Avery County News

Candidate filing for the 2009 municipal elections takes place Monday, July 6, through Friday, July 17, in Watauga and Avery counties.

The Avery County Agricultural and Horticultural Fair is hosting the inaugural High Country Idol, and auditions begin at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 18, at Avery County Middle School in Newland.

Representatives of a number of public-service agencies gathered at the Watauga County Public Library on Tuesday to discuss state budget cuts that will affect their clients in the coming years.

"There really are more galleries here per capita than you'll find anywhere else in the High Country," said Mike Hill, owner of ArtPurveyors.com in Foscoe, referring to the Foscoe, Banner Elk, Linville and greater Avery County area.

Music is at the heart of the Christmas in July Festival. Recent years have seen a focus on the heritage of the music of the mountains, and this yeara s 23rd annual festival features a delight of that tradition.

Two Edgecombe County officials learned more about energy conservation methods the county could use during a trip to Appalachian State University in Boone this week.

The High Country Jubilee Chorus performs selections from The Sound of Music in Banner Elk and Boone on Friday and Saturday, June 19 and 20, at 7:30 p.m. each night.

The High Country Caregiver Foundations' Avery Family Caregiver Council will present its 4th annual Caregiver Appreciation Evening on Friday, June 19, at the Avery Senior Center in Newland.

Pete Brown and Gary Fox of Dianne Davant & Associates Interior Design unloaded trucks full of high-end inventory that has been donated by homeowners and decorators from across the south to be sold at the new Paws & Claws Resale Store in Newland.

Plans for a new Avery County Humane Society Shelter have been approved by the group's board of directors, meaning the dream for a bigger, brighter and better facility will come to fruition very soon.

The Avery County Chamber of Commerce Business Expo will be open to the general public from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9. The expo is cosponsored by the Avery Journal-Times Newspaper and JobLink of Avery County and will be held at the Parks and Recreation Gym Complex, also known as the Rock Gym, located at 185 Shady Drive in Newland .

The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources has added 19 individual properties and districts across the state, including seven in Western North Carolina, to the National Register of Historic Places.

Learn about your local ancestors at the Avery County Heritage Fest at the old Cranberry High School on Saturday, June 6. New York Times best-selling author Sharyn McCrumb is among many writers and experts who will be at the annual Avery County Heritage Fest on Saturday, June 6. The event takes place at the old Cranberry High School, located just ...

New statistics from the North Carolina Justice Center reveal just how bad the economy is.

I called my cousin with news, "It has become necessary for me to have a hysterectomy." We hadn't spoken for almost a month, which must have been a record, as close as we grew up.

ASHEVILLE -- Area gardeners and farmers escaped widespread damage to their plants and crops overnight Tuesday as temperatures dipped into the 30s but were slightly too warm for frost to develop.

Temperatures fell into the 30s during the night in North Carolina's mountains but a forecaster says it still was too warm for frost to develop on most crops and gardens.

Motorcycle enthusiasts cannot only now be 'hogs' on the road, they can also be hogs in a new edgy motorcycle themed restaurant in Banner Elk - Choppers.

As a result of Gov. Bev Perdue's removal of $100 million from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund in February, 22 conservation and restoration projects in the High Country are on hold, including acquisition and restoration projects that would benefit the New River, one of the oldest rivers in the world.

Eseeola Lodge and the Linville Golf Club is opening this Friday, May 15, for its 117th season.