Letters to the Editor

Actions Speak Louder Than Words
I purchased and renovated a building in downtown Boone in 2003 with the belief town officials would “pretty up” King Street. I was wrong. It appears we live in a town where the town officials don’t care about its appearance, only about the personal agendas. 

Town Council and Mayor Clawson keep saying they are going to fix up downtown, but actions speak louder than words. There has been enough money spent on studies, yet they don’t follow the recommendations and nothing gets done. There was a publication circulating in August that stated, “Boone is synonymous with suffering and the town has a very non-progressive town government.”

It became apparent in July, when the entire Town Council, along with Mayor Clawson, voted to have the DBDA disbanded and just before that, they fired the town planner, John Spears—the two proponents for downtown renovation. The town hired the Lawrence Group to develop a master plan at a cost of approximately $200,000. After all of the meetings, one major item they told the town that needed to be done immediately was to “fix up your downtown.” And what has been done? Nothing.

Boone is the heart of the High Country with downtown looking like a slum. The surrounding towns are appealing, picturesque towns where tourists enjoy visiting. What kind of example are we setting?

The town purchased the downtown post office for $1,250,000 and recently approved a budget of $250,000 to determine building tactics, architectural plans and minor repairs.  That’s a total of $1,500,000 before any major renovations; before you know it $3,000,000 will be into the project. The DBDA has been begging for new site furnishings, and almost two years ago the town said they would allocate $20,000 to site furnishings, but the DBDA had to match the funds. $40,000 is not going a long way for site furnishings. 

There is income generated from downtown parking. The Lawrence Group recommended all parking revenues, present and future, be allocated to downtown, making downtown self sufficient with proceeds paying for the expense of refurbishing downtown. At a special council meeting, Pam Williamson stated, and Mayor Clawson agreed, the money needed to stay in the general fund and it was voted on unanimously by the Town Council. 

There is no fund allocated specifically for downtown because the Town Officials want all monies so they can spend it where they want. There must be a proportionate ratio where monies are spent, and downtown is not getting its share.

It’s clear to see the candidates sponsored by Pam Williamson (Leigh, Ball, Brantz and Clawson) because their first priority is not to see improvements to downtown, nor did Mayor Clawson want liquor by the drink. They want Boone to stay the way it was 30 years ago and discourage growth or change. They are the minority that is running the majority, and its time for fresh new ideas and candidates who have vision to improve downtown, which is our epicenter. We need communication among our town officials, ASU and the DBDA because now there is little. Get out and vote and let your voice be heard. You did it for liquor by the drink. Do it now for change!

Leigh Jacobs

Clawson Promises To Continue Progress As Mayor
The Town of Boone continues to expand parks, trail system and recreation areas for the enjoyment of our citizenry and the public in general. Currently, there are over 80 acres of green space and recreational areas owned by the town, over 20 acres of which the town leases to the county for public ball fields and recreation. The popular Greenway Trail expanded over a mile in the past year and now totals almost five miles in trails. Much of the progress in obtaining and expanding our green space and recreational facilities has been the result of grant funding and use of town staff to construct our trails and parks. The town is committed to making Boone a walkable community.

Town officials and staff are currently working on the expansion of the Greenway Trail and negotiating for additional lands for green space and recreation. As the mayor of Boone, I am committed to protect the legacy of our mountains and waters while providing increased recreational and environmental opportunities. The town has made a commitment to continue partnering with agencies such as the National Committee for the New River to ensure the protection of the New River and its tributaries. You only have to visit the greenways to see the newest wetland constructed to filter storm water runoff from a 30-acre area near State Farm Road before it drains into the South Fork of the New River.

I am committed to preserving Boone’s natural resources, and my actions have demonstrated this commitment. During my tenure as mayor we have enacted viewshed protection regulations to prevent over development of out hillsides. The town will soon dedicate a new park, is working on the development of a Walk Boone Plan, constructed mini-parks downtown and begun a Historic Boone Commission to preserve our heritage.

I promise to continue the progress we have made in protecting the beauty and environment of our community as mayor of Boone.

Sincerely,
Loretta Clawson
Mayor of Boone

Jamie Leigh Urges Boone Residents To Vote
Dear Editor:

Since making the decision to run for election to the Boone Town Council, I have had the opportunity to knock on over 1,500 Boone doors to find out which issues are important to the residents of our community, and what an experience it’s been!

I was so impressed with how knowledgeable and forthcoming most folks were about a wide variety of issues and how passionate they were about their ideas on how to maintain and improve the character and quality of life here in Boone.

We talked about sidewalks, green spaces, traffic signals, downtown, neighborhoods, speeding cars, traffic congestion, fiscal responsibility, historic preservation, the 421 widening project, noise, affordable housing and much more—you name it, we likely talked about it!

I talked to students and senior citizens, and everyone in between. There were young people just starting out in their careers and folks who were already retired. I had some wonderful conversations with those whose families have lived here for generations as well as some who are brand new to the area. And even though I was out campaigning for office, my goal wasn’t to do the talking but rather to just listen to all the ideas, suggestions, complaints and comments that were offered. What a great way to find out what’s going on in a town, household by household!

What I came away with was not only a complete understanding of residents’ prime concerns but also a wonderful feeling of what an involved and informed community we have here in Boone—folks really seem to care a lot about what happens in and to our town.

So what’s the next step? You need to vote! Early voting is already in progress and will continue through Saturday morning, October 31. Election Day is on November 3.  Naturally, as a candidate, I would like for everyone to vote for me, but what’s really most important is that everyone just votes. Period. Voting is absolutely the best way to advance those doorstep conversations toward getting the type of action and attention you desire, and to keeping Boone on the path you want it to take. It’s your privilege to elect Town Council members who truly promote a community vision!

Jamie Leigh
Candidate for Boone Town Council

Mayoral Candidate Mena Urges Water Conservation
Water is being traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the third most traded commodity behind oil and electricity shares.

About 70% of the earth's surface is covered in water; 97% of it is saltwater. Saltwater cannot be used for drinking, crop irrigation or most industrial uses. Of the remaining 3% of the world's water resources, only about 1% is readily available for human consumption. The entire human race depends on this 1%.

Rapid industrialization and increasing agricultural use have contributed to worldwide water shortages. Areas impacted include China, Egypt, India, Israel, Pakistan, Mexico and parts of Africa. In the U.S., Colorado, California, Las Vegas and the East Coast are facing water shortages.

For thousands of years, civilizations around the globe have, and still do, collect rainwater for consumption and irrigation. 

In the High Country we live at the top of the food chain as far as water is concerned. It all flows downhill from here. It is imperative that we start collecting, storing and purifying rainwater if we are to become sustainable.

In Boone we rely mainly on one source for our water—the New River. There’ve been many years in the past that because of drought conditions, our water supplies have been threatened. Private wells have dried up, and we’ve been asked to limit the amount of water we use because of shortages.

Water conservation systems and rainwater cisterns must be incorporated into all planning of developments and new buildings in Boone to alleviate increased water needs as our area grows. These systems can be used for small communities, businesses and apartments as well as individual homes to supplement and replace the need for treated municipal water.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey in 2000, consumers withdrew about 408 billion gallons of water per day for the year. This amount will only increase making conservation of water a way of life. In comparison we used about 9.1 million barrels of gasoline per day. 

We watch on TV the reports from around the world the crisis water shortages have had on communities and entire nations. We feel that this could never happen to us, that we are beyond having to be concerned. With increased growth will come increased demand. With this demand there will be less water to go around, and we must prepare for this eventuality. The state of North Carolina is now working on a bill to allow residents and businesses to install rainwater cisterns for the flushing of toilets, irrigation and the washing of vehicles. Bill #1385 also offer a tax credit of 35% of the total cost of these systems as an incentive.

Someday we will replace the need for oil; we will never replace water.

Stock Report on Water, www.investopedia.com/articles/06/Water.asp
Rainwater harvesting, h2o.enr.state.nc.us/su/documents/RainwaterHarvesting_Approved.pdf
Bill before the N.C. House, www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2009/Bills/House/HTML/H1385v1.html

John Mena
Boone

Thanks to Supporters of Community Resource Forum
Dear Editor,

EDAAPT (Elderly, Disabled Adult Abuse Prevention Team) would like to thanks those presenters that helped make our Community Resource Forum for Caregivers on October 21 a great success: Angie Boitnotte, Project on Aging; Janet Braithwaite, Healthy Carolinians Ashe County; Anita Greer, Three Forks Baptist Association; Wanda Howell, Watauga County Clerk of the Court; Alex Jernigan, Regional Long-term Care Ombudsman; Ricky Lee, Department of Social Services; Suzanne Long, Smoky Mountain Center; Dr. James Peacock, Gerontology Department, ASU; Brenda Reece, Family Caregiver Support Specialist; Cathy Riddle, New River Behavioral Healthcare; Captain Dee Rominger, Watauga County Sheriff’s Office; Dr. Ed Rosenberg, Gerontology Department, ASU; Carole Spainhour, Elder Care Attorney; and Susan Tumbleston, ASU-BEACTIVE.

We also want to thank our corporate sponsors, Chick-Fil-A, Earth Fare and Mountain Bagels. A very special thanks to the Helen M Clabough Charitable Foundation for their sponsorship of this event.

EDAAPT is a voluntary collaboration of several community-based agencies and organizations created to protect and promote the health and welfare of elderly and disabled adults in Watauga County. This team will use inter-agency cooperation to provide in-service training, prevention education, crisis response systems and statistical information to eliminate abuse, neglect and exploitation of this vulnerable population. For more information, call 828-265-8100.

Joan and Dick Hearn

Thanks to Supporters of Library Dance
Dear Editor:

On behalf of the staff and of the public served by the Watauga County Public Library in Boone, I would like to thank the businesses, organizations and individuals who contributed to making our recent “Groovin’ to the ‘60s” dance a success.

Our 1960s dance was held in the Western Watauga Community Center on the evening of October 22 and was wonderfully well-attended. We had over 100 people turn out to share music, food, games, and fun—more, even, than our successful 1950s dance last autumn!

Special thanks are especially due to Domino’s Pizza of Boone, which provided pizza at a discount, and Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers of Boone, which contributed cups of chili for the attendees of the dance.

As always, thanks are due to the Watauga County Friends of the Library, who generously provided support for this program, as they do for so many programs and services offered by the library.

This event was great fun for all who attended, young and old, and we are fortunate as a community to have such actively supportive enterprises and citizens’ groups who support this and the other activities of our local libraries and community service centers!

Best Regards,
Evelyn Johnson
Reference & Adult Services Librarian
Jackie Cornette
Western Watauga Branch Librarian

Thanks for Helping Us Recycle
The Coordinated Recycling Committee wants to thank all parties who made possible the new Boone Recycling Center at the Horn in the West Parking Lot near the entrance to the Daniel Boone Gardens. These parties include Don Phelps, Jeff McRee and Jeff Harper at GDS Trash Collection Services; Marsha Story, Blake Brown and Eric Gustaveson at the Town of Boone Public Works Department; the Boone Mayor and Town Council; and all the current and potential recyclers who utilize and hopefully will utilize the Recycling Center.

This Recycling Center will help make it easier for all residents (permanent, seasonal, county and students) to recycle and will serve as a great addition to the Town of Boone’s existing curbside recycling program—which will remain intact. We hope the center is widely used and respected so that it can continue to be operational for many years to come.

Again, we want to thank everyone involved for your commitment to help protect our environment and for keeping the site clean and neat.

Sincerely,
The Coordinated Recycling Committee
Marsha Story, Boone Recycling Coordinator
Stephen Phillips, Boone Town Council
Rennie Brantz, Boone Town Council
Lisa Doty, Watauga County Recycling Coordinator
Tim Futrelle, Watauga County Commissioner
Jennifer Maxwell, ASU Resource Conservation Manager
Kendal McDevitt, ASU Off-Campus Community Relations Coordinator
Andrew Edmonds, ASU Student Government Director of Environmental Affairs
Tracy Myhalyk, ASU Biology Department
Morgan Bosse, ASU Renewable Energy Initiative
Cindy Ball, Elkland Arts Center
Lexie Danner, Elkland Arts Center
Leslie Beninato, Recycling Runners

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