WEST JEFFERSON — 10-year-old Chloe Henson mailed a check last week to a school in Pender County to help get the students new carpets. The check is worth $1,000 and it comes from Henson’s “Little Trees,” a home-grown business that has blossomed around Ashe County.

JEFFERSON — Along with 10 other stores across the state, Tractor Supply Co. on South Main Street in Jefferson was fined by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Standards Division for excessive discrepancies between prices listed on store shelves and prices paid at the re…

JEFFERSON — Bojangles' is coming back to Ashe County, as the new location in Jefferson will open its doors to the public at 5 a.m. Monday, Dec. 31. The previous location closed Oct. 22 after construction of the new building began in July.

WEST JEFFERSON — The Ashe County Chamber of Commerce held its monthly Member Blast at the Ashe County Arts Center Thursday, Dec. 20. The event featured fun, food, news and a raffle drawing; and brought together dozens of representatives from the chamber’s member organizations.

WEST JEFFERSON — Butch Phillips felt there was a need in Ashe County, a need that he wanted to fill with a Hole Lotta Doughnuts. The new doughnut shop will be opening its doors to the public Jan. 3, 2019, but rave reviews are already circulating.

Cindy Price has been appointed to the Ashe District seat on the Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation board of directors, filling the seat left vacant when Kenny Greene retired from the board after 30 years of service, according to BRE Public Relations Director Renee Whitener.

WEST JEFFERSON — New River Conservancy is $30,000 closer to the outright purchase of old Elk Shoals United Methodist Camp thanks to corporate donations from three local companies, according to NRC President George Santucci.

RALEIGH — United Chemi-Con received a $100,000 state grant to support the renovation of its 216,000 square-foot building in Lansing, the N.C. Department of Commerce announced Dec. 14.

Regency Properties has added Amy Ballou to its team of agents. According to Regency, Ballou has been an Ashe County resident for 15 years, and has been in sales most of her life. Ballou said she enjoys the small community and hometown feel of West Jefferson, and is devoted to customer service.

WEST JEFFERSON — New River Brewing is moving from Lansing to downtown West Jefferson, and proprietor Greg Hershner said his family-owned beer fermentation operation is expanding in the process.

LENOIR — Blue Ridge Energy has named Alan Merck as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, according to the member-owned electric cooperative serving 76,000 consumers in northwest North Carolina.

Eva Jordan wins gift basket

WEST JEFFERSON — While seasonal Ashe County residents spend winter off the mountain, Mountain View Home Management offers its services keeping an eye on vacation homes, according to owner Jessica Parker.

WEST JEFFERSON — Sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday is a newer holiday with a lot of meaning for West Jefferson. With a downtown area teeming with small, locally owned businesses surrounded by acres of family-owned Christmas tree farms, it seems to be t…

WEST JEFFERSON — At businesses around West Jefferson, visitors can see a decoration with a good cause behind it. They’re called “Little Trees,” they’re made by 10-year-old Chloe Henson and the money they raise is going to help Pender County’s hurricane relief.

ASHE COUNTY — As Thanksgiving approaches and yuletide joy increases, people from near and far have begun flocking to Ashe County to choose and cut their Frasier fir for the season.

WEST JEFFERSON — Choose-and-cut season is back, which means a nice economic bump for Ashe County. The county’s Christmas tree industry is something that people take pride in, and paychecks from.

WEST JEFFERSON — All doors were open at the Great Southern Gothic Apothecary for its Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting ceremony Friday, Nov. 16, but it will not be so easy to open the doors of the newly opened, out-of-this-world escape room in the back of the store.

Boondocks owner Gary Brown is interviewed for a national television commercial for Texas Pete Hot Sauce. According to Brown, the commercial is highlighting businesses that use Texas Pete in interesting ways. In Boondocks’s case, they use a dry, powdered version to give their Texas Pete Porte…

WARRENSVILLE — Nearly two months since firefighters quenched the flames at LifeStore Bank in Warrensville, the future of the bank’s northwestern Ashe County branch remains uncertain.

From left, Blue Ridge Energy employees Shawn Aldridge and Kevin Ward, along with hospital employees Angie Shoemake, Cancer Center Social Worker; Debbie Shook, Cancer Center Nursing Director; Addie Cardwell, Foundation Special Events Coordinator; Kim Bianca, Sr. VP of Hospitals and Acute Serv…

WARRENSVILLE — In between a river, a pond and wondrous views sits Ashe County’s newest escape, The Nesting Place Bed and Breakfast.

JEFFERSON — After two busy years operating at Ashe Family Central, Jodi Province Counseling Services finally had an opportunity to host its Ashe County Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting ceremony at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25.

WEST JEFFERSON — The last day of the Ashe County Farmers Market 2018 season was 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, and vendors were lined up under the farmers market shelter on BackStreet in West Jefferson as they have been since April, selling fresh, local, homegrown and handmade bread, mi…

WEST JEFFERSON — At a meeting with county and local business officials on Monday, Oct. 29, Blue Ridge Theater and Event Center owner Steve Mochen announced that the center will host a competition barbecue event in August 2019. The event will feature 40 competitors during two days, and will b…

WEST JEFFERSON — A’s BackStreet Café closed its doors for the last time at 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, but owners Andres and Nidia Martin said they will return to West Jefferson when the time is right.

The Ashe County Chamber of Commerce held its monthly Member Blast at The Hotel Tavern on Thursday, Oct. 18. The event featured fun, food, news and a raffle drawing; and brought together dozens of representatives from the chamber’s member organizations.

JEFFERSON — The Bojangles’ at 158 Northview Drive in Jefferson has closed as of Monday, Oct. 22, as it prepares the new location for a mid-December opening. Construction of the new location, to the immediate left of the old one, began in late July.

ASHE COUNTY — McFarland recently announced two promotions.

WEST JEFFERSON — The winner of the local scarecrow competition, sponsored by the West Jefferson Business Association, was announced at The Hotel Tavern during the 2019 WJBA Membership Drive Tuesday, Oct. 2.

ASHE COUNTY — As the climate and times change, many people are looking for a way to be more eco-friendly and lower their total waste production. What can be overlooked in this search are the products about which the average person has little control.

Ashe County Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center Coordinator Kathleen George presenting ‘The Key is Caring’ a customer service seminar held in the Ashe County High School Media Room at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27. Future seminars will be announced at a later date, according to the chamber.

WEST JEFFERSON — The Parkway Theater in West Jefferson has announced new matinee times, making it easier for people and their families to see the newest movies out.

LANSING — Unlimited Heating & Air is the latest business to open in Lansing, with the intention of providing heating, ventilation and air conditioning services to Ashe, Watauga, Wilkes and Alleghany counties, according to owner Jonathan Waddell.

WEST JEFFERSON — In recent weeks, straw men and women have been spotted loitering outside West Jefferson storefronts participating in the West Jefferson Business Association scarecrow contest.