This Just In – Ramone Alston, as of this writing, is still on the run. Please note that I’m not calling him “free.” He’s anything but that.
As Chapelboro readers know, Alston made a daring escape on Tuesday when arriving at the Hillsborough campus of UNC Hospitals … a location close enough to my home that I can still feel the chills that ran down my spine when I heard about it.
In news accounts thus far, I have seen a story that makes little sense to me, to be quite honest. A convicted murderer, well known to law enforcement, somehow gets out of leg irons in the back of a transfer van (where he rode from prison … unattended?) and made his escape by shoving an officer to the ground and running into the nearby woods.
That’s it? A quick shove and he’s gone?
I was reassured to read on Chapelboro’s coverage this morning that Sheriff Charles Blackwood has known Alston “since he was born.” While it sounded a little bit fatalistic to describe that he’s been a problem kid and now he’s a dangerous, desperate grown man, it likewise suggests a wealth of connections that the sheriff has to investigate to determine what happened here and who knew about it.
Someone, it seems clear, knew about this and helped make it happen. I have faith in the sheriff and I’m sure we will see what transpired eventually. For now, I’m taking extra precautions and my walking-around awareness is, shall we say, at DEFCON 2.
My takeaway from this is one of gratitude – lots of it. Not just for law enforcement, but for the clear demonstration of the value and power of very local, knowledgeable journalism being practiced every day by Chapelboro.
Local TV stations came out to Hillsborough, sure, but their coverage was predictably superficial. It’s the nature of the thing, I suppose. But on Chapelboro, we can watch a stream of a press conference or read a substantial, factually correct, constantly updated account of what’s happened so far and what happens next. Well done, friends.
As a local resident, directly affected by this event, I have to say there simply is no substitute for this kind of coverage. I’m biased. I love WCHL and Chapelboro and the people who make this happen day after day. I don’t need a hurricane or an escaped convict to remind me, either.
Speaking of convicts, America’s most high-profile criminal will be watching along with the rest of us as we see Kamala Harris and Tim Walz enjoy next week’s formal nomination process and campaign launch. It’s going to be quite a show and New York’s most whiny, weird felon can’t do anything to steal our joy in watching it.
Of course, if the 45th president wants to steal some thunder by announcing he’s quitting the race, the popcorn is ready to accommodate the excitement.
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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