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County Realignment: Democrats Take Oath as New Commissioners

December 8 , 2004
Scott Nicholson, Watauga Democrat

The Watauga County commissioners convened their first meeting of a new term with three first-time commissioners.

Democrats Jim Deal, Billy Ralph Winkler and Winston Kinsey were sworn into office in a ceremony in the Watauga County courthouse before taking their seats for Monday’s regular meeting, changing the board’s partisan majority.

The board’s first action was to elect Deal as board chair and Winkler as vice-chair. The board also appointed Tony di Santi to serve as county attorney, with Andrea Capua to serve as di Santi’s back-up as well as attorney for the county Department of Social Services.

Democrats: Party Officials Blame Political Opponents for Damage to Boone HQ

October 4 , 2004
Watauga Democrat

Less than 24 hours before Pres. George Bush and Sen. John Kerry unleashed a barrage of political rhetoric, someone delivered a dangerous blow to local Democrats.

Around 3 a.m. Thursday morning, a vandal threw cinderblocks through two windows of the Watauga County Democratic Party Headquarters on King Street.

Board of Elections Denies Farthing

Democrat request to move poll location denied for second year
September 16, 2004
The Appalachian

The Watauga County Board of Elections turned down a request to move the Boone 3 Precinct polling location from the Agricultural Conference Center on Poplar Grove Road to Appalachian State University’s Farthing Auditorium Friday.

Democratic Party Headquarters on King Street

September 16, 2004
The Appalachian

The Watauga Democratic Party opened its campaign headquarters three weeks ago in anticipation of the upcoming election, and its official opening took place Sept. 6.

Volunteers at the headquarters promote Democratic candidates, both local and national, inform people about the candidates and encourage people to volunteer.

"Courage America" Concert Slated for Valle Crucis Park

(NOTE: RESCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 24)
September 9, 2004
The Mountain Times

Music, politics and family-friendly activities will meet in an old-fashioned political afternoon for the “Courage America” Concert at Valle Crucis Park on Sept. 19. Democratic candidates for office will be there, ready for voters to shake their hand, look them in the eye, and find out their positions on issues important to Watauga Countians. Music will play all afternoon, from 1-7 p.m., provided by popular local singer-songwriter Tim Smith, the soft reggae sounds of Hope Massive, and the well-known Asheville folk and bluegrass group, The Jamie Tomas Band.

Britt Cobb Addresses Women in Agriculture Conference

August 30, 2004
By Scott Nicholson
Watauga Democrat

The Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture hosted a conference Friday that focused on preserving farms with new forms of agricultural products and diverse marketing approaches, with participants sharing information on a variety of topics.

While women were the hosts, the conference was attended by a number of various agricultural sectors. Britt Cobb, Jr., the N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture, addressed the audience in the morning session and talked about the challenges facing farmers in the current economic climate.

“We are still a state of small farms,” he said. Eighty percent of the state’s farms meet that definition, comprising 180 or fewer acres. Cobb said such conferences were an opportunity to learn from one another about successful techniques and tactics.

A Stranger in a Strange Land

August 22, 2004 | Reprinted from the Watauga Democrat
By Angelo Cerchione
(Major, USAF Retired)

I have never quite trusted civilians. Perhaps a better way of saying this is I’ve never quite understood them. I’m sure my mistrust or misunderstanding grew out of spending most of my formative adult years in the military. I retired in 1975 after 23 years of service. Thereafter, it took over ten years for me to feel reasonably comfortable out of uniform. I was truly a stranger in a strange land.

One day I said to my wife, “What is it about civilians? They’re like a box of bees dropped on a bathroom floor: all of them going in separate directions with no one in charge.”

Some ex-military men find the looseness of civilian life too wearing and yearn for the hierarchical structure of base life. Off base, I found much of what I was seeing as pointless. After retirement what I came to miss most was the common mission. Some find the military too rigid and stultifying. As a writer and artist I never again would experience the freedom I enjoyed in the Air Force. For some, the military was a hard place to be and a harder place in which to die. Conversely, It should be recognized that industry or academia or the bohemian life offer no sure paths to Camelot. I’m told that as we grow older, our taste buds begin to fail. Mine began to go at age 30 when I started to lose my taste for civilian life.

iVoteValues: Democrat Candidates talk about religion's role

August 27, 2004
By Scott Nicholson
Watauga Democrat

Local politicians got to present a different side of themselves at an iVoteValues rally held at Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Boone Tuesday.

The iVoteValues bus is part of a campaign to educate voters on where politicians stand on issues the campaign views as important. Many of the issues are related to Christian morals.

The iVoteValues campaign was developed by “For Faith & Family,” an effort of The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Tuesday’s event gave the candidates a platform to espouse their positions, often framed by their religious backgrounds.

Swift Boat Memo

August 22, 2004
TO: Kerry/Edwards Campaign;Terry McAuliff, DNC; John Podesta, Center for American Progress; et. al.
FROM: George Knight Wilson (Staff Sergeant, USAF, 1967-1971)
Re: SWIFT BOAT Damage Control

Now that the Kerry campaign has lost an entire week responding to “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” (SBVFT) attacks on his Vietnam service, it’s time to end the public relations hemorrhaging.

It makes sense to have a “rapid-response” capability. It does not make sense to allow Republican surrogates to seduce the Kerry campaign into a pointless argument over his Vietnam service.

It's time to staunch the bleeding. Here’s some ideas on how...

Reed Represents Local Democrats

August 11, 2004
By Scott Nicholson
Watauga Democrat

Boone resident Susan Reed didn’t exactly have a front-row seat at the Democratic National Convention, but she did have a convention floor pass as a voting delegate.

Reed represented the Fifth Congressional District and was one of four delegates and one alternate from North Carolina who were sent by voters to cast their ballots for presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

Democrats go online with "town hall"

July 30, 2004
By Scott Nicholson
Watauga Democrat

The Watauga County Democratic Party is going high-tech in an attempt to reach voters before the general election in November.

The party is holding live Internet broadcasts of a series of candidate “town hall” meetings in August and September.

Bowles in Boone

July 26, 2004
By Scott Nicholson
Watauga Democrat

Democratic U.S. senatorial candidate Erskine Bowles made a campaign stop in Boone Thursday as part of his “North Carolina First” bus tour.

Bowles gave an energetic presentation to the crowd of about 150 people at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center. He told supporters he was “jacked up” by a double-digit lead in the polls against Republican candidate Richard Burr and said his travels around the state have increased enthusiasm for the race.

“People want someone who will go to Washington and do something real,” Bowles said. “They have real problems and real concerns.”

According to a statewide telephone poll conducted for Raleigh media outlets The News & Observer, WRAL-TV and WUNC radio, Bowles leads Burr by a margin of 46 to 37 percent. The poll included 600 likely voters.

Kucinich cinches local Democrat nomination

April 19, 2004
By Scott Nicholson
Watauga Democrat

Dennis Kucinich carried Watauga County’s Democratic caucus on Saturday, the favorite among those who cast ballots in the party’s vote to determine which candidate delegates will support at the Democratic National Convention in July.

Kucinich received 156 votes, over half the total, while Sen. John Kerry, who has a virtual lock on the party’s nomination, received 66 votes. The two were followed by Sen. John Edwards (64); Howard Dean (22); Rev. Al Sharpton (2); and one write-in vote for Gen. Wesley Clark. It was the first Democratic caucus in the county’s history, necessitated because of the closeness of the Democratic primary on July 20 to the national convention.

Caucus Plan Approved

February 16, 2004
By Lynn Bonner, Staff Writer, The Associated Press

Don't look for George W. Bush, John Kerry, or any other presidential contender on your primary ballot this year.

The state Board of Elections today discarded the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries in North Carolina, at the request of party leaders.

Democrats Prepare for Fall Campaign at Local Rally

November 17, 2003
By John O'Dowd
Watauga Democrat

With at least nine announced Republican candidates for the Fifth District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives warming up the campaign trails and asking for money, political watchers have asked, “Where is the Democratic Party?"

The party has remained uncharacteristically quiet as time approaches for filling for the seat being vacated by Richard Burr. It seems that quiet time is over and the party is getting prepared for a long, hard fight. Last night, local Democrats held their fall rally with both a fun raiser and fundraiser at High Country Round Up on Bamboo Road. Round Up has a decidedly country-western theme and country music played as Democrats arrived in jeans and boots.

Designed to gather the party and start off the political season, there was no chance that anyone wandering in from the cold, stiff wind could doubt that the gathering was anything other than a partisan affair.

October 18th Press Conference

October 18, 2002
Statement by Sue Sweeting, Pat Wilkie, and Dave Robertson,
candidates for Watauga County Commission

"We wanted to hold this press conference at one of our county fire departments to underscore both the great service we all rely on in this county – home protection from fire and rescue in time of emergency – and the great danger these volunteer units are in for the funding they need, along with many other programs and essential services in Watauga County that will be negatively impacted if our opponents win this election and carry through on their threat to slash the county’s budget."

Democrats Downtown

September 4, 2002
By Scott Nicholson, Watauga Democrat

More than 300 took part in the Democratic Party headquarters opening on Monday.

With the primary season heating up, the Watauga Democratic Party cut the ribbon on a temporary home on King Street in Downtown Boone with barbecue, music and old-fashioned stumping on Monday. Democratic Party Chair Rusty Henson said enthusiasm was high among the party members and candidates.

Lynn Mason: January Woman of the Month

01/10/2002
By Sherrie Norris, The Mountain Times

We saw her name in last year’s headlines, but didn’t really know her. We observed as she began a campaign to help relocate families with no place to live. We watched closely as her efforts began making a difference to many who needed to know that someone cared. We soon became familiar with Lynne Mason, a compassionate woman who has no conception of the word "no," and doesn’t back down from a challenge. We’ve just introduced you to January’s Woman of the Month, a deserving individual who is now being recognized for her efforts by the Watauga County Council on the Status of Women.

Democrats meet, eat and plan for the future

March 25, 2002
By John O'Dowd, Watauga Democrat

In a place called Bubbling Waters two people named NoPat and NoSue wanted to use their land as they saw fit no matter what impact it had on their neighbors and no matter what impact it had on the air and water.

Two people named Will and Sweet came to town to protect the people and work to protect the air and land from uncontrolled growth and polluting industry. They also worked to dispel the lies and misinformation spread by NoPat and NoSue...

Watauga County Commissioner Pat Wilkie, running for re-election, read the above "short fairy tale" to approximately 130 members of the Watauga County Democratic Party Saturday during her few minutes addressing the assemblage.

The party faithful gathered in the Watauga Courthouse for food, fellowship and an afternoon's work. County parties were gathering from the coast to the mountains to elect district and state convention delegates, hear from national, state and local office seekers and kick off the 2002 campaign.

Asphalt plant voted down

March 25, 2002
By John O'Dowd, Watauga Democrat

The motion to grant or deny Boone Asphalt Company’s application for a conditional use permit (CUP) was made and stated, withdrawn and restated and finally a vote was taken before the smallest crowd, approximately 30 people, to attend any of the meetings.

Boone Board of Adjustment (BOA) member Rich Crepeau made a motion that the Boone Asphalt Company’s application did not comply with the town’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). He specifically cited provisions dealing with odor and smoke emissions.

Serious Gasoline Spill Prompts Party Action

March 12, 2002

On Tuesday, March 12, 2002, the Jack Vines Family of Vilas, North Carolina, appeared before the Watauga County Democratic Party Executive Committee to brief party officers on an environmental crisis caused by a gasoline leak near the B & B Mini Mart on Hwy 421. Gasoline has flowed into Brushy Fork Creek, contaminated several wells, and benzene fumes have rendered the Vines home uninhabitable. Because it is the position of the Watauga County Democratic Party that all citizens of Watauga County have the right to expect and receive immediate, fair, and equitable treatment from their government, the Executive Committee voted unanimously to take action on behalf of the Vines family.

(more... text of resolution...)

Election filing period begins; Democrats first out of the gate

02/20/2002
By JOHN O’DOWD, WATAUGA DEMOCRAT

Campaign 2002 is off and running and the Watauga County Democratic Party is wasting no time hanging around the starting gate.

In a press conference timed to coincide with the start of the filing period, Democratic candidates for local and statewide office addressed a gathering of party faithful, family and media and presented their plans and promises for a vision of tomorrow’s Watauga County.

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate: Erskine Bowles politics in High Country

02/27/2002
By JOHN O’DOWD, WATAUGA DEMOCRAT

Erskine Bowles paid a visit to Watauga County Saturday, speaking in Boone.

Former White House chief of staff, North Carolina investment banker and current Democratic Party candidate for the U.S. Senate, Erskine Bowles said that he had nothing to do with the attack ad recently run by the state Democratic Party.

The ad targets Republican candidate Elizabeth Dole and links her to disgraced Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay. Bowles and Dole are recognized by most political insiders to be the early front runners in the contest for the seat to be vacated by Jesse Helms.

Land Use Planning

BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION ON GROWTH ISSUES
REPORT TO WATAUGA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

FEBRUARY 29, 2000
I volunteered to be the sacrificial lamb tonight, by bringing before the Commissioners the most controversial, most difficult, and most inescapable conclusion of the Blue Ribbon Committee's findings. In every area of our research; the focus of a majority of our guest speakers, all experts in their respective fields; and by comments and input from folks in our home communities, we are directed to the missing hub of the wheel: effective land use planning.

ALSO SEE HISTORY OF LANDUSE STUDIES IN WATAUGA COUNTY...

Speech to Boone Town Council

Regarding the relocation of the Greenview Trailer Park
by Pam Williamson, an active local democrat

MARCH 23 , 2000
I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you tonight. I am here because Bonnie Crawley could not get off of work tonight and because the residents of the Greenview Trailer Park needed someone to speak on their behalf.

A Tribute to Jimmy Smith

December 18, 2000 / Educational Leader Dies
Long-time Boone Town Council member Jimmy Smith fought a valiant battle with cancer.