Public Speaks On Police Officer At City Council Meeting (Asheville, NC)
The Asheville City Council will be taking a wide array of public comments into consideration from its regular meeting this week. Dozens of citizens spoke during public comments about the recently leaked video footage of former police officer Chris Hickman beating a man last August. Some people went as far as calling for the firing of City Manager Gary Jackson and Mayor Esther Manheimer. Others spoke about systematic changes that need to be made. The council is next scheduled to discuss the public comments during a work session next week.
Henderson Shooting Threat Not Credible (Henderson County, NC)
Henderson County Public Schools says a reported verbal threat by a student to shoot at protesters during yesterday's walkout wasn't credible. The sheriff's office investigated the threat after it was reported on Monday and they later found no credence to it. Several threats had been previously reported in Henderson County within the last two weeks. School security is expected to be the big item of discussion today in a press conference with the sheriff's office.
Asheville Airport Opens Parking Garage Amid Growth (Asheville, NC)
The Asheville Regional Airport now has new space to accommodate a growing number of passengers. Airport officials opened a new five-story parking garage at a ribbon-cutting yesterday. The 22-million-dollar-project was paid for completely by the airport. It adds more than one-thousand parking spaces to help in anticipated airport growth. New flights from Asheville to Denver were just announced last week, just after the airport reported record passenger numbers for 2017.
Hoops Against Hunger Brings In Meals For Kids (Asheville, NC)
The Hoops Against Hunger program says more than four-thousand pounds of food was collected for students in need during the Southern Conference basketball championships held in Asheville. Donations were taken at local Ingles and Arby's, in addition to nine team host hotels and U.S. Cellular Center. The food will help provide more than 35-hundred meals for those students who need help during school breaks.
Beer Tournament To Determine State's Best
The travel website Strange Carolinas is using its version of March Madness to determine the best beer in North Carolina. A total of 64 breweries in the state have been listed in the bracket, which is set up to operate like the NCAA basketball tournament. Seven Asheville breweries are featured in the tourney. The top-four-seeded beers all hail from Western North Carolina. You can vote at strangecarolinas.com.
Movie Filmed In Brevard (Brevard, NC)
Film crews are in Brevard this week working on production of a horror movie called "The Righteous." It stars Eric Roberts, who was an Academy Award nominee in 1985's "The Runaway Train." He is also the brother of film star Julia Roberts. A crew of more than 20 is expected to be in Transylvania County through Saturday.
Man Charged In Adopted Daughter's Death (Rowan County, NC)
A man accused in the murder of his adopted daughter is back in North Carolina. Sandy Parsons has been in a Michigan prison on financial crime charges, but Rowan County Sheriff's investigators picked him up yesterday to face his new murder charges here. Wife Casey Parsons was also in prison and brought back to the state this week to faces charges in the death of Erica Parsons.