Franklin Aldermen Meeting Agenda: 12/03/2012

Here is the meeting agenda for the meeting of the Franklin Town Board of Aldermen that is scheduled to begin Monday night at 6pm in the town hall at 95 East Main Street. I suspect that we haven't heard the last of the communication problems from this building that have taken up all or a portion of the last few meetings...

Agenda Packet 12-3-12


Video of the last two meetings of the Town Board of Aldermen:

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Music Monday on a Friday: The Top 100 Masterpieces of Classical Music 1685-1928

Here is a video by Old Music Library of what they've called "The Top 100 Masterpieces of Classical Music 1685-1928" and it is over ten hours long...so sit back and enjoy!!!

I've added a playlist of the first 80 pieces below the video. The uploader did not post 81-100 in their playlist information.


00:00:00 [1] - R. Strauss / Also Sprach Zarathustra - Fanfare
00:01:37 [2] - Mahler / Symphony No. 5 - Adagietto
00:11:26 [3] - Sibelius / Finlandia
00:20:30 [4] - Rimsky-Korsakov / Dance Of The Bumble Bee
00:22:20 [5] - Massenet / Meditation, From 'Thais'
00:27:30 [6] - Elgar / Pomp And Circumstance - March No. 1
00:33:41 [7] - Dvorak / Humoresque
00:37:04 [8] - Sibelius / Valse Triste
00:41:52 [9] - J. Strauss II / Vienna Blood - Waltz
00:51:24 [10] - Ravel / Bolero
01:06:51 [11] - Tchaikovsky / Polonaise, From 'Eugene Onegin'
01:11:39 [12] - Dvorak / Symphony No. 9, 'From The New World', 2Nd Movement
01:24:26 [13] - Tchaikovsky / Waltz Of The Flowers, From 'The Nutcracker'
01:31:08 [14] - Rimsky-Korsakov / Alborado, From 'Capriccio Espagnol'
01:32:32 [15] - Grieg / The Last Spring
01:38:40 [16] - Dvorak / Slavonic Dance No. 2
01:44:11 [17] - Tchaikovsky / The Sleeping Beauty - Introduction
01:47:00 [18] - Wagner / Siegfried's Death And Funeral March; From 'Twilight Of The Gods'
01:54:00 [19] - Dvorak / Songs My Mother Taught Me
01:56:18 [20] - J. Strauss II / Emperor Waltz
02:08:10 [21] - Tchaikovsky / Piano Concerto No. 1 In B Flat Minor, 1St Movement (Excerpt)
02:17:10 [22] - Brahms / Cradle Song
02:19:00 [23] - Smetana / The Moldau
02:31:59 [24] - Wagner / Ride Of The Valkyries; From 'The Valkyrie'
02:37:25 [25] - Grieg / Morning, From 'Peer Gynt'
02:41:00 [26] - Bizet / Les Toreadors, From 'Carmen'
02:43:19 [27] - Delibes / Notturno, From 'Coppelia'
02:45:49 [28] - Tchaikovsky / Marche Slave, Op. 31
02:55:40 [29] - Bizet / L'arlesienne - Intermezzo
02:59:48 [30] - J. Strauss II / The Blue Danube - Waltz
03:10:41 [31] - Offenbach / Orpheus In The Underworld
03:20:15 [32] - Rubinstein / Melody In F
03:23:27 [33] - Liszt / Les Preludes
03:39:57 [34] - Brahms / Waltz
03:42:24 [35] - Verdi / The Force Of Destiny-Overture
03:50:33 [36] - Grieg / I Love You
03:52:07 [37] - Smetna / The Bartered Bride - Overture
03:58:45 [38] - Offenbach / Barcarolle, From 'The Tales Of Hoffmann'
04:02:19 [39] - J. Strauss II / Tritsch Tratsch Polka
04:05:02 [40] - Suppe / Light Cavalry-Overture
04:11:50 [41] - Mendelssohn / Wedding March, From 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
04:16:51 [42] - Liszt / Liebestraum No.3 In A Flat
04:21:08 [43] - Verdi / Nabucco - Overture
04:29:01 [44] - Schumann / The Merry Peasant
04:29:55 [45] - Liszt / Hungarian Rhapsody No.2
04:40:15 [46] - Wagner / Lohengin - Prelude To Act 3
04:43:27 [47] - Verdi / La Traviata - Prelude To Act 1
04:47:14 [48] - Wagner / Tannhauser - Arrival Of The Guests At Wartburg
04:53:51 [49] - Mendelssohn / Violin Concerto In E Minor, 2Nd Movement
05:02:07 [50] - Suppe / Poet And Peasant - Overture
05:12:04 [51] - Rossini / The Barber Of Seville - Overture
05:19:51 [52] - Schubert / Symphony No.8 In B Minor, 'Unfinished'
05:30:17 [53] - Mendelssohn / 1841 Mendelssohn - Spring Song
05:33:03 [54] - Chopin / Polonaise In A, Op.40 No.3, 'Military'
05:38:19 [55] - Schubert / Ballet Music In G, From 'Rosamunde'
05:44:55 [56] - Weber / Der Freischutz - Overture
05:55:03 [57] - Schubert / Ave Maria
05:59:55 [58] - Mendelssohn / Symphony No.4 In A, 'Italian', 1St Movement
06:08:16 [59] - Schumann / Traumerei
06:11:26 [60] - Schubert / German Dance No.1
06:15:14 [61] - Mozart / Symphony No. 40, 1St Movement
06:22:53 [62] - Beethoven / 'Moonlight' Sonata, 1St Movement
06:28:20 [63] - Haydn / Symphony No. 94, 'Surprise', 2Nd Movement
06:34:54 [64] - Mozart / The Magic Flute - Overture
06:42:08 [65] - Beethoven / Fur Elise
06:45:01 [66] - Haydn / Emporor's Hymn, From String Quartet In C
06:52:18 [67] - Beethoven / Symphony No. 5, 1St Movement
06:59:37 [68] - Mozart / Clarinet Concerto In A, 2Nd Movement
07:06:40 [69] - Beethoven / Minuet In G
07:09:15 [70] - Haydn / Trumpet Concerto In E Flat, 3Rd Movement
07:14:20 [71] - Mozart / Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, 1St Movement
07:20:05 [72] - Mozart / Piano Concerto No. 21 In C, 2Nd Movement ('Elvira Madigan')
07:25:44 [73] - Mozart / The Marriage Of Figaro - Overture
07:30:04 [74] - Mozart / Flute Concerto No. 2 In D, 2Nd Movement
07:35:33 [75] - Mozart / Rondo Alla Turca, From Piano Sonata In A
07:39:15 [76] - Mozart / Don Giovanni - Overture
07:45:26 [77] - Mozart / Horn Concerto No. 3 In E Flat, 2Nd Movement
07:49:50 [78] - Mozart / Piano Concerto No. 23 In A, 1St Movement
08:00:41 [79] - Mozart / The Marriage Of Figaro - March
08:02:49 [80] - Mozart / Serenata Notturna

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Photos of the International Space Station Over Franklin, NC

The International Space Station passed over western North Carolina shortly before 6:30 am and here are a couple of photos I took of the event.

The above photo is an annotated version of the photo below that I took as the International Space Station slid toward the eastern horizon this morning. Note: You can click on all the images in this article to see larger versions.

And here is the ISS passing between me and the Ursa Major (Big Dipper) constellation:


You can keep up with future passes of the International Space Station (and other celectial events like it at the following websites:

Heavens-Above

N2YO

Space Weather  (I am submitting one of my photos to this website to see if they will post it in their online gallery) 
**update** They did!

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Winter Weather Awareness Week Topic: NOAA Weather Radio

This week is Winter Weather Awareness Week in North Carolina and I would like to focus on the NOAA Weather Radio as a tool to alert people to potentially severe weather.

Unlike outdoor sirens, all-hazards radios save lives by alerting people who are indoors when severe weather approaches. They can also alert people in homes, schools and businesses to other types of emergencies.

These radios provide constant, useful and up-to-date weather information. They are equipped with a special alarm tone that will sound an alert and give immediate information in a life-threatening situation.

During an emergency, the National Weather Service will interrupt routine weather radio programming and broadcast a special tone that activates weather radios, by county, in the listening areas.While they are primarily used for severe weather alerts, authorities can also use these radios to issue warnings about other types of hazards, such as chemical spills or biological hazards. The hearing and visually impaired can also get these warnings by connecting weather radios to other attention-getting devices such as strobe lights, pagers, bed-shakers, personal computers and text printers.

The NOAA Transmitters that cover Macon County are:


WWG82 in Robbinsville, NC operating on 162.525 Mhz
Coverage Map

KXI81 in Clayton, GA operating on 162.450 Mhz 

Coverage Map

Here is an example of a NOAA Weather Radio in action from March 2, 2012 in Franklin, NC.

The SAME Code to program into your radio for Macon County is 037113. You will have to consult the manual for your particular radio on how to program it. If you do not have a manual for your radio, please let us know in the comments by telling us what kind of radio you have and what the model number is and we will assist you as best we can.

If you do not live in Macon County, please consult this map for information on NOAA transmitters where you live.

For more information on the NOAA Weather Radio program, please visit the National Weather Service website. 

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Another Macon County Sunset

I took this shot last night while waiting at the light next to Knight's Inn on East Main Street and the Sylva Road through my side view mirror.

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Macon County Planning Board 11-29-2012

The Macon County Planning Board met tonight at the Health Department to continue discussions on changes to the Subdivision Ordinance. The video above is of the entire meeting.

The Planning Board members will be having a Christmas Dinner on December 4th and the next meeting will be on January 17, 2012 at 4pm to elect officers and handle some mandatory business. In February, the planning board will have their annual joint meeting with the county commissioners and will then will resume regular meetings in March 2013.

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Franklin Merchants Meet With Town Regarding 'Communication Problems' with Main Street Program

Last night, merchants filled the Franklin Town Hall to discuss with Franklin Aldermen their concerns over a lack of communication with the Main Street Program, a perceived bias against them when they organized events, versus when the town organized events and other grievances. The video above was of the entire meeting.

One of my personal observations is that a couple of the Aldermen and perhaps the Main Street Staff do not like the new group, Venture Local Franklin or the Streets of Franklin organizations that have arisen to fill needs that have not been met by the Main Street Program. To me, there seems to be some animosity that is of a personal nature.

Commentary

Since I have personally been involved in the Venture Local group and Street Fest, I'll give my perspective. I personally saw attempts by the town to hurt the effort by Main Street Merchants to hold a mutually beneficial Street Fest by changing the rules they had to play by...among them was suddenly not allowing merchants to put up tents in the parking spaces in front of their businesses as they had during the previous three Street Fests, not allowing them to string a banner across Main Street in the days prior to the last event, and some attempted intimidation by someone in the town administration sending police officers to deliver news of the changes to merchants involved in the planning and promotion of the event.

I think it came through very clearly in the video who some of the people responsible for getting us to this situation. It was my original intent not to take my camera to the meeting and record it because I was concerned that merchants might be afraid to speak up with it there. Several of the merchants and a couple of the Aldermen spoke to me in the days and hours before the meeting and convinced me to record it.

I am glad that they helped me change my mind.

I think that this is part of a problem the town has had for a number of years now, with certain people having the idea that it is either their way or the highway. It has previously blown up over the way the Picking on the Square has been handled and last year's dust up over the Nikwasi Indian Mound.

In my personal opinion, nothing will change until certain Aldermen are no longer on the Town Board. You can watch the above video and judge for yourself in that regard.

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The Smoky Mountain Explorer Trailer

Below is a trailer from the Great Smoky Mountains Association for their new series The Smoky Mountain Explorer. The first episode will feature Clingmans Dome and the Spruce-fir (sic) Forests.

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The 2012 Franklin, NC Christmas Parade

Here is video and some photos from this year's Christmas Parade in Franklin, NC.

It was a subdued affair because of new rules from the Franklin Chamber of Commerce that limited Fire Departments to one truck per department, no sirens and no throwing of candy. Four of the usual eight departments declined to participate this year.

Also of note is that Franklin Fire Department had four trucks instead of one (if you count the '37, their parade truck and Burning town and two trucks. I think this was to cover up for the missing departments. One good thing was that I observed that nearly everyone ignored the "no throwing candy" rule. Don't take my word for it, just check out the comments from some of the people on the Macon News Facebook Page.



And here is a paradelapse if you can't sit through the 47 minute video...


Here are some of the over 400 photos I took.

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River Reflections

River Reflections by Bobby Coggins.

The Little Tennessee River as seen from the David E Henson Bridge in Franklin, NC.

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A Table of Radios

A table full of radios from the Stone Mountain Hamfest in Lawrenceville, Georgia earlier this month.

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The End

A digital painting I am using to illustrate a story.

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend.

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Macon County Commissioners 11-20-2012

**11/26/2012** I apologize for the delay in getting these videos posted. The places I normally upload the videos from have been closed until today for the Thanksgiving Holiday.






The Macon County Commissioners are meeting tonight at 6:30pm and I plan on being there to cover it. You can follow along at Google Plus, or wait a few hours and I'll embed the video at the top of this article.

NOVEMBER 20, 2012 - 6:30 P.M.
CONTINUED SESSION
AGENDA

1. Call to order - Chairman Corbin

2. Adjustments to and approval of the agenda

3. Presentation of draft agreement for Fontana Regional Library - Karen Wallace

4. Agreement with Dnet regarding installation of camera and additional bandwidth

5. Realignment of Macon County Schools Capital Outlay Program

6. Update on Highlands School QZAB Application

7. Exemption of architectural and engineering services for Highlands School project from the provisions of NCGS 143-64.31

8. Resolution regarding turning lane at Wells Grove Road and Clarks Chapel Road

9. Nantahala School window replacement project and corresponding budget amendment

10. Macon Tracs agreement with the Macon County Board of Education

11. Supplemental lease agreement with USDA

12. Resolution and lease with Forex Currency Trade Advisors, LLC

13. Resolution and lease with Debra Green doing business as The Appointed Home

14. Consent Agenda - Attachment #11 
All items below are considered routine and will be enacted by one motion. No separate discussion will be held except on request of a member of the Board of Commissioners.

• Minutes of the October 9th and October 11th meetings
• Budget amendments #58-63
• Tax releases
• Monthly ad valorem tax report

15. Appointments

• Mike Hall as Review Officer
• Planning Board (one seat)
• Highlands Tourism Development Commission (three seats)

16. Closed session (per the County Attorney)

17. Adjourn




Macon County Commissioners 12-20-2012 Agenda Packet

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Tractor

Photo of a tractor I took recently.

This is a test post to see if my tinkering in the background has finally removed the annoying "Add This" buttons from new blog posts.

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Planter and Steps

Planter and Steps by Bobby Coggins

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Music Monday: Siegmund von Hausegger - Nature Symphony

Composer: Siegmund von Hausegger [Wikipedia] [Siegmund von Hausegger: pan-German Symphonist] [Allmusic]

Conductor: Ari Rasilainen [Wikipedia] [Allmusic]

Performers:

WDR Sinfonieorchester Koln [Web]
WDR Rundfunkchor Koeln [Web]

More information:

Conducted by Ari Rasilainen with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Koln and the WDR Rundfunkchor Koeln.

Paintng Info - "Fantasy Landscape" by ~juananibalcanto on deviantart.

I. Gehalten un mit Dehnung - schnell - 00:00 to 18:30
II. Langsam und gedehnt - 18:30 to 38:04
III. Stürmisch bewegt - 38:04 to 45:44
IV. Sehr breit, mit größter Kraft - 45:44 to 56:38

Siegmund von Hausegger was an Austrian composer and conductor.

Siegmund was born in Graz, the son of Friedrich von Hausegger (1837-1899), a lawyer and writer on music. According to Siegmund's own account, Friedrich was "one of the first in Austria to recognize the greatness of Richard Wagner and to exert himself to the utmost in propagating his music and his ideas". According to one account, the young von Hausegger may have been made the vehicle of his critic-father's ideals. Siegmund studied music initially under his father, and a strong Wagnerian tinge is found in his own compositions, which included masses, operas and symphonic poems as well as many choruses and songs.

At the age of nineteen, von Hausegger composed a Mass for chorus and orchestra that he described as "my first serious composition". Originally intended to be performed at his college, the work proved too challenging for his fellow-pupils. His father helped him arrange a private performance before an invited audience. This event marked von Hausegger's debut both as a conductor and as a composer.

Hausegger conducted orchestras in many German and Austrian cities including Graz; Munich, where he shared the conductorship of the Kaim Orchestra with Felix Weingartner; Frankfurt (1904-6); Berlin (Blüthner Orchestra, 1910-15); and Hamburg (1910-20). After the First World War he served as conductor of the Scottish Orchestra in Glasgow and Edinburgh before returning to Munich as conductor of the Munich Philharmonic and president of the Munich Academy of Music. In 1920 he succeeded Max von Schillings as president of the Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein.

He was the first conductor to perform Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 in its original form. The symphony had been posthumously premiered in a version which had been substantially edited by Ferdinand Löwe. Löwe made changes to the harmonies, dynamics and phrasing in a bid to make the symphony more acceptable to the public. 0n 2 April 1932, Hausegger presented a concert in which the symphony was performed twice by the Munich Philharmonic; first in Löwe's version then using Bruckner's original autograph. Today the symphony is almost always presented in Bruckner's original form. Hausegger assisted Robert Haas and Alfred Orel in preparing the edition of Symphony published as Volume 9 of Anton Bruckner: Sämtliche Werke and he also made the first commercial recording of the symphony with the Munich Philharmonic in 1938 for HMV, using that edition. He retired from conducting in the same year. He died in Munich.

Source: GoldieG89 

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All About Android Episode 85

Hosts: Jason Howell, Eileen Rivera and Ron Richards

Nexus sells out, Droid DNA, Apple and HTC make up, movie themed games, and more.

Download or subscribe to this show at twit.tv/aaa.

We invite you to check out the full show notes for today's episode here.

Running time: 1:22:01

For even more fun tech shows, please visit Twit TV.

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Macon County Commissioners 11-13-2012

**3.56am** Here is Part 1 of 3 2 of last night's meeting. I had camera problems and had to split the video of the meeting into three two parts. I will embed the other video below this one later today as I finish them:


**8.86am** Here is Part 2 of 2 of last night's meeting.



The Macon County Commissioners will be meeting tonight at 6pm. I plan on being there to video the meeting and cover it nearly live on Google Plus. I will embed the video of the meeting on this blog post as soon as I can after it is over.

The meeting agenda is below:

NOVEMBER 13, 2012
AGENDA

1. Call to order and welcome by Chairman Corbin

2. Announcements

3. Moment of Silence

4. Pledge of Allegiance

5. Public Hearing(s)

6. Public Comment Period

7. Adjustments to and approval of the agenda

8. Reports/Presentations

• Read2Me Program - Brittney Parker
• Economic Impact Study of Athletic Tournaments and Recreation Facilities - Tommy Jenkins and Seth Adams
• Consideration of additional recreation sites

9. Old Business

• Proclamation for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month
• Release of sewer easement for William and Carolyn Boatwright

10. New Business

• Adult Dental Clinic
  • Resolution Exempting Architectural Design Project from the Provisions of North Carolina General Statutes Section 143-64.31 - County Attorney
  • Approval of lease with C.J. Ramey - County Attorney and Jimmy Villiard
  • Approval of bids for equipment - Russell Stevenson and Jimmy Villard
• Mobile Repeater for Nantahala Volunteer Fire Department - Commissioner Tate
• Purchase of gas leak detection units for volunteer fire departments
• Refinancing of Lake Emory Road property by Macon Citizens Habilities, Inc. (MCH) - County Manager and County Attorney
• Revised contract for pool renovations - County Manager
• Interlocal agreement for transfer of Cowee School - County Manager
• Policy for Voluntary Shared Leave Program - County Manager and HR Director
• Set special called meeting for Monday, December 3, 2012 at 6 p.m.

11. Consent Agenda - Attachment #11 (postpone)
All items below are considered routine and will be enacted by one motion. No separate discussion will be held except on request of a member of the Board of Commissioners.
12. Appointments (postpone) 

13. Closed session (if necessary)

14. Recess until Tuesday, November 20, 2012 at 6 p.m. in the commission boardroom on the third floor of the Macon County Courthouse, 5 West Main Street, Franklin, NC 28734

11.13.12 BOC Agenda Packet for iPad

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2012 Veterans Day Parade in Franklin, NC

Here are some photos of the Veterans Day observance in Franklin, NC that took place yesterday on Main Street. I also have video of the parade. The video of the keynote was interrupted by a camera malfunction, so there won't be a video of that part of the ceremony. I apologize for that.

I may have to take up a collection to replace my video camera.

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Linux Action Show: s24e05

It's been a while since I've posted a show from Jupiter Broadcasting, so I'll correct that error right now...

We go hands on with the Steam for Linux beta, look at the big picture, cover the beta lockout workaround, and a timeline from rumors to launch! Plus our observations and thoughts from our tests.

Then: The good news for Nvidia users, a new Linux tablet, a big batch of your emails...

AND SO MUCH MORE!

All this week on, The Linux Action Show!

Show Notes & Download: http://bit.ly/tlas235


These guys put out a plethora of tech related shows and you can find them at Jupiter Broadcasting.

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Thank You Veterans

THANK YOU VETERANS

...for stepping forward when others step back
...for placing yourself between us and danger
...for serving our country
...for protecting our freedoms

---The American People

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