Three month investigation targeted subjects involved in manufacturing, trafficking methamphetamines

January 28, 2011 — On Thursday, law enforcement officers from several WNC agencies that participated in “Operation Ice Melt” arrested numerous suspects on drug related charges. 

During the course of this investigation 18 individuals were targeted for assisting in the manufacturing of methamphetamine.  Charges include conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine and conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.

Read more...

The Macon County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) installed a new control panel for it’s detention center surveillance system last Wednesday. Before the installation, the jail relied on equipment as old as the facility itself, which was built in 1999.

According to officials, the new addition was crucial because surveillance control panels provide audio and video supervision of jail inmates, as well as remote control of door locks for the four jail dorms in the facility. When the old system finally crashed last December, it burdened not only the Sheriff’s office but also the budget of the county government.

The planning board has begun its bi-annual review of the Macon County Subdivision Ordinance. The review process, mandated by county law to take place every two years, was written into the code in order to allow for any updates and/or corrections that that the board determines necessary to increase the effectiveness of the ordinance.

At the Jan. 20 meeting of the planning board, County Planner Derek Roland presented a report outlining the effectiveness of the ordinance and recurrent issues that have come up in the course of enforcing the ordinance.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced that Michigan and North Carolina are the first in the nation to receive State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) funds, which will spur small business growth and create jobs across the country. The SSBCI is a new $1.5 billion initiative included in the Small Business Jobs Act, which President Obama signed into law in October. These funds will strengthen state programs that leverage private lending to help finance small businesses and manufacturers that are creditworthy but are not getting the loans they need to expand and create jobs.