Although the economy remains in a recession, many local business owners are starting to notice upward trends that may indicate a thaw on the regional monetary freeze. One example includes developer Mark Harrill, president of Foscoe Companies and its key development, Echota, who had a good year in 2008 by staying “positive” — his philosophy of doing business. Foscoe Companies operates a series of gated communities. In 2008, despite a national economic downturn, there were 91 sales at Echota and Echota on the Ridge. These facts, as well as more positive news about our regional economy, are included in a special section inside titled “Economic Facts” being included in the Mountain Times publications .We’ve had a veritable blizzard of negative economic news lately and, while we don’t want to minimize the damaging effect of the recession, there’s also a place for some good news for a change. We hope you enjoy “Economic Facts.” Photo by Mark Mitchell
From the Watauga Democrat
By Frank Ruggiero
The Boone Town Council hit the trail by approving a greenway connector near the new Watauga High School.
The town will commit $96,000 toward the trail, which follows a sewer easement unfit for development toward the Perkinsville area of town.
The funding will likely be drawn from an obesity prevention grant, and the decision follows suit with that made by the Watauga County commissioners, who disagreed with the county school board’s recommendation for an alternative path that veered further from the high school site.
Click here for the article in the Watauga Democrat
So, you’re thinking about grabbing a few acres of dirt, and building a simple cabin. Well take a look at this article about mail order green homes I came across: http://fabprefab.com/fabfiles/home.htm
How Can I Get A Prefab Home?
The easiest way to get a prefab home is to call a design firm that specializes in prefab such as one of the ones mentioned above. Here are some of the other options in green prefab design:
- pieceHomes (Los Angeles, CA)
- Blu Homes (Boston, MA)
- Eco-Infill (Denver, CO)
- kitHAUS (CA)
- Hive Modular (Minneapolis, MN)
- h-haus (Santa Fe, NM)
Many people I talk to in Boone are interested in Off-the-Grid life. Many homes in the area are already basically free because they use a well or spring for water and a septic tank for waste. However, they are all powered by Blue Ridge Electric or New River Electric. I came across a pretty great site for purchasing Solar/Wind/Generator kits, take a look: http://firemountainsolar.com
