Nursing shortage has yet to impact Watauga Medical Center
Nurses are in demand, and as the gap grows between the number of graduates and the job offerings, competition could lead nurses to seek jobs at other hospitals.

Grandfather was green before green was cool
Thousands of feet, both in elevation and the kind that wears hiking boots, traverse the trails of Grandfather Mountain, and visitors, as well as hikers, have found easy access to the internationally recognized biosphere.

Appalachian Enterprise Center is open and ready for business
The Appalachian Enterprise Center is ready to help businesses get a new lease on life.

News update: Warner charged with 70 counts of animal cruelty
A Todd woman has been charged with 70 counts of animal cruelty in connection to the 77 live and three dead dogs seized one week ago by officials.

SBI continues to investigate Seven Devils shooting
The State Bureau of Investigations is still involved in the investigation of the officer-involved shooting death of Walter Steele,37, of Foscoe.

Inflation of food prices pushes proposal for school price hikes
Increasing food prices have affected people around the world, and the students of Watauga County are no exception.

Trust fund yields more land for Elk Knob Park
North Carolina is putting its trust in land, with Watauga County getting a generous portion of recent allocations of the N.C. Natural Heritage Trust Fund.

Watauga school board OKs old and new hires
The Watauga County Board of Education met Monday evening for its regular April meeting, voting on several significant personnel decisions and approving a budget to be presented to the county commissioners for the 2008-09 school year.

Tourism board pursues master trails map
Watauga’s occupancy tax, currently in its second fiscal year, is continuing to bring in higher-than-expected revenues despite the lagging economy.

Four men charged in connection to March robbery

Boone investigators have arrested four suspects in connection to an armed robbery which was reported on March 25 at a Park Street apartment.

WHS hires athletic director

The Watauga County Board of Education made it official Monday night by hiring Jeff Link to be the county’s new athletics director.

Attorneys address jury in Harrington murder trial
Jury selection is complete and the presentation of the prosecution’s evidence is under way in the capital trial of Neil Matthew Sargeant, 26, who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Appalachian State student Stephen Harrington.

No details released in sexual assault investigation
Investigators have released little information regarding an alleged sexual assault at an event held at Geno's on N.C. 105 in early April.

CCC&TI-WHS option growing
The Watauga County Board of Commissioners heard about how the community stays in college during Monday night’s regular meeting.

Election ’08: One-stop voting kicks off April 17
One-stop voting for the 2008 primary begins this week, with few local races but a number of state-office seekers on the ballot.

Chamber service awards surprise recipients
The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce delivered its annual Outrageous Customer Service Awards last week, along with plenty of surprises for the unsuspecting recipients.

‘Citizens Plan’ shows fear of change
The Citizens Plan For Watauga is a step closer to official consideration, as the first of two phases is now complete.                                                                                        COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

April 14, 2008

Local Guard members are not shipping out;
Some soldiers may deploy with other units
Although the Boone-based 1451st Transportation Company of the National Guard is not on alert for more active duty in Iraq, some of its soldiers may be shipping out for other units.

ASU sit-in leads to arrests
Six members of the Appalachian State University chapter of United Students Against Sweatshops were arrested for disorderly conduct and trespassing around 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Celebrating outrageous behavior
There’s good customer service, and there’s bad customer service. Way above both is outrageous customer service, a concept the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to embrace through its annual “Outrageous Customer Service Awards.”

Guard support group pens letter-writing effort
The Boone post offices and 1451st National Guard Unit Family Support Group are celebrating the U.S. Postal Service’s National Letter Writing Month with “Operation Sandscript.”

Foundation will match donations to homeless
Community members have the opportunity to make their support for Hospitality House go twice as far during the month of April.

Boone Saloon damaged by fire

A fire caused the evacuation of a downtown restaurant and bar Thursday night. A fire in the rear of the Boone Saloon was reported just after 11:30 p.m.

Jury selection complete for murder trial
Jury selection is complete and the presenation of evidence is set to begin in the capital murder trial of Neil Matthew Sargeant, 26.