Local

Photo/Christopher Lugo Mark Meadows and his wife registered to vote using the address of this mobile home in Scaly Mountain.

Photo/Christopher Lugo Mark Meadows and his wife registered to vote using the address of this mobile home in Scaly Mountain.

Voter fraud? Meadows’ residency questioned

News Staff
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Christopher Lugo editor@highlandsnews.com During former N.C. Congressman Mark Meadows’ time as White House Chief of Staff, he was vocal about voter fraud during the general elections in 2020.
Press Graphic

Press Graphic

Commissioners approve skatepark funding

News Staff
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Christopher Lugo editor@highlandsnews.com At the Macon County Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, March 8, representatives from Sk828 asked the board for funding, and the board approved giving $35,000 toward the new skatepark.
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Press graphic

Sales tax increase on the ballot

News Staff
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Carter Giegerich for The Franklin Press   Macon County voters will have the opportunity to vote on a quarter-cent sales tax increase during this year's general election in November. The tax increase, which Macon County Manager Derek Roland estimates would raise roughly $1.
Press file photo Sk828 has been actively raising money for a skatepark since last summer. The organization has raised more the $10,000 but more funding is needed to make the park a reality.

Press file photo Sk828 has been actively raising money for a skatepark since last summer. The organization has raised more the $10,000 but more funding is needed to make the park a reality.

More funding needed for skatepark

Mia Overton
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Representatives from Sk828 came before the Town Council on March 7 to request $35,000 to help pay for concrete and rebar for the skatepark to be built at Sunnyside Park (the Whitmire property).
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Press graphic

County, town relax mask rules

(not verified)
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Carter Giegerich for The Franklin Press With COVID-19 case numbers in rapid decline throughout the state, Macon County followed the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ recommendation to no longer require masks for schools and local governments effective March 7.
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Press graphic

Ballot set for May primary

Mia Overton
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Candidate filing closed at noon on Friday, March 4, setting the ballot for the May 17 primary. Local races will include sheriff, county commissioners (District 1 and District 2), Clerk of Superior Court and Register of Deeds. Incumbent Register of Deeds Todd Raby is running unopposed. Rep.
Macon County Schools

Macon County Schools

School Board extends optional mask policy

News Staff
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Christopher Lugo editor@highlandsnews.com With COVID-19 cases slowing, the Macon County Board of Education approved extension of the mask optional protocol, as well as extending the option to school buses. On Feb.
Highlander photo/Christopher Lugo - Children drawing at Highlands Community Child Development Center. A demand for pre-K in Highlands has led the Advancing Highlands Education Committee to request $8.6 million in funding for renovations at Highlands School that would include two pre-K classrooms as well as other improvements to the K-12 campus.

Highlander photo/Christopher Lugo - Children drawing at Highlands Community Child Development Center. A demand for pre-K in Highlands has led the Advancing Highlands Education Committee to request $8.6 million in funding for renovations at Highlands School that would include two pre-K classrooms as well as other improvements to the K-12 campus.

Board hears Highlands pre-K plan

News Staff
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Christopher Lugo editor@highlandsnews.com   Lack of space, staffing and COVID-19 are just some of the things that formed a perfect storm to bring childcare to a crisis situation across the nation.
Pastor D’Andre Ash with his wife and daughter.

Pastor D’Andre Ash with his wife and daughter.

Ash sees opportunities to bridge the gap

Jake Browning
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
The Smoky Mountain District of the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church has 65 churches. Among those 65 churches, there is one black pastor. One might expect that distinction to come with a little bit of drama, but D’Andre Ash says he’s had no such problems.
Press photo/Mia Overton - The Franklin Board of Adjustment denied a variance for this mobile home in the Alpine Cottages neighborhood off Bellview Road. The community’s restricted covenants were amended to allow the mobile home, but that conflicts with the town’s zoning regulations for that area.

Press photo/Mia Overton - The Franklin Board of Adjustment denied a variance for this mobile home in the Alpine Cottages neighborhood off Bellview Road. The community’s restricted covenants were amended to allow the mobile home, but that conflicts with the town’s zoning regulations for that area.

Board denies zoning variance request

Mia Overton
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
A Macon County couple bought a doublewide and put it on property they bought last spring only to recently learn that mobile homes are not permitted in the neighborhood under the town’s zoning regulations. During a meeting of the Board of Adjustments on Feb.