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 …

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.

By Scott Nicholson

Though soil preparation is a year-round task, it’s not too late to improve on Mother Nature’s humble offering of dirt.

Soil amendments are best made gradually, beginning with a soil test to determine the acidity and level of organic matter in the soil.

However, if you are breaking in a new patch of ground or filling up some front-porch containers, a few simple steps can increase the yield, whether growing vegetables or flowers.

If breaking new ground, remove the top layer of grass and vegetation with a shovel.

This layer can be set aside, composted, or placed at the bottom of a trench and covered over with six to eight inches of dirt, giving earthworms some decaying vegetation to convert to nitrogen-rich soil.

If you want to plan ahead, you can cover an area of grass or weeds with layers of newspaper, with several inches of mulch piled on top.
Read More from the Watauga Democrat

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

One of Watauga County’s largest real-estate developments in recent years has been sold after the developer’s affiliates filed for bankruptcy last week.

The 6,000-acre Laurelmor golf resort has been sold to new owners after Florida-based Ginn Company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy to liquidate two Florida projects, as well as agreeing to allow lenders to have partial control of a Bahamas-based development.

BR Development Group LLC and Blowing Rock Resort Venture LLC will now own the Laurelmor resort, which straddles Watauga and Wilkes counties, according to county deed filings. The property is listed at a value of $32 million. Both companies were formed in Georgia in early December and are tied in with Atlanta-based Reynolds Capital Group.

The sale is part of a restructuring agreement with lenders, led by Credit Suisse, after Ginn was unable to refinance a $675 million debt it defaulted on earlier this year.

“It’s important to note that all other Ginn interests are unaffected,” company spokesman Ryan Julison said in a prepared statement.

Click here for more from The Watauga Democrat