February 8, 2019

THE APPALACHIAN Feb. 8, 2019

Students save professor's life

When Rev. Rob Lee collapsed on campus, students used CPR and crisis management skills to revive him.

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PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS WORK WITH WATAUGA COUNTY SCHOOLS

LOCAL GROCERY STORE STRUGGLES TO STAY OPEN

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IT'S ALL GREEK TO ME! GYROS AND BAKLAVA COME TO BOONE

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News

Feb. 8, 2019

ASC Center gives graduate students real-world counseling experience in Watauga County schools Emily Broyles ‫@ ׀‬em_broyles ‫ ׀‬News Reporter

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very day, seven schools across the High Country have access to mental health care through the Assessment, Support and Counseling Center. App State clinician graduate students give K-12 students the mental health support they need.

Founded in 2006 by assistant department chair of psychology Kurt Michael and then-principal of Watauga High School Angela Quick, the center located in Watauga High School not only gives students access to help, but also gives psychology graduate students a chance to practice in the field.

“This is more of an advanced placement setting where we already

kind of know some strong abilities, and this just gives them more opportunity to develop those skills,” Michael said. “It definitely has a lot of training involved.”

Prior to practicums or internships at the ASC Center, graduate students must take necessary course work, Michael said. Supervisors of the center meet every week to discuss and assign K-12 students who need service with graduate students who act as clinicians. Clinicians undergo a minimum of one hour weekly individual supervision by a faculty member licensed in social work, psychology, or marriage and family counseling.

Results from the program have shown success—students seen in the

center have shown improvement in mental health as well as academics.

Watauga County Schools also gave App State a $30,000 grant to continue funding the program in January. This is the 13th year of refunding for the center.

Jamie Kirkpatrick, a clinical psychology graduate student who works in the center, said the ASC Center trained her in areas vital for psychologists, such as crisis management.

“Before working in the ASC Center I didn’t have really any experience doing suicide risk management,” Kirkpatrick said. “I do think that teenagers are a little more prone to having some suicidal ideation, and those are important topics to address.”

Twice as many people die by suicide in North Carolina annually than by homicide, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Suicide is the third leading cause of North Carolina deaths ages 15 to 34.

Kirkpatrick said suicide is scary, but important to talk about.

“I think that just in terms of my development as a professional and serving these students, being able to talk about suicide and create safety around suicidal feelings has been probably the most important thing (I’ve learned),” Kirkpatrick said.

Kirkpatrick said she looks forward to experiencing more in the center, along with highlighting the impor-

tance of mental health, especially in adolescents.

“Being a teenager is hard in general, paired with some of the stressors that these kids are dealing with,” Kirkpatrick said. “Connecting with these teenagers and kind of meeting them where they’re at is something that has been really important.”

Kirkpatrick said despite the exhaustion from working in crisis management and therapy, the growth she sees in the ASC Center makes it all worth it.

“Just kind of seeing the progress that they’re making throughout the semesters (is rewarding),” Kirkpatrick said.

App State Police rely on neighboring counties for bomb threats Anna Muckenfuss ‫@ ׀‬noel1122 ‫ ׀‬News Reporter

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f Boone ever needed an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, the town would have to call upon law enforcement from several towns away.

Andy Stephenson, chief of the App State Police Department, said that because of Boone’s location, it could take a couple of hours for an EOD team to respond.

“It would depend on the type of resources we would need. In the past we have used Wilkes County and Gastonia police because they’re the closest,” Stephenson said.

Stephenson said there are different protocols for

how App State Police would respond to a threat on campus.

“We take all scenarios seriously,” Stephenson said. “Bombers do not make bomb threats. In the last 50 years in the United States there was one occurrence where a suspicious device was found after someone made a bomb threat.”

Stephenson said App State Police would respond to the location of a threat and walk around the property.

“It’s critical that we have someone who is familiar with the surroundings,” Stephenson said. “If we go into a building without someone who is familiar with it, we don’t know what is suspicious.”

Stephenson said in some places, such as the library or student union, if a suspicious package is found, the bomb squad may not be called in.

“If there are students studying

everywhere and someone finds an unattended backpack, we aren’t going to call in the bomb squad for that, given the circumstances and the type of activity going on in the area,” Stephenson said.

If a threat was made and a suspicious package was found, Stephenson said police would evacuate the area and call bomb techs to the scene.

“We have contingency plans in place. There are endless scenarios,” Stephenson said. “We would get people to a safe, warm, dry place. We try to keep everyone safe.”

On Dec. 13 and Dec. 21, Boone Police responded to multiple claims of bombs and violence against several local businesses.

Boone Police could not be reached for comment on whether an EOD team was used in December or about its protocols for bomb threats.

News

Feb. 8, 2019

Stacy Eggers: Lawyer, Boone native and Board of Elections nominee Jackie Park ‫@ ׀‬jackiempark ‫ ׀‬Associate News Editor

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tacy “Four” Eggers IV firmly believed as a teenager that if he ever got into trouble or arrested, the bars in the jail would be for his protection from his disappointed lawyer relatives.

Eggers has lived in Boone his whole life and has taken on the business of his father and grandfather before him: law.

“The joke about it is that I don’t have any other marketable skills,” Eggers said.

Eggers described memories of Boone and App State’s campus from his view as a child.

“When I was in middle school, we’d ride the bus and stop at my friend’s mom’s office and drop off our backpacks and run downtown to have a hamburger and french fries at Boone Drug,” Eggers said.

Eggers said Boone Drug was a meeting place for the town, where lawyers and judges and reporters would go to the back room and swap “the

day’s news.”

Eggers described stopping in town to talk to somebody and his son tugging on his arm, asking him to keep moving.

“I remember doing the exact same thing when I was little,” Eggers said.

Eggers was recently nominated by the North Carolina Republican Party to serve on the state Board of Elections. Gov. Roy Cooper did not appoint him, but Eggers served on the board in the past and is involved in local government in Watauga County.

Eggers serves as the municipal attorney for the towns of Banner Elk and Beech Mountain as well as the village of Sugar Mountain.

He said his family has always been involved in politics. The conference room Eggers sat in had two composites on the walls of the former North Carolina House of Representatives in the 1940s and 1950s, which pictured Eggers’ great-grandfather,

Stacy Eggers Sr. “My family has been in the Republican Party since the age of Lincoln,” Eggers said. “I’ve joked that we were probably Whigs until there was no longer a Whig Party.”

Eggers referenced “The Appalachian Family,” which he attributed to former chancellor Kenneth Peacock.

“It’s not just a line,” Eggers said.

“It’s how folks really view (Boone).”

Eggers graduated from App State in 1998.

Eggers serves on the Board of Visitors for the university, which was chosen by the Board of Trustees.

The Board of Visitors assists the Board of Trustees and Chancellor Sheri Everts on public policy that will affect the university as well as fundraising activities and needs, according to its website.

“It’s really great to see the alumni that come together for the university,” Eggers said. “As soon as you meet someone, you almost instantly become

friends with them because you have this strong Appalachian connection.”

Eggers said he was greatly affected by his relationship with his grandfather, who he became close to after his father died when he was 14.

He practiced law with his grandfather for over 15 years, though his grandfather had already practiced law for 51 years when Eggers began practicing.

Eggers said he also looked up to former District Court Judge Alex Lyerly.

“If you would have asked me what a judge looked like, I would have told you a judge is usually 5 feet 7 inches, balding in the front, very soft spoken, very reserved and very thoughtful,” Eggers said. “That was Judge Lyerly.”

He said Lyerly was the measure by which he measured all other judges were measured.

“If Judge Lyerly said, ‘Well, Mr. Eggers, I suggest that you do this,’

what he really meant was, ‘You will do this,’” Eggers said.

Eggers said he has always appreciated Lyerly’s friendship and guidance.

He described feeling like he can make a difference in other’s lives as a lawyer.

Eggers, Eggers, Eggers & Eggers even honored “The Appalachian Family” by hiring an App State graduate.

Macey Wiseman, App State alumna, began working at Eggers, Eggers, Eggers & Eggers in August 2017.

“I definitely like the small town office better than the big (firms),” Wiseman said.

Eggers is married to his high school sweetheart, Kimberly, and they have three sons together.

“That’s really what I think life is about, the relationships you build,” Eggers said.

SGA passes bill to extend bookstore market hours Moss Brennan ‫@ ׀‬mosbren ‫ ׀‬News Editor

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he Student Government Association passed a bill to make the bookstore campus market have longer and more consistent hours.

University College Sen. Devin Mullins brought The Market Extension and Consistency Act before the SGA Senate on Jan. 29.

“I had a number of constituents reach out to me and they said, ‘It’s 9 o’clock right now, we have to walk all the way to Trivette in order to get stuff,’” Mullins said.

The bookstore market closes three hours earlier than the Trivette market.

One of Mullins' constituents told him that because she got off work late, all she wanted to do was pick up food and eat in her dorm. She told Mullins that because the bookstore market

was closed, she would have to walk to Trivette.

“That got me on the track of, ‘OK, we need to open bookstore market hours late. You know, we need to make it more accessible, make it more convenient,’” Mullins said.

Mullins said the project became about making the market hours more consistent.

During Mullins’ research for the bill, he reached out to David Venable, assistant director of auxiliary services.

“From the survey he conducted, it came back that it could be a good thing at least to look at, and that’s really where we are at right now,” Venable said.

Of the 109 students Mullins surveyed, 89.9 percent said they would support an extension of the bookstore market hours. When asked how often

students would use the market bookstore if open between 8 p.m. and 12 a.m., 43 percent said “often” or “frequently” and 36.7 percent answered “occasionally.” The survey was conducted through a Google Form posted on the App State Classifieds Facebook page.

Venable thinks a shift in hours is feasible, but still has to talk to director of auxiliary services John Eckman.

“It’s probably going to coincide with an academic year so it would either be effective this coming August or it may be a year later,” Venable said.

The Senate passing the bill was the first step toward new market hours.

“I would encourage anybody to reach out to me if they have any more concerns with the markets or reach out to me if they feel like this wasn’t the right action or how we can improve

from here,” Mullins said.

The Student Government Association passed a bill to increase the hours of the market in the University Bookstore. Students can expect to see a change in hours in the next two academic years. // Photo by Brendan Hoekstra

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News

Feb. 8, 2019

CPR-trained students help save Rev. Rob Lee during seizure Gov. Cooper Nora Smith ‫@ ׀‬TheAppalachian ‫ ׀‬Editor-in-Chief

Rev. Rob Lee met with Taylor Masten on Wednesday after having a seizure on campus Monday morning. Masten called 911 and helped flip Lee onto his side. // Courtesy of Rob Lee

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hen freshman communication major Taylor Masten’s class was dismissed 10 minutes early on Jan. 28, she had no idea she would help save a life two minutes later.

Rev. Rob Lee, a lecturer in the communication department, was meeting with one of his interns at Espresso News on Howard Street when he started having trouble breathing. He left the coffee shop to get an emergency inhaler from his office in Walker Hall. Lee said he assumed he was having an asthma attack until he crossed Rivers Street.

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“I knew I wasn’t breathing. I knew I was going down. I was trying to yell for help, but I didn’t even know if those words were coming out,” Lee said.

Masten heard Lee’s cry for help and turned to see him stumbling before falling face-first in the grass beside Walker Hall. She and her classmate ran over to Lee, and Masten realized he was having a seizure. As more people came to the scene, a group flipped Lee onto his side, but soon realized he was unconscious and not breathing.

“I called 911 at 10:42 (a.m.). We had been out there for two minutes,” Masten said. “As soon as I thought in my head that we needed to start CPR,

some random student ran up to us. He had been walking in that area and told us that he was a student EMT.” The student was Joey Martin, senior exercise science major. Martin and Phylissa Greeley, a senior exercise science major, immediately felt for a pulse and began two rescuer CPR. After several minutes, Lee regained consciousness and App State police officers arrived as first responders.

Martin said the ambulance arrived about a minute after the police.

Lee later told Martin that his doctor said without the CPR, he would have had brain damage or have died because he was not receiving oxygen to the brain. Martin learned CPR in Emergency Care and CPR, a public health course. Greeley said she learned CPR during the summer to become a Certified Registered Nurse.

“This is something that no one ever wants to have happen to them, but these things do happen,” Martin said. “Crisis management is something that I feel is ignored because it’s one of the subjects that no one wants to talk about.”

Martin was surprised when he got to the scene that not one of the 20 people surrounding Lee knew how to do CPR. “I think that’s why my teacher told me it’s better to have 20 people that are certified and know what they are doing than for 20 people to expect one person to know how to do it,” Martin said.

Fifty-four percent of people in the U.S. know how to perform CPR, according to the 2017 Cleveland Clinic heart health survey. Greeley said she learned CPR in just one day through her CRN course and thought high school students should take a day to gain certification.

Lee said after he tweeted about receiving CPR on Tuesday, several people responded saying they scheduled CPR training at their workplaces.

Lee met with Martin and Masten on Tuesday to thank them for saving his life. Martin said he wanted to continue working with Lee to make sure App State was a place where a roomful of people would know how to administer CPR and understand how to handle a crisis. One of his goals is to find a community member to sponsor a CPR certification class.

“Even if only 100 people did the class, it’s 100 people that are now certified and might be able to step up in a situation like that,” Martin said.

Lee is well-known as a descendant of Robert E. Lee and for denouncing Confederate monuments.

“I’m in the church and with what I do with racism and anti-racism training, all life is precious,” Lee said.

“I have a deeper empathy about what’s on the line for so many people that are risking so much every day just by the virtue of who they are.”

Lee said he is preparing for a tour for his book “A Sin By Any Other Name,” which grapples with racism and Southern heritage. He said he wants to use the story of his seizure to tell people about the importance of life. Lee is undergoing testing to understand the cause and prevent further medical issues because this was his first seizure.

“I’m really going to take time to make sure I’m well before I come back to campus,” Lee said. “But I know I can’t wait to be back in the classroom.”

appoints App State professor to NC Board of Elections Jackie Park ‫@ ׀‬jackiempark Associate News Editor

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ov. Roy Cooper appointed App State management professor Stella Anderson to the North Carolina Board of Elections Jan. 31.

“North Carolinians deserve fair and honest elections, and I am confident this board will work to protect our electoral process,” Cooper said in a statement Jan. 31.

The Board of Elections was originally disbanded in December after a panel of judges ruled in October that a nine-member board was unconstitutional in North Carolina.

The board was given several stays to investigate allegations of voter fraud in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District.

The board will determine whether they should hold a new election or if Republican Mark Harris is the certified winner in the coming weeks.

“If Dr. Harris is the rightful winner of that race, we’ve done a great disservice to him and the citizens of the 9th District,” former board member and nominated board member Stacy Eggers IV said.

Anderson joins David Black of Concord, Jeff Carmon III of Durham, Bob Cordle of Charlotte and Ken Raymond of Winston-Salem.

Stella Anderson could not be reached for comment.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Sports

Feb. 8, 2019

Women's track competes in a team event in the Sun Belt Conference. // Courtesy of Michael Wade

Key freshmen lead women’s track in multiple categories

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he App State women’s track and field team is off to a hot start in large part to some stand out performances from the team’s freshmen. The Mountaineers placed first and second in their first two competitive team meets with freshmen leading the team in seven of the 16 event categories.

“I think it’s a good environment for them to come into and see that they can help right away,” head coach Damion McLean said. “As the recruiting process was going on with them last year, we kind of saw that in their performances from high school, and we knew when they got here we could develop them a little bit better for them to help early too.”

Freshman Jelonnie Smith has racked up four first place finishes and holds the team’s fastest times in the 55-meter, 200-meter, 300-meter and 400-meter dashes.

“It’s kind of shocking. I didn’t come in with a set goal or anything, so I was just glad that I’m doing good, because, honestly, I was afraid coming in competing at the collegiate level was going to be different,” Smith said.

McLean said Smith was the biggest surprise of the freshman class. After only one semester at App State, she already holds the seventh fastest time in school history in the 300-meter dash with

Kaiden Smith ‫@ ׀‬TheAppalachian ‫ ׀‬Sports Reporter a time of 40.47 seconds.

“I don’t even have a word to describe it; it’s like, ‘Wow I actually did that,’” Smith said.

Hassani Burris, a freshman jumper from Gastonia, holds the team-high in the long jump and the second longest in triple jump, contributing key points to the Mountaineers’ top team finishes.

“I feel pretty good. I was ready for the college experience to see how competitive they are, but I’m like right up there with them, so it’s not too bad,” Burris said.

Despite her early success, Burris said she hasn’t even reached her personal record yet in the triple jump. Burris is ranked in the top 15 in the Sun Belt for the triple jump.

“Hassani is actually a little behind where she was in high school, so that’s my fault as a coach,” McLean said. “So me going forward from here, things are going to get a lot better for her going into indoors and outdoor conference.”

Two freshman also hold the top high jump mark for the team. Kayla Carson and Victoria Wilform, who also plays volleyball, are tied for the top height of 5 feet 3 inches.

“It feels really good because coming out of high school I knew I was a high jumper, and I chose App because I knew the team was so strong,” Carson said. “I’m proud of where I’ve come

so far.”

The women’s team finished in fifth place in 2018 year at the Sun Belt Championships with strong performances in multiple distance running and field events. However, the team lost a strong senior class that included Chelsey Hargrave and Jessica Ricks and is looking for these freshmen to fill some of those roles.

“They can fill a lot, but those guys that we had graduate, it’s going to take some good performances from everybody to fill those roles,” McLean said. “It’s going to be a learning and a growth experience for them to get to that level because for those kids who graduated it took them the same way.”

McLean said he believes the combination of his current talented freshmen and his upcoming recruiting classes sets the Mountaineers up for some bright seasons in the future.

“For this to be my first year, we started at a good level recruiting-wise and then we signed a couple of kids this past season, which are going to come in and make a very great impact for us next year,” McLean said.

The team will compete in the Darius Dixon Open Feb. 8-9 at Liberty University, its last meet before the conference indoor championships.

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Sports

Feb. 8, 2019

Players on the App State softball team discuss the next play during a timeout in the 2017 season. // Photo by Halle Keighton

SOFTBALL SCHOLARS FORM FAMILY ON AND OFF FIELD

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long with the warm weather that comes with spring comes new seasons for many App State teams including the softball team. After a 17-35 finish in the 2018 season, head coach Shelly Hoerner will look for her veteran-led squad to improve that.

The team showed high levels of commitment and dedication in the offseason as it made the biggest jump in team GPA out of any App State team and had five players named All-America Scholar Athletes for the 2017-2018 school year. Along with getting the job done in the classroom, the team has also worked hard to see some of that success translate onto the field.

Senior utility player Ally Walters and senior infielder Haley Stewart will lead the team. Walters played in 45 games last season and posted a fielding percentage of .952. She also led the team in sacrifice bunts with 10.

“We worked a lot on our team building. We worked a lot on

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Zack Antrum ‫@ ׀‬zantrum17 ‫ ׀‬Sports Reporter our culture and making sure we were together as a team more than anything,” Walters said. “On the field I see myself playing outfield. As an upperclassman I just want to be the person to help when it comes to conference because it’s a lot different than anything else.”

Stewart, a redshirt senior, finished the 2018 season with a batting average of .220 and a six-game hitting streak. She was solid on the defensive end, committing only five errors in 411 chances. This gave her the second highest fielding percentage among the starting players.

The team will also benefit from the addition of transfer pitcher Sydney Holland. Holland is a redshirt junior who played at Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina, before joining the Mountaineers.

“Since I’m a junior and I came in with two years of college under my belt, I do feel I have the experience of being on the

mound as a college pitcher,” Holland said. “Everyone on this team is extremely close. I feel like I can talk to anyone about anything at anytime.”

Hoerner said she has high expectations for the squad and knows she has plenty of players who can make big plays when the team needs them.

“I think everyone, every day competes and that’s that we’ve really established since the day I’ve been here,” Hoerner said.

“Someone different every day steps up. I don’t look for anyone in particular because we really focus on team. Someone is going to be good one day, and someone is going to pick them up another day.”’

The Mountaineers open the season against Elon in the Elon Opening Weekend Tournament on Feb. 8.

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Feb. 8, 2019

Farm-to-table F promise proves difficult in harsh winter months Christina Beals ‫@ ׀‬Christinalala_ ‫ ׀‬WASU Coordinator

or restaurants committed to sourcing food from local farmers and suppliers, cold winters in the High Country can present certain challenges.

These restaurants support the farm-to-table social movement that promotes the economic and sustainable benefits of serving and eating locally grown food. However, some produce cannot thrive in colder weather, making it difficult for select menu items to stay local.

Melanie’s Food Fantasy is a farmto-table restaurant located on King Street, which former owner Melanie Patterson opened in 1991. Melanie’s

A breakfast dish from Melanie's Food Fantasy. Melanie's Food Fantasy offers a selection of breakfast and lunch dishes and prides itself on using as much local produce as possible, even in the Winter. // Photo by Dallas Slinger

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was Boone’s first vegetarian restaurant and stood out during an era when vegetarian-based diets were not as common.

To general manager Paul Tuttle, who has owned Melanie’s with Mindy Coatney since 2010, farm-totable means having as many locally produced menu items as possible and maintaining close relationships with food suppliers.

“This time of year, I mainly focus on my local tempeh, sausage, hamburgers and eggs,” Tuttle said. “My pigs come from the farm behind my house. My dogs are barking at her pigs all the time.”

The farm behind Tuttle’s house is called Never Ending Farm and is owned by Melinda Brown, who sold Tuttle the house he lives in.

Tuttle said his year-round lettuce supplier is Mountain Wise Farm in Zionville, which grows its lettuce in greenhouses.

Mountain Wise Farm co-owner Tyler Hoskinson and Tuttle have a close-working relationship that goes beyond produce supplying. “(Hoskinson) works here on the line, and he used to be the kitchen manager here five or six years ago,” Tuttle said.

Although Tuttle can get lettuce from his supplier all year, he has to look outside of state borders to supply other produce during the winter.

“You’re going to get a fruit cup with strawberries, blueberries and bananas, but I’d say, as long as you can get strawberries from Florida, I’m getting strawberries from Florida,” Tuttle said.

Tuttle said outsourcing produce means depending on bigger, unsustainable farms, which is something he tries to avoid.

Tuttle focuses on serving fruit that is in season.

“When it’s May, we’re concentrating on strawberries all the way up through the end of June,” Tuttle said.

“When it hits July, all the way through the end of August, we concentrate on blackberries.”

F.A.R.M. Cafe on King Street is also a farm-to-table restaurant, committed to serving local food, even

through the winter.

F.A.R.M. Cafe program director Elena Dalton said the restaurant has more difficulty having locally grown food on the menu in the winter.

“There are only a few farmers that can grow through the winter, so our sourcing is seasonal. We can definitely source more from local producers in the summertime than the winter,” Dalton said. “We can mostly source meats, greens and cold weather crops. We just live in a harsh weather environment.”

F.A.R.M. Cafe also maintains a close relationship with its food producers through its local lunch program, Buy Boone Lunch.

Once a month, the cafe invites one of its food producers to the restaurant and only features ingredients grown on their farm on the menu.

“Last month it was Heritage Homestead—it’s really great, she brought samples of her goat cheese.

Everything on the menu featured something from her farm,” Dalton said. “That gives us the opportunity to connect the farmer with consumers and gives the farmer the opportunity to see people enjoying the food that they’ve worked so hard to grow.”

High Country Local First is a nonprofit organization that advocates for supporting local farm-to-table businesses and boosting the local economy.

Ian Nabors is the new Local First executive director and oversees communicating to consumers the importance of spending their money at farm-to-table restaurants.

“Farm-to-table offers economic benefits by keeping money in the community from one small business to the next. Customers can get to know where their food is coming from and become familiar with local growers they know and trust,” Nabors said.

“There are also great sustainable benefits to using locally grown food in restaurants, the big one being the fact that food travels less distance, which reduces emissions.”

Nabors said during the winter months, the nonprofit focuses on planning and content creation in preparation for the next growing season.

Feb. 8, 2019

GET THE SCOOP King Street Creamery finds new ways to attract customers Camryn Collier ‫@ ׀‬camrynecollier ‫ ׀‬A&C Reporter

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ith a sweet-smelling aroma, classic wooden furniture and a smiling face at the counter, King Street Creamery provides a unique mom and pop shop feel.

Part of the downtown scene for nearly six years, the creamery is owned by Karl Smith, who is familiar with King Street business. Smith owns the creamery, Appalachian Tees and Appalachian Sportswear.

Smith’s daughter, Katherine Robinson, runs all of his shops.

“I was born and raised here,” Robinson said. “I went to App State.

I’m about as local as you can get.”

The creamery is quick to differentiate itself from other ice cream parlors with its selection of ice cream and other desserts. Along with showcasing 36 Hershey’s flavors, the store also offers homemade fudge, milkshakes, smoothies, Appalachia Cookie Co. cookies, Hatchet coffee and T-shirts. This diversity of flavors and products is important with the recent opening of Ben and Jerry’s, a popular ice cream franchise, opening 10 doors down the street.

Junior English major Phoenix Tefel has worked for the creamery since September and has experienced the creamery before and after Ben and Jerry’s opened.

“The winter months are slow, so it hasn’t made a huge difference so far as I can tell,” Tefel said.

Though the creamery hasn’t felt the impact yet, it is preparing

to implement new menu items and more community outreach. One of its projects is to find local ice cream.

“By this coming summer I am hoping to bring in locally made North Carolina ice cream,” Robinson said. “It has been really hard to find with the demand we are looking for, but we’re hoping the new ice cream will be a plus.”

The creamery also hopes to draw in customers during the downtown art crawls on the first Friday of every month. The creamery hopes to offer face painting, dancing, live music, tarot card and palm readings.

For various holidays, the creamery wants to start doing “Crafts at the Creamery,” which will target families, Robinson said.

“We want to do stuff to get people more involved. You know, you could eat ice cream while you’re drawing. Who wouldn’t love that?”

Robinson said.

If Ben and Jerry’s opening has affected business at all, the creamery cannot tell until the warm season returns. As of now, the shop is not worried about where it is headed.

Kayla Smith, who has worked at the creamery for four years and managed it for a year and a half, is confident in the shop’s future.

“We’re a complete functioning coffee shop,” Smith said. “We have the fudge, the cookies. We have a lot of things the competition doesn’t have. Our prices are also way lower, so with everything we have to offer,

Junior English major Phoenix Tefel has been working at the King Street Creamery since September and thoroughly enjoys her job within the shop. Despite the recent opening of Ben and Jerry's down the street, business at the King Street Creamery seems to be unfazed, and only ever affected by winter temperatures in the offseason. // Photo by Brendan Hoekstra

we’re going to be fine.”

As the creamery looks to the future, Robinson would like to give a word of thanks.

“Ben and Jerry’s has definitely been a push for us,” Robinson said.

“Competition is good. It strives us to do better, and for that I am grateful.

“I want to tell people thank you. Thank you for supporting us these last six years. Thank you for bringing your kids and bringing us

joy when we see their happy faces.

Thank you for that continued support even when there’s competition.

We’re still seeing the love.”

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Feb. 8, 2019

Fruits, Veggies, and More is a produce store located on King Street that carries local products, from apple cider to jams and jellies to pimento cheese. // Photo by Anna Muckenfuss

Local grocery store stays in business for students, despite losing money Reilly Finnegan ‫@ ׀‬TheAppalachian ‫ ׀‬Managing Editor

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very day when Allen Curtis turns the key on the door of Fruits, Veggies, and More, it costs him around $300. Most of this money, he said, he doesn’t get back.

Curtis has owned Fruits, Veggies, and More, a small grocery store located on King Street, for eight years, selling products from farmers in the area.

Homemade jars of jelly, locally grown apples and grapes, kombucha on tap and a large variety of vegetables are just a few items he sells.

In September, Curtis made $6,000 in sales, according to his books. He said it costs him $10,000 each month to rent the space he’s in and for electricity and overhead costs.

Curtis said the $300 it takes him to operate every day covers utilities, power bills, maintenance and produce costs.

He has two employees who work the register, but had to cut down on their hours and stay in the store most days because he cannot afford to pay them. He rarely gets a day off.

Daily sales range from around $100 to $350, so on most days, Curtis loses money. The extra cash he makes on days the store is busier, he said doesn’t make a big difference because the next day, he’ll most likely lose money again.

The Fruits, Veggies, and More truck used to transport produce from around the area is another factor in the business’ loss of money. This year, Curtis said, he has spent $3,000 on repairs for the truck and recently received another bill for $5,000 worth of repairs.

“What am I going to do? We don’t know yet. We haven’t decided on what to do about it because I don’t have the

Feb. 8, 2019 money to fix it,” Curtis said. “My wife pays the bills. She has a good job. If it wasn’t for my wife – that paid our personal bills, took care of stuff – I could not stay here. She’s carried the load for years.”

Curtis said his wife, Susan, is a recruiter for Samaritan’s Purse. Samaritan’s Purse is “a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization” that provides aid to people in need around the world, according to its website.

Fruits, Veggies, and More moved four years ago to its location across from App State’s library. Curtis said he thought the move would attract more students and the main reason he moved was to be closer to them.

In the first two years at the new location, Curtis said business did well. He made a profit and had people stopping by the store all the time. Curtis said in 2016, he made $58,000 in sales. However, in the past two years, he has noticed a big difference in the revenue and the students’ support of the store.

“Students have been very slack in the last two years,” Curtis said. “I don’t know why that is. I see your habits changing a whole lot. The students’ eating habits are changing.”

While school is in, though, Curtis said he has to rely on the students to come into the shop and purchase produce and other items rather than local residents.

“The locals won’t come up town because they don’t want to fight the traffic because the students are here,” Curtis said.

In the summer, when the students are gone, Curtis said, he has a local following that’s “unreal.” He said he does 10 times more business in the summer than he does during the school year.

The 2018 survey conducted by the National Grocers Association found that 64 percent of independent shoppers are “very/extremely satisfied with their local supermarket.”

However, this number is not reflected in Fruit, Veggies, and More’s sales.

Curtis said in the 2018-2019 school year, sales have been worse than in previous years because rainfall in the summer wiped out most strawberry fields from the farm he buys from. The farm is located about 65 miles away from Boone, Curtis said. He said he couldn’t disclose the name of the farm because his competition has been trying to figure it out for years.

May is the most prominent month strawberries are ripe, according to the North Carolina Harvest Calendar.

The summer months, Curtis said, usually get him through the year because of all the strawberries he sells.

Curtis said he knows the prices of his produce are not why students aren’t coming in. He said his prices are typically lower than bigger super markets’ prices. Recently, however, he said he unwillingly had to raise prices of individual items, such as apples.

“You come in and you buy one apple, you buy one potato, you buy one squash,” Curtis said. “But what you guys don’t understand is that don’t keep the rent paid and the lights on in a small business. It’s not enough to keep a

small business going.”

Curtis said previously all apples sold in the store were priced according to weight. Now, if someone comes in and buys one or two apples, there is a set price of $1 per apple.

However, if someone buys three apples, Curtis weighs them and gives the customer a price by the pound.

“I have to. There’s no other explanation to it,” Curtis said.

Curtis said he gets his apples from a local orchard and loads up on bushels of apples about every two weeks. The last time he went, he said he got 24 bushels. There are 42 to 48 pounds of apples in one bushel, according to PickYourOwn.org.

“I have to drive a truck to go pick these apples up because these are local,” Curtis said. “I drive 100 and some miles to pick these apples up, that’s round trip, there and back, to load them and bring them in here. To go there and pick those apples up costs me $100 in fuel and then you count the labor that I have to pay somebody to stay here.”

Patrick French is a junior at App State and a regular customer who shops at Fruits, Veggies, and More at least twice a week. French said he heard about the small grocery store his first year at App State and would occasionally stop by, but only started coming in regularly this year.

He said an older student recommended going to Fruits, Veggies, and More and told him, “It has lots of good stuff.

It’s cheap and there’s a cool dude that owns it.”

This semester, French said, he is trying to not go to chain grocery stores, but to shop locally whenever possible.

Fruits, Veggies, and More’s convenient location has also been a factor in French’s decision to shop there, although he passes Earth Fare on his way to the store.

“Earth Fare is for like random, random stuff. I try not to go,” French said. “Anything like tomatoes, ramen, butter,

the necessities, I go here.”

A couple visiting Boone from out-of-town said they found the store while walking down King Street to their Airbnb. They purchased locally made caramel covered peanuts, and the woman said she walked into the store earlier to buy some apples.

Curtis said he occasionally has one-time customers who shop at the store, but he also has a decent amount of regulars who come in, most of them students.

He said he enjoys talking to them and forming relationships.

“If I stay here because I make money, I don’t and that’s the problem. I stay here because I care about Appalachian State University students,” Curtis said.

“That’s the only reason I’ve stayed and hung on, the only reason.”

(Top) Local apples are on display in a refrigerator at Fruits, Veggies, and More. (Bottom) Varieties of onions and potatoes are displayed under shelves of cans and other non-perishable foods. // Photos by Anna Muckenfuss

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Feb. 8, 2019

CoBo owner uses Colorado fine dining experiences to open sushi restaurant in Boone Savannah Nguyen ‫@ ׀‬TheAppalachian ‫ ׀‬Senior A&C Reporter

T

he weather-beaten face of Joseph Miller, only 35 years old, glowed pink from years of shredding the Colorado slopes. In the ski town of Steamboat Springs, he curated a taste for fine dining that inspired him to open a sushi restaurant in Boone: CoBo Sushi Bistro and Bar. The name, which took roughly 50 attempts to get right, Miller said, combines Colorado and Boone.

“I wanted to create a sushi restaurant in Boone with the intent to do something different,” Miller said.

Everything from the decor—featuring heavy wood grain and pillars of exposed raw cut stone—to the Blue Ridge Mountain references to the menu with deep fried rolls and locally named dishes “doesn’t make the place scream Asian,” Miller said.

Before opening the restaurant, Miller said he did not see himself owning a sushi place in Boone. Although he has lived in North Carolina for most of his life, he moved to Colorado soon after graduating from App State in 2007.

“One cool thing about living in a ski town is the lifestyle,” Miller said.

For five years he lived in Colorado, relishing in the life of a ski bum, shacked up like a sardine in small apartments living with a crowd of other people, Miller said. Like many other locals in Steamboat, Miller lived paycheck to pay-

12

check. Life was filled with a lot of hard work, responsibility and drinking, but the skiing made it worth it, Miller said.

Despite being a working-class individual among affluent tourists worth millions populating eateries and slopes of the ski town, Miller still enjoyed everything Steamboat offered.

Because of the amount of money funneled into the tourist town, high-end restaurants were not uncommon.

“That allowed me to work in the best, eat the best and work with the most expensive ingredients for the highest paying clientele,” Miller said.

This also allowed Miller to work with some of the best quality fish in the world and sell it at fine-dining prices.

Miller knew Colorado was not where his life would end up. Although the ski bum lifestyle was fun, it was too much fun, making a year-long endeavor stretch into five.

“Since I grew up here in Boone I didn’t realize how much I was going to miss it,” Miller said. “Originally, I kind of wanted to get out of here. But after leaving for so long the mission was figuring out how to get back.”

Finally back in Boone with the objective to sell a Colorado-level experience and quality sushi at Boone-friendly prices, Miller started designing his restaurant.

“When we started designing the place, it started to

Feb. 8, 2019

“

“

I wanted to create a sushi restaurant in Boone with the intent to do something different... feel really nice. That’s when we started to dress it down,” Miller said.

During the process of forging the look and feel of CoBo, Miller and a team of high school friends constructed an experience that stood out while appealing to a wide range of customers: locals, students, ski families and tourists of all kinds.

“The first thing people tell us is that when you step in you feel like you’ve left Boone even though you’re still in it,” Miller said.

This was accomplished through an army of Miller’s old friends who now own local businesses like Titan Custom Builders, Freedom ElecTech, Innovative Waterworks and Priscilla Hyatt with Dianne Davant and Associates.

“He is so meticulous, he wants to be hands-on with everything,” Hyatt said. “It was really fun working together because I needed a project and this was the perfect challenge for me and I think the result is such a happy medium between rustic and fine dining.”

Miller opened his restaurant when he was 29 years old. CoBo has been open for six years, and Miller said he has not had a drink in approximately 4 1/2 years.

“My mentality has become much more business-professional oriented.

The transition has pretty much been 180 degrees,” Miller said.

Miller did not stop at managing a Colorado restaurant when he was in his early 20s. He didn’t even stop when he opened a restaurant at 29. Miller’s drive was not satisfied after getting CoBo up and running. After five years of going against the grain, he wanted to expand something.

When Black Cat Burrito, a local Mexican restaurant and bar went up for sale, Miller, now 34, sat on the opportunity for awhile. But Miller’s dad, Wayne Miller, the retired owner of Footsloggers, was set on purchasing the restaurant and split the newly for sale restaurant with his son.

“Nothing was wrong with Black Cat the way it was before,” Wayne Miller said. “When we bought it we just wanted to go in there and refurbish it, clean it up a bit, but still give people what they expected, which was good, fresh food that was made only when someone ordered it.”

Although Joseph Miller said he is obsessed with staying ahead of the curve, he doesn’t consider himself a lone wolf in the Boone restaurant game.

He is still community-driven.

“All of us are helping to grow the community,” Joseph Miller said about other restaurants in town. “As competitive as restaurants can be, we are all trying to build this community competitively together. We are keeping all of the corporate restaurants on their toes.”

Joesph Miller is the owner of CoBo Sushi Bistro and Bar and Black Cat Burrito. Miller is from Colorado and the name of his sushi restaurant is a combination of "Colorado" and "Boone." // Photo by Jaina Lewis

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Feb. 8, 2019

Opa! Greek food finds its way to Boone Mariah Reneau ‫@ ׀‬reneau2 ‫ ׀‬A&C Editor

Allexia Brewer is the owner of Boone's newest Greek eatery The High Country Greek. Since its opening in early December, Brenner said the response has been overwhelming. The High Country Greek is located on 507 Bamboo Road, inside the Deer Valley Athletic Club. // Photo by Brendan Hoekstra

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ith dark red walls, a small dining area that sits 40 and a sizable dark wood bar stocked with beer and wine, The High Country Greek might look similar to other Boone restaurants if it weren’t the sign out front that says, “Opa!” Boone’s newest Greek restaurant opened in mid-December and is gaining traction as Boone locals discover this hidden cultural gem.

Raleigh-native Allexia Brewer moved to Boone with her husband and three daughters 18 months ago after visiting their daughter, senior psychology major Adaira Brewer, at App State. Allexia Brewer realized shortly after moving that there was no Greek restaurant in the area.

“One of the things that struck me the most about the absence of Greek food here was the absence of the culture,” Allexia Brewer said. “Even though you can order Greek food online, there’s something very special about being able to expose people to things they haven’t been exposed to before. It’s part of our whole life in my family. We are Greek people.”

Allexia Brewer wrote a children’s book for young girls called “Monadiki: The Goddess of Fierce Leadership” in which the main character is a Greek girl. When she moved to Boone, Allexia Brewer began marketing her book. It was well-received and sold in several bookstores around town. While talking about her book, Allexia Brewer said several people asked her if she made Greek food as well.

“People asked over and over again,” Allexia Brewer said. “I thought, ‘There is really a want here. They’re open and ready for this.’”

The Brewer family has a long history in the restaurant business, starting with Allexia Brewer’s grandparents, who came through Ellis Island from Greece and opened a restaurant in the early 1900s. Her father owned several Burger King chains in North Carolina.

In Raleigh, Allexia Brewer and her husband, Mike Brewer, owned a restaurant as well.

“Food is the connector,” Allexia Brewer said.

“Food is what opens doors and brings people together.”

In a post on the App State Classifieds Facebook page in March, Allexia Brewer announced her family was planning to open a Greek restaurant. The post received 94 likes.

“People exploded,” Allexia Brewer said.

Once the restaurant plans started rolling, the Brewers began searching for a location. Although they almost closed on a location at a remote campground with a “fabulous” kitchen, the owner of Deer Valley Athletic Club reached out to the family and convinced them to move into its club instead.

“Our restaurant in Raleigh used to be at a tennis complex just like this,” Allexia Brewer said.

Because the restaurant doesn’t have a noticeable storefront, the primary means of marketing is through

social media. Allexia Brewer formerly taught online marketing strategy, so she used those skills to market The High Country Greek.

“I’ve never been a fan of Facebook pages until my own,” Allexia Brewer said. “I have seen it work textbook with this business. People share, people follow, people communicate and people send their friends. The reach is crazy and the analytics on the page are insane.”

The High Country Greek opened Dec. 14. The hours are only from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturdays.

“Technically we’re in a soft open, so we’re just slowly easing into it and making sure our food quality is where we want it and our systems are in place, because this is going to be a big thing,” Allexia Brewer said.

“I’m holding the reins back, just to be sure that when we do open, we meet people’s expectations.”

The High Country Greek’s menu has a variety of Greek options from calamari gyros to spanakopita to baklava sundaes for dessert.

“Our gyros are what everyone wants,” Allexia Brewer said. “Our gyros are like the cat’s meow. We do them really well. They look beautiful, and beauty is really important to me because food has to look good.”

The restaurant also serves Booneshine beer, but will soon have Greek wine and beer as well, Allexia Brewer said.

The only exception to authentic Greek food on the menu is falafel, which is traditionally Egyptian.

“I didn’t want to do falafel, but we had so many requests so I just said, ‘OK,’” Allexia Brewer said. “It’s been one of our best sellers, and we sell them like crazy.”

So far Allexia Brewer is thrilled with the restaurant’s success.

“What we’ve seen in a little over a month with people coming in here and breaking bread with us has been really exciting,” Allexia Brewer said.

Not only does The High Country Greek diversify Boone’s food scene, but it also provides a familiar landscape for others with Greek heritage.

“We’re just so blessed to bring the culture, the food and the story to Boone.”

Even though the restaurant is still in its early stages, Allexia Brewer said she continues to dream about the future.

“I would love to see a food truck or two,” Allexia Brewer said. “It’s already been more than we really thought that it would be this early.”

For more information about The High Country Greek, you can visit its Facebook page.

Feb. 8, 2019

Food Services helps students expand plant-based diets Anna Dollar ‫@ ׀‬Anna_Carrr ‫ ׀‬News Reporter

Students and food services personnel walk around Park Place at the Pond in Trivette Dining Hall. Danny Bock, a former chef at Coyote Kitchen, is now working with Food Services. // Photo by Anna Muckenfuss

T

he newest assistant director of food services wants young vegans and vegetarians to learn more about the benefits of getting to know the food they put into their bodies.

“I think the biggest thing is when students embrace what diet is; they really begin to take that journey into food and cooking. It’s very hard to be a vegan. It’s very hard to be a vegetarian and not know about food,” said Danny Bock, who is also a former chef at Coyote Kitchen. “You really begin to learn more about sources. You begin to learn more about cooking technique. You begin to learn more about cultures.”

Bock recommends that students know where their food is coming from and keep it local.

“It’s really neat that you can eat kale 12 months out of the year, but realistically, if it comes from California and it drives in an 18-wheeler all the way over here because you’re support-

ing a sustainable and environmentally-friendly diet, it’s sort of pointless,” Bock said.

Along with his familiarity with vegan and vegetarian diets, Bock likes to ask young people what they would like to eat to get a feel for what is “trendy” and also help teach them more about food options with whatever diet they choose.

“I like to approach vegetarian and vegan eating and kind of go to the customer and say, ‘Hey what do you like? Let me take your favorite ingredient and twist it,’ because a lot of times young vegan and vegetarian eaters begin with ‘I wanna get a vegetarian or vegan hamburger,’” Bock said.

Young vegans and vegetarians should look at "real food," like raw fruits and vegetables, and not base their diets on substitute items, Bock said.

“My food is ingredient driven. It is best to start with the

raw materials,” Bock said.

An example of what Bock means by an ingredient-driven menu is to steam a vegetable and then “accessorize” it.

“What we do is comfe garlic. Comfe is a French term to mean cooked in its own fat. Garlic doesn’t have any fat per se, so we use a garlic-infused canola oil. Now we use that to dress all of our vegetables so that it’s a simple clean addition because the plain steamed vegetable is usually kind of bland,” Bock said.

“Park Place has the vegan and vegetarian bar. That is also a place that they can experiment,” said Stephanie Sansoucy Lee, communications specialist of food services.

Bock is in charge of Park Place, Power Bar and McAllister’s Select. All three dining options are located in Trivette Dining Hall.

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Feb. 8, 2019

Students in favor of football concessions revamp Franklin Bogle ‫@ ׀‬TheAppalachian ‫ ׀‬Sports Reporter

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uring the 2018 football season, for the first time in school history, App State students were introduced to a major change in the game day menu. Food Services chefs created the new menu with an eye on helping the student body and all fans better enjoy the game.

“I can tell they really put some thought into the food this year. A big part of Saturdays is always trying to get food before the game, but this season I was happy to wait and eat there,” junior geology major Sean Hurd said.

One of the new fan favorites was the smoked brisket nachos created by executive chef Jules Bott and executive catering chef Tony Bates. Bates said he wanted to create a meal that embodied the South. The nachos come with the traditional fixings— peppers, onions, tomatoes, jalapenos and, of course, nacho cheese but on top is freshly smoked brisket and a southern-style mustard barbecue sauce.

“I have to say I had the nachos almost every Saturday. They were delicious,” senior accounting major Casey Quinn said.

Quinn said the 2018 football season was the first year in her four years at App

State that she felt she got an actual meal from the stadium on game day.

Fan favorites held their place on the game day menu. Popcorn, jumbo pretzels, sausage with peppers and onions, and chips were all served fresh by Food Services employees.

“It was nice to go to a game on Saturday and see how this school is always trying to make everything better for its students and fans,” junior communication major Mason Stewart said.

Joining the new options on game days were several food trucks that rolled in from local restaurants. These stands include The Cardinal, Captain Jims and Woodlands BBQ. All of these trucks have been a hit with fans.

“I think on Saturdays you can really see how great the community of Boone and the whole of App State fans are,” senior parks and recreation management major Jacob Fain said. “By bringing in local restaurants and allowing the food trucks in the stadium, you are not only offering better food options for your fans but also granting exposure to a local restaurant. It’s really an awesome idea.”

One of the featured dishes is brisket loaded nachos, which was sold at the Smoke House: Hall of Fame stand in the 2018 football season. The new menu was created by executive chef Tony Bates, who pulled barbecue inspiration from the Deep South. // Courtesy of Food Services

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Feb. 8, 2019

Food inspection in the US is not as effective as previously thought

TYSON FOODS INC. 36,420 lbs of recalled chicken nuggets contaminated with extraneous materials including rubber

Q Russell ‫@ ׀‬Q_M_Russell ‫ ׀‬Opinion Editor

I

n the wake of the government shutdown’s temporary abatement, and with reports coming out that negotiations for long-term funding aren’t going smoothly, the operative ability of the Food and Drug Administration should be called into question.

The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the supervision of areas such as tobacco, over-the-counter medication, vaccines and food safety.

Issues of food safety have come into prominence recently with a spate of food recalls and warnings in the past several months.

In December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported an outbreak of E. coli in romaine lettuce. On Jan. 29, Tyson Foods Inc. announced a recall of over 36,000 pounds of chicken nuggets because the chicken might contain rubber. In October, Perdue Foods recalled over 68,000 pounds of gluten-free chicken nuggets over fears of wood contamination.

With the government shutdown, the FDA was forced to shut down aspects of its operations including food safety inspections. Not all inspections were shut down, and while this is worrying, it’s not as bad as it could be.

The FDA splits the inspection of food-producing facilities into two categories, low-risk and high-risk. Highrisk foods include raw produce and seafood, while low-risk foods include packaged cookies and crackers.

During the shutdown, the FDA suspended all inspections of low-risk facilities and did not inspection high-risk facilities until Jan. 16. Again, this isn’t as bad as it sounds because the FDA does not inspect during holidays. Functionally, there was only a week where the FDA did not inspect high-risk facilities.

FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb wrote in a tweet on Jan. 9 that the FDA carries out 8,400 inspections per year and that only a few dozen inspections were missed by the time of the tweet, which is half a percent of yearly inspections.

The shutdown had a minimal impact on the FDA’s operations, but if Congress cannot come to a conclusive solution to funding the government, the situation could

become far worse.

The FDA will make sure high-risk inspections are carried out, but will not pay the employees carrying out the inspections.

Sarah Sorscher, the deputy director of regulatory affairs for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said in an interview with NBC News that she worried about the quality of inspections during a shutdown. She said she is concerned about food inspectors not giving their whole attention to inspections because of anxiety from not paying their bills. She said she believes the long-term effects of the shutdown might also lead to these individuals leaving their positions as inspectors for private sector jobs because a lack of pay.

This isn’t the only concern the shutdown introduces.

On average, the FDA carries out 50 high-risk inspections and 160 low-risk inspections per week. The issue with this is that there are around 20,000 high-risk facilities and 80,000 low-risk facilities in the U.S. Most of the food on shelves goes uninspected.

It’s a tad ironic. The shutdown doesn’t actually have much of an effect on the amount of food inspected in the U.S., but only because most of the food in the U.S. isn't inspected. It seems the FDA doesn’t have the capacity to serve the U.S. to the fullest.

So don’t worry, the government shutdown impeding the FDA’s ability to operate doesn’t affect the average consumer in the slightest, and any future shutdown likely won’t either, but people should worry about the FDA’s ineffectiveness when it comes to food inspection.

The Office of Inspector General found that government inspectors failed to take action on one of every five serious food-safety risks, and the Trump Administration has proposed large FDA budget cuts multiple times over the last two years.

The FDA is underfunded and understaffed and this is especially an issue when an estimated 48 million Americans get food-borne illnesses each year.

So no, the government shutdown hasn’t affected food safety in the U.S., mostly because food safety in the U.S. is already falling to shambles.

PILGRIM’S PRIDE CORPORATION 58,020 Lorem lbs ipsum

PERDUE FOODS, LLC

of recalled not-ready-to-eat breaded chicken contaminated with extraneous materials specifically rubber

16,011 lbs of recalled ready-to-eat chicken nuggets due to misbranding and undeclared allergens

HARVEST FOOD GROUP INC. 47,332 lbs

OSKRI ORGANICS Co. of Lake Mills, wi Recalled all Oskri Corporation-manufactured nut butters

JAC. VANDENBURG INC. 1,727 cartons of fresh peaches 1,207 cartons of fresh nectarines 365 cartons of fresh plums recalled due to Listeria monocytogenes

of recalled not-ready-to-eat chicken fried rice products due to misbranding and an undeclared allergen

WHOLE FOODS MARKET Voluntarily recalled various prepped food items in eight states containing baby spinach because of potential Salmonella contamination

Sources: FDA and Food Safety and Inspection Service

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What to Eat Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Pepper’s

Pepper's Bar

River St. Ale House

River St. Ale House

Macado's

$1 off Pepper’s Sub

$2 Mahi Tacos (after 5)

1/2 Off Fish & Chips

45¢ Wings (after 4)​

$3.95 Con Quesos

​River St Ale House

​Macado's

​The Rock

Pepper's

$3.95 Cinnamon

$5 Tacos

$7.25 Burgers all day/all night

$3.50 for 2 Tacos

$1 off French Dip

Sensations

The Rock

Kids eat for $1 (4-9pm)

$2.50 Cheese Quesadilla

Elevation 3333

​Pepper's

50¢ Wings

​River St. Ale House

​TApp Room

$2 off Pasta Dishes

$1 off Meatball Sub

​Elevation 3333

BOGO Pizzas

$2 Chicken/BBQ Soft Tacos

$5 Adult Mac n Cheese

The Rock

​Galileo's

​COBO Sushi and Bar

​Barberitos

$9.95 Fish Fry

Buy 2 Rolls Get 1 Free

$6.99 Nachos Meal

​TApp Room

​Mellow Mushroom

Macado's

$5.25 Quesadillas

$2 Slices

39¢ Boneless Wings

Elevation 3333

​Vidalia

1/2 price Spinach & Arti-

50¢ Wings

Bob's Burgers Day

choke Dip

55¢ Boneless Wings

Macado's

2-for-1 Appetizers (9 until

$6.95 Mexican Fiesta Feast

close)

Saturday

​Pepper's Bar

2-for-1 Quesadillas (9 until

Macado's

50¢ Wings 55¢ Boneless Wings ​COBO Sushi and Bar Free Miso/Edamame w/ any Roll Galileo’s $5 Burger and Beverage Macado’s 44¢ Wings

$2 Tacos $2 Queso $2 Frozen Drinks ​Eleven80 $2 off Flatbreads ​Barberitos $6.99 Taco Meal Cafe Portofino

$4 44 for 10 Wings + 2sauce

$8 Burger + a Pint

1/2 price Hindenburgs

1/2 off Jalapeno Poppers

35¢ Wings

close)

​$7.25 Reubens

Pepper’s Bar

​Elevation 3333

​Cafe Portofino

​Pepper's Bar

COBO Sushi and Bar

BOGO Appetizers

$1.75 Tacos

1/2 off Pickles

$2 Off Flatbread Pizzas

1/2 Sushi Rolls (after 11pm)

Cafe Portofino

$2.25 Premium Tacos

1/2 off Pizzas

Cafe Portofino

1/2 off Wings

$2.25 Quesadillas

​BBQ, Burgers & Brews

1/2 off Fish Tacos

BBQ, Burgers & Brews

$3 Burritos

1/2 off Smoked Wings

​TApp Room

$1.50 Tacos

​COBO Sushi and Bar

​Barberitos

$6 All Burgers

$2 Brisket Tacos

1/2 Price Appetizers

$6.99 Quesadilla Meal

​BBQ, Burgers & Brews

$2 Salmon Tacos

​BBQ, Burgers & Brews

$7 Entree+Drink w. AppID(5pm)

1/2 off Appetizers

Barberitos

$6 Pork Sliders + Chili

Pepper's

$6.99 Burrito Meal

Pepper's

$1 off Reuben

TApp Room 40¢ Wings

$1 off Jean Lawson The Rock $2 Oscar Mayer Hot Dog $5 Cheeseburger

​Elevation 3333 $2 Hotdogs $2 Corndogs $5 Burgers Sweet Frog $4 Pink Cups - any weight ​Eleven80 $3 Tacos

Sunday River St. Ale House $5 Pimento Cheese Sandwich Macado's 39¢ Boneless Wings (1-7pm) ​TApp Room $6 Chicken 'n Waffles

Arts and Culture

Feb. 8, 2019

For your love

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Mickey Hutchings ‫@ ׀‬TheAppalachian ‫ ׀‬Photo Editor

frames and vases of roses and baby’s breath decorated almost every surface.

“Sarah and I have known each other since first semester of freshman year, and we work together really well,” Puffer said. “I always thought our art complemented each other.”

Once they decided to collaborate on the show, their visions for what it would look like came together quickly.

“It started with an idea that I had of artistically photographing the way women feel they have to modify themselves for men, like shaving, painting your nails, doing your hair,” Devoti said. “I got inspiration from that and I immediately thought of the title, ‘For Your Love.’”

The two photographers had unique interpretations of this concept, which was reflected in their different compositional elements, use of color and choice of subjects in their images.

to create the show as a way to branch out from the conventions of commercial photography into fine art photography.

“There’s a huge dichotomy in the commercial photography department that a lot of what our professors want us to make is purely commercial, which makes sense, but a lot of what we want to do is fine art stuff,” Puffer said.

“We’re both interested in other kinds of art forms, and a show is a great way to kind of bundle everything together and just make it us,” Devoti

said. “It can be whatever we want it to be because we’re in control.”

Devoti and Puffer said they felt “For Your Love” was a way to escape from the critique their photography classes and the feedback they receive from posting their work on social media.

“It’s going to be this fun environment that’s carefree, where you don’t have to worry about likes or comments or critiques,” Devoti said. “We did this, and we’re finally sharing it and that’s it. That’s the beauty of it.”

V

hile most students have settled in for another semester at App State, Sarah Devoti and Grace Puffer embarked on unfamiliar territory as they returned to Boone last month: creating and organizing an independent art show.

Devoti and Puffer, both sophomore commercial photography majors, have worked for months on an exhibit they called “For Your Love,” an exploration into femininity, vulnerability and self-worth.

The show happened at 3rd Place Feb. 1, and the small viewing space was brimming with attendees as Boone’s First Friday Art Crawl event was in full swing.

The pair transformed 3rd Place into an intimate showroom of their visceral artwork. Their photographs were delicately displayed in vintage

Devoti centered her work around the celebration of organic beauty, the characteristics that her female subjects already possessed without manipulation.

“I didn’t want to make my work about a commentary. I wanted to flip the role and make it instead about female empowerment and expressing femininity instead of doing it for the male gaze,” Devoti said. “I wanted it to be loving. I wanted it to be about female relationships.”

Puffer’s work took a different approach to “For Your Love.” Many of her photographs were self-portraits featuring graphic elements that expressed an introspective battle with vulnerability.

“For my love, I have to be vulnerable with myself. I really wanted to be able to make images that feel and look like what it’s like to be vulnerable,” Puffer said. “I can’t reach the people I want to reach or I can’t create the kind of art I want to create or I can’t have the relationship with myself that I want to have if I’m not vulnerable.”

Apart from the show’s message, Devoti and Puffer were also motivated

Photographs by Sarah Devoti and Grace Puffer decorate the walls of 3rd Place on Feb. 1. The artwork was a part of the artists’ show, “For Your Love.” // Photo by Mickey Hutchings

Grace Puffer (left) and Sarah Devoti (right) are both sophomore commercial photography students. Their art show, "For Your Love" focused on femininity, vulnerability and self-worth. // Photo by Mickey Hutchings

19

Arts and Culture

Feb. 8, 2019

BOONE

PEOPLE OF

Christine Dudley | @TheAppalachian | A&C Reporter

Photo by Mickey Hutchings

David Wolf Mericlaire Williams ‫@ ׀‬Mericlaire ‫ ׀‬A&C Columnist

Aqsa Abdul “I was born in Pakistan and came to America when I was 1. My parents being immigrants along with me, I have seen them work hard.

They have put their 100 percent in everything. That is a quality that I am glad was passed down to me. I know whatever I do, if I put in 100 percent I can achieve it, even if it is impossible. Recently, I am learning how to swim. The first day, I was convinced that I was going to drown in 6-foot water. I know I was not going to, but somewhere I was like ‘I cannot learn and I should give up.’ Thank God I didn’t, and by the end I was floating on the water. From going to drown to floating, that takes a lot of hard work. I did it. That experience is something that is so surreal and hopefully the next time I go swimming, I will not drown. Even if I think I am going to drown, I will not stop without trying.”

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David Wolf has used his personal style to become confident in his sexuality and challenge masculinity.

Wolf, sophomore communication studies major, is living his life freely through fashion by breaking the constraints he previously applied to himself.

No matter how much prepster clothing Wolf bought to fit in with his high school peers, it never seemed to work. He attributes that feeling to a lack of confidence.

“What’s the point of fitting in if I never feel like I’m going to?” Wolf said.

Wolf said he walked around the University of South Carolina, where he previously attended, and thought everyone dressed the same. He said while there, he didn’t want to stand out through fashion, and he didn’t want to repeat his high school experiences. After battling to fit in, he said he finally realized it’s more important to stand out.

“I just need to follow my own path,” Wolf said.

When Wolf came to App State, he became more confident in his sexuality. He said he realized he no longer wanted to live inside a box. In the past year, he has learned that other people’s opinion of what’s cool shouldn’t affect his own ideas.

“Do what you think is cool. Don’t let others decide for you,” Wolf said.

Wolf has achieved a monochromatic style, and he compares it to what his parents wore to college in the ‘90s. His fashion includes brown tones with pops of color to stand out. Wolf said he still has much to learn about his style. It’s changing, but he never leaves the house feeling uncomfortable in what he’s wearing anymore.

“You lose all sense of your identity when you don’t express yourself,” Wolf said.

App News

Feb. 8, 2019

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Friday, FEb. 8

Saturday, feb. 9

Sunday, feb. 10

Monday, feb. 11

"The Outsiders" ($1) Greenbriar Theatre 7-9 p.m.

11th Annual Fiddler’s Convention Plemmons Student Union 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Bike App! Rivers Street Skywalk 1-4:30 p.m.

"Wreck It Ralph: Ralph Breaks the Internet" ($2) I.G. Greer 7-9 p.m. & 9:30-11:30 p.m.

Fiddler’s Contra Dance Legends 6-9 p.m.

Josie Franklin Student Trombone Recital ($30) Rosen Concert Hall 2-3 p.m.

Spoken Word ft. J. Ivy Plemmons Student Union 7-8 p.m.

Sierra Hull with Chatham Rabbits Legends 8-11 p.m.

"Wreck It Ralph: Ralph Breaks the Internet" ($2) I.G. Greer 7-9 p.m. & 9:30-11:30 p.m.

Tuesday, feb. 12

Wednesday, feb. 13

Thursday, feb. 14

Friday,feb. 15

Bike App! Rivers Street Skywalk 1-4:30 p.m.

Outdoor Jobs Fair Plemmons Student Union 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Not Your Average Valentine’s Day Plemmons Student Union 6-9 p.m.

"E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" Greenbriar Theatre 7-9 p.m.

Labyrinth Walk Plemmons Student Union 2-3 p.m.

Women’s Tennis vs. Eastern Tennessee State University Varsity Tennis Courts 2-5 p.m.

"BlacKKKlansman" ($2) I.G. Greer 7-9 p.m. & 9:30-11:30 p.m.

"The Vagina Monologues" ($10) Plemmons Student Union 7-8:30 p.m.

"The Vagina Monologues" ($10) Plemmons Student Union 7-8:30 p.m.

"BlacKKKlansman" ($2) I.G. Greer 7-9 p.m. & 9:30-11:30 p.m.

Todd Wright’s Valentine Evening Rosen Concert Hall 8-9:30 p.m.

Wind Ensemble Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts 8-9:30 p.m.

Joby Bell Faculty Organ Concert Rosen Concert Hall 8-9 p.m.

"E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" Greenbriar Theatre 7-9 p.m.

"The Vagina Monologues" ($10) Plemmons Student Union 7-8:30 p.m.

Endowed Scholarship Recital Rosen Concert Hall 8-9:30 p.m.

21

Opinion

Feb. 8, 2019

Record labels should drop abusive performers he Pabst Brewing Company reported that Boone Saloon had the fifth-highest sales for Pabst Blue Ribbon in the world, which some social media users considered a cause for celebration.

For the most part, this ranking is more an oddity or a quirk

of Boone, but most don’t seem to recognize the danger it represents.

Sixty percent of college students surveyed drank in the last month, and almost two out of three of those students engaged in binge drinking, according to a 2014 survey performed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Binge drinking can lead to alcohol poisoning, which causes an average of six deaths per day in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Excessive alcohol consumption can have negative effects on college students, their families and the wider community. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reported that around 1,800 college students die per year due to alcohol-related incidents and about 696,000 students per year are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.

One in four college students reported that binge drinking affects their academic performance. Overall, around 20 percent of college students meet the criteria for Alcohol Use Disorder.

The long-term risks of excessive alcohol consumption include high blood pressure, heart disease, liver failure, cancer, mental health problems and social problems, including family problems and unemployment, according to the CDC. It isn’t an problem that Boone Saloon is the fifth-highest seller of PBR in the world, but it does raise red flags regarding the issue of alcohol consumption among college students.

Drinking alcohol, even PBR, is fine so long as it’s done legally

NORA SMITH EDITOR IN CHIEF

IRA DAVID LEVY

22

ADVISER

EDITORIAL

and responsibly. As with all things, moderation is key.

REILLY FINNEGAN MANAGING EDITOR

JULES BLAYLOCK CHIEF COPY EDITOR

I

MOSS BRENNAN NEWS EDITOR

MARIAH RENEAU A&E EDITOR

BROOKS MAYNARD SPORTS EDITOR

Q RUSSELL OPINION EDITOR

ly seem willing to overlook horrific crimes if the artist makes good music.

XXXTentacion, or just “X,” is a preeminent example. The Florida rapper rose to fame in 2017 with his debut album “17” after years of cultivating a devoted fan base on SoundCloud.

But a year earlier, he had choked, beat up and stomped on his pregnant girlfriend, Geneva Ayala, for singing another artist’s song. He threatened to cut out her tongue, Ayala said.

He appeared to admit to the assault in a video leaked shortly before his death in June 2018.

X also graphically described beating up a gay cellmate while in juvenile detention in 2013-14, calling him “f-----” on the podcast “No Jumper” in 2016, four months after he released “Look at Me” on SoundCloud.

Despite this, X became a household name in the rap industry. He signed a distribution deal with Capitol Music and a $10 million album deal with Empire. Record labels do not care. If they can continue producing music and profit margins are healthy, an artist can do whatever they want.

RCA only dropped Kelly after the #MeToo movement. Capitol signed X with knowledge of his past and still releases posthumous music.

Just like it did for Kelly for more than 20 years, for many people, X’s music overshadowed everything. Many in his young, fervent fanbase overlook heinous crimes because “SAD!” and “Moonlight” are good songs. His death predictably launched his music

to new, incredibly profitable heights as people collectively forgot his original claim to infamy.

Yes, people can grow. But X’s most popular song, “SAD!” which many use as evidence of his growth, would not be possible without his terrible past, as it is a direct response and confrontation to his former self. X and Capitol turned past homophobia, assault and domestic violence into a payday.

Spotify and other streaming services need to drop all of Kelly’s and XXXTentacion’s music from their platforms. Kelly and the labels still making money off X’s death cannot be allowed to continue to get rich from tainted legacies.

But that will not happen. Streaming services do not want the lose revenue by dropping those artists, particularly X. As of Jan. 31, X has five songs on the United States Top 50 chart on Spotify, more than any other artist.

Record labels and fans need to ask themselves how much they will allow for the sake of good music. For labels, it’s a simple risk-reward equation.

But for the rest of us, it’s more difficult.

We must ask ourselves if our personal moral codes allow us to listen to X, Kelly and others knowing their pasts and that every stream directly gives the artist or label money.

The Jerdohna Johnsons and Geneva Ayalas of the world should be enough to press the mute button.

SYDNEY SPANN

VISUAL MANAGING EDITOR

MICKEY HUTCHINGS PHOTO EDITOR

EFRAIN ARIAS-MEDINA JR. GRAPHICS EDITOR

LOGAN BERG VIDEO EDITOR

BUSINESS

T

Q Russell । @Q_M_Russell । Opinion Editor

t is not hard to see what triggered Spotify to release a new feature that allows users to mute certain artists they deem undesirable: Robert “R.” Kelly.

In July 2017, Buzzfeed News released a bombshell report that Kelly was running an underage sex cult where girls as young as 15 were forced to serve as sex slaves of the widely popular Chicago singer.

The report and follow-up a month later are disturbing, but what is more disturbing is the same journalist, Jim DeRogatis, reported for the Chicago Sun-Times that Kelly was having sex with underage girls in 2000, when Kelly was already a superstar, but three years before “Remix to Ignition” was released.

Jerdohna Johnson, who said she had a sexual relationship with Kelly when she was 15, put it best.

“His music overshadows everything when it comes to his wrongdoings,” Johnson told Buzzfeed. “Nobody thinks about the damage he’s done or is doing to young women, and his personal life means nothing when it comes to executives making money off of him.”

Unfortunately, she’s completely correct. Although RCA Records dropped Kelly from the label, it still rakes in royalties from streams of his 17 studio albums, five compilation albums and 119 singles.

Record labels seem willing to consistently overlook horrific crimes if the artist is popular. Fans constant-

MULTIMEDIA

PABST BLUE RIBBON SALES

Tommy Mozier ‫@ ׀‬TheAppalachian ‫ ׀‬Opinion Writer

CRISTIAN MCLAUGHLIN BUSINESS MANAGER

SHELLY BANZ

ASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGER

MELISSA ALSUP MARKETING DIRECTOR

Et cetera

Feb. 8, 2019 Comic by @Themikenaean

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

BY NEIL AGNEW

COVER Rev. Rob Lee met with Taylor Masten on Wednesday after having a seizure on campus Monday morning. Masten called 911 and helped flip Lee onto his side. // Courtesy of Rob Lee

Across 1. What many federal employees are doing during a government shut down 9. Reproductive cells 10. Obsequious 11. “Blue Bloods” actor Cariou 12. Astrology sign, generally 14. Vacation home in Russia 17. Email ending for a college student 18. ____ Dumpty (egg-shaped nursery rhyme character) 22. Words that are spelled the same but have varied meanings... or what all the starred clues are 24. Sharpshooter’s skill 25. Smart one?

30. Modicum 31. Actor Tom who set sail?* 35. Teepee, broadly 36. Accords 37. Govt. agency for entrepreneurs 38. Smorgasbord Down 1. Musician Ben who doesn’t show his hand? * 2. Eye layer 3. A ranch, across the border 4. Pretzel maker 5. Glop 6. Owned 7. “The Sopranos” actress Falco 8. Consisting of two parts 13. Swear

15. Murmur 16. I love, in Latin 19. Tour with the Clubs 20. Prefix meaning “three” 21. Sweet potato, in another word 23. Musical Tom who sits patiently? * 26. Harvard library namesake 27. Active volcano in Sicily 28. Fat ___( wealthy business magnate) 29. After dark, in ad-speak 31. Computer Brain 32. U.K. sky fighters 33. Univ. in the middle of the sunshine state 34. Ultrafast plane travel: Abbr.

23

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