News briefs

Signs of vandalism affect tree farms
Acts of vandalism and theft damaged more than directional signage for a few Watauga County Christmas tree farmers last weekend. Sales were down as tourists were unable to locate farmers during the busiest weekend of the choose-and-cut Christmas season.

Two signs were pulled up and thrown, while one sign was stolen in a single incident at the intersection of U.S. 321 and U.S. 421 near Skateworld. There are multiple directional signs at that intersection guiding visitors to the choose-and-cut tree farm of their choice.

However, sometime after 2 a.m. Saturday morning, the signs for three farms further along U.S. 421 were taken down by an unknown individual. The signs gave directions to Cross Ridge Farm, Ewing’s Fraser Fir Farm and What Fir.

Ewing Harmon, owner of Ewing’s Fraser Fir Farm, stated the signs were in place as of 2 a.m., visible on a return trip from delivering a load of trees to Greensboro on Friday. Harmon, however, noticed a slump in sales throughout Saturday and Sunday. He estimated the loss to be approximately $3,500 compared to last year’s Thanksgiving weekend. Harmon attributes the loss to the removed signage.

Nathaniel Maram, owner of What Fir, stated the incident did not affect the sales of the weekend. Maram indicated a very steady day for What Fir on Saturday. Each farm, he commented, has a steady base of return customers.

Fred Payne owns Cross Ridge Farm but could not be reached for comment.

Harmon stated the three owners have discussed the sign damage and theft. Together, they are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to charges in the incident.

An incident report was filed with the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office concerning the signage. Anyone with information is urged to call the sheriff’s office at (828) 264-3761, or Ewing’s Fraser Fir Farm at (828) 297-4646.

The signs were replaced Sunday and business continues as usual at the three locations.

— Melanie Davis, staff writer

Clarification
In a Nov. 28 article titled “Armed standoff ends peacefully,” the original report provided by the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office incorrectly stated the person detained was evaluated by Smoky Mountain Behavioral Evaluation Center. He was evaluated by New River Behavioral Healthcare.