DECEMBER 22, 2011 ISSUE
News Watch
A Quick Look at News Across the Region
Ho Ho Ho! We’re Off the Next Two Weeks!
HCP Returns to Stands January 12
High Country Press, your comprehensive weekly source for news and entertainment, turned 6 years old in 2011, and we’re looking forward to 2012!
Happy Holidays to all of you from the staff of High Country Press, High Country Magazine and High Country Visitor Guide, who send mountains of gratitude to each and every one of our readers and advertisers. We couldn’t do it without you.
The newspaper office will be closed for a couple of weeks for our annual holiday break. We’ll return on Thursday, January 12, with our regular weekly edition.
We hope you’ll shop local, give local and read local—now and in the new year!
GOV’T & POLITICS
Boone Council Members Sworn In, Leigh Replaces Mason as Mayor Pro Tem
On December 13, newly elected Boone Town Council members were sworn into office. Andy Ball and Lynne Mason were sworn to four-year terms, while newcomer Allan Scherlen was sworn in for a two-year term.
The council voted 3-2 to select first-term Council Member Jamie Leigh, nominated by Ball, as mayor pro tem. The mayor pro tem leads the council in the mayor’s absence. Scherlen was the tiebreaker. Council Member Rennie Brantz had also nominated Mason, the current longest-serving council member, for another term as mayor pro tem.
Second Monthly Commissioners Meeting Time Changes
The regular meeting schedule for the Watauga County Board of Commissioners has changed. Though the board will still meet the first Tuesday of each month at 8:00 a.m., the meeting time for the third Tuesday of each month has changed to 5:30 p.m. Meetings are located in the Watauga County Administrative Building at 814 West King Street in Boone.
January 3 Commissioner Meeting Cancelled
The Watauga County Board of Commissioners regular meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 3, has been cancelled due to the holidays. The next regular scheduled meeting is Tuesday, January 17, at 5:30 p.m.
American Red Cross Renews Emergency Shelter Usage Agreement
Tom Dunn of the American Red Cross requested permission from the Watauga County Board of Commissioners to renew an agreement that designates the Western Watauga Community Center as an emergency disaster shelter. At Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners granted the request unanimously.
TRANSPORTATION
Declining Gas Prices Boost NC Holiday Travel, AAA Says
North Carolina’s gasoline prices have dropped 64 cents a gallon since peaking May 6, and 2.4 million North Carolina motorists are expected to drive more than 50 miles from home this holiday season, according to AAA Carolinas.
The 11-day year-end holiday will see 2,592,000 North Carolinians traveling with 92 percent driving (2.38 million), 6 percent flying (155,600) and 2 percent traveling by other means (51,800)—a 3.6 percent increase over last year’s travel totals.
The average price in North Carolina is the cheapest since early February this year, when gasoline was $3.14 a gallon, and the lowest since peaking at $3.877 on May 6.
Motorists can expect to find the cheapest gasoline in North Carolina in High Point at $3.148 a gallon and the most expensive gas in Boone at $3.314. For those traveling through South Carolina, the average price per gallon is 20 cents lower than North Carolina’s.
Community Interest
News & Notes
Events
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