Meals on Wheels Development Director Terri Bowman just sent this release about a phone scam that is using the Meals on Wheels name to obtain credit card information from people in our area. Sad, but true. Please do not give out your credit card information to anyone who claims they’re calling for Meals on Wheels.

Officials at Meals On Wheels of Asheville Buncombe County want to make the public aware of a current holiday scam that is using the non-profit’s name to solicit funds over the phone.  The phony callers claim to be a group that is soliciting funds on behalf of Meals On Wheels to help feed elderly veterans in Buncombe County in order to obtain credit card information and money from good-hearted people who want to help.

“Meals On Wheels does not and never has solicited donations over the phone.  When we heard about this scam, we were very upset that someone would use our good name and the work that we do to defraud people out of their money!” said Executive Director, Dianne Trammel.   “We want to warn the public in hopes that no one falls victim to this scam and that the criminals will be caught.”

Meals On Wheels of Asheville-Buncombe County is the largest at-home meal delivery service provider in Western North Carolina.  Each weekday, Meals On Wheels provides a hot, nutritious lunch to over 500 homebound seniors.  The agency also offers several services to help enhance the quality of life for homebound seniors and insure that they can remain safely in their own homes to age with dignity.  Support for Meals On Wheels primarily comes from the Asheville and Buncombe County community

A safe at Reems Creek Valley Nursery & Landscaping was broken into and cash stolen after 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 23 and 8 a.m. Thursday, April 24. The nursery is offering a $500 reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator(s).  If you have any information, contact Detective Scott Hawkins with the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department at 255-5555.  Please do not contact the nursery directly if you have information.

You may have read last week’s article in The Weaverville Tribune about how Weaverville’s crime rate is higher than Woodfin’s (I would link to it, but the Tribune doesn’t post its articles online).  That news didn’t sit well with our Police Chief.  This week’s Tribune features an article about a letter Police Chief Greg Stephens wrote taking issue with those statistics and providing the true facts as reported by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.  It’s on page 8, but the entire letter isn’t visible on the page, so with his permission, I am linking to a copy of that letter here: Chief Stephens Letter about Crime Rate (PDF, 134kb).

In his letter Stephens references a specific section of the NCSBI website, which you can view here.

Another note about crime here: Chief Stephens said there was no vandalism, damage or other criminal misbehavior reported to them or detected by their officers on Halloween. He says this is the first Halloween in a long time so uneventful, which he attributes to the Department’s high visibility patrols.