JANUARY 14, 2010 ISSUE
Quotes of the Year 2009
January 15, 2009
“We are trying to create a website that drives tourism to Watauga County.”
-Watauga County Tourism Development Authority Chair Rob Holton, commenting on the authority’s new website, www.exploreboonearea.com.
January 22, 2009
“This decision was one of our most difficult as we had to balance the personal factors along with the business factors…However, the increase in costs and decrease in sales had reached a point where the business factors overwhelmed the personal ones and we could no longer justify to our members or to our donors the continuation of the operation.”
-Lisa Van Arnam, president of the Watauga Humane Society, commenting on the board’s decision to close its thrift store fundraising operation known as the Bare Bones Boutique at the end of February 2009.
January 29, 2009
“People are hungry for action on things that will answer the question, ‘How can we become a more resilient community?’”
-MountainKeepers’ member Ron Redmon, commenting on a community conversation about resilience.
February 19, 2009
“In this shifting economy, it’s the perfect time for entrepreneurs to step in and fill the gaps, and green entrepreneurs can fill in these gaps. ASU has been into renewable energy for 30 years—before it was even cool. Now, our community is loaded with these [green] skills and that can be an important community asset.”
-Ged Moody, ASU entrepreneur in residence, explaining the thinking behind the Realizing Green Business Opportunities Workshop scheduled for February 24, 2009 at ASU.
March 5, 2009
“Before I left, my mind wasn’t completely in school. I wasn’t ready for it, and I wasn’t getting as much from it as I should have. After getting back, I have a totally different outlook on it. I want to learn now. I want to prepare myself so I can know enough to help people. This experience made me want to be the best person I can be for other people. Seeing how much help our world needs makes me want to try really hard to contribute my best.”
-Lindsay Latendresse, after returning to Boone from a 10-month stint with AmeriCorps.
March 12, 2009
“It’s great—I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.”
-Randy Kelly, Appalachian Popular Programming Society program coordinator and Dream Scene Productions owner/operator, commenting on his love for both jobs.
March 19, 2009
“I think we have an obligation to explore our spiritual natures—mine just happens to be photography as a vehicle.”
-Banister Pope, award winning artist and photographer.
April 9, 2009
“I’m ready for the [Watauga County Board of Commissioners] to have some follow-through on this situation. It’s not the prettiest situation in [Watauga County] Parks and Recreation right now but it’s one that needs to be addressed.”
-Ken Gordon, Appalachian Skatepark Council founding member and co-owner of The Gamekeeper, speaking about controversy over staffing an attendant at the Appalachian Skatepark, which is facing closure due to conduct and budget concerns.
April 16, 2009
“That’s the thing about MerleFest. It’s not just a gig. It’s a place where we can come together with our old and new friends and create. It’s part of what we’re doing. It expands our industry. It helps create the palette, the canvas of what it is we do.”
-Leonard Podolak, The Duhks founding member and banjo player.
April 23, 2009
“I think, really, two years just gives you a time to really get your feet wet. Then you have to turn right around and have to run again.”
-Boone Mayor Loretta Clawson, speaking about the extension of the Boone mayoral term from two years to four years.
April 30, 2009
“I told them I was taking early retirement at 84.”
-Clyde Jones, explaining what he told his employees after deciding to close Clyde Jones Auto Parts after 55 years in business.
May 7, 2009
On Wednesday, April 29, the High Country lost one of its greatest humanitarians and businesspeople with the passing of Norman Cheek. Long-time supporter of military and youth, Cheek hosted Project Graduation in Watauga, Ashe and Caldwell counties for two decades, assuring that our region’s young people enjoyed a safe, secure and fun transition from high school to the real world. Cheek shared his thoughts on Project Graduation with High Country Magazine in June 2006. Here is some of what he said.
“It’s been a really good thing for the people in this county, and for the kids in this county. You know, after you really think about it, the kids of this county are going to be the leaders of tomorrow, and we need to do everything we can to keep them on the right track, the right road and to keep them safe. Late in the morning at Project Graduation, it gets pretty late, they’re tired, they’re wore down, they’ve been swimming, played basketball, they played all the games, they eat all the food and they wore plum out. And you’ll see them sitting around in a huddle on the floor, just like they was in the first grade of school. And here it is, their last party together and it’s really touching, I tell you, to be a part of it and to see these things—knowing that that is the last party that they’ll ever be together. It’s very special.”
May 14, 2009
“The picture is not people sitting in chairs listening to teachers; the picture is of a basketball camp, with kids everywhere doing things.”
-ASU Math Camp Director Dr. Anita Kitchens
May 28, 2009
“I knew I was born at the Hagaman Clinic, but I always assumed it was a kind of house. I only found out [the clinic] was in Boone Drug recently.”
-Linda Ralph Wolfferts (formerly Combs).
June 4, 2009
“This is a very bright class. Some years the students never really come together as a class, but I believe that this year they really have done that.”
-WHS Senior Class Guidance Counselor Jane Rogers, speaking about the WHS Class of 2009.
June 11, 2009
“Most people who are skeptical about going green are worried that it might cost them up to 20 percent more than usual. That’s simply not true. At most, the cost increase would be 5 percent and most people would get their money back over time in savings.”
-Judy Wagner, High Country Home Builders Association member and sponsor of June 27, 2009’s Why Green? Expo at Builder’s Plaza.
June 18, 2009
“To tell you the truth, I was shocked that in this town no one was chained to it.”
-David H. Bryan, Jr., owner of Meridian Timberworks, speaking about when NCDOT right-of-way crews cut down Stacy Eggers, Jr.’s 300-year-old white oak tree.
June 25, 2009
“It helps my mind focus on getting out of my situation. If I wasn’t trying, I wouldn’t have gotten this far, and I’m not giving up.”
-Matthew Alexander, 22, on participating in N.C. Summer Jobs, a temporary summer youth employment program for youth ages 16 to 24 funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
July 2, 2009
“We must let our voices be heard that we're against government takeover of private industry and of our healthcare system. We don't want unelected federal czars who are unaccountable to the electorate. We're against corporate bailouts and intrusive regulation of our private lives. And perhaps most of all, we're against making apologies abroad for America and the American way. Our Founding Fathers left us with a precious gift—the Constitution. It is every American’s duty to help protect it."
-Pat Mace, co-organizer of Boone’s Tea Party Freedom Rally.
July 9, 2009
“Every time we do this I get calls and we try something new. It’s sad to say, but there’s nothing that works. There’s just too much traffic. I’ve been in this 25 years and I still don’t know how to stop this.”
- NCDOT Resident Engineer Frank Gioscio, speaking about the major traffic backups on Highway 105 this week.
July 16, 2009
“Biocontrol won’t save a specific tree but it will save the ecosystem.”
-Dr. Richard McDonald, speaking about the success of biocontrols to control the hemlock woolly adelgid on trees throughout the High Country.
July 23, 2009
“For every dollar generated, there will be two to three dollars in cuts. Once the budget is done, there will be deep cuts across every area.”
- Rep. Cullie Tarleton (D-93), responding to rumors about a proposed state tax on amusement services. North Carolina’s budget is currently in a $4.6 billion deficit, and the goal for the new budget is to generate $990 million in new revenue, Tarleton said.
July 30, 2009
“I’m determined to do it. I don’t care how long it takes me. I’m going to get my GED at least. Hopefully, in the next year or two I’ll be a dental assistant.”
-Watauga County resident Lindsey Miller, the first individual to finish the N.C. Summer Jobs youth employment program, which is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and administered through the High Country Workforce Development Board’s Get REAL Youth Services. Miller said completion of the program inspired her to obtain her GED.
August 6, 2009
“Our goal is to be one of the top recreation destinations in the East, at least.”
-Eric Woolridge, Watauga County Tourism Development Authority senior outdoor recreation planner, speaking about his organization’s future plans for the High Country.
August 13, 2009
“We welcome regulation with open arms; we just want to make sure it is the right regulation. The battle is not over, the General Assembly of North Carolina is going to hear from the hookah industry again.”
-Connor McGrath, co-owner of Koncepts, a hookah bar in downtown Boone. McGrath recently returned from Raleigh where he lobbied for an exemption for hookah bars within the new statewide smoking ban that takes effect in January 2010.
August 20, 2009
“Reunions are becoming a lost mountain trait, and if the younger ones don’t take time to know who their kin are…it could be lost forever.”
-Sheri Cornett, speaking about the importance of family reunions. The Cornett family hosted a reunion on August 22, 2009, at Crossnore Park on Clark Road.
August 27, 2009
“Too many to call back.”
-ASU star quarterback Armanti Edwards, speaking about how many offers he’s had to cut his grass after suffering from a lawnmower accident on August 5, 2009. Edwards hopes to be healed in time to play in the season opener at East Carolina University on September 5, 2009.
September 3, 2009
“In between licking the sorghum syrup off our fingers or scratching the ears of a milk goat, we learn about the hard work and absolute devotion of our local farmers.”
-Amy Galloway, a psychology professor at ASU, sharing her adoration for Slow Food Boone.
September 10, 2009
“I’ve loved that game show forever. When we were younger, we always watched that game show and sit in the living room and play it. At home, I have nailed those answers for years. When you’re on that set, it’s so different. You wonder why people say stupid things.”
-Mitzi Bunton, a member of the “Banner” family from the High Country, who were chosen to compete on “Family Feud” in Hollywood.
September 17, 2009
“I’m not sure we ever built it with the mentality of saying we want to be better than someone else. For us, we had some needs and we had some wants and we have some space to grow.”
-ASU Athletic Director Charlie Cobb, speaking about the new Kidd Brewer Stadium and ancillary facilities.
September 24, 2009
“I definitely think of the honeybees a lot when I think of volunteer work because they all contribute. One bee in and of herself can only make 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime, but all the bees together create gallons and gallons [of honey] for us to eat and for them to survive.”
-Kendall McDevitt, speaking about the importance of volunteering in regards to supporting the current Live United fundraising campaign of the High Country United Way. McDevitt, along with many other duties such as coordinator for ASU’s Office of Off-Campus Community Relations, is a local beekeeper.
October 1, 2009
“Leaf color is a real big attraction for us. The leaf attraction is free—no ticket necessary. And then people stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants and buy sweatshirts at the Mast General Store because they didn’t know it would be so cold.”
-Mac Forehand, director of the Boone Convention and Visitors Bureau.
October 8, 2009
“It seems like we are no longer in the Wild, Wild West—the plan provides a wonderful vision for the next few decades.”
-Boone Town Councilmember Rennie Brantz, speaking about the Boone 2030 Land Use Plan.
October 15, 2009
“We want Boone to be the center of their vacation.”
-Rob Holton, chair of the Watauga County Tourism Development Authority, speaking about the end result of creating even more recreational opportunities for visitors, such as the new Rocky Knob Park that will, hopefully, bring mountain biking enthusiasts up the mountain instead of staying near the current courses in Wilkesboro.
October 22, 2009
“Any dime collected by the High Country United Way stays right here. It’s an opportunity to take care of our own [and that is] what a mountain community does.”
-Bill Parker, a local volunteer who regularly delivers food to Hospitality House in coordination with Second Harvest Food Bank and St. Mary of the Hills Episcopal Church.
October 29, 2009
“People like to feel good about the tree they just killed.”
-David King of Constructive Solutions, speaking about the staircase in the first LEED Platinum-certified home in the High Country.
November 5, 2009
“The best day in addiction doesn’t compare to the worst day in Christ.”
-Hod Verble, a 25-year-old graduate of Freedom Farm Ministries—a nonprofit organization based in Ashe and Watauga counties that offers a three-step, faith-oriented rehabilitation program.
November 12, 2009
“How far would you go for the perfect Christmas tree? Around Boone, N.C., just across the Virginia border, they come from all over. They come for the long mountain views, weekend cabins, cozy inns and the Blue Ridge Parkway. But mostly they come for the Fraser firs, the Cadillac of Christmas trees.”
-a quote from The Washington Post in an article about the area’s Choose and Cut season, which began on November 1, 2009.
November 19, 2009
“I also have tremendous respect and admiration for those who work day-to-day in nonprofit agencies. They are some of the most talented professionals I know—they are exceptionally passionate about what they do and they effortlessly juggle half a dozen job responsibilities simultaneously, all on shoestring budgets and low salaries.”
-Jeanne Supin, a professional organizational consultant who volunteers with OASIS.
November 26, 2009
“The President himself can’t look at it. This is particularly important for the undocumented people we have living here.”
-Local Census Office Manager Ceylon Barclay, in regards to the safety of collected information during the 2010 Census. It is estimated that out of the 336,000 people that reside in the eight-county area covered by the Boone office, about 100,000 will not mail in their census forms.
December 3, 2009
“I would exercise every avenue before that.”
-Boone Mayor Loretta Clawson, on whether she would support the town’s use of eminent domain in the Howard Street Project.
December 10, 2009
“I know I’m going to enjoy January. And I know I’m going to hate August.”
-Bill “Fish” Fisher, who, after three decades of being a radio and television personality in the High Country, is moving to Florida and anticipating a slightly different weather pattern.
December 17, 2009
“I think people here thought that liquor would become really popular with the younger folks, but mostly it’s the older folks who come in to have dinner and enjoy a drink with their meal. The younger folks are still into beer.”
-Café Portofino Co-Owner Olga Esterson, speaking about Boone drinking dynamics since the adoption of the mixed beverage referendum more than a year ago.
December 22, 2009
“I have been in the shoes that a lot of players want to be in. I had the great honor to play in two national championships. I know what it feels like to win this award. You can’t ask for anything more than this.”
-ASU quarterback Armanti Edwards, at the Walter Payton Award press conference after being asked about the possibility of winning the award for a second, consecutive time. Later, Edwards won his second Walter Payton Award by an overwhelming margin of votes.
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