Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
WLOSers had some hot news Thursday. To wit:
Fish kill
WLOSers said somebody working to clean up the old Ecusta paper mill in Transylvania County dumped some chemicals into a sewer, but the sewer was faulty and the chemicals ran into the lower Davidson River, causing a fish kill. It was unclear how many fish were killed, or how much of the river was compromised.
WLOSers said that the EPA was investigating, and had released few details, but had not issued a public safety alert. That didn’t mean some people along the river, who use well water, weren’t worried about he impact of the contaminated water. An EPA official told WLOSers that the whatever chemicals were released sucked all the oxygen out of the river water, thus killing the fish. A fisherman said there was a strong sulfur smell along the river.
WLOSers said Davidson River Village is the owner of the old mill and the entity trying to clean it up. More details Friday, WLOSers said.
Plea deal
I missed the first part of this story, but here’s what I got: the mother of a man killed in Swannanoa last year is ticked off that Buncombe County District Attorney Ron Moore is apparently ready to plead a first degree murder charge down to a five-year sentence for a suspect. Russ Bowen promises that WLOSers will be in court Friday and bring us the story.
Rosman High School bullying
In a story that WLOSers originally billed as the Rosman High School ‘fight club,’ Holly Headrick reported Thursday that more parents are coming forward saying their kids are being bullied by a group of students who are picking one student out at a time and beating them up.
How do we know this? Somebody sent WLOSers video of the beatings shot with a cell phone. Who gets beat up? It depends on your last name and where you’re from, WLOSers said. I take that to mean that if your last name is Goldberg and you’re from New York, your ass is getting beat, but I could be wrong.
Holly quoted a school official who gave the same lame response – we don’t condone bullying and we’re dealing with the problem. Holly quoted a parent who said he’s heard that for two years and his son has come home and said he’s ready to commit suicide because he can’t deal with the bullying.
In other news…
Girls at Hanger Hall got a balloon ride on the last day of school courtesy of Asheville Hot Air Balloon… Seven pit bulls were seized from a home in East Flat Rock and the owner was charged with animal cruelty… And the cost of tires had increased 3 yo 5 percent locally because of high fuel prices. WLOSers didn’t explain the connection, but that’s the deal.
