Local

FHS delivers Christmas cheer at Habilities

Jake Browning
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Franklin High School’s Future Business Leaders of America and Skills USA students didn’t get to make their annual visit to Macon Citizens Habilities this year, but they still sent a carriage full of gifts and holiday joy to a modified celebration.
Press photo/Linda Mathias - Sally Williams puts a ribbon at the top of the Hickory Knoll United Methodist Church’s first Christmas tree as pastor Stephanie Thompson steadies the ladder. Hickory Knoll will have an outdoor Christmas Eve service at 8 p.m.

Press photo/Linda Mathias - Sally Williams puts a ribbon at the top of the Hickory Knoll United Methodist Church’s first Christmas tree as pastor Stephanie Thompson steadies the ladder. Hickory Knoll will have an outdoor Christmas Eve service at 8 p.m.

Churches plan Christmas around COVID

Jake Browning
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Churchgoers throughout Macon County agree on the reason for the season, but the ways they celebrate it this year will be very different from years past.
COVID update

COVID update

Virus spreads as vaccines arrive

Lee Buchanan
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
The arrival of vaccines marks a major milestone in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, but the crisis is far from over as health officials warily look for another post-holiday surge. Macon County Public Health reported two COVID clusters on Dec. 17-18.

Macon mourns Dorothy Crawford

Jake Browning
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Dorothy Crawford, Macon County’s beloved matriarch, died Monday, Dec. 21 at the age of 102, leaving behind a lifetime legacy of social and charitable work that helped shape the county and its leaders who considered her a mentor.
Press photo/Jake Browning - Students in Crystal Teem’s first-grade class at South Macon Elementary School wear their masks while they work on a Grinch-themed coloring project. From left: Liam Long, Austin Trivett and Rylan Armstrong.

Press photo/Jake Browning - Students in Crystal Teem’s first-grade class at South Macon Elementary School wear their masks while they work on a Grinch-themed coloring project. From left: Liam Long, Austin Trivett and Rylan Armstrong.

Schools endured COVID chaos

Jake Browning
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
In the spring of 2020, Macon County Schools had to shut down all in-person classes and learn how to educate children at home on the fly.
News

News

Town evaluates public gathering ordinance

Jake Browning
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
For those who feel that the Town of Franklin has been unclear about what is or is not a lawful gathering in the downtown area, the Town Council is taking steps to clarify the policy. At the council’s monthly meeting on Dec.
File photo - HCA plans to build a replacement hospital on a 12.89-acre lot at 14 One Center Court in Franklin.

File photo - HCA plans to build a replacement hospital on a 12.89-acre lot at 14 One Center Court in Franklin.

Hospital construction delayed

Lee Buchanan
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
HCA Healthcare has postponed construction of the replacement facility for Angel Medical Center until 2021. “Between state plan approval and the COVID-19 pandemic, groundbreaking on the new hospital is unfortunately delayed,” Angel CEO Karen Gorby said.
News

News

Curfew effect minimal in Macon

Jake Browning
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
North Carolinians will end 2020 the same way they spent most of it – indoors.  On Dec. 8, Gov. Roy Cooper said the state would observe a modified stay-at-home order between Friday, Dec. 11 and Friday, Jan. 8. Under this order, all citizens are required to stay at home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.