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William Anthony Fitzpatrick
Local arrests include drug, sexual offense charges
March 11 Aaron Banks Dixon, 28, of Fleetwood was charged with two counts of first degree sexual offense, first degree rape of a child and second degree sexual offense. Bond was set at $100,000 for the first degree sexual offense charge and $1,000,000 for the first degree rape of a child charge. William Anthony Fitzpatrick, 45, of Todd was charged with possession/sell of heroin, trafficking opium/heroin, sell/deliver cocaine, sell/delive...
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Ashe District Court decisions
The weekly session of the Ashe County District Court was held March 14, the honorable Mitch McLean presiding. These decisions were handed down by the court: Eric Daniel Bennett : (T) driving with license revoked, (P) guilty, 45 days suspended, 18 months unsupervised probation, $75 fine plus CC. Katelyn Joyce Brown : (M) simple affray, (P) not guilty, (J) guilty 30 days suspended, 18 months unsupervised probation, CC. Matthew Garret ...
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Father James says a blessing during mass at Saint Francis Church on Sunday morning.
Local priest weighs in on new Pope
A local priest from Ashe County’s only Catholic Church reflected on the selection of a new Pope, who for the first time, comes from Latin America. “It’s nice to see someone represent the Americas,” said Father James from the Saint Francis Church in Jefferson. “We (the Americas) are the new kids on the block. We’ve been around 500 years, but the church has existed for 2,000,” said Father James. When the Vatican announced the Argentina’s Ca...
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Pam Kinnaman (right) watched as her daughter Miranda (left) present information about George W. Bush while she dressed as the former president during Westwood Elementary School's family night.
Parents celebrate Family Night at Westwood
Westwood Elementary School celebrated its sixth-annual Family Night on Thursday, March 14, where parents were blown away by the talents and presentations from their children. Before the event, Westwood’s fifth-grade students took on the daunting task of creating websites as part of a school project to show their parents on Family Night. “It’s amazing what our kids are able to do,” said Laura Calhoun after seeing her daughter Leah’s websit...
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Nancy Kautz (left), Barbara McCoy (left middle), Phil Howell (right middle) and Carol Coulter (right) counted and stored old medications during Friday's medicine drop.
Operation Medicine Drop numbers are up
Ashe Services for the Aging hosted 2013’s first Operation Medicine Drop event on Friday, allowing seniors to drop off expired and excessive medications so they can be disposed of properly. “It’s no stress, you bring them in and drop them off…no questions asked,” said Barbara McCoy, a volunteer from Ashe County Safe Kids. “It’s a good way for people to get rid of their medications legally.” Aside from medications, seniors could also drop o...
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Ashe County Republican Party Chair Mary Desautels (left) accepted a gift from District 93 House Representative Jonathan Jordan (right) for becoming the new chair and assisting him during the 2012 election.
Local GOP conducts annual convention
During the 2013 Ashe County Republican Convention on Saturday, March 16, long-time party chair John Wheeler stepped down and was replaced by new chair Mary Desautels. During his farewell speech, Wheeler urged the party to redefine its image and return to its roots of protecting the rights of the people from the government. “The libertarian wing is the swing-voter wing of the Republican Party,” said Wheeler. “The Republican Party is going ...
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Dylan Lightfoot | Jefferson Post The pieing of Ashe County High School Principal Jason Krider was a crowd favorite at the 2nd Annual Pi Day.
Principal, teachers get just desserts on Pi Day
Students at Ashe County High School indulged a little sweet revenge at the 2nd Annual Pi Day festivities last Thursday, as school faculty members took pies in their faces in front of a cheering student body. Sponsored by the ACHS InterAct Club, Pi Day is an observation of March 14, or 3.14, which is also the mathematical constant Pi, represented by the Greek letter “Π,” defining the ratio of a circle’s diameter to its circumference. “We’v...
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Photo courtesy of Charles Knapp | Jefferson Post Dr. Charles Knapp (Col. U.S. Army ret.) of Helton attended the 85th Academy Awards ceremony Sunday. Knapp is consulting producer for the film Hacksaw Ridge.
Ashe Countian attends Oscar ceremony in Hollywood
Dr. Charles Knapp of Helton returned to Ashe County this week from Beverly Hills, Calif., where he attended the 2013 Academy Awards Gala Sunday. Knapp, a retired U.S. Army colonel, is consulting producer for the motion picture “Hacksaw Ridge,” which tells the true story of World War II Medal of Honor winner Desmond Doss, the first conscientious objector to be honored with America’s highest military award for valor above and beyond the call ...
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SBI completes Houck shooting death investigation
The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation has finished its investigation into the shooting of Mark Houck and is now waiting for the final autopsy report. “The SBI investigative work is complete. The report can’t be delivered to the DA until the autopsy report has been finalized,” said Jennifer Canada, the assistant public information officer at the N.C. Department of Justice. Once the final report is completed, the DA will determine if the s...
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Dylan Lightfoot | Jefferson Post Healthy Polled Herefords owned by Dale and Gail Sheets of Laurel Springs. The Sheets have seen no losses in the last four years, even as persistent drought has dwindled the nation's cattle herd to a sixty-year low during the same period.
Ashe cattle farmers ‘doing all the right things’
After three years of drought in Texas and the Midwest, the nation’s cattle herd is the smallest it has been since the Truman administration, but according to local farmers Ashe County cattle are doing just fine. “This is a good time to be in the cattle business,” said Ashe County Cattlemen’s Association (ACCA) President Trathen Cheek. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2013 Cattle Inventory Report, the national herd has dwi...
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School ownership placed in new hands?
Proposed new state legislation that grants county commissioners the authority to assume ownership of public school properties might not change who owns these facilities in Ashe County, according to local school and county officials. Senate Bill 236, currently working its way through the N.C. Senate, is entitled “an act authorizing counties to assume responsibility for construction, improvement, ownership and acquisition of public school pro...
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Olde_Towne_Market_vendor_applications_open0_1363213476.jpg
Olde Towne Market vendor applications open
The Olde Towne Jefferson Business Association (OTJBA) is now accepting vendor applications for the Olde Towne Market, a vendor fair to be held in downtown Jefferson from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday May 18. “This is an open street market and will be held rain or shine,” said OTJBA President Stacy Maye. “The array of vendors will be wide, including antiques, local goods, gently used items and new items.” Food will be available and entertainme...
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Ashe District Court decisions
The weekly session of the Ashe County District Court was held March 7, the honorable Michael Duncan presiding. These decisions were handed down by the court: Ricky O’Neal Barnes : (T) driving with license revoked, (P) not guilty, (J) guilty, 30 days suspended, 12 months unsupervised probation, CC. Joshua David Boggs : (T) no operator’s license, (P) no contest, (J) guilty, 45 days suspended, 12 months unsupervised probation, $25 fine plu...
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Dylan Lightfoot | Jefferson Post A shelf at Grady's Precision Cartridges, typically filled with ammunition and reloading supplies, has been consistently understocked in recent weeks.
ACSO sees spike in concealed carry permits
The Ashe County Sheriff’s Office has seen a sharp increase in concealed carry permit applications in recent months, as local firearms dealers report brisk sales of guns and ammunition, bearing out new poll data which finds that North Carolinians favor expanded law-abiding gun ownership to deter violent crime. As of Feb. 17, Ashe County had 1,112 current concealed carry permits — representing four percent of the population — up from 1,068 on...
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The dirt embankment that had been developed at the Ashe County Airport was partially washed away after the Jan. 30 flood.
County working to recover from flood damage
From the first trickle of rain on Jan. 30 until the final drop, heavy flooding impacted the construction of Ashe County’s airport, the county’s infrastructure, and local businesses; the county is still repairing these damages. One of the most noticeable damages were to the expansion efforts taking place at Ashe County’s airport, where the flood literally washed away months of work. In order to extend the airport’s runway, contractors have...
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Bevin South (left), Cameron Keziah (middle) and Melissa Deskins (right) met with each other to discuss the changing guidelines for PCS funding, as well as House Bill 5.
Some seniors scramble to understand Medicaid’s red tape
A new bill unanimously approved by the N.C. House of Representatives will provide approximately $40 million to adult care facilities’ Alzheimer’s units, but local adult care administrators say this bill does not compensate for the state’s changes in Medicaid eligibility. The new Medicaid eligibility, which became effective Jan. 1, mandates that recipients who are reimbursed by personal care services require assistance with at least three of...
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The dark green portion in the bottom right-hand corner of the watershed map is the .5 miles of critical area, and the lighter gray section is the protected area of the watershed map.
Changes made to county’s watershed map
During the board of commissioners’ planning meet held on Monday, March 4, it was revealed the county will reclassify Brownwood Road to be included into the county’s watershed map, though the changes won’t heavily impact the community. “The reclassification to include the area was prompted by the Boone water intake project,” said Ashe County Planner Adam Stumb. The Boone water intake project was terminated by the Federal Emergency Manageme...
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(From left to right) Stephen Shoemaker, Lester Mullis, Brett Summey, Mayor Dale Baldwin, Tom Hartman and Calvin Green listened as supporters of the Main Street site for the fair discuss their position during their meeting.
W.J. Aldermen delay sign ordinance, address other issues
In addition to not deciding on establishing a firm site for the second annual antique fair, the West Jefferson Aldermen also moved the final decision to April on updating the town’s proposed new sign ordinance and addressed several other issues during its regular monthly meeting last week. At the urging of West Jefferson Mayor Dale Baldwin, the aldermen agreed to wait until April to make a final decision on proposed changes to the town’s si...
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Dylan Lightfoot | Jefferson Post Craig Hart, proprietor of Blue Ridge Wild Timbers in Smethport, loads the hoppers which automatically fuel his wood-fired kiln. Hart, who hails from Florida, cuts, splits and dries roughly 1,500 tons of firewood per year, and considers his work "a public service."
Keeping warm with wood
Dylan Lightfoot | Jefferson Post Craig Hart, proprietor of Blue Ridge Wild Timbers in Smethport, loads the hoppers which automatically fuel his wood-fired kiln. Hart cuts, splits and dries roughly 1,500 tons of firewood per year, and considers his work “a public service.”
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