February 2009 Archives

Six years after an invasion he opposed and six weeks in office, President Barack Obama on Friday drew a finish line for the Iraq War, promising to end the combat mission in 18 months and to follow by pulling all troops out by the end of 2011. Even with the end of the combat mission, a force numbering between 35,000 to 50,000 American forces will stay behind in non-combat roles, with the final troops not slated to leave until December 31^st in 2011. His decision to leave a sizable force was welcomed by some congressional republicans, including former presidential candidate Senator John McCain, while some democrats were concerned too many troops would remain in Iraq. McCain said he is cautiously optimistic that the plan as laid out by the president can lead to success.

A Goodwill industry of northwest North Carolina announces a "support the troops" day at its location in Lenoir. This event will take place on Saturday, February 28th and will feature activities for the entire family. Customers are invited to attend and show their support of current and former troops at home and abroad. There will be memorial boards for people to write the names of their loved ones who have served or are currently serving. There will also be star stickers and coloring sheets for the children and a form for each veteran to write down and share their favorite war story. There will also be an information booth with pamphlets about programs available to veterans and their families. Everyone who attends will receive a yellow ribbon pin to show their support for our troops. The store will be opening with its normal hours from eight a-m to eight p-m and freshly stocked with items for the occasion. Revenue generated from the sale of donated items will fund career development and training programs that help people find jobs and reach financial stability. in addition to its Lenoir location, goodwill operates stores in Elkin, Wilkesboro, Boone, King and Mount Airy.

They are urging the passage of a bill that would phase out state electric utility purchases of coal from mountaintop removal mines. North Carolina lawmakers led by Representative Pricey Harrison introduced a bill on Thursday called the Appalachian Mountains Preservation Act. Representative Harrison was the bill's lead sponsor in the house, and Senator Steve Goss introduced a companion bill in the state senate. As of 2009, mountaintop removal coal mining had permanently leveled more than 470 peaks from the Appalachian skyline, had buried or polluted more than 1,200 miles of headwater streams, and had altered more than 800 square miles of one of America's most diverse and valuable ecosystems. Senator Steve Goss says he is firmly convinced that mountaintop removal is a moral issue that begs our hearts and minds to do the right thing...and that when this bill becomes law in North Carolina, once again we will take our place as a leader in the south concerning environmental issues. Harrison pointed out that in 2002, North Carolina passed the clean smokestacks act and, earlier this year, and the state won a major legal victory over air pollution from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

President Barrack Obama will ask congress for more than $200 billion to fund US war efforts for the next year and a half. The request will be for $75.5 billion for the rest of the 2009 fiscal year to cover the cost of sending more troops to Afghanistan this year, and additional $130 billion for 2010. War spending for 2010 will be part of the president's overall defense funding request, which is expected to be announced this week. The money will be in addition to $534 billion for the U.S. defense department's other expenditures, which the president is expected to request from congress. Congress gave the pentagon $65.9 billion for the first half of fiscal 2009.

In 2008, High Country Conservancy completed its most successful year, completing 15 projects which permanently protected a total 703 acres in Watauga, Ashe and Avery counties. This is the highest number of conservation projects and most acres HCC has protected in a single year. Hack's land protection director Eric Hiegl, said last year's success was possible because of strong backing from local, regional and state-wide conservation supporters. Many of Hack's projects with wildlife habitat have been permanently protected by the N.C. Wildlife Action Plan. Some habitat types include oak forest, cove forest, and northern hardwoods. Protecting critical habitat types enables wildlife species to thrive in the Southern Appalachian region. Last year in 2008, the ten land trusts serving western North Carolina's Blue Ridge protected over ten-thousand acres in 25 counties. However, due to the tough economic state...non-profit organizations expect a decline in donations this year...but h-c-c president bob cherry is confident of their position with the strong support of the high country community.

It's an incredible number...is what some had to say about the amount of flying squirrels on grandfather mountain. Surveys were conducted this month to count the number of the North Carolina endangered species. The mountain teamed up with representatives from the North Carolina wildlife resources commission to locate and record sightings of the nocturnal animal. Eighty-eight squirrel boxes were checked along grandfather's Daniel Boone Scout Trail, profile trail and in-park trails. A total of 26 squirrels were found in the boxes. The squirrels that were found were weighed, had their back feet measured and were tagged. The tags will let researchers on future surveys know if the squirrel has been found and recorded previously...and although recaptures are very rare, of the 26 northern flying squirrels that were seen, 20 of them were tagged. Surveys of northern flying squirrels on Grandfather Mountain have been going on for more than 12 years. The records from these trips are allowing the n-c wildlife resources commission to have a better understanding of a population estimate for the animal in western North Carolina. For more information on Grandfather Mountain and their efforts to protect and study endangered species please visit grandfather.com or call 828-733-4326.

The word "fish" is what earned her a first place. senior at A-S-U'S electronic media and broadcasting major Allie McCain placed first in the audio division of the 2009 broadcast education association's national festival of media arts with her 60-second radio commercial titled "gold fish." the commercial depicts a child saying her first word, "fish," because of her love for goldfish crackers. McCain's nieces are heard in the commercial. McCain's winning entry was produced in Appalachian's department of communication as a class project for the audio production ii course taught by Steve Smith. McCain will receive her award at the broadcast education association's 53^rd annual convention, exhibition and festival of media arts held April 24^th at the Las Vegas Convention Center. McCain's winning commercial can be heard online at the website

http://www.asucom.appstate.edu/smithks/goldfish_mccain.html.