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

|| High Country Press Newswire

January 24, 2008 issue

Winterfest THIS WEEKEND!

From Thursday, January 24, to Sunday, January 27, Blowing Rock’s annual ode to Old Man Winter will celebrate its 10th anniversary. From Hayes Center concerts to annual events such as WinterFeast and Polar Plunge, we’ve got your guide to Winterfest. (Full Story)

The Polar Plunge at Chetola Lake
Chili Cook-Off
Blues Bash and The John Cowan Band
Winterfeast

How Much Does a High School Cost?

The Watauga County Board of Commissioners and Board of Education held a special meeting Tuesday, January 22, to hear the pre-bid estimate for the third guaranteed maximum price on the new Watauga High School project. Marty Moser, director of preconstruction services for Barnhill-Vannoy, the construction manager at risk, delivered the report. (Full Story)

Boone Town Council Passes University
Rezoning, U-1 Changes

At their January 17 meeting, the Boone Town Council, in votes of 4-1, approved Appalachian State University’s request to rezone property at the corner of Howard and College streets and also approved a number of changes to the Unified Development Ordinance that govern the development of property in the U-1 (university) zoning district. (Full Story)

All That Jazz

February Is JAZZfest Month at ASU
Local folks have been tapping their feet to the annual JAZZfest at Appalachian State University for several years now, but organizers are hoping this year’s event—like a blast from a brass section exploding in a Big Band standard—will resonate across western North Carolina.
ALL THE DETAILS ARE RIGHT HERE!

Hope for the Hemlocks: An Eight-Point Strategic Plan

Dr. Richard McDonald’s Symbiont Biological Pest Management and the Blue Ridge Resource Conservation and Development Council (BRRC&D), in conjunction with Virginia Tech and U.S. Forest Service researchers, have been addressing the hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA) problem in the immediate seven-county region—Ashe, Avery, Alleghany, Mitchell, Yancy, Watauga and Wilkes—since 1999. (Full Story)

Rock For The Hemlock Concert at Cove Creek Gymnasium February 2

No matter how much the lack of snow has got your pantaloons in a wad this season, I learned over the holidays that it can always be worse.
(Monday night race scores)

Soldiers from North Carolina Killed in
Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan

Peace advocates read this list of 107 fatalities from the front steps of the Jones House on Monday in commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. These are the names of North Carolinians who have been killed since 2003 in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Year in Review—Shelter Business Spotlight

Story by Sam Calhoun
The High Country—or any community for that matter—is defined by its local business people. Whether born and raised here or from out of town, these entrepreneurial spirits believe in the area so much that they have decided to meld, share and align their business passions with the everyday goings-on of the region. (All Spotlights in 2007)

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