Daily Weather Briefing for Tuesday, April 24, 2018 Updated with Press Release regarding Chase and Shooting

POLICE CHASE ENDS IN SUGARFOK COMMUNITY

Franklin Police pursued a suspect last night and the chase ended after the individual rammed a Franklin Police Cruiser and was subsequently taken into custody. More information can be found on the facebook page of the Macon County Sheriffs Office. [LINK]

**11:43 am** Here is an update from the Franklin Police Department involving this incident

PRESS RELEASE
FACTS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BY CHIEF DAVID ADAMS
April 24, 2018

Franklin Officers were dispatched to the N&N Express Mart located on East Main Street last night around 9:00 pm. An employee had called stating that a white male had been there for a long period of time and he was behaving suspiciously. The suspect had changed his clothing standing beside his truck, while throwing trash from his truck onto the ground and he filled the truck with gas without paying for same.

Officer Randy Dula made contact with the male, who was parked in a Dodge truck at the gas pumps. As Dula opened the passenger door to speak with the suspect, he drove off at a high rate of speed. Officer Dula initiated a vehicle pursuit along with other officers. The driver made a left turn onto Highlands Road and continued for several miles, where he turned left onto Sugar Fork Road. The driver slowed several times before stopping. As Officer Dula was exiting his car, the driver purposely backed up and rammed Dula’s patrol car. Officer Dula fired his weapon and the truck sped off. The chase continued for approximately another mile and the driver abruptly stopped. The driver was arrested and identified as Joseph Michael Cyphers (28 yrs. old of Old Murphy Rd. Franklin, NC).

Neither Cyphers nor Officer Dula were injured from the fired bullets. However, they were taken to the Angel Hospital Emergency Room for precautionary reasons. Officer Dula was released with minor injuries from the vehicle crash and Cyphers was transported to the Macon County Detention Center.

Joseph Cyphers was charged will the following crimes: Felony Speed to Elude Arrest, 3 counts of Felony Assault With a Deadly Weapon on a Government Official, Careless and Reckless Driving and No Operators License.


Our agency was assisted by the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, NC State Highway Patrol and the State Bureau of Investigations.


EARLY VOTING

The fourth day of early voting has ended and here are a few numbers from the Macon County Board of Elections: (these numbers are cumulative)

Highlands Voting Location (Ballot Choice)

Democrats - 20 ballots
Republicans - 51 ballots
Total - 71 ballots

Franklin Voting Location (Ballot Choice)

Democrats - 31 ballots
Republicans - 117 ballots
Republican NV - 2 (not voting)
Total - 148 ballots (not counting the 2 non-voting ballots)

County Totals

Democrats - 51 ballots
Republicans - 168 ballots


Total County - 219 ballots

As of Day Three, the party affiliation of voters is as follows: 82 Republicans, 54 Unaffiliated (who can choose either the Republican or Democrat primary ballot), and 25 Democrats.

The last day to vote early is May 5th and election day is May 8th. For more information about the number of ballots cast and what offices have primaries, check out the articles listed below.


Day 1 https://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2018/04/data-from-day-one-of-early-voting.html

Day 2 http://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2018/04/data-from-day-two-of-early-voting.html

Day 3 http://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2018/04/data-from-day-three-of-early-voting.html

Day 4 http://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2018/04/data-from-day-four-of-early-voting.html

Exact hours of operation are posted on The Macon County Board of Elections Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/MaconCountyElections/posts/1716998161699396

Candidate Meet and Greet at 6 pm at the Nantahala Library

All three candidates (Ron Haven, Betty Cloer Wallace, and John Shearl) who are challenging the incumbent Macon County Commissioners have accepted an invitation to come and meet with the people of the Nantahala Community at 6 pm in the Nantahala Public Library.


LOCAL OUTLOOK

A slowly moving low-pressure system will be northeast of our region by tonight, reaching eastern Virginia early Wednesday. The atmosphere will generally dry out Wednesday before another moist area of low pressure crosses the region Thursday through early Saturday. High pressure builds across our area during the weekend and to start next week.


WEATHER SPONSOR



Adams Products, a Division of Oldcastle is underwriting the daily weather briefing & public safety updates for the month.

Open 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, M-F, located at 895 Hickory Knoll Road, Franklin, NC. Visit our Facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/Adams.Oldcastle.Franklin.NC/

All your masonry needs are available. Our phone number is 828.524.8545, the public is welcome, we’ll help with your with your next project.





Weather Almanac for April 24th (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 87°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1988
Lowest Temperature 22°F in Highlands in 1903
Greatest Rainfall 3.15 inches in Franklin in 1883
Greatest One-Day Snowfall (There has been no recorded snowfall on this date since record-keeping began)

Record Weather Events for April (1872-2017)

Highest Temperature 91°F in Franklin on April 26, 1986
Lowest Temperature 13°F in Highlands on April 1, 1987
Greatest Rainfall 7.00 inches in Highlands on April 7, 1895
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 9.5 inches in Franklin on April 4, 1987



THREE DAY OUTLOOK

The images below represent the daily forecast at 8 am for today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Click on any of them to enlarge.



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FRANKLIN AREA

TODAY (Flood Watch until 8 am)

Patchy fog before noon. Cloudy with highs near the lower 60s. Variable light winds early, then from the southeast in the afternoon. 80% chance of rain with rainfall amounts between a quarter an half an inch expected. Rain could taper off in the afternoon hours.

TONIGHT

Patchy fog overnight, mostly cloudy with lows near the upper 40s and winds out of the northwest. 40% chance of rain with rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch expected.

WEDNESDAY

Patchy fog in the morning with decreasing clouds to become partly sunny and highs in the upper 60s. Winds 5 to 10 mph out of the northwest.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows near the mid-40s and winds 5 to 10 mph out of the northwest. Slight chance of showers.

THURSDAY

Mostly cloudy with highs in the mid-60s and a 40% chance of showers.

THURSDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows in the lower 40s and a 40% chance of showers.
-----------------------------------------
OTTO AREA

TODAY (Flood Watch until 8 am)

Patchy fog before noon, mostly cloudy with highs in the lower 60s and winds out of the southeast becoming variable and light in the afternoon. 80% chance of rain with rainfall amounts between a quarter and half an inch expected.

TONIGHT

Patchy fog expected to form overnight, mostly cloudy with lows in the upper 40s and winds out of the northwest. 40% chance of showers with rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch expected.

WEDNESDAY

Patchy fog in the morning, Partly sunny with highs near the upper 60s and winds 5to 10 mph out of the northwest. Slight chance of showers.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows in the mid-40s and winds 5 to 10 mph out of the northwest. Slight chance of showers.

THURSDAY

Mostly cloudy with highs near the mid-60s and a 40% chance of showers.

THURSDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows in the mid-40s and a 40% chance of showers.

---------------------------------------------
HIGHLANDS AREA

TODAY (Flood Watch until 8 am)

Areas of fog until the early afternoon is possible. Mostly cloudy with highs in the mid-50s. Winds 10 to 15 mph in the morning, decreasing into the afternoon, becoming variable and light in the afternoon hours.

TONIGHT

Patchy fog overnight, mostly cloudy with lows in the mid-40s. Winds 10 to 15 mph out of the northwest with gusts in the 20 to 25 mph range. Slight chance of showers.

WEDNESDAY

Partly sunny with highs near 60 and winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts near 25 mph. Slight chance of showers.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows in the mid-40s and winds 5 to 10 mph out of the northwest with gusts in the 20 mph range. Slight chance of showers.

THURSDAY

Mostly cloudy with highs in the mid-to-upper 50s and a 50% chance of showers.

THURSDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows in the lower 40s and a 40% chance of showers.

--------------------------------------------
NANTAHALA AREA

TODAY (Flood Watch until 8 am)

Foggy, cloudy and rainy with thunderstorms possible after 11 am and highs in the mid-50s. Winds 5 to 10 mph out of the southeast in the morning, then from the west in the afternoon.

TONIGHT

Patchy fog overnight, cloudy with lows in the upper 40s and winds out of the northwest. 50% chance of showers with rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch expected.

WEDNESDAY

Partly sunny with highs near 60 and winds 5 to 10 mph out of the northwest. 30% chance of showers with less than a tenth of an inch of rainfall expected.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows in the mid-40s and winds 5 to 10 mph out of the northwest. 30% chance of showers, mainly after 3 am.

THURSDAY

Mostly cloudy with highs near 60 and a 40% chance of showers.

THURSDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows in the lower 40s and a 40% chance of showers.

----------------------------------------


GOES 16 - Band 15 - 12.3 µm - Dirty Longwave Window - IR
11:52 pm last night am to 2:47 am this morning


HAZARDS



Hazardous weather is not expected today. There may be minor flooding as runoff works its way through the local streams and main stem rivers. As most of the rain occurred outside the county to our southeast, the Cullasaja River that drains the Highlands Plateau will be most impacted by the runoff.

The image included with this segment is an estimate of rainfall accumulation for the 24 hour period on April 24, 2018, from midnight to midnight. The most rain fell in the southeastern section of the county and the lease fell in the northwestern section of the county.


Macon Media maintains a Severe Weather Preparedness Page at http://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/p/breaking-news-hub.html for those who are interested.

As always, you can check to see what advisories, watches, and warnings are in effect for Macon County by visiting http://is.gd/MACONWARN



2:47 am this morning



MACON CALENDAR

If you have an event you wish to be added to this calendar, please send the information, along with a flyer in pdf format or a high-quality photo, to editor@maconmedia.com. If you want text published, please include a paragraph with your photo, flyer or graphics. Please include date(s) and time(s).
There is no charge for civic, educational or nonprofit groups, except for groups or events that receive funding from the TDA, TDC, and EDC, where full rates apply.

FRANKLIN BIRD CLUB

April 25th Annual Birding Trip to Standing Indian

John and Cathy Sill will lead their annual birding trip to the Standing Indian area.
Meet at the Kmart parking lot (Westgate Plaza in Franklin) at 8:00 am to carpool up to Standing Indian with a few stops along the way.
Please sign up at 828-524-5234.

REVIVAL TO START WITH COVERED DISH SUPPER
Patton United Methodist Church, 119 Patton Church Road Franklin, will be starting their Revival this Sunday the 22nd at 6.30pm, with a covered dish supper beforehand at 5.30pm.
Pastor Dugar Strickland from Maysville Methodist Church in Maysville, GA will be leading their Revival. It will continue on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 7pm.


OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

I am writing to thank the residents of Franklin, Highlands, and Macon County for spreading joy to children around the world this Christmas. Through the generosity of the Macon County community, 4,636 shoeboxes were collected; and the Western North Carolina Area Team was able to exceed our goal by collecting 20,038 shoebox gifts for Operation Christmas Child, the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind. The International total for 2017 was 11,012,840 shoeboxes!

As National Volunteer Week (April 15 – 21) approaches, I wanted to pass along information about an opportunity for Macon County residents to join a local volunteer team with Operation Christmas Child. This project of the international Christian relief organization, Samaritan’s Purse, sends gift-filled shoeboxes to millions of children in need each year and gives local residents the opportunity to make a worldwide impact. “National Volunteer Week is a great time to become a part of this international project,” said June Trull, who heads up the Western North Carolina Area Team of Operation Christmas Child.“Joining an Operation Christmas Child Area Team is an amazing way to give back year-round and share God’s love with children in need.”



Operation Christmas Child has delivered more than 157 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 160 countries since 1993. This year, the local Western North Carolina Area Team hopes to collect 21,000 shoebox gifts to contribute to the 2018 global goal of reaching more than 11 million children in need.

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham. The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Thank You
Brenda Hackett
Samaritan's Purse
Media Support
Western North Carolina Area Team
Operation Christmas Child
828-369-6674/ bjandhack@hotmail.com
samaritanspurse.org/occnewsroom



COMMUNITY WALK ON THE GREENWAY

The Friends of the Greenway invites the community to participate in a "Walk on the Greenway" on April 21, 2018 at 10:30 AM beginning at the Macon County Library (on Siler Rd). Sunny Himes will lead about a 2 mile walk, highlighting several natural communities including a Red Cedar-Hardwood Woodland, Montane Alluvial Forest, and Floodplain wetlands. Discussion points will be historic and current uses of the land around the Greenway, how these uses shaped today's terrain and plant community compositions, and the challenges of wildland restoration in a popular urban park. Ms. Himes is a lecturer at Western Carolina University in botany, ecology and introduction biology. She is a past FROG Board member and continues to manage restoration projects on the Greenway. A $5 donation is suggested for this benefit walk. Send email of your interest in participating on the walk to: frog28734@gmail.com.




From Bully to Buddy, A Community Forum
Please note this forum is now taking place on the 26th of April

Bullying affects us all in different ways. Let’s work this out together.
Sincere invitations to the bully, the bullied and those in between — all ages — all genders Featuring: interaction, role playing, dialogue, discovery and direction (and some fun!)

This forum will be taking place on Wednesday, April 26 at 6 PM - 8 PM
pin in Tartan Hall at First Presbyterian Church, 26 Church Street, Franklin, NC

Join the event page on Facebook to find out more and to receive updates. [LINK]




Uptown Gallery classes
(These are on-going classes – repeat weekly)

Free classes and open studio times are being offered at the The Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Join others at a painting open studio session every Tuesday from 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm or on Thursday from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm. 

Bring your own materials and join an on-going drawing course led by gallery artists on Fridays, from 11am – 2 pm. For information on days open, hours and additional art classes and workshops, contact the gallery on 30 East Main Street at (828) 349 – 4607.




National Alliance on Mental Illness
Appalachian South

Meets each Thursday at 7pm
The First Methodist Church Outreach Center
at the intersection of Harrison Ave. and West Main Street
(directly across from Lazy Hiker Brewery)

Come join our weekly support group for anyone suffering from mental illness and their family or friends. This includes Depression, Bipolar,8chizophrenia, PTSD, Substance Abuse, Etc.

Here you will find:
— others living with mental health challenges YOU ARE NOT ALONE
- learn coping skills and ?find hope in shared experience
- help learning how to break down stigma and guilt surrounding mental health
- how to live life with the expectation of a better a better future

Kay (706)970-9987 Denise (828)347-5000)

SYRINGE EXCHANGE PROGRAM

On January 1, 2017, the Syringe Exchange Program of Franklin began operating a comprehensive harm reduction program to address the opioid epidemic that is impacting western NC. Opioid overdose reversal kits including naloxone are available free of charge. If you have any questions about our services or if you know someone interested in volunteering, please contact Stephanie Almeida at 828-475-1920.



Sun and Moon


Sun

Begin civil twilight 6:24 a.m.
Sunrise 6:50 a.m.
Sun transit 1:32 p.m. (67.5°) (93.495 million miles away)
Sunset 8:14 p.m.
End civil twilight 8:40 p.m.

Day Length 12 hours 23 minutes 21 seconds (2 minutes 00 seconds longer than yesterday)


Moon

Moonset 3:48 a.m.
Moonrise 2:52 p.m.
Moon transit 9:44 p.m. (232,571 miles away)
Moonset 4:29 a.m. tomorrow morning


Phase of the Moon on April 24, 2018: Waxing Gibbous with 70% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.
Closest Primary Moon Phase: First Quarter on April 22, 2018 at 5:46 p.m. (local daylight time)




Sky Guides for this week


Sky and Telescope Magazine 
Astronomy Magazine


There will be three solar and two lunar eclipses in 2018. [LINK]

Heavens Above has an Android App that will assist you in observing the sky and even has a satellite tracker that will let you know when the International Space Station and dozens of other satellites are overhead. [LINK]

Stellarium is also an app that will assist you in observing the sky. It is available in both Android [LINK] and iOS versions. [LINK]

CROWDFUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month.

If you have a business or event you are interested in sponsorship opportunities or underwriting coverage, send an email to editor@MaconMedia.com for more information. Serious inquiries only. Macon Media rewards early sponsors/underwriters with lifetime guaranteed low rates while newer sponsors/underwriters pay higher rates based on the date they first support Macon Media.

Thank You to the people who have been sending in donations and those businesses who are underwriting coverage of news and events. You have kept Macon Media online. You have made it possible for Macon Media to begin purchasing state of the art equipment and begin work on building a real website with features not employed by any local news outlets.

You can find out more information on how to do that and some of what I plan to accomplish if I reach certain levels of funding at https://www.patreon.com/MaconMedia

3:24 am on April 24, 2018

#WNCscan #MaconWx #MaconSafety

Data and information sources: Sources (except where otherwise credited): heavens-above.com, Ian Webster's Github, National Centers for Environmental Prediction, The National Weather Service, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Penn State University Electronic Wall Map, The State Climate Office of North Carolina, Storm Prediction Center, U.S. Naval Observatory, and the Weather Prediction Center.