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Macon County Commissioners

Coverage of the meetings of the Macon County Board of County Commissioners.

Franklin Town Board of Aldermen

Coverage of the meetings of the Franklin Town Board of Aldermen.

Macon County School Board

Coverage of the meetings of the Macon County School Board.

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Monday, July 27, 2015

It Can Wait



PRESS RELEASE 
AT&T

When you see the driver next to you looking at their phone, it’s no longer safe to assume they’re texting. New research from AT&T* shows nearly 4-in-10 smartphone users tap into social media while driving. Almost 3-in-10 surf the net. And surprisingly, 1-in-10 video chat.

7-in-10 people engage in smartphone activities while driving. Texting and emailing are still the most prevalent. But other smartphone activity use behind the wheel is now common. Among social platforms, Facebook tops the list, with more than a quarter of those polled using the app while driving. About 1-in-7 said they’re on Twitter behind the wheel.

AT&T will expand the It Can Wait® campaign from a focus on texting while driving to include other smartphone driving distractions that have emerged as our relationships with our devices have changed.

“When we launched It Can Wait five years ago, we pleaded with people to realize that no text is worth a life,” said Lori Lee, AT&T’s global marketing officer. “The same applies to other smartphone activities that people are doing while driving. For the sake of you and those around you, please keep your eyes on the road, not on your phone.”

Smartphone activities people say they do while driving include:

Text (61%)
Email (33%)
Surf the net (28%)
Facebook (27%)
Snap a selfie/photo (17%)
Twitter (14%)
Instagram (14%)
Shoot a video (12%)
Snapchat (11%)
Video chat (10%)


Other unsettling findings include:

62% keep their smartphones within easy reach while driving.
30% of people who post to Twitter while driving do it “all the time.”
22% who access social networks while driving cite addiction as a reason.
Of those who shoot videos behind the wheel, 27% think they can do it safely while driving.



Since its launch in 2010, the It Can Wait campaign has:

·Helped drive awareness of the dangers of texting while driving to about 90% for all audiences surveyed.
·Inspired more than 6.5 million pledges not to text and drive.
·Worked with departments of transportation in Texas, Kentucky and other states on research that suggests a correlation between It Can Wait campaign activities and a reduction in crashes.


Visit www.ItCanWait.com to learn more.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions of people and businesses around the globe stay connected through leading wireless, high-speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. We’re helping people mobilize their worlds with state-of-the-art communications, entertainment services and amazing innovations like connected cars and devices for homes, offices and points in between. Our U.S. wireless network offers customers the nation’s strongest LTE signal and the nation’s most reliable 4G LTE network. We offer the best global wireless coverage. We’re improving how our customers stay entertained and informed with AT&T U-verse® TV and High Speed Internet services. And businesses worldwide are serving their customers better with AT&T’s mobility and highly secure cloud solutions.

Additional information about AT&T products and services is available at http://about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/att.

© 2015 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Franklin Garden Club at Work



The Franklin Garden Club is out today sprucing up Rankin Square and the Clock Tower area in downtown Franklin today. Here are a few pictures of them in action. If you see them, thank them for volunteering to help keep Franklin beautiful!.

For those who might be interesting in joining the Franklin Garden Club, they meet on the first Monday every month at 11 am in the Boiler Room



Sunday, July 12, 2015

- LOCAL EVENT CALENDAR -
July 12th through July 18th, 2015






If you have event announcements, or wish to inquire about a day sponsorship, email the information to editor@maconmedia.com. An advertising fee will be required for events that either charge admission or charge for vendor participation.

MONDAY JULY 13TH

11:30 am, the Battle of Sugartown Chapter of the North Carolina Society, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), will be meeting at the Boiler Room restaurant at 1024 Georgia Road. All DAR members and prospective members are welcome. For further information, contact (828)524-2673.

5:30 pm, the Franklin Tourism Development Authority will be meeting in the lower level of the Franklin Town Hall. Link to the Meeting Agenda/Press Packet.

TUESDAY JULY 14TH

1:00 pm in the large conference room of the Macon County Senior Center, a "Travel with Us" travelog DVD on the Great Wonders of the World will be shown.

5:30 pm, the Franklin Appalachian Trail Community Committee will be meeting in the conference room at The Lazy Hiker (the old town hall). A Meeting Agenda/Press Packet has not been supplied.

6:00 pm, the Macon County Commissioners will be meeting in the Commissioners Boardroom in the Macon County Courthouse. Access will be via the rear of the building. Link to the Meeting Agenda/Press Packet.

THURSDAY JULY 16TH


4:00 pm, the Macon County Planning Board will be meeting at the Environmental Resource Center on Lakeside Drive for their July 2015 meeting. The board is currently working to revise the Telecommunications Ordinance for the county. No agenda/press packet has been shared with the media.

FRIDAY JULY 17TH


6:00 pm — Unmask Your Smarts– Heroes-Themed Trivia Contest in the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room. Be here for an exciting night of trivia! We're going to form teams, face-off at the buzzer board, run the scores across the big screen, and we’ll have prizes! We need a strong audience too, cheering the players on! Bring your family, bring your friends, bring your neighbors; all are welcome! We'll have some snacks and drinks too. 


SATURDAY JULY 17TH 


This is the deadline to RSVP for A Gala to Support Student Scholarship at SCC at Harrah's Casino in Cherokee, NC. You are invited to pull on your blue jeans, put on your bling and come prepared to kick up your heels at the Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort. This gala is to assist the SCC Foundation in achieving its goal of raising $1 million for the Student Success Campaign in support of scholarships. A sponsorship of this exciting event will have tremendous impact upon those students it will ultimately support. RSVP by July 17th. For More Information, visit the SCC Foundation Gala Page.

The SCC Small Business Center also has a series of events/classes/seminars geared to the small business owner. You can access and register for them at the Small Business Center Network.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Filing for the 2015 Municipal Elections
Day One

Town Hall photo c96cf101.jpg


The filing for the 2015 Municipal election season began yesterday. Here is the list of candidates by office and order of filing:

Town of Franklin:

Mayor

Bob Scott



Franklin Alderman

Angela Moore

Joyce Handley

Adam Kimsey



So far, no one has filed to run for offices in the Town of Highlands.

If you wish to keep up with the list of candidates, you can visit the Macon County Board of Elections website, which will be updated daily at the end of the day. [Candidate list maintained by Macon County Board of Elections]


A copy of the 2015 Election Calendar, courtest of the Macon County Board of Elections is posted below for your convenience:



2015 ELECTION CALENDAR

Candidate filing opens for the Town of Franklin and the Town of Highlands Monday, July 6, 2015 at 8:00 am

Candidate filing closes Friday, July 17, 2015 at Noon

Filing fee for Town of Franklin: 


Mayor $72.00 
Alderman $36.00

Filing fee for Town of Highlands: 


Town Commissioner $5.00

Absentee by Mail begins October 2, 2015
[Click this link for an Absentee_Ballot_Request_Form]

Registration Deadline: October 9, 2015 at 5:00 pm
[Click this link for a NC Voter Registration Form]

One Stop Voting will begin October 22, 2015

Absentee by Mail ends October 27, 2015

One Stop Voting will end October 31, 2015 at 1:00 pm

Municipal Election Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Seats open for the Town of Franklin
Mayor: Bob Scott
Alderman: Verlin L. Curtis
Alderman: Joyce Handley
Alderman: Farrell Jamison

Seats open for the Town of Highlands
Town Commissioner: John (Buz) Dotson
Town Commissioner: Eric Pierson
Town Commissioner: Brian J. Stiehler


Mayors, Town Aldermen and Town Commissioners are chosen in municipal elections. Municipal elections are held in November during odd-numbered years and are non-partisan. Registered voters living within the city limits are eligible to vote in municipal elections. Only candidates that live within the city limits are eligible to file for office.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Press Conference on Officer Involved Shooting of June 30, 2015


Clay Alan Lickteig, 52, of Hayesville, NC 




Franklin Police Chief David Adams held a press conference for members of the media today at town hall regarding the shooting death of Clay Alan Lickteig while officers of the Franklin Police Department were attempting to serve a warrant for a felony probation violation.

Lickteig was had absconded from a probation for various drug charges, including trafficking heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia, for which he was to serve 24 months on supervised probation that began in May of this year.

The full text of the press release and a few photos taken are posted below.

Town of Franklin
PO Box 1479
Franklin, NC 28734
828-524-2516

Franklin, NC—-Franklin Police Chief David Adams released details of an officer involved shooting Tuesday night in which a man identified as Clay Alan Lickteig, 52, of Hayesville, NC was shot after he shot at two police officers serving a felony probation warrant on him.


The incident happened at approximately 9:30 PM at a residence near the intersection of Woodland Hills Drive and NC Highway 28. One officer received a slight injury and was treated and released at a local hospital.

Officers had turned into the driveway to serve the warrant and saw Lickteig standing in the driveway. When Lickteig saw the officers he called a threat to them. Officers called to him to show his hands which he would not. Officers then fired a taser twice to Lickteig. Lickteig then pulled a handgun from his back and fired at the officers. Officers then returned fire, Adams said.

Lickteig was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lickteig has a prior record in Macon County for various offenses.

The investigation is now in the hands of the State Bureau of Investigation which is standard procedure in an officer involved shooting. An autopsy is to be performed later this week. The officers have been placed on administrative leave, with pay, which is also standard procedure in these instances, Adams said.

Additional information will be released following the SBI investigation, Adams said.



Display Window at Historical Museum


A display window at the Macon County Historical Society Museum on Main Street in Franklin, NC.

Photo taken on July 1, 2015 by Bobby Coggins.