A group of Macon County citizens have announced the launch of a public outreach campaign to build support for a steep slope ordinance in the county.

Called www.MaconSense.org, the new organization has created a website with information about the issue, an online petition and other tools to allow the community to express their support for a slop ordinance. Additionally, they plan to reach out to Macon County citizens by organizing petition drives, planning public events and running public service advertisements on local media outlets.

Back to school bash a success

As the old saying goes,“Out with the old, and in with the new.” A long line for the North Carolina Assembly of God Church's Back-to-School shoe distribution formed before the 9 a.m. start time on Saturday morning at the Wayne Proffitt Agricultural Center. Parents and grandparents brought children of all ages to be fitted for brand new shoes. Many kids left carrying their old shoes and proudly strutted out wearing their new kicks.

Between the more than 2,000 pairs of new shoes that were available, three local churches, 60 volunteers and countless hours of preparation, the event went off without a hitch. According to Mary Ritter, Regional Women's Ministries Director, 800 registered to take advantage of the distribution.

Members of the 4-H Club of Macon County attended North Carolina 4-H Congress from July 18-21 in Raleigh, N.C. Congress is the high point of the 4- H year, bringing young people from across the state to the North Carolina State University campus for four days of activity. More than 500 4-H’ers, volunteer leaders and North Carolina Cooperative Extension agents and program assistants attended 4-H Congress.

Gabrianne Ivey, daughter of James and Shereen Ivey, won the Gold Medal in the 9-10 year division in Expressive Arts and Communications for “Viva la Violin.” Nathanael Klages, son of Laurie and Edward Klages, represented Macon County in the 14-18 year division in Expressive Arts and Communications with his presentation, “Catch the ‘Spirit’ of Horsemanship Through Art.” Macon County’s Homegrown Buds, under the leadership of Claire Suminski, won a Gold Certificate for their 2010 Community Service Gardening Project. Jakin Ivey received a Gold Medal for his Cumulative Record Project in Electric Energy.

Toastmasters is a non-profit organization that helps people learn better speaking and leadership skills, both very important in a challenging job environment.

The local club meets at the Boiler Room on Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m.

Pictured here are John Becker and Kathy Clifton of Toastmasters demonstrating some of the presentation techniques to Kiwanians Jim Lashbrook and Diane Aiello.