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Champs Packet

Archived

September 22, 2006

Town of Boone offers new steep-slope proposal

New language for steep slope regulation in the town of Boone has been drafted and another public meeting scheduled. At the Thursday, Sept. 14, special public hearing, Boone Town Council member Lynne Mason moved to amend the language in two of three zoning cases that dealt with steep-slope development.

Quarry dive reveals no bodies

Seven divers spent two hours just outside Mountain City, Tenn. on Wednesday afternoon, searching the 70-foot depths of a flooded limestone quarry. They located a submerged highway barrier, but ultimately found no clue of the whereabouts of 23-year-old Jade Chambers. Chambers has left no trace since Feb. 10 when she was seen climbing into a car, possibly with a Mountain City man.

Public hearing scheduled on WHS funding

The Watauga County Board of Commissioners will hold a hearing for comment on a resolution that would allow the county to borrow $7 million to purchase property for a new high school.

Dan’l Boone Inn re-opens Friday

“D. Boon open’d a rest’rant o’ this tree.” Granted, that’s not how the story went, but the Dan’l Boone Inn has become synonymous with Boone for many. After eight months of renovation, the popular restaurant will reopen its doors to the public on Friday, Sept. 22 at 5 p.m. Since the restaurant closed on Jan. 16, manager Jeff Shellman’s answering machine and inbox have been flooded with hundreds of calls and e-mails.

Energy-efficient building promoted for new WHS

Green development was the topic of last Thursday’s Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Roundtable breakfast. Jeff Tiller is a professor of technology at Appalachian State University, and he also owns Jeff Tiller and Associates, a local heating and cooling system design firm. He spoke of high-performance buildings at the roundtable and, more importantly, why there should be a push for such buildings.

Planners: Subdivision meets watershed rules

The Boone Area Planning Commission found that a proposed, 59-acre subdivision off Deck Hill Road met town watershed requirements. The commission, in its capacity as the town’s watershed review board, made the decision at its Monday, Sept. 18, meeting.

County to help historical society

A book project has helped revive the Watauga Historical Society and the group is reorganizing to collect information on the county’s historic structures. The group has received pledges of about $10,000 toward the preparation and publication of a manuscript detailing an architectural survey conducted in 2003. The county planning department is contributing $5,000 from the “contracted services” line item of its budget, and the society hopes to get a $10,000 grant from the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area to complete the project.

September 20, 2006

Smoke detector search still on at apartment

Boone Fire Marshal Ronnie Marsh denied published reports that an apartment unit that burned last week, killing three young girls, had no fire detectors. “It was wrong,” Marsh said Tuesday morning. A syndicated news report published Sunday claimed fire officials found no working smoke detector at the Clyde Townsend Road apartment. “What we said was we were unable to determine if a smoke detector was in the apartment,” Marsh said. “There has never been a statement that says there was not one in there.”

School copes with deep loss

Even before the classmates of three sisters killed in a house fire last Thursday night began arriving for school on Friday morning, administrators and staff at Cove Creek Elementary were preparing to meet them with the news.

Ginny Campbell moves up Chamber ladder

The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce announced the appointment of Ginny Campbell as director of administrative services. Campbell succeeds Laurette Leagon, chamber vice president who held the same title.

Soldier family support group makes kits for Iraq

The Family Support Group for the 1451st National Guard Transportation Company has been working with other family support groups to help soldiers in Iraq get convenience and personal items and is also planning a Christmas event for families. The Boone-based group recently mailed a number of items to a military base so they can be shipped overseas. The shipment included 40 handheld spotlights, 40 first aid kits, and 18 tool kits and mounted lights for the company’s vehicles.

Steep-slope hearing draws diverse opinion

As one audience member commented, it was democracy in action.

The town of Boone’s special public hearing on proposed steep slope development regulations yielded a turnout of more than 380 last Thursday at the Watauga County Courthouse. The majority spoke in opposition of the proposed regulations, which included a geologic hazard map that would color-code the town and its extraterritorial jurisdiction based on slope steepness and underlying geologic factors, as well as a similar view-shed map that would indicate properties located 100 feet above major valley floors, both imposing regulations.

Boone braces for peak water usage

October is the town of Boone’s peak month for water usage, and Boone Public Utilities is hoping to further emphasize the importance of conservation. With the recent hiring of Andrea Gimlin as program coordinator for the Every Drop Counts campaign, public utilities director Rick Miller plans to step up conservation education efforts.

Helping Hands photo

Watauga County Parks and Recreation football teams and cheerleaders attended the Watauga High School game against Ashe County Friday evening to cheer on their home team as they ran on to the field. For the whole picture, please link below.

September 18, 2006

Three sisters die in fire Thursday

The father of three young girls who perished in a Boone apartment fire last week is out of the hospital, but a friend said the girls’ mother has been forced to grieve without the aid of family, who live thousands of miles away in Mexico.

Council postpones steep-slope vote

The Boone Town Council postponed voting on proposed regulations on steep slope development until they can be modified to meet public demand.

Protesting landowners fill Boone public hearing

Courtroom One of the Watauga County Courthouse was filled to capacity — and then some — for the town of Boone’s special public hearing on proposed steep slope development regulations. Knowing the hearing would yield a steep turnout, the Boone Town Council arranged for the hearing to be held in the sizable courtroom, which seats 380. Shortly before the hearing started at 7 p.m., there was already standing room only.

A phone call from Iraq

Members of the Boone-based 1451st Transportation Co. are doing well and in good spirits, according to one of its platoon leaders. Sgt. Roger Parker spoke with the media in a teleconference Thursday morning from Camp Adder, the company’s base in Iraq. The transportation company was activated earlier this year and has been running convoy security missions from base to base, according to Parker.

Workshops on farming, sustainability, meat, herbs

An upcoming conference deals with putting more local greenery on school lunch trays. The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project and Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture will be holding a Farm to School workshop in Boone on Tuesday, Sept. 19, geared toward growers, parents and school nutritionists.

Adopt me at Watauga Humane Society!

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