The Watauga Humane Society is holding their 12th annual Dog Jog on Saturday, September 25th along the Greenway Trail in Boone. The Dog Jog is a fund-raising event for the benefit of the humane society shelter animals, and consists of a one mile jog or walk along the Greenway Trail. Registration and pledge forms are now available at a myriad of places including: the shelter at 200 Casey Lane, Bare Bones Boutique Thrift Store on old US Hwy 421, Bare Essentials Natural Market, The Pet Place, Sage Sports at Boone Mall, Joe's Italian Kitchen, and local veterinarian offices. Prizes will be awarded for the most pledges, as well as for Pet-Owner Look-Alike, Best Trick, Best Costume, and more contests. The Dog Jog will also feature plenty of other activities including: paw painting, face painting, and chair massages and dog massages by The Sanctuary Day Spa. Registration begins at 10:00 am at the Watauga County Parks & Recreation Complex, and the Dog Jog begins at 11:00 am. Early registration will be held in front of Sage Sports at the Boone Mall on Friday, September 24th from 5:00 until 8:00 pm. Registration costs $20, or $15 for students, and includes a Dog Jog 2010 long-sleeved tee shirt. Your dog must wear current ID and rabies vaccination tags, and be kept on a 6 ft. or shorter leash at all times. Water will be provided for you and your dog, and you are expected to clean up after your dog. If you would like more information, please contact the Watauga Humane Society Shelter at 828-264-7865 or Rachel at 828-264-1053.
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The Watauga Humane Society is holding their 12th annual Dog Jog on Saturday, September 25th along the Greenway Trail in Boone. The Dog Jog is a fund-raising event for the benefit of the humane society shelter animals, and consists of a one mile jog or walk along the Greenway Trail. Registration and pledge forms are now available at a myriad of places including: the shelter at 200 Casey Lane, Bare Bones Boutique Thrift Store on old US Hwy 421, Bare Essentials Natural Market, The Pet Place, Sage Sports at Boone Mall, Joe's Italian Kitchen, and local veterinarian offices. Prizes will be awarded for the most pledges, as well as for Pet-Owner Look-Alike, Best Trick, Best Costume, and more contests. The Dog Jog will also feature plenty of other activities including: paw painting, face painting, and chair massages and dog massages by The Sanctuary Day Spa. Registration begins at 10:00 am at the Watauga County Parks & Recreation Complex, and the Dog Jog begins at 11:00 am. Early registration will be held in front of Sage Sports at the Boone Mall on Friday, September 24th from 5:00 until 8:00 pm. Registration costs $20, or $15 for students, and includes a Dog Jog 2010 long-sleeved tee shirt. Your dog must wear current ID and rabies vaccination tags, and be kept on a 6 ft. or shorter leash at all times. Water will be provided for you and your dog, and you are expected to clean up after your dog. If you would like more information, please contact the Watauga Humane Society Shelter at 828-264-7865 or Rachel at 828-264-1053.
Winston-Salem native and Grand Ole Opry performer George Hamilton IV is coming to Valle Crucis this month. Hamilton will be presenting "An Evening of Friendship and Song" at Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Valle Crucis on Sunday, September 26th at 7pm. Hamilton just celebrated 50 years on the Grand Ole Opry this past February and his family has deep roots in Ashe County. A life-long friend of Holy Cross Interim Priest John Shields and several other parishioners at Holy Cross, Hamilton travels to Valle Crucis to make a joyful noise in celebration of his friendships. Hamilton earned teen-idol status back in 1956 when he recorded "A Rose and a Baby Ruth." His country hits include "Abilene" in 1963, "Truck Drivin' Man" in 1964, "Break My Mind" in 1967 and "She's A Little Bit Country" in 1970. Known as the International Ambassador of Country Music, Hamilton will share stories of the people he has met and songs he has sung while traveling the globe for the past half century. He was a frequent performer on Billy Graham's crusades and in 1974 he became the first American artist to play behind the Iron Curtain. The concert is free to the community, although donations would be appreciated, and it will be held at 7 pm on Sunday, September 26th in the sanctuary of the stone church with the red door on NC 194 in Valle Crucis. Coffee and desert will be served in the parish hall next to the church following the concert. For more information, please call the church office at 828-963-4609.
Here's a story for all you texters out there, young and old. In a new survey by the Pew Research Center, adults are beginning to join the texting craze. According to the survey, 72 percent of adult mobile phone users send text messages with their phones, which is up from 65 percent in 2009. Adults still have a ways to go before they catch up with the teenagers though. The survey found that roughly 87 percent of teenagers text, and when they do they make it count, sending on average, 50 messages a day. That total is 5 times more than the adult average of 10 text messages a day. The stats come from a nationwide telephone survey of 2,252 American adults conducted between April 29th and May 30th, 2010. The teen findings were based on a representative group of 800 teens, ages 12 to 17, and their guardians, conducted from June 26th to September 24th, 2009. But texting is not all that adults are catching up to teens on. Pew also released a report last week showing older internet users catching up to the habits of their younger counterparts. Last week's report, showed that Internet users over the age of 50 are the fastest growing group on social-networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Between April 2009 and May, the percentage of internet users 50 and up who said they use social-networking sites has risen from 22 percent to 42 percent. Those surveyed that were 65 and older reported a 100 percent increase, while those between 50 and 64 jumped 88 percent. In contrast, the number of users from 18 to 29 who said they use networking sites rose just 13 percent.
After weeks of back and forth opinions on whether or not Watauga County should adopt a quarter-cent sales tax increase, the decision has been made. Watauga County citizens voted heavily against the tax hike as 4,428 citizens voted against the tax referendum, and 2,705 voted for it. Only about 18 percent of Watauga County voters went to the polls, but of those, approximately 62 percent voted against the tax increase. That total included early voting ballots in which 1,599 were against and 988 were for the quarter-cent sales tax increase for an indoor recreation center and community center. The tax referendum would have accrued about $1.9 million in annual revenue and would have put sales tax for the most retail goods at 8 percent. Before the sales tax referendum was defeated, seven of the last nine local county sales-tax increases in North Carolina had passed. Well, even after the sales tax increase was defeated, county officials say that they are still leaving the possibility of a new indoor recreation center on the table. According to Watauga County manager Rocky Nelson, the plans to build a new recreation facility were contingent on the sales tax increase being adopted,and while there isn't a current backup plan, officials will still keep it in future considerations. While nothing has been discussed extensively, commissioners are allotted as many sales-tax votes as they want as long as its not within a 30-day window of a regular or primary election, and some counties within the state have held as many as four sales-tax referendums before passing them into law.
ASU is feeling good after their annual Big Sale raised more than $15,000 to benefit four area charities and the ACT Leigh Lane Edwards Scholarship Fund that supports ACT study abroad service-learning trips. The sale, which is organized by Appalachian and the Community Together (ACT), is the university's volunteer indoor yard sale of items donated by students or salvaged at the end of spring semester as part of the Don't Throw it Away campaign. The clearinghouse features everything from lamps, fans, and electronics to kitchenware, furniture, and clothes. According to Kate Johnson, the assistant director for Community Service with ACT, 65 tons of material were collected during the Don't Throw it Away campaign from residence halls in the spring and sold at this year's BIG Sale. She also added that, "This year's energy efficient mini-grants recipients are Western Youth Network, Mountain Alliance, Holston Presbytery Camp and Retreat Center and Appalachian Child Development Center." "The Don't Throw it Away program began 10 years ago when former student Natalie Knight realized the value of items being tossed as students left campus at the end of the school year. She first began collecting items by herself, but as the number of items grew, she collaborated with the national organization called Dump and Run, which helps set up programs to recycle items from students' residence hall rooms. Two years later, the BIG Sale began. Its first beneficiary was the Watauga County Department of Social Services Foster Care Program. Since then recipients have included Watauga 4-H, Legal Aid of North Carolina, High Country Amigos, and Hospice. The program has raised over $82,000 for charities since its inception.
As the August 31st voting deadline is just one day away, numbers from the early voting for the sales tax referendum are in, and are pretty impressive. According to election officials, 2,566 people placed an early ballot during the early voting period of the roughly 40,000 registered voters in Watauga County. Since the voting deadline for the quarter-cent sales tax increase is not during the general election and is not a primary, the turnout is expected to be low, but county officials have to be impressed by the strong turnout in the early voting. Whether you support the tax hike or are opposed, make sure to get out and vote tomorrow. The polls will be open from 6:30am to 7:30pm, and to find polling places near you, just visit www.wataugacounty.org.
Artists in the area may want to listen up. The deadline for this year's Regional Artist Project Grants is on September 10th, and all artists living in Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, and Wilkes Counties are encouraged to submit their grants applications. The Regional Artist Project of Northwest North Carolina Grants Program is a partnership between the arts councils of Alleghany, Ashe, Watauga, and Wilkes Counties and the North Carolina Arts Council. It is intended to provide project support to a broad range of visual, performing, literary, and inter-disciplinary artists that will have a significant impact on the advancement of their career. Regional artist applicants are exceptionally talented individuals pursuing their career in the arts and have completed the basic education in their respective art form. The grants provide financial support to developing professionals by funding a project pivotal to the advancement of their careers as artists. Grant awards usually range from $200 to $1,000. For those interested, an informational workshop has been scheduled to help artists better understand the application process on Thursday, September 2nd at 5:30 pm at the Jones House Community Center in Boone. It will be conducted by the Watauga County Arts Council's Executive Director, Cherry Johnson, and the workshop is free. Applications and appropriate documentation material must be mailed or hand delivered to the Ashe County Arts Council in West Jefferson by Friday, September 10th. However, grant applications will also be accepted in the Watauga County Arts Council offices at the Jones House Community Center in downtown Boone through Thursday, September 9th. you can find applications on www.watauga-arts.org, as well as on the websites of the partnering arts councils. For more information, you can also contact the Watauga County Arts Council at 828-264-1789.
With Labor Day weekend rapidly approaching, commuters will enjoy hearing this, according to the Lundberg Survey, the price of gas has fallen nearly eight cents. The survey, which was conducted on August 27th, found the average price of regular gasoline was at $2.70 per gallon, which is down 7.54 cents from their last survey which was conducted two weeks prior. According to the survey publisher, Trilby Lundberg, gas prices have reached their lowest since late February, and prices should remain steady, and even possibly fall more. Lundberg says that September usually starts a period of lower gas consumption, which should keep gas prices consistent. The survey included 2,500 gas stations in the continental United States, and found that San Francisco had the highest gas prices at $3.13 per gallon, while St. Louis had the lowest price at $2.39 per gallon.
An accident on U.S. 421 on Tuesday afternoon left six people injured, and prompted rescuers to use the Jaws of Life to free passengers. The wreck happened around 4pm on Tuesday in Deep Gap when torrential downpour caused a black Chevy Suburban to hydroplane and slam into a guardrail before hitting a navy blue Jeep Wrangler. The accident occurred near Orchard Road, just past the Parkway overpass, according to authorities. Police say the Wrangler was parked on the shoulder, waiting for the rain to let up, when the Suburban struck it. Six people were injured, but no one was seriously injured. Rescuers had to use the Jaws of Life and other cutters to free the female driver and the male passenger in the Jeep. They also had to help remove the five occupants of the Suburban who were trapped inside the vehicle. Both the driver and the passenger of the Jeep were taken to the Watauga Medical Center, and were conscious after they were removed from the vehicle. According to police, four of the five passengers of the Suburban were also taken to the Watauga Medical Center. The names of the driver and passenger in the Jeep are not available at this time, along with the names of the passengers in the Suburban, but the driver of the Suburban, Alisa Nance, was cited for a safe speed violation. Police say the airbags deployed on the Suburban, but not on the Jeep, and they also add that both cars were totaled in the wreck.
Authorities have identified the Hays woman who was killed in a wreck on Saturday evening in Wilkes County. The state patrol says the woman killed in the collision on Traphill Road at the intersection with Oak Ridge Church Road is 50-year-old Reba Annette Johnson of Dehart Community Center Road. Johnson was driving her 1993 Chevrolet at about 5:20pm Saturday, when she was hit in the side by 17-year-old Corey Dean Morrison of Traphill, while trying to pull out of Oak Ride Church Road. No charges were filed in the incident, but both vehicles were severely damaged.
