News

Press photo/Linda Mathias - Saturday’s snowfall quickly covered roads, triggering numerous accidents.

Press photo/Linda Mathias - Saturday’s snowfall quickly covered roads, triggering numerous accidents.

Wild Weather

Lee Buchanan
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Flooding after several days of rain, followed by a surprise snowfall caused plenty of problems for Macon County residents, but no injuries were reported “We actually fared really well,” said Warren Cabe, director of Macon County Emergency Services.
Press photo/Jake Browning - The 100-unit subdivision is planned for this 40-acre site off Highlands Road.

Press photo/Jake Browning - The 100-unit subdivision is planned for this 40-acre site off Highlands Road.

New subdivision planned

Jake Browning
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Franklin is going to start feeling a lot homier. Providence Builders plans to develop the Scenic Ridge residential subdivision. The project would build about 100 new dwellings with an average of three bedrooms each on a 40-acre tract off Highlands Road behind Smoky Mountain Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM.

Franklin man charged with sexual exploitation of children

News Staff
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
  A Franklin man has been arrested and charged with possessing photos of sex crimes involving children. Mark Wayne Saffran was arrested following an investigation conducted by the Macon County Sheriff’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation.
Danny Bates

Danny Bates

Bates named interim chief

News Staff
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Danny Bates has been named Franklin’s interim police chief. Bates has lived in Macon County for his entire life. He graduated from Franklin High School and Southwestern Community College, where he earned his associate of applied science degree in criminal justice.
Press photo/Jake Browning The Macon County Board of Education ran out of room to hold everyone who came to support arts education at their monthly meeting on Monday night.

Press photo/Jake Browning The Macon County Board of Education ran out of room to hold everyone who came to support arts education at their monthly meeting on Monday night.

Group proposes three-year arts education plan

News Staff
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
A community organization calling itself Arts for MCS is proposing a three-year plan to expand the role of the arts in Macon County Schools. Teachers Maggie Jennings and Sara O’Neal told school board members at their Jan.
Press photo/Andy Scheidler - Danny and Mary Antoine sit surrounded by just some of their children.

Press photo/Andy Scheidler - Danny and Mary Antoine sit surrounded by just some of their children.

Love, faith built Antoine family

Andy Scheidler
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Danny and Mary Antoine sit next to one another on a loveseat inside their Franklin home. As they talk, whether about their unusually large family, or how they approach being parents to children in their karate classes and after-school program, they hold hands.
Photo submitted - Macon Program for Progress operates a Head Start child care facility that serves 301 children.

Photo submitted - Macon Program for Progress operates a Head Start child care facility that serves 301 children.

MPP plans to build child care facility

News Staff
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Lee Buchanan editor@thefranklinpress.com Macon County families are facing a critical shortage of affordable, quality child care, but Macon Program for Progress plans to ease the burden by building a new day care facility.
Photo/Bob Scott - Saturday’s storm toppled this big pine tree on McCoy Street.

Photo/Bob Scott - Saturday’s storm toppled this big pine tree on McCoy Street.

Thousands lose power in storm

Lee Buchanan
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
A fierce line of storms whipped through Macon County on Saturday night, toppling trees and leaving thousands of residents without power. The storm hit the county about 6 p.m. By 8 p.m., 2,095 Duke Energy customers were without power, according to Lisa Leatherman, Duke’s district manager.