Boone

AppalCART Director Craig Hughes says anyone can ride the double-decker bus for free. He says the bus will save money in fuel and personnel costs.

Nearly 2,000 students attended Watauga County’s annual Back 2 School Festival this past weekend to receive free backpacks, shoes and supplies for the start of a new year.

Attendees can expect live bands, vendors, floats, a kids zone with face painting and more this year.

Poultry and livestock are important drivers of North Carolina’s economy. A new technology from Appalachian State University will help keep the animals safe from parasites.

Duckworth succeeds former police chief Andy LeBeau, who retired at the end of last year.

After road work was set to close large sections over the next several months, an agreement was reached to delay the shutdown until after tourist season ends in the fall.

Damage so far has been minimal, mostly limited to flooding on low-lying roads and bridges, says Will Holt, director of Watauga County’s Emergency Services.

House Bill 306 would have given Boone, Blowing Rock and Watauga County Board of Education the opportunity to provide workforce housing for municipal workers and teachers.

In September, the forecasts from the weather monitoring service sent workers at Hospitality House into motion ahead of Helene. Chief Development Director Todd Carter says the Boone-based nonprofit was able to get many homeless people living in the woods and by the rivers into shelters before the storm hit.

A photo competition put on by the Turchin Center for Visual Arts will feature submissions focusing on topics of kin and community.