Here’s a check of the latest from WataugaOnline.com for Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
First Lady Melania Trump Visits Ashe County Today, Fifth White House Visit to the High Country in Decades
First Lady Melania Trump visits Ashe County today, marking her first stop in western North Carolina since she and President Donald Trump toured Hurricane Helene damage in January 2025. According to the Office of the First Lady, Trump is scheduled to speak to elementary school students, teachers, and staff at noon today about the use of technology in education, and will visit classrooms to see how local schools are incorporating technology into instruction. The visit is also framed as an opportunity to highlight community resiliency in the region nearly two years after Hurricane Helene. A specific school for the visit has not yet been publicly announced. Trump’s visit makes her the fifth member of the White House to visit the High Country in recent decades. The most recent prior visit came Nov. 1, 2020, when Vice President Mike Pence made a brief stop in Boone to attend a Sunday morning church service at Alliance Bible Fellowship as a guest of Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse. Before that, on Oct. 17, 2011, President Barack Obama made an unannounced stop in downtown Boone during a three-day bus tour promoting his American Jobs Act, browsing candy and greeting residents at Mast General Store. Further back, on July 30, 1998, President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore traveled to Ashe County to designate the New River as one of 14 American Heritage Rivers, in a ceremony at the Boggs Community Farm. Today’s visit marks the first White House visit to the High Country since Pence’s 2020 stop, and the first visit focused specifically on Ashe County since the Clinton-Gore trip 27 years earlier. Boone has also hosted a former president: on April 29, 2008, Bill Clinton spoke at Appalachian State University’s Varsity Gymnasium while campaigning for his wife, Hillary Clinton, during her Democratic presidential primary campaign.
Crews Continue Removing 70-Year-Old N.C. 105 Bridge Nightly
A N.C. Department of Transportation contractor began removing the 70-year-old bridge on N.C. 105 in Watauga County Monday night, with operations continuing nightly until the structure is removed. Motorists may see increased construction activity in the area each evening around 7 p.m., weather permitting. Flaggers direct traffic at the intersection of N.C. 105 and Broadstone Road throughout the operation to protect drivers from any debris. After removal, crews will begin building the final portion of the new bridge over the Watauga River. Crews opened the first portion of the new bridge in late August. Motorists should allow additional travel time, avoid distracted driving and obey posted signs and flaggers. Wright Brothers Construction began work on the $48.7 million project in fall 2022. All construction is anticipated to finish in late 2027.
High Country Gas Prices Rise Again; National Average Jumps 16¢ in One Week to $4.31
Gas prices are climbing at both the local and national level this week, with the national average jumping 16 cents in a single week as the U.S.-Iran conflict continues to push oil prices higher. The county’s cheapest regular unleaded is $3.79 per gallon at the 76 station on US-321 South in Blowing Rock. Most Boone-area stations are at $3.89, including Sheetz on Chestnut Drive, multiple Speedway locations, and Quality Plus on US-421 North. Circle K on NC-105 South is at $3.90. The national average for regular gasoline surged to $4.313 per gallon Monday, according to AAA — up 16 cents from $4.151 last week and the highest level since the spring spike. The North Carolina average has risen to $3.90 per gallon, according to EIA data as of Sept. 14. Diesel prices are also climbing sharply. The county diesel low is $5.99 per gallon, with that price now the standard at Sheetz, multiple Speedway locations across Boone, the Banner Elk Speedway, Circle K on NC-105 South, and both Quality Plus locations. That’s up 20 cents from last week’s $5.79 county low. The continued rise in prices reflects ongoing volatility in global oil markets tied to the conflict in the Middle East. Gas is still roughly 24 percent more expensive nationally than it was a year ago, according to Consumer Price Index data.
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WEATHER
Check the current Hazardous Weather Outlook, live weather radar, and forecast for Watauga, Ashe, and Alleghany counties on our Weather page. Forecast courtesy of the National Weather Service.
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— WataugaOnline