April 22, 2005
ASU student killed in crash
A 20-year-old Appalachian State University student, Christopher Mark Strope, died when his 1998 Honda motorcycle rounded a blind curve and struck a dump truck Wednesday morning. Trooper J.D. Boone of the North Carolina Highway Patrol said the truck, a 1988 Ford driven by 43-year-old Thomas Ray Isaacs of Vilas, was making a left-hand turn into a private driveway on U.S. 321 near Phillips Branch Road, when Strope’s cycle struck his right rear wheel. Strope, a sophomore sociology major, was airlifted to Johnson City Medical Center but reportedly died enroute. Boone said Isaacs reported he could not see Strope approaching as he began crossing the east-bound lane. The investigation is still underway and Boone said he could not say how fast Strope was traveling at the time of the collision.
Photo by Marie Freeman/Watauga Democrat
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Town Council: Water issues keeps flowing
The Boone Town Council braved more storms at its regular meeting Thursday — or at least the water from storms.
The case dealt with a council-initiated text amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) to repeal the town's design standards for storm water retention systems.
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Local reaction: Catholics upbeat about new Pope
The congregation of St. Elizabeth’s, Boone’s only Catholic church, welcomed news of the selection of a new pope this week.
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Local man charged in federal meth case
A federal judge has sentenced a Boone man to 20 years in federal prison for conspiring with six others to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine in Watauga and Wilkes counties, according to information released today by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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Banner still farming at 90 
Jack Banner is one of Watauga County’s oldest active farmers, still tilling the soil at the age of 90.
Many travelers along N.C. 194 have seen his dahlia display, which dazzles viewers during July and August at the intersection with Big Hill Road near Green Valley Elementary School. Banner also tends a small garden across the road from his house, just as he has since he was a youngster growing up on Sugar Mountain as “one of the Banner Elk Banners.”
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WMC program battles low health literacy
Healthcare providers and literacy tutors can learn how to battle low health literacy this weekend.
Watauga Medical Center (WMC) will host a free program featuring solutions to low health literacy Saturday, April 23 from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
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Board of elections needs more space
The Watauga County commissioners are reassessing space needs for county offices after the Board of Elections office asked for a larger space.
Under a working plan that’s part of a chain of construction projects, the Board of Elections office was scheduled to move into the first floor of the courthouse in space currently occupied by the finance department.
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U.S. 321 to close in Caldwell County
The N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) will temporarily close U.S. 321 from Kirby Mountain Road to Blackberry Road in Caldwell County on Tuesday, April 26 from noon until 2 p.m.
During the closure, the following signed detour will be in place: N.C. 18 to Wilkesboro to U.S. 421 North to Boone to U.S. 321 back to Blowing Rock.
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April 20, 2005
Sheriff releases annual crime report
Watauga County Sheriff Mark Shook has released year-end crime statistics for 2004 and the numbers show advances in the battle against methamphetamine production even as his deputies fought to keep their heads above a flood of civil paperwork service requests.
Shook said the fact his department busted 34 meth labs in 2004, the same number as 2003, marked relative progress in a state where most counties saw an increase in meth production.
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Valuable Viper swiped from Ross lot
Randy Ross hadn’t given car thieves much thought since taking over two and a half years ago as owner of Ross Chrysler over on N.C. 105. 
There wasn’t much reason, he said, seeing as nobody had ever stolen a vehicle off his lot — not here in Boone anyway.
A week ago, that lucky streak came to an end when a Dodge Viper — valued at around $75,000 — vanished, seemingly into thin air. Now, Ross has found himself giving the whole theft issue a few second thoughts.
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Council: Water search may leave county
You can lead a town to water, but you can’t make it drink.
In its continuing search for more water, the town of Boone may have to look over the county line.
After a water system study and hydraulic analysis by the W.K. Dickson consulting firm concluded the town would require an additional 4 million gallons per day (mgd) of water to support a growing population by the year 2030, the engineers have been working with the town to find an alternate source.
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Meeting: County OKs new comm tower
Watauga County Commissioners reluctantly agreed on Monday to allow the Watauga Sheriff’s Department to pursue a regional grant to erect four 200-foot communications towers in the county.
Sheriff Mark Shook presented the request to apply for the grant in conjunction with Wilkes, Ashe and Alleghany counties. The county is seeking $1.4 million to buy the land and build two additional towers and upgrade towers at two existing locations.
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Road projects look sparse for Watauga Co.
The Watauga County commissioners addressed transportation issues at Monday’s meeting, and threw their support behind a couple of major highway projects.
County planning director Joe Furman presented a draft of the 2006-2012 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), released each year by the state Department of Transportation. Furman said the only new project on the list was a feasibility study for the widening of U.S. 321 to the Tennessee line.
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