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Coming home 1451st will return to Boone on Sunday amid large public welcome The troops have landed. The Boone-based 1451st Transportation Company of the North Carolina National Guard landed on American soil Monday and is currently undergoing debriefing and restaging in Indiana. A public welcome-home celebration is planned for Sunday at 3 p.m. at Watauga High School. To read more, click here. Photo by Marie Freeman

Brush fires plague Vilas Wildfire in the woods More than a dozen Cove Creek firefighters responded to a wildfire in the woods behind 615 Homestead Road in Vilas on Tuesday afternoon. According to N.C. Forest Service ranger Rudy Johnson, the fire burned one and a half acres and one firefighter was spared tragedy when a burning hollow tree almost fell on him. “That is always one of my biggest worries, that someone will get hurt. Yesterday's accident was one close call,” Johnson said. The fire was the result of pine straw spread on the site of a brush fire homeowner David Phillips burned on Saturday. “He (Phillips) didn't see any active coals and covered the area with straw,” Johnson said. There was not a red flag warning issued by the N.C. Forest Service Monday and Phillips was cited with a warning. Johnson recommends not burning anything if at all possible for the next three weeks, or until the area receives about an inch of rain. “It is getting extremely dry and we are having a late spring because of the late freeze. Let the area green up a bit,” he said. The brush fire is the 17th in Watauga County since the beginning of the year. Photo and story by Marie Freeman

News Update: 10-year-old injured

A 10-year-old Fleetwood boy was seriously injured Thursday when he reportedly ran into the side of a pickup truck in an east Boone parking lot, according to a report from the Boone Police Department.Tyler Albert received a head injury in the collision and was reported in fair condition at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem Friday morning. Read more.

BOA constricts medical complex
The Boone Board of Adjustment denied a special use permit application from developer Phil Templeton to build a medical clinic off State Farm Road. The board met Tuesday, May 1, in a continuation of its April 5 meeting, in which a decision was not reached due to lack of a quorum. Read more.

Teens charged with burglaries
Six teens are facing felony burglary and theft charges in connection with break-ins at two homes owned by Heavenly Mountain founder David Kaplan. Charged in the case are Tristan Daniel Royal Rattler, 18, of 276 George Triplett Rd., Blowing Rock; Kelly Michelle Stepuch, 16, of 734 Northridge Drive, Boone; Daniel Alan Hayes, 17, of 520 Rabbit Ridge Run, Vilas; Matthew Allen Marsh, of 240 Ridge Rd., Boone; Patrick Christian Angle, 18, of 384 Highland Lakes Rd., Blowing Rock; and Christopher Andrew Bridges, of 6050 Greenhaven Drive, Winston-Salem. Read more.

Crimestoppers reports more burglaries
Watauga County Crimestoppers is looking for information in two burglaries that occurred sometime during the last two months. The first, carried out sometime between March 20 and April 20, involved the theft of two toolboxes from a storage locker near U.S. 421 and Slabtown Road. Read more.

17th annual Children’s Fair Saturday
The Children’s Council will be hosting a day of fun for the whole family this Saturday, May 5 at its 17th Annual Children’s Fair, to be held at Hardin Park Elementary from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Read more.

Free car drives WHS Project Graduation
The Watauga High class of 2007 will gather together for the last time on Monday, May 28 for Project Graduation. Together they will celebrate one of the biggest achievements of their lives at Appalachian State’s new UREC Center, scheduled from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Read more.

Updated May 6: Campfire may have sparked gorge fire
Fire officials suspect an escaped campfire may be the source of a wildfire that had burned more than 1,200 acres of the Linville Gorge Wilderness area by Thursday morning. Read more.

May 2, 2007

It MAY be spring A tiny star chickweed seems to perfectly fit the following verse, “Ode in May (1880),” by poet William Watson. “What is so sweet and dear/As a prosperous morn in May/The confident prime of the day/And the dauntless youth of the year/When nothing that asks for bliss/Asking aright, is denied/And half of the world a bridegroom is/And half of the world a bride?” Photo by Marie Freeman

Foxx opposes troop withdrawal, spending plan
A battle over withdrawal of troops in Iraq appears set to end with a White House veto, but the political maneuvering is likely to continue through the 2008 presidential election. U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-5) voted against a spending bill that set timetables for troop withdrawals based on certain events. Foxx called the bill “reckless” and said not only was it politically motivated and took decision-making authority away from military leaders, it also contained billions in spending that weren’t related to the war. Read more.

What about Cone Manor?
The future of the Cone Manor is still undecided, but the availability of funding will likely be the key factor in any changes to the National Park Service property. About 40 people attended a meeting Thursday in Blowing Rock to discuss the future of the Moses Cone Estate as part of a regular review of long-term management plans. Read more.

Banner Elk Winery uncorks another banner year in awards
It’s been a good year for the Banner Elk Winery. Not only did its vineyards survive a late freeze, but the young winery garnered three medals from the Blue Ridge Wine Festival. Read more.

Watauga jobless rate ranks sixth in the state
Despite a decrease in unemployment, Watauga County ranked sixth in county unemployment standings in March. Nearly all North Carolina counties saw their rates drop in March, according to the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina. Read more.

Funeral processions keep rolling in Watauga
Despite sweeping policy changes across the U.S., Watauga County law enforcement officials will continue to serve and protect citizens all the way to the grave. Read more.

April 30, 2007