Archived: June 23, 2006

Relay for Life: Compassion through the Camera Lens

Click here to view our latest photo album from last Friday night's Relay for Life at Watauga High School.  Staff photographer Marie Freeman captured several memorable images from this year's event.

Boards may accept WHS offer

The Watauga County commissioners and school board were scheduled to meet Thursday at 3 p.m. to discuss the sale of the Watauga High School property.

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Lana Brantz to retire from High Country Media

Bringing a bittersweet close to a 33-year tenure at the Watauga Democrat, Lana Brantz, national sales manager of High Country Media, is retiring.

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Military Appreciation Day Saturday

The High Country will celebrate and honor members of the military this weekend. The High Country Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) will sponsor its third annual Military Appreciation Day Saturday, June 24 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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Trade Days Festival June 23-25

The 18th annual Trade Days is taking place this weekend in the historic community of Trade, Tenn., just over the state line.

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Relay for Life raises $232K

Thousands of High Country residents turned out June 16 and 17 to celebrate and continue the battle against cancer.

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Youth summit reaches new heights

Concern for High Country children is alive and well if turnout for the 2006 Watauga County Summit on Youth is any indication.

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Boone Police reports:

June 8 — A theft was reported from the 600 block of Deerfield Road at 1:01 p.m.

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Town council OKs budget

The Boone Town Council adopted the town budget for the 2006-07 fiscal year with a grand total of $17,890,113.

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ASU officials brief Boone planners

The Boone Area Planning Commission attended class with Appalachian State University’s Dr. Clyde Robbins and Jeff Cloninger.  Robbins, director of university design and construction, and Cloninger, director of public relations and marketing, attended the commission’s June regular meeting to brief the board on the university’s capital projects.

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Bill would give cable authority to the state

Watauga County could lose local control of its authority to grant cable franchises under a General Assembly proposal.

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Editorial: Let the flag of free speech fly

Most of us find the act of burning an American flag positively repugnant. We would never thinking of desecrating our national symbol and we would shun or berate those who would.

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June 21, 2006

Chambers remains missing

Police have been unable to locate child abduction convict Alisha Ann Chambers since her disappearance from an Asheville-area drug treatment facility.

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Triad bus service may offer Boone routes

Boone could once again be a stop for a regional bus service under a proposal backed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT).

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Student actors to bring 'Jungle Book’ to life

More than 60 local children will get their chance to shine in the spotlight this week when the Watauga Arts Council presents the Missoula Children’s Theatre’s original musical adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic, “The Jungle Book.”  Two performances will be featured Friday, June 23, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, June 24, at 3 p.m.  Both performances will be held at the Watauga High School Auditorium. Tickets will be available at the door, $8 for adults and $5 for children ages 12 and under.

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New book focuses on terrorism

Arthur “Art” Walner fresh from a career of applying statistical approaches to crime prevention, has compiled that experience into a new book.

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Council drives through pros and cons of booting

The Boone Town Council hopes to mobilize against the bad publicity generated recently by vehicle immobilization.

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Wheel lock ordinance amended

Sort of a regulation in flux, the town of Boone’s ordinance on vehicular immobilization may be revised yet again to address a flurry of complaints from visitors and residents alike.

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Tot Lot vision gains more input

Dozens of people dropped by the “Tot Lot” in Boone on Saturday to give input on the future of the popular playground.

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‘Wounded healer’ runs for a cause

On July 8, John Strader, a Chapel Hill resident and physician’s assistant, will run in the Grandfather Mountain Marathon.  This 26.2-mile journey through the High Country will raise money for local charities and Strader hopes his participation will help spark awareness of a new hospitality house in Chapel Hill.

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June 19, 2006

Powerball keeps rolling

The addition of Powerball to the state’s lottery line-up helped boost additional sales, though the odds are long for the jackpot.

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Townsend claims loss of job resulted in ‘black ball’

Paula Townsend, fired last summer from her post as Watauga County’s chief deputy because, she says, she rebuffed the sexual advances of her boss, has been out of work since last July despite repeated attempts to find another job.

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Rep. Foxx’s net worth reported in the millions

According to financial disclosure reports, U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-5) of Banner Elk is one of four millionaires among North Carolina’s federal legislators.

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News briefs:  Two arrests linked to car break-ins

The Boone Police Department and Watauga County Sheriff’s Office arrested two local men last week in connection with a series of motor vehicle burglaries that victimized motorists from Banner Elk to Blowing Rock.

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Equalization board set to hear tax appeals

The Watauga County board of commissioners, sitting as the Board of Equalization and Review (E & R), is about halfway through hearing tax appeals on about 600 parcels of property.

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