March 25th was the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 in NYC. The fire started on the ninth floor. Fire truck ladders could only reach the sixth floor. One-hundred and forty-six young girls and a few boys died either within the factory or from jumping out windows. The door that was not engulfed in flames was locked, as the owners said, to deter theft. At the trial it came out theft amounted to $15 -$20. They also wanted to keep union organizers out.

These were the same girls who in 1909 organized for better working conditions and better wages. They were beaten and arrested. At the time of the fire most wages were $0.14 per hr. Adjusted for inflation that would be $3.18 today. The aftermath of the fire was public outrage and new laws to protect workers.

Shop Franklin. Shop local. Support your local businesses. You hear it all the time. But most of the time, you don’t really think about it. That is until you need a donation for a fundraiser or a benefit. The local business community is by far the best when it comes to donations. Even with the economy being as tough as it is, local businesses never fail to support whatever fundraiser is happening, whether it is for school events, benefits for the sick or fundraisers for charitable organizations.

The Macon County Academic Foundation would like to thank all of the local businesses who donated to our recent fundraiser. We had an abundance of items donated even in these tough economic times. We sincerely appreciate the many restaurants who donated the BBQ and food for the dinner. We would also like thank all of the individuals who attended the event and supported us with their money. We always try to be mindful that this was hard earned money and try to be as careful as we can with spending it.

I would like to encourage people to pay attention to the Comprehensive Transportation Plan that is being developed for Macon County and to send letters of comment. A local committee has been working on the plan for some time, the plan is nearing completion, and your comments will count! You can see the draft plan at http://www.regiona.org/Macon_CTP.htm.

For myself, I would like to express my support for community involvement in transportation planning and my appreciation to the committee for their hard work. The supposed changes in DOT policy to be more receptive and responsive to community input is a welcome and much needed change and the CTP process can be a very valuable step toward community based decision making.

While most educated people understand that the issue of zoning in Macon County is a very controversial one, the reaction of offical at the recent county commission meeting was disheartening to many residents of Clarks Chapel, who are voters and taxpayers as well. I address, in particular, the one commissioner who arrogantly announced that he was not in favor of ANY zoning in Macon County.

The problem with such an unyielding position is that it never takes into account the private property rights of countless people whose properties are devalued dramatically and whose rights to quiet and peaceful enjoyment of their own properties are simply ignored.