Blue Ridge Partnership For Children Seeks Smart Start Funding Proposals Published: 14 January 2021
The Blue Ridge Partnership for Children is calling for proposals for Smart Start funding for fiscal years July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2023.
Smart Start funds are dedicated to ensuring that all preschool-age children ages birth to five, arrive at school healthy and ready to succeed. In order to accomplish this goal, BRPFC addresses the following community needs in its programming:
Early Care and Education – Quality and Workforce: Increasing support to child care providers
regarding their professional development, and expanding collaboration between kindergarten
and preschool teachers to support successful transitions.
Family Support: Increasing access for families to quality child care options and other needed
Two WHS Foreign Language Teachers Honored Published: 14 January 2021
Two Watauga High School foriegn language teachers were recognized at the January meeting of the Watauga County Board of Education after being awarded with statewide and national honors for prowess in their area of expertise.
Left to right are Scoggins, Mochen and Tedder.
WHS Spanish Teacher, Carmen Scoggins, was awarded with the American Council on Teaching Foriegn Languages Florence Steiner Award for Leadership in Foreign Language Education K- 12. The award is presented yearly to an educator who has demonstrated excellence in the world language classroom and has been a leader at the local, regional, state and national levels.
High Country Real Estate Sets Yearly Records Published: 14 January 2021
More area homes were sold in 2020 than during any other year on record, according to the year-end real estate report by the High Country Association of REALTORS.
Real estate professionals in the four-county area sold 3,253 residential listings worth $1.182 billion, both metrics record highs, in a year marked by a national pandemic, historically low interest rates and North Carolina becoming a top destination state for people looking for a new home.
At year’s end, the number of High Country homes sold was up 25 percent from 2019 and the sales value was up 48 percent. That’s according to the High Country Multiple Listing Service. It records all REALTOR® transactions in Alleghany, Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties.
Former High Country Broadcaster Has New Book Release Published: 14 January 2021
After seven years of work, former broadcaster Jason Forbis proudly announced his novel release. The book entitled “Charlie s Awakening has been published by Florida based publisher World Castle Publishing.
The full-length novel is available in paperback and e-formats on Amazon, iBooks, Kindle, Barnes & Noble, and most other ebook outlets.
The New Adult novel tells the story of 23-year-old Charlie Davenport. Charlie has always been a reserved person. Always seemingly on the edge of most things, barely involved, shy and withdrawn. As he enters young-adulthood, Charlie has a need to be more. He wants to be more involved, more active, more aware, just more, but he is unsure how to do it. That was until a fateful day on a Charlotte, NC street when he was beckoned into a dank and cobwebbed basement by a mysterious old man with the words Charlie, you are troubled. The old man s words spoke volu
Appalachian State Officially Renames Two Residence Halls
Appalachian State University has announced the new names for two of its existing residence halls.
The Watauga Democrat reports Lovill Hall has been renamed Elkstone Hall, and Hoey Hall will now be named Dogwood Hall.
Renaming the residence halls comes after the previous names created concerns due to the Confederate or segregationist history of the two people they were named after, Clyde Roark Hoey and Edward Francis Lovill.
According to the report, plans to rename the buildings were slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the new signage will be installed during spring semester.