Local

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Opioid funding options heard

Thomas Sherrill
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Macon County has multiple options for spending its opioid settlement funding, as explained during the Macon County Board of Commissioners meeting on May 14.
Press photo/Thomas Sherrill. All five Macon County commissioners vote in favor of funding the Macon Middle School track during the May 14 meeting.

Press photo/Thomas Sherrill. All five Macon County commissioners vote in favor of funding the Macon Middle School track during the May 14 meeting.

MMS track gets green light

News Staff
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
After multiple bid processes, debates over track specifics, back and forth between the commissioners and school board, interventions by the liaison committee and inaction for more than a year, the Macon County Board of Commissioners voted to accept a $930,180 bid to rebuild the Macon Middle School...
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Proposed sales tax increase to benefit schools

Thomas Sherrill
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
The quarter-of-a-cent sales tax hike, if approved this November by voters, will go toward “operating and capital needs” in the Macon County school system, as unanimously approved by the Macon County Board of Commissioners at its May 14 meeting.
A summary of the proposed 2024-25 Town of Franklin budget. A public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. June 3 during the regular monthly Town Council meeting.

A summary of the proposed 2024-25 Town of Franklin budget. A public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. June 3 during the regular monthly Town Council meeting.

Franklin Fire Dept. requests tax rate increase

Mia Overton
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
The Town of Franklin is looking at an $11,941,449 budget for the coming 2024-25 fiscal year that begins on July 1. The budget is an 8% increase over the current year’s budget. Despite the increase, the property tax rate for town residents will remain at 33 cents per $100 valuation.
Press photo/Mia Overton. Flooding just below the Lake Emory Day following heavy rains this past January.

Press photo/Mia Overton. Flooding just below the Lake Emory Day following heavy rains this past January.

Commissioners debate floodplain fill

News Staff
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
With discussions continuing about the use of fill dirt in the floodplain, the Macon County Board of Commissioners will hold public hearings on July 9 to get input on allowing RV parks in the county watershed and changing the mandate for a soil erosion and sedimentation control plan.
Press photo/Thomas Sherrill. Highlands Police Capt. Leah McCall and N.C. State Highway Patrol Trooper H.W. Gass lay a wreath at the Macon County Courthouse during the Fallen Officers Memorial on Friday, May 17.

Press photo/Thomas Sherrill. Highlands Police Capt. Leah McCall and N.C. State Highway Patrol Trooper H.W. Gass lay a wreath at the Macon County Courthouse during the Fallen Officers Memorial on Friday, May 17.

Fallen Officers Memorial

News Staff
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Law enforcement officers across Macon County gathered in a rainy downtown Franklin to remember fallen officers at noon on Friday, May 17. Al Caiata, past president of the Fraternal Order of Police, conducted the event.
Graphic/NC Board of Elections - Macon County results in the second Republican primary held May 14.

Graphic/NC Board of Elections - Macon County results in the second Republican primary held May 14.

Weatherman, Boliek top vote getters in second Republican primary

Thomas Sherrill
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Macon County’s second Republican primary saw 648 people successfully cast a ballot, with four more possibly to be counted. The special second primary happened after no candidate in two Republican party primaries got the necessary 30%, necessitating a runoff between the top two.
Press file photo - Fireworks over Franklin as seen in 2023. Due to scheduling demands with a new vendor, the 2024 fireworks will be held on July 5.

Press file photo - Fireworks over Franklin as seen in 2023. Due to scheduling demands with a new vendor, the 2024 fireworks will be held on July 5.

Town Council approves fireworks display, new vendor

Mia Overton
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
During the Franklin Town Council meeting on May 6, the board approved the date and a new vendor for the annual Fireworks over Franklin display. Along with a new vendor, the fireworks will be on a different night this year due to scheduling demands.
Press photo/Mia Overton - A screen shot showing the new free WiFi connection in downtown Franklin.

Press photo/Mia Overton - A screen shot showing the new free WiFi connection in downtown Franklin.

Free WiFi available downtown

Mia Overton
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Free WiFi is now available in the Main Street area of downtown Franklin. Town Planner Justin Setser said they finished installing the last of the 12 antennas on Friday.
Press photo/Will Woolever - Special Operations Forces veterans Dominique Lewis (front) and Lucas Knighten (back) heft supplies for a raised-bed garden at Lewis’s home in Franklin recently. “Who says Army and Navy can’t work together?” Lewis joked.

Press photo/Will Woolever - Special Operations Forces veterans Dominique Lewis (front) and Lucas Knighten (back) heft supplies for a raised-bed garden at Lewis’s home in Franklin recently. “Who says Army and Navy can’t work together?” Lewis joked.

Gardens offer healing for veterans

Will Woolever
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
A local veteran and his family have a new garden, thanks to three local veteran’s groups. Since retiring from the military and moving to Franklin in 2020, Dominique Lewis has developed something of a green thumb, growing potatoes and peppers on a small plot outside his home.