Water shutoff at Nantahala School

School Officials had to shut the water off at Nantahala School on Friday after some detergent accidentally got into the system.

Nantahala Principal Chris Baldwin explains, “We have a water treatment system here that softens our water with an oyster shell substance. When they were changing the oyster shell substance out, they inadvertently place a detergent in there.”

He added that fortunately it wasn’t toxic, “Mr. Bell contacted poison control, Macon County Health Department and the manufacturer of the product and they all told us that there was very little chance that it was toxic enough to hurt anybody,” said Baldwin.

Students were given bottled water and were asked to use hand sanitizer while the water was shut off.

Macon County Emergency Services was brought in as consult for the situation. Director Warren Cabe says one student was checked out after complaining of a stomach ache, but they do not believe it was related to the water.

Officials spent the better part of the day flushing the detergent known as light soda ash out of the water system.

Macon Co Board of Ed to implement furloughs

In efforts to help trim the budget, the Macon County Board of Education is mandating that all school system employees that are funded by federal, state and local dollars be furloughed for 10 hours or .5 percent between now and the end of the calendar year, that’s according to Macon County Superintendent Dan Brigman, “Employees affected by the furlough may work with their immediate supervisors to take this 10 hour time frame between now and December 31st at their discretion. It’s a non-student day for those who have classroom duties or children under their care.”

Brigman adds that he has received information that indicates more possible cuts, “I’m not surprised the state is having to take these measures to address the financial shortfall throughout the state and at the most recent superintendent’s meeting yielded information that there could be possibly be an additional one-fourth coming.”

The decision to furlough employees was made by the Board of Education during a special called meeting last week.

Otto man arrested in robbery incident

An Otto man faces felony burglary charges. Investigation reports at the Macon County Sheriff’s Office say the victim in the incident claims they were forced out of the road, when the suspect vandalized their vehicle and took off with their money.

22 year old James David Busby of Otto was arrested a short time later and charged with a felony count of robbery with a dangerous weapon in addition to a misdemeanor charge of damage to personal property. He was booked on Sunday.

His bond has been set at $15,000.

School Board Chairman breaks tie vote on volleyball coach

During a called meeting of the Macon County Board of Education on Thursday, the search for Franklin High School’s JV volleyball coach and assistant Varsity coach came to an end.

The board approved Amanda Dowdle to take the positions after Chairman Jim Breedlove broke a tie vote in favor of her. Board members Cabe and Bennett voted in approval, while Baldwin and Bishop voted in opposition.

We spoke with the head Varsity volleyball coach Anna Shields and she says Dowdle was a big piece of the puzzle in the program, “She brings so much more to coaching that what you do on the floor. She is good because you can depend and rely on her, just a great role model for the program. To take her out of that, it was putting us in a bind. It would have been impossible to move on at the level we could have moved on without her in our program.”

Shields says she doesn’t know why the board’s decision was delayed, but she is moving forward, “To me, it doesn’t matter, we’re just moving on. We’re just looking forward and trying to keep a positive outlook. We appreciate the board taking the time to revisit the issue, whatever it seemed to be, and we’re glad it was overturned. We’re not looking back, we’re just looking forward and trying to teach the kids good lessons.”

Dowdle had previously served as assistant Varsity coach and JV coach leading the JV team to a 20-0 record in 2008.

Strong storms result in power outages, fire

Duke Energy is now saying that almost 400 residents are without power after severe thunderstorms swept through Macon County this morning bringing heavy rain, and dangerous lighting.

Macon County 911 tells us only one major incident was reported as a downed tree knocked over a power pole and transformer in the Clarks Chapel area. The Clarks Chapel Fire Department had to be called in before power crews could go to work as the transformer caught fire.

Jason Walls with Duke Energy says crews are currently working diligently and hope to have all power restored by 6 p.m. this evening.

About 600 total residents lost power today as a result of the storms.

Nearly 300 lose power on Thursday

About 300 Macon County resident in the North End of the county lost power for a short while on Thursday morning.

Andy Thompson with Duke Energy has more information on what happened, “The outage affected about 290 customers in the Macon area. It was a result of a splice on a line that failed. We just had to go in and repair that and get the line back up.


Thompson says yesterday’s outage lasted from around 8:49 a.m. until just after 9:30 a.m.

Slide forces closure of Winding Stairs Road

Recent rainfall has caused a slide to occur on Winding Stairs Road which runs around Queens Lake down to the Nantahala River. According to the Nantahala Ranger District the road has been closed for repairs.

Mike Wilkins with the U.S. Forest Service tells more, “There’s a slump on the uphill side of the road. A wad of soil had slumped down into the road and people were driving around it and that put them on the outer edge of the road and that wasn’t safe. We’re scooping it up with a track hoe and hauling it off.”

They anticipate reopening the road by June 15th.

Caterpillar "Pulling for a Cure"

Coming up this Saturday Caterpillar of Franklin will be holding another “Pulling for a Cure” fire truck pull to benefit Relay for Life.

The event pits teams against each other to see who can pull a fire truck 20 feet in the shortest amount of time. It is scheduled to take place in the Wal-Mart Parking lot at 9 a.m.

Franklin Mayor Joe Collins and Franklin High School Principal Gary Shields are planning to participate.

Trophies will be awarded to the top 3 teams.

If you need more information on the event call 349-8418.

Mother's Day Gemboree kicks off today

Today marks the official start of the 8th Annual Mother’s Day Gemboree that will take place right here in the Gem Capital of the World.

The event is scheduled to take place at the Macon County Community Building and run through Sunday.

It will be open from 10-6, Friday and Saturday and from 12-5 on Sunday.

The Franklin Chamber of Commerce says the nation’s finest gem and mineral dealers will be on hand to sell everything from fine jewelry to rough cut gems and minerals.

It will also be the first year that the show will fill every available room at the Community Building.

Admission is $2.00 for adults and those under 12 are free. More information is available by call 828-524-3161.

National Day of Prayer to be observed in downtown Franklin

The 58^th Annual National Day of Prayer is scheduled for today and will be formally observed in Macon County beginning at 12 noon at the Gazebo on the square in downtown Franklin.

In the event of rain, it will be held at the First Baptist Church.

The event is being led by members of the Macon Christian Ministerial Association.

The theme for this year is "Prayer... America's Hope" and is based on the verse from Psalm 33:22.

More information on the event is available at www.ndptf.org 

Local company gets bid on new Police Department

Town Officials say that construction is expected to begin on the new Franklin Police Department by the first part of June.

At Monday’s Town Board meeting, Alderman OK’d the construction contract to local based company Dalton Construction.

Bids were opened up on April 16^th, and four were taken. Three of those actually fell below the proposed budget.

Despite the fact they were not the low bidder, the board decided to accept Dalton’s bid of $777, 877.

Alderman say that decision was based on their past experiences with the company and the fact they are based in the town.

The project is hoped to be completed by the end of 2009.

KIDS Place looks to community, Feds for assistance

Children's advocacy center KIDS Place in Franklin is continuing to provide assistance to victims in the community despite the fact the troubled economy has increased demand for services.

We spoke to Executive Director Alisa Ashe and she says KIDS Place may be receiving some additional assistance from the federal government to help weather the economic downturn, "We have applied for federal grant through the Governor's Crime Commission. It's an additional funding cycle they've opened up that will hopefully help non-profits like KIDS Place and other victim service providing agencies to get through the next couple of years when other funding sources aren't doing as well as they have in the past. We see hope this is going to help us continue to provide a high level of services for our children and families."

Ashe is also very grateful to local residents who have helped KIDS Place financially; she says that has played a big factor in the organization remaining active, "We are so appreciative to Macon County for the ownership it takes in its children. The children that come through KIDS Place are not somebody else's children they're our children. Macon County has a long history of stepping up and providing funding and other resources to help us take care of our children. They're not our future, they're our today," said Ashe.

If the grant from the Governor's Crime Commission is approved it would provide KIDS place with $65,000 in additional funding.

'Stamp Out" hunger this Saturday

Local postal workers are hoping Maconians will join in the efforts to stamp out hunger this coming Saturday.

The nationwide annual event is touted as the largest single-day food drive and is gearing up for its 15th year.

According to Rick Moninghoff at the Otto Post Office, all you have to do is leave a bag of non-perishable food where your letter carrier normally delivers your mail, “Customers usually put the bags on the mailbox and the carriers bring them back in. Then we usually call CareNet or Manna Food Bank, but most of the time we deal with CareNet.”

He talks about what items are being accepted, “Non-perishable food goods, but nothing that has been opened prior. Usually not damaged cans, because CareNet won’t accept them. They’re not that good of a product to give back out to people and dried foods that weren’t opened previously.”

In years past the event has received a good response in helping curb hunger, “In years past we have took quite a few items over to CareNet,” adds Moninghoff.

Last year over 73 million pounds of food was collected during the drive.

For further information contact your local Post Office or visit www.helpstampouthunger.com
 

Flood Watch in effect until late tonight

Heavy rains have moved through the area and according to forecasters more is possible this evening. This has led the National Weather Service to issue a Flood Watch for Macon and surrounding counties until late tonight.

Weather Officials say that a flood watch means there is a potential for flooding based on forecasts for heavy rainfall. They ask you to monitor the forecast and be alert for possible flood or flash flood warnings. Those in areas prone to flooding should be ready to take action should flooding occur.

Main Street merchants: Vendors hurting our business

Could street vendors be hurting the business of Franklin Main Street Shops on Saturdays?

According to business owners that operate stores on Main Street, vendors that come in during the Pickin’ on the Square Event are hindering the appearance of the merchants actually having their stores open.

This business owner spoke to Town Alderman on behalf of the Streets of Franklin and she says the downtown stores are suffering because of the street vendors, “With the vendors parking right on Main Street, they’re blocking our stores. Customers and or people that are there listening to Pickin’ on the Square cannot see that we’re open. In the past, there have not been a lot of businesses staying open and I grant you that, but again they are wanting to. We would like to have the vendors off of Main Street so that people could see that we’re all open. Give our eating establishments a chance.”

She proposed that the Town Board consider eliminating or moving the vendors to a different location.

This downtown merchant also addressed Alderman on the issue of street vendors, “We would just like a fighting chance. The more we could do to attract tourists to the downtown merchants, not only on Saturday night, but eventually on Friday, we could have an opportunity to really grow and progress.”

This long-time Franklin street vendor had this to say in reaction to the merchant’s proposal to have them moved, “I will relocate if that’s what you wish. All of the merchants are based on greed. That’s all. We built this business up here, they didn’t. They had their opportunity to stay open at night and they didn’t. They’ve not been there 14 years.”

Alderman Patillo was in favor of working out a settlement between merchants and vendors, “Personally I don’t think we could exclude vendors permanently. What we have to do is work out something that is fair to everyone. I don’t know what it’s going to take to do that.”

Mayor Collins brought up the thought of having vendors set up in a central location off of Main Street in what could be considered a type of “food court”.

The board agreed to hold a meeting between vendors and merchants during their continuation meeting scheduled for May 18^th in an attempt to hash out a plan that will somehow satisfy both sides.

Macon's food/shelter programs to get more federal assistance

Macon County will be receiving nearly $11,500 in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help emergency food and shelter programs.

The selection was made by a National Board that includes representatives from FEMA, American Red Cross and the United Way among many others.

A local board will decide how to distribute the funds within the county.

Public or private voluntary organizations wishing to apply for a portion of the funds may pick up an application at DSS on Lakeside Drive. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. on May 22^nd.

SCC switching to four day schedule this summer

Southwestern Community College will soon begin a four day schedule in efforts to increase energy savings as the state budget tightens according to SCC President Cecil Groves, “We can achieve some economies by basically being able to close our facilities on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. That saves us a fair amount of money in terms of energy costs. You really need to be shutdown about 72 hours, which would save us maybe as much as 30 percent,” said Groves.

Groves adds that they are going to implement the new summer schedule at the main buildings in Macon and Jackson Counties, “The primary focus has been on the Jackson Campus and the primary building on the Macon Campus, but we would continue operations on a five day schedule at the Public Safety Training Complex and also with continuing education classes.”

Students will still have public access from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

The schedule plans to run from May 11^th until August 7^th.

Panthers close out season with win

The Franklin Panther baseball team closed out the regular season with a big win against North Buncombe at home on Tuesday. The Panthers edged out the Black Hawks by a final of 7-4, improving their overall record to 6-11.

Franklin is scheduled to travel to Tuscola to play the Mountaineers in Round 1 of the MAC tournament this afternoon at 4:30 p.m.

Seven sickened by Freon leak

Seven people were reportedly sickened last weekend from what is believed a Freon leak at the Eller and Owens Furniture Store in Otto.

Macon EMS Director Warren Cabe has more details, “There was a call that came into 911 on April 25^th concerning some type of gas leak in a retail furniture establishment. There were about seven folks that were sickened by some type of fumes, or gas leaks and upon further investigation it was determined over a period of a couple of days there appeared to be a Freon leak from one of the air conditioning units.”

The building was closed until around lunchtime on the 27^th, according to Cabe.

Cabe says local authorities made phone calls to officials in Asheville for assistance in dealing with the leak, “Macon County Emergency Management and Otto Fire Department actually assisted in trying to determine where the leak was coming from and we consulted with Asheville Fire and Rescue for some telephone consult work to make sure we were on the right track to determine the leak.”

Cabe adds that only some of the victims had to be transported to a nearby hospital where they were treated and released.

May proclaimed 'Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month'

The NC DOT says that in 2008 North Carolina had 142 motorcycle rider fatalities which was down from 192 in 2007.

In an effort to remind both motorcyclists and drivers of the importance of sharing the road Governor Bev Perdue has proclaimed the month of May as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month.

According to SGT Tilley with the State Highway Patrol, motorcycle accidents are no stranger to western North Carolina Highways, “We have had some months that were disproportional as far as motorcycle accidents, particularly in the summer months, in Graham County and the surrounding counties. People are trying to go up and drive on the Tail of the Dragon on U.S. 129 which goes from Robbinsville into Tennessee. NC 28 in Macon, Swain and Graham have had their fair share of motorcycle accidents. People are coming into the area and aren’t used to it.”

Tilley says it’s important for drivers to be aware of motorcycles, “Always be In cognitive of where the motorcycle is in relation to your car, especially when it comes following distance, changing lanes, merging or pulling out into traffic and making turns.”

He offers the following advice for those who ride motorcycles, “You want to wear all of your protective equipment, gloves, a motorcycle jacket, preferably one with padding in case you did fall off the motorcycle, boots that go over the ankle and a DOT approved helmet. The safest thing you can do is wear a helmet with a full face shield. Of course the law says you must burn your headlights while operating a motorcycle in North Carolina to be visible so other drivers can see you.”

Motorcycles only account for 2 percent of all registered vehicles in the state but are involved in 12 percent of all traffic fatalities.

Summer Safety Series Part 3: Ticks

Today begins the third installment in our series on staying safe in western North Carolina this summer.

Again we sat down with Macon County Health Program Specialist Patrick Muse to get some perspective on those perennial pests we like to call ticks, “Ticks like the warm and moist environment of summer, particularly in wooded and grassy areas so people are going to come in contact with ticks. The thing to be aware of is protecting your self with proper clothing and repellent. The two common repellents are DEET, which you can spray on the skin or clothing and Permethrin, that’s commonly used in agriculture, but it’s now available to put on clothing. It’s not to be worn on the skin at all. It lasts even after you wash your clothes several times and can be effective up to six weeks.”

He adds wearing light colored clothing can help you see ticks and if you know you will be in a high tick area to tuck your pants into your shoes to help keep them out.

Muse has some advice on what to do in the event you are bitten by a tick, “Removing it as soon as possible is important and you can do that with a common set of tweezers. The important thing is getting all the way down and pulling it out with the head and not leaving that in the skin. You need to examine your feet and ankles and places on your skins where ticks like to go such as under the arms, around the ears, backside of the knees, and around the hairline. Parents should be conscious of checking their children after they have been outside playing in an environment where ticks might be.”

Symptoms that may indicate a tick bite include fever, headache, muscle aches and or rashes.

Muse says fortunately one of the more serious illnesses related to a tick bite, is not very common in this area, “Actually Lyme Disease is one of the primary diseases that is spread by ticks. Several thousand people last year had that disease. Fortunately for us and less fortunately for other people, it’s primarily found in the New England states and in the Midwest. Most of the bites occur in the states above Virginia. That’s not to say that we don’t have that type of tick at all, but it’s primarily not found here,” said Muse.

Other important things to remember if you want to keep ticks away from your yard include:
          Avoid putting plants in the yard that attract deer and other animals (ticks live on animals.)
          Clear brush, leaf litter and tall grass from around the house.
          Keep the ground under bird feeders clean so you do not attract small animals (like squirrels.)
          Have a professional spray the house and yard with an insecticide in late May (to kill young ticks) and in September (to kill adult ticks.)

Calls to Help Line down this spring

This may be some more good news concerning the economy.

The latest figures from the Macon County Help Line say that Maconians are calling in less this spring, but there are many still seeking assistance during these financially challenging times.

According to Virginia Casada who operates the navigational help line, 188 calls were fielded in March, and 182 were taken in April. That’s down from nearly 250 calls taken in January and February respectively.

Casada says a majority of callers are seeking help with their power bills, “The biggest percentage of the calls that I had, in fact 84 calls, were for disconnect notices from the power company. A few of those were for other heat bills, but the major thing are the disconnect notices.”

She adds that other calls have come in for rent or mortgage assistance and that sometimes can be the hardest issue to find help for.

The Macon County Help Line number is 828-349-2128 and is designed to direct individuals to assistance they need on particular issues from food to shelter.

Five Waynesville residents arrested after shoplifting attempt

Five Haywood County residents have been arrested here in Franklin following a shoplifting attempt at the local Wal-Mart.

According to arrest reports at the Franklin Police Department, 22 year old James Lonnie Green, 57 year old Linda Dale Caldwell, 36 year old Edward Reeves Warren, 23 year old Amanda Lynn Warren and 21 year old Donald Eugene Stiles all of 23 Ball Drive in Waynesville were detained on Saturday after officers responded to a call from loss prevention at the store.

They were each charged with misdemeanor larceny and bonds were set at $1,000, respectively.

Clay County teen dies after gym class

Tragic news this Monday out of Clay County.

A 14 year old Hayesville Middle School student has reportedly died after collapsing in gym class on Friday.

Family, friends, and faculty and staff at the School are all mourning the loss of Rachael Elizabeth Burrell who was pronounced dead a nearby hospital early Friday.

Grieve counselors were brought in to help students and staff cope with the tragic loss of Burrell who was said to have been suffering from a heart condition.

Funeral services are set for today in Young Harris, Georgia.

Mountain Trace to be sold May 18th

Officials with Millennium Management and the WestCare Health System have set May 18^th as the closing date for the sale of Mountain Trace Nursing Center in Webster. Millennium Management will begin their official ownership of the facility that day.

The process of selling Mountain Trace was said to have been lengthy; requiring licensing and delicensure, issuing a Certificate of need, and holding meetings with employees and families.

In the summer of 2008, WestCare’s board of trustees accepted a bid proposal from Millennium to purchase the long-term care facility that was said to have operated at a loss of $1.1 million in 2007.

Mountain Trace is a 106 bed facility that was established back in 1989 by C.J. Harris Community Hospital.

Millennium Management owns 25 facilities in Florida, South Carolina, Ohio and Georgia. They plan to rename the Webster location to Mountain Trace Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Summer Safety Series Part 2: Mosquitoes

As summer time approaches, it won’t be long until those pesky mosquitoes start hanging around. Today is part 2 of a special series on staying safe this summer in western North Carolina.

We asked Macon County Health Program Specialist Patrick Muse some advice on keeping those blood suckers at bay, “Insect repellent, wearing long sleeves and pants to keep them away from you. Being aware of the peak mosquito hours is a good thing. If you’re going to be outdoors like camping, mosquito netting works really good. You can reduce the number of mosquitoes in the area by getting rid of old standing water. Bird bath water can get stagnant pretty quick and you can actually see larvae kicking around in their. You should refill it and wash it often.”

He says it’s even a law in certain parts of North Carolina to keep screens on your doors due to the higher concentrations of mosquitoes.

Muse has more information on how repellents work, “Deet comes in different concentrations. It’s important to look on the bottle to see what concentration you’re purchasing. Know that the higher the concentration the longer they last. A product with 5 percent Deet may protect you for an hour, while a product with 30 percent is protective for up to five hours.”

He offers some advice when it comes to applying repellent to your little one, “You don’t want to spray it on. Spray it on your hand and then wipe it in areas such as around the ears. You don’t want to put it close to the eyes and mouth. Don’t put it on a child’s hand, because children tend to put their hands in their mouths more than adults do.”

Last summer there were reported cases of the mosquito-borne illness La Crosse encephalitis which can prove to be serious, right here in western North Carolina especially in the Highlands area according to health officials. The illness is usually accompanied by symptoms of fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, and tiredness.

Further information is available by visiting www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/arbor/lacfact.htm or by calling the Health Center at 828-349-2081.

Soil issues arise at North Macon School site

Engineers currently working at the site of the forthcoming North Macon K-4 School have run into some issues with the soil at the Iotla site. Superintendent Dan Brigman updated the Board of Education this week on the preparations at the site for water and sewer.

He said he has been in discussion with County Manager Jack Horton on other options, “There has been an issue with compacted soil and Mr. Horton has requested the engineers come back and dig some more holes. Currently, the only option we have is to move the playground down below closer to the air strip, below the drain lines and Mr. Horton and I both concur that’s too far to have our elementary children walk. So we’re looking at that site for other areas for creating the existing treatment system that’s planned. Right now, they’re giving the OK to the engineers and the site inspectors to go out and dig more holes,” explained Brigman.

Engineers are scheduled to dig more this week and will have the option of abandoning that area and moving to another portion of the site for the water and sewer installation.

Perdue issues statement on H1N1 virus

Governor Bev Perdue is assuring North Carolinians that the state is fully prepared to respond to any cases of what is now being called the H1N1 flu virus.

In a statement released from her office, she says she has been in close contact with state public health officials and she is making public safety a top priority.

Perdue is asking citizens to be “vigilant in taking precautions necessary to protect your self from getting sick.”

Some reminders are to wash your hands frequently, cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing and stay at home from school or work if you are sick.

Health leaders say there are two probable cases of the virus in North Carolina but that has not been confirmed at this time.

Summer Safety Series Part 1: Rabies prevention

What you can do to help prevent a potentially deadly disease kicks off part 1 of a special series on Summer Safety issues here in Macon County and in western North Carolina.      

We spoke to Macon County Health Program Specialist Patrick Muse about the illness known as rabies that kills about 50,000 people and animals worldwide each year.

He talks about who can get rabies, “Any warm-blooded animal, primarily bats, it can also be in raccoons, skunks, foxes and unfortunately in dogs and cats also. Cattle have been known to carry rabies and of course humans can carry rabies.”

Muse says the disease is carried and spread mainly through saliva, “You contract rabies from the saliva from an animal that has the disease. You can’t get it from blood, urine or by petting an animal but if say if a cat has been licking its paw and then scratches you, then you can get rabies that way. But primarily it’s by coming in contact with the saliva,” adds Muse.

He offers some tips on what you can do to reduce your risk of getting rabies, “Primarily in your domestic animals like dogs and cats and even ferrets, they’re required by state law to get a rabies shot once a year. We do provide rabies clinics twice a year here in Macon County. You want to keep your pets under your supervision. Also it’s not wise to handle wild animals or strays, especially if the animal is acting strangely; you should call the animal control officer. If you do get bitten you need to wash that wound with soap and water for at least five minutes and you may want to contact your doctor or health department to see if you need shots.”

A recent report released by the N.C. Division of Public Health says that raccoons were the most likely animal to be carrying the disease in North Carolina, followed by skunks and bats.

Coming up this Saturday various rabies clinics are scheduled to be held in Macon County. For a list of locations and times call 828-349-2081.

Additional information on rabies is also available at www.cdc.gov/rabies

Song written about Tessentee to benefit the Little T Watershed Association

Local singer/songwriter Tom Quigley plans to donate all proceeds from the download of his single “Tessentee” to benefit the Little Tennessee Watershed Association.

Director of the LTWA Jenny Sanders says she hopes Quigley’s song will help raise awareness on protecting the waters and upland forests that run through Macon County, “Tom is not only a generous supporter that plays at our events and now has written this song about Tessentee, but I think this will add to his contributions to help people think about the river and about the creeks that flow into the river and how beautiful they are. It will benefit it us that way, by raising awareness, but also financially because he’s donating the proceeds from the download of that song and that will certainly benefit us.”

She talks about where you can download “Tessentee”, “If you want to preview the song, there’s a player on our website on the front page. If you want to download it, it’s available at amazon and itunes. We plan to place a link to those places as well,” adds Sanders.

If you would like more information visit www.ltwa.org

Thursday April 30th, 2009

Macon Co's unemployment figures improve in March

The latest unemployment figures from the state’s ESC are looking better in 84 of North Carolina’s 100 counties including right here in Macon.

For the month of March, the jobless rate actually fell nearly a percent for Macon County improving from 13 to 12.2 from February to March.

We asked Larry Parker with Employment Security Commission what was behind the drop in March, “In general what we saw was just kind of a lull in some of the layoffs and kind of everything leveling out for once. We’ve had so many months of employment dropping and unemployment going up, based on a lot of layoffs and cutbacks that North Carolina finally had a month where those just leveled off.”

Parker says even though it’s only for a single month the news statewide is good, “Again we’re looking at one month and when we look at the county rates, we typically want to look at a three or four month average and see what’s really going on. Right now, this is just one bright spot at the end of several months of bad news in your area,” said Parker.

According to the report almost 15,000 of Macon’s labor force had a job in the month of March leaving just over 2,000 considered unemployed.

Parker talks about the outlook for the next few months in North Carolina, “One thing is certain, we will have those kids getting out of school and going into the labor force just like we do every year. If the jobs aren’t there, certainly there is potential for unemployment rates to either stay at this rate or continue upward if there’s no jobs to be found this summer.”

Other counties in the region followed the same trend with better numbers last month as Graham, Clay, Jackson, Cherokee and Swain all showed improvements in their unemployment figures.

Shields to BOE: Not hiring volleyball coach a liability issue

Following a closed session at this week’s Macon County Board of Education meeting, board members voted unanimously to approve new personnel into the school system with the exception of an assistant volleyball coach for the varsity team at Franklin High School and also a JV volleyball coach for Franklin High.

After the vote was made, FHS Principal Gary Shields addressed the board saying postponing the hiring of a coach for these positions could lead to a liability issue, “Since I am personally involved with this as my wife as the head of the volleyball program and varsity coach; you’re leaving her by herself with a varsity and JV. I think that’s a liability issue and I don’t want our family to be put in a liable situation. I don’t want her put in a liable situation. I don’t think its right when you’ve got a head coach and all of those girls going places, it’s a liability issue. I think it’s a Title 9 issue.”

The board plans to have the Superintendent, Principal and Athletic Director meet and discuss options for the positions.

Shields says a decision would need to be made as soon as possible due to the potential liability issues that could arise from not having qualified personnel in place.

The board in response said they would make the issue a priority.

Big Cove fire now half contained by Eric Moore

The Big Cove wildfire, which has burned about 1,500 acres so far is now 50% contained, according to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. There are no reported injuries and no structures have been lost. Fire crews expect to make substantial progress toward containment by the week’s end. A burn ban is now in effect for the Qualla Boundary.

The three other fires inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park continue to burn, but are much smaller in size than the Big Cove fire. None of those fires threaten any structures either. A 20-man crew from Arizona has been deployed to assist local firefighters.

Cat lineman signs with Steelers

Former Catamount defensive lineman Jeff Bradley is going to join two fellow Western Carolina players in the NFL as he has signed a free agent contract to play with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bradley, whose father played eight seasons in Pittsburgh, winning two Super Bowls, is expected to report to rookie orientation on Friday.

Bradley, a native of Lewisville, NC played 41 games for the Cats, racking up over 100 total tackles and was twice named All So-Con.

Mountain View "Intermediate" it is

Construction crews continue to progress towards making the 5^th and 6^th grade school a reality in Macon County and now the school has an official name.

At this week’s Board of Education meeting, an open poll was held among board members on either naming the school Mountain View Intermediate or Mountain View School.

Board member Tommy Cabe was against using the word Intermediate due to the response he had received from the community, “Intermediate, I’ll be honest, I can’t go with. Because too many people that I have talked to out in the community are against it for some reason. We went through this before with the other board.”

This 5^th grade teacher said the word intermediate would distinguish the school, but the students may not comprehend what it means, “It’s the only thing that makes it stand out and makes it sound like a distinction between an elementary school and middle school. Most children when you ask them aren’t going to understand what that means out of context.”

A member of the student advisory committee spoke as well and she said including intermediate would set a precedent for similar schools, “This 5/6 is first of its kind in our region so it’s important for us to set a precedent that it’s the new thing and by naming it intermediate it is the new thing. It’s something new, something different, something you haven’t seen before and maybe other counties will see that.”

The final outcome was in favor of Mountain View Intermediate by a final vote of 4-1 with Cabe being the only opposed.

The board plans to officially open Mountain View Intermediate in the fall of 2010.

Murphy man apprehended after chase

A 25 year old Murphy man was taken into custody by Macon County Sheriff’s Deputies following a vehicle chase.

According to arrest reports authorities in Clay County issued a Be On the Look Out for Victor Gonzalez. Macon Deputies apparently intercepted him after he crossed into Macon County on Highway 64 East.

In Macon County Gonzalez has been charged with a felony count of fleeing arrest with a motor vehicle in addition to DWI, reckless driving, and no license.

His bond was set at $5,000.

Sheriff Holland was not available for further comment.

Commission approves abandoned home program

The Macon County Commission has finally approved a program designed to help residents remove abandoned mobile homes.

At this week’s Board meeting, a voluntary program developed by Macon County Solid Waste Director Chris Stahl was presented to the Commission.

Stahl is looking forward to seeing the program help improve the appearance of the county, “I’m glad we were able to develop something that the Commissioners supported and it is something that’s going to be of value to the county by affording people the opportunity to get these homes out of pastures, or off their properties and just have the whole communities of the county looking better.”

Stahl says the program is going to offer incentives to county residents, who want to dispose of their abandoned mobile home, “Interested parties would file an application and then there would be an inspection process. Then there’s one of two ways they could go. We will have a contractor that will give us a price on getting the demolition and the transport to the landfill. Then there will be tipping fees and a demolition permit fee. There are a few criteria that we have to meet in the way the homes are taken apart. Once you fill out the application and you are approved into the program, we will come up with a budget price for the removal and disposal of the home. Then the county will put up to $1,000 of qualifying expenses towards the cost of getting the home properly disposed of.”

He adds that you would be entitled to use your own demolition contractor but in that case the only reimbursable expenses would be the demo permit and tipping fees.

Based on research conducted by Stahl it can cost anywhere from $2,200 to over $3,000 to completely dispose of a mobile home

The program is set to take effect in Macon County on July 1^st.

Cherokee wildfire now at 3,000 acres

The wildfire burning on the Cherokee Indian Reservation near the Big Cove Community has now claimed at least 3,000 acres.

Firefighters from the Eastern Band, Haywood, Jackson, Swain, and now crews from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are collaborating in the efforts to extinguish the blaze that was allegedly started after a power pole fell down producing sparks.

In a statement released from the GSMNP, only a small portion of the blaze is within the Park itself.

Officials are currently battling three other smaller fires that are within the National Park’s boundaries. 

Authorities say for now no homes have been threatened or damaged and fortunately no injuries have been reported.

Macon Health Dept eyes Swine Flu after possible cases reported in WNC

As state and local health officials continue to keep a close eye on the recent outbreak of Swine Flu, there has been a report of two possible cases here in western North Carolina.

Macon County Health Director Jim Bruckner has the latest information, “The Macon County Public Health Center is monitoring the swine influenza infection cases around the country. We did receive some information that there are two suspected cases in Buncombe County. We don’t have any other information on that at this point in time.”

Bruckner says they are urging residents to use the same precautions that they would use during flu season, “Cover your mouth when you sneeze and cough. Avoid contact with sick individuals and wash your hands. The symptoms people might be looking for are a low grade fever or greater than 100 degrees, sore throat, cough, stuffy nose, chills, headache and body ache and fatigue. If people are experiencing symptoms we are telling them to contact their primary care provider.”

The feds have confirmed a total at least 64 cases of the illness here in the United States so far. One is believed to have killed a 23 month old child.

In North Carolina overall there are 15 suspected cases at this time.

For more information regarding Swine Influenza call 1-800-662-7030.

Brigman declines raise due to economic conditions

It was announced at Monday’s Board of Education meeting that Superintendent Dan Brigman has requested to forbear the salary increase that was due him according to his contract.

School Board Chair Jim Breedlove says Brigman requested the postponement of a raise due to economic conditions, “Basically what Mr. Brigman is agreeing to do is to forgo an increase in his contract that he was most certainly entitled to by contract. I think that’s very commendable of him and I am impressed.”

The salary raise would have been effective as of July 1^st of 2009 and would have give Brigman a 12 percent increase.

According to the Board’s attorney, Brigman will have the right to reinstate the increase when he feels conditions are more favorable and that it would not be retroactive.

The School Board commended Brigman for his action during this time of financial strain for the state and local economy.

Changes approved in Sports Administration at FHS

In other action at Monday night’s school board meeting, some big changes were approved within the Franklin High School’s Athletic Department. Following the announcement that current Athletic Director Doug Plemmons would resign this summer, the Macon County Board of Education approved co-athletic directors Jay Brooks and Bill Horniak to take the reigns for the athletic program effective August 1^st.

Scott Hartbarger was also approved as the new head coach for the girl’s varsity basketball team taking over for Jay Brooks effective April 28^th.

ARRA yields $3 million to Highlands for sewer project

The town of Highlands will be getting some assistance thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

It was announced the town would receive $3 million dollars which is the maximum amount allowed by the program.

Town Manager Jim Fatland says the funds are going towards a sewer project around Mirror Lake, “It’s currently un-sewered on septic systems and this will give us the funds to bring sewer around that area. It’s also a water quality issue for us as well and it’s going to sewer about 140 new customers.”

Fatland says the town will only have to repay $1.5 million over the course of 20 years with no interest.

“The town of Highlands has a fairly new wastewater plant, that’s our strength. The weakness is that we only have about 20 percent or so of our current customers on sewer. So this is an opportunity to add additional customers and change out the septic tanks that have been up here for years,” adds Fatland.

The monies will go toward Mirror Lake Sewer Improvements including over 10,150 LF of 8" iron sewer lines, service connections, and one pump station to connect the area currently served by onsite septic systems.

The total cost of the project comes in at just under $4 million.

Moore County, Lake Lure and the TWSA were others to receive the maximum allotment.

County health officials issue statement regarding Swine Flu

The Macon County Public Health Center has issued the following statement regarding the recent news of Swine Flu.

At this time, there have not been any confirmed cases of Swine Flu in the state of North Carolina. The Macon County Public Health Center is actively communicating with state and regional health officials, local hospitals and health care professionals in our county regarding Swine Flu.

According to Jim Bruckner, Macon County Health Director, people should cover their mouths and noses with a tissue or sleeve when sneezing or coughing, avoid close contact with people who are sick, and most importantly wash hands with soap and water often.   

Swine Flu symptoms in humans are similar to symptoms of seasonal flu.  These symptoms may include:

• Fever (greater than 100° F)
• Sore throat
• Cough
• Stuffy nose
• Chills
• Headache and body aches
• Fatigue

People who are experiencing symptoms consistent with swine flu and have traveled to an affected area (see http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/investigation/htm) or have been exposed to someone possibly infected with swine flu, during the past 7 days should report their illness to their health care provider and inform them of their recent travels. 

North Carolina residents who want general information about swine influenza may call the NC Department of Health and Human Services’ Care-Line at 1-800-662-7030 in English or Spanish (TTY 1-877-452-2514) or your local health center at 828-349-2081.

Operation Pill Crusher nets nearly 150,000 pills from WNC

Federal Drug Agents along with western North Carolina Sheriffs met in Macon County on Friday afternoon during a press conference on Operation Pill Crusher. Unused prescription drugs that are becoming more and more abused were collected last weekend in an effort to keep them out of the wrong hands.

We had a chance to speak with Henderson County Sheriff Rick Davis, whose officers participated in the program and he says prescription drug abuse is becoming widespread throughout this area, “It’s not just in our county, its not just in Macon County, it’s a nationwide trend. Very soon, the DEA is telling us, that pharmaceuticals and the illegal use of them are going to outpace methamphetamines and cocaine as far as the levels of abuse.”

Davis adds that nearly 150,000 pills were taken off the streets during Operation Pill Crusher, “I know from Henderson County, there 29,000 pills collected that run the range fentanyl to methadone. From the region there were approximately 140,000 pills. That’s not including the various injectors like codene-3 and those sorts of medications, so it runs the table,” said Davis.

All the pills were brought into the Macon County Courthouse and were put on display on Friday afternoon. 11 western North Carolina counties participated in last Saturday’s initiative.

Davis hopes that the operation will become a regular event and that combined with education on the repercussions are things that he thinks will help curb this growing issue.

AYUSA seeks local host families for exchange student program

If you ask Franklin resident Donna Bell about her experience in hosting three different exchange students, she’d be quick to tell you it was a learning experience, but yet very rewarding.

Bell, is now the Community Representative for AYUSA a leading organization in foreign exchange programs that’s mission to help build bridges of international friendship.

Bell says if folks in the community are interested in hosting a student, they are currently searching for host families for the coming school year, “Part of my responsibility is to find host families for Franklin High School or Highlands, Bryson City, Murphy, Andrews and Hayesville. We basically look for families that are open minded, and flexible and would like to share their home. These students come with their own spending money for their expenses, clothes or whatever they may need, as well as medical and health insurance.”

She says it’s been a wonderful opportunity to share her home and make a difference in someone’s life, “You’re surprised on how much on how much of a difference they make in your life. I feel it’s been a blessing to have all three of them, they’re totally three different personalities and we get back more than the student takes home, because they make a difference in your life as well.”

Currently Donna is helping host George Abadala, a junior from Lebanon who talks about his experience here in Macon County, “When I came here, I found lots of differences but lots of similarities at the time. I enjoyed the life here.”

And although he’ll be returning home soon, George says he has enjoyed his time at Franklin High School, as a member of the track and cross country team.

He talks about what he’ll miss the most, “Of course, I’m going to miss my host family and my friends. All the people that I met here, I’ll also miss the people at church. Basically everybody that I met here.”

George says during his stay, his host family has treated him like one of their own.

If you would like more information on becoming a host family call 421-8843 or visit www.ayusa.org

SCC doubles spring commencement

Southwestern Community College has announced that due to the large number of graduates they will once again double their commencement ceremonies for the spring semester.

The ceremonies are set for Friday May 8^th at Myers Auditorium on the Jackson Campus

The arts and sciences and health sciences division will graduate at 5:30 p.m., followed at 7:30 p.m. by career technologies.

In lieu of a commencement speaker, a video featuring highlights of the graduates will be shown.

Officials continue to warn of fire danger

Local and State Fire Officials have not formally issued a burning ban, but they are urging residents to hold off on outdoor burning at least for now as conditions outside have become increasingly dangerous for fires.

Macon County Fire Marshall Warren Cabe has more information, “The biggest problem we’ve had is with the relative humidity values that are close to 25 percent in conjunction with winds between 5-15 miles an hour and that combined with low fuel moisture really increases the fire danger. We see problems about this time of year, because of people cleaning up their yards and new growth hasn’t completely matured yet.”

Cabe says they’re sending additional help on brush fire calls as a precaution, “In the last day or two we have been sending automatic mutual aid on brush fires just to make sure we keep a jump on those in conjunction with North Carolina and U.S. Forest Service,” said Cabe.

Again no formal ban has been issued according to Cabe.

For further information and updates on fire conditions visit www.enr.state.nc.us

Town to request better representation on LT advisory commission

The Town Board has agreed to send a memorandum to Senator Snow regarding the Senate Bill he recently introduced that would form a protection commission for the Little Tennessee River. In their letter to Snow, Alderman are going to state they feel the bill needs much more representation from municipalities such as the town of Franklin.

Board Member Bob Scott says the reason behind that is that in the western part of the state, municipalities are the primary government bodies that provide water systems, “Municipalities are being left out of the equation, but yet municipalities that have the most to lose or gain from this commission. The commission was apparently drawn up on other commissions that down in the central and eastern part of the state, and they don’t fit us here,” said Scott.

Scott was the one who proposed the letter be sent to Snow, “I would like to see us write a letter to Senator Snow to rethink this bill from the standpoint of municipalities having the heavier representation because it’s municipalities that are running the water systems here in the west, not the county commissions.”

The bill calls for this commission to be made up of elected officials from Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee and would provide guidance and make recommendations on issues affecting the water quantity and quality of the basin.

Currently the bill is before a Senate Committee.

Alderman plan to send out that letter to Senator Snow in the next few days.

Macon Deputies learn "Survival Spanish"

Students at Western Carolina University recently taught Sheriff’s Deputies in Macon County something that could help keep them safer on the job.

The officers were trained in “Survival Spanish” which are law enforcement related phrases that will help them improve overall officer safety and establish basic control in situations that involve people who speak Spanish.

WCU students in an intermediate Spanish course and a Spanish for criminal justice professionals course led a free training session at the Macon County Sheriff's Office.

They practiced Spanish phrases with the officers such as "drop the weapon" and "turn around" and then assisted in role-playing exercises using the phrases.

2007 figures say that about 3 percent of the population in Macon County is Hispanic.

For more information about the initiative or to inquire about developing Spanish training for an organization in Western North Carolina, call (828) 227-3872.

Union students working on Community Garden

Union Academy middle grade students are going to work in an attempt to help share with their community during tougher economic times.

Community Schools Coordinator Pam Collins says the students have been busy putting together a Community Garden, “They have a greenhouse and in the winter get their vegetables going. What they are doing this for is the community and this summer, anyone that is in need of vegetables is asked to come and pick what they need. It is just a service to the community.”

The project is being headed by the middle grade students at the school. Additionally Collins says they’ll be selling vegetable plants right out of their greenhouse for those who are looking to start a home garden. Proceeds from the plant sales will go to benefit the Community Garden Project.

For further information call 369-1277.

Four suspects surrender in drug sting; more expected

As the drug sting that landed 40 people behind bars last week continues, four additional drug arrests have been made by the Macon County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Holland says four suspects turned their selves into authorities after the story was covered by local media and by word of mouth, “The contacted us after we had put word out that we were attempting to local them, and they turned themselves into authorities here.”

Among the latest four to be detained was 39 year old Timmie Lee Collins of Franklin who faces felony controlled substance charges. 23 year old Jacquelyn Ruth Stewart also of Franklin who was charged with four felony cocaine related charges. Additionally, 39 year old Sylivia Plank-Younce of Clayton, Georgia and 30 year old Stephanie Mason of Franklin were arrested and are being charged federally.

Holland expects other suspects to surrender as well, “We do have other individuals that we’re attempting to locate. In fact, those individuals have contacted us and they are now out of county and out of state are working to voluntarily turn themselves into us. That will be at a later date.”

He adds at this time the investigation is not over, “and while at this time we have either arrested or located individuals, this is an ongoing investigation. And while we may not have a warrant for a specific individual today, that does not mean we won’t have a warrant on that individual tomorrow,” said Holland.

So far a total of 44 individuals have been arrested in what is being considered the largest undercover drug bust in Macon County’s history.

RCSO still on trail of accused rapist by Scott Kimbler

The Rabun County Sheriff’s office has not given up the search for suspected rapist Daniel Perez Soto.

Lt. Jack Tanksley says Soto is believed to have lived in Franklin, Tennessee before coming to Rabun County last month to work as a rock mason. He adds they have contacted police in Tennessee should Soto go back. Tanksley says they have also been in contact with the U.S. Marshalls Office and may turn America's Most Wanted on to the case.

Soto is said to have attacked, raped and badly injured a woman in Mountain City early Sunday morning. He also is accused of injuring two Rabun County Deputies who attempted to arrest him. Soto is considered very dangerous and should not be approached.

N.C. traffic deaths dropped in 2008

The Department of Transportation says the number of traffic related deaths across the state fell in 2008 by more than 17 percent.

Figures released by the DMV say those crashes declined from 1,705 to 1,406

We asked Beth Horner with the Governor’s Highway Safety Program why they feel that that number dropped in 2008, “We do contribute some of it to there being less people driving last year. With the gas prices that spiked last summer, a lot of people chose to take other modes of transportation. We’d like to think our messages such as buckling your seat belt and not drinking and driving also contributed to it as well.”

Horner says the number of fatal motorcycle wrecks declined as well, “I was happy to see that motorcycle fatalities declined. That is an ongoing issue that we have been dealing with for past few years and last year a lot of folks went to a motorcycle.”

According to the DMV, so far in 2009 traffic-related deaths are down over 2008, “So far, we’re 12 percent down compared to this time last year. This past weekend the Highway Patrol said that 17 were killed and that was discouraging, but so far we’re down 12 percent,” adds Horner.

Alcohol-related fatalities were also down from 2007 to 2008 by nearly 20 percent.

CareNet web site gets revamped

Local faith-based food pantry Care-Net says thanks to the generosity of a local business they have received a new and improved website. Now citizens can log onto www.maconcarenet.org and check out the new design and you now have the ability to make donations to the non-profit organization, which has made local headlines with its generous service to the community, right over the internet.

Once again that address is www.maconcarenet.org

'Macon Pride' holding litter pick-up for Earth Day

Local-based anti-litter group Macon Pride says they plan to celebrate Earth Day this coming Saturday by holding a county-wide litter pickup.

Macon Pride member Shirley Ches says they hope to get Maconians motivated to recycle, she adds that most litter found along local roads and rivers can and should be recycled.

Ches describes how recycling can actually save taxpayer dollars in the long run, “It has been calculated for every cubic yard that is saved in that landfill and used for real items that belong in that landfill, we would save $1,000 per cubic yard. That’s our taxpayer dollars,” said Ches.

She talks about what items can be recycled, “Cans, bottles and paper are obvious of course. Mixed paper could be anything from your office or junk mail and corrugated cardboard."

"These things are the items that we are working so hard to let folks in Macon County know that we can keep our county beautiful by keeping this stuff off the roads.”

The litter sweep is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. and will wrap up around 1 p.m. on Saturday. You are asked to bring at least two bags with one so one can be used for litter that can’t be recycled, “We are asking all businesses, community groups, schools, churches and just individuals to go out and pick that stuff up and take it to the landfill by 2 o’clock and we’ll be there to sort it out.”

Ches goes on to say that there will be a portable recycling center set up at Wesley’s Park on Saturday for those who cannot make it to the landfill and they do encourage those participating to please be safe while helping clean up Macon County.

VA man injured in single-car accident

A Virginia man ended up in the hospital following a one-car accident early Friday morning. According to the Bryson City Post of the Highway Patrol, around 7:30, 70 year old Melvin W. Eads was towing a trailer with his 2007 Dodge pick-up on U.S. 23 on Cowee Mountain, when he veered off the road to the right and struck a ditch. Eads was taken to Angel Medical Center for injuries, but no details were available regarding the severity of those injuries. It is not known what caused Eads to lose control of his vehicle.

Town approves infrastructure for Craftsman Village project

The Town Board has OK’d the allocation of infrastructure to a proposed commercial and residential project that is being planned just south of Jones Ridge Road.

Luke Williams with Civil Design Concepts met with Alderman on Monday night requesting an allocation of nearly 15,000 gallons a day of water and just over 13,000 gallons a day for sewer for the anticipated Craftsman Village project.

Williams described the nature of the project to the board in his request for water and sewer, “The allocation we’re requesting is based off of seven buildings with approximately 41,000 square feet of retail and approximately 13,000 square feet of residential space and also a 100 seat restaurant.”

Although plans for the Craftsman Village are in preliminary stages, Alderman Bob Scott raised concerns on the need for proper landscaping to be in place due to the potential for storm water runoff in that area, “I do know that storm water runoff in that area is a problem. On 441, there has been quite a few hydroplaning situations down through there. Without some type of storm water runoff, you’ve got acres and no where for the water to go. I would strongly urge you to look at fibrous materials,” said Scott.

The developers say they plan to implement landscaping in the design, but at this point that has not been accomplished.

Alderman approved the allotments for water and sewer to the project which would be constructed on 13.2 acres along Highway 441.

A contract is in the works between the town and developers on stipulations regarding the allocations, which would include the possibly of town annexation if needed.

Search for suspected Rabun County rapist goes nationwide by Scott Kimbler

The Rabun County Sheriff’s Office has expanded the search for a suspected rapist Daniel Perez Soto to include the entire U.S. and have asked for the help of the U.S. Marshals Office in Atlanta.

Rabun County Sheriff Chief Investigator Gerald Johnson says they are still asking for your help in developing leads in the case.

Soto is said to have attacked and raped a Mountain City woman on Sunday. Soto is considered very dangerous and anyone who sees him should not try to apprehend him, call 911. He is described as 160lbs., 5’6” tall. Johnson said Soto should be considered very dangerous.

N.C. unemployment up slightly

March unemployment figures in North Carolina continue to look dismal, but there is some good news. According to the latest report released from the state’s Employment Security Commission there was an increase in the state’s overall jobless rate from February to March, but it has bucked the trend of large jumps in unemployment that the state has seen in recent months.

The state’s rate increased slightly to 10.8 percent in March, that’s up from 10.7 in February, which is the smallest jump since May of 2008.

This time last year the state’s unemployment rate was 5.4 percent. 

The Commission plans to release county rates for the month of March next week.

Angel Med's home health cuts won't impact services in Macon

Angel Medical Center has announced they’ll be ending their home health division that serves the Bryson City area effective May 1^st. Bonnie Peggs with Angel says the closing will not affect home health and hospice services to residents of Macon County, but rather be more focused on serving individuals here, “We know there are other facilities down there that are going to be able to care for those patients, so we are going to be able to better focus on the people here in Macon County and Nantahala. To be good stewards, we needed to focus on where we could do the best service for the people and so we are just going to be doing home health and hospice here in Macon County.”

Peggs talks about what is going to happen to those who were employed in the Bryson City location, “Some of them have already got other positions working in hospice down there, and a couple are coming up here. A good many of those people live in Bryson City. We still have the office open until May 1^st, and so they’re doing things to close up and make sure patients have been transferred to other care and so they’re kind of split on where they’re going to end up,” said Peggs.

West Care is considering expanding their home health serves to better serve Swain County and may look to add new staff positions in the future.

Alderman look to relocate Time Capsule

The Town Board agrees they want to move a very valuable piece of Franklin’s history, but the question is…Where?

At their meeting this week Alderman discussed moving the time capsule that is currently buried in front of the former town hall location to their new property on East Main Street, but at this time they’re not sure where the most suitable location would be.

The capsule was buried back in 1955 and contains items relating to the history of Franklin’s first century. It is planned to be opened by the Mayor of Franklin in the year 2055.

The board is going to begin the search for the best location before formally voting to move the capsule.

Highlands student takes 2nd in National Chef contest

Well if you’re the mood for some pan-seared halibut, you may want to see if Highlands School Junior Jamie Bolt will prepare it for you.

Bolt was named the first runner-up the National High School Chef of the Year Contest sponsored by Johnson and Wales University.

Community Schools Coordinator Pam Collins says it was that dish that won Jamie some big bucks to further his culinary education, “On April 4^th, he was on the Miami Campus of Johnson and Wales University where he placed first runner-up in the National Chef of the Year Contest, and as first runner-up, he won a $30,000 scholarship.”

Collins says the Highlands student has enjoyed cooking since an early age, “Cooking has been his passion since he was very young.”

Bolt is considering attending the Johnson and Wales campus at either Charlotte or Miami, said Collins.

And if the $30,000 wasn’t enough, Jamie was able to meet and greet with some very famous chefs and Collins says he was able to make some good contacts in the culinary world.

Congratulations to Jamie for his success! 

Search for suspected rapist in Rabun County by Scott Kimbler

The Rabun County Sheriff’s Office says there is a very dangerous rapist on the loose. Chief Investigator Gerald Johnson says Daniel Perez Soto attacked a woman in her home in Mountain City early Sunday morning and when deputies arrived he was combatant and injured two of them. Adding Soto may still be in the area.

He is described as being Hispanic in his mid-20’s, 160lbs., 5’6” tall. Johnson said Soto should be considered very dangerous.

Escaped inmate, jailer captured in California by Eric Moore

After a month long chase that caught the attention of the nation and originated in Swain County, a SWAT team in California has drawn the events to a close.  Ex-Swain Jailor Anita Vestal is now in custody along with Jeffrey Miles.  Vestal's family released a statement via the Public Relations Coordinator of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.  The statement says:  "We are thankful that Anita has been found and is safe. We would like to thank those in the community who have offered us support through their prayers and kind words. We do not have any further information about the events which have transpired throughout this ordeal and therefore we cannot comment further on this situation."

The further information that we do have on the situation is that a letter from the Swain County Jail from Jeffrey Miles was sent to Vallejo, California and returned to sender as undeliverable.  That caused Swain County authorities to alert their counterparts in California.  Miles and Vestal were staying at a motel just outside Vallejo when local authorities there spotted the vehicle they used to escape.  A SWAT team then moved in.  A short foot chase ensued and Miles was apprehended.  Vestal never left the hotel room and was placed under arrest without incident. 

Before the escape, Miles was awaiting trial on two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of robbery, one count of burglary, three counts of kidnapping, and one count of attempted arson.

Wildlife Commission offers tips on dealing with black bears

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is reminding western North Carolinians they should not be surprised if they spot a bear this spring – as sightings are common in this part of the state

However, people can take steps to minimize their chances of a having a conflict with the animal.

While black bears are rarely aggressive toward people, they can become bold when they are used to feeding on human-provided foods, such as garbage and bird seed. Oftentimes, they lose their fear of people.

Residents can prevent this by:

• Securing bags of trash inside cans stored in a garage, basement or other secure area, and placing outside as late as possible on trash pick-up days – not the night before.
• Purchasing bear-proof garbage cans or bear proofing your existing garbage container with a secure latching system.
• Avoiding “free-feeding” pets outdoors. If you must feed pets outdoors, make sure all food is consumed and empty bowls are removed.

Over the past 10 years, the number of bear-complaint calls to the Commission has doubled, with the vast majority of those calls from right here in the mountains.

More info: www.ncwildlife.org

Cullasaja fire blamed for man's death

Tragic news from the Cullasaja Community as a man has reportedly died after being involved in a structure fire on Tuesday evening. Crews from the Cullasaja Fire Department responded to the scene around 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Few details are being released at this time, but it is said the fire was possibly started due to a cigarette and is not believed to be connected to the fire on Brittany Lane that occurred just hours later. The victim’s identity has not yet been released.

We’ll continue to follow this story and pass long more details as they become available.

MPP cleared of possible pertussis

Health Officials and the community are breathing a sigh of relief at the latest news concerning the possible pertussis cases at Macon Program for Progress. Three individuals had been tested for the illness also known as whooping cough. Results from the first person came back negative last week, while the other two results have just come into the Health Department according to physician assistant at the Macon Public Health Center Stan Polanksi, “Both of those people had negative cultures for pertussis.”

The illness is known to be spread easily and this is certainly good news considering it could have been involved with a public facility, “There was the potential to expose a lot of people. We would be confronting a possible outbreak if any of these had turned out to be positive,” said Polanksi.

Local health officials were in close surveillance of the possible sick individuals this past week as they awaited the results from the state labs. 62 individuals were prescribed preventive antibiotics as precautionary measure while waiting for the results to come back.

Crime Report

A man wanted by the state of California on arson charges and probation violations has been taken into custody by the Macon Sheriff’s Office. Arrests reports say that 48 year old Sisouphan Louang Koth of Anaheim California was arrested on Thursday after Macon County Deputy Dereck Jones pulled his vehicle over for a speeding violation. After running his license Jones discovered the man was wanted on warrants from California.

He has been charged with a felony fugitive warrant at this time.

In an unrelated incident, a Jackson County man is now facing drug charges here in Macon County. Officers from the Franklin Police Department detained 41 James Barry Henson of Cullowhee and charged him with a felony count of possession of schedule II controlled substance. Additionally Henson was charged with possession of stolen property and drug paraphernalia. Arrests reports say officers found him to be in possession of 4 grams of methamphetamines at the time of arrest. Bond was set at $4,000.

Its Official: Harper headed to N.C. State

After a 2009 SoCon Tournament Championship and a trip to the big dance, Lady Catamount Head Basketball Coach Kellie Harper is packing her bags and heading to Raleigh.

It was announced on Thursday that Harper accepted the position to be Head Coach at N.C. State, a position left vacant after the passing of Kay Yow.

It was thought that Clyde native, and current State Assistant Coach Stephanie Glance would take over for Yow, but now those speculations have been cleared.

Harper has coached the Cats since 2004 leading them to four post-season appearances and a career record of 97-65.

In a statement from Western Carolina, Athletic Director Chip Smith says Kellie was more like an “ambassador for the University” and that she had a “tremendous future in coaching.”

Western Carolina says they will begin the search for Harper’s replacement immediately.

Arson suspected in Brittany Lane fire

The early morning fire that consumed a home at 14 Brittany Lane on Wednesday appears to be an act of arson—that’s the latest word from investigators who are back on scene today. Both SBI and Franklin Police have been working the case since the call came into 911 around 3 a.m. Wednesday morning after a neighbor who lived across the street heard a loud explosion and noticed the house to be on fire.

It took crews from Franklin, Cullasaja and Clarks Chapel around 2 hours to completely extinguish the flames.

Again, no one was said to be in the home, which is owned by a nursing home resident, at the time of the fire.

Investigators do believe the fire was started from the basement. Local authorities are now awaiting further reports from the SBI as the investigation continues.

No further details concerning the incident are available at this time.

Macon Co School System expected state spending freeze

The latest message from Raleigh to the local school systems is to freeze spending. The State Board of Education sent a letter to School Officials across the state this week letting them know that spending restrictions are now in place for the remainder of this budget year.  State Officials are now halting promotions, travel, and the filling of vacant or temporary positions that require state dollars. Additionally, the state is requiring that all new purchase orders be cancelled if the goods will not be received by April 16^th.

We had a chance to speak with Macon County Superintendent Dan Brigman, who received the memo earlier this week and he says he’s a little surprised the action has taken this long, “The state initiated a similar response to the revenue cash flow challenges we had back in 2002 across the state. With this being the third week of April, I’m somewhat surprised the state has delayed this course of action until now.”

Brigman adds the freeze shouldn’t have a major impact on the Macon School District as they felt this action could happen and utilized state allocations earlier in the year, “This action by the state is not a surprise to us as we followed the practice of expending our state allocations first and trying to preserve our local revenue with the anticipation of no carryovers and the possibility of further reversions this year. By now, most of our state funding codes should have been expended to address the priorities at each school and minimal dollars are remaining in those accounts.”

In November of 2008, the state requested that school districts revert a portion of their state allocations back, which took $174,000 from Macon County.

Brigman does go on to say there a couple of positions that they are going to have to wait on, but they will know more when the state’s budget becomes finalized.

Commission seeks answers from Georgia on wastewater plant

The Macon Commission is ready to have some questions answered concerning the discharge permit that could be issued to a new wastewater treatment plant that is being housed in the former Fruit of the Loom Plant in Rabun Gap, Georgia which sits on a section of the Little Tennessee River.

Chairman Ronnie Beale says the Board of Commissioners drafted a letter that will be sent to the Georgia EPD that requests a public hearing and has written questions concerning the implications of an interbasin transfer, which could possibly elevate the water levels of the Little Tennessee in Macon County, “We’re asking the Georgia EPD to schedule a public hearing on what is a very important issue for Macon County. Along with that we have several questions that we would like to submit for answers. We would like to know what the intent is, because the Little Tennessee flows a long way through Macon County. Not only as Commissioners, but as citizens we need to be aware of the changes that could happen to the Little Tennessee. We’re very hopeful that a public hearing will be granted and we can answer some of the questions that the citizens of Macon County, I’m sure would like to have answered.”

The Commission formally adopted the letter that is being sent to the Georgia EPD during the open comment period which will close on April 28^th.

Law enforcement collecting unused medications this weekend

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says that almost 7 million Americans are abusing prescription drugs—that’s more than the number abusing cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, Ecstasy and inhalants combined. Perhaps the more alarming news, that’s 80 percent increase since 2000.

This Saturday you can do your part in helping to prevent unused or unwanted prescriptions off the streets.

Macon County Sheriff Robert Holland talks more about “Operation Pill Crusher”, “It’s a joint operation between the Sheriffs of North Carolina and the DEA’s Office. We’re also in a joint effort with the Macon County Solid Waste, Macon County physicians and pharmacists, as well as Ingles. From 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. anybody can go to their local Ingles store and we will have Officers set up booths to take your outdated, unknown or unwanted medications or prescriptions and we will dispose of those free of charge,” said Holland.

Holland says old medicines that just lay dormant are starting to end up in the wrong hands, “What we find occurring is not only teens, but adults are able to get these prescription drugs that people don’t even realize that they still have. They leave them in the medicine cabinets or sitting around their house and then kids or adults come into contact with those and steal them and then they either abuse them or sell them for somebody else to abuse. A lot times people don’t realize their medications are missing or they think they just misplaced them.”

Holland hopes that Operation Pill Crusher will help curb the number of folks who are flushing unused prescriptions down the toilet—something that is said to have a negative impact on the environment.

Officers plan be at 28 different Ingles locations collecting pills throughout 11 counties in western North Carolina.

Franklin residence consumed by early morning fire

Crews from the Franklin Fire Department were dispatched to a fully involved house fire at 14 Brittany Lane early this morning. According to Fire Chief Pete Haithcock his department responded to the blaze around 3 a.m. after a nearby resident heard a loud explosion and reported the fire, “The structure was fully involved when we got there and we were able to get it under control in about an hour. We were supported by both Clarks Chapel and Cullasaja Fire Departments.”

He says the home was owned by a nursing home resident, but has been occupied. Fortunately no one was home at the time of the fire, but the house is being considered a loss, “It was pretty well gutted. The fire had got into the main structure of the house and we had to push the fire back and forth in the house to get it out as it was in the walls and hard to get to. The main floor did collapse in the living room, so we were unable to get a lot of people in there initially due to safety reasons.”

Haithcock adds crews finished up on scene around 5 a.m. this morning.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the Franklin Police Department and SBI.

13 of 40 arrested in drug sting charged Federally

40 people have now been taken into custody following the largest covert drug sting in Macon County’s history.

According to the Sheriff’s Office officers from all over western North Carolina including the Franklin Police, SBI and D.E.A. have been conducting searches, collecting evidence and helping arrest suspects here in Macon County for the past year.

We spoke with Sheriff Holland again today and he is expecting more arrests to come as authorities continue searching for suspects.

The Macon Sheriff’s Office also says that 13 of the 40 arrested are facing federal charges.

Sutton named Chair of Child Care Committee

The recently founded Macon County Child Care Committee held their second meeting on Monday and Ronnie Beale, the Board of Commissioners Liaison to the committee says they have a named a chairman, “We are happy to announce that Mr. Chuck Sutton is the Chairman of our Child Care Committee. The committee has reviewed statistics from MPP and we talked about how the Child Care Committee wants to proceed. At our next meeting, we’ll be bringing in some folks from the state and some local folks. We want to find out where we’re at with our child care concerns.”

Sutton currently serves as Director for the non-profit agency, Macon Program for Progress.

Beale adds the committee is aware of the need for affordable child care and how that ties in with ongoing mission of economic development in Macon County, “We know the need is there just by the waiting list at MPP. We think that this committee can come up with some solutions that can benefit the citizens. It does go hand in hand with economic development and other areas. Coming up with affordable child care is another part of the puzzle. We certainly don’t want to do anything to harm any of the private or public day cares that are now in place, but with the demand that’s there, we feel its time to do a comprehensive study of where we’re at in Macon County,” said Beale.

The Macon Child Care Committee was formed by Commissioners in February of this year and is made of up of various members from local child care and development organizations.

Western Coach Harper could get N.C. State job

Western Carolina Lady Catamount Basketball Coach Kellie Harper has reportedly interviewed for the head coach’s position at N.C. State that has been left vacant following the tragic loss of former coach Kay Yow. No word is available on whether or not Harper has received the position just yet.

Last season she led the Cats to a SoCon Tourney Championship and a trip to the NCAA tournament.

Harper has been at the helm in Cullowhee since April of 2004.

We’ll have more details on this story as they develop.

Largest drug investigation in Macon Co history nets 39 arrests

39 suspects are now behind bars following what is said to be the largest undercover narcotic investigation in Macon County. According to the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, Officers from all over western North Carolina converged in Macon County to help conduct searches, evidence collection, and arresting suspects for numerous drug related offenses. For over a year now, officers from the Macon Sheriff’s Department, D.E.A., Franklin Police, and SBI have been involved with covert operations conducting surveillance and gathering evidence while purchasing various amounts of drugs.

As the investigation has progressed, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Prosecutors from the 30^th Judicial District has become involved.

Macon County Sheriff Robert Holland had these words to say concerning  those who were arrested, “Many of the suspects were allegedly trafficking and distributing large amounts of narcotics and conducting business with absolutely NO concern as to the lives or families they were destroying.”

During the course of the investigation, officers were able to identify both street level drug dealers and suspects who have been transporting larger quantities of narcotics into and throughout western North Carolina.  

The drugs purchased during this investigation included powder cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine and numerous pharmaceutical drugs.

Holland adds that due to the dedication of these officers, a dent has been made in the local fight against drugs, “In a collaborative effort, local, state, and federal officers have worked non-stop for more than a year, including weekends and holidays.  Because of these dedicated officers, several members of our community are out of the drug dealing business.” 

Investigators were able to obtain Indictments which were sealed until the execution of this phase of the operation.  The Jackson Sheriff’s Office, Buncombe County Anti Crime Task Force and the Wildlife Commission assisted local officers with this phase of the operation.

Additional arrests are expected as the investigation continues. 

Local merchants to take part in tobacco sales training

Local merchants are being encouraged to learn the facts about selling tobacco products to minors during a training session set for next Tuesday at the Macon County Public Health Center. Macon County Tobacco Educator Liz Crawford explains, “It’s called Red Flag Training and it trains merchants on how to identify a minor. It’s called Red Flag because in North Carolina if there is red around the photo on a driver’s license, the person is under 18. Their slogan is if you see red, the sale is dead. We’ll have ALE Agent Steve Myers here to conduct the training. We’ve invited 37 merchants total, and right now we have about 20 on the list to attend.”

Store clerks who sell tobacco products to underage smokers could face up to $1,000 in fines and/or up to 30 days in jail.

The training will be held at the Public Health Center on Lakeside Drive beginning at 8:30 a.m. on April 21^st.

Crawford says currently there are still openings for the class, “If there are any merchants who did not receive their invitation, or still have not rsvp’d for this event, its not too late you can still attend. Just let us know by calling 349-2436.”

The training seminar will be the first of its kind to be held in Macon County in the last several years according to the Health Department.

Gov Perdue proclaims April, "Work Zone Safety" awareness month

The month of April has been proclaimed Work Zone Safety Awareness Month by Governor Perdue as a reminder for motorists to drive safely through North Carolina’s work zones. With the recovery dollars funding several road projects, 2009 is looking to be one of the most active construction years in recent history.

SGT. Norville with the Bryson City Post of the Highway Patrol offers the following reminders to drivers who will be passing through a work zone, “Decrease your speed and remember that the speeding penalties inside a work zone are a lot higher than they are outside of one. Be alert. Increase your following distance and watch out for workers, one of them might step out in front of you, so you need to be alert while you’re going through them.”

Over the past several years there has been an average of about 200 major work zones across the state at any given time and that number is expected to rise this year.

21 people lost their lives in work zone crashes last year and almost 1,500 were injured. SGT. Norville says most of those accidents were due to speed and the lack of focus from motorists, “Everybody seems to be in a hurry on the interstate. People wait to the last minute when they see a lane closure ahead to get over. When everybody starts merging at once, and people not paying attention is a big reason behind these wrecks,” said Norville.

Veterans Committee hopes to have park dedication by July 4th

The Veterans Memorial Park of Macon County could now be ready for an opening dedication on July 4^th of this year. According to Bob Litten with the Veterans Committee, they originally had hoped to open the park up on Memorial Day, but due to time and money constraints are now looking at Independence Day, “We’re looking at the possibility of not having the dedication on Memorial Day, but the Fourth of July as a better date, for various reasons such as trying to get it finished a little bit better and more of the community would probably turn out for the dedication.”

Litten talks about current progress with the Park, “We’re hoping that the brick sales will continue. They’ve been moving along steady, but people need to get their orders in right away, so that we can get the bricks made and get them in the ground before our dedication.”

He says to have the Park ready for dedication by the 4^th, they’ll need around $25,000, “We are preparing the ground for the installation of a sprinkler system and the sod. Moneywise, in dollars and cents we need at least an influx of $25,000 in the next 45 days or so,” says Litten.

Kentucky man dies after fall in the Smokies

Tragic news from the Great Smoky Mountains,

Park Officials say a 73 year old Kentucky man has died after apparently falling while hiking with his wife about seven miles from the Park’s Townsend Entrance.

Rangers were dispatched to the scene near Chestnut Top Trail just after 6 p.m. on Friday to find Robert Lyons, age 73 of Louisville Kentucky sitting near the Park’s entrance road.

Lyons told authorities that he and his wife were hiking when thunderstorms moved in and they decided to head back towards their car—it was at that time when Lyons fell some 20 feet down a steep slope sustaining back injuries.

He was conscious at the scene and was transported by ambulance to Townsend where was then taken by LIFESTAR helicopter to the University of Tennessee Hospital in Knoxville where he reportedly died of apparent blunt trauma just after 10 p.m. that night.

Severe weather hits Macon Co

The first round of severe weather moved through Macon County this past Friday bringing strong winds, heavy rain, and cloud to ground lightning.

Blair Holloway with the National Weather Service offers the following advice on staying safe during storms that the springtime often brings, “The safest place to be in a severe thunderstorm is an interior room on the lowest floor of a home or office building. You want to get away from windows and doors. One of the main dangers you get with severe thunderstorm winds is falling trees, and debris getting blown around. Take warnings seriously, take shelter if possible and basically put as many walls between you and the outside to protect yourself from the winds.”

He adds to avoid staying in mobile homes and cars, “The best thing to do is take shelter in a sturdy building outside the mobile home. If you’re in an automobile, the best thing to do is to pull to the side of the road away from trees and power lines. You don’t want to stay in your car, especially during a tornado,” said Holloway.

Holloway goes on to say that if you know in advance of severe weather it is a good idea to go ahead and secure loose objects around your property.

For more information on weather safety visit www.weather.gov/safety

TEA Party Protest set for April 15th

The Macon County Chapter of FreedomWorks is asking Macon taxpayers in joining them in sending a message to the federal government by attending a TEA Party Protest scheduled for Wednesday April 15^th from noon until 1 p.m. at the Town Gazebo.

Director Don Swanson says they hope to raise awareness on wasteful spending in Washington, “We’ll be speaking to the people, for the people. We are tired of the spending and the obvious taxation that’s going to come with it. We want to give people a chance to express their feelings and know that they’re not alone and that there is something they can do about it. We’ll tell them what they can do about it and give the information they need and hopefully we can make some changes in the next election cycles. We can’t go on like this.”

Swanson adds they are hoping for citizen involvement in sending that message, “We’re just pleased to have the opportunity to do it in Franklin, we expect a lot of interest and a lot of attendance. We think its going to be a very worthwhile event for folks to come out to. We’re praying for good weather and a good response. Hopefully, the people of Macon County will shake off their lethargy and do something about their future and their children’s future and their grandchildren’s future,” says Swanson.

Among the special guest speakers include local entrepreneur Phil Drake, Susan Pons and Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower.

Road construction suspended for Easter

Most road construction will come to a rest for the upcoming Easter Weekend. State DOT Officials say that the halt started at 4 p.m. on Thursday to ease travel.

The DOT reminds you to continue to watch out in work zones, because you may still encounter narrowed lanes and traffic shifts.

The penalty for speeding through a work zone is $250 statewide.

For free information on travel call 511 or visit www.ncdot.gov/traffictravel.

Construction is planned to resume on Monday at 9 a.m.

Bikers teaming up to fight domestic violence

This Saturday April 11^th, area motorcyclists are once again teaming up for the annual REACH of Macon County Motorcycle Rally to fight a problem that is often heard of right here in our community. 

Ann Van Harlinger with REACH says all proceeds go to benefit victims of domestic violence, “For every $62 we raise, we can house a child in our emergency safe shelter for a night and that includes emergency food, clothing, and advocacy and for the care-giving parent, legal advocacy as well.”

You can register for the rally the day of the event or at www.reachofmaconcounty.org prior to the 11^th. Raffle tickets will also be available for a new 2008 Polaris Ranger 4x4 500 Series for $25 a ticket or 5 for $100.

Van Harlinger says the event will get started at the Macon County Fairgrounds at 8:00 a.m. and will include a vintage car show and sound off, food, music and activities for the entire family.

As for the bikers, she says they are planning to take 136 mile ride through western North Carolina that day, “We will start at the Macon County Fairgrounds and we will return to the Macon County Fairgrounds. We will go through Dillsboro, Bryson City, up through the gorge to Andrews and Murphy. We have selected three pit stops where bikers can get off and shop or take a snack break. Then we’ll head back down Winding Stair Gap back to the Fairgrounds.”

She goes on to say that last year’s turnout was great and they’re looking forward to another great day in 2009, “We raised approximately $7,500 that went into direct client services, which was wonderful. It was a huge boom to our client services program, and we’re looking forward to doing the same, if not more, this year,” adds Van Harlinger.

WCU adding second commencement this spring

This spring, Western Carolina University is adding a second commencement ceremony due to the fact it will be the largest class to graduate in the school’s history at just over 1,100 students.

The ceremonies are set to take place at the Ramsey Center on Friday May 8^th and Saturday May 9^th.

Almost 300 grad students were invited to take part in the May 8^th ceremony, while some 840 undergraduate students will be participating in the ceremony on May 9^th.

LTWA taps town's non-profit pool

The town of Franklin has agreed to grant the remainder of this fiscal year’s non-profit funding to the Little Tennessee Watershed Association.

At this week’s Alderman meeting, Jenny Sanders, Director of the LTWA requested just over $4,200 that would go towards the potential ongoing issue of the new wastewater treatment plant in Rabun County, “This is work that is obviously necessary to protect the town of Franklin and the citizens of Macon County and their interests in providing water not only for our use as individuals, but also for potential industry and future recreational use and all the various ways that water is important to our community,” said Sanders.

“At this point we don’t have a lot of support because the problem is in Georgia and our work has to be done in both places so its pretty difficult to fund this sort of work. It seemed like an opportunity to work with the town of Franklin in the future. This could also go into 2010 when they apply for that intake permit to start with municipal water services. That the furthest that we anticipated funding,” Sanders told the town board.

In the past the LTWA has worked on various projects that protect the town’s interest including a watershed plan for Crawford Branch and watershed assessment for the town’s current water supply, Cartoogechaye Creek.

The association has more recently raised concerns regarding Rabun County’s application for a discharge permit that would allow them to discharge into a section of the Little Tennessee River in Georgia.

Alderman Scott made the motion to approve the funding due to the relativity to the town’s needs, “Of all the applications I’ve seen so far, the Little Tennessee Watershed Association has had the most direct impact on the town.”

The funding was approved unanimously as the town continues to keep their eye on protecting the Little Tennessee as it is expected to become a water supply for the town in the future.

Macon Historical Society asking for help with early 1900's photos

A historic collection of photographs taken by noted local photographer Charles Morgan will be displayed at the Macon County Historical Society starting next week. Morgan operated a portrait studio here in Franklin from 1905 until 1935.

Director of the Society Steven Rice says this is the first time that his photographs will be available for public viewing and they are asking for the community’s help in indentifying some of the people and places in the pictures, “There’s going to be photographs of people, places and events. We have names on a fair amount of them, but there’s quite a few that we don’t know who they are or where they are and we’re really putting out a call for the public to step up and help us identify some of these folks.”

Rice invites you to stop by Historical Society to see the photos, “Stop by, look at the photographs. Tell us who the people are, if you know or give us a good guess if you don’t. One of the photographs that comes to mind is the Tallulah Falls Railroad coming through Franklin and stopping, but it wasn’t at the Depot and we don’t know where it stopped at. There’s another photograph of the first Black baseball team in Franklin and we’d love to know who the players on the team were.”

He adds that a lot of the pictures will be displayed in the front window in case you don’t get a chance to stop in while they’re open. Rice anticipates around 100 photos in the exhibit.

The Historical Society is also asking for the public’s assistance in identifying local people and places in the Wayne Proffitt FFA collection that they plan to exhibit at a later date. The museum is open from 10-4, Tuesday through Friday.

For more information call 524-9758.

Shuler introduces legislation to honor late Kay Yow

Legislation that would honor a hero in the state of North Carolina has been introduced by Representative Heath Shuler.

The resolution, which is cosponsored by the entire North Carolina Congressional delegation, would recognize the late N.C. State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow for her unmatched contributions to women’s athletics and leadership in the fight against cancer.

Yow who led a difficult and high-profile battle against breast cancer since 1987 passed away in January of this year. Yow inspired many in her efforts to raise awareness on the disease.

Throughout her battle she continued to be a leader on the court, becoming one of six NCAA Division I women’s head basketball coaches to achieve 700 career wins.

Yow was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.

In a statement from his office, Shuler says, “Coach Yow has affected the lives of so many people through her work. She was a pioneer, leader and role model and her legacy will live on.”

Macon EMS tower damaged

Investigators with Macon Sheriffs Office are looking for information as to why the top 50 feet of a 70 foot tower was damaged over the weekend.

The tower, located on Winespring Bald, is a radio tower for Macon County Emergency Services.

Macon EMS Director Warren Cabe says their radio service was impacted, but they are almost back to full capacity, “We were slightly diminished on the west end. Actually, we were still operational, but the coverage wasn’t very good. We’ve actually got alternate sites that will pick up the call volume whenever something happens to one of those towers, so we had to switch some stuff over and work off some other towers. We’re still at a little bit less capacity than normal, but we’re about 95 percent back in business at this point.”

Cabe describes the purpose of the tower, “That is a repeater site and what happens is we’ll transmit radio communications from our dispatch office here and we bounce it off the top of that mountain which in turn rebroadcasts it to particular areas in the county. It increases the power output and spreads it into some remote areas, that one in particular serves the Nantahala area and the western end of the county and actually some stuff down on the south end as well,” adds Cabe.

At this time investigators have not confirmed if the act was criminal in nature, but the incident does remain under investigation.

Committee vacancies prompt town to discuss advertising positions

In what was a relatively short first board meeting at the new town hall, Alderman have filled the two empty slots on the Tourism Development Authority. Following the recent resignation of two members off the TDA, the town appointed business owners Ron Winecoff and Ronnie Haven as replacements on the TDA board.

Alderman are responsible for making appointments to the TDA, but the TDA itself acts independently from the town board.

The two recently filled positions on the TDA were not formally advertised and that prompted a reaction from Alderman Bob Scott who feels they should be in the future, “I would like to see for all vacancies on all town boards, commissions, authorities—anything that this board has jurisdiction over, that we go to the media and say there is a vacancy.”

The TDA by laws do not require the positions to be advertised but Scott emphasized the importance of citizen participation, “One way that you get that is by letting people know that they are welcome to be a part of any board or commission. All they have to do is let someone know, and then we take a look at it,” said Scott.

Haven and Winecoff were appointed to fill the unexpired terms of the two former board members.

Alderman Scott requested that the board discuss ways they could better inform the public on committee and board openings.

The town plans to address that issue more in depth at a meeting scheduled on April 20^th.

Stonewall packaging to create 61 jobs in Jackson County

It was announced that 61 jobs will be created in Jackson County as Stonewall Packaging LLC, a joint project of Jackson Paper Manufacturing Company, is building a new plant in Sylva that will produce recycled cardboard packaging. The company plans to invest over $16 million to renovate and modify a vacant mill.

According to a statement from Governor Perdue’s office the announcement was made possible in part by a $200,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund.

The 61 new jobs will pay an average of almost $40,000 a year, which is not including benefits, that is more than the Jackson County average annual wage of $27,820. 

The company will begin hiring this summer.

For more information about Jackson Paper, including employment opportunities visit www.jacksonpaper-nc.com. 

Local college student in national spotlight for academics

A local teen has garnered national attention from a leading newspaper. USA Today announced their All-USA Community College Academic Team Monday in Phoenix, Arizona. 17 year old Martha Hall of Sylva, a college transfer graduate of Southwestern Community College was selected as one of 20 students on this national team.

Southwestern President Cecil Groves escorted Hall to the awards ceremony at the Annual Convention of the American Association of Community Colleges, “We felt very honored to have that privilege to be recognized. In particular, it lets the public know the tremendous talent we have in our young people in western North Carolina. We’ve great, bright young people who are deeply committed to their communities. There were two students incidentally from North Carolina, and only one other state had two students and that was Illinois. There were only twenty selected and Martha incidentally was the youngest.”

Hall is currently enrolled at NC State University and is a member of the Watershed Association of the Tuckaseegee River, as well as a member of the Macon County 4-H Sharp Shooters Sports Club.

Groves talks about Hall’s reaction to being selected out of almost 1,500 who were nominated for the award, “Martha as you might expect, is a very gracious and a very humble individual who was excited to be selected. Like any of us, that’s such a distinguished honor; it kind of takes your breath away. Martha is always gracious and very concerned about others and what she’s trying to do. I think she took it in stride as she was doing what she was supposed to do and that’s trying to help other people and make good grades and dedicate her life to doing good things.”

The criteria for the awards are students who excel academically, show intellectual rigor in their course of study, demonstrate academic leadership/civic growth and extend their community college education to better themselves, their schools and their communities.

Each of the winners received $2,500 and were featured in the April 6^th edition of USA today.

Franklin Lions Club gearing up for annual Film Festival

Each year the Franklin Lions Club makes it possible for all Macon County School children in grades K to 3^rd to attend their annual film festival and to keep the annual tradition going, the Lions Club is asking for your support.

The Franklin Lions Film Festival will be held on May 4 through 7 and is a school supervised trip.  Franklin Lions will also be on hand greeting the children and answering questions.

According to the chairman of the Film Festival Brian Hylton, “seeing a film at the theatre is routine for many of us, but a lot of our school age children have never been due to their family’s financial constraints,”

Franklin Lions have just mailed over 600 donation forms to business owners as well as the local community to assist in sponsoring the event. 

All monies raised beyond the cost of the festival help the local club provide their Vision Screening Program in the Macon County school system as well as other projects.  In 2008, the Franklin Lions Club screened 2,090 students with a referral rate of 11.5%.

For more information or to make a donation call 828-369-2029.

Spring snow hits western North Carolina

Light snow fell over Macon County on Monday night creating a wintery scene this morning on what is ironically the second official day of spring break for Franklin area students. More snow fell in higher elevations forcing Nantahala School to open at 11 a.m. today. The spring snow fall has also resulted in a two-hour delay for Jackson County Schools.

No major accumulation is expected as most of western North Carolina only received a light dusting.

The National Weather Service is calling for a 40 percent chance of snow and rain for the rest of today, with a slight chance of more snow showers tonight.

Conditions are expected to be more like spring on Wednesday and Thursday with highs in the 60s.

New town hall unveiled

On Monday, the town of Franklin officially unveiled its new headquarters on Main Street in the former Burrell Building. A special dedication ceremony was held followed by an open house of the newly renovated 7,000 square foot facility that will be home to the town’s administrative offices and Alderman Board Room.

Current Mayor Joe Collins addressed the many that came out to see the new town hall, “It’s so exciting to see this building come alive. They say location is everything and this has the location, but it never seemed to have found the right use, but it has now. We should thank Mayor Henson and the board in the 80’s who had the vision to put a structure like this in town and we certainly should thank the Burrell family for their gracious and reasonable dealing with the town, so the town could end up with the building where it’s at, its just perfect.  For a full generation, the official name, which is now town hall, was the Burrell Building and I expect for a lot of folks, it will always be the Burrell Building, but we’re so proud of it.”

The building is equipped with an elevator and full kitchen facility. Collins adds that it has a generator capable of running the entire building and elevator for extended periods of time.

He said it could serve as a hub in the event of a disaster, “We envision in cases of emergency or disaster that this could be a hub of activity for the needs of the town. We hope that we don’t have to use it for that purpose but it certainly will be open if in fact it is necessary for that purpose,” said Collins.

Alderman Handley said they focused on local artists when it came to decorating, “This building is going to be a big part of our town. All of the decorations, hangings and paintings you see are all local artists. We tried so hard to incorporate the people who live in this town and county. We wanted a bright new place for employees.”

Town Officials say that public restrooms are available inside the building.

Senator John Snow made a special visit to the new town hall just a few days ago for a guided tour.

The town board voted last year to move from their former location on West Main Street to the new location after some upgrades and renovations were completed.

Animal Control Ordinance pushed back

The Macon County Animal Control Ordinance that was originally set to take effect this month, has been delayed due to a later start on construction for the animal control shelter on Lakeside Drive. County Manager Jack Horton says the Commission has agreed to make June 1^st, the new effective date of the ordinance, “We were a little bit later getting started on the construction than we had originally intended. We do expect the building to be completed by the end of May. We’ve asked the board and the board has agreed to postpone the enforcement of the Animal Control Ordinance until June 1^st. We think by June 1^st, we’ll have the building completed and our staff in place and our operating procedures in place.”

Horton adds that the county is currently seeking employees to help enforce the ordinance, “We’re actually advertising for the Animal Control Director’s job and the Animal Control Officers; we need one or two—at least. And we need a shelter attendant, so we’re advertising for all three of those positions,” said Horton.

If you are interested in applying for a position visit www.maconnc.org and click on job listings for more information.

Three individuals tested for pertussis in Macon Co

At least of one of three possible cases of pertussis in Macon County has been confirmed negative.

Becky Barr with the Macon County Public Health Center says two more cases have been reported and sent off for testing, “There have been some other counties in western North Carolina who have experienced recent pertussis cases, and so our health department is being very proactive in investigating any illness that presents similar symptoms. There have been two children and one adult who were identified with symptoms similar to pertussis at Macon Program for Progress. The health department has taken nasal swabs from those three individuals and submitted for testing at the state laboratory. Results from the first nasal swab, fortunately was found to be negative.”

Barr describes symptoms of pertussis, which are said to be much harder on children than adults, “Most children who are up to date with their immunization should be protected from pertussis, but the early symptoms are very similar to a cold and runny, mild cough, it may include a fever. In children the symptoms may progress to a severe cough which leave a child breathless, or may cause the child to vomit. Adults who have pertussis, often have less severe symptoms and the incubation period can be seven to ten days,” said Barr.

A booster vaccine for pertussis is now available for some individuals, “Most children who are in day care centers or school situations are up to date with their immunizations and should be protected from pertussis, but the vaccine is not 100 percent effective and immunity has been shown to wear off. A new booster vaccine is now available for individuals ages 10 through 64 and that vaccine is available at the health department and some local doctor’s offices.”

Barr goes on to say that MPP has been very cooperative and professional in dealing with this matter, “Macon Program for Progress has been very helpful with this investigation. The sick individuals have been excluded from the day care and are under going treatment. MPP has contacted the parents of the children’s classmates to notify them of potential exposure and all of the close contacts are being treated with antibiotics. Anyone who is symptomatic has been required to stay home and not attend work or school and to avoid with anyone but their immediate household until they’ve been on the antibiotics for at least five days.”

The health department expects to receive the results from the other two tests sometime this week.

The disease is said to be highly contagious and can be very dangerous if not treated promptly. You can contact the Macon County Public Health Center for more information at 349-2081. Information is also available online at www.cdc.gov

LTWA pushing for advisory committee

The Little Tennessee Watershed Association is going a step further when it comes to protecting the river which flows through three states, as they have facilitated a Senate Bill that would result in the creation of a Little Tennessee River Advisory Committee. The bill was introduced by Senator Snow on March 30^th.

The purpose of the proposed Commission is to provide guidance and make recommendations to local, state and federal legislative administrative bodies, provide a forum for discussion of issues affecting the water quantity and quality of the basin, and to determine an optimum approach to integrated river management.

The membership of the proposed Commission will include elected officials from both legislative offices in each state whose districts contain a portion  of the watershed, water and sewer authority members from each state, an appointee from each of the county commissions within the watershed, two members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, one individual from the Tennessee Valley Authority, agricultural representatives from each state, and one representative from non-profit interests in each state.

The headwaters of the Little Tennessee River form in northern Rabun County, Georgia. The River flows north into southwestern North Carolina, enters Fontana Reservoir in Swain County, North Carolina, and ultimately flows into the Tennessee River in Loudon County, Tennessee.

LTWA is now working with partners in Georgia and Tennessee to get similar legislation introduced in those states.

Perdue wagers on tonight's National Title game

Governor Bev Perdue announced that she has accepted a friendly wager with the Governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm on tonight’s national title game between UNC and Michigan State.

Both Perdue and Granholm are serving as their respective state’s first female governor.

The governor from the losing team’s state must have their picture taken wearing the winning team’s jersey and hat while dining on local food from that team’s state. The governor of the losing team will also donate $100 to a food bank in the winning team’s state.

Perdue says she is looking forward to seeing Gov. Granholm wearing Carolina Blue.

Tip off for tonight’s game between the Tar Heels and Spartans is set for 9:21 p.m.

Colder air brings high winds, chance of snow showers

Just when you thought it was safe to put up those sweaters and jackets, another round of cold weather is going to make its way into Macon County early next week. A wind advisory has also been issued by the National Weather Service for the mountains of western North Carolina until 6 p.m. this evening. Strong winds of as high as 25 mph with gusts of up to 40 are expected to follow a cold front moving through the area today, with the highest winds expected to hit this afternoon, then diminishing by this evening.

Conditions will feel much more like spring on Saturday but much colder air will arrive on Monday bringing a 40 percent chance of snow showers on Monday night.

Local agencies discuss homeless

Area agencies met on Wednesday to begin discussions on the startling reality of homelessness here in Macon County.

Rick Westerman with Habitat for Humanity says the issue is becoming more and more evident during this economic crisis, “It’s a sleeping giant waking up slowly and it is a growing concern and is getting worse as the economy and months move on.”

He was one of the 33 individuals representing agencies based in Macon County who began talks on the homeless situation in the county. Among others represented were the Macon Sheriff’s Office, Franklin Police Department, the School Board, Angel Medical Center, R.E.A.C.H. and other faith-based organizations.

Westerman says currently there are 48 to 50 homeless folks here in Macon County and currently they have no option of a homeless shelter, “There is no place for these people to go on a cold winter’s night when its 19 degrees outside.”

He adds the number of people living without a home is actually higher than that, “There are people out there who wish to remain homeless and that’s by their choice. They’re not included in that number,” said Westerman.

The next step in addressing the issue would be for the Strengthening Families Committee to use the information collected this week into developing a strategic plan to fight this tragedy, “We’re going to take and digest what was said. We have many pages of notes and issues that we’re raised. Now we can sit back and make a strategic plan and see where we need to go with this.”

According to a survey conducted last year there were over 12,000 homeless people in North Carolina.

Currently the state Department of Health and Human Services is working on a ten year plan to end homelessness in North Carolina.

Rainy march helps improve drought

The month of March has proved to a wet one for Macon County. According to the National Weather Service the area received just under 9 inches of rain during March. Blair Holloway with the National Weather Service says that apparently has helped improve drought situation as it has been downgraded to moderate for western North Carolina, “The entire North Carolina mountains are in the moderate drought category. Just looking back a month ago, all of the mountains were at least in a moderate drought category, with much of the southern tier of counties being in a severe drought category, which is one drought category worse.”

He adds that the drought has improved significantly since August when it was considered to be exceptional or the worst level on the scale, “Over the past several months, we’ve had a quite a bit of improvement in the overall drought status.”

The Climate Prediction Center says the month of April looks to be more on the dry side for Macon County, “From a precipitation standpoint, it puts us in the below average area for April.”

At this time, the 90 day outlook for the area is not showing signs of being above or below normal when it comes to rainfall.

New Town Hall to officially open Tuesday

Today is the last day for business at the current town hall location on 188 west Main Street. The town’s administrative offices will be closed on Monday to allow for the transition to their new location at 95 East Main Street.

A grand opening and open house is planned for the new town hall this Monday from 4-6 p.m.

Town Administrator Mike Decker says there will be a special ribbon cutting ceremony as well, “There will be a special dedication ceremony. We will unveil the new town hall sign, and we will have a ribbon cutting with the Mayor and the Alderman.”

The new town hall will open for business at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7^th.

The town of Franklin will have a new mailing address at P.O. Box 1479 Franklin, NC 28744. The phone number and fax number will remain the same.

Local youth to try their hand at Congress

About 250 middle and high school students from surrounding western North Carolina counties will head over to the campus of Western Carolina University to write, introduce and debate legislation at the ninth annual American Youth Congress event this Saturday.

The event is funded by a $6,000 grant from the N.C. Civic Education Consortium.

American Youth Congress will allow students to work together with others in their schools to write an original piece of legislation address a real-world need at the local, state or national level. The students will then come together to debate the legislation in committee, lobby for their proposed legislation, debate it and vote on it.

No early start date for WNC schools

A legislative proposal that would have allowed Macon and surrounding counties an earlier school start date has been rejected by a N.C. House Committee.

Tourism lobbyists say the proposal which could have set the first day of school as early as August 11^th, would impact the profits of summer businesses and vacation schedules.

One of the proposals was introduced by Representative Phil Haire of Sylva, who argued the need for an earlier start day so the districts could have flexibility when it comes to making up missed snow days. The change would have also allowed an alignment with college calendars where some high school students are taking classes. In reaction to this decision, Macon County Superintendent Dan Brigman says they will continue to focus on the best interest of the students, ”Although I have not received any formal information from state level organizations regarding legislation on the school calendar, but this information was shared with me citing the outcome of our calendar legislation and at this point in time we will press on as the tourism lobbying efforts were once again felt among our legislators and we’re going to focus on serving kids.”

A state law went into effect in 2004 that prohibits the school year from starting before August 25^th or ending after June 10^th in many locations.

Runway extension may get additional funding

As initial phases of the data recovery project begin at the proposed site of the Macon County Airport Runway Extension, there is word now that the Federal Aviation Administration may put additional funding into the efforts. We spoke with Airport Authority Chairman Miles Gregory, and he says the FAA seems to be in favor of funding 100 percent of the stripping and mapping of the project which would identify features and have them entered into a report with pictures that would be on display at the library and the Macon County Historical Museum.

However, the 25 percent data recovery will not increase due to the cost. Gregory says that the FAA is waiting on an exact cost from the current archaeologists that are working on the project before they issue the money for stripping and mapping.

Members of the Cherokee Nation have made comments showing their appreciation of what is being called a compromise between them and the Airport Authority. The 15 acres of land is owned by the Authority and out of the first five acres only three will be affected as the other two have been proven to have no cultural value.

Gregory adds that the no cutting is planned during the project only filling, but there would be about 6 inches stripped so that fill could begin on the 600 foot runway extension.

At this time the data recovery together with the stripping and mapping will come at a estimated cost of just under $1 million.

Free "real age" assessment at Health Department

The Macon County Public Health Center is offering a free TRIFIT Body Age Assessment coming up this Friday from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Melissa Leatherman with Health Department says the assessment can help determine your “real age” so to speak, “What it does is compares your real age with how old your body actually is. It’s a great opportunity for participants to find out this information. We take measurements such as blood pressure, strength and flexibility, weight, body fat and mass and it gives you a free computerized personal profile with some of your health risks. It gives you a chance to know how old your body is compared with your real age.”

Leatherman says appointments are still available, “They are on a first come, first serve basis so I urge people to go ahead and call and we’ll set them up with an appointment.”

If you need more information or would like to make an appointment call 349-2438.

Gas prices up slightly this spring

For the first time in a few months now, western North Carolina gas prices have climbed back into the $2 range. According to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report, the average price in the state is currently at $2.02 a gallon for regular—that’s up from the $1.88 it was just a month ago. In Macon County, some stations are reporting regular unleaded at $2.09 a gallon. So what’s with the recent spike? One reason is the yearly price increase that takes place in the spring as warmer weather prevails and more people travel, and this year so far has been one of the smallest increases in history. The current economic downturn is continuing to limit the demand for oil, which is currently less than $48 a barrel.

Native American Project to be discussed at luncheon

Next Thursday the Macon County League of Women Voters will be holding a program on the Native American Cultural Site Preservation Project in Macon County. Bill Dyar is scheduled to describe the project which will assist landowners in the identification and protection of Native American cultural resources and help them protect these important sites for future generations. Dyar also plans to discuss the importance such cultural and historical preservation.

The program will begin at noon on April 9^th at the Tartan Hall in Franklin. For further details call 524-5192.

Felony charges filed in deadly crash

An arrest has been made involving the tragic accident that claimed the life of a 28 year old Hayesville woman on Tuesday. Trooper Jeff Beaver of the State Highway Patrol says Prapai Lanpolsaen, age 38 was arrested and charged after his Toyota Tundra crossed the center line on Highway 64 just outside of Hayesville hitting and killing Mary Couey instantly.

“He was charged with felony death by motor vehicle, DWI and reckless driving,” said Beaver.

Beaver adds that the man turned himself into the Clay County Detention after he was airlifted to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga where he was treated and released.

Trooper Beaver was joined by accident reconstructionist Leah McCall back on scene Wednesday morning. He says the work they do can produce more accurate evidence, “They draw everything to perfect scale of what’s happened. They can determine the drag factors of the highway and the speeds more precisely. When we do a speed it’s an estimate, they can use crash damage to come closer and pretty much pinpoint it.”

Blood tests have been sent to the SBI labs to determine if the man was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the wreck. It is the opinion of the Highway Patrol that he was, but that has yet to be confirmed.

KIDS Place launches campaign against child abuse

During the month of April, you may notice Pinwheels and Blue Ribbons posted in locations throughout Macon County. Children’s advocacy group, KIDS Place in Franklin is collaborating with several local businesses, churches and other agencies to display over 800 pinwheels in Franklin. Its part of a campaign called Pinwheels for Prevention that aims to raise awareness on child abuse during Child Abuse Prevention month according to Elizabeth Adams, Case Manager and Community Educator of KIDS Place, “This campaign is to remind you of the children who KIDS Place provides services to, and those are children who have been abused and neglected in our community.”

Adams says they hope that the Ribbons and Pinwheels serve as a reminder of the terrible reality of child abuse, “This is a campaign that we’ve done to honor all children, but to just to remind the community as they see pinwheels at different places in the community and also blue bows on Main Street just to be reminded of the children in our community, and especially the children who have been abused and neglected.”

According to Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina, studies show that child abuse can cause long-term physical, mental, cognitive and behavioral consequences that affect both the child and the entire community. Some examples include increased involvement in crime, heart and liver disease, poor academic achievement, and drug and alcohol abuse.

For more information about KIDS Place call 524-3199 or visit www.Kidsplacecac.org.

Macon Co offers free smoke detectors

Fire Officials say that 83 percent of fire deaths and 77 percent of fire-related injuries occur during a residential structure fire. Many of these losses are said to be preventable if the residence has a functioning smoke detector. Macon County Fire Marshal Warren Cabe says these simple devices often prove to be life-saving, “That can be attributed to saving more lives from fire danger than almost any other thing you could think of, whether it be sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers or anything. That is one of the most important things you can have in a home.”

Cabe adds Macon County is offering smoke detectors to those who are in need of one thanks to a grant from the Red Cross and Insurance Company FM Global, “If you need one and for some reason you don’t have one or can’t afford one please contact us or your local fire department, because they have been provided some to pass out to folks. We will try to make every effort to make sure every home in Macon County has one.”

Cabe goes on to say it’s a good idea to keep your smoke detector tested on a routine basis,” You should test it at least monthly. The batteries should be changed every time the time changes in spring and fall. But they should be tested no less than monthly if not weekly,” said Cabe.

You can contact the Fire Marshal’s office at 349-2068 for more assistance or information.

CareNet close to opening new facility

Volunteer construction crews continue to make progress on an additional facility that is planned to be used by the Franklin-based food pantry CareNet to make extra room for their growing needs.

CareNet Director Vanessa Bailey says they hope to finish up the 40 x 60 building that was donated by the West Macon Fire Department in the near future. She says crews have been working diligently on the facility that is located adjacent to their current building on Bidwell Street.

Bailey adds the new building will be used for storage space, so the Quonset Hut can be converted into a disaster relief center, “The building was donated from the West Macon Fire Department Building and we received a grant for $25,000 that we used to put in the foundation. The Quonset Hut will be used for disaster relief efforts, so what we have in that will move into the new building and its high enough to have a loft if we need to.”

Crews have been working on the project for over a year and a half now.

CareNet volunteers say that this week workers plant to begin installing insulation and then on to putting up walls.

Man rides bike from Alaska to Cullowhee

Last week, SCC students got to hear what its like to ride a bike from Alaska, to Cullowhee. AJ Rowell met with students and talked about his 10,000-mile bike ride from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska back to Jackson County that helped raise $5,000 to help local charities. Rowell told students about his trek which covered 13 states, 3 provinces and 22 National Parks.

Alcohol could be factor in fatal wreck

The Franklin and Hayesville communities are mourning the loss of a 28 year old woman who tragically lost her life in the early morning hours on Tuesday.

According to information from the Bryson City Post of the North Carolina Highway Patrol, 28 year old Mary Couey of Hayesville was traveling back home from Franklin around 12:30 a.m. when a vehicle that was traveling east on Highway 64 apparently crossed the center line and struck Couey’s vehicle head-on about 12 miles east of Hayesville in Clay County. Reports are indicating at this time, that alcohol may have been a contributing factor in the incident. Officials say that Couey was wearing her seatbelt at the time of the wreck.

She was an employee of Franklin-based Drake Enterprises where she worked as a programmer. 

No further details are available at this time.

School Board reveals data from stakeholder surveys

The Macon County Board of Education has received feedback from parents, staff, the community and students on how they’re performing. At last week’s school board meeting, the data from the yearly stakeholder’s surveys was unveiled, revealing both positive input and concerns from an outside perspective.

Macon County Superintendent Dan Brigman says the feedback has helped the school system improve, “It’s very useful data and it highlights some things that otherwise we may be overlooking in areas of improvement.”

Brigman says they learned that financial resources have become a concern among stakeholders, “Adequate financial resources continues to be a concern, not only here in Macon County but throughout the state with the economic situation that we’re facing today. We are looking at various ways to preserve the classroom level here in Macon County and we’re hoping to see a positive outcome through this federal relief money that we’re receiving too.”

Another top concern was the amount of space for students in a growing county, “29 portable classrooms being used in the Franklin area alone is a true indication, outside of the survey data collected, that we are at capacity in the Franklin area and we need to continue to work towards getting additional schools built to accommodate the children that we have in our system,” said Brigman.

Brigman says they received a lot of positive remarks when it comes to student safety, “We’re very fortunate in Macon County to have very attentive administrators and teachers serving our students. Safety is a concern and it takes all of us working together to preserve the classroom and the learning environment to make sure all of our students remain safe.”

The school board collected the data via the online submission at their website and in turn, discussed the data with administrative teams at each school, and principals use the information with their school improvement teams when it comes to setting next year’s objectives.

Unemployed North Carolinians to get boost

For the thirteenth straight month unemployment in North Carolina rose and now the feds are stepping in to help those who have filed jobless claims. According to Larry Parker with the state’s ESC, the news of a 10.7 percent unemployment rate in February comes with the news of a $25 a week boost for out of work North Carolinians, “Sometime in the next week, everyone who is eligible for benefits, whether its regular unemployment insurance or any part of the extension, will start seeing an extra $25 dollars in their payments. If they have been collecting since the week ending February 28^th, they will also receive an adjustment payment that will go back to that date. So it could be a fairly large amount for them on their next payment, either this week or next.”

The increase is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Parker mentions that 60 percent of claims are being filed by employers on behalf of their workers, and that may be a good sign, “Maybe that’s a good sign that employers don’t want to lose their labor force, so they can get those folks back as quickly as possible when the time comes,” added Parker.

The ESC says that Educational and Health Service jobs continue to see an increase, while manufacturing positions continue to see the biggest decline.

'No Need 2 Speed' aims to save lives

Last year on North Carolina highways over 1,400 lost their lives in traffic crashes and officials say that speeding was the leading cause in most of those crashes. Governor Perdue has announced that the Highway Patrol and the Governor’s Highway Safety Program have kicked off the latest round of Operation Slow Down/No Need 2 Speed in efforts to crack down on speeding in the state.

Local law enforcement agencies plan to join troopers from now through Easter Weekend to encourage motorists to slow down and follow the speed limit. Officers will be stepping up enforcement and focusing on those that are speeding during the period.

If you spot dangerous driving, you’re asked to report it to the Highway Patrol by dialing *HP from a cell phone anywhere in the state.

Legendary gospel group Chuck Wagon Gang coming to Franklin

One of the most familiar and distinct groups in all of gospel music will be making their way to Franklin this week. Country gospel group The Chuck Wagon Gang will be performing at the Holly Springs Baptist Church, this Thursday at 7 p.m. The group which has been singing for 72 years holds the honor of being the oldest recording mixed gospel group still performing with ties to the original founding.  The group is famous for songs such as “The Church in the Wildwood”, “Looking for a City” and “The Son Hath Made Me Free”.

If you’d like more information on the group visit www.thechuckwagongang.net

Commission hears presentation on cancer rates in Macon Co

According to a five year study from the NC Central Cancer Registry, lung cancer is the deadliest type of the disease in Macon County. A report presented to the Board of Commissioners highlighted statistics from the survey that said that breast cancer has the highest incident rate of any cancer in Macon County, but had a much lower mortality rate at 131 people diagnosed and only 25 deaths reported from that group.

Molly Black with North Carolina Comprehensive Cancer Program made the presentation to Commissioners, “It was estimated in 2008, that 240 Macon County residents will hear the words, you have cancer and 104 will lose their life,” Black told the Commission.

Black said that Macon County had a lower rate of lung cancer when compared to the rest of western North Carolina and the state, “I am sure that is because of the many programs that are going on here that are not going on in other communities.”

Black adds that in Colon, Prostate and Breast Cancer, Macon County had a higher mortality rate when compared to the state and region.

Jennifer Hollifield with the Macon County Public Health Center says they have been implementing a wide variety of anti-tobacco programs in the county that could be leading to the lower lung cancer rates, “We’ve been working very diligently on tobacco issues for the past several years and a few of the things that have happened are that one, that the Macon County owned buildings are now 100 percent tobacco free. The Health Department and Social Services building does have a 50 foot tobacco free perimeter around it now. The town of Highlands has a smoke-free building ordinance. The Health Department is also working with the town of Franklin to develop a written ordinance about smoke-free buildings.”

She also said that as of 2007, Macon boasted a high percentage of smoke free restaurants in the state, “88 percent of Macon County restaurants do have an indoor, tobacco-free policy. When those numbers were looked at across the state, we had the second highest in the state. That was something that we were very proud of as a community to have.”

The Macon County Public Health Center is currently involved with other program’s that are raising the awareness and encouraging residents to take preventive measures when it comes to getting tested for cancer. They are also looking at ways to help those without insurance to help get treatment and tests.

For further information on those programs call the Health Department at 349-2081.

Crime Report

Investigators with the Macon Sheriffs Office are looking into two reports of crime at a local barber shop. Investigation reports say that possible embezzlement has occurred at the City Barber Shop on the Highlands Road. According to the report that was filed, $120 in cash was taken from the safe. The City Barber Shop also reported that a lock was cut on a drink machine and $20 was taken in that incident. Both were reported on Thursday.

DOT project to close Riverview Street

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has announced that starting today Riverview Street will be closed to all through traffic from Iotla Street north to NC 28. The department is only allowing local traffic to use this section of the street. The closure is necessary to install several large culvert crossings, sewer line crossings, and the first layer of asphalt surface on the project.

The improvements being made to Riverview Street are part of a project that will turn the street into NC 28 upon completion.

Detours around this area will be well signed and the DOT apologizes for any inconvenience the temporary closure may cause.

The road is expected to reopen no later than May 29^th.

Florida man charged after two car collision

A Florida man has been charged following a two car collision that occurred on the Georgia Road near Dollar General just before 4 p.m. on Thursday. According to Trooper Clay Cogdill with the Highway Patrol, William Gerald Dunn of Otto was traveling south in a 2000 Hyundai when a 2005 Honda SUV driven by Edwin Joyner of Clermont, Florida pulled out in front of Dunn resulting in Dunn’s vehicle striking Joyner’s SUV in the left causing it to turn over onto its right side in the roadway.

Cogdill adds that Joyner has been charged with unsafe movement. Dunn was said to have been transported by ambulance to Angel Medical Center and then to Mission Hospital in Asheville to be treated for injuries. Joyner, who was accompanied by his wife, was taken to Angel Medical Center for injuries. No details are available regarding the extent of those injuries.

Troopers had to redirect northbound traffic onto to Terrell Road for about half an hour while the scene was cleared.

Commission to be more proactive on legislation

Current proposed legislation in North Carolina could end up having a big impact on resources in Macon County and that has garnered the attention of the Board of Commissioners as they plan to be more proactive instead of reactive towards bills that are being introduced into the General Assembly that could affect the county.

Commissioner Jim Davis who serves as the Commission’s Liaison to the Legislature brought up several current bills that could potentially make an impact in Macon County, “We want to make sure that we preserve the ADM monies for our school construction. We want to also influence the tobacco ban, I think its great that we want to make more zones tobacco free, but we shouldn’t put the burden on our Health Director, who’s already over worked and does a lot more important things. Present legislation is being introduced that would put the burden on our Sheriff’s Department to provide health care for these people in involuntary commitments. Not only does the Sheriff’s Office have the responsibility of transporting those people, we’re going to be responsible for any health issues that come up while they’re being involuntarily committed, which could be a significant drain on county dollars."

Another bill that is being talked about is that counties with over 21.6 percent of their budget in reserve that they didn’t need to hold on to those funds. Commissioner Kuppers agreed that’s another reason to be more proactive to certain issues, “When you’ve got people out there recommending that we drop our fund balance to where other people have over spent their budgets have got them. To me, that’s just ludicrous.”

Commissioners discussed several options of informed the local legislation on ways they could express opposition towards bills.

Commissioner McClellan said going on public record would be a good way to help do that, “We can say that we publicly said this is where we stand on this issue, it holds our legislators feet to the fire.”

County Manager Jack Horton says a phone call can be made to check on the status of bills every Wednesday afternoon and that’s something that he plans to do.

Commissioners also concurred to send a letter and resolution on their stance to their legislators anytime an issue comes into discussion that could affect Macon County.

Job Fair called off due to lack of participants

The job fair that was scheduled to take place in Macon County this week did not happen because of very few employers willing to participate. Dale West with Job Link in Franklin says the job fair has been postponed until the job market picks up, “We are very optimistic that the economy will turn around and perhaps there will be more jobs. We just felt that it might create false hope among individuals that would go to the job fair thinking that the employers there would be hiring. We had so few employers who actually said that they would participate and that they were actually hiring individuals, so we decided to postpone it for now, hoping to do it perhaps in the fall or maybe late summer when there are more job openings.”

The job fair was scheduled to take place on Wednesday at the Community Building in Franklin.

West adds they have do have a bit of good news from their office, “We here in the local office are seeing a few more job postings. That’s a good thing."

Board close to renaming new school

After deciding to change the name of the forthcoming 5/6 school in Macon County, the Board of Education once again opened up the process for the public’s feedback.

At this week’s school board meeting, Superintendent Dan Brigman says the board has narrowed the name down, “Recommendations for the new 5/6 were taken for the entire month of February. We expedited the electronic surveys for people to provide suggestions, comments and vote on the top five names that were previously submitted to the Board of Education for consideration and what clearly emerged as the leading name from all stakeholders is Mountain View.”

The question on the table now is whether or not it will be called Mountain View Intermediate School or just Mountain View School, “With that said, we’re opening it up for public input as well until the next board meeting, in which at that time we will take formal vote, hopefully and name this new 5/6 school.”

Brigman adds that the 5/6 school committee made a recommendation of leaving the word intermediate in the title.

Former Cherokee coach to take over for Plemmons

Big news from Franklin High School as a new head coach has been named for the boy’s varsity basketball team. The Macon County Board of Education formally approved current teacher and former assistant coach at FHS Keith Pinnix as the new coach for the Panthers.

Franklin High School Principal Gary Shields says they are privileged to have the former Cherokee High School Coach on staff, “Mr. Pinnix has been in teaching for about 23 years and he’s spent about that same amount of time as either an assistant coach or head coach of boys and girls. He’s well known here in the mountain region. He spent 11 years at Cherokee High School as the head coach for the girl’s and also athletic director of Cherokee High and the Middle School. Last year, we were fortunate to have him on the boy’s varsity team as the first assistant. He comes with high credentials,” said Shields.

Shields goes on to say that Pinnix has been in the Macon County School system for about two years now and that they feel lucky to have someone of his quality and caliber leading their young men on campus.

FHS student charged, suspended for "Air Soft" weapon

Another Franklin High School student is facing weapons charges after school officials discovered an Air Soft Pellet Pistol in the book bag of a student on Tuesday.

Franklin High School Principal Gary Shields describes what happened, “A student observed a weapon in another student’s book bag that looked like a .45 and notified the teacher and the teacher notified us. Then at that time, we did a search of the book bag and found an Air Soft pellet pistol. It didn’t have any pellets but it worked out to be a non-lethal weapon, but the student is still charged with a misdemeanor for having that type of weapon on campus and in the process I had a parent conference and in turn, the student has been suspended for up to ten days.”

Shields says despite the fact it wasn’t a real weapon, there was still some alarm, “They make these things so realistic now that it definitely gets your attention. In this case here, the person did not have the weapon here to hurt anyone or hurt himself.”

Due to the fact the weapon was considered non-lethal only misdemeanor charges were filed in the incident and the investigation has concluded according to Shields.

Commission votes to nix term limits

Boards and committees appointed by the Macon Commission can say goodbye to term limits. A discussion on the current policy on limiting stays on a county board was held at this week’s Board of Commissioners meeting and it turns out to be an issue commissioners were divided on.

In 2007, the Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution saying that terms for those types of committees were to be limited to three consecutive full year terms.

Commissioner Simpson said eliminating term limits could distance some being able to serve the county, “If we do away with term limits, you could alienate a good group of people who want to serve. We need fresh ideas, the Planning Board is concerned, but a lot of the members wouldn’t be on the Planning Board if weren’t for term limits. I would rather keep the term limits and give people a chance to serve that want to, and do away with this picking and choosing. You can’t have it both ways.”

Commissioner McClellan echoed the sentiments of Simpson, “The process ought to be open to as many people as possible. I know there are some instances where that might go against the flow, but I think that is an important concept at a local level. The local level is more important.”

On the other hand, Vice-Chairman Davis and Commissioner Kuppers say that limiting terms could put a hardship on commissioners to find good candidates, “Too often I have found that we are struggling with finding a capable person to go on some of these boards, but trying to encourage more people to be on these boards is certainly legitimate,” said Davis.

“What happens when you’ve got the term limits and you look out there in the parking for that big line for people waiting to be on that board and there’s nobody there. And this person is coming off, and you adopted the proposal and you can’t waive that term limit, that person is going off the board. How do you fix that?” added Kuppers.

After a motion and second was made, the matter was brought up for vote and a 2-2 tie was broke by Chairman Beale who voted in support of abolishing the term limits within state law after McClellan and Simpson voted against them.

Changes in attendance zones could move up to 40 students

Revised attendance zones in the Macon County School District could move up to 40 students from the South Macon Elementary School to the Cartoogechaye School District.

Superintendent Dan Brigman says the change in attendance zones is an attempt to better balance the student population between the two locations, “Those attendance zones will shift anywhere from 35 to 40 students from the South Macon attendance zones into Cartoogechaye. Those zones will be posted; we’re going to try to get those to the local press, so they’ll be printed in a local paper. Individuals can see exactly what areas are affected by the shifting in attendance zones. We welcome between now and our upcoming Board of Education meeting in April. If anyone has any questions or concerns feel free to contact the Board of Education offices and speak with Mr. Terry Bell our Director Auxiliary Services or they can speak directly with me,” said Brigman.

The Macon County Board of Education plans to hold a public comment session on the matter at the beginning of that April meeting.

Larceny, vandalism top Crime Report

Franklin Police are looking for the individual that damaged a cash register and stole merchandise from the Franklin Lowe’s. Police Reports say that a subject scaled the fence surrounding the garden center after hours and damaged an outdoor cash register that turned out to be empty. The subject did manage to steal a drink from the cooler. The incident remains under investigation.

In a separate report:

De Soto Rock back in Franklin

A once familiar landmark is again in the public eye in Macon County. Crews with the DOT and members of the Friends of the Little Tennessee Greenway teamed up on Wednesday morning to reset the Desoto Commemorative Rock just off of Main Street at the Big Bear Park on the Greenway. F.R.O.G.’s President Kay Coriell talks more about the 3 and a half ton rock that was located in another part of town some 24 years ago, “It commemorates Hernado De Soto’s travel through this area. We don’t know at this time exactly where he walked, but he was in this area apparently, back in 1540.”

The rock boasts a large plaque with information on Desoto’s travel engraved into it.

Coriell says the rock was moved to make room for the construction of Town Bridge on Main Street and was forgotten about after being in storage at the DOT maintenance yard for many years, “It was on the other side of the bridge and now it is on the other side where the Greenway Big Bear Park is. It was on the other side of the river where there was a motel. It was in front of the motel. They built a new bridge and so they had to remove the rock because that’s where they were going to put that end of the bridge.”

Crews had to use a crane that was donated for the operation to move the 5 foot high rock off a flat bed truck and into its current location at Big Bear Park.

Balsam Center could reopen by May

The Balsam Center could be up and running again by the end of April—that’s the word that Macon County Commissioners received on Monday as Shelly Lackey with the Smokey Mountain Center and Interim Director Don Suggs informed the board on updates in the mental health services area in western North Carolina. The center which served citizens in western North Carolina with mental illnesses and substance abuse problems was closed nearly two months ago due to staffing problems.

Suggs told the Commission he felt that the closing of the Balsam Center was not handled properly, “It was an unfortunate set of circumstances that resulted in Balsam being closed and we certainly didn’t handle it properly when it was closed. It should have gone before the board, rather than it being a staff decision to shut it down for a while. Our choice of wording was non-appropriate, we shouldn’t have said it was closed, we should have said that we needed to suspend admissions for a while because of staffing issues. It was never the intent for Balsam Center to be closed permanently.”

He adds that additional two additional nurses have been hired and they are currently looking for a third but it has not been an easy process.

The board was also informed that the search for a permanent director at the Smoky Mountain Center was being handled well by the search committee, “They have had an initial meeting and have narrowed down the candidates they currently have to six or seven. They are planning to meet again on Thursday to discuss those particular applications and while perhaps decide which of those they will interview for the permanent director’s position.”

Suggs and Lackey told the board that a Walk-In Center and a Recovery Education Center should be in full swing by the end of April in Macon County. Lackey says that mental health assessments could be done at the emergency room at Angel Medical Center.

Chairman Beale said that mental health services is taking a turn in the right direction with these improvements, “In real simple terms, we’ve done a 180. We’re back to how it used to be in Macon County, that if you needed help before all the reform took place, this is the first step. We’re glad that Macon County was chosen as one of the areas and we’re looking forward to it being up and running this summer for our clients.”

The service improvements in Macon County and western North Carolina seem to be coming at a good time, as it gets tougher to be admitted to state hospitals in North Carolina.

Commission moves forward with plans for new Senior Center

Macon County Commissioners look to address the growing need for space for the Macon County Senior Services Center. The current location in the Holly Springs Plaza was originally intended to be used for an EMS base and with it only being 5,000 square feet it can no longer accommodate the growing demand for nutrition and day care services.

Chairman Ronnie Beale said it doesn’t take to long to see the need for better facilities, “Go by Sheila’s facility or talk with anyone. It will take five minutes of your time and you’ll be convinced in that length of time that this is one of those projects even in a tight budget that we need to go ahead and look at to take care of our seniors in Macon County.”

Commissioners have currently budgeted $300,000 to renovate the former Macon County Library on Wayah Street into the new Senior Center.

County Manager Jack Horton told the Commission that the two biggest expenses would stem from a required sprinkler system and replacement of ceiling tiles,” It would have to be a dry system. We talked to two companies that provide those services in this area and Crawford gave us the better price at $98,600. We’d had to replace the ceiling tiles when we put the system in, so that would probably cost another $20,000.”

Other major components in the building renovations would be upgrading the bathrooms, constructing a dining area and making some security changes.

The board also discussed the probability of at least one covered entrance way and are going to look into the prospect of a metal awning to serve in that capacity.

Commissioners voted unanimously to get the project underway and award the sprinkler contract to Crawford at $98,600. The board also voted that the costs would not exceed the budgeted $300,000.

Police investigating truck shot with gun

Investigators with the Franklin Police Department are looking for information on why a firearm was discharged into occupied property. Police reports say that a gun was fired at a 2000 model Ford Ranger Pick-Up Truck that was parked inside of a garage on Wilkie Street. $600 in damage was allegedly inflicted. The incident was reported on Saturday.

In an unrelated incident, Macon County Sheriffs Deputies have detained Nathan Roy White, age 22 of Franklin on felony counts of breaking and entering and larceny in addition to misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession and injury to real property. White was booked on Monday and bond has been set at $4,000.

BI-LO files Chapter 11; Stores to remain open

Mauldin, South Carolina based grocery chain BI-LO announced they have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to a maturing debt that is due on March 26^th. President and Chief Executive Michael Byars issued a statement says the company is maintaining a very strong bottom line and they don’t have a problem getting a loan, it was just accepting the terms.

He added that current operations are going strong and sound.  On the company’s website Byars was quoted to say “We intend to move through this process as quickly as possible and we firmly believe that this course of action will better position BI-LO for continued growth and long-term success”

The company intends to keep stores running with cash on hand and cash generated from operations.

The chain which employs about 15,500 operates in over 200 locations in South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia.

The Franklin based BI-LO has remained opened years after the closing of the Clayton, Georgia and Sylva locations.

SCC launches Career Readiness Center

Tuesday was the first official day of registration for Southwestern Community College’s Career Readiness Center. The initiative will offer services and classes at no cost to unemployed and even underemployed individuals that qualify according to Melissa Myers with SCC, “Our purpose is to help those in the community that are unemployed, underemployed and seeking jobs and to help them with job skills, resume preparation and we will have things to help them prepare for an interview, teach them interview skills. Just a wide variety of things to help people who are unemployed to prepare to be the best candidate for the job.

Training will also include help on completing applications, interviewing, internet skills, and job seeking workshops.

Myers adds that completion of the skills training courses will conclude with a test and possible certification, “We do have skills training in applied math, reading and locating information; things that are used in 90 percent of all jobs and these are things that help people brush up on their skills. There is a test that’s administered and they can receive a nationally recognized certification,” said Myers.

The classes will be held at the Macon SCC Annex Monday through Thursday 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and from 5:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. in room 104.

The program may possibly expand to other SCC locations in three counties in the future.

For further information on the Career Readiness Center call SCC at 369-7331.

Otto robber captured

The man believed to be in connection with last week’s armed robbery at the Otto General Store has been taken into custody thanks to a collaboration of the Macon County Sheriff’s Office and the Franklin Police.

On Friday, Macon County Deputies detained 34 year old Michael Wayne Galloway of Frontier Lane in Franklin. Sheriff Robert Holland says tips to the Crime Stoppers Hotline lead authorities to the job site of Galloway where his arrest occurred, “They went to his place of employment and confronted him and brought him in for an interview and at that time they were also able to seize his vehicle which was identified through the security video the night of the robbery. Search warrants were executed on his residence and within the residence several pieces of evidence were obtained that he admitted that he had used during the commission of the robbery.”

Holland adds that during that interview with detectives, Galloway claimed he used a fake gun during the robbery and afterwards threw the gun out the passenger window.

Holland commended the joint efforts of his staff working with the Franklin P.D. that led to Galloway’s arrest, “We work quite frequently with other agencies and it’s common for us to work with the Franklin Police Department. Detective Tracy Chastain and Detective Don Willis with the Sheriff’s Office did an outstanding job and I credit the success of this arrest to them for their diligence and for them working together and bringing this to a successful conclusion,” said Holland.

Galloway was formally charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and is currently held on a $50,000 bond at the Macon County Detention Center. He is scheduled to appear in court on April 9^th.

Macon unemployment soars in January

Macon County joins the other 99 counties in North Carolina who all experienced an increase in their jobless rates for the month of January. The latest report from the state’s ESC says that the rate in Macon County has escalated by over 3 and a half percent from December 2008 to January 2009 where it was at 12.2 percent. According to data from the ESC, Macon County is home to almost 2,000 individuals who were unemployed as of January. The county’s labor force was just over 16,000 in January.

The bordering county of Graham saw an alarming 17 percent unemployment in January, while Swain and Cherokee came in at around 16 percent, respectively.

Macon Planning Board gets presentation on Slope Ordinances in Haywood, Jackson

On Thursday, the Macon County Planning Board received ideas on two current Slope Development Ordinances that are in place in both Haywood and Jackson Counties. Officials from Jackson and Haywood made presentations to Macon’s Planning Board at their meeting.

Mark Pruitt with the Haywood County Erosion Control Office illustrated the presentation with pictures of development projects gone wrong on slopes in Haywood. Haywood County says they will not grant a Certification of Occupancy for any new home until a slope test is conducted on the development.

Pruitt informed the board that their ordinance was introduced to be a guide in safer developing on slopes, “Our Slope Ordinance in Haywood County sets forth minimum guidelines for folks to build to. It’s doesn’t say you can’t use your land it just says if you meet these particular parameters, you need a second pair of eyes to look at it. In your county, you may have a different set of standards that you need. Our ordinance doesn’t guarantee anything to be safe or stable. We would hope that it would be more safe and more stable, but it sets kind of a floor of standards that folks would need to build to.”

Commissioner Ronnie Beale told the board that he had received a call from the state asking if Macon County wanted the state to develop an ordinance for them or if they would like to develop their own. The consensus was that the county wants to build their own from scratch.

The Macon Planning Board also heard details from Jackson County’s Planning Director Linda Cable on their Slope Ordinance as well.

The state Land Slide area maps have not yet been issued to Haywood or Jackson Counties but Macon County has received theirs and they do plan to utilize them if and when it comes time to write a slope ordinance.

Sports recap: Franklin edges Smoky, Lady Cats bounced

After escaping a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the 7^th, the Franklin Panther baseball team edged out rival Smoky Mountain on the road Monday by a score of 10-9. Franklin (1-2 in MAC) will look to pick up their second conference win this afternoon as they will play host to the Erwin Warriors.

In other sports news:

The Western Carolina Lady Catamounts bid into the NCAA tournament only lasted one game as they lost a tough one in Albuquerque on Saturday to SEC tourney Champs Vanderbilt by a final of 73-44.

The Lady Cats were led by Lauren Powell and Brooke Johnson who each put up 8 points in the effort. Congratulation to the Lady Catamounts who were this year’s SoCon Tournament Champions! They finish the year at 21-12.

CareNet staff thankful for recent community support

It has proven been one of the most needed community outreaches over the past two years, and Macon CareNet continues to help families and individuals who are struggling with the tough financial times. As the need for more assistance has grown over the past 6 months, the community has given back to the Faith-based food pantry, with overwhelming support from various events.

We had a chance to speak with CareNet’s Director Vanessa Bailey on the community getting involved to help them out, “It’s been wonderful to have all of the support we’ve have in the community and CareNet is community, it is collaboration, it is working together to help those in need. We’re averaging as many as 30 new families a week and with those higher numbers, having the donations that have come in, have also been able to support those that are in crisis. Sometimes we lack in certain areas, such as paper products, so when we have substantial donations come in, we have increasing donations going out. We just could not do it without the support of the community.”

Bailey adds that with the donations up, the number of those in need has also increased, “Last month we gave out 15,000 pounds of food—that’s a lot. If maybe we have 13,000 pounds of donations that come in, we have to make up that and we stock the shelves and by the end of the day they’re emptied out again. We continue to look for that and where the donations don’t come in we will purchase the food.”

Paper and personal products are always a big need according to Bailey, but they would be glad to accept any type of donations.

Bailey says that after a harsh winter many clients are looking forward to the summer months, “A lot of times, power bills go down and people have their gardens and therefore we don’t see as great of a need during the summer months, but we’re still higher in the statistics than what we were last year.”

For further information on CareNet drop by their location at 130 Bidwell Street in Franklin, call them at 828-369-2642 or visit www.maconcarenet.org.

LTWA plans to speak out on Rabun's wastewater plans during comment period

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division has officially opened the 30 day window for public comments on the permit application that Rabun County has applied for that would allow them to use part of the old Fruit of the Loom Plant to serve as a wastewater treatment facility. The discharge permit would enable them to dump 2 million gallons of treated sewage per day into the Little Tennessee River 

Jenny Sanders, Director of the Little Tennessee Watershed Association says one of the biggest concerns of the operation would be the interbasin transfer from the Savannah River Basin into the Little Tennessee, “If Rabun County starts treating water there at that site from the Savannah River Basin, which is just over the divide there in Mountain City, we’ll be gaining water and that may sound good but that could increase incidence of flooding, it could make our new FEMA flood maps less effective.”

According to Sanders another reason for concern is the future possibility of Rabun County applying for an intake permit to begin treating drinking water—water that could be took back out of the Little Tennessee and sent into neighboring drought-stricken areas in Northern Georgia.

The LTWA has made plans to be in contact with the Georgia EPD during this comment period, but Sanders adds they are hoping to hear from others, “Our organization will definitely be requesting all of the things that you have read and heard from us, but we’re encouraging everyone else who has an interest in this to also do the same thing---it can’t just come from one source, it needs to come from many sources sometimes to be heard. We’re encouraging anyone who has an interest to submit comments in writing to the Georgia EPD during this 30-day comment period.”

If you would like to submit comments or concerns on the permit you are asked to mail them to the Georgia EPD and you can get the address and more details online at www.ltwa.org.

At this time, they do not have the exact deadline for comments, but they are estimating it will be on April 8^th, 2009.

St. Patty's Day 'Booze It and Lose It' nets over 800 DWI's

During the latest round of Booze It and Lose It held over the week of St. Patrick’s state and local law enforcement officers made over 800 DWI arrests across North Carolina. The initiative sponsored by the Governor’s Highway Safety Program ran from March 13^th to the 17^th and authorities issued over 20,000 traffic and criminal citations statewide during that week. Out of that number 229 fugitives were detained and 36 stolen vehicles were recovered.

In Macon County, four checkpoints were held during the initiative which resulted in one DWI arrest, and four drug arrests for a total of 126 violations.

Shuler in support of AIG bonus tax

Congressman Heath Shuler says he was outraged and appalled by AIG’s attempt to pay out millions of dollars in bonuses to its executives. In a statement released from the Representative’s Office, Shuler blamed AIG’s reckless decision making for contributing to the current economic downturn.

AIG, which has received $170 billion in taxpayer funds through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, revealed that it had granted $165 million in retention bonuses to executives in the financial products division.

A bill passed the House on Thursday that would impose a 90 percent tax on the bonuses received by individuals who earned more than $250,000 and worked for companies that have received more than $5 billion from the TARP, which is legislation that allowed the bonuses—something Shuler was opposed to.

Shuler joined 327 others who voted in support of the bill as it passed 328-93. It will now head to the Senate for consideration.

The top recipient at AIG received nearly $6.5 million in bonuses and more than 73 executives were paid over $1 million in retention bonuses.

Macon native named new Planning Director

It’s been five months since the resignation of former Macon County Planning Director Stacey Guffey and at Thursday’s Planning Board meeting, it was announced that the search for a new director is over.

Macon County native Derek Rowland has officially been named the Planning Director of Macon County.

Rowland, at age 24 is a Western Carolina grad with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. He spoke in front of the Planning Board and says he wants to ensure that Macon County remains a wonderful place to live for years to come, “Living here all my life, I do care and I’m going to raise a family here and I do care about the heritage of this community and the direction that it goes in. Nothing can give me greater satisfaction to know I helped to preserve that community and make it a better place, for not only the people here now, but for my children and your children and grandchildren.”

Commission Chairman Ronnie Beale believes that Rowland and the Planning Board will develop a great working relationship, “I know you’ll be patient with Derek, we think he has the ability and knowledge and I think you’ll find him as a personable young man that’s willing to work. Also with this Planning Board, Derek, you’ll also find people here that are patient and that are willing to work with you too. That had an effect on the position. With the members of this Planning Board, we are very fortunate in Macon County.”

Rowland added that it was the mission statement of the Planning Board that helped inspire him to apply for the position.

State: Riverbend water project likely to get stimulus funds

A local $2 million dollar water system extension project is said to be high on the priority list for stimulus funding and the town of Franklin and Macon County are now planning to pitch in $10,000 each to have the project shovel-ready by March 23^rd.

Macon County had submitted an application for stimulus dollars to go towards the Riverbend water system extension project that would run water out to the Riverbend community and then to the Swiss Colony Subdivision.

Town Manager Sam Greenwood informed the town board this week that engineer McGill had received a call from the state saying the project is being heavily considered for a 0 percent interest loan and or grant funds of up to 100 percent, since the two communities were considered to be in need and it being a public health issue.

Greenwood explains how the funds would be used if approved, “It would pay for a 500,000 gallon water tank at Wilkie Street, which would just had the land deal tied down, hooking up to get out to Highway 28 with a 12 inch water line, the pump station to support the Wilkie Street water tank, and running a 12 inch water line out to the intersection where Riverbend Road comes into 28 and from there dropping it to an 8 inch line to run out as far as a Riverbend subdivision.”

He adds that the due to the fact the state called the engineer on the project, funding assistance was likely, “With the state calling to say that they’re ranking it very highly, it is a virtual certainty in the neighborhood of a 90-95 percent certainty, that there will be at least the zero interest funding, with the strong probability of an add mixture of grant monies in there, possibly as much as 100 percent.”

The caveat in the deal is that it is going to cost $20,000 for McGill and Associates to have the project bid-ready by the March 23^rd deadline.

Alderman voted unanimously to split the $20,000 with Macon County to pay the engineer.

If funding is approved, the $10,000 would essentially be reimbursed back to the county and town.

Day Care Committee holds initial meeting

After being formed back in February to take a look at on-going child care issues in the area, the Macon County Day Care Committee held its first formal meeting on Wednesday. We spoke to Chuck Sutton who is on the committee and he says they went over their goal for investigating the need for additional day care in the county.

The group will begin to explore resources and options for improving the high cost and waiting list for child care next month as representatives from the day care industry have been invited to their April meeting to provide their insight on a situation that county officials say needs some attention.

The committee does plan to elect a Chairman on the board at their next meeting.

Macon Co Special Olympics Practice Day next week

One week from today, a very special event will take place at Macon Middle School.

Local Special Olympics Coordinator Jennifer Garrett talks more about the annual Practice Day for some special athletes, “Macon County will host our practice day on March 27^th at Macon Middle School and this day is a day for athletes to practice their sports and allow us to get their times and put them in the appropriate time brackets in the Regional Games. It will start around 10 a.m. and runs to about 12:30 p.m.”

In the event of rain, the Practice Day will be held the following Monday at the same time and location.

The 2009 Smoky Mountain Far West Regional Spring Games will take place about a month later on April 24^th at Smoky Mountain High School in Sylva.

Physicals are required to compete in the Practice Day or Games. Last year all athletes were required to have a physical and it was good for three years, but if this is the first time participating, athletes will have to have a new physical.

Garrett says they are looking forward to another great event this year, “We’re excited this year because we always have a good turnout. If anybody wants to volunteer they’re always welcome to volunteer. They can contact me by going to our website, they’ll find our contact information on there. We would love to have people come out and be a volunteer, and get involved in Special Olympics. We are always looking for people to coach and I know people are intimidated by wanting to coach but we don’t actually have to have someone who has a lot of experience with coaching. We can basically take somebody who has a passion and we send them to school to be a coach for Special Olympics. Coaching for Special Olympics is different than coaching for an actual sport because we have accommodations to make.”

She goes on to say that coaches are needed year round regardless of the event.

For further information on volunteering you can visit www.sonc.org and enter 28734 or call 349-2428 for that information and other requirements on participating in the Special Olympics.

Man robbed at gunpoint while trying to sleep

Investigators with the Franklin Police Department are searching for information in an early morning burglary on Wednesday at a residence in Heritage Hollow

SGT. Steve Apel with the Franklin P.D. says a Franklin man woke up to find two robbers in his home, “It happened about 2 a.m. The subject woke up and went outside and smoked a cigarette on the front porch, then went back to bed. It was just a one-bedroom efficiency apartment; they kicked the door in and didn’t say anything to him. They just stood over the bed with a gun pointed at him, while the other person went through drawers and nightstands and they ripped the TV off the entertainment center and picked up the wallet and cell phone lying on the table next to the TV and walked out.”

Apel adds that no one was hurt in the incident and at this time details are sketchy but Police are on the lookout for two males, one heavy set and one tall and thin that are driving a white SUV.

If you have any information regarding the incident please contact the Franklin Police at 524-2864.

Franklin man caught with opium, pound of marijuana

A Franklin man has been taken into custody following a major drug discovery. Arrest reports at the Macon County Sheriff’s Office say that Tan Minh Tram, age 28 has been charged with three felony drug charges including trafficking opium, possession of a schedule IV controlled substance, and drug possession with intent to manufacture, sell and distribute. Tram was also charged with a fourth felony of maintaining a dwelling place for a controlled substance and misdemeanor drug possession. According to reports, Tram was in possession of opium and over 1lb of marijuana at the time of his arrest. He was booked on Tuesday and bond was set at $50,000.

Town to fund two more agencies from non-profit pool

As the 08-09 fiscal year starts to wind down, two more agencies will be receiving funds from the Town of Franklin’s non-profit funding pool. At this week’s town board meeting R.E.A.C.H. of Macon County and Angel Medical Center both presented applications for $5,000 each from the town’s non-profit funding pool, which is down to just over $14,000.

Town Manager Sam Greenwood describes to the board how REACH would use the funds, “The funding will assist REACH with providing services to victims within town. It will be used to assist in the cost of shelter, court advocacy and counseling services for the residents for the town of Franklin.”

Greenwood says as requests for non-profit funding increases, its key that the board sticks with their current policy,” Then the pressure is going to be on the board to start changing your policy and that’s when the heat is really come on the board to stick with the funding idea of the $25,000 a year cap. It’s coming.”

Angel Medical Center is also requesting $5,000 to go towards the purchase of the new digital mammography machine that will be purchased from a combination of fundraisers and donations.

Alderman Jerry Evans made a motion to grant each organization half of their requests at $2,500 each, due to the fact that the board is anticipating other agencies to approach them due to the economic conditions. That motion died on the table due to lack of a second, but the board did go on to approve to give Angel and R.E.A.C.H. both $5,000 leaving just over $4,000 in the non-profit pool with three and a half months left until next year’s budget takes effect.

Check plumbing during 'Fix-A-Leak' week

Nationwide, more than 1 trillion gallons of water leak from U.S. homes each year. That's why WaterSense is promoting “Fix a Leak Week” from March 16 to 20, 2009, to remind Americans to check their plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems for leaks. The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources has joined up with the EPA in this effort.

According to the EPA, an American home can waste, on average, 11,000 gallons of water every year due to running toilets, dripping faucets, and other household leaks.

We spoke to Jim Zilbauer with Town of Franklin’s Water Department and he says most municipal water customers now have the option of a leak detector on their meter, “Most water meters have an actual leak indicator dial on them. They’ve got a little dial and a big hand. With the little dial, anytime it moves there’s water going through that meter. You can take a hole the size of a ball point pen tip and if you have galvanized line in the ground within two months a leak that size, 7 to 8,000 gallons can leak from something as small as that.”

Zilbauer adds that during dry conditions, it could take months for a ground leak to show up.

He says if you don’t have a leak detector, it is a good idea to check for your toilet for a possible leak, “Toliets is the biggest thing. If your flapper is bad, you can lose a little bit of water and it may not seem like much but within a month’s time we can tell you have a definite leak, because your bill will go up. You can check the back of the toilet tank, and you can usually hear it if its leaking. It may be a minute leak, but its still going to add up if it’s leaking.”

Other common types of leaks include dripping faucets and leaking valves, which can usually be fixed with replacement parts.

If you would like further information on conserving water or finding household leaks you can visit www.savewaternc.org or www.epa.gov/watersense

Otto General Store robbed at gunpoint

The Macon County Sheriff’s Department is on the lookout for a suspect wanted in connection with an apparent armed robbery at the Otto General Store that took place on Tuesday evening.

Macon County Sheriff Robert Holland has more details on the suspect, “An individual had walked into the business, brandishing a weapon with a hood covering his face. He requested that the employee give him the money. He took the money and fled the store in a white Toyota Avalon. We believe the vehicle is a 1996-1999 Toyota Avalon, white in color.”

Holland adds that no license plate was on the vehicle at the time of the incident.

He says if you have information to contact them and you can remain anonymous, “We’re requesting people to contact the Sheriff’s Office if they have any information, but we also understand that sometimes people like to remain anonymous. We’re encouraging people that if they do want to remain anonymous they can call our Macon County Crime Stoppers and you can also receive a cash reward if the information leads to the arrest of a suspect.”

If you have any information regarding this incident please contact Macon County Crime Stoppers at 828-349-2600.

Macon Landing project cancelled

Just two weeks following the approval of the petition of annexation of nearly 7 acres of property near Pauline Avenue for the proposed Macon Landing Apartment Complex, the Town Board was notified that the project has come to an end.

Town Planner Mike Grubberman addressed Alderman on Monday saying the attorney working on behalf of the property owners, informed them that the North Carolina Housing Financing Agency has declined to proceed with the apartment project at this time, “TGC Development felt that they would be fighting an uphill battle with that agency to go further to achieve the tax credits so they decided to pull the project. At this point, they informed the [attorney] Mr. Coward not to do anymore work on the project. As a result of that, I’ve cancelled the ads announcing the public hearing. There will be no public hearing on the project.”

The news on the cancellation comes just two weeks prior to a public hearing that was expected to garner a lot of input from the community on the special use application that was filed for the property.

The town had previously held neighborhood compatibility meetings on the project.

The property owners requested the special use application to continue, but Grubberman says the town cannot grant that due to the circumstances, “If that project is not part of the special use, then we can’t grant a blanket special use. Their interest is in leaving the property annexed to the town. They’re not going to try and undo that,” said Grubberman.

The town board voted unanimously on the involuntary annexation of the property, which would be effective July 1^st, 2010.

Perdue releases anticipated budget for 2009-2010

On Tuesday Governor Perdue officially unveiled her much awaited 2009-2010 proposed budget for the state. In what is being considering the most challenging situation in years, the budget plans to increase per-pupil spending, invests in job creation and protects public safety through probation, mental health and anti-gang initiatives.

In a statement released from her office the Governor said, “Despite our nation’s tough economic situation, I stand ready to strengthen our middle class, improve public education and public safety, and ensure that government works smart for our citizens.”

Perdue’s budget closes a $6.4 billion cumulative gap and cuts spending by over $2.5 billion over the next two years.  Her budget also utilizes nearly $3 billion dollars of federal recovery funds to support critical services and recommends a $1.3 billion revenue tax change for tobacco products and alcohol.

Town to help fund County EDC position

The Town of Franklin Alderman say they are willing to help Macon County when it comes to Economic Development. At Monday’s Town Board meeting, the concept of helping support an Economic Development Consultant for the County was brought up for discussion, and while the idea drew mixed reactions, Alderman voted unanimously to help fund the position at.

County Officials say they have a qualified individual selected to act as the Economic Development Consultant while the county continues to develop their EDC staff. The contract was reviewed by the town board and would compensate the consultant approximately $40,000 for a year.

Alderman Bob Scott voiced some of his concerns on the amount of money that the consultant would be paid, “I’m just a little concerned about the fact that I think that’s an extraordinary amount of money for maybe one or two days a week of service to the county with us being a part of it.”

Mayor Collins says the individual selected is in a good position to help the county with Economic Development, “He is so uniquely situated right now in the Atlanta market with his contacts and connections, with his background that blends itself beautifully with this type of activity and then his history of involvement growing up here. The thought is that if we can keep this development on his mind. This is a job that a phone call might make all of the difference in the world and somebody who knows somebody and the thought is he’s that man.”

Collins informed the board that helping the county in this case, would have ultimately have an economic impact on the town of Franklin, “If we were to invest into that amount, it would allow us to be part of the team, so to speak, to be able to pick up that phone and have our own input. Irrespective of why we vote on this, the EDC is going to be looking at additional representation from the town on its board. It would be a very modest investment to give us the opportunity to maybe see something happen that we could be a part of.”

He said it was his understanding that the county is going to pick up 2/3 of the total costs and they would ask the towns of Franklin and Highlands to cover the rest.

Alderman Curtis made a motion to approve the funding at $7,000, which was again, unanimously approved by the board.  

Lady Cats to meet Vandy in NCAA Tourney

The Western Carolina Lady Catamounts drew the highest seed in the school’s history for the NCAA Basketball tournament picking up a 13 seed. The Lady Cats will take on 4 seeded Vanderbilt who is ranked 14^th overall, this Saturday at 8 p.m. in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Western Head Coach Kellie Harper says picking up the 13 seed is a big deal for their program, “We felt like we could deserve that if they did they did their homework. They had to do a little background check on us, but for our kids, that’s a great statement.”

Harper adds the Lady Cats are looking forward to the challenge of taking on Vanderbilt, “Vanderbilt is very talented, very intelligent and they play well together. It’s going to be a huge opponent, but we are so excited about the opportunity.”

This is the 2^nd time the Lady Catamounts will appear in the NCAA tournament after getting to the dance in 2005 as a 16 seed losing to UT in the first round.

Health Board: No fee increases--for now

The Macon County Board of Health says at this point in time there are no planned increases in fees for county health services. At their meeting last week, the board OK'd their budget for the next fiscal year.

We spoke with recently elected Health Board Chair Roberta Swank and she says while right now no fee increases are anticipated, depending on what comes down from the state, that could change, “What it amounts to is when the state puts something through and we hear is they’re cutting this and cutting that. It seems like when you find out that there has been a cut in the state, then those costs are being thrown over to the counties. The only way the county comes back to regulate that is by raise taxes or raising fees for the person involved. Needless to say, some of the specific things need to be taken care of by fees instead of by taxes. As of now there’s no fee increase, but we don’t know what’s coming down the road.”

The board now plans to present their budget to the County Commission for final approval.

N.C. gets low grade on mental health

The latest report card concerning mental health care from National Alliance on Mental Illness says that North Carolina barely passes with a “D”. The report issued last week ranked all 50 states using 65 different criteria, including access to medication, housing and education. North Carolina’s grade remains unchanged since the previous report came out three years ago and gave the state a D.

According to Mary Ann Widenhouse with NAMI Appalachian South one of the areas that needs attention locally is help with substance abuse problems, “Not only just substance abuse but you have a lot people who have substance abuse issues that have co-occurring mental health challenges and we do not have very much co-occurring mental health treatment.”

Widenhouse adds that more needs to be done in the way of substance abuse prevention as well, “That’s an area that’s not being addressed a great deal—the prevention and the early intervention, especially in the early age groups. We do have the substance abuse treatment in the jails here in Macon County and they’re starting to do that a little bit more in other counties here, so that’s a positive step.”

She goes on to say that while the state’s grade could be improved there is some encouraging news that seems to be overshadowed by the bum rap mental health services has received, “We’re moving toward the goal now of mental health services and developmental disability services is on recovery, helping a person move forward despite the fact they have ongoing issues with either mental health, substance abuse or developmental disabilities. In some cases, they have all three. Helping a person move forward in their life and becoming able to achieve their hopes and dreams in their lives despite the fact they may have ongoing mental health challenges, which I have.”

“When I moved to this area five years ago I was able to part of a pilot program in bringing recovery focused services to the western part of the state. I will tell you that it made a huge difference in my life,” said Widenhouse.

The report identified urgent needs in North Carolina which included, restoring confidence and order to the overall system, improving state hospitals to enable transition to a newer facility and restoring ACT funding cuts.

North Carolina doesn’t vary from the national average, which also received a D.

The nation’s average remains unchanged since the 2006 report card came out.

You can get a full look at the report online at www.nami.org/grades2009.

"Booze It and Lose It" to run through St. Patrick's Day

As many prepare to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, the North Carolina Highway Patrol urges folks to be responsible and use caution on the roadways as there is always the possibility of an impaired driver. Trooper Jeff Pruett says the Highway Patrol recently kicked off another round of “Booze It and Lose It” across the state in an attempt to crack down on drunk drivers, “We’ve got a project going on right now that will go through St. Patrick’s Day called the Booze It and Lose It Campaign and it started last Friday and it will go through midnight on Tuesday. Basically what we’re trying to do is work in areas where we may have noticed a concentration of some drunk drivers that’s out on the road.”

Pruett adds that they will be targeting more than impaired motorists, “We’re also looking for other violations too, it’s not necessarily specifically on driving while impaired but it’s a campaign that looks for all motor vehicle violations and a lot of times those motor vehicle violations will turn out to be someone that is impaired.”

Pruett goes on to say, that since St. Patrick’s Day falls during the week and not the weekend that may curb the number of drivers who may drink and drive.

Kindergarten orientation coming in April

A reminder to parents of a child who will be turning 5 years old by August 31^st Kindergarten Orientation is coming up in the month of April. Current law changed the cutoff date from the original October deadline to the end of August.

Orientation dates for each respective school:

• Cartoogechaye, April 13^th at 9 a.m.
• Nantahala, April 15^th at 1:30 p.m.
• Highlands, April 16^th at 10 a.m.
• East Franklin, April 16^th and 17^th at 9 a.m.
• Cullasaja, April 17^th at 9:30 a.m.
• Iotla, April 23^rd at 9 a.m.
• South Macon, April 23^rd at 9:15 a.m.

Community Schools Coordinator Pam Collins says the orientation is important because it will give the student a sense of what it the environment will be like, “Parents get really excited about that and their children. It’s a good for the kids to go see their school and get a taste of what its going to be like.”

If you have specific questions regarding registration or orientation you’re asked to call the school in your attendance district.

Repaving project underway in Smokies

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Officials have announced that 6.5 miles of the Park’s Newfound Gap Road is going to be repaved beginning this week. Newfound Gap Road is the primary road for visitor access to many of the Park’s most popular trailheads and overlooks and is a heavily-traveled artery between Cherokee and Gatlinburg, TN.

The stretch of road that is planned to be resurfaced runs from the Collins Creek Picnic Area south to the Park’s boundary with Cherokee.

The project is expected to last about 18 months and comes at a cost of just under $10 million, which will be funded by the Federal Highway Administration.

Park Officials have made efforts to minimize disruption to attractions and gateway communities but say up until June 15^th lane closures can take place at anytime, but will not be allowed from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on weekends, holidays or during Easter Week.

The work is anticipated to finish in September of 2010.

Macon Health Board supports state smoking ban

Last week, the Macon County Board of Health went on record in support of House Bill number 2 that would ban smoking in public places, and work sites across North Carolina. Macon Health Board Chairman Roberta Swank says the bill is a good concept when it comes to the safety and health of Maconians but could pose problems locally when it comes to enforcement, “The idea of it is good, granted that North Carolina is a tobacco producing state and we understand that. The Health Department is there to protect the health of all citizens, so to protect citizens from second hand smoke and smoking, the ban on smoking would be great in all buildings and workplaces.”

Swank adds if the bill becomes a law, it could be up to local Health Directors to make sure its enforced, “We’re starting to hear, that if it did go through, it would be up to the Health Director to enforce this. So here again, it’s easy for the state to make a proclamation and it’s also very easy for them to say it’s up to the counties to figure out how they’re going to enforce this. Again, they’re putting burdens on different positions which would be the Health Director in this case. When you put common sense to that and logic, how is that going to be enforced?”

A recent Elon University Poll says that 87 percent of North Carolinians feel employees have the right to work in smoke-free environments while 67 percent support state laws that would ban public smoking.

Some business owners, especially restaurants are concerned the ban could impact business.

According to the Elon University student newspaper, “The American Lung Association gave North Carolina an “F” in all four areas it evaluates for smoking control policies: tobacco prevention and control spending, smoke-free air, cigarette taxes and cessation coverage.”

Andrews man arrested for 'peeping'

A 36 year old Andrews man was taken to the Macon County Detention Center on Thursday after being arrested on peeping charges. According to arrest reports at the Sheriffs Office, Christopher Lee Phillips of 29 Broadway Villa Lane in Andrews was charged with misdemeanor secret peeping after an employee of the Macon County Public Library allegedly discovered him in a stall in the women’s bathroom while she was in there.

Phillips’ bond was set at $1,000 and he is scheduled to appear in Macon County Court on April 9^th.

Another Andrews man was detained by Macon Sheriff’s Deputies in a separate incident. Reports say that 36 year old Brian Tomlin was arrested on Thursday and charged with a felony count of larceny and a felony count of obtaining money or property by false pretenses. Tomlin’s bond was set at $4,500 and he is scheduled to appear on the charges March 19^th.

N.C. unemployment hits nearly 10 percent

The jobless rate in North Carolina has reached nearly 10 percent—the highest it has been since March of 1983. The latest figures released by the state’s Employment Security Commission say that as of January the statewide unemployment rate had hit 9.7 percent.

Employment Officials say they will continue to make sure that services are delivered through their local offices, by phone and the Internet. Some offices have added staff and are working extra hours to make sure customers are receiving the best service possible.

At this time, manufacturing and construction continue to be hit the hardest.

The state plans to release county unemployment figures for January this week.

"Empty Bowls" project to fight hunger

Franklin High School’s Interact Club and Art Department are planning to combat hunger with “Empty Bowls”.

Community Schools Coordinator Pam Collins explains,”The public is invited to select a hand-built bowl and fill it with soup. The bowl is theirs to keep as a reminder of how many empty bowls there are in the world. Donations will be accepted for the soup and the empty bowls and all donations go to feed the hungry. The donations will be going to CareNet and internationally will be donated to Haiti,” said Collins.

The bowls are dinnerware and dishwasher safe and are being made by Franklin High Students, while parents will help make the soup.

The Empty Bowl project will be going on Friday, March 27^th at Tartan Hall in Franklin from 5:00-7:00 p.m.

If you would like more information call Franklin High School at 524-6467.

Friday morning blaze destroys Franklin home

A Franklin residence is being considered a total loss this morning after catching fire just after midnight.

Crews from the Franklin Fire Department were called out early this morning to a fully involved structure fire at 76 Hillcrest Avenue. Franklin Fire Chief Pete Haithcock says the house was owned by Harry Meeks and it was his wife that called 911 just after 2 a.m. this morning, “We arrived on scene at approximately 2:11, and found the structure fully involved with flames showing out of the rear of the house. It took about an hour to bring the fire under full control. There was extensive damage throughout the house.” 

The occupants were able to get out without harm, said Haithcock.

2^nd Lieutenant Steven Shuler was one of the firefighters on scene, “When we pulled up on scene, we had approximately a quarter of the attic on fire. By the time we had our water supplies set up it had rapidly increased to about three-quarters of the attic to almost all of the attic. We made our attack, and pretty much saved the structure but due to the condition of the structure it was a total loss.”

Crews remained on scene battling the blaze until just before 6:00 a.m. this morning. Haithcock adds that the couple living in the home received assistance from the Red Cross and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Also responding to the scene was Clarks Chapel and Cullasaja Fire Departments.

Economy puts strain on Community Health Clinic in Highlands

The current economic downturn is doing more than putting a strain on wallets. Many, who have lost their jobs, have in turn lost their health insurance as well causing them to forgo medical care. The Community Care Clinic of Highlands, which is predominately made up of volunteer physicians and nurses is seeing a boom in the number of folks seeking the free medical care that they offer.

Jerry Hermanson Director of the Clinic says this is causing longer wait times when it comes to getting an appointment, “We’ve seen an increased demand for our services. More and more people are coming to us and telling us that they lost their jobs recently or they lost their health insurance because of their jobs and so we’re seeing an increase there and it’s causing a little bit longer waiting time in getting an appointment.”

He adds the clinic saw an 8 percent increase in the number of patients last year, “In 2008, we saw 789 patients and that represented about an 8 percent increase over 2007.”

75 percent of the patients seen are from Macon County, while the other 25 percent come from other areas of the state, including Jackson County and Northeast Georgia.

This increased number of patients has also put them in a pinch for more volunteers.

Hermanson talks about the type of people they are in need of, “The number one volunteer we need are primary care physicians. We also use nurses and other clinical people to do medical intake. We use people that can speak Spanish to help with translations; we have a number of patients who don’t speak English well. Probably the largest category of volunteers are our administrative or clerical volunteers, which we will train to help with things like the front desk, patient intake, filing and medical records.”

If you would like more information on the clinic or volunteering call 828-526-1991.

County shares LTWA concerns on Rabun's wastewater plant

At this week’s County Commission meeting, Jenny Sanders, with the Little Tennessee Watershed Association took their concerns to Macon County Commissioners on Rabun County’s plans to develop a wastewater treatment plant that would discharge into the Little Tennessee River in Rabun Gap.

Macon Commission Chairman Ronnie Beale says the board shares the concerns of the LTWA because it could impact the floodplain ordinance, “When you displace watersheds, that’s the continental divide, and you take water that goes on the other watershed, and that would be the Savannah side, anything past Mountain City, and you put it back into the Little Tennessee, which ours of course goes into the Mississippi River, that’s a concern with our flood plain ordinance that the county has worked so hard on.”

Beale adds that they also are concerned about Rabun using the latest technology in water treatment to help ensure the good water quality in the Macon County portion of the river, “We would certainly like to see, if they are going to do a sewer treatment plant, that it uses the latest in technology. A lot of folks have worked very hard to improve the water quality of all of our streams in Macon County. Not to mention that more than likely one of these days, the town of Franklin or the county may have to look to the Little Tennessee as a water source. So it’s a very important issue and there will be a comment period to the State of Georgia and I’m sure Macon County will be involved in those talks.”

In the near future a draft permit is expected to be issued to the waste water plant that is being housed in part of the old Fruit of the Loom facility and that would open up a 30 day comment period.

The LTWA is expected to make comments and suggestions to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division during that time along with the Town of Franklin and Macon County.

Crime Report

A 46 year old Franklin man has been detained after authorities discovered he was in possession of a vehicle that had been stolen. Macon Sheriffs Deputies have charged Darryl Raymond Swanson with one felony count of possession of a stolen vehicle. Swanson was booked on Thursday and bond was set at $10,000.

In an unrelated incident, Investigators with the Macon Sheriff’s Office are investigating a report of larceny at 2001 Matlock Creek Road. According to reports, a jewelry box containing $15,000 in various diamond jewelry was taken from the residence. The incident was reported on Wednesday.

Nantahala players, coach get post-season honors

After wrapping up a terrific season that got them into round three of the state 1-A playoffs, the Nantahala boy’s basketball team received some post-season recognition with three all-conference players, including player and coach of the year in the Little Smoky Mountain Conference.

John Mitchell, John Griffith and Gavin Baldwin were named all-conference, with Griffith also being named player of the year. The Nantahala Hawks Coach, Josh Taylor was also named coach of the year in the conference.

Taylor says getting 27 wins this year said a lot of about the strength of the team and the post-season honors also mean a lot to him, “It means a lot to me. These kids have played together since third grade and have shown a lot of heart. They have stuck with it.”

The team will be losing 5 Seniors to graduation this year.

Also, a special congratulation goes out to Franklin High School Freshman Lindsay Simpson and Tanner Plemmons for being named all-conference in the MAC.

School Board continues review of strategic plan

The Macon County Board of Education continued work last week on their county wide strategic plan for improving the school district in several areas for the 2009-2010 school year.

The board met over the course of Wednesday and Thursday as a team to review some changes with the plan and to also identify several objectives that would support each priority. Macon Co Superintendent Dan Brigman says one of the objectives the board focused on was reading levels for Macon County students, “From the leadership retreat we’ve identified several objectives, including maintaining our initiative to ensure all students are reading on grade level by the end of the third grade; that is under student accountability. We’re also trying to see ways we can improve effectiveness and efficiency in our school organization by looking at class sizes and assessing the operational costs at each facility.”

Brigman says the board will continue to work on the plan as the next school year approaches, “It is a fluid document. It’s a continuous planning process based on study model. We continue to monitor our objectives and once we complete the strategic plan, it’s up to us to carry it out and make sure we have initiated measurable goals and objectives.”

The board does intend to hold a final review of the plan before the start of the 09-10 school year.

Sheriff's Office investigating prescription theft

Investigators with the Macon Sheriff’s Office are checking into a report of prescription drug larceny that occurred at 154 Mashburn Branch Road. According to investigation reports, a total of 240 hydrocodone pills were taken from a mailbox. The pills were valued at $500. The incident was reported on Monday.

In an unrelated incident, Sheriff’s Investigators are looking for information on a report of burglary at a residence on Coman Road. Reports say that a subject entered the home and stole a $1,000 bill in addition to an unknown amount of collectable coins and a box of business documents and receipts. This incident was reported on Tuesday.

Benefit for local student this weekend

This Saturday the community is invited to a benefit for the Gabe Bingham Family that is planned at the Cartoogechaye Elementary School at 5 p.m. Gabe is a 9 year old student who has been in and out of the hospital after being diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome in 2007.

Community Schools Coordinator Pam Collins has further details on the Bingham benefit, “This a young man who is a student at Cartoogechaye Elementary who has been diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome. It is where valuable protein in the blood leaks into his urine and he has been going to different hospitals. There is going to be a supper, an auction, some raffles and special singing. All of this is to benefit the Bingham family.”

Again, the benefit is scheduled for this Saturday, March 14th at Cartoogechaye Elementary School at 5 p.m. Gabe is said to have a unique personality and a smile that lights up the world. He is very positive and rarely complains of his illness.

Macon Public Health Center raising awareness on child nutrition

Health Officials say today’s kids are consuming more junk food and spending less than 15 minutes a day in physical activity. If this sounds like your child, the alarming news is that this type of lifestyle can lead to numerous health problems later on in life according to Melissa Leatherman with the Macon County Public Health Center, “There’s definitely studies that show that it leads to an increase of diabetes and obesity in adulthood, but the earlier the children learn to live healthy and eat better they can live a much longer life without these types of problems occurring.”

She adds that March is National Nutrition Month and the Macon County Public Health Center is trying to do their part in helping busy parents learn how to incorporate healthier habits in their child’s life, “We’ve come up with some steps, tips and recipes that parents can use to make their children healthier. One step that the Health Department is emphasizing this month is to simply switch from whole milk to low fat or fat free milk in their child’s diet. We have a table set up that has a lot of other activities. One good thing is a parent-child activity booklet. It has tips and recipes for parents to use at home to help with good nutrition and exercise and there’s also quite a few fun activities for a child and parent to do together.”

The information is available at the Macon County Public Health Center on Lakeside Drive in Franklin. You can also visit www.eatright.org for advice on a healthier lifestyle.

Commission votes to alter Building Height Ordinance

In efforts to make the current Building Height Ordinance in Macon County more readable and enforcement for the Inspections Department, Macon Commissioners voted unanimously this week to redefine certain definitions within the ordinance.

Commission Chair Ronnie Beale explains, “We did the change the definition of the height of the building and it will now go to the eve and not to exceed 48 feet of habitable space in the height. It makes everything uniform. Before, it was difficult to interpret and to separate one from another.”

The change in the Building Height Ordinance is effective immediately.

Commission gets update on airport extension

The Macon County Commission received an official update on a controversial issue that has been making headlines here in Macon County—the proposed runway extension at the Macon County Airport.

At their regular monthly meeting on Monday, Macon Airport Authority Chairman Miles Gregory informed the Board of Commissioners on the project that has been in negotiations for around 8 years. There were also folks on hand who voiced their opposition against the 600 foot runaway extension that is being planned near a Cherokee Burial Area.

Commission Chair Ronnie Beale tells us they learned a lot on the issue from all the comments that were made, “The only account that the commissioners had is what they had read in the media and heard on the radio, but what we found out from the Chairman of the Airport Authority is that they have done their due diligence in trying to make this airport extension a reality. We heard about all the different authorities who have examined the situation and have signed off on it. Everybody from the Washington D.C. Department of Archaeology to the N.C. Department of Archaeology.”

Beale adds that they also learned the construction would not require the cutting of any of the land where the Cherokee artifacts may be located, only filling of the land.

He says the Airport Authority explained that the project was being done due to safety issues, but they are taking into consideration the economic development impact of the extension, “Most people have read in the media about Caterpillar using this airport for their services as Drake Enterprises does. Those folks employee at least 1,000 folks between and the payrolls are issued mostly to Maconians. That’s an issue we need to look at too because it has an economic impact on Macon County, but we’ve got to look at all the issues combined and be very considerate. It appears that the Airport Authority has certainly done that when it comes to the recovery of the artifacts that’s in and around the airport.”

The Federal Aviation Administration plans to fund a 25 percent recovery of the native artifacts that are in the area of the airport before any construction will begin, but at this time the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are not satisfied with that amount.

Trio arrested on felony pot charges

A tip to Franklin Police helped officers in arresting three local individuals on felony pot charges. Arrest reports say that the officers responded to a report of drug possession at the Sapphire Inn on Friday.

After arriving Police detained 24 year old Robert John Tyndell of Franklin, 20 year old Matthew David Thompson of Cashiers and 18 year old Christine Nicole Yummit of Franklin on felony counts of possession of marijuana with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver. Additionally the three were charged with misdemeanor counts of maintaining a dwelling place and drug violations. Bonds were set at $2,000 and they are scheduled to appear in court on March 12^th.

Parks to run Track at Western

Franklin High School is proud to announce that outstanding student-athlete Valerie Parks is planning to sign on to run Track with Western Carolina University this afternoon. The signing is set to take place at the FHS gym at 2:30 p.m.

Parks is also gearing up to play the annual Blue-White All-Star Basketball Game on March 20^th at T.C. Roberson as she was the only senior from Franklin to get the selection.

Nearly 300 acres lost in Otto brush fire

Dry conditions and high winds kept crews from the N.C. and U.S. Forest Service and Otto Fire Department busy as they battled a large out of control brush fire that got started on Sunday afternoon around 1:30 p.m. on the southeast side of Cedar Cliff Mountain in Otto.

Mike Wilkins with the U.S. Forest Service has the latest details on the blaze that is contained but not completely controlled, “It went real well for as bad a place and as big as it got. It got to about 270 acres and we got lines put in Sunday night around midnight. On Monday we burned out about 125 acres or so. All the lines were burned out secure; we did not man it last night after about 6:30 or 7 o’clock. The state has a couple of folks and we’ve got a small contingency just kind of patrolling and mopping up and looking on it and doing a little rehab in a place or two.”

He says that that about one-third of the land burnt was National Forest while the other two-thirds were private land.

Wilkins adds the fire came close to several structures, but fortunately no homes were damaged, “Bunches of structures the first day and then yesterday while we burnt out around some houses it got pretty close, sometimes 30 foot from a house, sometimes a 100 foot. It was a sensitive operation.”

Officials do not believe the fire was intentionally set, but the cause is under investigation, “It’s safe to say it’s man-caused, but that doesn’t mean its arson. At this point and time, we don’t think its arson but it is associated. Sometimes it can be a power-line, sometimes it can be debris escape, or spark arrestor on a lawn mower not working right. We are investigating and got some leads on it,” said Wilkins.

Again at this time, the fire has been contained but some crews will continue to patrol the area until they can declare it controlled.

Expelled FHS student formally charged

18 year old William David Woodley of Franklin has been charged with carrying a gun onto education property. The student was arrested on Monday after school officials discovered he was carrying an unloaded pistol at Franklin High School. After an interview was conducted, Woodley said that his intent was to sell it and not to hurt anyone.

We spoke to FHS Principal Gary Shields and he said Woodley had a reputation of being a good person and believes he did not mean any harm, “He said I was just trying to sell it Mr. Shields. He said I wasn’t trying to hurt anybody or hurt myself and I believe what he said.”

Woodley was released later on a $2,000 bond.

At this time Woodley will remain suspended until further notice.

Sewage issues force schools to close early

It’s was an early day for students attending the Franklin area schools. School Officials are telling us that the Franklin area schools were dismissed this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. due to sewage issues in the East Franklin area.

According to Terry Bell, the Director of Auxiliary Services for the School System, a sewer line became stopped at the East Franklin location, “The problem is that a nice maple tree has put all of its roots down into that sewer line and it’s now totally blocked and if you can’t flush a toilet, you can’t have kids in the building. In order to the necessary repairs it’s going to take us all evening and maybe into the dark, because we want to get all the repairs done, so we don’t disrupt school for tomorrow.”

Bell adds due to the County’s bus system, all of the Franklin area students had to be let out at 1:30 this afternoon, “Our bus system is not by school. Everything connects. If one can’t go, it effects every school in the Franklin area.”

Crews started work on the sewer line as soon as the students were sent home today.

Bell is optimistic that the repairs will be finished sometime this evening.

Lady Cats get bid into NCAA's after taking SoCon title

After three overtimes, the Lady Catamounts find their self with an automatic bid into the NCAA Women’s Tournament after a thrilling defeat over College of Charleston in the SoCon Championship Game.

A 14-0 run by Western Carolina helped close it out as they won by a final score of 101-87.  

Fans waited up to welcome the Lady Cats back to Cullowhee as they arrived just before midnight on Monday.

FHS student suspended after carrying weapon on campus

An investigation is underway and one student has been suspended from Franklin High School after authorities discovered a weapon in the book bag of a student this morning. Just before 11 a.m. on Monday, Principal Gary Shields and the School Resource Officer were alerted to a student who as carrying a weapon on campus. After an interview and search was conducted, an unloaded pistol was found. According to a statement from the school the student explained that the intent was to sell the pistol and not to harm self or anyone else.

We spoke to Superintendent Dan Brigman and he commended those involved for their quick actions, “I would like to thank the students and teachers involved in this incident for their quick actions to alert the administration. The administration and School Resource Officer are to also be commended for their immediate actions to ensure that our high school campus remained safe and secure.”

Again, at this time the student has been suspended from Franklin High School until the investigation is concluded and the legal action is determined.

We will continue to follow this story and pass along more details as they become available.

Cowee brush fire claims nearly 200 acres

Fire Officials say that high winds and low humidity were to blame in two major brush fires in Macon County on Sunday. About 200 acres were claimed in the Cowee Community in the Rickman Creek Area near Jim Deal Road. Gregg Day with Franklin Fire and Rescue tells us that around 1:30 p.m. fire crews from Cowee, Burningtown, Mt. Valley, Franklin, N.C. Forest Service and U.S. Forest Service, were dispatched to the scene of the fire which is controlled but still burning as of today according to Day, “It’s still burning, but its all contained. You still got stumps and downed timber that’s inside the fire lines that’s still burning.”

He adds that no homes were damaged by the fire, but he believes there was one that was threatened.

At this time, Day is urging residents not to burn while the humidity is low, “I strongly suggest that people not burn right now. It’s very dry, the humidity is down a lot and its just not recommended. Yesterday there was some wind and it really caused the fires to travel fast.”

Crews from Franklin Fire and Rescue remained on scene until around 10 o’clock Sunday night.

In an unrelated incident, Otto Fire is receiving mutual aid from area departments including those from Rabun County in battling a brush fire that was started on Sunday near the Coweeta Lab area. According to fire officials that fire was near 100 acres and is still burning as of today.

No further details are available at this time.

Town says latest flood maps inaccurate; request re-study

The Town of Franklin will be requesting an extension for time on joining the National Flood Insurance Program after a review of the town’s floodplain revealed some inaccuracies. Originally the town felt there may have been a discrepancy in the elevations on the model the state did for the Crawford Branch area. Town Manager Sam Greenwood informed the board this week, that the review which was conducted by McGill and Associates founds some issues with the measuring system instead, “Elevations for the most part were in tolerable limits. It’s the measuring system for incorporation flows through the culvert system that is in fact flawed. This report confirms that and it gives us the wherewithal to go down to the state and protest the findings of the original FEMA study and ask it be reformatted and studied with another evaluation before finalizing the actual definitions of the floodplain.”

The report also says the model does not accurately reflect the size and number of road crossings along the stream.

Alderman Scott also felt there were problems with the original study, “I just can’t believe how much water FEMA says would be in the Palmer Street Shopping Center. It’s hard to visualize that.”

For some time, the Town Board has been discussing the possibility of joining the National Flood Insurance Program after the recent flood maps included new parcels of land in the floodplain. The board voted unanimously to request an extension for the flood insurance deadline. The town also voted to town submit the report and ask for a re-study of the flood plain.

Joining the National Flood Insurance Program poses some pros and cons to the town residents as it would offer federally backed flood insurance, but at the same time would restrict new building in the floodplain.

N.C. tax refunds delayed this year

As the state continues to try and balance their budget, many North Carolinians awaiting their tax refund from the state are having to wait longer than normal so that the state can maintain a positive cash flow.

With unemployment up and people cutting their spending, tax collections have been down across the state.

Officials say that taxpayers will eventually get their refunds and with the economy remaining down, residents will certainly have need of the money just like the state does.  

Shuler says new bill will help thousands in WNC facing foreclosure

Representative Heath Shuler says House Bill 1106, which will help families facing foreclosure keep their homes will help be able to help thousands in western North Carolina.

In a written statement from his office, Shuler says “this bill takes the necessary steps to help responsible homeowners who are suffering due to this historic economic downturn, while also not rewarding those who were greedy or dishonest.”

The “Helping Families Save Their Homes Act”, will help those facing a possible foreclosure keep their homes by granting bankruptcy judges the ability to modify existing mortgages on primary residences through Chapter 13.

The Act was passed this week and was support by Representative Shuler.

In the last quarter of 2008 home prices across the nation dropped an average of 18 percent and now more than 14 million homeowners owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth.

MEC students transition into new location today

Macon Early College students enjoyed their Spring Break last week—and they have a new location to call home as they start back today. Many students used some of their time last week in helping to get moved into their new location; a 6,000 square foot facility known as the SCC transition building.

We spoke to Macon Early College Principal Gary Brown and he says the new building will offer a more flexible schedule for instructors and the 100 plus students, “The building itself is actually for SCC and they may hold some evening classes here but for us during the day, the biggest advantage is scheduling flexibility and the we can designate certain rooms for certain subjects. Really, a place for our teachers to call home and for our students to call home feels real good to us.”

Brown adds at this time the school is staying balanced with its student population,” Looks we’re settling in at around 35 to 40 students per year, which is just about all we can handle. Looks like the supply and demand are in balance. The number of slots we have available is typically 35 or 40 and we roughly have that number of applicants.”

Macon Early College allows High School students to earn college credit while attending grades 9-12.

LTWA concerned with Rabun's plans for new wastewater plant

A plan for the Rabun Co Commission to turn a portion of the old Fruit of the Loom Plant in Rabun Gap into a wastewater treatment facility is raising concerns with the Little Tennessee Watershed Association based here in Franklin.

Rabun County has purchased the wastewater treatment plant at the old Fruit site and has applied for a new discharge permit to begin treating domestic sewage.

Jenny Sanders, Director of the LTWA addressed the Town of Franklin this week and she says currently Rabun only has secured Sky Valley as a customer for this plant, but if they do start offering wastewater service to other areas they will be removing water from the Little Tennessee River permanently and into the Savannah River Basin permanently creating a potentially negative interbasin transfer. She says poses a problem because having too much water removed from the Little Tennessee can do all kinds of harm, and can wreck havoc during flooding situations.

Sanders adds that the interbasin transfer could set the wrong example when Rabun Commissioners apply for a intake permit, “When the Rabun County Commissioners decide to ask for a water intake permit to treat drinking water and send it to the rest of Rabun County, they’ll have a precedent that we don’t care if they bring water in freely or send it out freely.”

She adds that a 2 or 3 million gallon permit would give them an excess of 4 million gallons of water a day.

Sanders says that much excess could bring the possibility of Rabun County sending the water out of the area, “Atlanta has been looking for extra water and we don’t want to open the possibility that this water could be sent out of county and certainly not out of basin.”

A draft discharge permit is expected to be issued to Rabun County within the next few weeks and that will open up a 30-day comment period.

The LTWA plans to ask the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to use a UV treatment process instead of chlorine to ensure that the water quality is good enough for the Town of Franklin to use as an alternate water supply.

They will also request that language be written into the permit asking them to consider the impacts before an interbasin transfer is completed and they also plan to request the Georgia EPD hold a formal public hearing in the watershed so that everyone has a chance to ask questions and submit concerns.

The Town Board voted to appoint Alderman Bob Scott as a liaison to the LTWA in helping with this matter.

NCSTEP Director trains local physicians on tobacco cessation

Local physicians, dental hygienists and health educators received some first hand knowledge and training from the Director of the North Carolina Spit Tobacco Education Program, Paul Turner as he paid a visit to Franklin on Thursday. Turner was invited to update area doctors on the changes with spit tobacco products and techniques they could use in assisting their patients in quitting.

Liz Crawford Tobacco Educator says the Health Department invited around 60 physicians from around the area to attend Thursday’s training session. She says with smoking bans becoming more prevalent many are using spit tobacco as alternative. She adds that Turner stressed that doctors need to find out what their patients are using.

We had a chance to talk with Turner and he says the ultimate message is that no matter what form it’s in, tobacco is not safe, “What we’re trying to teach young people is there is no safe tobacco. It does make a difference whether you dip it, chew it, smoke it or inhale it. It all has nicotine. Once you start it, you can’t always quit and if you use long enough, you’re gonna get hurt by it.”

Turner also described quitting techniques that the physicians could use in helping their patients stop the habit, but he stressed that their support would be essential for success. He added that quitting smoking is different than spit tobacco, because the nicotine in smokeless tobacco stays in a person’s system much longer, “We’ve got a cessation and treatment guide that was developed by Mission Hospitals and NCSTEP. It’s good information that helps providers know what to do. Because cessation for spit tobacco and cigarettes is two different worlds. What works for cigarettes, will not work for spit tobacco."

Those in attendance were also provided with lots of informative materials on tobacco effects and cessation that could be used in their offices.

Traffic woes continue on Wayah

Whether its speeding or large trucks, traffic issues on Wayah Street and the surrounding neighborhood seem to continually be on the minds of local residents.

At this week’s Town Board meeting, Wayah Street resident W.H. Derrick voiced concerns he has with tractor-trailers using Wayah Street to access Depot Street and Shaw Industries, “There was a big one coming down Wayah Street and tried to make a left hand turn on Ulco—well he couldn’t do it. So he went up to the red light at 441 and made a right turn and came back through the High School parking lot. That’s a no no too. You got 2 inch asphalt there, where it should 4 inches for a tractor-trailer. He came off that off-set angle there and came across into Ulco. He took off half the bank and part of the street. You don’t need a full size tractor-trailer going down Ulco Drive; you don’t need one going down Forest Avenue.”

At this point Town Officials say they can’t stop the trucks from going down Wayah Street until the DOT finalizes the proposed truck route in Macon County that would re-route and Town Manager Greenwood says that is something the town is awaiting, “The board passed a resolution requesting that the state identify the truck routes and use those routes that we publicized. To date, they haven’t returned their response to it.”

Greenwood adds that according to the engineer the truck route won’t be designated until transportation crews finish the intersection north of town where the Depot Street extension comes back into Highway 28.

Open House set for new Town Hall

For the first time in over 50 years Franklin’s Town Hall will move to a new location. As construction crews put the finishing touches on what was known as the W.C. Burrell Building on Main Street, Town Manager Sam Greenwood tells us that an open house is being planned for April 6^th, “The current town hall has been used for that purpose since 1955. It’s gone through a lot of different changes. It started as a firehouse and they added some administrative offices over the years and then the police were in for a while. Public Works is in the bottom part of the area. The fire department and P.D. moved out, so its been a shuffling around of employees.”

Greenwood goes on to say that by the end of the year all of the town’s department should have a new place to call home, “Over the next year, we hope to get everybody into a permanent home with the P.D. having its building, the Public Works having theirs and then the Town Administration Unit up in the new Town Hall building. So by the end of this calendar year we look for everybody to be in their new digs.”

In addition to holding an open house on April 6^th, the Franklin Alderman plan to hold their first meeting in the new town hall that evening.

'Spring Forward' this weekend

Just a reminder to spring forward this weekend. On March 8^th at 2 a.m. Americans will be rolling their clocks ahead by one hour as daylight savings time will begin. In 2007 DST changed from April to the second Sunday in March. It will last until the first Sunday in November, adding another month to the daylight savings period.

Commission asking for family exemption on subdivisions

After holding a closed session on February 23^rd, Macon Commissioners voted to send a letter to local legislators on the authorization for Macon County to make an exemption on families when it comes to the definition of a subdivision. The letter also requests that legislation allow intra-family transfers of land without falling under current subdivision regulations. In 1989 Henderson County requested a similar exemption.

Commission, Planning Board to attempt to iron out Junk Home Ordinance

Options concerning the developing Macon County Abandoned Mobile Home Ordinance will be discussed in further detail coming up on Thursday, March 12th as a joint meeting is planned with Commissioners and the Planning Board. Currently the board is looking at ways to assist the consumer with the disposal of an abandoned mobile home. Macon County Solid Waste Director, Chris Stahl was brought into the talks and he says that beginning July 1^st, the state will make grant money available via House Bill 1134, to help defer some of the cost of demolition and disposal, “That is a bill to encourage counties to develop programs to properly dispose of abandoned mobile homes. They can get grant money back from the state to help defer the cost to encourage folks to get rid of them.”

Stahl adds the grants would come in increments of $1,000 but at this time it is not sure if that amount of money would be worth the time and effort it takes in working with state grants.

Other options being weighed is the concept of the county providing financial assistance with the disposal of the junk homes as an incentive to the consumer, in addition to whether the homes would be destroyed on site or taken to the landfill while intact and dismantled there.

He goes on to say that they will be closer to putting the ordinance together after they hear more from the Macon Commission, “We have a lot of pieces of a program, and lot of possibilities of different ways we could take it, so once we have this meeting on the twelfth and they give me direction on which of these forks in the road they want me to take and what they actually this to look like in the end, then we’ll set them out to put a final program together under these parameters.”

Stahl says currently the average cost of destroying a mobile home is over $3,000.

Addington Bridge to be replaced

The junction of Addington Bridge Road and South Skeenah Road will be closed coming up on March 23rd—that’s according to the state DOT. They will close the area to traffic to replace the bridge and work on the intersection itself.

Macon County Bridge Supervisor Charles McConnell has more information on the detour routes, ”Addington Bridge will be closed right there at the bridge below the school and the detour will be back to 441 then south to Marsen Church Road. Go across Marsen Church Road and take Addington Bridge Road Back to the closure. Also, South Skeenah Road will be closed; they have to move the road a little on that end. You’ll need to go west on South Skeenah, hit Skeenah Road and then go back to Addington that way.”   

He adds that the Addington Bridge replacement is part of the Transportation Improvement Program, “The bridge is just too old for the type of traffic we’ve got there and too narrow, a little dangerous. We’re trying to improve it through the TIP service.”

The 2009 State TIP will be funding nearly 2,500 transportation projects totaling about $13 billion.

The duration of the closure is expected to last 16 weeks.

Town to help fund Crisis Intervention Training

At this week’s Town Alderman meeting, the board voted unanimously to fund three different non-profit organizations from its non-profit funding pool. The local NAMI Chapter will be receiving $5,000 to go towards local Crisis Intervention Training.

Alderman Bob Scott informed the board that CIT training would teach officers on how to deal with someone who is in a mental health crisis, “It’s a training program for law enforcement officers to learn how to de-escalate situations involving special populations, particularly people that might have gone off the deep end. One of the primary things is that there is very little training in this area in basic law enforcement training. What they’re trying to do is to bring our officers, Sheriff’s Officers, Highway Patrol or anybody into this.”

NAMI representative Debbie Roberts say the training would eventually save municipalities money in the long run,”There is substantial amount of savings to city, the county and the jail-systems. It works with pre-booking and the options of not having to send them to jail.”

Additionally the Macon County Humane Society was granted $5,000 to help with it’s spay and neuter program. Hazel Davis with the Humane Society told the board that the funds would cover 118 free spays or neuters.

The Macon County Folk Heritage Association will also get $5,000 to help fund their needed feasibility study for the proposed Living Heritage Center.

Franklin man arrested on indecent liberties charge

A 32 year old Franklin man was detained late Tuesday by Franklin Police Officers on an indecent liberties charge. According to arrest reports, Delfino Paul Rubio was arrested at his residence on Winston Street and charged with one felony count of indecent liberties with a child. Rubio’s bond was set at $10,000 and he is scheduled to make his first appearance in court on March 12^th.

Town Board approves voluntary annexation of Holland property

The Town Board of Alderman voted unanimously at their meeting Monday to annex a 6.69 acre tract of land just off of Pauline Avenue that is planned for a proposed 64 unit apartment complex. A public hearing was held before the vote was made on the annexation which was requested by the property owners who plan to sell the property to TCG developers. Mayor Collins made clear to those in attendance that Monday’s hearing was on the annexation only and not the nature of the project.

The board was informed that the city limits run down the middle of the current 12 acre property.

A representative from TCG was the only one to speak regarding the matter to the town board as he made his case for the voluntary annexation, “My client would urge the city to annex the project for tax-based purposes and for purposes of extension of the appropriate utilities and because if part of the project is in the city, then it all should be in the city.”

A public hearing is planned to be held at the proposed new Town Hall on April 6^th at 7 p.m. regarding the approval of a special use application for the proposed Macon Landing Complex.

School Board expects a 6 percent reduction in state allocations

On Monday the Macon County Board of Education held a work session as they continued to work on the local school budget for the coming year. Superintendent Dan Brigman and the School Board were joined by School Principals and Chairmen from the School Improvement Teams for the budget talks.

Brigman says at this point, they can’t finalize their budget, because there has been a delay in the information on state allocations, “We haven’t received our final planning allotment yet. We did receive a status quo allotment that mirrored this current fiscal year’s allocations. We’re anticipating anywhere from a 3-7 percent reduction in specific categories from the state and before we can finalize our local budget we have to see where the state going to come in on the budget allocations.”

Brigman adds that the Principals and members of the School Improvement Teams were given a chance to pose questions and make suggestions to the board and administration concerning next year’s budget, “We had a productive discussion and clarified some of the restrictions associated with some state allocations to members present. There were several recommendations made to affect the operational costs and utilities at each site. We’re still on hold until we get those final numbers.”

Brigman tell us at this point, they are not sure what category the reductions will fall under but they do expect around a 6 percent reduction in planning allotments.

He anticipates those figures to come from Raleigh around March 15^th, when the Governor will pass the budget on to the Senate.

Legislation could regulate development in 'Landslide Areas'

In a market that has already been dealt a blow by the troubled economy, possible legislature could require local governments to regulate developments on slopes and in areas considered to be hazardous due to potential landslides and that could make even more of impact on the building industry.

After the tragic events that took place on Peeks Creek in 2004, State Geologists have been working on identify areas in certain mountain counties that could be prone to a deadly landslide.

We spoke to Rick Wooten with the N.C. Geological Survey and he says the work was completed in Macon County in 2006 and four maps have been produced detailing information such as when and where landslides have occurred since 1951, areas where landslides are likely to start and where they could end up and also geological formations that may be prone to instability.

Wooten says geologists used a lot of field work, including using high resolution topographic images. He says they also went back and looked at photos from 1951 in Macon County in putting together the series of maps.

The legislation is expected to draw opposition from those in the building industry who feel that more regulations would hurt a business that’s already on a downslide of its own.

Wooten describes areas in Macon County that were discovered to be hazardous, “Not a large percentage of the county was in a high hazard zone. The largest percentage of that was in the National Forest, that’s mainly where the steep ground is. About 3 percent of the county was also covered by ancient landslide deposits, which isn’t a large amount, but those are things to be aware of when you’re building in those areas.”

He goes on to say that the maps were put into place to guide developers, not hinder business “If they’re looking at developing a tract of land or purchasing land, this will give them some information in advance of potential problem areas. It’s not to say you can’t build in these zones but if you are planning on building there, it makes sense to have someone qualified in slope stability to look at the ground because these maps don’t substitute for a site specific investigation, but it does point out those areas where that kind of investigation makes sense.”

Those who may have a specific concern with an area can check with the county’s GIS system, “The county has the GIS versions of the maps on computer and they were designed to be that way. You can see the different map layers and the GIS folks can bring up parcel boundaries and all those things that show the tract of land that you are interested in."

Wooten goes on say you can also call them at 828-296-4632 if you need more information.

The issue is expected to be brought up in the General Assembly in the next month or so.

Severe Weather Awareness Week in N.C.

This week has been proclaimed by Governor Perdue as Severe Weather Awareness Week. We spoke to Macon County Emergency Services Director Warren Cabe and he says this year’s focus is on being prepared for tornadoes, “Of course there’s all sorts of severe weather including winter weather that we experienced a couple of days ago, but the focus this year is more on tornadoes and practicing tornado drills. Wednesday morning at 9:30, the National Weather Service is going to broadcast a tornado drill, and that’s a good time for all of us, whether we’re at work or school to practice our emergency plans and to make sure that we’re prepared for that to happen.”

Cabe offers the following advice in the event of a tornado and or other severe weather emergency, “Find a safe location to be. Basically, the folks who are in the place of business or where you live should go the buildings in the hallway so they can stay away from glass and debris. Don’t take elevators or stairwells down to lower floors, basically stay where you’re at and stay away from windows and doors. Long term, you need to be prepared to be self-sufficient because ultimately you may have some power outages or other utility outages. The same practices we preach for other emergencies, keeping enough water on hand, some non-perishable food, flashlights and battery powered radios, some basic stuff like that to keep you prepared for other emergencies is always going to be beneficial for any type of severe weather.”

More information on emergency preparedness can be found on the county’s website at www.maconnc.org and look under the Emergency Management section.

Parks, Plemmons receive post-season honors

Two basketball players from Franklin High School have received some post-season recognition. Freshmen Tanner Plemmons from the boy’s team was named All-MAC and from the Lady Panthers, Senior Valerie Parks was selected to play in the annual Blue and White All-Star Game.

Congratulations to Parks and Plemmons for helping the Panthers with another great season!

Macon Help Line fields nearly 250 calls in February

The Macon County Help Line continues to assist local residents who don’t exactly know where to turn for the help they need. The latest report says that February was a busy month for the Help Line as they fielded 227 calls. Macon County Social Services Director Jane Kimsey says the majority of those callers were in need of heating assistance, “65 percent were related to heating assistance. We did run out of funding for our Crisis Intervention Program, which does help pay for heat, so we had to refer to other resources such as CareNet and various Church groups.”

Other calls placed to the Help Line were requesting assistance with housing and food. In January the Help Line took 244 calls for assistance.

Kimsey says the line has become a much needed tool in the community and they have asked for it to be included in next year’s budget, “I do think it’s been a very valuable resource for our community during this economic hardship time.”

The Macon County Help Line costs around $27,000 a year to operate which includes the salary and benefits for the navigator and the cost of the line. Due to federal reimbursement, Macon County only has to pay about 17,000 in that actual cost.

If you would like to reach the Macon County Help Line dial 349-2128.

Rabbit Creek Road to close for bridge replacement

As of this Thursday a contractor for the NCDOT will be closing Rabbit Creek Road. Mitchell Bishop with the department says the road will be shutdown so crews can make some repairs to bridge #65, which is the first bridge motorists see if turning in from 441, “The road is being closed to replace bridge #65 over Rabbit Creek with a bottomless box culvert and to realign a short section of roadway on either end of the project.”

Bishop adds before the road is blocked off detour signs will be posted for drivers, “There will be a detour in place before the road is closed down and those signs will be up prior to the work starting.”

He goes on to say that barricades will be positioned on both sides of the bridges so those living near the bridge can have access to their homes.

The DOT expects the road closure to last until late August.

KIDS Place receives National Accreditation

KIDS Place of Franklin has been recognized by the National Children’s Alliance as an accredited children’s advocacy center.

Executive Director of KIDS Place, Alisa Ashe says she is proud of the staff for the work and dedication it took to achieve National Accreditation, “It means that we have to meet the same stringent children’s advocacy standards in even the big cities have to meet. We’re held very closely to these standards and it takes a lot of hard work and I’m very proud of our staff and our core team, Board of Directors and our community for helping us reach this goal.”

Ashe describes criteria that the National Children’s Alliance looks for when evaluating a children’s advocacy center, “They want to make sure that we have a supportive and involved Board of Directors and that we have the support of the local community. They look at things like the facility itself to make sure it’s child-friendly and safe. They look at things such as our multi-disciplinary core team that we work with to make sure that we really are working with law enforcement officers, social workers, prosecutors, doctors and therapists. I am pleased to say that we have an excellent relationship with all of those working professions.”

The organization first became accredited in 2003 and is required to be re-evaluated every five years.

For almost 18 years KIDS Place has been providing services in Macon County for children who have suffered abuse and or neglect.

For more information about KIDS Place, visit its website at www.kidsplacecac.org or telephone (828)524-3199.

Community braves weather for entertaining Harlem Ambassadors game

Despite impending winter weather, many members of the community turned out for quite an entertaining affair on Sunday at the Panther Den as some of Franklin’s finest dribblers took to the basketball court against the Harlem Ambassadors, a world famous Harlem style basketball team who promotes positive messages to children.

Cindy Cavendar with the Franklin Chamber talks more about Sunday’s game, “It was a lot of fun. We were very pleased with the turnout and it was a nasty day with snow predicted. The stands were filled and our players were amazing, they were such good sports about the jokes that the team played. Everybody involved had a really good time.”

The Ambassadors of course shared a positive message at halftime on the importance of staying away from drugs and staying in school.

Cavendar adds that they are pleased to be able to donate a portion of Sunday’s proceeds to Cross the Road Youth Ministries in Franklin.

Rickman Store to host "Bartering Day"

84 years ago three eggs traded for a spool of thread. This Saturday, bartering comes back to life at the historic Rickman Store in the Cowee Community.

On March 7^th, the Rickman Store will open its doors in celebration of its 84^th anniversary with a bartering day. You’re invited to stop by from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. to swap baked goods, produces, crafts, books, music, seeds, plants, farm tools and more. You’ll also have the option to post a description of an item you have at home to trade for what you need. Elena Carlson with the Rickman Store says they anticipate a festive atmosphere and believe the event will strengthen the community.

For more info call 369-5595 or visit rickmanstore.com

Franklin man charged with drug trafficking

A 25 year old Franklin man was taken into custody after being charged with a string of felony drug charges. Arrest reports at the Macon County Sheriff’s Office say that Jeremy Michael Hughes was detained on Friday and faces felony counts of trafficking opium or heroin, possession of marijuana with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver, three counts of possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver of a schedule IV controlled substance, in addition to other counts of possession of schedule II and IV substances. Hughes was booked on Friday and bond has been set at $20,000.

Public input sought on Erosion Control Ordinance

The Macon County Watershed Council is conducting a review of the local Sedimentation and Erosion Control Ordinance in an attempt to improve the application and effectiveness of the ordinance.

To accomplish the objectives, the watershed council and Macon County erosion control officers are reviewing on-the-ground experiences to improve definitions, erosion control plan requirements, permitting procedures, and on-site maintenance of erosion control best management practices.

Jack Morgan with Macon County Code Enforcement says the Watershed Council is also welcoming the public’s input on the ordinance, “It affects everybody in the county, whether you be in construction or not. It affects everybody if you’ve ever seen a stream. So we’re just looking for public input or outcry, if they think the ordinance needs some teeth to it or needs softening down, we’d just like to hear their opinion. There’s some sections that we want to address, but if there’s other areas that we’ve not thought of, we’d like to hear from the public.”

The Macon County Sedimentation and Erosion Control Ordinance is a performance-based standard for local control of sedimentation. Its goal, regardless of plans, permits, and procedures, is to minimize man-made erosion and to keep the mud and dirt on the property where it belongs. The watershed council welcomes your input and suggestions.

The next meeting of the Macon County Watershed Council will be Wednesday, March 11, 2009, at 10:00 A.M. at the Macon County NC Cooperative Extension Service building on Thomas Heights Road. The public is invited.

N.C. residents can track stimulus funds online

Those who want to keep track of how their tax dollars are being spent here in the state now have to option to see how the federal recovery funds that have been allotted to North Carolina are being used online at NCrecovery.org

Visitors who log onto NCrecovery.org will be able track stimulus money as it is being spent, make suggestions for projects and also apply for contracts and grants that may be available.

The federal recovery package will provide the state with just over $6 billion dollars to create jobs and to rebuild and expand the state’s critical infrastructure. It will also provide additional grants from federal agencies and direct funding to local governments for specific federal programs in North Carolina.

Superintendent's Secretary, Allman retires after 20 years

The Macon County School Board recently honored outgoing secretary to the Superintendent Reva Allman for her many years of dedicated service to the school system.

Allman has spent over 20 years in education as an administrative assistant from Transylvania County to Franklin High School. For the last nine years she has served at the Central Office.

Superintendent Dan Brigman expressed his sentiments towards Allman as she received a plaque for her service, “That job is very unique and it’s hard to describe what that job contains because everyday is different. She is not only the Superintendent’s right arm, but the left arm, and the spiritual and mental advisor. Reva Allman, you’re going to be missed.”

Friday was officially the last day for Allman. Renee Burt will now take over as secretary for the Macon County Superintendent’s Office.

Sports round up: Cats upset USC, Hawks ousted from playoffs

In what was their first ever west coast swing the Western Carolina Catamount baseball team pulled off a big upset win in the series over 24^th ranked USC. The Cats won the best of three series with a 9-3 finale on Sunday moving them to 5-1 on the year. Western Carolina will wrap up its west coast trip on Tuesday as they will take on No. 11 San Diego.

In other sports news,

In what was an apparent overtime thriller in Topton, the Nantahala Hawks boy’s basketball team fell in the section finals of the state 1-A playoffs to Cherryville by a final score of 99-90.

Congratulations to the Hawks for a fantastic season!

WNC remains in middle tier drought after dry start to '09

After a relatively dry start to 2009 the drought conditions have not much improved in western North Carolina. Terry Benthall with the National Weather Service in Greenville says the area is nearly 5 inches short on rain for this year so far, “From the Asheville Regional Airport, so far this month has had 1.01 inches and since January 1^st they’ve had 3.41 inches, for a total of 4.42 and that is 4.18 below normal.”

The good news is that steady rain in the latter part of 2008 has helped the drought from getting worse, “We did get some good rain through December in some of the different areas and it leads us right back where we were. It hasn’t worsened conditions, but it hasn’t improved anything,” said Benthall.

Benthall adds that western North Carolina is just over 2 feet short for rainfall over the past twelve months and that it would take several steady rains in addition to the normal amounts to have significant improvement, “It would typically take at least 10 inches or more above normal in order to bring it back up.

Forecasters say that the southeast is in a weather system known as La Nina, and they expect below normal precipitation for the area at least until early summer.

Currently Macon County is considered to be in “Severe” drought status.

Macon Transit use continues rising

The number of folks utilizing the Macon County Transit service continues to rise into the 2009. Transit Director Kim Angel explains, “Since the fiscal year began in July, we’ve seen increases anywhere from 31 percent to 60 percent in any given month over this same time last year. The average looks to be a 40-50 percent increase over last year.”

She says a number of factors are behind the continued climb in ridership, “Obviously back in the summer months and the early fall gas prices were driving that. Secondary to that is our deviated fixed route that we’re running in town on a regular basis. We’ve seen some real good growth in numbers on that. People are aware that its there and its stable and it runs everyday from 8:30-4:30. Between those two and just the fact that the public is more aware of our presence has helped.”

After receiving approval from the Macon County Commission, Angel will be submitting a grant application that would give the Transit Service nearly $350,000 in federal and state funds that includes a 15 percent local match that was actually less than 2008. The local match this year is just over $44,000.

Angel goes on to say that they plan to replace three of their transit vehicles with some of the capital funds they receive.

Town applies for stimulus funds

The Town of Franklin says they have two projects ready to go that they would like to grab some of the economic stimulus funds for. The Town Board met on Wednesday to approve authorization to submit two resolutions seeking funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Town Manager Sam Greenwood tells us they are applying for water improvement projects, “One was for a new Wilkie Street water tank north of town for more capacity and line improvements to support that. The other project was redoing water systems from basically the hospital down to the East Franklin bridges."

He talks about how the funds, if approved would go to work on those projects, “That’s replacement of water lines from the hospital to town bridges and at Wilkie Street, it’s actually for construction of a new tank and a booster pump station and larger water lines to improve circulation in that area.”

Greenwood says at this time it is not certain if the town will receive any stimulus funds, but they are going to try, “We felt we owed it everybody to try for it anyway, other than that we’ll come back do the project using local resources.”

The Wilkie Street Water Tank project is going to cost $900,000, and the town water line improvements will come in at about $500,000.

Nantahala Boy's basketball team playing in section finals tonight

After coming off wins over Alleghany and Hayesville, the Nantahala Hawks find themselves playing in the section finals of state 1-A basketball playoffs this evening against Cherryville.

We spoke to Nantahala Principal Chris Baldwin and he says the community is excited to see the Hawks advance this far, “We’re just really excited about the success these boys have had. The community support has been great. Parents have been behind us all year and it’s just made it a great season.”

The competition will get tougher as the Hawks at 27-3, will play host to an athletic Cherryville team, “The last polls that came out ranked us at 10^th and Cherryville was ranked slightly higher, so they’re a really good basketball team. Very athletic and very quick.”

Baldwin says the big reason behind the Hawks’ success this year is that they are playing well as a team, “I believe the strengths of this team in particular are that they have been playing together since they were in third grade. They are very intuitive and work well together.”

Tip off for tonight’s section finals is set for 7 p.m. at Nantahala School.

Three involved in child sex case indicted

The Macon County Clerk of Court’s Office says that three charged in the recent sex crimes against children have been handed true bills of indictment on the charges. 48 year old Stanley Carlton Rushton, 43 year old Mary Michelle Rushton, and 62 Gilmore C. Reddy face over 60 counts of various child sex crimes including exploitation of a minor, indecent liberties with a child and statutory rape. The Rushton’s have now been charged with two counts each of sexual servitude to a child victim.

School Board considers waiving out of state tuition in certain cases

After receiving requests for students living just outside of Highlands in the Satulah Community of Georgia to be able to attend school in Highlands without paying tuition due to the fact of their geographic proximity from the next closest school in Georgia, the Macon County Board of Education addressed their current policy on Tuition for Discretionary Admission at this week’s meeting.

Macon County School Superintendent Dan Brigman talks about why the decision was made to include that area, “Due to the distance that students must travel from Satulah to the schools in Rabun County, there was suggestion made that we make an exception for those students living in the Satulah area and that will be part of the first draft for consideration of the policy when we meet next month in Highlands.”

Due to financial and time constraints for the parents in the Satulah area, it would be easier for their children to make the shorter trip to Highlands.

Brigman says it could take as long as an hour for the students to reach the appropriate school in Georgia, “From the information I’m gathering its close to one hour, compared to a 15 minute drive back up the mountain to Highlands.”

Under current policy the board has right to waive payment of out of state tuition for parents if they fall under one of certain criteria, such as if they work for the school system or if they begin to face financial hardships.

After a review of other districts in the state that have similar policies, the board considered the idea of adding extra criteria on the policy to include students who are geographically isolated in the Satulah area.

The board did not officially adopt the revised policy but will bring it up for an official first reading and possible adoption at their March meeting.

Well testing bill passes Senate

Earlier this week there was some good news out of Raleigh for those who planning to have a well for private drinking water constructed. Senate Bill 141 was introduced by Senator Snow and on Monday passed through the Senate by a vote of 43-0. The bill would change current legislation that requires all newly constructed wells to be tested for Volatile Organic Compounds—something that health officials say is not necessary for every well.

A letter sent to state legislators this month states that “VOC’s are harmful to humans; therefore, testing for VOC’s is an important aspect of the well construction process.  However, requiring all constructed wells to be tested for VOC’s is costly and not a good use of local or state government resources.”

Additionally the implementation of testing for VOC’s could cost over $3 million in North Carolina with the average cost per test being $230.

The new bill would give the local health department the ability to determine if a new well should be tested for the compounds.

According to Macon Co Health Director Jim Bruckner, the bill has now been sent to the NC House.

Macon Public Health Center honored for achieving accreditation

The Macon County Public Health Center has garnered recognition from the state for its recent accreditation status. At this week’s Commissioner meeting David Stone, Accreditation Administrator and Joy Reed with the Division of Public Health came to Franklin to present the health department with a plaque displaying their status.

Stone says being accredited has many benefits, “Number one, it highlights the strengths of an agency. As well, it highlights what areas are needed for improvement and what goes wrong in an agency and how they answer that. It also can facilitate goal setting, encourages continuous improvement and provides a system for accountability.”

He adds they use 41 bench marks and 148 activities when they make an inspection of a health department.

Stone made positive remarks regarding the site visit report in Macon County, “It talked about the level of your facilities, the dedication of the staff and the work of the Board of Health and other leaders in the community in working towards the public health of your whole community.”

The Macon County Public Health Center is one of 44 local health departments in North Carolina that has received the state mandated status.

SoCon looks to make cost cuts

The Southern Conference announced they’ll be making cost cuts that will impact the 2009-2010. The measures, which are expected to save the SoCon around $120,000, include reducing all Conference baseball series to two days instead of three, increasing teleconferences for coaches and committees, reducing the number of teams that can qualify for conference tourneys to the top four in men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, softball and men’s and women’s tennis. They also plan to nix the football and basketball media days.

Additionally the SoCon will not be printing media guides next year and staff travel to certain events will be curtailed.

The conference plans to review the cost cutting measures in January of 2010 to determine the plan for the following year.

Appalachian State and Western Carolina are both included in the Southern Conference.

Veteran's project could open on Memorial Day

Veterans and community members in Macon County could possibly see the dedication of the on-going Veterans Memorial Project by Memorial Day of this year. Co-Chair of the project Neil Riendeau updated the Macon Commission on the current status of the memorial, “We really want to have a dedication on Memorial Day. Since it is a Veteran’s Memorial, Memorial Day seems the most fitting day to have a dedication. To accomplish this, there are some projects that we have to get done. We have the money for some of them, but not for all of them.”

One of the projects they do currently have the funds for will be for a “Timeline of Wars” for all wars that Americans were involved in, and it will list the number from Macon County that died during that particular war.

The memorial still needs to have the outside wall finished, turf installed, landscaping, bronze sculptures and a security system among others.

Riendeau expects it to cost around $120,000 to have the dedication by Memorial Day and with current funding amounts that leaves the project about $50,000 off, “Just to have a dedication by Memorial Day, we’ll probably need another $51,000 and we’re hoping that the community will come through with donations and brick sales to help us out.”

Chairman Beale said the project is much needed in the community, “This community like many across our nation needs something else to be proud for. This will be, if not the best Memorial in the state, it will be among the best."

Riendeau adds that so far over 400 Memorial Bricks have been sold and they currently have around $86,000 in their account, with $13,000 expended.

Commissioner Simpson brought up the idea of the county coming up with a $25,000 match to help with the project, but the Commission decided to wait until their second meeting in March to see where they are budget wise before making any commitments.

AED's to be placed in 3 Macon Co Schools

The North Carolina High Athletic Association is assisting Macon County in placing AED’s or Automatic External Defibrillators in three of the counties schools that are members of the NCHSAA, Franklin High School, Nantahala and Highlands.

Jennifer Garrett, Lead School Nurse in Macon County demonstrated to school board members how the devices that send an electric shock to restore normal heart rhythm to cardiac arrest victims work. She talked about the steps involved in getting these life-saving machines put in some of Macon County’s schools, “We had to go through a physician advisor and get a prescription in place for the three schools. We had to put a manual together showing the location of where the three AED’s would be. Also letters were sent to Warren Cabe and we worked with him on getting these placed in the school system. A training module was developed and trained all the people that needed to be trained. We talked to principals and asked them to identify people at their schools that would want trained.”

Garrett adds they came up with emergency response plans to go along with the AED’s and the defibrillators they received are user-friendly with directions and advice actually located on the machine, “It’s got the steps for CPR on there. It reminds you to call 911 and ask if you’re ok. It also has you open the airway, and place the pads. It tells us to keep your hands clear.”

The AED’s the school system received cost around $1,500 and run off batteries that cost about $70.

Waiting for the arrival of EMS results in only a 5-7 percent survival rate, according to OSHA.

Studies with immediate defibrillation have shown up to 60 percent survival, one year after sudden cardiac arrest.

The school system hopes to eventually install an AED in every school.

Smoke from North Georgia billows into Macon Co by Keith Giles and Stephanie Gross

On Tuesday afternoon, you may have noticed heavy smoke covering the sky throughout Macon County. According to the North Carolina Forest, the smoke drifted north into the area from Southwest Rabun County, Georgia where a prescribed burn of around 1,900 acres was taking place by the U.S. Forest Service near Lake Burton. Macon County Ranger Bobby Mashburn tells us that a controlled burn was conducted on Monday in Macon County in the Lyle Knob area of around 36 acres and that in the near future they expect to hold more here in the county.

Macon Deputy Briggs, Abby recognized for service

Lodge #81 of the Macon/Jackson Fraternal Order of Police plan to begin recognizing local law enforcement officers who display excellence in service and dedication. At this week’s commission meeting FOP President Chris Murray presented the first of such recognition to Macon Sheriffs Deputy James Briggs and his partner “Abby” a search and rescue bloodhound, “In the short time Briggs and Abby have been active as a team they have been instrumental in numerous search efforts, including tracking and apprehension of felony suspects. Sheriff Holland says of Deputy Briggs, he’s an outstanding officer and represents Macon County law enforcement very well. He gives much of his own time to train with his K-9 partner Abby and has proven to be an asset to the citizens of Macon County and the Macon County Sheriff’s Office.”

On January 22^nd of this year, Deputy Briggs and Abby were brought in to assist Police Officers after an elderly man went missing in the brutal cold, “What was hoped to be a rescue operation was soon a recovery operation. After having Abby smell a piece of the victim’s clothing at his residence, Deputy Briggs and Abby tracked and found the deceased victim within five minutes after the search began. The victim had tragically succumb to the six degree weather most likely before he was discovered missing by his family. While the outcome of the search was tragic, the rapid response of Deputy Briggs with Abby, coupled with their superior skill and training enabled the victim to be located and recovered in a timely manner,” said Murray.

Murray also took to recognize Franklin Police SGT. Devon Holland and Officers Matt Pellicer and Christy Evans for their search and rescue efforts on that freezing cold night. Murray goes on to say that the two agencies worked together with a team attitude, symbolizing the common goal of law enforcement.

Local well drillers voice concerns over state program

It was a packed house at Monday’s Macon Commission meeting, as many involved in the well-drilling business were on hand to voice concerns on the state mandated well program that was implemented on July 1^st, 2008. The drillers say they’re losing production because of the time it takes to obtain a permit. The state requires inspectors to make four visits to the well site before the permit can be issued—and at this point with the manpower available its taking up to 9 days before permits are being issued.

Local well driller Bruce Hedden was among many who were vocal on the issue. He says his production is down 26 percent because of the time it takes to get the permit, “The only thing that we are having is turnaround time issues. No offense intended to the inspectors, we’ve had nothing but good reports with them. I would like the department to look at the time frame.”

Hedden was just one of the drillers that shared their concerns with delayed turnaround times to commissioners.

Macon County Health Director Jim Bruckner gave the board an update on the 6-month well program and he said the state underestimated the workload for Macon County.  Before implementing the program state officials estimated that Macon County would drill or repair 300 wells a year.

Currently in Macon County there are two environmental health specialists assigned to the program, and three others who are have other duties but are qualified for well inspections.

Bruckner says they based their staffing to handle 350 wells a year and they are on pace to far exceed that, “We based our staffing on 350 wells a year. Right now we are expecting to hit 380, so a peak year for us with two staffers would have been 350.”

Bruckner says they’ve already received 211 applications for permits since July 1^st.

Chairman Beale says the boards understands the concerns of the drillers and are willing to do what they can to help, “This board is limited when it comes to the law and what we can do, but if we can improve customer service for your business and ultimately for the citizen, I believe this board is committed to doing that.”

Commissioners agreed to sit down and discuss matters with the well drillers and inspectors to see if they could help improve this service at a meeting coming up soon.

Cherokee "dissatisfied" with Macon Co Airport expansion

The Macon County Airport Authority says they plan to move ahead with the proposed extension at the Macon County Airport. For years now, the authority has been trying to negotiate a deal with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians that would allow them to extend the runway for safety reasons. The Cherokee on other hand say the proposed runway extension could compromise artifacts and even human remains as it would be in close proximity to a burial ground.

Last summer, a Memorandum of Agreement regarding the runway extension was sent out by the FAA to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and the United Keetoowah of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma. The MOA has been signed by the NCDOT, Macon County, FAAA and the N.C. State Historic Preservation Officer and while none of the Cherokee have returned the signature, The UKB stated in September that Chief Wickliffe was satisfied with the MOA and would sign it. The Cherokee are considered invited signatories and therefore their signatures are not required.

According to Miles Gregory with the Macon County Airport Authority, many planes won’t land in Macon County due to safety and insurance reasons with the current runway being 4,400 ft. The project would it extend it to 5,000 ft and Gregory says more planes will come into Macon County creating potential economic benefits but he stressed the number one reason was safety. The project would also prepare a 300 ft runway safety area.

Gregory adds that before any type of construction would begin that a 25 percent data recovery of potential artifacts at the location would be conducted by TCR, a company familiar to the Eastern Band.

That would come at a cost of around $535,000, which would stem from the NCDOT’s Aviation Division.

A letter from the FAA states, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians “expressed dissatisfaction” with the amount of the data recovery effort, but according to the FAA the funding is not there for 100 percent recovery.

Gregory adds that during the recovery process both schools and the public will be invited for observation.

Regardless of how much is actually recovered, the project is going to continue according to Gregory.

Calls to the ECBI regarding the situation have not been answered.

MSCO investigating two reports of larceny

Macon County Sheriff’s Investigators are looking into a report of motor vehicle theft and larceny of tools at a gas station on the Sylva Road. According to reports a Ford Ranger pick-up was illegally removed from the premises along with nearly $1,200 worth of various power tools and automotive equipment. The incident was reported on Sunday.

In a separate report, Investigators with the Sheriff’s Department are looking into another case of larceny and breaking and entering at a residence on Mica Circle. Investigation reports say that a subject entered the house without permission and took both a 50 inch and 34 inch LCD TV. This incident was reported Wednesday.

Fatal accident Friday in Mountain City, GA by Stephanie Gross

Georgia State Patrol Troopers report a fatality resulted from a traffic accident Friday afternoon in Mountain City.

According to reports, 72 year-old William Bradley of Mountain City was driving a Chevy Silverado on Darling Springs Road at 12:54pm when he pulled out in front of 33 year-old Mark Martin of Mountain City, who was headed north on Highway 441 in a Saturn.

Authorities say both drivers were injured and transported to area hospitals and that Bradley died of injuries sustained in the accident.

Troopers add that no citations will be issued.

Some unemployed in N.C. may see increase in benefits

Some North Carolinians who are out of work may be getting a raise.

Gov. Bev Perdue signed an agreement on Thursday with the U.S. Department of Labor to provide $25 more per week in federal unemployment insurance benefits to those who qualify under the Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act.

In a statement from Perdue’s Office the Governor says “We need to do all we can to help people looking for work who have been hard hit by the nation’s economic crisis.”

The action, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was passed by Congress and signed by the president, creates a new federally-funded initiative which increases unemployment benefits by $25 a week through calendar year 2009, with a “phase-out” period for previously-qualified individuals. Gov. Perdue and officials from other states had to sign an agreement to act as the agent for disbursing this money.

U.S. 74 repaving project expected to get half of WNC's DOT stimulus funds

After the recent news of the North Carolina DOT receiving close to $735 million in economic stimulus funds for bridge and highway projects, Division 14, which includes the 10 western most counties in the state, will tentatively be receiving a $13.65 million slice of those dollars.

Chief Engineer of Division 14 says around half of those funds will go to a project in Swain County, “The North Carolina DOT wanted to resurface a section of U.S. 74 in Swain County that has detiorated pretty badly, right near the Jackson County line and close to five miles long. The cost of resurfacing that road is expected to be around $7.5 million dollars. We did submit that as an economic stimulus project because we are not going to be able to fund it through traditional resurfacing money and it did make a short list of potential projects.”   

He adds construction could start soon if the project gets the final green light, “This project is ready to go. If it is selected, we’re hoping that it would be let to contract in the month of April and construction should begin towards the latter part of May; that’s our current hope.”

Currently Macon County has submitted two projects for stimulus funding but has yet to receive approval and those are the widening of NC 28 from the Village Trader to Sanderstown Road and bridge #65 on Cat Creek Road.

Area Churches, youth join to combat hunger

During the weekend of February 27^th-28^th many youth across the country, including those in Macon County will become familiar with what its like to be less fortunate during the annual 30-Hour Famine Weekend. This year the weekend will go hand in hand with a separate project called Macon Missions-Cans for CareNet, which is a month long rally to collect much needed food for local faith-based food pantry CareNet.

Theresa Ramsey with the First United Methodist Church has more information, “During the 30 hour famine we collect money for World Vision, which sponsors the 30 hour famine. In Macon County, we’ve always made it our own by incorporating a canned food collection drive for CareNet. With each year, not only are our youth asking for sponsors for World Vision and the money goes directly to help feed people in third world countries, but all of the cans that we raise locally, we give to people in Macon County through CareNet.”

Ramsey says they are urging all Churches, youth and community members to get involved with this month’s food drive by offering several collection options and then the food will be delivered to CareNet during the 30 hour famine, “This year we added a different component and we call it Macon Missions-Cans for CareNet. That service project is what we’re going to lead into the famine with, so during the famine weekend it gives them activities to do to sort of keep their mind off of food.”

You can drop off donations at the First United Methodist Church or to the Ohio Avenue Concert that will be held at the Church on February 27^th at 7 p.m., or take them directly to CareNet.

Patty Knoepp says it’s a very rewarding project that she has been part of for several years, “It’s so much fun, you get to hang out with your friends and you get to do the Church aspect of it and you get a lot closer with everyone at your Church. You help people from around the world, so it’s a really rewarding experience.”

Holly Bullis says she got a taste of what it was like to be homeless during the project, “We always have huge cardboard houses and it kind of gets you used to the fact that other people sleep on the floor in these boxes.”

Once again the 30 hour famine will begin in Macon County at 5 p.m. on Friday February 27^th.

Also a reminder that CareNet will gladly accept your donations even if they are not part of this drive, as they continue to see a demand in the need for those right here in the county needing assistance.

For more information on the project call 369-7411 or 369-2642.

SCC building named after community leader

The Southwestern Community College Board of Trustees has decided to name the instructional building on the Public Safety Training Complex after long time trustee, community leader and current Chairman Jerry Sutton. The Jerry Sutton Public Safety Training Center will house instructional classrooms, labs and offices for law enforcement and fire safety education and training.

Sutton has served on the Board of Trustees for 26 years and is a native of Franklin

According to a statement from the college, the center holds special meaning for Sutton. In 1974 after receiving his fire training at SCC, he helped in organizing the first rural volunteer fire department in Macon County. It was the first of its kind west of Haywood County.

A dedication ceremony for the Jerry Sutton Public Safety Training Center is planned for the spring.

Roberson stops resurgent Panthers

The Franklin Lady Panther’s bid for the MAC tournament title and playoff berth on the hardwood was cut short on Friday night as they lost a tough one to the TC Roberson Lady Rams in the conference championship game.

The Panthers stayed with Roberson for much of the first half, but in the third and fourth quarters TC pulled away and went on to win the tourney by a final of 84-50.

Congratulations to the Lady Panthers for all of their efforts during the 2008-09 season.

GA and NC authorities work together in locating burglary suspects by Stephanie Gross and Keith Giles

Two western North Carolina men wanted for a breaking and entering incident were detained  in northeast Georgia on Thursday afternoon.

Rabun County, Georgia authorities had been notified by Macon County to be on the look out for two suspects possibly transporting a stolen rifle from Macon County. Clayton police officers first spotted the blue Dodge Caravan that was occupied by 22 year old Julain Denmetri McClairin of Waynesville, and 20 year old Anthony Conley Ellerbee of Canton around noon on Thursday as it was headed southbound on Hwy 441 near the Rabun Gap flea market.

Because weapons were though to be involved, Clayton officers called for backup from the Georgia State Patrol and the Rabun Sheriff’s Office. Clayton police say a weapon was located, but not the one initially believed to be stolen. Both suspects were held on site while Macon authorities transported them back to the Detention Center where they were formally arrested on one count each of felony breaking and entering.

Reports say that the alleged rifle theft took place at a residence on Windy Ridge Road in Franklin on Thursday. The suspects were said to have broke into the house and lifted a .22 caliber Remington rifle valued at $150.

McClairin’s bond was set at $3,000 and Ellerbee’s was set at $4,000.

Both are scheduled to appear in Macon County Court on February 26^th.

Building continues to dip in Macon Co

Even with President Obama trying to tackle the home mortgage crisis, it looks like building continues to slide here in Macon County—at least so far in 2009. We spoke to Tina Wiggins with the Macon County Inspections office and she says the total number of building permit requests at this point is 7. That’s down from 11 alone in December of 2008.

She says they typically see a dip in permit requests in the winter, but this year it’s down even more, “In the winter it does come down and it will usually pick up by the end of March or April. Compared to last year, it’s down a lot more than usual; about half.”

Wiggins doesn’t expect the number of permits requested this spring to top 2008, “We may pick up a couple, but I don’t think it will be more than last year.”

During the months of January and February of last year, the number of permits requested was 24 and in December of 07 it was 32.

Snap-On to create 40 jobs in Murphy

Governor Bev Perdue announced this week that Snap-On Inc will be expanding its operations right here to western North Carolina as a location in Murphy will be consolidating with operations from a Massachusetts plant. The company plans to invest nearly $2 million and create 40 jobs in Cherokee County.

The 40 new jobs will pay an average of $30,751, not including benefits.  That is more than the Cherokee County average annual wage of $25,272.

Snap-On is a leading manufacturer of tools and diagnostic equipment. For information including employment opportunities visit www.snapon.com

Highway 64 set for improvements via stimulus funds

The North Carolina DOT says they have identified over $5 billion in needs that will could be used to fund highway and bridge improvement projects and have the potential to be under contract in 180 days or meeting a cash payout within 24 months. The department however, will only be receiving around $735 million in economic stimulus funds.

According to ncdot.gov, the only project that will take place in Macon County will be on Highway 64 from Rosman to Highlands. The DOT says that paved shoulders will be installed and that pavement rehabilitation will be taking place. The estimated cost of that project is $15,500.

Lady Panthers dominate Asheville_to play for MAC Championship

In round 2 of the MAC Tournament, the surging Lady Panther Basketball team defeated the Asheville Lady Cougars on Thursday night, dominating the entire game and going on to win 71-46. The Panthers will travel back to Enka High School this evening to play in the conference championship game against the TC Roberson Lady Rams.

Once again we caught with Head Coach Jay Brooks and he’s excited about how well his team has been playing, “I can’t say enough about these girls and their execution and how well we’ve played together, from the people coming off the bench to the starters. Our defense has been outstanding and I think that and the execution on offense has been the difference. We’ve handled pressure well, and we’ve played as good as we’ve played all year during the last two games.”

Tonight as Franklin gears up for the MAC Championship game, they’ll face some stiff competition in the Roberson Lady Rams; who hasn’t lost in the conference since 2005.

Brooks believes his girls will make it competitive, “We’ve definitely got our hands full but, we’re playing as good as we can play and that’s all we can ask for.”

Tonight’s tip off for the MAC Championship is set for 6:30 p.m

Cats' 09 scheduled includes trip to Vandy

Five games in Cullowhee, and a season-opening trip to Vanderbilt will highlight the 2009 Western Carolina Catamount football schedule which was released this week. The slate will include three teams that made the FCS playoffs last year and an FBS winner.

In October the Cats will make their first ever visit to Samford as they joined the SoCon last season.

Western will close out the regular season on November 21 with the annual “Battle for the Old Mountain Jug” against rival App State in Boone.

The complete 2009 football schedule is available at www.catamountsports.com

LTWA finalist for $10,000 grant

 After becoming one of eight finalists out of several applicants across the country, The Little Tennessee Watershed Association has the opportunity to win a $10,000 grant from Miller-Coors, who is partnering with River Network, a national non-profit organization, to support water sustainability.

Jenny Sanders with the LTWA says they applied for assistance in their bio-monitoring program, “We applied for program support for our 19-year old bio-monitoring program, that’s led by Dr. Bill McClarney. In fact, this year will be his 20^th season of data collection and over the last 20 years these data have been helpful in protecting Macon County’s water resources and water supplies. His work has been really important in a lot of ways to Macon County.”

Sanders describes ways they could use the grant money if they win, “The two most interesting ideas that we have right now are working on a bio-monitoring curriculum that teachers can use in the classroom. It was completed with volunteer assistance from Adrian Holtz, who developed that with Dr. McClarney last year. We also have these stream habitat assessment guides that are useful to teachers and anybody else who wants to learn how to monitor the health of their watershed without the need for expensive equipment or professional expertise.”

To vote for the Little Tennessee Watershed Association log on to the River Network’s website, www.rivernetwork.org or www.ltwa.org.

This is an easy way to help support clean water in your community and the Little Tennessee Watershed Association, whose mission is to protect and restore the health of the waters of the Little Tennessee River and its tributaries upstream of the Fontana reservoir through monitoring, education, habitat restoration and citizen action.

Highway Patrol to begin "Drive to Live"

In an effort to promote teenage safe driving around North Carolina schools, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol will conduct “Operation Drive to Live” to reduce collisions involving teenage drivers during the week of February 23^rd.

Trooper Gene Williamson says studies have shown that the number one cause of teenage deaths in North Carolina is traffic collisions, “Last year we had 125 teenagers killed on the state highways and many of these occurred as they were going to and from school.”

During “Operation Drive to Live” Troopers will be stepping up patrols and strictly enforcing law’s involving school buses and in school zones.

Crime Report

Macon County Sheriff’s Deputies detained 28 year old Travis McKinley of Cashiers Monday on a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance while on jail premises. Bond was set at $2,000 and McKinley is scheduled to appear in court on February 26^th.

In an unrelated incident, Deputies have arrested 30 year old Kelvin Lee Taylor of Franklin on felony fugitive charges. A secured $20,000 bond has been set and Taylor will appear in Macon County Court on February 26^th.

Investigators with Macon Sheriffs Office are looking into a report of burglary by forcible entry and larceny at a residence on CD Moody Road. Reports say that a subject gained access to the home by kicking in a door. Among the items lifted from the house was $2,000 in gold and diamonds, $350 cash, gift cards and $500 worth of electronic equipment. The incident was reported on Friday.

Lady Panthers top North Buncombe in first round of MAC tourney

The surging Lady Panther Basketball Team was victorious in the first round of the Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament as they dominated the North Buncombe Lady Hawks on Tuesday going on to win by a final score of 62-47.

Head Coach Jay Brooks he talks about his team’s performance, “Lindsay played one of her better games. She did a great job of controlling the basketball and making good decisions along with Melanie, Valerie, Ariel, Kassie, Kayla and Jordan. All of those girls played fantastic. The whole team did.”

The Lady Panthers advance to the tournament semi-finals and will play Asheville; a team that