Joe Collins (L) and Bob Scott (R)

Part two - July through December

(click here for part one)

July

• Hundreds attend dedication of Veterans Memorial Park: Macon County’s new veterans memorial park, two and a half years in the making, saw its dedication ceremony shortly before noon on Saturday, July 4.

Attendance to the special event swelled to more than 500 and included local dignitaries, Congressman Heath Shuler and keynote speaker Marine Major General Tony Studds, now retired after 34 years of active duty.

Current commission chairman Ronnie Beale, who has been instrumental in veterans affairs in the county, summed up the dedication of the park by saying, “What a great day for Macon County.” He said the park is a piece of history we will never forget and that it turned out to be more beautiful than anyone could imagine.

• Bob Scott files against Joe Collins for Franklin mayor seat: Filing for municipal elections opened and already the mayoral seat in Franklin was gearing up for a contested race. Both Alderman Bob Scott and sitting mayor Joe Collins filed for the Nov. 3 election. In separate interviews, both Scott and Collins addressed the top issues affecting their decision to run for mayor and goals they would each have.

Franklin FAST team went undefeated in 2009, winning the Mountain Swim League Championship.

“I have been concerned over the lack of information coming down to the board,” Scott said. “I found myself too many times in the dark with info that should have been passed to all board members,” he said.

Collins said some of that is the cost of moving to a manager format of government.

Scott said he is a big supporter of open government and wanted to ensure that remains in place in the town government.

• Town Board questions new longevity policy: At the Town of Franklin regular board meeting, aldermen discussed funding requests and revisited the issue of employee longevity pay and whether the plan could adversely affect some town employees in regard to their health insurance upon retirement.

Without a policy to review at the time, Collins said he would like to honor commitments to town employees, but was short on information. The policy allows for an annual payment to employees who have provided at least 10 years of service to the town.

• County’s comprehensive plan under way: The The Macon County planning department began the comprehensive plan meant to address future growth. County planner Derek Roland addressed key points of the plan at the League of Women Voters meeting.

Roland said the plan would take into account the desires of the communities to create a formal document for future planning. With the plan just entering the beginning phases, planning board meetings were being held in local communities in order to allow the people to help shape the plan’s outcome.

“Bras for a Cause” bra contest winners were (from left) Louise Henry for Most Beautiful, Vic Perry for Most Manly and Joey Swafford and friends for Most Outrageous. More than 80 people paraded through downtown to raise awareness for breast cancer.

“The planning board will work with citizens, hold meetings and information gathering sessions within the communities,” said Roland. The 12- member, county commission- appointed planning board will also hold meetings with various groups and organizations within the community.

Citizens will state goals and objectives for the community, Roland explained.

The central issue of the comprehensive plan will be land use although demographics, economic trends, public services, transportation, housing, agricultural lands and preservation areas will all be discussed.

The plan will cover the entire county, all 515 square miles, and will take approximately two to three years to complete. So far, demographic, economic and agricultural data has already been compiled. Planning board members are reviewing the data and determining how to put it to use.

• “Bras for a Cause” raises funds for breast health center: A courageous group of mostly men participated in a walk-a-thon to raise funds for Angel Medical Center’s new breast health center. The events on Saturday also included a Best Bra contest and were a part of the AMC Foundation’s “Bras for a Cause.” The foundation is the fundraising arm of the hospital.

Folkmoot musicians and dancers from Serbia, Scotland and the Netherlands thrilled a packed house Thursday , July 23, 2009, at the new Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts.

• Franklin loses top hoops scorer to rival team: As his retirement from the Macon County School System became official, former Franklin High School athletic director and boys basketball coach Doug Plemmons announced he has taken an assistant coaching position at the Tiger, Ga. school just down the road.

Plemmons’ son Tanner, is making the move also. Tanner is a 6'1” guard who led the Panthers in scoring as a freshman last year, averaging 18.5 points a game in their 8-17 season. He was named to the All-Mountain Athletic Conference team and played summer ball with the Wildcats of Rabun County, Ga.

• Local FAST youth undefeated: It’s impressive for a group of amateur swimmers to be undefeated as the end of the competitive season nears, but when you learn they are the only team in the league without year-round practice facilities, it is even more so.

The Franklin Amateur Swim Team (FAST) beat Hendersonville to keep its winning streak alive as team members got closer to the conference meet.

The FAST team went on to win the Mountain Swim League Championship.

• Four county schools fail to “make the grade”: Macon Middle School failed to meet its adequate yearly progress for the third year in a row, but wasn’t likely to see tougher state sanctions, according to reports issued by the state on Tuesday, East Franklin Elementary, however, made improvements and will therefore lose the school choice option for students who participated last year.

D. Brian McClellan

The state uses Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as a quantifiable measurement. Those subgroups include divisions like English as a second language and special needs students.

Four out of 12 schools, 44 percent of the schools in Macon County, joined the list of those not meeting AYP: Franklin High School, Union Academy, Nantahala School and Macon Middle.

• Planning board issues growth projections: The population of Macon County is currently around 34,000 people. County Planner Derek Roland explained that the county’s projected population makeup, as in the percentage of young people versus the percentage of elderly people or infants, will likely stay about the same over the next 20 years.

Population growth for Macon County is projected to reach around 46,191 people by the year 2029. Roland said that by the year 2029, only 1.3 percent of the population growth in the county will be due to natural growth. He projects that the other 98.7 percent of the population growth will be from migrant growth.

• Franklin Folk Fest draws a crowd: It was a beautiful, cool summer day, perfectly suited for the sixth annual Franklin Folk Festival. The enjoyably moderate temperatures of the July day is a Franklin mainstay. Weatherwise and otherwise, a festival couldn’t get much better. When commissioner Ronnie Beale stood at the podium under the gazebo downtown and said that Macon County has always been proud of its heritage, he was summing up the reason why thousands had turned out for the festivities earmarked for fond recollections of the past. Venues for the event stretched from Veteran’s Park on the Georgia Road to the Main Street courtyard, and down to Frogtown where the Civil War reenactment took place.

Five-year-old Sam Ledford tries to eat an entire BBQ sandwich in one bite at Franklin’s First Annual BBQ and Music Festival.

Mayor Mullen said, “I, along with the town board, am extremely grateful to our Town Manager Jim Fatland, Town Engineer Lamar Nix and Consulting Engineer McGill Associates who have aggressively pursued grant funds. We are very much appreciative that the Town of Highlands received grants in both rounds of Federal stimulus funds.”

• Florida man arrested for child pornography: Crawford Alan Grimsley, 52, of Lake Emory Drive in East Franklin, was arrested in Macon County after a witness indicated Grimsley was in possession of child pornography at his storage unit.

Grimsley was further charged with 10 counts of failing to register as a sex offender.

In 1989, when Grimsley was 33, he was tried and found guilty of two sex crimes in Florida – handling, fondling, or assaulting a child under the age of 16. The Florida sex offender registry indicates Grimsley was released, but required to register in accordance with Florida law.

When arrested, Grimsley had a Gainesville, Fla., driver’s license in his possession.

In the evidence presented by the witness, none of the children photographed appear to be from Macon County.

Renovations at East Franklin Elementary School were completed this school year.

In June of 2008, $610,000 was approved for financing by the Board of Aldermen for the new Town Hall renovation project. Yet the final amount spent is $993,424, a difference of $383,424 over the original estimates. And apparently the expansion of the project and differences in many of the costs did not come before the board. One of the most notable cost expenditures is in the area of technology and security. The Board of Aldermen awarded a contract to National Communications Inc. of Franklin for the Town Hall’s telephone, security and fire systems.

As the low bidder, National Communications (NCI) submitted an informal proposal of $15,935 to complete technology requirements on the project. But the final amount paid to the company totaled $113,755 — more than seven times the original bid amount.

The security system concept was expanded to allow other town buildings to interconnect. Sam Greenwood said that is the reason for some of the extra expenses of $97,820 between the proposal and invoices paid to NCI — so the system can connect with other town buildings. This includes the new police department and public works building the Town of Franklin will construct in the next year.

The technology system at Town Hall was “overbuilt,” said Greenwood, in order to allow these new buildings to hook into the main system. He said it is cheaper to overbuild the system up front than to come back and try to retrofit it later. It will be more effective to have one centralized system, said Greenwood.

• Land purchase planned for Nikwasi public park: The Nikwasi Mound sets the stage to the entrance of downtown Franklin and stands as a firm reminder to the area’s ties to its Native American roots. With a fortuitous opportunity of nearly 1.5 acres for sale adjacent to the east side of the property, Franklin may have been able to move closer to its goal of a Nikwasi park at the base of the mound.

“This is too unique of an opportunity to not explore our options before it is turned over to private enterprise,” said Mayor Joe Collins. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Macon County Historical Society, town representatives and the landowners gathered at Southwestern Community College to discuss options for a potential park at this location.

• County has second confirmed case of H1N1: Macon County’s Health Director, Jim Bruckner, announced Thursday, July 23, that Macon County had its second laboratory confirmed case of the novel H1N1 Influenza virus. The male who contracted the virus was treated. Additional information about the case is not being released to protect the patient’s privacy.

“To our knowledge, the two laboratory confirmed cases of the novel H1N1 influenza virus are not related to each other,” said Bruckner.

• Dry Falls reopens to the public: Visitors and residents crowded into the parking lot at Dry Falls to visit the attraction after an almost two-year closure to the public.

The Forest Service worked to rebuild the parking lot, raising it close to 18-feet and creating a safer line of sight for those entering and exiting the Highlands Road attraction.

A new upper viewing deck was created as a handicap accessible option. The lower trail is still open for those who want to venture down to the falls and cross behind the raging water.

RBC Centura Bank in Highlands was robbed by a lone gunman who fired a single shot into the air and demanded money.

August

• Epileptic files lawsuit against Macon County and sheriff's office: A local woman has filed a lawsuit against both the county and the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, claiming deputies, a highway patrol trooper and the magistrate all failed to administer proper medical treatment while she was incarcerated.

Sheriff’s attorney Brian Welch said the department denies all allegations.

Maureen Murphy Lackey said she has been an epileptic since she was 13, but her seizures were under control because of regular medication she took. That is until the night of Jan. 23, 2009 when an arrest after a one-vehicle accident left her in the custody of the Macon County Sheriff's Office, allegedly in deplorable condition and denied proper medical treatment.

She is suing the county under the Civil Rights Act of Institutionalized Persons and Americans with Disabilities Act. Welch referred the case to county attorney Lesley Moxley. Moxley then turned the case over to insurer Scott McLatchie.

• Macon, Jackson receive no federal stimulus for state roads: With $735 million in federal stimulus money to go around for state roads projects, it would seem there would be plenty of pie for each of the state’s 100 counties. But based on state equity formulas, that’s just not how the money is spread around, said State Secretary of Transportation Gene Conti at his media address in Sylva. District 14, the westernmost district, received $30 million to dispense among its 10 counties. However, Macon, Clay, Jackson and Graham counties were left without any road projects qualifying for federal stimulus money.

• Commissioner arrested for drunk driving: County County Commissioner Donald Brian Mc-Clellan was arrested after being charged with DWI and reckless driving.

The Nikwasi Mound is a staple of downtown Franklin. In 1946, the people of the county raised $1,500 to purchase the mound and preserve it for posterity. The above photograph shows the Nikwasi Mound at the turn of the century.

“I made a bad mistake for which I am truly sorry,” McClellan said.

“I apologize to my wife, my family, the Macon County Board of Commissioners and the people of Macon County for my poor judgement. I ask them all for forgiveness,” McClellan said. “I will work hard to earn the trust and support of all those who have placed their trust in me.”

McClellan was released into custody of a responsible party and was not required to pay bond. McClellan was elected in November 2006 and is serving his first term on the Macon County Board of Commissioners representing the Highlands district.

• Franklin’s first annual BBQ fest lands national circuit: People came from both near and far for a chance to taste the delicious smelling barbecue at Franklin’s first Mountain High BBQ and Music Festival.

For the first year of the event, The Mountain High BBQ and Music Festival served as one of only 25 stops on The Great American BBQ Tour.

The festival theme of “Cookin’ in the Mountains” couldn’t have better described the scene at the Macon County Fairgrounds as rows of recreation vehicles and canopied families competed for the most sought-after barbecue.

• County attempts to dismiss Lackey’s civil suit: Maureen Lackey is suing the sheriff’s department and the county for mistreatment she alleges happened in January when she was not allowed to take her epilepsy medicine after an arrest. She states she suffered epileptic fits and was degraded by officers who had her in custody at the time.

Franklin time capsule relocated after 54 years

As a result of the investigation, Holland said the complaint is completely unfounded.

• School board approves interim finance officer: The Macon County Schools Board of Education held a special called meeting to approve several positions within the school system.

Angie Cook was approved as the district interim finance officer. Cook is a Macon County native who graduated from Southwestern Community College with an AAS degree in secretarial science. She then transferred to Western Carolina University, where she completed her BSBA degree.

Cook has worked for Macon County Schools for more than 15 years. In 1994, she worked as a secretary at Franklin High School. In 1998, she transferred to the school’s finance office and has worked in accounts payable and payroll for the last 11 years.

• Bank robber in Highlands evades local, state authorities: Law enforcement officers were still looking for a suspect in the robbery of RBC Centura bank in Highlands, which occurred Aug. 13.

A male subject, dressed in “camos” and carrying what appeared to be a sawed-off shotgun, robbed the bank.

Highlands Police Chief Bill Harrell clarified that the weapon was a .410 shotgun.

Johnny Ray Tyler

Harrell said the robber demanded money; the teller emptied her drawer and the man left on foot.

Police were already en route as an internal alarm in the bank had been activated. It took them less than 60 seconds to arrive on scene.

• Cash for Clunkers program sees local success: The “Cash for Clunkers” governmental incentive program brought prospective new car owners out of the woodwork, said representatives with area automobile dealerships.

The U.S. House approved the Cash for Clunkers Car Allowance Rebate System Act in June, allowing those with eligible older cars to receive up to $4,500 in credit to trade for a newer and more fuelefficient vehicle. The program, which was given a second monetary boost since June, drew the support of lawmakers, local business groups and automobile dealers who claimed its passage could boost auto sales during an economic downturn.

• East Franklin Elementary like a brand new school: Renovations at East Franklin Elementary School make the school seem almost new, said Principal Terry Bradley.

After a nearly two-year process of renovations, East Franklin Elementary School should be ready for students by the beginning of the new school year. The school has a new gymnasium, three new kindergarten classrooms, new restrooms and a new parking lot.

• School board reverses decision on hiring P.E. teacher: At least a dozen individuals in the community spoke at the Board of Education meeting contesting the board’s Aug. 11 decision not to approve an applicant recommended for a teaching position.

The Wayah Bald Tower is the site of repeated attacks of vandalism. The tower opened in 1937 and is a historic landmark in the Nantahala National Forest

At the Aug. 11 meeting, in approving several applicants to fill several positions, the board denied the recommendation of East Franklin Principal Terry Bradley to hire Stephanie Braswell as a physical education teacher at the school. The board made the decision in executive session and failed to explain why only one applicant was singled out.

The board went into executive session for two hours “to consider the qualifications, competence, performance, character, fitness, conditions of appointment, or conditions of initial employment of an individual public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee,” the same reason given for the closed session on Aug. 11.

When the board members, personnel director and board attorney emerged, board member Tommy Cabe made the motion to accept the recommendation to hire Braswell as the physical education teacher at East Franklin School.

Members Tommy Baldwin and Bobby Bishop voted against the motion while Cabe and Frieda Bennett were for it. Once again Breedlove had to break a tie, but this time he voted to approve Braswell for the position.

• History in the making: The Town of Franklin’s time capsule was moved to a new location after being in the ground for 54 years at the site of the former Town Hall.

The capsule was originally buried in 1955, but was moved to the new Town Hall location this year.

Chris Hoover and his parents

The aluminum box time capsule appears to have held up well. The Town of Franklin will open the time capsule in the year 2055.

A partial list of Franklin’s 1955 time capsule contents includes a map of the Nantahala National Forest, a map of Franklin, 1955 Franklin High School annual, photographs of town buildings, Franklin phone directory, a Bible, a package of dehydrated soup, seed packets, a block of mica and a Macon County Fair catalogue.

September

• Bank robbers nabbed: Two suspects in robberies in a bank holdup and from an ATM, both in Highlands, have been arrested. Billy Edward Vitatoe, 40, of Franklin, was arrested Aug. 28. Kari Huskey Conard, 32, also of Franklin, was arrested at her home on Aug. 31.

Vitatoe was arrested and charged with a number of felonies, including armed robbery, four counts of kidnapping, breaking and entering with damage to property, larceny of a vehicle and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Conard was charged with armed robbery, felony larceny and kidnaping.

The ATM robbery occurred Aug. 5, the robbery of RBC Centura bank Aug. 13.

According to a release from Highlands Police Chief Bill Harrell, the suspects were identified and arrest warrants obtained for them based on his department’s working in concert with other local law enforcement agencies.

Clerk of Court Vic Perry, right, swears in newly re-elected Town of Franklin Mayor Joe Collins. Collins won the election against alderman Bob Scott by only 14 votes.

In order to secure funding to create a park around the mound, Franklin Mayor Joe Collins said transferring ownership of the mound itself could be necessary.

The Nikwasi Mound is one of the best preserved mounds in the southeast. It pre-dates the Cherokees and was built by a peoples referred to as the mound builders.

In 1946, a prominent Franklin attorney, Gilmer Jones, worked with area school children to collect $1,500 in pennies to purchase and preserve the mound for posterity.

The title to the mound was conveyed to the Town of Franklin upon the conditions that the mound “shall not be excavated, explored, altered, or impaired in any way or used for any commercial purpose, and shall be kept as a monument to the early history of Macon County…

“Should the Town of Franklin at any time fail to carry out the provisions of this instrument, then any citizen of Macon County shall have the right to apply to the court for injunctive relief and to prosecute said action in their own behalf and in behalf of all other citizens of Macon County.”

Collins said a possible purchaser for two available parcels — Commissioner Bob Simpson’s moundadjoining .96-acre tract and Gene Huscusson’s .77-acre parcel — was the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit conservation organization that works to protect open spaces and has shown interest in the project.

• Discrimination complaint filed against Macon school system: April Plemmons, former physical education teacher at East Franklin Elementary School, has filed a complaint against Macon County Schools.

CareNet experienced increased need in 2009.

In her resignation letter, which was received by the school system on May 20, 2009, Plemmons wrote, “I do not want to resign, but through conversations with various people at the central office, I understand that if I do not resign voluntarily then I will have ‘non-renewal’ on my record for the state of North Carolina.”

• Lackey amends lawsuit to name sheriff and county: Maureen Lackey’s entanglements with the law continued on both the civil and criminal fronts, starting with her appeal of her conviction for DWI based on a stop by a state trooper in January.

Lackey was also charged with possession of Class IV controlled substances following that stop for having her prescription epilepsy medication, an anti-anxiety drug and hormone-replacement pills not in their original container.

Lackey, 45, admitted having been drinking, but said she was not the person driving.

Separately, Lackey was suing the Macon County Sheriff’s Department in federal court over mistreatment she claims she suffered during her processing and detention following that arrest.

Outside attorney Scott MacLatchie of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, in Charlotte, was defending the county and Sheriff’s Department in Lackey’s suit, and filed a motion for its dismissal on several bases: that Lackey failed to name proper defendants, suing the county and the Sheriff’s Department instead of individuals; that service of her suit was defective; and that she failed to state a valid cause of action in her complaint.

• Forest Service opens Upper Chattooga River to boaters: It’s been a long time coming, but river paddlers’ group American Whitewater got what it wanted: boating access to some of the Upper Chattooga River. Anglers reckon they can live with the Forest Service’s recent decision on the north fork’s recreational uses, since it continues to exclude the boaters from a prized stretch of trout stream.

Clarks Chapel Methodist was one of the churches that was broken into in a spate of church break-ins.

• Alleged murderer seized in Franklin, sent back to Georgia: Macon County Sheriff’s deputies apprehended a suspect in a murder in Toccoa, Ga., that took place a week prior. Johnny Ray Tyler, 42, of Tiger, Rabun County, Ga. was arrested without incident at the home of his brother on Lake Emory Road.

Tyler was wanted in a homicide in Toccoa, its first in about seven years. The victim, Roger Dale Hughes, 62, of Toccoa, was found by a caretaker in his residence Aug. 29, bleeding from the head, according to Toccoa Police Chief Jackie Whitmire. He said emergency medical technicians found Hughes to have very high blood sugar, so he was at first believed to have suffered a diabetic shock, fallen and hit his head. However, “Emergency room doctors called police and said the injury to his head was a gunshot wound, so we started treating it as assault,” Whitmire said.

• Best-selling author Pat Conroy draws crowd in Highlands: As early as 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, a line began forming in Highlands. Filled with eager Pat Conroy fans, it snaked down Main Street and by noon, when the number-one best-selling author arrived at Cyrano’s Bookshop to sign his new book, “South of Broad,” the line had moved around the corner.

Highlands residents and visitors from North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida and other surrounding states chatted as they waited to purchase the book and meet its famous author. Conroy chose Highlands and its quiet beauty and magnificent mountains to write “South of Broad”. He and his wife, fellow author Casandra King, rented a home on Center Drive atop Little Bear Pen Mountain in successive summers of 2006 and 2007. There they both wrote, positioning themselves at opposite ends of the house to keep from disturbing one another.

• Detention video viewed in suit against sheriff: Security camera video of the processing of Maureen Lackey at the Macon County Detention Center following her Jan. 23 arrest for DWI does not in any obvious way support her claims of mistreatment by Sheriff’s deputies.

Chief Michell Hicks

• Macon school system readies more projects: The Macon County School System is making plans to utilize money from two potential sources. The state has approved applications the system submitted for both school renovations and new construction.

The state has approved $3.8 million in Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZAB) and $1,348,953 in Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCB). If the board of commissioners decides to approve the debt, the governmental bonds are interestfree.

The QZAB funding must only be used for upgrades and renovations to existing facilities.

School Superintendent Dan Brigman said that the QZAB funding could cover necessary renovations at both Nantahala School and Franklin High School.

• Second hard drive found in child rape case: A second, missing hard drive is believed to have been found in the case of an alleged child sexual abuse. A search warrant returned in the case of Nicholas Tucci-Caselli noted that a second hard drive believed removed from Tucci- Caselli's computer had been found and sent off for analysis. Tucci-Caselli has been charged with first degree rape of a child and is awaiting trial.

• Duke Power and its critics wage PR war: As the dates of public hearings on Duke Energy's rate hike request near, the Jackson-Macon Conservation Alliance and the Western North Carolina Alliance both issued releases detailing their opposition to the rate increase, which would total about 18 percent for Duke’s residential customers in North Carolina. Duke touts the hike as paying for past and future improvements to its power system that offer environmental benefits.

Opponents of the hike continue to label it the “Cliffside rate hike,” claiming it is being asked largely to pay for the construction of a new, coalfired boiler in Cliffside, N.C., west of Charlotte.

• Historic landmark firebombed: The term “fire tower” took on a whole new meaning as area youth set fire to the historic Wayah Bald Lookout Tower.

Three local teens were charged in conjunction with repeated acts of vandalism at the tower.

Martin Douglas Murray and Ryan Charles Douglass, both of Macon County, and Nicholas William Ford, of Dillard, Ga., faced felony charges in relation to multiple acts of throwing homemade explosive devices into the lower level of the Wayah tower.

All three of the youth are 17 years of age. Macon County Sheriff Robbie Holland said the teens cooperated with the investigation.

The Wayah Bald Tower opened in 1937 and is a historic landmark in the Nantahala National Forest.

• Hoover case dismissed: The criminal charges against former Deputy Chris Hoover were dismissed by the District Attorney’s Office because, according to a prosecutor’s court filing, the state could not proceed to trial, being unable to present necessary evidence.

The dismissal was filed in Macon County by Assistant District Attorney Jason Smith of the 30th Prosecutorial District.

Sheriff Robbie Holland stated in a press release, “In cases involving very young children it is not uncommon for cases to be dismissed for this reason. There is no statute of limitations for felonies in North Carolina and I support the decision made by the DA’s Office at this time.”

Hoover’s arrest warrants indicate three counts of indecent liberties with a minor. The events are said to have taken place between June 2, 2007 and June 2, 2008. Hoover was released June 5, 2008 on a $15,000 bond.

• Flood waters wreak havoc: Persistent rains led to serious flooding along Crawford Branch near the junction of West Main Street and Palmer. Flooding in the area has been a perennial problem, and has worsened since the installation of a culvert at the Stamey property just east of the American Legion Post. The culvert, for which a permit was granted by the Army Corps of Engineers — without a site visit to confirm its appropriateness, according to town residents — is apparently too small to properly drain away water during heavy rains such as the ones experienced this month. Most threatened by the flooding was the home just upstream of the American Legion, at 654 W. Main St. A detached garage and workshop was made an island amid floodwaters, and the basement or crawlspace of the house, where the furnace is, was at risk of being inundated, according to Tommy Nicholson. Nicholson’s elderly parents live in the home, and the rising waters were scaring them, he said. Nicholson’s father is wheelchairbound.

October

• Teachers: Graduation rate push impedes achievement: At the regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting held in Highlands, a group of teachers solicited input from board members in regard to problems with student attendance and a lack of graduation requirements.

Following the meeting, school board member Frieda Bennett submitted her resignation, saying that she was being asked to compromise too much in her service as a board member.

“This is very difficult for me,” said Bennett, “but some things are beyond compromise and you just have to take a stand.” At the meeting, Franklin High School teachers Joan Willis, John deVille, Tyler Faetz and Josh Johnson spoke before the board highlighting issues affecting student success. With budgetary cuts forcing the close of Learning Centers and Saturday School, previously a means for students to “make up” missed time in the classroom, students are without a safety net upon which some have come to depend.

“It was a system that enables absences,” said deVille. “We are looking for an attendance policy or graduation requirements,” he said, adding that teachers have compiled a huge list of problem students and now need help from policy makers.

“Our thesis,” he said, “is that the current absence policy of no cap on days missed at FHS combined with lowering the bar for graduation with the Diploma 21 program combined with intense focus on 100 percent cohort graduation rate, may well be hurting the population such forgiveness, second chances and goals were designed to help. We also contend that such practices may well not be in the best interest of average to above-average students.”

• Plea deals in series of Nantahala burglaries send two to prison: Sentences were meted by Superior Court judge James L. Baker Jr. in the case of Nantahala area home thefts that took place over the first few months of the year, with two members of the burglary ring getting prison time.

Michael Gene Vernon, 38, was sentenced to a minimum of nine and a half years as a habitual felon. Travis Edward Brown, 32, got one year to 16 months.

Brown’s sister, Misty Dawn Williams, 35; Ashley Jeannette McGaha, 26; and Byron Isaac Floyd, 21, all received suspended three-year sentences and were ordered to pay costs and restitution. The sentences were all based on plea bargains.

• Nikwasi Mound park must now rely on local resources: The concept of a Nikwasi Mound Park in downtown Franklin will have to take on a more local approach, said Gordon Mercer, co-chairman of the Nikwasi Planning Committee.

Due to a lack of purchaser for the property adjoining the mound and the withdrawal of a national organization that works to develop parks and conserve spaces, the project will have to be shaped by local input and resources.

Two property owners with land adjacent to the mound have considered working with the committee to help see an educational and historical green space restored around the mound.

The nationally-recognized Trust for Public Land (TPL) worked with the two property owners in an attempt to create a one-year hold of sale to raise funding and plans for the project.

Slade Gleaton, with TPL, worked with Bob Simpson on negotiations over his approximate 9/10 of an acre and with Gene Huscusson on his 6/10 of an acre. Gleaton was able to reach an agreement on an option with Huscusson but not with Simpson.

Simpson said he felt the project had fallen through for lack of interest from the Town of Franklin or the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Neither party has indicated they would put up funding to see the project started, he said.

• Greenway opens Highlands’ nature to citizens and visitors: At an area on Highlands’ Greenway Trail that Mayor Don Mullen described as “the most beautiful spot in Highlands,” a new bridge crosses Mill Creek, allowing hikers to follow the wooded path from the Recreation Center to Mirror Lake. The Mayor presided over the dedication of the Mill Creek Bridge in ceremonies Tuesday, October 6. Designed by Lamar Nix, town engineer, and built by Town of Highlands employees, the bridge provides connectivity to a trail that will contribute to the pleasure of Highlands’ citizens and visitors for generations to come.

• Rabun County sewerage permit granted: Georgia environmental protection officials issued a new permit that will allow a former Rabun County textile plant’s wastewater facility to resume operations.

The conditions of the permit appeared to attempt to safeguard the Little Tennessee River — into which up to two million gallons a day would be discharged — but the Environmental Protection Division kept its promise that comments on the permit by North Carolina residents would be taken seriously.

The biggest item on Macon County residents’ wish list was that disinfection of the plant’s effluent be accomplished by ultraviolet (UV) light technology rather than via the conventional method, using chlorination.

Jenny Sanders, executive director of the Little Tennessee Watershed Association, based in Franklin, expressed her concern about chlorine in the plant’s effluent at a July public hearing held in Clayton, Ga. at the request of North Carolina residents.

Sanders said that there are other benefits to using UV: “Disinfection occurs 30,000 times faster, there’s no residue, and it raises oxygen levels, which is good for fish.”

• Cable provider Morris Broadband takes it lumps: County Commission Chair Ronnie Beale called representatives from Morris Broadband, the area’s new cable TV and high-speed Internet service provider, on the proverbial carpet.

Morris Broadband this year has been in the process of taking over as service provider for Franklin, Sylva, Macon County, West Jefferson and Nebo, from Mediacom. The pending completion of the transition was announced in a company press release and in TV ad spots.

However, despite the ads’ promises of better service from local representatives, the initial physical switchover to Morris’ systems was described by several customers as a disaster. For days, customers throughout the service area, both residential and business, experienced outages, some for nearly a week, some for two or three days, and many repeatedly.

• Final Duke rate hike hearing delayed as deal is negotiated: In an order issued this month, the state Utilities Commission granted a request to put off the scheduled, final public hearing on Duke Energy’s rate hike request to Oct. 21.

The Raleigh hearing had been scheduled for Oct. 19, but the commission’s Public Staff, which represents utility customers, said it had reached agreement in principle with Duke and needed more time to finalize the terms.

The delay is also intended to allow the commission and “intervenors” — presumably opponents — to review the proposed deal. The commission is still holding a hearing for the purpose of receiving the proposed written settlement and taking testimony from “public witnesses.”

According to reports, the Public Staff this month suggested allowing Duke only a 4.7 percent rate increase rather than in the double digits, as asked. A public hearing on the increase was held in September in Franklin, with dozens testifying in opposition.

• Paddlers sue over revised Chattooga plan: Almost no one was pleased with the U.S. Forest Service’s revised management plan for recreational uses of the Chattooga River, released in late August. But paddlers like it so little they’ve elevated the issue to federal court.

American Whitewater, based in Sylva, filed suit over the issue in federal district court in Greenville, S.C. — a move that other stakeholders say jams up the process of administrative appeals that was just getting under way.

Paddlers said the flow restrictions alone would be sufficient to minimize use, without the additional seasonal restriction on the upper segment where boating was being newly allowed — but also on the river stretch where paddling remains banned.

Conservationists agreed with part of that notion, but preferred to continue the ban on the upper, more environmentally sensitive — and dangerous — river segment, while dropping it lower down.

• Healthcare requirements waived for H1N1 emergency: Friday evening, Oct. 23, President Obama signed a proclamation declaring the 2009 H1N1 Influenza a national emergency.

The proclamation seeks to enhance the ability of medical treatment facilities to handle a surge in H1N1 patients by allowing waivers of certain standard federal requirements.

Locally, H1N1 vaccine is in demand as schools and daycare facilities continue to see a high volume of medical absences. What H1N1 vaccine has been delivered to Macon was administered to medical professionals, pregnant women and high-risk children. A national campaign to vaccinate school children against H1N1 influenza may not be conducted locally until mid-to-late November.

• Annual motorcycle ride benefits “Shop with a Cop”: Scott Nelson was pleased when 38 other bikers joined him on a 90-mile ride through the mountains. Nelson is a detective with the Macon County Sheriff’s Office and president of the local chapter of the Enforcers Motorcycle Club. The annual ride he started last year along with the club’s past-president Graham Hancock helps fund the “Shop with a Cop” program that provides Christmas for less fortunate children in the county. The event was hosted by the motorcycle club and the sheriff’s office.

November

• Public comment period opens on airport project: A 30-day open comment period for work at the Macon County Airport began Thursday, Oct. 29. Interested persons had until the end of November to comment on the runway extension project and its impact on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects and other public interest factors.

The runway at the airport is to be extended 600 feet in order to bring the airport in compliance with North Carolina Division of Aviation and Federal Aviation Administration safety standards. The proposed project consists of extending the runway, the associated taxiway and runway safety area 600 feet to the west and removing wildlife attractants near the runway.

The permit application seeks authorization to impact 5.72 acres of freshwater wetlands and 809 linear feet of stream in order to extend a runway and expand a runway safety area.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision whether to issue a permit to the Macon County Airport Authority will be based on an evaluation of the probable impacts, including cumulative impacts, of the proposed activity on the public interest.

• Collins re-elected as mayor by slim 14-vote margin: In a very close race for mayor in the Town of Franklin, incumbent Joe Collins secured a victory against challenger Bob Scott with a slight lead of only 14 total votes.

Collins was re-elected mayor by 51 percent of the votes. Scott received 49 percent of total votes for mayor of Franklin.

Debbie George, deputy director of the Macon County Board of Elections, said a total of 502 voters participated in the 2009 Franklin municipal election: 289 at the polls, 190 at One Stop, 14 mailed and 9 provisional.

• Two arrested in grisly Halloween night stabbing: Amid all the festive, make-believe gore on Halloween night, there was real blood in an altercation involving knife assaults at the Franklin Hot Spot at Depot Street and East Main Street.

The fight arose over taunts made to some young women congregating in the Hot Spot parking lot with other friends, according to Otto resident Alexandria Rae Anglin, 19, who was with the group.

Arrested and charged in the stabbing were Robert Cowart, 40, of Franklin and John Henry Tyte, 19, of Macon County.

• First quilt block up on the Macon County trail: The first quilt block in the Macon County Quilt Trail was installed Monday, Nov. 9. The red, green and gold “Farmer’s Star” block adorns the Franklin Area Chamber of Commerce.

“Macon County is an area rich with history and a passion for preserving and keeping that heritage alive,” said Deb Thompson Heatherly, president of the Macon County Quilt Trail Committee, at the block installation ceremony. “As each new block goes up, a story comes forth and many of us will find a new and greater love for the community around us.”

By January a total of eight blocks will dot the county. A Quilt Trail guide will be published to lead block hunters from one destination to another in search of colorful and artful displays.

• Area churches targets of burglary and vandalism: A series of church break-ins over the past couple of months targeted Bethesda Baptist Church in the North Jones Creek area. According to incident reports filed with the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, vandals set the front floor rug on fire and also damaged cleaning equipment. The incident was reported and remains under investigation.

Another Macon County church was also broken into and vandalized. The Sheriff’s Office incident report states that Liberty Baptist Church, located on Ned Hill Road in the Cowee Community — was the target of burglary and vandalism.

Miscreants broke into the church and damaged the property and stole valuables from the scene. Almost $1,000 worth of damage was done to the premises.

“It bothers me. I’m a Christian and a God-fearing man, and it just hurts,” said Liberty Baptist Church pastor Rev. Rick Potts. “I was sick to my stomach. There was some blasphemy scratched into one of the wooden cabinets in the church. It sort of makes you feel like these people may be anti-Christian.”

• LTLT celebrates 10 years of conservation: The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee (LTLT) celebrated its 10th anniversary of land stewardship at the Tessentee property. More than 100 people showed up for the event to recognize the organization’s decade of achievements and to celebrate its conservation efforts.

Blacksmithing demonstrations, apple cider pressing, a river cane harvest demo, barbecue, a bug hunt, hay rides, face painting and soap making were a part of the day’s events.

The LTLT purchased 60 acres of land surrounding Tessentee Creek and the Little Tennessee River in November of 1999, making it the first land protected for conservation purposes of the river. The 1999 purchase launched a land stewardship initiative which created a laboratory for the future preservation of the valley. Ten years later, the organization invited its members and the public to present its conservational achievements.

• “Civil War Letters of Macon County” debuts at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts: Michael Rogers’ documentary film, “Civil War Letters of Macon County” premiered on Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts. The theatre was filled to near-capacity, said Rogers, and the film received a standing ovation from the crowd.

Proceeds from the documentary go toward the Macon County Historical Society, said Historical Museum Director Steve Rice, to help support the needs of the museum. Rice said the premiere went perfectly and nearly $5,000 has already been raised for the museum, which has been in financial distress.

The 70-minute film was shown in its entirety in High Definition Blue Ray. An additional 12 minutes of bloopers were also shown on the big screen. “People loved the bloopers,” said Rogers.

In fact, said Rogers, after the standing ovation, the audience didn’t even want to leave. “People really responded,” said Rogers of the event. “They were really thrilled. They were fascinated by the cast in uniforms. It was wonderful. It was a dream come true for me, a dream I had for a long time.”

• Locals apprehended in church break-ins: The Macon County Sheriff’s Office and Franklin Police have made several arrests in a spate of church break-ins and vandalism over the past few months. In addition, four more churches have been added to those previously reported as broken into, for a total of 13: Asbury United Methodist, Oakdale Baptist, LOJ Missionary Baptist Church and Memorial United Methodist Church.

Arrested on Nov. 18 and early Nov. 19 were Caitlyn Margaret Capoccia age 18; Marissa Harmon, 19; Paul Joseph Quinn, 20; and Kathleen Stewart, 18, all of Franklin.

According to a Nov. 19 release from the Sheriff’s Office, the four prior arrests cleared more than 15 breaking and entering and larceny cases, including a series of church break-ins since early September and previously reported crimes involving other victims, vehicles, businesses and mailboxes.

• CareNet sees increase in need for assistance: Many Macon County residents are out of work and not finding new employment. Meeting the cost of living is getting tougher and some are losing the roofs over their heads. For those folks struggling to support themselves or their families, local organizations like CareNet offer the vital assistance they need to survive in today’s recession economy.

CareNet primarily offers food assistance for those who need it. The organization currently aids 3,700 people with not only food, but also clothing and energy bills. One day, for example, approximately 50 lunches were served in CareNet’s kitchen alone. “We understand it’s tough out there, for everybody. The wintertime is especially bad,” said Vicki Richards, a threeyear volunteer speaking on behalf of the faith-based organization.

Between 4,000 and 5,000 people were hungry last year in Macon County, according to CareNet. The institution projects by the end of this year they will be assisting 500-600 more families at the facility located on Bidwell Street.

• Murderer, now dead, said he “did in” accused molester: Macon County Sheriff Robbie Holland confirmed details surrounding some bizarre twists in the case of a convicted murderer who apparently killed himself a few weeks ago after allegedly committing additional murders in a Florida prison.

Christopher Lunz was living here when sheriff’s deputies arrested him in the murder of his father in Florida in 2003. He had claimed his father had sexually abused him when he was a child. Lunz was extradited to Florida and was convicted in 2006 and was serving a life term there when he allegedly killed one inmate, stabbed another and left him for dead, then killed himself the next day, Holland said. At least one of his latest alleged victims was a convicted sex molester.

• Outside audit questions tribal membership rolls: A summary of a 27-page audit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ enrollment records was published in the Cherokee One Feather, the tribal community’s newspaper. The audit analysis was presented to the Tribal Council in October.

The audit uncovered more than 1,400 “actionable” enrollment files, meaning that that individual enrolled member’s file lacks sufficient documentation or in some other way fails to support the enrolled status.

Only 60 percent of enrolled tribal members live on the Qualla Boundary, the name of the Cherokee reservation, with the remainder — more than 5,000 people — living in surrounding communities or elsewhere.

The audit was conducted by Falmouth Institute, a consulting firm for tribes based in Fairfax, Va., and Automated Election Services of Rio Rancho, NM, which offers election and other technical services to tribes. In their analysis, the auditors stressed that the report itself does not weigh in on any individual’s enrolled status.

• Comment period extended one week on airport runway project: The open comment period for work at the Macon County Airport was extended by one week, said Lori Beckwith with the Asheville Office of the Army Corps of Engineers.

Concerned parties requested the extension, citing delays in responding due to the Thanksgiving holiday week, said Beckwith.

Those interested in commenting on the Macon County Airport runway extension project and its impact on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, the overall environment and other items of public concern had until Monday, Dec. 7 to voice those concerns.

December

• NCDOT secures $2 million for Macon Airport: The Federal Aviation Administration awarded a $2.2 million grant to the Macon County Airport for its planned runway expansion.

“We’ve been working on [the grant] for a while,” said Airport Authority Chairman Milles Gregory.

Gregory said he’d recently received a letter from the state Department of Transportation informing him of the grant award.

“That’s wonderful,” he said “We spent a lot of money on that data recovery, so this is good news.”

The data recovery referred to was archeological survey work done at the construction site that the Authority agreed to do after Indian remains, artifacts, and a palisaded village were found. As of last May, the Authority had agreed to pay TRC Environmental $535,000 to do the survey, which was recently completed.

The project’s remaining cost is estimated at about $3.5 million, Gregory said, though it hasn’t been let for bid yet.

“The Macon County Airport plays an important role in the local economy and serves as a vital link for emergency responders,” said Congressman Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, whose office announced the grant award. “I will continue to work to help the airport grow and prosper.”

• Jackson County and Duke Energy battle over dam in Superior Court: Duke Energy and Jackson County battled it out in a marathon hearing in Jackson County Superior Court, with the fate of the Dillsboro Dam and powerhouse hanging in the balance.

In November, the long-running matter was remanded to state courts from Federal District Court, and it was heard on an expedited basis due to the looming demolition by Duke of the dam and powerhouse, a move the county opposes.

The Dillsboro Dam case arose as part of Duke’s bid for relicensing of a number of hydroelectric facilities on rivers in the region. In concert with stakeholders such as environmental groups and whitewater paddlers, Duke came up with a plan for relicensing several facilities that in exchange offered to surrender the license for the Dillsboro site and to remove the dam. The removal was termed a “mitigation,” considered by Duke to offset environmental impacts of its ongoing, relicensed projects.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in July 2007 agreed to the plan but also required Duke to carefully dredge backlogged material upstream of the dam and to conduct subsequent monitoring to assure minimal damage to the immediate and downstream environment, including the Appalachian elktoe mussel, which has somewhat distinct populations upstream and downstream of the dam. FERC gave Duke three years to do all the work.

• WNC experiencing increase in demand for food assistance: The economic climate in the United States has caused many low-income citizens to seek food stamps in order to feed themselves and their families. According to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, a rising figure of 31 million Americans are receiving food assistance this fiscal year from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP provides food assistance for households considered to be at or near poverty levels. The average monthly benefit recipients received last fiscal year was approximately $101 per person and about $227 per household, according to the USDA.

The Western North Carolina region is no exception to this trend in food requirement. In Macon County alone, 4,628 new individual cases of food and nutritional benefits were received by residents between the fiscal year of October of 2008 to October of 2009. “We expected it to be one of the most challenging years in recent history, as we had come to a crossroads in funding and service provision,” said Lisa Allen, community relations and human resources coordinator of Macon Department of Social Services (DSS).

“We actually looked at the number of people receiving benefits in October of 2008, and looked at October of 2009 this year, and there was a 23 percent increase in the number of households receiving food assistance,” reported Allen. From October of 2007 to October of 2009 there was a reported 38 percent increase in food stamp recipients.

• Eastern Band pleased with archaeology, not with process: The Macon County Airport Authority reported recently that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is satisfied with work to extend the runway at the Macon County Airport. The tribe however reports mixed emotions despite successes in archaeological recovery.

Authority member Harold Corbin said, “Everything we’re doing is by agreement with the Cherokees.”

“Archaeologically we are pleased with the data recovery,” said Russ Townsend, tribal historic preservation officer with EBCI. “But there are many issues the tribe is not pleased about.”

According to Townsend, TRC, the archaeological firm hired to perform data recovery at the site of the Macon County Airport runway extension project, was able to investigate nearly all features that were revealed in the 100 percent stripping and mapping of the area. “They were given ample time,” Townsend said of the archaeological crew, “and excavated every non-burial feature. It was close to 100 percent data recovery.”

EBCI Principal Chief Michell Hicks reiterated that his stance, and that of his people, remains that 100 percent data recovery should be done in respect of the site itself. “There are gravesites we know exist,” said Hicks. “The only option is 100 percent recovery and the protection of those graves. That is our utmost priority, no question about it.”

Hicks went on to explain that no matter how one looks at it, when someone is laid to rest, they should be left undisturbed.

“A lot of people don’t want Lear jets landing on their grandparents’ graves,” said Townsend. He said that many tribe members have come directly to Hicks to complain about the situation in Macon County.

• Franklin to hire developer to analyze Whitmire property: The Franklin Board of Aldermen voted to hire the services of a professional property development firm to evaluate two unused town properties for potential uses.

“We have an inventory of surplus properties,” said Franklin Mayor Joe Collins.

“It started with the old Town Hall when we moved to this building,” said Town Manager Sam Greenwood.

The town’s Whitmire property could also be analyzed, Greenwood said, since it is not being used for what the needs were when the property was purchased. Greenwood recommended hiring the services of a professional property development firm to evaluate the properties for potential uses.

• Commissioners approve economic development grants: The Macon County Board of Commissioners approved a new plan to attract businesses to Macon County at a regular meeting.

The county’s Economic Development Director Trevor Dalton presented commissioners with guidelines for new and existing businesses to apply for grant funding through the county. The Economic Development Commission has been working on the guidelines for the last year, said Dalton.

“We have been working on a plan for Macon County to develop businesses and industry,” Dalton said. “The county has survived on tourism and construction for so long. These grant guidelines will provide us sturdy ground in business development. This is what we need to be competitive in the business and industry development market.”

• Sky Valley golf course remains open: Sky Valley, Ga. golfers have faced the looming threat of seeing their newly-renovated course close since last August. Homeowners will see an immediate decline in property values should the course close.

Developer Harrison Merrill, current owner of the resort, wants to turn ownership over to the club members and initially set a deadline to cease operations on Nov. 1.

In October, Milt Gillespie, a Sky Valley homeowner and member of an ad hoc citizens group dedicated to keeping the course open, said the group is working hard to seek a solution, meeting frequently with Merrill and his representatives.

In November, the group incorporated into the Sky Valley Group LLC in a last-ditch effort to save the course. The LLC is now managing the course while Merrill seeks a buyer.

• County, state struggling with sweepstakes industry: A new game of chance has rolled into Macon County. Cyber sweepstakes machines are a recent statewide phenomenon that has cropped up in several area stores. While the games are currently legal, that may not remain the case for long.

Video gaming was outlawed by the state of North Carolina in July of 2007.

But by the time the ban became effective, the industry had already begun to modify and reprogram the machines as a form of “sweepstakes” in order to avoid the law.