News ROUND-UP

Who is Boone’s Biggest Loser
The Boone’s Biggest Loser League is a 12- week program presented by the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System to promote weight loss and healthy lifestyles.

The program will be held at the Paul Broyhill Wellness Center every Tuesday and Wednesday from 5:30 - 7 p.m., starting on May 19 and 20.

Watauga County Healthy Carolinians is sponsoring the event. Registration is limited, so those who are interested should act quickly.

Program participants will have the option of choosing one of two tracts.

The first is Team Downsize, a group led by Paul Moore, registered dietitian and assistant director of the Paul Broyhill Wellness Center.

This approach will follow the “small steps equals big changes” philosophy.

Participants will learn about how to modify existing behaviors to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle.

The class will meet every Wednesday from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

The other tract is Team Vitality, led by Susan Bacot, a behavior change specialist and Wellness Forum consultant.

This approach will focus more on whole foods, the importance of macro and micronutrients and significant changes in diet anyone can make to improve health.

The class will meet every Tuesday from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

All participants will have membership privileges to the Wellness Center during the program.

For more information or to register for Boone’s Biggest Loser League, call Bryan Belcher at 828-268-8961. For more information about Appalachian Regional Healthcare System, visit www.apprhs.org.

Schools need volunteers to help with testing
Most local schools are in need of additional volunteers to serve as test proctors for required state tests taking place in late May and early June.

Proctors help by distributing test materials in the classroom and provide a second adult to monitor testing in each room. No special expertise is required.

Proctors are needed for end-of-grade (EOG) testing May 26-28 for grades 3 through 8, and for the end-of-course (EOC) tests at Watauga High School June 2-5 and June 8.

EOG tests at the K-8 schools are administered in the mornings and typically require no more than three hours each day.

EOC tests take place at the high school from 12:30-3:30 on the afternoon of June 2; from 8:30-11:30 in the morning and 12:30-3:30 in the afternoon on June 3-5; and from 8:30-11:30 in the morning on June 8.

For both EOG and EOC tests, volunteers can serve for as many or as few days as their schedules permit. At the high school, volunteers can help out with EOC tests in mornings or afternoons, or both.

Those who can volunteer to help with EOC testing at Watauga High School should contact Norman Crotts via e-mail at crottsn@watauga.k12.nc.us.

Those who can volunteer to help with EOG testing at one of the K-8 schools should contact the school.

Goss to chair Legislative Ethics Committee
N.C. Senate President Pro Temp Marc Basnight appointed State Sen. Steve Goss (D-45) co-chairman of the Legislative Ethics Committee of the North Carolina General Assembly. Goss, a second term senator, fills the position vacated by the death of long time Sen. Vernon Malone. The Legislative Ethics Committee is a 12-member joint committee representing both the House and Senate and is, by law, bipartisan.

The chair of the Committee rotates annually between the House and the Senate. The Committee has overall responsibility to prepare a list of ethical principles and guidelines to be used by legislators and legislative employees, to identify potential conflicts of interest and prohibited behavior, and to suggest rules of conduct for legislators and legislative employees.

The committee has the authority to investigate alleged misbehavior of members for the General Assembly.

The Watauga County Board of Commissioners have designated May 18 - 23 as “Community Pride Week” with the goal of improving the appearance of Watauga County.
During this week, Watauga County residents will have an opportunity to dispose of many types of waste at no charge, including old furniture, yard debris, appliances, electronics and household hazardous waste. This does not apply to commercial haulers or businesses.
“This week is all about working together to protect and conserve our vast natural resources, which is essential to the continued quality of life for the residents of the county,” Watauga Country Board of Commissioners chairman Jim Deal said. “We want to provide as many opportunities as possible for residents to dispose of their waste in an environmentally responsible way.”

Community Pride Week Events

FREE DISPOSAL OF RESIDENTIAL DEBRIS
When: Monday, May 18 – Saturday, May 23
Monday - Friday: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Saturday: 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Where: Watauga County Landfill, 336 Landfill Road
What: Appliances, tires, furniture, metal, asphalt (no asphalt shingles), brick, cement, rock, brush (no stumps)

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE DAY
(residential only)
When: Saturday, May 23, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Where: Watauga County Landfill, 336 Landfill Road
What: Paint, household batteries, NiCad batteries,
lead-acid batteries (car type), antifreeze,
ethylene, gasoline,
lighter fluid, solid and liquid pesticides,
oxidizers, used oils, household cleaners, etc.
For more information, call Lisa Doty, recycling coordinator at (828) 265-4852 or (828) 264-5305.

Mast to speak at Memorial Day event
Appalachian State University will hold a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25, at 7:30 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial on the west side of the Dougherty Administration Building. The public is invited to attend.

Ben Mast, a 1955 graduate of Appalachian, will be the guest speaker. Mast, a Watauga County native, served four years as a broadcast specialist with the U.S. Army’s Armed Forces Radio and Television Service in New York and in Frankfurt, Germany, with assignments to Berlin, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Switzerland. He also served 24 years as a reserve officer in the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Intelligence.

Mast was a producer, news broadcaster and features editor with Voice of America/USIA in Washington, D.C., a radio commentator for the United Nations, and a writer, producer and administrator of film and video programs for the Naval Photographic Center.

Following retirement from the U.N., Mast assisted with capacity building and election observation missions in the Balkans and countries of the former Soviet Union.

Library friends seek used books
The Friends of the Watauga County Library are seeking book and video donations to stockpile for its semi-annual book sale. Items may be dropped off at the Watauga County Public Library on Queen Street in Boone. The group also maintains a used-book section at the library, which offers paperbacks, hardbacks, videos and children’s books for sale. For more information, call the library at (828) 264-8784.

Watauga’s Next Top Cat Model?
Your feline could be the Watauga Humane Society Adopt-A-Cat spokescat.

To celebrate June as Adopt-a-Cat Month, the group is seeking the next top cat model to serve as spokescat for the month. Cat owners (can anyone really own a cat?) are urged to enter their best photos of their cats.

The winner gets to brag, win a nifty prize and have their feline top-model featured on the Humane Society Web site, Facebook page and promotional materials for Adopt-A-Cat month.

For more information, visit www.wataugahumanesociety.org. Entries are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 22.

Boone Pride recently donated $200 worth of books and DVDs for young readers to the Appalachian Regional Library System serving Ashe, Wilkes and Watauga counties.

Boone Pride also announces Saturday and Sunday, June 13-14, as the dates of High Country Pride 2009.

With this year’s theme, “Your Rights, Our Rights, Human Rights.”

“We invite everyone in the High Country to help celebrate, unite, and support the local GLBTIQ community,” a spokesperson said.

“While still in the planning stages, discussions about this year’s events include talk of a movie matinee, a ‘generations’ DJ dance for all ages, and a family picnic with live music,” the spokesperson added.

The $10 ticket includes all events and will be available at www.BoonePride.org starting May 13.

Proceeds from High Country Pride 2009 help Boone Pride as they make annual donations to the local public library, give student awards, produce community events, and continue to support local programs.

Visit www.BoonePride.org for more information, or find them on MySpace or Facebook.

Evans appointed Seven Devils town manager
The town of Seven Devils recently announced the appointment of Ed Evans as town manager.

Evans holds a bachelor’s degree in geography and planning from Appalachian State University and will receive his master’s degree in public administration in May 2009.

Evans was most recently employed as a planner with Martin-McGill Inc. in Asheville.

He is a N.C. certified residential real estate appraiser and a N.C. real estate broker.

Additionally, he served in the United States Marine Corps.

He and his wife, Lois, live in Boone. They have three daughters and seven grandchildren.