Editorials - 09/21/00

Thankfully, Jackson has no shortage of heroes

Thankfully, this week's news has happier outcomes. The suspects in a bank robbery were quickly apprehended, and a man was successfully rescued from his burning home.

Chief Deputy Jim Ashe of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department followed a hunch, spotted the alleged robbers and kept them in sight until others arrived. His alertness and quick-thinking led to the apprehension of the suspects and the recovery of the stolen money.

Thanks to Ashe and his fellow law enforcement officers with the Sheriff's Department, Sylva Police Department and N.C. Highway Patrol, two alleged criminals, armed and potentially dangerous, were locked away within minutes.

And we owe our gratitude to another Ashe as well. Eddie Ashe of Wayehutta, along with his uncle Alvin Mull, also of Wayehutta, pulled Weaver Brown from his burning Cullowhee home last Thursday (Sept. 14).

Eddie Ashe, a mechanic still plagued by injuries received during a spring automobile accident, was on his way to work when he stopped to help. His Uncle Alvin, weakened by a stroke, was heading out to East LaPorte so Eddie could fix his truck. The two united in a rescue on old N.C. 107 that was similar to a scenario that unfolded two years ago.

On that cold, dark December morning Mike Munn and Phillip Goldsmith, also on their way to work, saved a young couple from a burning home just south of Tuckasegee.

It seems to be a tradition around here. When anyone needs help, someone responds. We live in a community of good neighbors, and we're grateful for them all.

We acknowledge the contributions of Jim Ashe, Alvin Mull and Eddie Ashe, and applaud this week's better endings. And we haven't forgotten the 200 firefighters and rescue squad members who searched the mountains less than two weeks ago for a downed helicopter and its crew.

They're all heroes.

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