Two years after the death of 15-month-old Aubrey Littlejohn, a conviction has been made. A Swain County woman pleaded guilty last Monday to killing her 15-month-old niece in a case in which social workers are accused of ignoring, then covering up the child's abuse until after her death.

Ladybird Powell, 39, of Bryson City, appeared in Swain County Superior Court on March 4, where she pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, extortion, possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of felony child abuse.

Judge James Downs sentenced Powell to 12 years in prison.

A joint investigation between the Macon County Sheriff’s Department and Franklin Police Department led to the discovery of illegal sweepstakes machines at two locations last Friday.

According to Macon County Sheriff Robbie Holland, the Dowdle Mountain Pit Stop and Pots of Gold Sweepstakes Parlor at the Georgia/ North Carolina state line were found to be operating sweepstakes slot machines and employees at the two local establishments were given citations for illegally operating poker machines.

Holland stated that the investigation was launched after both agencies received complaints that the establishments had reopened and were running the machines despite a recent North Carolina Supreme Court ruling deeming the machines illegal.

American Legion member appeals to commissioners.

Since its inception in 2007, the Macon County Veterans Memorial Park has become a community project geared toward honoring the brave men and women who have served the country in all branches of the military.

A joint venture between the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Marine Corps League of Franklin and members of the community, have continued to work to create a destination for locals and visitors to remember all those who have fought for our country.

Nantahala School appears to be 30 miles from Franklin on a map, with several route options to get you there. The shortest trip to Nantahala from Franklin, however, is estimated to take 57 minutes on a two-lane, curvy, remote road through the National Forest.

Because of the isolated location of the Nantahala community, Nantahala School remains one of only three traditional kindergarten through 12 (K-12) grade schools left in the state.

According to Andrew Cox with the North Carolina Department of Instruction, while there are 33 public K-12 schools in the state, only three operate as traditional educational institutions, with the other 30 being alternative or special education schools. Macon County houses two of the three K-12 schools (Nanahala and Highlands), with the other being located on the coast in Hyde County.