When Donna Bell invited the first exchange student into her home seven years ago, she had no idea the lasting impact it would have on her family as well as the lives of the students.

Without much warning, the Franklin Main Street Program board of directors decided last week to suspend the program.

The board voted to place the program in “inactive status” for the time being until it could regroup and reorganize. The decision comes after several years of criticism regarding the program’s priorities and effectiveness.

The proposed development of a 60-unit apartment complex in Franklin may be another sign that the economy is recovering, slowly but surely. 

The new apartment complex could also be good news for those looking for affordable and high-quality housing.

To accommodate potential future growth, the Franklin Board of Aldermen passed a resolution asking the North Carolina General Assembly to relax certain requirements for voluntary annexations into its town limits.

Larry Hollifield, owner of American Computer Repair in Franklin, has been tasked with forming a committee and coming up with a plan to allow for street banners in downtown.

Engineers for the town of Franklin are recommending the town spend $15.1 million over the next 10 years to make water and sewer infrastructure improvements.

The town of Franklin recently passed a Charitable Solicitations ordinance in order to have more control over groups who stand in the middle of the road asking for money.

But it appears the ordinance has backfired. The group the town was trying to keep away met all the requirements in the ordinance, including a $2 million insurance policy, and was issued a one-time permit to solicit donations in the street.

Macon County was hit with some tough news last week when Caterpillar Inc. announced that it would be shutting down its Franklin plant next year, leaving 150 people without work.

Franklin Mayor Bob Scott said he was shocked by the news that seemed to come out of the blue.

Secondhand dealers in Franklin will soon be required to report their pawned items electronically to the police department within 48 hours, or they could face a $500 fine. 

The new requirement, which will go into effect July 1, doesn’t seem to bother many pawnshop owners who are already submitting their pawn tickets through a nationwide searchable database called Leads Online. 

John MacLean will never forget his first photo shoot.

“I was 19 years old and it was at a meat packing plant in New Jersey,” he said.

Standing in the basement of the Cullowhee Methodist Church at Western Carolina University last Saturday, MacLean told two-dozen folks of the Sylva Photo Club about how he got into the business.