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Candidates and Issues for the 2024 Elections in Watauga County

February 20, 2024 Change may be in the wind for the 2024 elections for Watauga County and its local candidates, in both the primary elections March 5, and November 5 general elections.  This column will describe some of the major candidates and major issues that may lead to significant changes in Watauga County politics.At the Federal level, Virginia Foxx, who has been Watauga’s Representative in the US House since 2005, will be opposed in the March 5 Republican primary by Ryan Mayberry, an Appalachian State graduate, construction contractor, and former County Commissioner of Alexander County.  Mayberry’s website casts him as more conservative than Foxx.  The victor of the Foxx – Mayberry Republican primary will face Democrat Chuck Hubbard in November.

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Watauga County Cooperative Extension Report to the People Luncheon on Monday, March 4

February 19, 2024 Please mark your calendars to join your Watauga County Cooperative Extension staff for lunch on Monday, March 4, from 11:45 to 1pm, for our annual “Report to the People” at the Agricultural Conference Center. We’re looking forward to seeing you and our other community friends, partners, and leaders. We are providing lunch (prepared by our own chef and dietitian, Margie Mansure!), and staff will discuss key programs that we’re working on here in the county. Plus, you’ll get a chance to meet the new additions to the Watauga staff. We have a lot to “report”…but we promise to have you fed, met, and out by 1pm

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Avery Board of Commissioners Approve Six-Cents Room Occupancy Tax to Highlight its February Meeting

February 7, 2024 During its regular monthly meeting on February 5, the Avery Board of Commissioners approved levying a Room Occupancy Tax of up to six cents.All commissioners—Chairman Tim Phillips, Vice-Chairman Dennis Aldridge, Martha Hicks, Wood Hall (Woodie) Young, Jr., and Robert Burleson—were present for the meeting. County Manager Phillip Barrier, Jr., Assistant County Manager and Clerk to the Board Cindy Turbyfill, County Finance Officer Caleb Hogan, and County Attorney Michaelle Poore were also in attendance.

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Conversation with Avery County Business Personal Property Tax Manager Shelia Thomas


February 6, 2024 Those who know Shelia Thomas and others with whom she comes in contact are impressed with her kindness, compassion for others, and easy-going demeanor.  And as one of the Avery County’s longest-tenured public servants in a local government role, Thomas is noted for her dedication, professionalism, and expertise in the various functions in her job without desire for any special recognition or commendation of such. However, with her pending retirement this year, Thomas is featured in the below questions and answers segment, followed by comments from several of her fellow-tax office employees about her. Those personify that among the highest tributes anyone can receive are those given by peers.

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February’s Agenda Item Submission Deadline and Solicitation for Boards for the Town of Boone

January 18, 2024 If anyone wishes to have an agenda item considered by the Boone Town Council at one of their upcoming regular meetings, scheduled for Wednesday, February 14 at 9:00 a.m. and Wednesday, February 28, 2024, at 6:00 p.m., it must be submitted to the Town Clerk by Friday, February 2, 2024, at 5 p.m. The Town of Boone is also currently soliciting applications from people who would like to serve on the following boards: See Story

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Avery County to hold National Opioid Settlement Public Input Sessions 

January 8, 2024 The Avery County Government (Board of Commissioners) will be hosting two more public input sessions about the National Opioid Settlement on Tuesday, February 20 in accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the State of North Carolina and Local Governments. These sessions will be held to hopefully ensure that Avery residents and business owners and their other representatives have an opportunity to learn more about the settlement and the County’s efforts to address substance use disorder.  Those attending can offer their comments about both topics if they so choose.The first (morning) session will be held from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon in the Commissioners Board Room on the second floor of the County Administration Building, located at 175 Linville Street in Newland. The next (evening) session will be held from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. in the Avery County Morrison Public Library, located at 150 Library Road in Newland. By Tim Gardner

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Sixteen Candidates File for Avery County Offices in 2024 Election 

December 20, 2023 North Carolina’s candidate filing period for the 2024 election began on Monday, December 4, at noon, and ended at noon, on Friday, December 15, with 16 filing for local Avery County officesThe 2024 Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, March 5.Seven filed for the three available seats on the Avery County Board of Commissioners, including two incumbents–Board Chairman Tim Phillips and Board Vice-Chairman Dennis Aldridge. Also filing were former County Commissioner Bill Beuttell, Wayne Benfield, Jr., Josh Aldridge, Jason Grindstaff, and Mike Minter. By Tim Gardner

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State Board Approves Presidential Primary Candidates, Early Voting Plans for 2024 Primary

December 20, 2023 Raleigh, N.C. — The State Board of Elections on Tuesday unanimously approved names of candidates to go on ballots for the 2024 presidential preference primary in North CarolinaThe approved candidates (see lists below) were those submitted by the Democratic Party, Libertarian Party, and Republican Party for inclusion on each party’s primary ballot. The primary election is March 5.The State Board will meet again on Jan. 2, 2024, when it may consider adding additional candidates who were not submitted by the political parties.

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Medicaid Expansion Now Offered in North Carolina; Projected to Be Especially Beneficial to Many High Country Residents

December 11, 2023 More than an estimated half-million North Carolinians stand to gain free or extremely low-cost health coverage now and in the coming months, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS). Medicaid expansion began on December 1 and as a result, more North Carolinians are eligible than ever before to receive health care coverage through the program, including many who did not previously qualify.Medicaid expansion has made low-income adults ages 19 to 64 who have incomes up to 133 percent of the Federal Poverty Level eligible to enroll in it. That is approximately $20,000.00 for a single person, $27,000.00 for a family of two, $34,000.00 for a family of three, or $41,000.00 for a family of four.  By Tim Gardner

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Ballard, Joined by Supporters, Files Candidacy for Lt. Governor

December 8, 2023 Raleigh, NC – Former Sen. Deanna Ballard today filed her paperwork to be a Republican candidate for Lt. Governor.She was joined by a number of supporters, including Kelly Mann, a Wake County mom, and her daughter, Gray. In 2021, when Gray was in fifth grade, Kelly partnered with Sen. Ballard and other parents in the school reopening fight.Sen. Ballard said, “In the Senate, I grounded every decision in my middle-class, Christian upbringing. I championed policies like the Parents’ of Bill of Rights to recenter the conversation on the family, not government. Liberal Democrats have been at war with our conservative, constitutional values, and 2024 is the year we stand up to the woke mob and fight back.”

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Tim Phillips Elected as Avery County Board of Commissioners Chairman

December 5, 2023 The Avery County Commissioners elected Tim Phillips as the Board’s Chairman during their December 4 regular monthly meeting.Phillips and three of his fellow-commissioners–Dennis Aldridge, Wood Hall (Woodie) Young, Jr., and Robert Burleson–were present for the meeting.  Commissioner Martha Hicks was absent due to illness.  County Manager Phillip Barrier, Jr., Assistant County Manager and Clerk to the Board Cindy Turbyfill, County Finance Officer Caleb Hogan, and County Attorney Michaelle Poore were also in attendance. Aldridge nominated Phillips to serve as Board Chairman. Young, Jr., Aldridge, and Burleson voted for Phillips to fill the post.  Phillips also voted for himself, making it a unanimous approval (4-0 of members present). There were no other nominations for the position. By Tim Gardner

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Avery Board of Commissioners Halt Immediate Consideration of Reentry Housing; Request One Year Grant Extensions from State

November 9, 2023 Avery’s Board of Commissioners have tabled deliberations about having a reentry house in the county due to issues with finding a suitable location for such a facility and opposition from its citizens for having one. The commissioners held a public hearing and two public roundtable discussion meetings to solicit citizen input about the Community Development Block Grant Program Revitalization Grant for an Avery County Reentry Housing Facility.They voted to change the location of the proposed facility from 240 Prison Camp Road (Old Avery Prison Camp site) in the Three Mile Community to county owned property on a 14-acre site in the 1400 block of Elk Park Highway, near the county’s (Three-Lane) Waste Station. By Tim Gardner

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Watauga County Republican Women’s Club Announces Meeting

October 17, 2023 The Watauga County Republican Women’s Club (WCRWC) will have its next monthly meeting on Wednesday, October 25th.  The meeting will begin at noon. All interested in furthering the Republican cause in The High Country are welcome to attend and are invited to join. Call 828-832-6864 for more information. The WCRWC usually meets the last Wednesday of each month. See us on Facebook and learn more.

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Vietnam War 50th Commemoration Pinning Ceremony to be held at Avery County VFW Post on Friday, November 10th

October 17, 2023 Various events to honor those considered to be among our nation’s greatest assets—military veterans—are held nationwide each November 11th on a day designated as Veterans Day in the United States of America. In partnership with the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration, Congresswoman Virginia Foxx invites all Vietnam-era veterans residing in North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District to be honored in a Vietnam War 50th Commemoration Pinning Ceremony and receive a Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pin for Veterans Day. strong> By Tim Gardner

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Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs to speak at Watauga Democrats’ Oct 7th Rally

September 29, 2023  Justice Allison Riggs, newly appointed to the NC Supreme Court by Governor Roy Cooper, will give the keynote address at the Fall Rally of the Watauga County Democratic Party on October 7. The rally will take place at Boone United Methodist Church on New Market Blvd. in the church gymnasium. Tickets to the rally and barbecue are $15 and available online at WataugaDems.com. 

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Avery Board of Commissioners Appoint Strategic Economic Development Committee Members

September 19, 2023 In perhaps one of the shortest meetings ever by an Avery County Board Commissioners (thirteen minutes and thirty-four seconds) on September 18, a new Strategic Economic Development Committee was named to highlight action taken on an agenda with only a few itemsCommissioners present for the bi-monthly meeting were: Chairwoman Martha Hicks, Vice-Chairman Tim Phillips, and Dennis Aldridge.  Other top Avery officials present were: County Manager Phillip Barrier, Jr., Assistant County Manager and Clerk to the Board Cindy Turbyfill, County Finance Officer Caleb Hogan, and County Attorney Michaelle Poore. 

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Thirty-Three Candidates File in 2023 Avery County Municipal Election Races

July 27, 2023 The two-week filing period for Tuesday, November 7, 2023 partisan and non-partisan municipal (city, town and village) General Election in North Carolina began at 12:00 noon Friday, July 7 and closed on Friday, July 21 at 12:00 noon.  A total of 33 candidates filed in Avery County.All those who filed for a municipal government position in the state were required do so in person at the Board of Election Office in the county in which he or she resides.  By Tim Gardner

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Wildlife Commission Swears in New Officers

July 24, 2023 New officers take oath to enforce criminal laws, which include conservation and boating laws, and to faithfully and impartially execute the duties of a law enforcement officer.  N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Law Enforcement Division  now has16 new wildlife law enforcement officers. The recruits were sworn in during a graduation ceremony held this week in Pinehurst. 

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Thirty-Three Candidates File in 2023 Avery County Municipal Election Races

July 24, 2023 The two-week filing period for Tuesday, November 7, 2023 partisan and non-partisan municipal (city, town and village) General Election in North Carolina began at 12:00 noon Friday, July 7 and closed on Friday, July 21 at 12:00 noon.  A total of 33 candidates filed in Avery County. All those who filed for a municipal government position in the state were required do so in person at the Board of Election Office in the county in which he or she resides By Tim Gardner

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Watauga County Republican Women’s Club Announce July Meeting

July 12, 2023 The Watauga County Republican Women’s Club (WCRWC) will have its next monthly meeting on Tuesday, July 25th at the Dan’l Boone Inn in Boone, NC. The meeting will begin at 6:00:PM. All interested in furthering the Republican cause in The High Country are welcome to attend and are invited to join. Call 828-832-6864 for more information. See us on Facebook and learn more.

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Governor Roy Cooper Tours Jefferson Early Childhood Education Center

July 10, 2023 Governor Roy Cooper (D) stopped in Jefferson Thursday to tour Ashe Developmental Day School and highlight the need to make investments in early childhood education. Cooper toured the center as he spoke with staff and met children in their classrooms. “I know you all have really done good things with the schools and programs here in Ashe County,” Cooper told staff members. “This is such important work you’re doing and I want to get you more help.” By Zack Hill

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Fired up to File for Blowing Rock Town Council

July 10, 2023 At noon on July 7, candidate filing for High Country municipal elections officially opened. Catherine “Cat” Perry was first in line. Cat announced her candidacy for Blowing Rock Town Council at a campaign launch in Blowing Rock on June 12, but filing on Friday felt different.

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June 30, 2023 Governor Roy Cooper has re-appointed Dr. Michael Behrent to a two- year term as Chair of the Watauga County Board of Elections. The North Carolina State Board of Elections has re-appointed Eric Eller and Matt Walpole and appointed Leta Council and Elaine Rothenberg to two- year terms to serve as Members of the Watauga County Board of Elections.

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