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Most Read Stories of March 2013

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Compiled by Jesse Wood

Mike Sollecito, owner of the former landmark eatery Sollecito’s Pizza, passed away at the age of 91. He was known for crooning customers with his rendition of “That’s Amore.”

About two weeks after Sollecito’s death, tragedy struck a Homespun Hills apartment that caught fire in the middle of the night and killed 23-year-old Chris Brubaker.

On March 8, High Country Press had the headline, “Big changes happening along the Blue Ridge Parkway,” noting that sequestration and funding cuts would impact everyday operations.

WCS Supt. David Kafitz agreed to accept a buyout from the Watauga County Board of Education. The $186,110 buyout represented 17 months of his remaining 39 months left on his contract. He remained officially employed until the end of May. David Fonseca, who was the assistant superintendent, took over as the interim leader of the county school system.

Chair Nathan Miller of the Watauga County Board of Commissioners enlightens the public about the “hybrid” solution of redistributing the sales tax, whereby the Town of Boone would lose nearly $2 million in revenue and the other municipalities would give revenue back to the county, so the county wouldn’t end up in the red. This issue would dominate headlines in April and sprang from irreconcilable differences between the town and county.

Sun Belt Conference and ASU Athletics officials held a press conference to announce that ASU would be leaving the Southern Conference in the 2014 summer to join the Sun Belt Conference. ASU Chancellor Kenneth Peacock said, “The future is so bright, sometimes we have to wear shades.”