Here’s a check of the latest from WataugaOnline.com for Thursday, September 3, 2026.
Avery County Sheriff’s Office Monitoring “Cat in the Hat” Video Trend, No Credible Threat Identified
The Avery County Sheriff’s Office says it is aware of and monitoring “The Cat in the Hat,” a viral AI-generated video trend that has prompted school safety concerns in communities across the country in recent days. The trend involves AI-generated or staged videos of the Dr. Seuss character, with some posts nationally including threats of violence directed at specific schools. Law enforcement agencies in numerous states have investigated similar posts this week, and in most cases found no credible threat, though at least one juvenile has faced charges in another state after a post included a list of names. The Avery County Sheriff’s Office has not identified any credible threat to Avery County schools or students at this time. The agency is asking residents to report any concerning or threatening content to law enforcement rather than sharing it, which can help fuel panic and make it harder to trace the original source.
Blowing Rock Roundup: National Recognition, US 321 Median Work, Greenway Grant, Holiday Inn Reopens
Blowing Rock is having a busy end of summer, with national recognition, active road construction, new grant funding and a hotel reopening all making news in the Town Manager’s latest updates. Blue Ridge Country Magazine readers voted Blowing Rock a winner in several “Best of the Mountains” categories, with more than 37,000 votes cast across the contest, and the town was also featured in a write-up in Travel + Leisure Magazine. NCDOT construction is underway on the median along US 321 in front of Speedway, with contractors extending the median beyond the entrance to the sewer plant; the work is expected to wrap within about a week, with a target completion date of Sept. 4 or earlier, and both northbound and southbound traffic will be restricted to one lane through the work zone in the meantime. Town Council also accepted an additional $400,000 in federal grant funds to help build a portion of the Middle Fork Greenway Trail, stretching from the trailhead at Shoppes on the Parkway to the Foley Center, in partnership with Blue Ridge Conservancy. The Holiday Inn celebrated its grand reopening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday evening. Separately, the Blowing Rock Civic Association will host a Community Fire Safety, Awareness and Recovery Meeting Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 5 p.m. at the American Legion Building.
Watauga Senior Earns Helene Recovery Scholarship to Pursue Theater Education
The North Carolina Community Foundation has awarded Disaster Relief and Resilience Scholarships to 14 graduating high school seniors from seven western North Carolina counties, helping students whose ability to pursue higher education was directly impacted by Hurricane Helene. In Watauga County, Lilly Hampton earned the scholarship. Hampton has loved theater since elementary school, but it wasn’t until she spent a semester serving as a student teacher for beginning theater students at Watauga High School that she realized she wanted to teach it herself. This fall, Hampton will begin pursuing an associate degree in arts at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute before a planned transfer to Appalachian State University to study theater education. “This scholarship allows me to concentrate on my studies,” Hampton said. The program will provide $250,000 in renewable scholarship support to this year’s recipients through 2030, including $65,000 during the 2026-27 academic year. In the two years since Hurricane Helene, the Disaster Relief and Resilience Scholarship has supported 120 students with a total scholarship commitment of $1.5 million.
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— WataugaOnline