News Watch

A Quick Look at News Across the Region

Compiled by Sam Calhoun

New Boone Police Chief Takes Oath Monday
On Monday, October 12, Boone Mayor Loretta Clawson will administer the oath of office to Dana Bruce Crawford, the new chief of the Boone Police Department. The ceremony will take place at 11:00 a.m. in Boone Town Council Chambers, located at 1500 Blowing Rock Road in Boone.

Bringing 20 years of law enforcement experience to the position, Crawford has served as assistant chief of police for the Beech Mountain Police Department for the past 18 years. Prior to that appointment, Crawford served as an investigator and deputy sheriff.

Crawford holds a bachelor of applied arts and sciences degree in criminal justice from Lees-McCrae College in Banner Elk and is also a member of several professional law enforcement affiliations in North Carolina.

Operation Medicine Cabinet a Success
Law enforcement officials and river conservationists collected a large amount of drugs during Watauga County’s first ever prescription drug take back event—Operation Medicine Cabinet—last Saturday, October 3. The event captured approximately 40,000 pills, 12 gallons of liquid medication, 2,000 sharps—needles, syringes and lancets—and a glucose meter.

More than 18 volunteers and eight members of law enforcement from the Watauga County Sheriff’s Department, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Blowing Rock, Boone and Seven Devils police departments participated in the joint operation at four separate locations.

Approximately 56 people turned in their expired, unwanted and unused medications for safe destruction. Drugs collected included hydrocodone, oxycodone, blood thinners, anti-allergens, iodine, insulin, antibiotics, steroids, hormones, anti-depressants, cough syrup, topical creams, over the counter medications, flu vaccinations, heart, blood pressure, cancer and heartburn medicine and even some pet medications. Boone Patrol Officer Toby Ragan said, “I feel it was a great success, and it will probably be an annual event now that we see the outcome of what was produced today.” More than 1.5 55-gallon drums were filled with drugs dropped off by residents in the region.

Volunteer Crystal Simmons said, “Operation Medicine Cabinet is a result of a MountainKeepers resiliency meeting on January 24. For the High Country to create such an event is a real testament to our commitment to a healthier environment and a safer community. I give kudos to all the volunteers that helped make this event happen, and to the people that turned out to responsibly dispose of unused pharmaceuticals.”

Community partners who helped make the event a success include MountainKeepers, Watauga River Conservation Partners, Boone Drug, Watauga County Recycling/Solid Waste Department, Watauga Riverkeeper/Appalachian Voices, Food Lion, The National Committee for the New River, M-Prints, N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, Precision Printing, the Smoky Mountain Center, the towns of Boone, Blowing Rock and Seven Devils, the Watauga County Sheriff's Office, Boone Police, the State Bureau of Investigation, Blowing Rock Police, Seven Devils Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration and ASU.

Making Good On Bets for a Good Cause
Hardin Park School's three administrators had to fulfill their end of a bargain last Friday, October 2. The three staff promised Hardin Park students that if they brought in enough cans of food for The Hunger and Health Coalition that they would agree to a dare. Assistant Principal Jim Godwin had to wear a tutu during the annual Fall Festival. Principal Mary Smalling agreed to sleep overnight on the roof of the school and Assistant Principal Philip Norman chose to drink a raw egg for every 100 cans of food that were brought in. Since the students gathered more than 2,000 cans in all, Norman stopped drinking eggs at a dozen.

Hagan Announces $2 Million for N.C. Rural Broadband Expansion
U.S. Sen. Kay R. Hagan (D-NC) announced this week that the e-NC Authority will receive $2,023,874 to determine the best and most effective methods for expanding broadband to underserved areas of North Carolina.

“This investment in North Carolina will help boost economic development in our rural communities and keep them vibrant,” said Hagan. “Increasing broadband access means connecting our communities to the world and adding more jobs in our state in this tough economy.”

The funds have been made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The U.S. Department of Commerce will send North Carolina $1.6 million for mapping broadband availability and $434,000 for planning. North Carolina and three other states are the first to receive this broadband investment.

Plastic Bottles Added to Statewide Landfill Ban List
The Watauga County Recycling Office reminds the public that plastic bottles are officially prohibited from entering any North Carolina landfill beginning this month. Plastic bottles join aluminum cans, which have been banned since 1994, as items that must be recycled.

“We hope the upcoming ban encourages all residents of Watauga County to recycle their plastic bottles,” said Watauga County Recycling Coordinator Lisa Doty. “While plastic bottles can be recycled easily, not all plastics can be recycled. It’s important to remember that just because a plastic container has a recycling symbol, it does not mean it can be recycled in Watauga County.”

The Watauga County recycling program accepts all plastic bottles and other plastic containers that are labeled #1 or #2, as well as all colors of plastic. The recycle symbol with a corresponding number, or resin identification, found on plastic products indicates the polymer of the plastic. There are seven resins with corresponding numbers. For example, plastic drink bottles have the resin identification #1, which represents PET plastic. Another common recyclable plastic is #2 or HDPE, which is often used for laundry detergent bottles, shampoo bottles, milk jugs and other containers such as some frozen dinner trays and fruit containers. Resin #5 or polypropylene can be found in yogurt containers or butter tubs. However, resin #5 is not recyclable in Watauga County and should not be put in the recycling bin, it must go into the trash.

Recycled plastic bottles, including PET and HDPE, are made into plastic pipes, nursery containers, hangers, polyester yarn for clothing and new bottles in North Carolina. Due to discrepancies in supply and demand of PET and HDPE, actual end use and processing for these materials falls below potential capacity.

Ninety-five percent of North Carolinians have access to some kind of plastic bottle recycling in their community. Residents of Watauga County can recycle plastic bottles at one of the 10 convenience centers located throughout the county. For a list of sites and hours of operation, click to www.wataugacounty.org and click on ‘recycling.’ Enforcement of the plastic bottle ban will take place at transfer stations and landfills. Site attendants will not be going through residents’ trash bags at the convenience centers.

For more information on the plastic bottle ban, call Doty at 828-265-4852.

New Ranger for Grandfather Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest
John Crockett is the new District Ranger for the Grandfather Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest. He will supervise 15 employees and numerous volunteers and others who work in the district.

Crockett came to North Carolina from the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest in Arkansas where he was a deputy district ranger responsible for managing the St. Francis Ranger District. His experience includes being assistant district ranger and assistant fire management officer with the Wayne National Forest in Ohio and recreation forester and forester trainee on the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky. Crockett also spent a short amount of time working on the Wenatchee National Forest in Washington State. Crockett received his bachelor of science degree in forest management from Alabama A&M University.

The 192,000 acres that make up the Grandfather Ranger District run from the McDowell/Buncombe county line on Black Mountain just east of Asheville over to Highway 321 between Lenoir and Blowing Rock; including land in McDowell, Burke, Caldwell, Avery and Buncombe counties. The Blue Ridge Parkway forms the northern boundary of the district.

Boone Solicits Residents To Serve on Boards, Committees
The Town of Boone is soliciting applications from eligible persons who would like to serve on town boards and a committee. One resident position is available on the Cable TV Advisory Committee; one alternate ETJ position is available on the Board of Adjustment; one position for a downtown restaurant owner/operator on the Tourism Development Authority Board; and five positions are available on the Tree Board. For the five positions on the Tree Board, applicants must reside in the planning jurisdiction and have specialized training and experience in arboriculture, horticulture, architecture or landscape design. The application deadline is noon on Thursday, October 15. To apply, contact Boone Town Clerk Freida Van Allen at freida.vanallen@townofboone.net or call 828-268-6204.

STUDY: Half of Babies Born in Rich World Will Live to 100
More than half of babies born in rich nations today will live to be 100 years old if current life expectancy trends continue, according to Danish researchers and a study published by Reuters. Increasing numbers of very old people could pose major challenges for health and social systems, but the research showed that may be mitigated by people not only living longer, but also staying healthier in their latter years.

“Very long lives are not the distant privilege of remote future generations—very long lives are the probable destiny of most people alive now in developed countries,” Kaare Christensen of the Danish Aging Research Center wrote last week in a study in the Lancet medical journal.

The study used Germany as a case study and showed that by 2050, its population will be substantially older and smaller than now—a situation it said was now typical of rich nations. This means smaller workforces in rich nations will have to shoulder an ever-greater burden of ballooning pension and healthcare requirements of the old.

Many governments in developed nations are already making moves toward raising the typical age of retirement to try to cope with aging populations. The researchers said this was an important strategy and added that if part-time work was considered for more of the workforce, that could have yet more benefits.

“If people in their 60s and early 70s worked much more than they do nowadays, then most people could work fewer hours per week,” they wrote in the study. “Preliminary evidence suggests that shortened working weeks over extended working lives might further contribute to increases in life expectancy and health.”

Christensen and colleagues said huge increases in life expectancy—of more than 30 years—had been seen in most developed countries over the 20th century. And death rates in nations with the longest life expectancy, such as Japan, Sweden and Spain, suggest that, even if health conditions do not improve, three-quarters of babies will live to celebrate their 75th birthdays.

“But should life expectancy continue to improve at the same rate, most babies born in rich nations since 2000 can expect to live to 100 years,” they wrote in the study.

The researchers, who pooled and analyzed data from several international studies, said they wanted to explore “a common view” that a big rise in the proportion of older people would come as a result of helping an increasing number of frail and ill people survive longer—with huge personal and societal costs.

But they found that even though many people who live to age 85 have chronic diseases such as diabetes and arthritis, they have only become frail and disabled at a later stage, essentially postponing frail old age instead of extending it.

“This apparent contradiction is at least partly accounted for by early diagnosis, improved treatment and amelioration of prevalent diseases so that they are less disabling,” they wrote. “People younger than 85 years are living longer and, on the whole, are able to manage their daily activities for longer.”

But for people older than 85, the situation is less clear, the researchers said. Data are sparse, and there is widespread concern that exceptional longevity—with ever-larger numbers living to 100 and more—could be grim for the people themselves and the societies they live in.