As of press time, Superintendent Dan Brigman confirmed he is still in the running for the position of superintendent of Huntsville City Schools. Last Monday and Tuesday, May 23 and 24, Brigman traveled to Huntsville, Ala., to participate in the second round of interviews for the position.

Three candidates were invited for second interviews, but according to recent reports, Brigman's main competition is Casey Wardynski, chief financial officer of the Aurora (Colo.) school system. Wardynksi is a retired colonel in the U.S. Army and graduate of a 10-month executive training program at the Broad Superintendents Academy in California.

The Macon County Board of Commissioners have revised the county Planning Board’s comprehensive plan draft on May 31. The 164-page comprehensive plan applies to the development and growth of the county for the next 20 years, and was submitted to the board last April after nearly two years in the making.

Before a packed room of Macon residents and advisory subcommittee members, commissioners reviewed the language of the plan, from pages 64 to 133, which covered “the meat of the program,” as chairman Brian McClellan called it. Commissioners deliberated over supporting economic development and public services and improving sewer, water, land use policies and construction regulations.

Jeff Pruett of the North Caroina State Highway Patrol is reminding motorists to be careful over the Memorial Day weekend.

The Memorial Day holiday, which is set aside to honor deceased men and women from the Armed Forces, is expected to be a busy one and officially kicks off the summer vacation season in North Carolina, This means more people will be on the highways, increasing the chance of traffic crashes

Troopers across the state will increase patrols on all interstates and major four lane highways during the holiday weekend. Speed is the leading cause of traffic collisions and fatalities in the state.

The May 26 issue of The Macon County News mistakenly reported that a building had been destroyed in the vicinity of a debris fire which broke out on Hwy. 441 South in the Otto community on Wednesday afternoon.

Smoke from the fire was visible from miles away, but the blaze remained contained to a small area and did not reach any of the structures of nearby businesses, including the Archery Barn and the Carolina Wood Pellet Plant off Riverside Drive.

According to David Key of Macon County Emergency Services, some construction materials on the property were consumed in the blaze, and one firefighter suffered a minor injury, but no other serious damages or injuries were reported.