By Pruett Norris
This autumn, have you fall-en and can’t get up? In campus news, hopefully that’s a thing of the past, as Appalachian State’s Blue Cross Blue Shield Institute for Health and Human Services has earned over half a million dollars in federal funding towards a three year grant intended to aid the 47,000 adults over the age of 65 in the High Country, according to Appalachian Today. The grant has gone towards the implementation of fall prevention courses and other wellness-based classes for older folks in Watauga, Avery, and five other counties, including courses as specific as “Tai Chi for Arthritis.” The classes, according to Zak Green, the director of High Country Area Agency on Aging, are intended to be “fun, challenging and a great way to join a community.”
In Boonetown proper, the annual Farm City Week meal event has returned after a two year hiatus, according to the Watauga Democrat. The event, which is celebrated nationwide, is an award ceremony and community dinner wrapped into one that celebrates the farming communities of Watauga County. The meal is presented by the team behind Coyote Kitchen, and costs a mere $10 for adults, while children under 5 eat free, and kids 6 to 12 only $5. The event is held at the United Methodist Church of Boone at 6pm on November 3rd, and will feature such awards as Farm Family of the Year, presented by the Watauga Soil and Water District. I’ll see you all there!
In national news, NPR reports a big fall achievement, with emphasis on the big! The largest pumpkin ever grown in the United States was unveiled at the Great Pumpkin Farm in Buffalo, New York at a whopping 2,554 pounds. That’s a big potential jack o’lantern! The ginormous gourd will be on-display at the Great Pumpkin Farm’s fall festival from now until October 16th. Perhaps we should all take a pilgrimage to see it.