Diamond Creek is peacefully nestled into the Blue Ridge Mountains of Banner Elk, North Carolina where a population of fewer than 1,000 residents enjoy an elevation of over 4,000 feet providing a perfect summer climate. John L. McNeely and H. Wayne Huizenga’s idea to create a unique and unrivaled golf club in a part of the country that they have enjoyed for several years is based solely on the love for the game and an opportunity to share this coveted region with others.
Click here to visit their new website, designed by The McGinn Company
Outside magazine has named Boone one of the best U.S. small towns of 2009. In an online article, the magazine describes Boone: “While the winding country roads are still a road cyclist’s dream, that’s just part of the recreational picture: Within minutes you can be rock climbing, peak bagging, whitewater rafting, and even skiing.” By the way, “peak bagging” is described as”an activity in which hillwalkers and mountaineers attempt to reach the summit of some collection of peaks, usually those above some height in a particular region, or having a particular feature.”
After three successful years, Artisanal has relocated to Diamond Creek Golf Club and are opening tonight. This was the restaurant Bill Greene always dreamed of. Specializing in day boat fish from Hawaii to Maine, the menu focuses on seasonality and creativity. Chef Bill’s main focus is for the guest to have a great experience from start to finish and make the evening a memorable one.
Here’s a story about Greene in the 2005 Mountain Times
And here’s their website and menu
AIRE Executive Director Steve Owen stands on the roof of The Greenhouse, next to the newly installed solar panels. Photo by Owen GrayInstallation of Boone’s First Community Owned Solar Project Complete
Story by Owen Gray
AIRE Executive Director Steve Owen stands on the roof of The Greenhouse, next to the newly installed solar panels. Photo by Owen Gray
The Appalachian Institute for Renewable Energy (AIRE) has taken a step towards independence from coal-produced energy. This week the group completed installation of a 2.5-kilowatt photovoltaic solar electric system on the roof of their home office, The Greenhouse in Boone.
Graduate students from the ASU Department of Appropriate Technologies completed the installation of the system, also known as the Boone Community Solar Project.
Click here for the article in the High Country Press
The building industry is starting to pick up steam, but residential building permits are still lagging behind last year’s totals.In March, the Watauga County Planning & Inspections Department issued 55 permits with an estimated building cost of $3.94 million. That included new construction and renovations.
Click here to read the story from the Mountain Times
About 150 people signed an attendance sheet at a Citizens Informational Workshop for the proposed U.S. Highway 221 widening project. The project will widen the 16.1-mile section of road from two lanes to four lanes from the intersection with U.S. 421 south of Boone to the U.S. 221 Business/N.C. Highway 88 in Jefferson.
Current total cost estimates for the project, including right-of-way acquisition and construction, are about $98 million. Read more …
Environmentalists are still celebrating a decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week to suspend and review permits for two new mountaintop removal coal mining operations in West Virginia and Kentucky. The EPA said it also intends to review other requests for mining permits, putting between 150 to 200 coal mine permit applications on hold.
Read more …
By Scott Nicholson
Grandfather Mountain is officially a state park now, with Friday’s passage of a legislative bill, one of the last steps of a year-long process that secures the long-term future of the biological treasure.
It joins 33 other state parks, including Elk Knob State Park in the Meat Camp community in Watauga County. The Morton family, heirs of the attraction’s founder Hugh Morton, reached the deal while continuing operation of a portion of the park that has been a popular travel destination.
The state purchased 2,456 acres of the mountain last year, and a bill to name it a state park was introduced by N.C. Rep. Cullie Tarleton (D-93) and Sen. Steve Goss (D-45), among other regional sponsors. The bill now goes to Gov. Beverly Perdue for her signature.
An agreement for the state to purchase the undeveloped, backcountry portion of Grandfather Mountain was announced by former Gov. Mike Easley in September. Funding for the $12 million acquisition came from the N.C. Parks and Recreation and Natural Heritage trust funds, with no additional appropriations needed in a tight budget year.
State park officials have been meeting with the Morton family to finalize a management plan for the property and its 12 miles of trails. The 749-acre travel destination and theme park will remain in operation by the Mortons, though a conservation easement on the property ensures it will remain much as it is and prevent residential development. The theme park features a nature center, wildlife habitats and the famous “Mile High Swinging Bridge.”
It was developed as an attraction by Hugh Morton in the 1950s and lies in Watauga, Avery and Catawba counties. It reaches nearly 6,000 feet in altitude.
