COVID-19 Vaccination Plan Now Includes Those 65 And Older Published: 15 January 2021
Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Mandy Cohen announced Thursday that the agency is expanding its vaccination guidelines to include those 65 and older in the current phase.
The expansion follows new federal priorities, and vaccine providers that are ready to, can expand to now vaccinate all health care workers, and anyone who is 65 years and older. Cohen said North Carolina is receiving about 120,000 doses of the vaccine every week. Cohen said that counties are in various stages of the vaccine rollout, as they deal with new cases and vaccinations. That along with limited supply means that many folks will have to wait before a vaccine is available for them. Cohen reiterated that a person will not be immune from COVID-19 until one to two weeks after they have received their second dose, so folks should continue to follow the guidelines.
Tourism Booming In High Country, Some Attractions, Lodging Sold Out For MLK Weekend Published: 15 January 2021
NC High Country winter tourism is off to a great start. The region is experiencing sell-out weekends and large volumes of weekend day-trip visitors.
According to the Avery County Chamber of Commerce, for the upcoming Martin Luther King weekend, ski resorts and snow tubing with online bookings (including Beech & Hawksnest) are already sold out for Saturday and Sunday.
Sugar Mountain Resort offers in-person ticket sales, but they expect to sell-out quickly after opening.
Most area lodging is booked as well.
Following N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper’s current restrictions, ski resorts and area attractions have limited capacity and most are selling tickets online.
Senator Ballard Re-Appointed To Education Committees Published: 14 January 2021
North Carolina State Senator Deanna Ballard (R-Watauga) has announced that Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) re-appointed her as Co-Chair to both the Education/Higher Education Policy Committee and the Appropriations on Education/Higher Education Committee.
As a member of the Education Committees, Senator Ballard will work on issues of importance, including getting students safely back into the classroom, refining virtual learning options, continuing to improve student literacy, addressing student mental health needs, economic recovery for community colleges, as well as public and private college affordability.
Senator Ballard was also appointed as Co-Chair of the Pensions Committee where she will work on issues related to the state retirement system and with pension laws that affect state employees, firefighters and law enforcement.
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.