth prison have injured teachers there, the only folks that have showed up are counselors and probation officers.

Last week, reports of the assualts caught the attention of Buncombe County District Attorney Ron Moore, who said violence inside the center has been covered up for too long. Then came news that the prison has just one trained guard for 50 some teen-aged prisoners, including violent offenders.

Ryan talked to concerned neighbors. She said that state lawmakers Wilma Sherrill and Bruce Goforth will meet with Gov. Mike Easley to talk about the situation on Tuedsay. There will be a big meeting at the center in Swannanoa later in the week.

In other news…
There was a rally and walk against drugs in a local neighborhood… Brevard College played football for the first time in more than 50 years now that they have a football team… There was a big Riverlink river festival Saturday afternoon… And the Afro-Caribbean Goombay festival rocked the Block in downtown.