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Press photo/Linda Mathias - Turnout has been heavy during early voting, which ends at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31.

Press photo/Linda Mathias - Turnout has been heavy during early voting, which ends at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31.

Macon headed to polls

Lee Buchanan
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
Thanks to a historic flood of absentee and early voting, about half of Macon County’s registered voters will have already cast ballots ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3. As of Tuesday, Oct.
COVID cluster

COVID cluster

COVID cluster found at church

Lee Buchanan
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
The number of active COVID-19 cases in Macon County has crept up after a cluster was reported at a Franklin Church and new cases were identified at county schools. Macon County Public Health identified a COVID cluster at Franklin Church of God on Friday, Oct. 16.
Press photo/Jake Browning - Work to reconfigure a section of Georgia Road got underway in 2019.

Press photo/Jake Browning - Work to reconfigure a section of Georgia Road got underway in 2019.

NCDOT: Georgia Road work should be done by August 2021

Jake Browning
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Officials with the NCDOT hope that the construction work currently snarling traffic on Georgia Road will be complete by August 2021.  Crews have been performing major work on the highway since 2019 in an effort to alter Georgia Road from five lanes to four lanes and a median.
The Macon County Board of Education met on Oct. 19

The Macon County Board of Education met on Oct. 19

School board hears concerns about virtual learning

Jake Browning
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
As the first grading period of the 2020-21 school year comes to a close, Macon County Schools officials and families share concerns that students aren’t learning enough during their in-person/digital hybrid schedule. The Oct.
Press photo/Linda Mathias Voters line up at the Robert C. Carpenter Community Building to cast ballots in early voting.

Press photo/Linda Mathias Voters line up at the Robert C. Carpenter Community Building to cast ballots in early voting.

Early voting heavy

Lee Buchanan
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Macon County voters are turning out in unprecedented numbers to cast ballots in the early voting period. As of Tuesday morning, Oct. 20, 5,283 Macon County voters had cast ballots during the early voting period. Early voting opened on Oct. 15 and ends Saturday, Oct. 31. “It is very busy.
Photo submitted - Officers seized $1,700 in cash, 90 grams of methamphetamine and six grams of heroin.

Photo submitted - Officers seized $1,700 in cash, 90 grams of methamphetamine and six grams of heroin.

Seven arrested on drug charges

News Staff
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Officers with the Macon County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 12 arrested four suspects and seized methamphetamine and heroin at a home in the South Skeenah community.
Press photo/Linda Mathias - Kuteka Lopez pours red sand outside the Macon County Courthouse to draw attention to victims of human trafficking.

Press photo/Linda Mathias - Kuteka Lopez pours red sand outside the Macon County Courthouse to draw attention to victims of human trafficking.

Zonta pours sand for human trafficking awareness

Jake Browning
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
The Zonta Club of Franklin came together on Oct. 10 to conduct Franklin’s first event for the Red Sand Project, an event meant to draw attention to human trafficking.
Press photo/Jake Browning Sheena Hughes’ kindergarteners at Iotla Valley Elementary School are in school for four days per week for the first time this year and are learning a lot from face-to-face instruction, albeit from behind plexiglass.

Press photo/Jake Browning Sheena Hughes’ kindergarteners at Iotla Valley Elementary School are in school for four days per week for the first time this year and are learning a lot from face-to-face instruction, albeit from behind plexiglass.

Elementary school teachers, students glad to be back

Jake Browning
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
On Monday, Oct. 5, classrooms in grades K-5 all over North Carolina were given permission to return to in-person classes for four days per week. So far, the new schedule is getting good grades from teachers and students.
Franklin High School

Franklin High School

‘Many’ students have failing grades at FHS

Jake Browning
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Franklin High School has almost finished its first nine weeks of classes for the 2020-21 school year, but there are concerns that grades aren’t where they need to be. A text sent by Macon County Schools to Franklin High School families on Oct. 8 suggested that “many” students have failing grades.
Press photo/Jake Browning - Judy Fritts with the Macon County Elections Office inputs the names of voters whose absentee ballots have already been received. As of Monday, Oct. 12, the elections office had received 4,319 requests for absentee ballots and had 2,173 completed ballots returned.

Press photo/Jake Browning - Judy Fritts with the Macon County Elections Office inputs the names of voters whose absentee ballots have already been received. As of Monday, Oct. 12, the elections office had received 4,319 requests for absentee ballots and had 2,173 completed ballots returned.

Early voting set to begin

Lee Buchanan
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Macon County election officials were busy this week setting up the voting site at the Robert C. Community building as the early one-stop voting period begins on Thursday, Oct. 15.