Product: ASHBrd
PubDate: 07-08-2012 Zone: ACT
Edition: 1 Page: NewsCov User: jherrmann
Time: 07-07-2012 20:45 Color: C K Y M
SUNDAY EDITION
July 8, 2012
Fights fuel crime increase downtown Serious violence down, but simple assaults at record levels By Joel Burgess jburgess@citizen-times.com
ASHEVILLE — In a city famous for its drum circle, eclectic eateries and a general laid-back vibe, most wouldn’t expect to run into a bar fight or see punches thrown in a downtown parking lot. But a record number of what police call simple assaults — everything from shoving matches to closed-fist blows — are driving up violent crime in the city center, according to statistics collected by police and Citizen-Times. The growth in those misdemeanor assaults helped make June the downtown’s most violent month this year, with at least 25 assaults, robberies and other types of nonproperty crimes. That surpassed May, which previously held that record with 21 reports of violent crime. Police say they found no one clear reason for the increase in altercations. In most ways, they say downtown has become safer and point to a decrease since 2010 in serious assaults and harsher crimes, such as armed robbery and rape. But with at least 12 of the assaults happening in public areas, some worry about what the crimes could do a downtown dependent on tourists and other visitors, many of them families.
See CRIME, Page A6
25
Erica Quick, of Fayetteville, snaps some pictures of Ghost Town in the Sky on Friday. Quick was at the partiallyopened theme park with her daughter, father and stepmother. ERIN BRETHAUER/EBRETHAU@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
misdemeanor assaults in June, highest in 2012
21
BACK FROM
12
THE DEAD
such assaults reported in May
of the June assaults in public areas
Ghost Town opens with big plans
“Violent crime in downtown Asheville is definitely down while simple assaults seem to have increased and again this comes with warmer weather and alcohol-related incidents.”
Gunslingers at Ghost Town in the Sky in Maggie Valley pose with a couple of young visitors before the opening of the amusement park’s 2008 season. /CITIZEN-TIMES FILE PHOTO
ED EADS, Police crime analyst
AVL holds its own against Southwest’s Greenville flights By Mark Barrett mbarrett@citizen-times.com
ASHEVILLE — Don Schjeldahl’s job
as a consultant gives the Mills River resident plenty of opportunities to search for flights for trips to meet with clients. When Southwest Airlines began service to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in March 2011, Asheville Regional Airport expected lots of area travelers like Schjeldahl to drive down the mountain to South Carolina for cheaper fares or better connections.
INTERACTIVE MAP: Visit CITIZENTIMES.com to compare flight costs to top destinations from Asheville and other regional airports.
It hasn’t worked out that way, either for Asheville Regional or for Scheldahl. The number of people flying out of Asheville Regional during the 12 months ending March 31 was down only 0.6 percent over the same 12 months a year ago — far less than the 10 percent decline Asheville Regional officials had forecast.
Forecast
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Asheville Regional actually set records for passenger traffic during the summer of 2011. That relatively small impact is good news for people who would prefer to fly out of Asheville Regional because it is a selling point for carriers considering adding service, said Lew Bleiweis, airport director. “The more (passengers) use our airports, the easier it is to get new routes in,” he said. Schjeldahl said he still shops around to find favorable fares or
By Jason Sandford jsandford@citizen-times.com
MAGGIE VALLEY — The more “no vacancy” signs Alaska Presley sees along Soco Road, the better. Those red neon words posted at local motels and hotels mean tourists are in town, and that’s good news for Presley, the owner of Ghost Town in the Sky, one of Western North Carolina’s oldest and most beloved tourist attractions. First opened in 1961, the Wild West theme park rode a wave of pop culture interest in cowboys at the time that drew tens of thousands of visitors each year. Those visitors, and steady advertising, helped put Maggie Valley on the map. The amusement park fell on harder times in recent years. The park’s former owners fell into bankruptcy in 2009, and a massive mudslide that originated on the park’s property in 2010 damaged three nearby homes. Presley, a Canton native who moved to Maggie Valley in the 1950s, hated to see the park’s decline. After all, she recalls seeing the first miniature model of the park, and she and her husband, Hubert, invested in its construction by selling bonds. During bankruptcy proceedings, she bid $1.5 million for the mountaintop attraction and was awarded the property.
See GHOST, Page A4
Worth the drive? This chart shows the amount difference in cost of a roundtrip flight from Asheville Regional Airport versus Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport as of the beginning of each month since January 2010, as measured by fares to 50 top cities. Fares are for tickets bought 21 days in advance with a three-day stay. $150 120 90
Negative numbers are the amount by which Asheville was cheaper. Positive numbers are the amount by which Asheville was more expensive.
60 30 0 -30 -60 -90
2010
See FLIGHTS, Page A3
900 CLUB: Asheville Tourists’ manager Joe Mikulik recently picked up a milestone win. Could victory No. 1,000 be on the horizon for the longtime skipper? Page C1
2011
2012
SOURCE: ASHEVILLE REGIONAL AIRPORT
WIMBLEDON: Serena Williams claimed her fifth Wimbledon singles title and 14th tennis major championship with a win in three sets on Saturday. Page C1
SMOKIES STORM: Cleanup continues after storms killed two and downed thousands of trees in the country’s most visited national park. Page B1