Macon County, NC

MACON COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — A mountain sheriff has announced his retirement as his family plans to honor him on Father's Day weekend. “I wanted to honor them right back, to show them that I was retiring and my family comes first. And they have sacrificed a lot to allow me to do the job that I do,” Macon County Sheriff Robbie Holland said.

While attempting to address a public disturbance, Franklin Police Chief Bill Harrell found himself in a violent altercation Friday, June 11, near Macon Plaza off Highlands Road. According to Harrell, based on his 27-plus years of experience in law enforcement, he observed a male without a shirt displaying traits conducive...

Macon County is the site of the most recent incident of apparent racism on the part of law enforcement in NC. Submitted by the Jackson County NC NAACP Branch 54AB – In tweets between a sheriff’s deputy and another person, later posted on Facebook and published on a local blog by a third party, Macon County Sheriff’s Deputy Stephanie Robbins tweeted to another person, “And if you want to get started you’re a white [“n-word”] wanna be!”

The proposed and not-yet 100% approved 2021 Macon County Comprehensive Transportation Plan (MCCTP) includes a need/recommendation that elicited concerns from some citizens. A few pages in the extensive every-decade-or-so report includes an “Identified Need” and “Recommendation” to modernize and improve Hwy. 28, also known as the Bryson City Road. Word...

Like Walt Disney’s fictional Bambi, fawns by the hundreds lose their mothers annually for various reasons, primarily cars, predators, and disease. Yet, two women in Macon County are licensed to rehabilitate orphaned fawns so they have at least a chance at survival. Although only about 50% do survive rehabilitation in a human-run environment, both Cindy Meier and Colleen Behan believe those odds are worth the effort.

Macon County commissioners approved the 2021-22 fiscal budget, but two Republican commissioners opposed its passage because they disagreed with increasing the tax rate. Commissioner Paul Higdon, who is serving his third term on the board, and newly elected Commissioner Josh Young both voted against the budget. Higdon, who has voted...

The Nantahala Ranger District is resuming work on two projects in Macon County whose timelines were affected by position turnover and COVID-19, with plans to combine them into a single Environmental Assessment process. The Turkey Pen Project analysis area was released in February 2016, and the Redbird Project Analysis area...

When Franklin author Ronnie Evans was 6 years old, a double murder of a husband and wife rocked the small communities in Jackson County. Two young to remember the incident firsthand, Evans decided to research it himself. It would inspire a true fascination that would result in his latest book, “Swift Justice: The Murder on Scott’s Creek.”

The Macon County Board of Commissioners approved a $56,681,218 budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year during their regularly scheduled meeting on June 8, albeit by the slimmest of margins. Expecting…

Before there were convenience, dollar, and grocery stores around every corner, Natives and settlers alike relied not only on agriculture and hunting for their sustenance, but foraging as well. Clayton, Georgia-based Cara-Lee Langston, Wildcraft Kitchen, was in Macon County recently teaching interested individuals how to accurately and safely find wild-grown plants for culinary and medicinal uses.

Franklin High School graduates let balloons soar into the atmosphere in celebration of the culmination of a challenging year. The FHS Panther Pit was packed with family and friends Saturday morning as they watched their favorite senior accept their diploma on the way to their next adventure. Photos of all Macon County graduates begin on page 13. Photo by Vickie Carpenter.

Residents in Macon County will see an increase on their tax bills this year as the Macon County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 to raise the county’s tax rate from .374 to .40, increasing the county’s budget by $2 million to a total of $56,641,096. When Macon County Manager Derek Roland first presented his proposed budget for 2021-22, he proposed keeping the county’s tax rate of .374 flat with a budget totaling $54,641,096, however, during a budget work session on Thursday afternoon, after hearing from various departments about needs not included in Roland’s budget, Commissioners voted to increase taxes to generate an additional $2 million in revenue.

The Town of Franklin unanimously voted to award an economic development loan to expand town water and sewer facilities for Hendon Tiller Franklin, LLC, the developer responsible for the future Chick-Fil-A location in Macon County. The loan, which totals $200,000, will be used to expand the town’s water and sewer...

David “Sid” Haney, 73 of the Aquone community, passed away on Monday, May 31, 2021, at Mountain View Manor in Bryson City, N.C. A native of Macon County, he was the son of the late Willa Mae Haney. In addition to his mother, he was preceded in death by his grandparents, David Riley and Sarah Jane Wilson Haney.

County Manager Derek Roland was tasked with delivering a flat budget for the 2021-22 budget year, but after countless hours of heated discussions, Macon County Commissioners approved increasing property taxes with a narrow majority. With a 3-to-2 vote of approval, Macon County’s property tax will increase from 37 cents per...

David “Sid” Haney, 73, of the Aquone Community passed away on Monday, May 31, 2021, at Mountain View Manor in Bryson City, NC. A native of Macon County, he was the son of the late Willa Mae Haney. In addition to his mother, he was preceded in death by his grandparents, David Riley and Sarah Jane Wilson Haney.

APPLING, GEORGIA – Valerie Gail Hughes (Crisp) departed this world and was received by her Heavenly Home Tuesday, June 1, 2021. Gail, a native to Macon County, was born in the Hickory Knoll Community in the home of her late grandparents, George and Fannie Stiles, and is the eldest daughter to the late Frank L. and Leneta Crisp of Franklin. In addition to her parents, Gail is preceded in death by one sister, Donna Smith, and one nephew, Caleb Nathaniel Norton.

AQUONE – David “Sid” Haney, 73, passed away on Monday, May 31, 2021, at Mountain View Manor in Bryson City. A native of Macon County, he was the son of the late Willa Mae Haney. In addition to his mother, he was preceded in death by his grandparents, David Riley and Sarah Jane Wilson Haney.

Michael Noe will be replacing Franklin High School (FHS) retiring Principal Barry Woody, on July 1, 2021. Noe will be coming to FHS from Hayesville in Clay County, North Carolina. Noe held the position of Dean of Students at Edgewater high School in Orlando, Fla., from 1998 – 2002. He and his wife Stacy purchased a cabin in Shooting Creek, and one day on their vacation in Hayesville, they decided it was time to leave the city and move to North Carolina. That was in 2002.