November 11, 2025 Boone, NC – November 11, 2025 -While I fully understand that student safety must always come first, it increasingly appears that the district is relying on the availability of remote learning as justification for closing schools, rather than using it only when truly necessary.
Written by: Charlie Sellers, Blowing Rock After completing 8 years as mayor, a business owner in Blowing Rock and a local taxpayer I feel that we are finishing another fantastic year in our town of Blowing Rock and I want to recognize those that make our town so special. I will start with public works, it amazes me that during the winter we can have water breaks repaired within hours and the next day our garbage is picked up, snow has been removed from the roads. Our water treatment plants remain in full operation. In many other communities this would not happen in hours nor days. Parks and recreation have for many years done a fabulous job of the after-school care of our citizens’ children, the 4th of July parade, Christmas parade, lighting of the town and Halloween festival, of which all of these events move forward without a hitch. Our town has become very family friendly thanks to parks and recreation’s hard work. Our landscaping department should be winning awards for how well maintained our planted areas are every year. When I feel it cannot get any better, they out do themselves. I have also been impressed how closely …
October 27, 2025 Boone, NC – October 27, 2025 —As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, the Blowing Rock Civic Association is complying with the law and is neither endorsing any candidate or candidates nor opposing any candidate or candidates.
October 6, 2025 This past week brought me both the joy of new beginnings and the sorrow of final goodbyes. Within days, I celebrated the wedding of dear friends and mourned the passing of my mother. One moment was filled with hope, the other with loss. Together they reminded me that time is relentless, seasons shift, and none of us are promised permanence.
September 30, 2025 The bright warm days gave way to rains that parked over the verdant hills and unleashed torrents of water, swelling creeks and rivers throughout the region. People in quaint towns and bustling cities alike saw their cars swept away as roads flooded almost without warning. When it was all over, people had lost their lives and their livelihoods, and a largely rural region was left to pick up the pieces. In particular, those living in already precarious social positions often lost the most.
September 24, 2025 Last Thursday a Texas based developer presented a plan to build a 98 room, 6 story hotel on Ransom Street to the Blowing Rock Planning Board. This meeting was attended by many Ransom Street residents worried about how this hotel would change for the worse their neighborhood and during an open comment period many voiced their fears including me.
September 19, 2025 At first I was bewildered by Shane Fox’s attack on the Blowing Rock Civic Association. Then I realized he had insulted me and the several hundred members of the BRCA by attributing the personal views of one member of the organization to all of us. A bit of overreaction. The Civic Association has no position for or against the daycare. I have been a board member and attended every meeting for years. The BRCA and its’ board have never taken a position on the town daycare center. Personally, I think it’s a good idea.
September 18, 2025 If you believe what you were taught in public schools, and accept much of what the dominant media present, you are misinformed, at best. A famous American writer said something to the effect of: where you get your paycheck informs others of your opinion.
September 2, 2025 On August 12, I spoke at the Blowing Rock Town Council about information I gleaned from the Duke University study done on the BR Academy daycare center. These comments were my own. I did not speak on behalf or at the request of any organization. I deny that any comments were made on behalf of or at the request of any organization. They were not made on behalf of any of the organizations that I am involved with such as the BR Historical Society, Village Foundation, BR Civic Association, St. Mary’s Church, etc.
September 12, 2025 In every great town, there’s a group of people who quietly, tirelessly, and selflessly keep things running. Here in Blowing Rock, that group is our town staff. They are the ones who show up in every storm, answer every emergency call, fix every broken pipe, and care for the community in ways most will never fully see. It’s time we come together, as a town, to show them that we see them, appreciate them, and support them. Recently, a group of residents did just that by coming out in public support of our staff, and their words and presence meant more to all of us than anyone may realize. We needed it, and we felt it, and we thank you for it.
August 28, 2025 When asked by a Commissioner at the August Council Meeting, “Why do you think this property needs more density?”, the developer of the Shoppes on the Parkway explained that this was one of the few large flat properties left in Blowing Rock and “unless someone has money to burn”, it needs more DENSITY. What he meant was his company needed to make more money off this property, regardless of whether the 75-100 Short Term Rental condos he was proposing were needed or wanted by our town. Whether or not it would cause undue stress on our infrastructure or traffic congestion and gridlock, that didn’t matter. It needed more DENSITY because Oak Hill needed to increase their profit.
August 28, 2025 Two years ago, in June, I launched my campaign to run for the Blowing Rock Town Council with a speech at the American Legion. In that speech, I talked about my background, why I wanted to run, and how I would proceed in listening to understand what residents feel is important, if elected.
I said, “Our overall goal is preserving what makes our town special while, at the same time, making crucial decisions to move us forward.” I then said, “Growth is inevitable. It is here. Yet, how we grow is the question.” And, finally, I said, “We need reasonable growth that adds to and enhances our town.”
August 28, 2025 An old coach use to say “Show me a boy who’ll steal an egg and I’ll show you a boy who’ll steal the henhouse”. Integrity is not part-time and it’s not situational. Recently, Jamie Dixie, self-appointed Town Crier for all issues Blowing Rock, announced on her “political candidate” Facebook page that she didn’t have time to campaign for a seat on Blowing Rock Town Council.
July 22, 2025 Written by: Craig Dudley. ‘Shut up racist’ is a refusal to engage or answer questions. Perhaps we should abolish whiteness. Most all white people do it seems is insult and misuse other races, but especially African Americans. It’s time to have that conversation. I don’t do generalizations, generally. Stereotypes are based on a portion of the population so identified but are certainly not applicable to all of that group. Stereotypes are earned, not given and black victimization is the default setting. Some people don’t grow up learning personal responsibility.
June 23, 2025 Letters to the Editor. By Robin Morgan / I have some potentially exciting news to share, along with a call to action for those of you willing to help with some advocacy around Hurricane Helene relief. We have a few sources that have shared that the NC Senate is starting to draft their version of a Hurricane Helene Aid package, influenced by the approved House Bill 1012. This is a SIGNIFICANT development, as this was previously going to be lumped into the passage of a State Budget, which has several negotiating hurdles to pass before it sees traction and could take a long while to see the light of day, if at all.
June 23, 2025 Letters to the Editor. By Maryrose Carroll / Few of us are old enough to remember the heartbreak of the Great Depression, with its gaunt families living in cars, roaming in search of work, but we have seen the photos. I hope the Great Depression is not returning. But we are entering a dangerous progression. More people than ever are experiencing homelessness for the first time. Between 2019 and 2023, the number of individuals entering emergency shelters for the first time increased by more than 23 percent.
June 16, 2025 Letters to the Editor. By Craig Dudley / “I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country’s most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscleman for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.”- two time medal of honor winner, general Smedley Butler. Nothing has changed since Butler’s days. We attack anyone we want and justify it on our own authority. We support any of ‘our friends’ doing the same as we now see in Palestine. We vote for peace, and we get war.
May 5, 2025 Letters to the Editor. By Craig Dudley / I’ve never been able to keep silent in the face of crimes committed in our name. I’m a birthright Quaker who is old enough to remember the affects of McCarthyism in home and school. There is an item in that sentence worth fleshing out. Quakers were the first abolitionists and have stood in support of those at the short end of the stick ever since. We were among the first to stand in support of the new state of Israel seventy some years ago when they were the oppressed.
April 2, 2025 Letters to the Editor. By Craig Dudley / “One of the most horrible features of wars is that all the war propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred comes invariably from people who are not fighting.” George Orwell. Reality is 99% perception. Now ask yourself: who really controls your perceptions? “Orthodoxy means not thinking–not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness” and so cries of ‘racism’ go unchallenged and usually without proof no matter which side of the cry you find yourself on.
March 12, 2025 Letters to the Editor. By Sandy Sherrill Womble / I extend my gratitude to Council Member Cat Perry for her recent blog shared on social media titled “How to Destroy A Small Town’s Charm”. Her wise words caution the travails of maintaining a “charming” and historic town while negotiating the bumpy road of development. In Blowing Rock’s case, there are multiple projects in the pipeline of government approval, so the devil is in the details for these future buildings. Hopefully leaders can be counted on to hammer out contracts that will uphold Blowing Rock’s high standards. With arguably two of the most important gateway projects navigating through City Approval, Mrs. Perry’s words could not be more prescient.
February 28, 2025 Letters to the Editor. By Jamie Dixey / The proposed Shoppes on the Parkway project is controversial for a variety of reasons, but I want to address just one of them…Architectural Design. It’s the part that most of us are going to be acutely aware of day in and day out and the part that is coming under such heavy fire that even the proponents will concede we could do better. Is it going to be a building we can be proud of, or will it be an eyesore that will grate on us for decades and set a low bar for future projects?
February 18, 2025 Letters to the Editor. By Craig Dudley / Americans have a sheepish submissiveness at their base these days. All this while they imagine themselves in a Stallone movie and seem to see themselves as the victim. This with eight hundred military bases, or more, around the world but no worry as we’ve assigned ourselves the responsibility to shape the world as we’ve decided it must be. Then of course we must collaborate with Israel as it seems they’re more important than our own country cause they fill our airwaves. In the movie Stallone gets sent to a prison island, like cheeto is doing with some of our criminal aliens, we’re told.
November 22, 2024 Letters to the Editor. / By Patty Butler / I am writing to express my concern with and make your readers aware of the Blowing Rock Town Council’s vote, taken at the conclusion of November 12’s public hearing, to approve drama/c changes to the zoning provisions in the Land Use Code (“Code”). These changes endanger the historic one and two story buildings downtown, many of which are over 100 years old with several da/ng back to the town’s creation in the late 1800’s. My concerns stem from a place of deep seeded love for Blowing Rock and its charming, unique, and irreplaceable architecture and aesthetic. As a homeowner with multigenerational ties to this special place, I fear our town is in jeopardy of being destroyed by developers. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
November 1, 2024 Letters to the Editor. / By Maryann McCullough / I strongly support Sue Sweeting for Watauga County District 5 County Commissioner. With her background of 38 years as a Nurse Practitioner, she knows Community needs and importance of supporting our Fire and Sheriff Departments, and all our First responders. She is a strong advocate for our Public Schools and importance of increased support and funding for these areas. With her background in Health care and community involvement, she is more than capable to help us recover from this disaster. I am an advocate for public school funding and Sue understands the voucher program has changed over the years and now diverts funds to areas that don’t need it. She will work to get more funding for our local schools