After all the snow and ice storms in the town of Boone, not to mention the work that had to go into repairing and cleaning up everything, Mayor Loretta Clawson would like to publicly thank all the working crews for the tremendous effort and sacrifice made to protect the Life, Safety, and Property of residents and visitors in our community. These individuals worked around the clock restoring power, clearing roads, and removing debris throughout the county. Mayor Clawson stated that she is especially grateful to Town of Boone employees for their unselfish commitment and work over the past two weeks. Many employees worked as much as 14-days without a break, removing snow, ice, and fallen trees and debris. Public Works staff spent Christmas responding to the ice storm, and have removed over 200 truck loads of debris to date. Mayor Clawson stated "the town is fortunate to have such dedicated and hard working employees that bring credit to the Town of Boone." The town will again begin removal of debris from the ice storm placed at curbside as soon as crews are freed from the virtual daily response of clearing snow from streets and sidewalks, and when the arctic temperatures and high winds allow safe removal of fallen debris. The amount of storm debris is proving to be a herculean task to collect and process, and it will take patience from everyone, said Mayor Clawson. Mayor Clawson would like to acknowledge the acts of kindness and appreciation that many citizens expressed to town staff for their hard work and dedication over the past several weeks. If you have questions regarding when debris removal will begin in your neighborhood please call Public Works Department at telephone number 268-6230.
Watauga County had a record number of foreclosure filings last year, mirroring a statewide increase, and finishing a year in which two-thirds of all counties saw foreclosure increases. In Watauga County, foreclosures jumped nearly 15 percent, up to 264, as recorded by the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts. Watauga had 48 recorded foreclosures in 1999 and 94 foreclosures in 2004. Since then, the number of foreclosures has increased each year: to 95 in 2005, 107 in 2006, 184 in 2007 and 231 in 2008. Foreclosures filings in North Carolina continued to climb rapidly to a new annual high in 2009 of 63,341, an increase of nearly ten thousand over the high in 2008 of 53,960. The highest number reported was in Mecklenburg County with 12,774, up from 8,384 in 2008. Wake, Durham, and New Hanover counties saw increases while Guilford county decreased.
Weather continues to wreak havoc on the community as local Department of Transportation officials have closed the bridge on Castle Ford Road near Hardin Road because of thick ice accumulation. Terry Tester with the DOT said crews have placed barriers on both sides of the bridge. DOT officials have a detour route marked. From Railroad Grade Road, residents should turn left onto Highway 194. Then take Highway 194 to Castle Ford Road. Tester said he's not sure when the bridge will be reopened. He explained very thick ice has accumulated on the bridge and officials will have to wait until the ice melts to clean the bridge so it can be reopened.
Samaritan's Purse volunteers continue to help Watauga County homeowners recover from the destructive Christmas Day ice storm. According to Samaritan's Purse's Tom Layton, the Boone-based disaster relief organization has received hundreds of requests from residents who need help cleaning up the damage to their property. Samaritan's Purse has teamed up with North Carolina Baptist Men and the Three Forks Baptist Association to help remove fallen trees, limbs, ice, and other debris from residents' property and make emergency repairs to damaged houses. Layton said many of these homeowners have been without power and have been unable to leave their house for several days. Layton explained Samaritan's Purse has been able to minister to families that had nowhere else to turn. Despite the ice, snow, and sub-zero wind chill, Layton said more than 75 volunteers have responded to the call for help. He said volunteers came from North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Iowa. In a released statement, Director of North America Projects for Samaritan's Purse, Luther Harrison said, "We are extremely grateful to have such committed volunteers working alongside us. They are truly showing the compassion of Jesus to this community." Layton said the recovery effort would likely continue through the third week in January.
Grandfather Mountain State Park, with its 11-mile trail network, has been closed indefinitely due to heavy snow and ice accumulation and downed trees, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. In addition, Mount Mitchell State Park and some other high-elevation state park areas in western North Carolina are closed due to ice on roadways. Trails and facilities can be closed on short notice due to rapidly changing weather conditions, and visitors should check the state parks system's Web site, www.ncparks.gov, to determine current conditions. Deep drifts, trees felled by accumulated ice and wind chills below zero have combined to make access onto Grandfather Mountain extremely difficult and dangerous, a spokesperson for the park said. Trail-heads on N.C. 105 and along the Blue Ridge Parkway are inaccessible to vehicles. The region experienced snowfall of up to two feet Dec. 18-20 followed by a severe ice storm on Dec. 24. Additional snow has fallen sporadically in the past week. State parks system rangers and staff of the private Grandfather Mountain attraction will be working to clear trails of downed trees in the coming weeks.
The Mayors of Boone and Blowing Rock, ASU's Chancellor, as well as the Watauga County Commissioners and the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce have proclaimed Friday, January 15, to Sunday, January 24 to be "I Have A Dream Week", a celebration of Martin Luther King's vision and lifetime of service to humanity.
-Jan. 17 kicks off the events with: Commemorating our Unitarian Universalists' Activities during the Civil Rights Movement on Sunday at the Boone Unitarian Universalists from 10:30 AM - Noon. 381 E. King Street, Boone. Call 264-4456.
-Jan. 18 is the MLK CHALLENGE. A Day ON, not a day off! It's the 10th annual day of challenging the community with service projects. It will be on Monday from 8.30 AM - 6.30 PM at Legends. It's sponsored by ACT, University Highlands and the N.C. Carolina Campus Compact. Register with ASU ACT office, call 262-2193.
-Jan. 18 Is also the 13th annual Musical Unity Service. "Watauga's children, building Dr. King's dream with Greg Mortenson...one penny and one brick at a time." Presenters will include: Dr. Connie Ulmer, Mary Gray,Sondra Edwards and music with Pastor Morris Hatton at 7 PM at Mabel Methodist Church on Old Hwy 421. Desserts will follow. Call 297-3568.
-The week of Jan 18-23 is Let's Hold Hands. There will be Paper doll making to celebrate Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute's work of building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan at the Watauga County Library. Call 264-8784.
-Jan. 21 is the Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration at ASU. Keynote speaker will be Nikki Giovanni, a world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist and educator and Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech. She will speak at 7 p.m at Farthing Auditorium. Call 262-6252.
-Jan. 23 will be Young World Radio Show - the I Have A Dream Special. A one-hour children's radio tribute Saturday to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at 12 Noon on WATA-AM 1450 and WXIT-AM 1200. Call 264-6016.
-Jan. 23 will also be the Dances of Universal Peace dedicated to the Dream on Saturday at 7:30 PM at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Boone. A donation of $5 is requested. Call Akal Dev Sharonne at 264-1384.
-Jan. 24 will be A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Sunday at 11 AM at the Mennonite Brethren Church located off of Church Street in Boone. Call 263-0502.
-Jan. 24 will also feature "Dances with Rumi" with poetry, dance, flute, sitar and percussion. Rumi is a 13th century Persian mystic, who is the most widely read poet in America today. That will begin at 4:00 PM at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Boone. A donation of $5-$10 is requested to compensate performers. Call Akal Dev Sharonne at 264-1384.
This program is funded by generous donations from individuals and organizations who believe in the dream. For more information on the I Have A Dream Task Force, call 264-5620.
Sue McBean, the former superintendent of Haw River State Park, has been named the first superintendent of the newly authorized Grandfather Mountain State Park, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. As superintendent, she will be the chief of operations and administration at the state park with wide-ranging responsibilities for staffing, training, law enforcement, visitor services, natural resource protection and environmental education.
Lewis Ledford, the state parks director said, "Sue has done an outstanding job of guiding the development of Haw River State Park, created in 2005. She was directly involved in developing staff and creating a draft master plan and building a close relationship with the local community. Her skill and experience will be invaluable as we fashion our newest state park on one of the most beloved landmarks in the state."
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, McBean graduated in 1987 from Ohio State University with a bachelor's degree in natural resource management. She worked in seasonal positions for the U.S. Forest Service and for state parks systems in Ohio, South Dakota, Massachusetts, California, Colorado and Alaska before joining North Carolina's state parks system in 1993. She worked as ranger at Jordan Lake State Recreation Area before being promoted as superintendent at Haw River in June 2006. She holds certifications in environmental education and advanced law enforcement and has been a law enforcement instructor for the division. Grandfather Mountain State Park was authorized in June following the acquisition of 2,456 acres along the crest of the famous mountain from the Morton family's Grandfather Mountain Inc., which continues to operate its famous attraction alongside the new state park. The scenic property in Watauga, Avery and Caldwell counties is laced with a 12-mile network of popular hiking trails and a series of remote campsites. As the first park superintendent at Grandfather Mountain, McBean will be involved in forming a citizen park advisory committee, hiring initial park staff and developing management plans in conjunction with the Grandfather Mountain attraction staff.
