Flag burning suspect taken into custody

BOARD CERTIFIED DOCTOR ON SITE EVERY DAY

Flag burning suspect taken t y into custody

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT

S TAFF WRITER

Quick police work coupled with private l surveillance footage landed a Haywood County woman behind bars on several counts related to the partial n burning of several American flags. k “The complainant came in on Saturday y morning [Sept. 5], and we were able to get warrants and locate her on Sunday morning at 11 a.m.,” said Lt. Tyler Trantham of the n Waynesville Police Department. d Trantham explained that the d Waynesville Kiwanis Club noticed several of their flags, displayed on the sidewalk for d Labor Day weekend, had been stolen.

Officers of the WPD soon found the flags in l another location, partially burnt. d Officer Jason Reynolds took the initial report, according to Trantham, and by that evening had a pretty good idea of who was responsible thanks to surveillance video. l WPD officers also had previous contact with the woman, who gave a Buncombe

County address but said she was now homet less in Haywood County.

Brandy Michelle Coleman, 33, told offi

cers she was married to “Silence of the Lambs” movie villain Hannibal Lecter, and that she was born in Norway.

“I’m here in this country illegally and I fucking hate America,” Coleman told officers per the Sept. 6 arrest report.

Coleman was apprehended as she was allegedly shoplifting $56.18 worth of products from Publix, earning her additional charges. At the time, she was still wearing the same clothes in which she was observed on surveillance video. As of press time, Coleman was being held on $10,000 secured bond with

Brandy Michelle misdemeanor counts Coleman of larceny and possession of stolen goods and a felony charge of burning personal property.

Trantham estimated the value of the flags at $180 each.

The Kiwanis Club places 175 U.S. flags in front of local businesses for several major holidays, including Labor Day, Memorial Day and Fourth of July. Businesses pay a $50 annual fee to the club for their service, which helps the club meet its mission. While the members are heartbroken anyone would do this to an American flag, they were happy to report that Sheriff Greg Christopher had already offered to buy more flags to replace the ones that were destroyed. Jennifer Heaberlin, DO BOARD CERTIFIED MEDICAL ONCOLOGY, HEMATOLOGY Rebecca Roques-Davis, MD BOARD CERTIFIED MEDICAL ONCOLOGY

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A ceremony honoring Constitution Day will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, outside at the Gazebo in downtown Franklin.

The event will include a reading from portions of the historic document. Remember the social distancing guidelines as directed per the Town of Franklin and NC Governor’s orders. For more information, contact Joe Suminski at 828.371.2307. This event will be held rain or shine.

Haywood woman wins $1 million lotto

The new Carolina Black Millionaire Edition game delivered its first $1 million prize to Caterra Ponton of Clyde last week.

Ponton claimed her prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. She had the choice of taking the $1 million as an annuity of 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. Ponton chose the lump sum and took home $424,503 after required state and federal tax withholdings.

Carolina Black Millionaire Edition launched this month with five top prizes of $1 million. Four top prizes remain to be won. Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million a year for education.

When Haywood-area Realtors merged with their Charlotte counterparts earlier this year to create the Canopy Realtors Association, one big reason was the opportunity to dispense charitable support that would address unmet housing and educational needs.

On Sept. 8, the CHF held its inaugural Community Awards Celebration; five area non-profit organizations received a total of $14,200 in Community Grants this year, including: n The EACH Initiative, Inc. (Ending Area Child Homelessness) received $3,000 to accelerate the entry of homeless children and their parent(s) into the EACH Program, where a case manager and a PWC (People Who Care) group partner with the family as they transition from homelessness to a position of self-sustainability over a twoyear period. n Haywood Pathways Center received $3,000 to provide one month’s rental relief for six families at an estimated cost of $500 per family, in collaboration with the Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency. n Jacob’s Dream House received $3,000 to purchase two refrigerators, two electric stoves, and two $100 grocery gift cards at a cost of $1,500 each for two families. n Mountain Projects received $2,200 to purchase portable power tools that can be moved from one construction site to the next to build homes in two affordable housing developments. n The ARC of Haywood County, Inc. received $3,000 to hire a consultant to develop and implement a strategic plan to address the barriers to affordable and

accessible housing for individuals who have an intellectual and/or developmental disability.

Another $3,000 was awarded to Haywood County Habitat for Humanity as part of the foundation’s Habitat Support Program, which has supported Iredell and Mecklenburg county-area Habitats for Humanity since 2007. The money will be used to purchase materials to frame a new home on Sylvan Street in Waynesville. Two $750 scholarships were also awarded to local students, Tuscola High School graduate Joseph Smart and Pisgah High School graduate Walker Beasley. To date, Canopy Housing Foundation has distributed $586,749.70 through the Community Grants Program and the Habitat Support Program to community organizations and Habitats in the Charlotte region (and now Haywood County) over the past 14 years. The Foundation looks forward to expanding and continuing this tradition of support in Haywood County.