TOP STORIES
What Price Culture?
In late fall 2005, Appalachian State University Provost Stan Aeschleman notified Appalachian Cultural Museum Executive Director Chuck Watkins that the museum would have to vacate its location in University Hall to make way for the university’s new nursing program. In addition, Watkins was told, the museum needed to vacate the space by the end of the year. A committee was formed to locate potential alternative sites for the museum.[full story]
Appalachian Cultural Museum Hires Design Consultant
Winterfeast Leads Off Winterfest
Winterfest will get off to an extremely tasty start on Thursday, January 26, when several of the finest purveyors of High Country cuisine combine their efforts to offer diners not just one, but two seatings for Winterfeast.
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Winterfest Revels Begin Next Weekend
Winterfest Schedule of Events
Stage Company Presents Girl of the Frozen North for Winterfest
Winterfest Heats Up With Chili Challenge January 28
Community News
Autopsy Report Sheds Light on How Harrington Died
As a January 26 court hearing for the three suspects involved in the death of ASU student Stephen William Harrington quickly approaches, the North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner released an autopsy report last week that sheds some light on what transpired in the morning hours of November 8 when Harrington’s partially burned body was found in the trunk of his burned 2000 Subaru on Sleepy Hollow Lane in Foscoe.
Watauga County Detention Center Nears Completion
According to County Manager Rocky Nelson, the anticipated move-in date is late February or early March.
What’s Going on with Broome-Kirk Gymnasium?
Removal of asbestos in ASU’s antiquated Broome-Kirk Gymnasium (built in 1955) has begun and plans are already in place for the building’s demolition. Broome-Kirk Gymnasium has been the long-time home of ASU’s intramural sports, university recreation and dance classes, but due to updates and renovations going on throughout the university’s campus, the building will be torn down in order to make way for the university’s new central dining hall.
Construction Setbacks Delay Arts Center Opening
As is the norm for construction projects in the High Country, work on the new Mariam and Robert Hayes Performing Arts Center has fallen behind due to inclement weather during the area’s frigid December.
Appalachian Skatepark Council: Logo, Road Trip, Meeting
The Appalachian Skatepark Council—A Community’s Vision for a Safe Place to Skate is rolling ahead, having just announced a new logo, an info-gathering road trip and the fifth meeting to plan the installation of a skatepark in Boone.
Highway Patrol’s New Hispanic Liaison Officer Hopes to Reduce Fatalities
North Carolina’s Hispanic population jumped from 76,745 in 1990 to 600,913 in 2004, according to The NC Atlas Revisited, making Latinos the fastest growing segment of our population.
High Level of Interest In Former Shadowline Factory
There are no cars in the parking lot at the former lingerie factory. Shadowline closed in September 2003 due to foreign competition, with a loss of 77 jobs, and the building has stood vacant ever since.
Avery Officials Meet the New Voting System
Last Friday, Director of Elections Wayne Johnson, Avery County Board of Commissioners Chair Kenny Poteat, Board of Elections member Jack Hughes, county precinct officials and Kristin Mauromatis, a field representative for Election Systems & Software (ES&S), gathered at the Avery County administration building to experience first hand how the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) regulations will affect future voting in the county through the purchase of new optical scan voting equipment.
McHenry Taps Local Veteran to Serve on Military Advisory Committee
Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) met last week with his Military Advisory Committee. The committee is presently interviewing local applicants competing to gain a Congressional nomination to enter a United States Service Academy.
North Carolina Special Olympics Alpine Games 2006
On January 8 and 9, over 100 athletes and coaches from 19 local programs across North Carolina participated in the 29th Special Olympics Alpine Games 2006 that took place at Appalachian Ski Mountain.
Cancer Fundraiser to Feature Fine Wines and Food
The Colleges Against Cancer Club at Appalachian State University is kicking off the Relay for Life fundraising season with an elegant evening of wine, food and jazz. The event will be held Friday, February 3, at the Helen Powers Grand Ballroom at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center.
Waging War on Leukemia
It’s every parent’s worst nightmare—to take your child into the hospital with what you have been told is a stomach virus, to discover that she has leukemia and to watch that child die, less than 24 hours after being diagnosed.
Tips & Treatments for Lice: No More Scratching
High Country News has compiled a list of treatments and tips to help rid your family of this annoying school-year situation.
A Visit to Yellow Mountain Enterprises in Newland
Yellow Mountain Enterprises on the Old Toe River Road is a state-licensed adult developmental and vocational rehabilitation programs facility in downtown Newland.
Canada Geese: Picturesque or Pesky?
If you’ve driven by a body of water this winter, you’ve likely seen Canada geese. Just in case you haven’t seen them, Curtis Smalling, our area’s Audubon bird specialist, knows all their local hangouts: Bass Lake in Blowing Rock, the Watauga and New Rivers, the lake at Grandmother Mountain in Linville and the large manmade pond at the Waterstone Development off Castle Ford Road.
Caves: Exploring and Protecting a Fragile World
Then the lights went out. Muddy, wet and tired, 15 people were left in the utter darkness of an underground labyrinth.
More Guardrails on the Parkway?
Recent changes in highway safety standards may lead the Blue Ridge Parkway to install guardrails at all bridges, tunnel portals and other roadside locations, an expensive proposition and one that is not the result of an increase in accident.
Events & Entertainment
Lift Ticket
A new column about skiing and snowboarding in the High Country by Sam Calhoun.
Results For Monday, January 16 – Race 2
Mountain Living
This week's issue of Mountain Living, Amy Cooke features a recipe for Tangerine Curd and Tangerine Cloud Pie.
Brewer’s Briefs:
Spotlighting live music in the High Country.
Boone Residents Commit Random Acts of Literacy
They show up at coffee shops. In hospital waiting rooms. In picnic shelters and laundromats; even on toilet tanks and in the arms of statues. At first the finders think someone’s just left his or her book behind, but on flipping open the cover, they discover a cute little running book logo and the command Read and Release!
Watauga County Library Announces New Books Coming in February
History buffs and mystery fans are the big winners in the new book selections being added to the shelves at the Watauga County Library in February, but those two categories don’t tell the whole story about the new arrivals. Check the following list to see if one or more the releases pique your interest. There’s another new batch coming in March; stay tuned for details.
Ohio’s One Under And Virginia Ground At Murphy’s
Thursday night, January 19, will see the debut Boone performance of Columbus, Ohio’s One Under, while Bristol’s (you can guess which one) Virginia Ground will return on Friday, January 20, for the first time since their appearance last fall.
Upcoming Productions at Lees-McRae
The spring semester is well underway and that means that Lees-McRae College’s stage productions will begin again soon. Here’s a preview of what the college has planned for High Country audiences in the coming months. For more information about any of these shows, call 828-898-8721.
Juggling LIFE:
Flying Karamazov Brothers Live at Farthing January 24
Todd Wright Quartet Presents Benefit for Diversity Education Friday
Café Portofino will host the Todd Wright Quartet in a benefit concert on Friday, January 20, from 10:00 p.m. until 12:30 a.m.
Portraiture Class Begins Saturday at the Turchin
The class will meet for five two-hour sessions beginning Saturday, January 21, from 10:00 a.m. until noon. Successive classes also meet on Saturdays at the same time.
Learn Pysanky Decoration at the Turchin Center
On Monday and Wednesday, January 23 and 25, the new year’s first Young at Art Seniors/Adult Program, Pysanky or Ukrainian egg decoration, with Dr. Janet Montgomery will be offered through the Community Art School at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts in Boone.
North Carolina Writer Judy Goldman Speaks January 26
Novelist and poet Judy Goldman opens Appalachian State University’s Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series for the spring semester with a presentation Thursday, January 26, at 7:30 p.m. in Plemmons Student Union’s Price Lake Room.
Strictly Clean And Decent Return To Winterfest
On Saturday, January 28, at 7:30 p.m., the Blowing Rock Stage Company brings Caldwell County’s Strictly Clean and Decent back to perform at this year’s Wintergrass Live event.
Free Recitals At Appalachian Offer Culture and Music
There’s nothing like starting off a new year with a little culture. And if that culture comes free, it’s even better. Fortunately, the High Country is home to Appalachian State University and the Hayes School of Music, and through the coming months the School of Music is offering a wide array of free concerts and recitals.
Parents’ Nights Focus on Learning About High School.
Except for Hardin Park, all meetings will be held at the respective schools. Hardin Park parents and students will meet at Watauga High School. Except for Cove Creek, all meetings will begin at 5:30 p.m. Cove Creek parents and students will meet at 7:00 p.m.
Community Interest
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