Silent Segways lead to noisy debate

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Reviews on the on the Zerve.com Web site all rave about Mountain Glides’ Segway tours of the Macon County Greenway.

Watching for what’s in the water

By Michael Beadle

It’s mid-morning at Cartoogechaye Creek just below the Macon County Recreation Park’s tennis courts in Franklin.

Bill McClarney, a veteran aquatic biologist, instructs a dozen volunteers to put on waders and descend into the cool, foot-high waters of the Cartoogechaye to see what’s living there.

FERC ruling favors Duke’s proposals

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s final decision on Duke Power’s relicensing applications for its Western North Carolina hydropower plants heavily favors the proposals developed by the utility in a multi-year stakeholder process.

Trash statistics skewed by second-home residents

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Macon County’s trash is a growing problem, says Chris Stahl, director of the Macon County Solid Waste Department.

Franklin residents to help design new neighborhood

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Macon County residents have the opportunity to help design the first New Urbanist traditional neighborhood in Western North Carolina — a neighborhood that will rely on mixed use and smart growth development practices to create a 22-acre housing complex just outside downtown Franklin.

Art partnership: Swain County couple Dee Dee and Robert Triplett share a love for creating and sharing one-of-a-kind art pieces

By Michael Beadle

Dee Dee Triplett is a woman of the cloth. Her husband, Robert, is a man of strong metal.

Work of hired consultant causes confusion among lodging community

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Late last month Macon County consultant Gary Nicholson sent out 351 letters to local accommodations owners to begin building a database of who is supposed to pay the county’s 3 percent tax on overnight lodging aimed at tourists.

Macon free dental clinic eyes expansion

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Macon County’s Molar Roller is on the move in a forward direction. The mobile dental clinic, which travels from school to school providing service to low-income children has hired a full-time dentist and is negotiating to add on a second dentist that would enable the program to begin serving adults on a non-emergency basis.

Macon survey

The survey in Macon County set out to quantify the value the public places on the landscape. Surveys sought to measure the public’s willingness to contribute toward conservation, and if so, how much.

Geologists nearly finished with Macon landslide study

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

N.C. Geological Survey staff hopes to finish its survey of Macon County’s landslide prone areas by the end of this month and present its research to county commissioners.

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