Melissa Faetz is Region 8 Teacher of the Year

Melissa Faetz of South Macon Elementary has been named Teacher of the Year in Region 8 of the North Carolina School system that covers the western region of the state. She found out this afternoon at a surprise announcement at a school gathering in the gymnasium at the school where she teaches first grade.

She is currently the Teacher of the Year for Macon County.


Here is the video and a few photos from the event.

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Macon County Planning Board December 2013 Meeting

The Macon County Planning Board held their last meeting of the year yesterday, and the video and supporting documents are posted below. Jimmy Goodman was replaced with Ben Lassiter on the board.


MEDIA ROLL CALL

Macon Media was the only member of the press present at the meeting. There was also no one from the public at the meeting.

The next meeting of the planning board is tentatively scheduled for January 16, 2014 at 4pm, where they will begin looking at the Macon County Comprehensive Plan. I have embedded a copy of it below so you can download it for your records.

Macon County Comprehensive Plan

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2013 Winter Weather Awareness Week is December 8-14th

This week is Winter Weather Awareness Week [Alternate Link] in North Carolina and I would like to focus on the NOAA Weather Radio as a tool to alert people to potentially severe weather.

Unlike outdoor sirens, all-hazards radios save lives by alerting people who are indoors when severe weather approaches. They can also alert people in homes, schools and businesses to other types of emergencies.

These radios provide constant, useful and up-to-date weather information. They are equipped with a special alarm tone that will sound an alert and give immediate information in a life-threatening situation.

During an emergency, the National Weather Service will interrupt routine weather radio programming and broadcast a special tone that activates weather radios, by county, in the listening areas.While they are primarily used for severe weather alerts, authorities can also use these radios to issue warnings about other types of hazards, such as chemical spills or biological hazards. The hearing and visually impaired can also get these warnings by connecting weather radios to other attention-getting devices such as strobe lights, pagers, bed-shakers, personal computers and text printers.

The NOAA Transmitters that cover Macon County are:

WWG82 in Robbinsville, NC operating on 162.525 Mhz
Coverage Map

KXI81 in Clayton, GA operating on 162.450 Mhz 

Coverage Map

Here is an example of a NOAA Weather Radio in action from March 2, 2012 in Franklin, NC. [The alarm goes off in the background beginning at the 25 second mark in the audio]

The SAME Code to program into your radio for Macon County is 037113. You will have to consult the manual for your particular radio on how to program it. If you do not have a manual for your radio, please let us know in the comments by telling us what kind of radio you have and what the model number is and we will assist you as best we can.

If you do not live in Macon County, please consult this map for information on NOAA transmitters where you live.

For more information on the NOAA Weather Radio program, please visit the National Weather Service website.

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Franklin Aldermen 12-02-2013

Town of Franklin Board of Aldermen 

Meeting Agenda

Monday December 2, 2013 -7:00 p.m. 

1. Oath of Office for Mayor and Aldermen- Macon County Clerk of Court Vic Perry
2. Call to Order- Mayor Bob Scott
3. Appointment of Mayor Pro Tempore
4. Approval of the November 4, 2013 board minutes.
5. Public session
6. New business
   • Message from Mayor Bob Scott.
   • Application to amend text only of the Unified Development Ordinance for Outdoor Display of Goods- Land Use Administrator Derek Roland.
   • Application to amend text only of the Unified Development Ordinance for the Board of Adjustment- Land Use Administrator Derek Roland.
   • Approval of the 2014 Town Board Regular Meeting Schedule- Town Manager Warren Cabe.
   • Approval of the 2014 Town of Franklin Holiday Schedule- Town Manager Warren Cabe.
   • Discussion on Committee Appointments- Mayor Bob Scott
   • Update on Land Trust for the Little Tennessee- Town Manager Warren Cabe.
   • Update on North Carolina Department of Transportation Prioritization Projects- Town Manager Warren Cabe.
   • Resolution Authorizing the Town Clerk to Investigate the Sufficiency of a Voluntary Annexation Petition- Land Use Administrator Derek Roland.
   • Special Use Application for Wireless Telecommunications Tower Improvements at 90 Cunningham Road- Land Use Administrator Derek Roland
   • Discussion on 2014 Town Board Retreat- Town Manager Warren Cabe.
7. Announcements
   • Winter Wonderland will be December 6 and December 13, 2013 from 5:00 -8:00 p.m.
   • Town Employee Luncheon will be December 20, 2013 at 12:00 p.m. at Fat Buddies.
   • Town Offices will be closed December 24, 25, and 26, 2013 for Christmas.
8. Adjourn

Here is the video, press kit and some photos from last night's meeting of the Franklin Town Board of Aldermen:


Video of the December 2, 2013 meeting of the Franklin Town Board of Aldermen. Includes the swearing in of new Mayor Bob Scott, as well as new Aldermen Barbara McRae and Patti Halyburton Abel. Alderman Billy Mashburn is sworn in for another term.

Vic Perry, Clerk of Court for Macon County, swears in Bob Scott as the new Mayor of the Town of Franklin while Nancy Scott holds the Bible.

Vic Perry, Clerk of Court for Macon County, swears in Barbara McRae as a new Alderman for the Town of Franklin.

Vic Perry, Clerk of Court for Macon County, swears in Patti Halyburton Abel as a new Alderman for the Town of Franklin while her daughter Rylie and husband Donnie holds the Bible.

Vic Perry, Clerk of Court for Macon County, swears in Billy Mashburn for another term as Alderman while Dinah, his wife, holds the Bible.

The swearing in ceremonies in the town hall were subject to intense scrutiny by an army of photographers.

The Press Kit for this meeting is embedded below for your convenience and in the interest of promoting transparency in local government. Please feel free to download it.

Franklin Aldermen Press Kit 12-02-2013 by Thunder Pig

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Macon County Commissioners Tap Derek Roland For County Manager

Front: Derek Roland, who starts his new job as Macon County Manager on December 16th.

Back: (L-R) Commissioners Ron Haven, Ronnie Beale, Kevin Corbin, Jimmy Tate and Paul Higdon

The Macon County Commissioners met tonight for less than half an hour, most of which was spent by the commissioners taking everyone through their thought process of selecting Macon County native Derek Roland to be the new manager of Macon County, then they voted 5-0 to offer the job of Macon County Manager to Derek Roland.



He will start his new job on December 16, 2013 and his base pay will be $100,000 a year and he will be allowed $500 a month for travel expenses. He will work out a notice with the Town of Franklin, where he is currently the Town Planner.

MEDIA ROLL CALL

Here is a list of the local media organizations present at the meeting:
Macon Media -- Bobby Coggins
The Franklin Press -- Jessica Waters
Macon County News -- Brittney Burns

The Town website has a short bio of Derek that I will re-post here:

Derek Roland is a native of Macon County. Upon graduation from Franklin High School, Roland attended Western Carolina University, receiving a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration and Law in 2007. In the two years following his graduation, Roland worked for Unique Properties as a North Carolina licensed real estate broker. In 2009 he assumed the position of Macon County Planner, where he proudly served until March of 2012. Roland was hired by the Town of Franklin as Planner in late March 2012, and looks forward to serving the citizens of the municipality for years to come. Currently, Roland is completing his Masters Degree in the field of Public Administration at Western Carolina University. Roland is a member of the Franklin Rotary Club and was named Macon County Citizen of the Year for 2011.

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SECU Foundation Awards Local Hospice House Foundation A $1 Million Challenge Grant

Yesterday, the SECU Foundation awarded the Hospice House Foundation of WNC a million dollar challenge grant to help with the $3.8 million dollar project of establishing a six bed hospice facility in the old Dryman HOuse on Maple Street. The Hospice House Foundation is challenged to promptly raise $2.2 million before actually receiving the funds. The
House will include six spacious private patient suites, residential style living areas and other amenities including a family kitchen, dining room, chapel and exterior gardens. In honor of SECU Foundation’s challenge grant to HHF’s Capital Campaign, the facility will be named SECU Hospice House of Western North Carolina.


The Hospice House will need your help to raise the additional $2.2 million. If you are interested, please send your tax deductible donations to:

Hospice House Foundation of WNC
PO Box 815
Franklin, NC 28744

You can visit the Hospice House website at hhfwnc.org to learn more about their mission and even see their event calendar.

To learn more about the SECU Foundation, please visit their website at www.ncsecufoundation.org

Here is video taken at the event.





Here are some photos from the event:

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MAVEN Launch Coverage

The newest mission to Mars, MAVEN, will be launching today at 1:28pm EST...provided the weather holds. I have embedded a video player that will show the launch live. I will replace with a recorded video of the launch later today. Below that is some information about the mission, beginning with a PSA by LeVar Burton.


More about the mission below:

MAVEN stands for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN





Mission Briefing:

Features on Mars resembling dry riverbeds and the discovery of minerals that form in the presence of water indicate that Mars once had a thicker atmosphere and was warm enough for liquid water to flow on the surface. However, that thick atmosphere was somehow lost to space. Scientists suspect that over millions of years, Mars lost 99% of its atmosphere as the planet’s core cooled and its magnetic field decayed, allowing the solar wind to sweep away most of the water and volatile compounds the atmosphere once contained.

The goal of MAVEN is to determine the history of the loss of atmospheric gases to space, providing answers about Martian climate evolution. By measuring the rate with which the atmosphere is currently escaping to space and gathering enough information about the relevant processes, scientists will be able to infer how the planet's atmosphere evolved over time. MAVEN will have four primary scientific objectives:

•Determine the role that loss of volatiles to space from the Mars atmosphere has played through time.
•Determine the current state of the upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and interactions with the solar wind.
•Determine the current rates of escape of neutral gases and ions to space and the processes controlling them.
•Determine the ratios of stable isotopes in the Martian atmosphere.

MAVEN is expected to reach Mars in September 2014. By then, the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite on board the Curiosity rover will have made similar surface measurements from Gale crater, which will help guide the interpretation of MAVEN's upper atmosphere measurements. MAVEN's measurements will also provide additional scientific context with which to test models for current methane formation in Mars.

More information can be found on the mission page at NASA. 

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NCDOT Now November 14, 2013

This week on “NCDOT Now”:

•The leaves haven’t even finished changing color yet, and we’ve already seen snow flurries in parts of the state. See how our crews prepared for this first brush with winter weather.

•This time last year, NCDOT lost one of its own in a tragic accident on N.C. 12 in Dare County. We’ll show you how Brad Stevenson’s co-workers, family and friends created a lasting memorial in his honor at the maintenance yard where he worked.

•NCDOT dedicated the new I-85 bridge over the Yadkin River last week to veterans who have served our country in the past and those who continue to serve today. Hear why Secretary Tata said the bridge is a proper symbol to honor their sacrifice.

•Riding the train in North Carolina just got even easier. Find out how our new website makes buying your tickets quicker and more convenient.


“NCDOT Now” is posted every week. A video podcast version is available via iTunes. People with digital media players, such as iPods or iPads, as well as smartphones, can download “NCDOT Now” directly to their devices and play them back anytime, anywhere and get automatic updates of new programs. Subscribe for free by clicking here.

“NCDOT Now” is also available on the department’s YouTube page. Current and past editions of the broadcast are easily accessible by clicking on “Playlists” and selecting “NCDOT Now.”

An RSS feed of the program is also offered for those who want to subscribe and receive automatic updates via email each time a new edition is posted.

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Beyond Earth: Removing the Barriers to Deep Space Exploration A Panel Discussion Hosted by Marshall Institute and the Space Enterprise Council

It has been a while since I've had time to post something just for the fun of it, so here goes...

On Tuesday, November 12, the Marshall Institute and the Space Enterprise Council convened a panel discussion to consider the challenges facing the U.S. space exploration program.

William Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, moderated the panel.

Panelists included:

• Julie Van Kleeck, Vice President, Space Programs, Aerojet Rocketdyne
• Charlie Precourt, Vice President & General Manager, ATK Space Launch Division
• John Elbon, Vice President & General Manager, Boeing Space Exploration
• Jim Crocker, Vice President & General Manager, Civil Space, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company

Video of the panel discussion is below.

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2013 Election Results Infographic: The Pie Chart Edition

Those of you who know me know how much I love the opportunity to express data in visual formats, like charts and maps and so on. So, here are a series of graphs showing the results of Tuesday's election in visual terms.

Most of the pie charts should be self-explanatory, but I added a brief description below most of them anyway.

Mayor Results




Vote split between the different Aldermen. People could vote for a maximum of three candidates in this race.


Voter Turnout expressed as a percentage.


Voter participation in the Aldermen races. There are 2618 registered voters and there was a maximum number of 7854 possible votes in those races, so if someone only voted for one or two Aldermen, there other votes still counted as not participating in the election.

Voter participation in the Mayoral race. I counted the three write ins as not participating because the votes were not cast for a declared candidate.

Votes by method of voting in the Mayoral race:

Votes by method of voting in the Aldermen races (in order of finish):

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2013 Election Results in Franklin, NC

The last three hours have been hectic, so please forgive me for not updating the blog until now.

FINAL VOTE TALLY

MAYOR

Bob Scott -- 493 -- 72.82%
Sissy Pattillo- 181 -- 26.74%

ALDERMAN (Top three are seated)

Barbara McRae -------- 373 -- 19.88%
Patti Halyburton Abel -- 337 -- 17.96%
Billy Mashburn -------- 292 -- 15.57%

Video of Bob Scott at The Rathskeller:

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Today is Election Day in Franklin Scroll Down for Updates

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS TODAY
POLLS OPEN 6:30AM TO 7:30PM

Today is election day and I'll be in town from 6am until probably after 9pm today and will be providing updates throughout the day on social media using the hashtag #FranklinNC on Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook.

I will also be adding updates here from time to time today, so if you don't use social media, please check this article every couple of hours or so.

I have several friends in the local races for Mayor and Aldermen seats on the Franklin Town Board and I would like to see them all win, even if there are more of them than there are available seats. The ones that don't win tonight, I'd like for them to keep in mind that there will be three Aldermen seats open in 2015.

ELECTION DAY WEATHER FORECAST

Perfect voting weather today with mostly sunny with highs in the 60s and light winds. For those of you who are registered to vote in Franklin and Highlands...there is no excuse not to vote today. Unless you voted early.

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UPDATES


Updates will be posted in reverse chronological order so you won't have to scroll to the bottom of the page to see if I have posted anything new.

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Update #4 Blogger won't let me add the update to this post, so click here to see the fourth update.


Update #3 4:00pm

I spent about an hour at the town hall this afternoon and conducted an exit poll, but will not be releasing the results until the polls close at 7:30pm tonight.

39 people voted in the hour I was there and 252 so far had voted as of 3:20pm this afternoon. Many of the candidates continued to work the polls, and at one time or another today, all of them have been present.

Here are a few of the photos I took while I was there:

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Update #2 8:30am

According to poll workers, as of 8:30 am, only 28 people had voted. 327 had participated in early voting.

Here are a few of the photos I took while I was at the town hall:




From left to right: Alderman Bob Scott (running for Mayor), Angela Hubbs Moore (running for Alderman), Emmanuel Carrion (running for Alderman), Donnie Abel (husband of Patti Abel), Patti Halyburton Abel (running for Alderman) and Adam Kimsey (running for Alderman).


Angela Hubbs Moore baked some snacks and made some coffee to hand out to voters.


Here is a look at the campaign signs in daylight


This is not election related, but the Town Hall is next to the landing pattern for MAMA-2 and I can't help myself when it comes to taking photos of aircraft.

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Update #1 7:30am

I was at the polling location at the town hall before they opened this morning and took a few photos. Poll workers told me that less than 300 people took the opportunity to vote early in this election.

Here they are, in no particular order (click on any of them to see a larger version):

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