The High Country News - Boone, North Carolina

Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05

Year in Review – September 2006

KUDOS: The Society of American Travel Writers named the Woolly Worm Festival one of the top fall festivals to attend in the United States.

KUDOS: The Watauga County Chapter of the NC Council for the Blind named chapter of the year.

TRAGEDY: An apartment fire on the Highway 105 Bypass claimed the lives of three young girls, all members of the Flores family.

RENOVATION: Workers begin phase II of the Jones House renovation, replacing the front steps, installing a new marquee, lighting the trees and replacing the lights on the lampposts.

NOT FOUND: Volunteer SCUBA divers searched a Johnson County quarry, but did not find the body of Jade Chambers—missing since February 10.

RELAY REP: Relay for Life organizer Sharon Trivette traveled to Washington, D.C. as Watauga County’s representative at the American Cancer Society’s Celebration on the Hill.

GREENING: High Country Biofuels announced three levels of membership in a co-op that will supply members with biofuels: standard or individual membership, small business membership and fleet membership.

PEACE: Boone Town Council passed a resolution recognizing International Day of Peace, and local organizers planned three days of commemorative activities.

CONGRATS: Gene Swift elected Optimist Club governor for the North Carolina West District, encompassing 82 clubs with 2,400 members.

FINALLY: Contractors finally finish the repaving job on the portion of Highway 421 in front of New Market Center. The job began in July, but weather and potholes caused delays.

HONORS: Avery County Board of Commissioners voted to name the new health department building after local doctors Emma Fink and Eustace Smith.

KUDOS: Parkway School Principal Billie Hicklin named Watauga County’s Principal of the Year.

GRANTS: The Blue Ridge Parkway Association received a $438,000 National Scenic Byways grant to market the Parkway.

ELECTION 2006: The Republican and Democrat parties opened their headquarters and the campaigning for the November election began heating up, with political signs crowding the roadways, candidate mailings packing mailboxes, endorsements flying and ads appearing in local newspapers.

PROMOTION: Sergeant Eric Brown was announced as the new Blowing Rock Chief of Police, replacing the retiring Owen Tolbert. Brown took office December 1.

TRASHY: During Boone’s fall cleanup day and the Watauga watershed Big Sweep on September 23, volunteers gathered more than one ton of trash.

COOL: Sierra Club named Boone a “Cool City” for saving taxpayer dollars and improving public health by reducing energy waste and pollution.

BIKERS: Cycle North Carolina brought 1,000 bicycles to High Country roadways, as the group of began their cross-state trip from Banner Elk.

ASU: Artist in residence Nina Hole, with the help of teams of art students from ASU and other state universities, constructed a fire sculpture on the university campus and fired it on September 14.