MAY 27, 2010 ISSUE
News Watch
A Quick Look at News Across the Region
Memorial Day Celebration at Boone Mall May 31
A Memorial Day celebration will take place at Boone Mall on Monday, May 31, with patriotic music by the Watauga Community Band beginning at 10:00 a.m., followed by a brief ceremony at 11:00 a.m. featuring a speech by Major General “Skip” McCartney. The event is presented by the High Country Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) and will be broadcast live on WATA 1450.
The event is free and open to the public, and plenty of seating will be available. All veterans, particularly local veterans, and the families of all veterans are invited to attend.
All local military organizations will be recognized and are invited to participate. The recently formed local chapter of Blue Star Mothers will also be represented. A display will list the names of all the North Carolina veterans who died at Normandy in the D-Day invasion. The event will also recognize the sacrifices of the service men and women from the current war zones, as well as from Vietnam, Korea, World War I, World War II and all the conflicts throughout the history of the nation.
Boone Mall, the Watauga Community Band and the High Country Chapter of MOAA sponsor the event.
Displays by local veterans’ organizations are welcome and can be arranged by calling 828-297-5198.
ASU Memorial Day Ceremony May 31
ASU will host a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 31, at 7:30 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial on the west side of the Dougherty Administration Building on campus.
Maj. Maury A. Williams from the ASU Department of Military Science and Leadership will be the guest speaker. Activities include a flag-raising ceremony followed by a brief program. A continental breakfast will be served in the administration building lobby following the ceremony. The public is invited to attend.
Williams is the executive officer for ASU’s Army ROTC Program. He graduated from ASU with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He also is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and numerous other Army and Joint schools and courses.
His military career spans more than 26 years of service, all of which has been with the N.C. Army National Guard. Prior to coming to ASU, Williams was the chief operations officer for the 189th Infantry Brigade.
Williams enlisted in the National Guard at age 17. Upon entering college at ASU, he enrolled in Army ROTC and participated in the Simultaneous Membership Program with the 505th Engineer Battalion. He was commissioned under the Early Commissioning Program as a second lieutenant and served as a construction engineer platoon leader for the 505th Engineer Battalion’s Bravo Company based in Kings Mountain.
Williams’ awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Army Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Overseas Service Training Ribbon, North Carolina Meritorious Service Medal, North Carolina Achievement Medal, North Carolina State Active Duty Award and North Carolina Service Award.
Summer School for Grades 3 through 8 Begins June 14
Summer school in Watauga County Schools will begin Monday, June 14, and end Friday, July 2, for third- through eighth-grade students. Summer school is only for students required to attend by their principal and parents will be notified by Friday, June 4, if their child should attend.
For grades three through seven, there will be separate daily classes for math and reading. Students will be informed by their principal of whether they need to attend one or both classes. The school day will run from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for students attending both classes. The specific times for students attending just one class will be determined in early June.
Summer school for third through seventh graders will take place at Cove Creek and Hardin Park. Cove Creek will serve students from Bethel, Cove Creek, Mabel and Valle Crucis. Hardin Park will serve students from Blowing Rock, Green Valley, Hardin Park and Parkway.
Current eighth graders will attend summer school at the current Watauga High School. Information about summer school for eighth graders will be provided to parents and students by the principal at their current school.
School bus transportation and both breakfast and lunch will be available. School buses will deliver students to Cove Creek and Hardin Park by 8:00 a.m. A cafeteria breakfast will be available at that time and eighth graders will then ride a bus to the high school.
The school day for eighth graders at the high school runs from 8:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. All eighth graders will be provided a free lunch at the high school. At the end of the school day, eighth graders will be transported from the high school to Hardin Park or Cove Creek and buses will then retrace their morning routes.
Parents of eighth graders may drop off and pick up their children at the high school but cannot drop them off before 8:00 a.m. and must pick them up by 1:00 p.m. Parents may also provide written consent to allow their eighth grader to walk home from the high school.
Questions about summer school for students in grades three through eight should be referred to the principal at the student’s current school.
Summer School at Watauga High School Goes Virtual for 2010
Summer school classes for Watauga High School will be offered exclusively online through North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) this year. NCVPS has been offered for summer school in the past, but it will be the only option this year because of the move to the new high school that is taking place this summer.
Students may enroll in one course for summer school. Registration materials are available in the current high school’s main office and Student Services office. The registration deadline to take a summer school course for credit recovery is Friday, June 11. There is no fee for summer school.
Students who take an online course in summer school and do not have internet access at home will be counseled by the high school staff about options for internet access in public places.
Summer school students will come to the high school on Monday, June 14, to get their login information. They will also need to come to a location yet to be determined on Saturday, July 12, for a progress update. Courses end on Monday, August 9, and End-of-Course testing is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, August 10. The NCVPS calendar and a list of the available courses are available on the distance learning page of the Watauga High School website, which can be accessed by clicking to www.watauga.k12.nc.us and choosing the “Schools” link.
Additional summer school details, including dates for on-site assistance at the high school, the site of the mid-term exams and the place and time for End-of-Course tests will be announced on the distance learning page of the high school website as this information becomes available.
For more information on summer school, contact Tamara Stamey at 828-264-2407, extension 252, or at stameyt@watauga.k12.nc.us, or Jesse Stollings at 828-264-2407, extension 217, or at stollingsj@watauga.k12.nc.us.
High Country Operation Medicine Cabinet a Huge Success
Law Enforcement officials and river conservationists collected a large amount of drugs during the High Country’s second prescription drug take-back event on May 22.
The event captured approximately 188,563.5 pills, 20.2 gallons of liquid medication, 300 sharps-needles, syringes and lancets, a glucose meter and a bottle of mustache anti-freeze. This year’s event netted four times more drugs than last year, making it one of the most successful prescription drug take back events in the entire state.
More than 38 volunteers and 16 members of law enforcement agencies from the Avery and Watauga County sheriff’s departments, the State Bureau of Investigation and Blowing Rock, Boone, Beech Mountain, Newland, Banner Elk and Seven Devils police departments participated in the joint operation at eight separate locations.
Watauga County Sheriff Len Hagaman said, “Through joint operations with multiple partners in both counties, we made this one of the most successful drug take-back events in the state of North Carolina.”
Approximately 154 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, heart, blood pressure, cancer and heartburn medicine and even some pet medications.
Avery County Sheriff Kevin Frye said, “I feel it was a great success, and I’m delighted that we were able to keep these drugs off the street and out of our rivers.”
Community partners who helped make the 2010 event such a success included the Avery and Watauga County sheriff’s departments, Boone Drug, Watauga County Recycling/Solid Waste Department, Watauga Riverkeeper/Appalachian Voices, Food Lion, N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, The National Committee for the New River, M-Prints, Watauga River Conservation Partners, Precision Printing, the Smoky Mountain Center, towns of Boone, Blowing Rock and Seven Devils, Boone Police, the State Bureau of Investigation, Blowing Rock Police, MountainKeepers, Seven Devils Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Newland Police, Carolina BBQ, Avery County Schools, Banner Elk Police, SafeKIDS-Watauga County, Beech Mountain Police, Watauga Medics, Foscoe Fire Department, Avery A&H Fair, CVS, Grandfather Highland Games, Watauga/Avery Drug Treatment Court, Blowing Rock Rotary and ASU. The event was made possible in part by a grant from the Helen. M. Clabough Charitable Foundation.
Boone, Spruce Pine, Lenoir Awarded NCDOT 2010 Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grants
Twelve cities and towns across North Carolina—including Boone, Spruce Pine and Lenoir—will aim to become more bicycle and pedestrian-friendly with the help of $327,100 in grants recently awarded through the N.C. Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative. The grants are part of an ongoing planning program that helps North Carolina’s cities and towns plan for bicyclists and pedestrians, and to integrate those modes into their overall transportation system.
Of the 12 cities and towns receiving bicycle or pedestrian grants in 2010, Boone won a $31,500 pedestrian grant, Spruce Pine won a $24,800 pedestrian grant and Lenoir won a $31,500 pedestrian grant. Clinton, Williamston, Raleigh, Creedmoor, Waxhaw, Aberdeen and Cornelius also won pedestrian grants, and Swansboro and Holly Springs both won bicycle grants.
The municipalities were selected from a pool of 29 applications by an awards committee made up of local and state officials, administrators, engineers and transportation planners from across the state. The committee recommended its selections to the N.C. Board of Transportation, which provided final approval at its meeting this month.
The Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative is jointly sponsored by NCDOT’s Transportation Planning Branch and Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation. Money for this program comes from a special allocation approved by the General Assembly and federal funds set aside for bicycle and pedestrian planning.
Job Creation Tops Legislative Agenda in Short Session
Job creation and protecting education will be the top priorities in the N.C. Senate this year, Sen. Steve Goss (D-45) said in a press release as legislators opened the legislative session in Raleigh two weeks ago.
During the short legislative sessions in even-numbered years, legislators have the responsibility to adjust the two-year budget they passed last year and keep it in balance. The budget will make up most of the work this session. As North Carolina continues to experience the effects of the Great Recession, the state is taking in less money than projected and lawmakers must cut around $800 million in spending, according to Goss. Still, Goss pledged to work to protect economic and education priorities even in the face of the economic crisis, according to a press release.
“We must do everything we can to grow our economy, maintain fiscal integrity and keep our state competitive and moving forward during these tough times. Tackling unemployment and putting people to work is my top priority. We must continue to fund initiatives to help small businesses create and retain jobs, and we must protect critical job-training programs at our community colleges and do everything we can to prepare our workforce for 21st century jobs,” Goss said. “This year, we will be forced to make some very difficult cuts to some very worthy programs. While there will be some tough choices, I pledge to do everything I can to protect teaching jobs and keep from harming our classrooms. I will make the tough calls my constituents sent me to Raleigh to make. Through it all, I will keep in mind that our responsibility is to keep our state moving forward and to be good stewards of the people’s money. With responsible budgeting, we are poised to come out of this ahead and in much better shape than other states.”
For more information, call Goss at 828-964-5451.
Banner Elk Resident Awarded UNC Journalism School Scholarship
Elizabeth Pearson-McLaughlin from Banner Elk received the ABC11/Walt Disney Scholarship during the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication’s year-end scholarship and award ceremony. The $1,000 scholarship supports students in the school’s electronic communication curriculum.
This year, the school presented more than 100 scholarships and awards totaling nearly $200,000.
The journalism school has more than 800 undergraduate students across specializations that include advertising, public relations, strategic communication, reporting, editing and graphic design, photojournalism, multimedia and electronic communication.
Hagan Introduces Bill To Provide Equal Education Benefits to Military
U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan (D-NC) last week introduced legislation to help end disparities in educational benefits for service members. The GI Bill Equitable Education Benefit (EEB) Act of 2010 restores education benefits to Reserve Component service members who are commissioned and or retained for a career of four years or more in the active duty component of the Armed Forces. These service members would otherwise be ineligible to receive the full benefits provided under the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
“Members of the Guard and Reserves are being called upon to shoulder an increasing role in defending our country from terrorism abroad,” said Hagan. “These men and women deserve our support. Providing them with equitable educational benefits is the least we can do. I will work with my colleagues to advance this important bill in the Senate.”
The Post 9/11 GI Bill significantly increased the value of educational assistance and has contributed to meeting military recruiting and retention goals. However, there are current service members who are unable to fully participate in the Post 9/11 GI Bill due to restrictions held over from outdated legislation, and the problem has yet to be corrected.
Under current law, service members who receive educational assistance in the form of an ROTC scholarship or who graduate from one of the service academies are eligible for full educational benefits under the Post 9/11 GI Bill. However, members of the Selected Reserve who received educational assistance under Chapter 1606 of the Montgomery GI Bill prior to receiving a commission and serving on active duty are not now entitled to the same four years of benefits under the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
Get Involved in Avery Centennial Planning June 15
In preparation for the 2011 Avery County Centennial, the Avery County Centennial Coalition has been meeting at the Newland Library and is inviting community members to join in the conceptualizing and planning during its next meeting, which will take place on Tuesday, June 15, in the lower room of the library. For more info, call Cindy Peters of the Avery County Centennial Coalition at 828-733-7111 or call the Avery County Chamber of Commerce at 828-898-5605.
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