Leader Leicester September 16 - September 22, 2010 Vol. 3 No. 37 Leicester • Erwin Hills • Alexander • Woodfin • West Buncombe • Newfound


Residents want ambulance returned to service


If we can’t match or beat your best written quote for tires, we will give you a free tire rotation.


645-8330


Shad Higgins, owner 183 Old Mars Hill Hwy.


The French Broad Fire Department ambulance is stored in the back of the station while board members try to figure out the next step. Photo by Catherine Hunter


By Catherine Hunter Residents are upset with the


French Broad Fire Department Board of Directors for terminating the area’s ambulance service. Board members are asking why people


didn’t speak out when the question was first raised, and all are trying to figure out how to keep ambulance service in the area. In July French Broad Fire Depart-


ment Board of Directors President David Buckner told the Leicester


Leader the board was not planning to take the ambulance out of service. At that time, Buckner said the board decided to reduce the ambulance’s hours in order to cut the operating costs and accommodate the lack of


Continued on page 16 Newfound resident dies in wreck


By Catherine Hunter Warren Reddish of Newfound


died in a head-on collision around 3:30 pm Monday (Sept. 13). North Carolina State Trooper Brandon Miller said Reddish, who was not wearing a seat belt, pulled out in front of another vehicle. Reddish, driving a 2004 Ford Ex-


plorer, pulled out of Crowder Drive in front of Franklin resident Sonja Rowland. Rowland was driving her 2005 Chevy Trailblazer west on Newfound Road. Miller said Red- dish lived just up the road from Crowder Drive and guessed the man was heading home.


www.leicesterleader.com “I don’t know if he didn’t see her


or what,” Miller said. “He was at- tempting to go east and pulled into her lane almost head on.” According to Miller, Rowland,


who was wearing a seat belt, was taken to the hospital by Buncombe County EMS, but her injuries did not appear serious. Reddish was pro- nounced dead on the scene. Miller said there was no evidence of drugs or alcohol involved. North Carolina State Trooper


First Sergeant Pat Staggs said al- though overall collisions in Bun- combe County are down this year, the number of injuries has increased. Staggs said six people have died as a result of car wrecks in the county so


far this year. “In every one of those cases the


deaths were people who were not properly restrained [in seat belts],” Staggs said. Staggs called those statistics


alarming and said he was concerned about the rate of compliance to seat belt laws. “If we can improve the compliance rates we can save some lives,” he said. Staggs said troopers will take ex-


tra initiatives to enforce seat belt laws and wanted to remind drivers the law now requires everyone in the vehicle to be buckled up. He said troopers will be stopping people for not wearing their seat belts and con- ducting more traffic check points.


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September 16 - September 22, 2010 - THE TRIBUNE/LEADER 15


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