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ford 0, chevy 1
Man downs blimp with shotgun
By Jonathan Weaver, Salisbury Post
Someone fired a shotgun blast and hit a remote-controlled advertising blimp Saturday as it flew in a field next to Team Chevrolet-Cadillac-Geo on South Jake Alexander Boulevard.
The blimp was advertising Cloninger Ford-Toyota.
Police gave this account of the shooting:
Shortly before 4 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to 404 S. Jake Alexander Blvd. after someone reported a shooting nearby. Tim Wyatt with Huntersville's Carolina Airships told police that a man had pulled up in a black Chevrolet pickup near the car wash at Team Chevrolet.
The man stepped out of the truck, shotgun in hand, and fired at the blimp.
Wyatt told police he approached the man as he was getting back into the truck. Wyatt said the man pointed the gun at him, then got into the truck and took off. Wyatt wrote down the tag information before the truck drove away.
The truck had a dealer tag registered to Team Chevrolet, according to the police report.
Police are still trying to determine who was driving the truck, said Salisbury Police Chief Mark Wilhelm.
Team Chevrolet owner Thom Dillard could not be reached for comment Monday night.
Cloninger Ford-Toyota owner Larry Cloninger said he was not at the site when the shooting happened. But he learned about it shortly thereafter.
"I really wished it hadn't happened,"he said.
Cloninger rents the field between Team Chevrolet and Sagebrush Steak House and keeps cars on the lot.
Controllers needed 150 feet to get the airship off the ground and were using that field, Cloninger said.
"People just need to get past it and go on,"Cloninger said. "It's kind of sad, don't you think?
"We didn't do anything wrong ... Obviously, it made somebody mad"and that was not the intent, he said.
Cloninger said he plans to continue using Carolina Airships for advertising. "We're supposed to do it this Saturday,"provided the company can supply another airship.
The blimp is about 30 feet long and carries 5-foot by 16-foot banners on each side, said Carolina Airships owner Erik Sparks. The company does advertising and aerial photography and had been working in Salisbury with Cloninger Ford-Toyota about 4 1/2 hours on Saturday.
Sparks estimated the damage at about $10,000, but "that's not resolved yet,"he said. The airship costs about $23,000 to build.
After the shotgun pellets struck the blimp, controllers were still able to land the craft, Sparks said.
Sparks said the airships are built in Fort Mill,S.C. The blimp damaged Saturday has been taken to that facility, and "it's being evaluated as we speak," Sparks said.
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new daily driver: 1991 Toyota MR2 NA 5spd 16.109 @ 85.67 
new mustang time: 13.554 @ 104.41, best trap 105.43
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