Feb. 4, 2005:

Child abuse cases increase

Reports of child abuse and neglect were up in Watauga last year, with a slight increase in the number of substantiated cases, though reports declined statewide.

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FBI profiler settles in Boone

Alan Brantley has looked into the faces of some of North America's most ruthless criminals, first as an Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) profiler and now as a forensic behavioral consultant.

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Local effort will replace Daniel Boone monument

“Daniel Boone was a man.”  “Yes, a big man.”  “With an eye like an eagle and as tall as a mountain was he.”  At least, that’s the way the song goes. It was also said that Daniel Boone built a cabin near today’s River Street by the campus of Appalachian State University.

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Christopher Goss found guilty of murder

An Ashe County jury convicted Christopher Edward Goss of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Deborah Sturgill Veler Wednesday afternoon and now must decide whether he is to live or die.

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Feb. 2, 2005:

Mount Lawn on the block

An auction has been scheduled to find a new owner for the troubled Mount Lawn cemetery, which has been in bankruptcy proceedings for two years. The auction for Mount Lawn Memorial Park and Gardens will be at noon on Saturday, Feb. 25, at the cemetery grounds in Boone. Attorney Charles Ivey of Greensboro, who is serving as property trustee in bankruptcy court, said he believes the cemetery will find its way into the hands of a good owner.

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Fighting a new addiction

Drug abuse is an age-old problem, but the spread of methamphetamine use in Watauga County has forced treatment specialists to rethink traditional recovery models.

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Robbery suspect on the loose

Boone Police are looking for a man who threatened a Boone hair salon employee with a knife and stole her car Jan. 15.

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Banner Elk couple practice ancient healing method

To the observer, a reiki treatment appears to be a gentle cross between massage and acupressure, but actually changes are taking place on the subatomic level and there is little actual touching, according to Greg and Lori Rubino.

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Jan. 31, 2005:

Birds of a frigid feather

Dressed as pink flamingos, Joan and Dick Hearn make their way down to the stairway to the dock to participate in the Polar Plunge.

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U.S. Cyberwatch warns parents

of chat room dangers

This time it wasn’t real.The child was not a child. Thirteen-year-old “jillie_jackson” was actually a fictional character portrayed by an adult woman. Her intent, she said, was to simply enter a Yahoo! chat room and wait, much as a hunter might scatter a pond with decoys in hopes of drawing a flock of mallards in for the kill.

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Battle of the budget begins again

The N.C. General Assembly is bracing for what is likely to be another budget battle this year, with a tax increase on the table to offset costs for hurricane clean-up and other needs.

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Director hopes VA changes will help

returning soldiers

Watauga County’s director of Veteran’s Services expects veteran’s claims to increase in the aftermath of the Iraq war, but said improvements with the federal Veterans Affairs office has led to better services.

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Homeland Security leaves some

foreign students insecure

Having left her native Nigeria for two years abroad, Catherine Kemi-Ayantoye is studying special education as a graduate student at Appalachian State University. Though now enjoying her stay, Kemi-Ayantoye was at first skeptical that her trip would ever come to fruition. This was due to a complicated visa process that, since Sept. 11, 2001, has made it increasingly difficult for international students to study abroad in the United States.

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