Joint Meeting Between the Macon County Commissioners and the Macon County Board of Education 02-26-2013

The Macon County Commissioners held a joint meeting with the Macon County Board of Education last night at the Macon Bank Corporate Center.

Jack Horton, County Manager gave a brief overview of the background and history of the county's funding of education. Educational consultant Terry Bell gave a presentation on Safe Schools in Macon County regarding options and the cost (in the neighborhood of $400,000) of security updates in an attempt to make schools safer in the wake of the Sandy Hook School Shooting.

Dr Jim Duncan, Superintendent of the Macon County Schools, recapped his presentation from the Monday night budget work session [see video of that meeting].

The gist of his presentation was that, if they make no cuts to their budget, they would need $8,944,518 from the county. that is $2,033,518 more than they requested in fiscal year 2012-2013. If the Board of Education made all the cuts in their proposal [see it at this link], their request would be $6,944,518 which would be an increase of $83,125 from last year's budget.

I have posted the agenda of the meeting below the video.


xx

Joint Meeting

Macon County Board of Commissioners

and

Macon County Board of Education

February 26, 2013 – 6 p.m.

Macon Bank Corporate Center

Agenda

1. Call to order and welcome – Commission Chairman Kevin Corbin

2. Introductions and remarks – Board of Education Chairman Jim Breedlove

3. Background/history regarding county’s funding of education – County Manager Jack Horton

4. Update on current projects – Mr. Terry Bell

5. Update on current and future budgets – Macon County School Superintendent Dr. Jim Duncan

6. Question and answer session

7. Adjourn

xx

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Macon County Board of Education Budget Work Session 02-25-2013

This is a video of the budget work session held by the Macon County Board of Education that took place Monday night. Please excuse the temporary problems I had with my camera at the beginning of the meeting.



Here is a document that contains a cleaned up version of the information written on the white board that was used during the budget work session so you can follow along with Dr Duncan as he speaks about budget options.

Board of Education Budget Work Session 2-25-13 by

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Macon County Board of Education 02-25-2013

The Macon County Board of Education met last night at 6:30 pm at the main office located on the Old Murphy Road. The video of that meeting is above and a version of the agenda is below. I also recorded the budget work session they had before the meeting and will be processing that video as soon as I can.


Here is a brief look at some of the items the Board of Education discussed and acted upon last night:

Recognitions

•National Board Certified Renewals
•New Energy Savings

Presentations

•Franklin High School Agriculture Department

Consent Agenda

•Personnel Status Changes
•Overnight or Out of District Trip Requests

Policy

•Cartoogechaye Elementary Jump Rope 4 Heart
•Franklin High School Golf Fundraiser
•Macon Early College PTSO Fundraising
•Macon Middle School Fundraising (MMS Girls Soccer/MMS Band Talent Show)
•Mountain View Intermediate Fundraising
•South Macon Elementary Jump Rope 4 Heart
•South Macon Elementary 2013-2014 Student Handbook
•Transportation Contract
•Amendament to Policy #421-Medication Administration (2nd Reading)
•Community Corrections School Partnership MOU (Memorandum of Understanding)
•Revision to Professional Standards of Conduct and Performance for Macon County SchoolSystem Employees Policy
•Social Networking Policy (1st Reading)

Building and Grounds

•Highlands Baseball Facilities

Business and Finance

•Fund redistributions

••FHS PE
••FHS General-Lockers-Parking
••FHS General-Drug Testing

•Permission to Request Bids for Mowing Services

Board of Education Information

•Discussion Items
••Relay for Life EGG-stravaganza
••Joint Session with County Commission (this will take place at 6 pm Tues, Feb 26, 2013 at the Macon Bank Corporate Center)

Superintendent Information

•Coming Events

Closed Session

•None at the time the agenda was released

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Joint Meeting Between the Macon County Commissioners and the Macon County Planning Board 02-21-2013

Video of the joint meeting between the Macon County Commissioners and the Macon County Planning Board that took place on February 21, 2013.


Last night, the Macon County Commissioners held a joint meeting with the Macon County Planning Board to discuss goals and expectations for the coming year.

Among the items discussed was a desire to begin a joint project with the Town of Franklin to expand water and sewer services, over the course of time, to the entire county.

The Commissioners voted to instruct the Planning Board to tackle the following projects, in the following order:

1 - Flood Plain Ordinance (the Macon County Watershed Council wants to be heard on this)

2 - Sign Ordinance

3 - High Impact Ordinance


The next meeting of the Macon County Commissioners will be a joint meeting with the Macon County Board of Education on Tuesday at 6pm in the Macon Bank Corporate Center. The Planning Board will be meeting on March 21st at their usual location at the Macon County Health Department.

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The Linux Action Show: Wrath of Cron

Here is one of my favorite Linux Podcasts, The Linux Action Show, which is part of the Jupiter Broadcasing network of shows.


An overview of cron, the little soldier in your computer performing duties for you every single day. Plus our ideas to play with cron, and the powerful things it's used for in the Enterprise.

Plus Steam officially launches for Linux, and Valve turns on the love lamp for Linux gamers. Munich responds to Microsoft's outrageous study, Ubuntu Phone images are on the way, a look at Chrome OS's recent successes...

AND SO MUCH MORE! 

All this week on The Linux Action Show!

Show notes & Download: http://bit.ly/las248

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NC General Assembly 02-21-2013

If I cover today's sessions, I will embed the audio here at the top of this post.



The current session of the North Carolina General Assembly is underway. Both NC Senate and NC House will be in session today, as well as rules committees of both houses, details of which are posted below.

The NC General assembly has also introduced a new feature called the Chamber Dashboard that allows citizens to follow what is going on in the chambers in real time. So, instead of having to refer back and forth to the PDF from their website, they will be posting the info on screen for you. This will greatly simplify following the action while the General Assembly is in session!

Access to the Senate Chamber is via the top left tab and the House Chamber is via a tab on the upper right. Now, all they need to do is add tabs to access the live audio on the same page and add live video streams...and we'll really be able to watch over the shoulders of our legislators as they go about our business.


If you cannot listen to these meetings live, check back later to see if I have. If I have, I'll post the audio (and a download link) for the meeting in the calendar. You can also follow what is happening in the NC General Assembly by keeping an eye on the hashtag #ncga on Twitter.

If I haven't been able to listen, please check Voter Radio. You should already be subscribing to their podcasts anyway. I do. ???



Here is the legislative calendar...

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8:30 AM	Appropriations on Department of Transportation (Joint)	1228/1327 LB
8:30 AM	Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government (Joint)	1425 LB
8:30 AM	Appropriations on Justice and Public Safety (Joint)	415 LOB
8:30 AM	Appropriations Subcommittee on Education (Joint)	421 LOB
8:30 AM	Appropriations Subcommittee on Natural and Economic Resources (Joint)	423 LOB
8:30 AM	Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services (Joint)	643 LOB
10:00 AM	Judiciary I (Senate) APA Technical/Clarifying Chges. (S36) Amend UCC Article 4A Funds Transfers. (S72)	1027/1128 LB
10:00 AM	Judiciary II -- CORRECTED (Senate) Revoke License for Passing Stopped School Bus. (S16)	1124/1224 LB
10:00 AM	Appropriations Subcommittee on Information Technology (House)	421 LOB
10:00 AM	Government (House) Henderson County Fire Districts. (H28) Cleveland/Polk/Rutherford Trapping Repeal. (H33)	643 LOB
11:00 AM	Session Convenes (House)	House
11:00 AM	Session Convenes (Senate)	Senate
11:00 AM	Commerce (Senate) Domestic Energy Jobs Act. (S76)	1027/1128 LB
11:00 AM	Senate Committee on Commerce	1027/1128 LB

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Macon County Commissioners 02-18-2013

The Macon County Commissioners met on Monday, February 18, 2013 in a meeting that was continued from February 12th. [video] 

The main focus of the meeting was discussion of the Employee Classification and Compensation Study. It was standing room only as county employees filled the room. That part of the meeting started at the 45 minute mark and lasted nearly an hour and twenty minutes as John Anzivino presented a power point that he and Stephanie Davis had previously presented at the July 10, 2012 meeting of the Macon County Commissioners. [video] 

MACON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

CONTINUED SESSION

FEBRUARY 18, 2013 – 6 P.M.

AGENDA

1. Reconvene and welcome – Chairman Corbin

2. Consideration of requested tax release – Richard Lightner

3. Consideration of audit contract for Fiscal Year 2012-13 – Finance Director

4. Consideration of budget amendments #111 and #112 – Finance Director

5. Consideration of resolution for financing of emergency services equipment – Finance Director

6. Presentation and question and answer session regarding the Classification and Compensation Study – John Anzivino of Springsted, Inc.

7. Adjourn

NOTE: The board is scheduled to have the following called meetings later this month:

• Joint meeting with the Macon County Planning Board on Thursday, February 21, 2013 at 6 p.m. at the Macon Bank Corporate Center.
• Joint meeting with the Macon County Board of Education on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 at 6 p.m. at the Macon Bank Corporate Center.

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Agenda

Macon County Commissioners 02-18-2013 Agenda by

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BB&T Resolution Approving Financing Terms

BB&T Resolution Approving Financing Terms by

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Contract to Audit Accounts

Contract to Audit Accounts 02-18-2013 by

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Memo Re. Financing Defibrillators

Memo Re. Financing Defibrillators 2-18-2013 by

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Budget Amendments

Budget Amendments 02-18-2013 by

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JPL Live Coverage of Asteroid 2012 DA-214

Live coverage of the passage of Asteroid 2012 DA-214 via the Jet Propulsion Lab. The coverage will be silent and the asteroid will not appear as anything greater than a point of light because, after all it is only 150 feet across and more than 17,000 miles away. Background information on the asteroid is below.

Also, here is a statement from NASA regarding the asteroid that exploded over Russia this morning: "According to NASA scientists, the trajectory of the Russian meteorite was significantly different than the trajectory of the asteroid 2012 DA14, making it a completely unrelated object. Information is still being collected about the Russian meteorite and analysis is preliminary at this point. In videos of the meteor, it is seen to pass from left to right in front of the rising sun, which means it was traveling from north to south. Asteroid DA14's trajectory is in the opposite direction, from south to north."

2012 DA₁₄ is a near-Earth asteroid with an estimated diameter of 50 meters (160 ft) and an estimated mass of 190,000 metric tons It was discovered on February 23, 2012, by the Observatorio Astronómico de La Sagra, Granada in Spain (J75) seven days after passing 0.0174 AU (1,620,000 mi) from Earth. Calculations show that on February 15, 2013, the distance between the asteroid and the center-point of Earth will be 0.0002276 AU (21,160 mi). The asteroid will pass 17,200 miles from the surface of Earth. This is a record close approach for a known object of this size

Source: Wikipedia


A video briefing by NASA on the asteroid passage.

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Videos Capture Small Asteroid Explosion Over Russia

**update 4.54am** This blog post on Live Journal has a lot of good videos and photos of the asteroid explosion and aftermath in Russia. Included is footage of a door being blown out and office workers reacting as the window in their office is blown out. Also check out the comments, which are over 800 so far, some of them include photos and videos as well.

A series of powerful explosion about 900 miles east of Moscow that injured more than 100 people today might have been caused by a meteorite, Russian emergency officials say.
Witnesses said one meteorite crashed into a wall near a zinc factory in the Chelyabinsk region, disrupting the city's Internet and mobile service. The blast reportedly set off a shockwave that broke nearby windows and set off car alarms.
"It was definitely not a plane," emergency officials told Reuters. "We are gathering the bits of information and have no data on the casualties so far."
Interior Ministry spokesman Vadim Kolesnikov told the Associated Press that 102 people had requested medical assistance for treatment of injuries mostly related to glass broken by the explosions.
Officials suspected the blast may have been caused by a meteor shower. One preliminary report had the blast occurring at an altitude of about 30,000 feet. Another report from a less-than-reliable source held that the meteorite was destroyed before impact, but there's little evidence of the that in videos that captured the images and audio of the event.

Source: CNET

I have gathered some of the videos that have been posted to Youtube and have embedded them here. Some of them are from Dashcams in cars and others are from people who started recording the contrail left by the small asteroid and then captured the powerful shockwave from either the explosion or sonic booms, and both in some cases.

Is this related to 2012 DA-214, the small asteroid that will pass very close to the earth today? I don't know. It would seem to me that they are part of the same debris field, but I'll leave that to the experts to determine. You can read more about how to watch the pass of 2012 DA-214 at Wired.

I hope that this incident will serve as a wake up call to be prepared for an even larger asteroid impact that could endanger the survival of our civilization.

Just over a hundred years ago, also in Russia, another small asteroid exploded above Siberia...with more devastating results. You can read more about that at Wikipedia.


News report from Russia Today

A series of explosions in the skies of Russia’s Urals region, reportedly caused by a meteorite shower, has sparked panic in three major cities. Witnesses said that houses shuddered, windows were blown out and cellphones have stopped working.

According to unconfirmed reports, the meteorite was intercepted by an air defense unit at the Urzhumka settlement near Chelyabinsk. A missile salvo reportedly blew the meteorite to pieces at an altitude of 20 kilometers.

A bright flash was seen in the Chelyabinsk, Tyumen and Sverdlovsk regions, Russia’s Republic of Bashkiria and in northern Kazakhstan.
Over 400 people sought medical attention as a result of the incident, according to the Russian Interior Ministry. No serious injuries have been reported, with most of the injuries caused by broken glass and minor concussions.
Lifenews tabloid said that at least one piece of the fallen object caused damage on the ground in Chelyabinsk. According to preliminary reports, it crashed into a wall near a zinc factory, disrupting the city's Internet and mobile service.

Source: Russia Today


Sonic boom and windows broken



Dashcam Compilation


Meteor fall in the Urals, Russia 24 news report

Dashcam


Dashcam with driver view

Contrail

Cellphone Video with Sonic Boom

Contrail with multiple sonic booms

Silent Russian Dashcam footage

Silent construction Cam

Dashcam footage with radio in background

Video of contrial. When sonic boom comes, the camera is dropped.

And lastly...the 17th episode of the Third Season of Stargate SG-1 "A Hundred Days" featured a "fire rain" of asteroids hitting a planet. You can see some of the CGI work that imagined how such a thing would look in the video below:

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Macon County Planning Board Workshop

The Macon County Planning Board met last night and re-elected Karl Gillespie as their chairman and then had a workshop that serve as a training session for members. I found it to be very informative. If you wish to skip ahead to the training session, start the video below and move the player ahead to the 13 minute mark. I uploaded the video in HD, so you should be able to read all the slides in the presentation. If you can't, try viewing the video at full screen or, if your Internet Connection isn't fast enough to view the video at a decent resolution, contact me via Google Plus, Facebook or Twitter and we'll make arrangements to get you a DVD of the meeting. I should probably be doing that anyway in order to raise funds in order help me be able to afford to continue with my citizen journalist efforts.

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Macon County Commissioners 02-12-2013

**10.05am 2/1/2013** Here is the video of last night's meeting.




The Macon County Commissioners will be meeting tonight at 6pm and I'll be there to cover it, recording video and providing a nearly live play by play of the meeting on both G+ and Fakebook. I'll post the video on this page sometime tomorrow afternoon.

The agenda and 60 page press kit is below for your convenience.

MACON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

AGENDA

1. Call to order and welcome by Chairman Corbin

2. Announcements

3. Moment of Silence

4. Pledge of Allegiance

5. Public Hearing(s) - 6:00 p.m. - (A) Proposed names for new roads and assigning of range of road numbers - Angie Kinsland - 911 Addressing Coordinator

NOTE: The board will consider an amendment to the Macon County Road Naming and Numbering System Ordinance immediately following the public hearing.

(B) Installment financing contract and deed of trust for Highlands

School renovations (QZAB)

6. Public Comment Period

7. Adjustments to and approval of the agenda

8. Reports/Presentations

(A) Request to fill in floodplain - Jerry Cook

(B) Veterans Memorial - Neal Riendeau

9. Old Business

10.New Business

(A) Defibrillator replacement and EMS staffing recommendations - Emergency Services Director David Key

(B) Amended schools capital outlay request - Finance Director

(C) Asbestos removal at Highlands School - County Manager

(D) Interlocal agreement with the Macon County Board of

Education regarding Highlands School

(E) Iotla Valley Elementary playground equipment

(F) Change Order No. 14 on the Little Tennessee River/Cartoogechaye Creek Trunk Sewer Project - County Manager

(G) Change Order No. 2 on Swiss Colony Area Water System

Improvements - County Manager

(H) Interlocal Agreement with the Town of Franklin regarding

Virtual Private Network (VPN) - County Manager

11.Consent Agenda - Attachment #11

All items below are considered routine and will be enacted by one motion. No separate discussion will be held except on request of a member of the Board of

Commissioners.

(A) Minutes of the January 8, January 14 and January 19 meetings

(B) Budget Amendment #105

(C) Tax Releases

(D) Monthly ad valorem tax collection report

(E) Delinquent tax report

12.Appointments

(A) ETJ representative to the Town of Franklin Planning Board

(B) Library Board (3 seats)

(C) Nursing and Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee

13.Closed session (if necessary)

14.Recess until Monday, February 18, 2013 at 6 p.m. in the commission boardroom on the third floor of the Macon County Courthouse, 5 West Main Street, Franklin, NC

Macon County Commissioners Feb 2013 Meeting Agenda by Thunder Pig

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Franklin TDA 02-11-2013

**note** I haven't had time to finish the write up, but I am posting this anyway because people need to see what happened at this meeting...

I'll start the coverage of this meeting off with an announcement that the TDA has been looking for three new members. They've posted info on the town website and have advertised with The Franklin Press and the Macon County News, but, to date, not had one person express interest in serving. So, I've decided to have a whack at it...free of charge to the TDA.

The Franklin Tourism Development Authority is seeking three new board members to replace three who have quit coming to the meetings.

Notice posted on the town website:

Notice is hereby given that the Town of Franklin is now accepting applications for three (3) vacancies on the Tourism Development Authority Board. One (1) vacancy for a business directly involved with the collection of rental property occupancy tax. Two (2) vacancies for a tourist related business involved with the collection of state sales tax. Applications can be picked up at the Town Hall office located at 95 East Main Street, Franklin NC 28734.

Download a PDF of the Application.


And now, the coverage of the meeting. If at all possible, you need to watch the video of the meeting because no amount of write up about what happened can take the place of actually hearing what happened in the meeting:






The Franklin Tourism Development Authority met last night in the town hall. Summer Woodard reported that the TDA collected a room occupancy tax of $4,746.80 in December 2012. Net collections for the year (it was not made clear whether this was calendar or fiscal year) were $166,089.89 and the TDA had a reserve fund of $93,520.38. She reported that disbursements (July 1 - Jan 31) were $72,569.51 out of the $100,000 budget set by the town board and that total commitments by the board (as of the beginning of the meeting) were $16,839.32. She said that the TDA Board has spent (including commitments) $89,408.33 of the $100,000 budget set by the town board. That leaves $10,591.17 left in the TDA budget for the remainder of the fiscal year...minus any commitments they make at tonight's meeting.

Summer Woodard advised the board to stop spending money until their current commitments have been paid. She does not think it is wise to start the next fiscal with unpaid commitments. She that part of their problem was the upfront commitment to spend $50,000 for advertising with Comcast.

Here is a transcribed copy of the financial report (which was not available in an electronic format, just handouts at the meeting):

Room Occupancy Tax Report
01/31/2013

2011-2012 Reserve	$106,757.06
7/31/2012 Room Tax	$12,199.87
8/31/2012 Room Tax	$10,574.60
9/30/2012 Room Tax	$11,900.99
10/31/2012 Room Tax	$13,809.73
11/30/2012 Room Tax	$6,100.84
12/31/2012 Room Tax	$4,746.80
1/31/2012 Room Tax	$0.00
2/28/2012 Room Tax	$0.00
3/31/2012 Room Tax	$0.00
4/30/2012 Room Tax	$0.00
5/31/2012 Room Tax	$0.00
6/30/2012 Room Tax	$0.00
Net Collections	$166,089.89

Less a reserve of $93,520.38


Less Disbursements:

Vendor	Amount in Dollars
Allison Outdoor Advertising	1,300.00
Allison Outdoor Advertising	520.00
Allison Outdoor Advertising	1,300.00
Allison Outdoor Advertising	520.00
Michael M Rogers	1,050.00
Tony Angel Media	800.00
Tony Angel Media	857.15
Comcast Spotlight	4,857.17
Michael M Rogers	600.00
Franklin Main Street Program	2,000.00
Associated Posters, Inc	124.15
Comcast Spotlight	4,688.32
Associated Posters, Inc	124.15
Associated Posters, Inc	124.15
Tony Angel Media	827.35
Tony Angel Media	800.00
Allison Outdoor Advertising	520.00
Allison Outdoor Advertising	1,300.00
The Franklin Press	1,666.45
Social Axe	3,511.64
Social Axe	392.00
Michael M Rogers	750.00
WFSC 1050 AM	333.55
Smoky Mountain Center	10,000.00
Tony Angel Media	800.00
Allison Outdoor Advertising	1,300.00
Allison Outdoor Advertising	520.00
Smoky Mountain News	85.00
The Franklin Press	288.00
Macon County News	99.90
Social Axe	1,735.84
Michael M Rogers	750.00
Comcast Spotlight	4,952.28
Tony Angel Media	873.94
Tony Angel Media	800.00
Associated Posters, Inc	124.15
Comcast Spotlight	4,857.17
Tony Angel Media	857.15
Allison Outdoor Advertising	1,300.00
Allison Outdoor Advertising	520.00
Tony Angel Media	800.00
Allison Outdoor Advertising	1,300.00
Allison Outdoor Advertising	520.00
Smoky Mountain Theatre	5,000.00
Tony Angel Media	800.00
Allison Outdoor Advertising	520.00
Allison Outdoor Advertising	1,300.00
Franklin Main Street Program	3,500.00
Total Disbursements	72,569.51

Remaining Balance: $0.00

Less Commitments:

Vendor	Amount in Dollars
Comcast - Up to $50,000.00	2,804.40
Billboards - $1,820.00 per month	9,100.00
Comcast - January Vote	2,934.92
Trail Days	2,000.00
Total Commitments	16,839.32

And here is a table making comparisons from month to month for the first six months of the fiscal year over the course of the last several years.

Franklin TDA Collections Comparison Chart (click image to see full size)


The board spent a considerable amount of time on the issue of not having money. Mike Grubermann said that the TDA could not spend funds from their reserve (currently at $93,520.38) without a vote from the Town Board of Aldermen. John Henning, the Town Attorney, was of the opinion that the reserve was the TDA's money to do with it what they wanted. Grubermann disagreed and Candy Pressley, the TDA Chairman, said that she had been told they couldn't spend the money without permission of the board as well.

I missed a good part of the discussion because I could not hear what some of the TDA members were saying, so watch the video (because the mic on the camera is better than my ears) to follow what each member said.

I think they passed a motion to table approving granting new funding requests until after their strategic marketing plan meeting in March.

Nikki Pons Corbin and Scottie Corbin, of the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts, made a presentation and request for $50,000 to assist with advertising. The TDA tabled the request.

The Taste of Scotland asked for $2,500 in funding and space on two billboards. The TDA approved the request for two billboards and tabled the request for funds strategic marketing plan meeting takes place.

The TDA went back and forth on the  planned strategic marketing plan scheduled for March 20th for several minutes.

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Meeting Agenda for the February 2013 Regular Meeting of the Macon County Commissioners

The Macon County Commissioners will be meeting tomorrow night at 6pm in the Commissioners Board Room on the Third Floor of the Macon County Courthouse. I will be there to cover the meeting and will post a separate article that will contain links to the places where I will be posting a nearly live play by play. I have embedded a downloadable copy of the agenda below for your records.

MACON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

AGENDA

1. Call to order and welcome by Chairman Corbin
2. Announcements
3. Moment of Silence
4. Pledge of Allegiance
5. Public Hearing(s) – 6:00 p.m. – (A) Proposed names for new roads
and assigning of range of road numbers – Angie Kinsland – 911
Addressing Coordinator
NOTE: The board will consider an amendment to the Macon
County Road Naming and Numbering System Ordinance
immediately following the public hearing.
(B) Installment financing contract and deed of trust for Highlands
School renovations (QZAB)
6. Public Comment Period
7. Adjustments to and approval of the agenda
8. Reports/Presentations
(A) Request to fill in floodplain – Jerry Cook
(B) Veterans Memorial – Neal Riendeau
9. Old Business
10.New Business
(A) Defibrillator replacement and EMS staffing recommendations –
Emergency Services Director David Key
(B) Amended schools capital outlay request – Finance Director
(C) Asbestos removal at Highlands School – County Manager
(D)Interlocal agreement with the Macon County Board of
Education regarding Highlands School
(E) Iotla Valley Elementary playground equipment
(F) Change Order No. 14 on the Little Tennessee
River/Cartoogechaye Creek Trunk Sewer Project – County
Manager
(G)Change Order No. 2 on Swiss Colony Area Water System
Improvements – County Manager
(H)Interlocal Agreement with the Town of Franklin regarding
Virtual Private Network (VPN) – County Manager
11.Consent Agenda – Attachment #11
All items below are considered routine and will be enacted by one motion. No
separate discussion will be held except on request of a member of the Board of
Commissioners.
(A) Minutes of the January 8, January 14 and January 19
meetings
(B) Budget Amendment #105
(C) Tax Releases
(D)Monthly ad valorem tax collection report
(E) Delinquent tax report
12.Appointments
(A) ETJ representative to the Town of Franklin Planning Board
(B) Library Board (3 seats)
(C) Nursing and Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee
13.Closed session (if necessary)
14.Recess until Monday, February 18, 2013 at 6 p.m. in the
commission boardroom on the third floor of the Macon County
Courthouse, 5 West Main Street, Franklin, NC

Macon County Commissioners Feb 2013 Meeting Agenda by

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The Linux Action Show: Podcasting on Linux

Here is one of my favorite Linux Podcasts, The Linux Action Show, which is part of the Jupiter Broadcasing network of shows.


We cover the state of media production on Linux, and share our tips to get your own podcast, powered by Linux, off the ground! And we answer a very popular audience question: how to record Skype calls under Linux.

Plus: A mini-review of KDE 4.10, Gabe claims Linux is a "get-out-of-jail free pass" for the gaming industry, Carmack says skip native the native port and focus on WINE, we share the great news for new Linux laptop users...

AND SO MUCH MORE!

All this week on, The Linux Action Show!

Find out more about this show at The Linux Action Show.

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Pope Benedict XVI to Resign at End of Month

The Pope is to resign at the end of this month in an entirely unexpected development, the Vatican has confirmed.

The 85-year-old became Pope Benedict XVI in April 2005 following the death of John Paul II.

The reasons behind the head of the Catholic Church's surprise resignation have yet to emerge.

Resignations from the papacy are not unknown, but this is the first in the modern era, which has been marked by pontiffs dying while in office.

Source: BBC News

Wikipedia on Papal resignations:

Papal resignation is envisaged as a possibility in canon 332 §2 of the Code of Canon Law and canon 44 §2 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The only conditions for the validity of the resignation are that it be made freely and be manifested properly.^[1]

Canon law does not specify any particular individual or body or people to whom the Popemust manifest his resignation, leaving perhaps open the possibility of doing so to the Church or the world in general. But some commentators hold that the college of cardinalsor at least its Dean must be informed, since the cardinals must be absolutely certain that the Pope has renounced the dignity before they can validly proceed to elect a successor.^[2][3]

The term "abdication" is not used in the official documents of the Church for resignation by a Pope.

**update 7.07am** Top Candidates for Pope:

Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson

Cardinal Angelo Scola

Cardinal Tarsicio Bertone

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio

Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn

Cardinal Marc Ouellet

Cardinal Timothy Dolan

Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith

Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera

Source: Business Insider, which lists even more candidates.

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Video: Jumping Tthrough Flaming Christmas Trees

Why? It's a human thing.

Hat Tip: +Jesse Stay 



From the video description:
I wrote the song "Little Voices" with my friend Brenden. We're called Scott & Brendo!
iTunes: http://bit.ly/V9WzkV | Amazon: http://amzn.to/Rww75q

Check us out on Facebook for free music: 
http://facebook.com/scottandbrendo

Special thanks to my good friends at Dark Energy for helping make this video happen! These guys designed a portable charger that will power your phone for a week. It even works on other devices, like the GoPro's we used in the video. Check them out on kickstarter:https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/d...

Special thanks to Mark Warner, the phantom owner/operator. 

Cinematographers:
Derek Pueblo
Adam DeMello
Scott Jarvie (http://www.youtube.com/JarvieDigital)
Dusty Hulet
Anthony Ambriz (http://www.youtube.com/AnthonyAmbrizTV)

Aerial Photography by Chris Newman
http://www.cinechopper.com 
http://www.youtube.com/CineChopper

Color Correction by Casey Wilson
http://www.youtube.com/caseyrwilson

This video was shot at varying frame rates between 24 - 1,000 fps. No twixtor or special effects were used.

Cameras: Phantom Miro, Red Epic, Canon 5D Mk III, GoPro Hero3

Let's be true friends! Follow me for behind the scenes and updates!
Facebook: http://facebook.com/scottdwcrew
Twitter: http://twitter.com/scottdavidwinn
Instagram: @scottdavidwinn

Business Contact:
contactscottdw@gmail.com

K love you, bye.

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