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‘Last of the Main Street merchants’ Hometown department store owner calls it quits at 93

coverHis name is James C. Jacobs. His friends call him J.C., “but not like Penney,” he insists. For more than 55 years, Jacobs has owned a department store in downtown Franklin, its racks and shelves lined with standard housewares and wardrobe staples.

But, like so many Main Street stores in small town America, People’s Department Store will soon fold-up shop.

Forgotten African-American cemetery finds an unlikely hero

fr cemeteryThe dead lay in indiscernible rows beneath the earth, their resting places marked by a jumble of faded and often illegible stone markers — the most distinguishable carrying etched dates and names, but the most nondescript void of any writing and covered in a thin layer of moss.

Cherokee, Franklin search for common ground over Nikwasi mound dispute

fr nikwasigrassMembers of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and some Franklin townspeople would like to see the Nikwasi Indian Mound back under Cherokee ownership.

Rug yanked out from Franklin ABC store move

Franklin’s plans to buy a new ABC storefront were dashed this week after the town was denied a bank loan.

The town makes ample profits on its liquor store, with more than enough to cover the monthly mortgage payments of a new building. But the bank ultimately saw this revenue stream as too volatile to commit to a long-term 20 year loan.

Franklin couple collaborate on outdoor books for children

out frIn 25 years of teaching kindergarten, Cathryn Sills of Franklin read a lot of books to her young students. In the process, she learned a lot about what children like to read and what they don’t like to read.

49-year-old murder continues to raise questions, speculation

coverSeventy-year old Ronnie Evans, a retired engineer with UNC-TV who lives in Franklin, seems an unlikely homicide investigator.

Franklin lacked proper license to douse mound with weed killer

Franklin could face a state penalty for spraying weed killer on an ancient Cherokee mound site because the town workers who did it weren’t properly licensed to use the herbicide.

The state could fine the town as much as $2,000, according to Pat Jones, pesticide deputy with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Or, the state could simply issue a warning and not fine the town. Jones said the case is still under review. He was uncertain when a decision would be made.

Mayor censured for acting alone in apology to tribe

The Franklin Board of Aldermen censured Mayor Joe Collins this week for making a personal apology to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians after the town sprayed Nikwasi Indian Mound with weed killer.

ABC store plan draws criticism in Franklin

A split decision by Franklin aldermen to build a new $1.25 million ABC store at the site of a Super Walmart at the edge of town drew criticism and pleas this week that the plan be reconsidered.

“We cannot afford what you are proposing,” said Ron Winecoff, an insurance agent in Franklin, at a Monday meeting. “It is not the Taj Mahal, and we do not have to market it that way. It is another store, plain and simple.”

Start-up costs hinder possible remedy for Macon child care shortage

 fr childcareA couple in Macon County is trying to raise $2 million to open a childcare center that would serve 120 children.

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