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The Read all of the See Pg. 4 Macon County MACON COUNTY NEWSOnline •Free Weekly• & Shopping Guide themaconcountynewsonline.com August 27, 2020 • 24 Pages Volume 38 Number 15 FREE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER www.themaconcountynews.com Four schools suspend in-person classes IN THIS ISSUE Diane Peltz – Contributing Writer classes through Sept. 11. Students who attend these schools will switch to virtual learning. After only two weeks since school started on Aug. 17, Dr. Baldwin explained why this was a necessary decision. schools are already having to redo schedules and make ad- "We are not suspending instruction due to a cluster out- justments. break, we are suspending A statement from the due to lack of staff,” said central office of the Macon Baldwin. County School system was The Macon County sent out on Saturday report- Health Department reported ing that a number of six positive cases as of 4:30 Franklin High School ad- p.m. on Aug. 24. That led ministrators, support staff, to the quarantine of addi- and teachers are under tional staff members as well quarantine as a result of the as some students. Page 6 positive case of COVID-19 At FHS, 49 students and identified at Franklin High 13 staff members are under Local connections found to 19th century murder School. These essential quarantine. As of Aug. 24, staff members will be under Photo by Vickie Carpenter East Franklin Elementary quarantine for 10-14 days. has six students and one Face-to-face instruction teacher under quarantine; was suspended through In the space of a week, the Franklin High School sign changed from “Welcome Back” to “Virtual Learning 8/24-9/11.” MVI has 16 students, four Sept. 11. At that time, con- teachers and one substitute ditions will be reevaluated. under quarantine. MMS has During an emergency meeting of the Macon County 31 students and six teachers under quarantine. Across the School Board on Monday, Macon County Schools Superin- system, there are 21 cafeteria staff, two school nurses and tendent Dr. Chris Baldwin, made the decision to close three one health assistant under quarantine. more schools for face to face learning. When there is a positive COVID 19 case identified, the Macon Middle School (MMS), Mountain View Interme- diate (MVI) and Union Academy (UA) have also suspended See IN-PERSON page 2 Snow pleads guilty in Page 12 2016 double murder Man’s best friend gets a sweet new ride Paul Snow pleaded guilty Tuesday in a Macon County courtroom to the Nov. 6, 2016, shooting deaths of his mother and sister, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said. Snow’s admission that he killed Sunshine Snow and her daughter, Jacquetta Snow, were tendered as part of a plea arrangement backed by the family. Along with the victims’ relatives, friends of the two women attended the mid-day, hour-and-a-half-long hearing. Snow, 54, pleaded guilty to two charges of second-degree murder and driving while influenced (a separate offense that occurred in August 2016). He also entered an Alford plea for first-degree arson in connection with the murders. An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt; rather, it’s an acknowledgment by Snow and his lawyer, Tony Dalton of Page 12 Brevard, that there is adequate evidence for the state to gain a conviction. Parking lot project proceeds go to worthy cause Superior Court Judge Bill Coward sentenced Snow to 25 years in prison and ordered payments of court costs and 828.369.6767 $10,000 restitution, $5,000 for each victim, to help with PRST STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Paul Snow appeared on Tuesday at a plea hearing in Macon www.themaconcountynews.com PERMIT 22 [email protected] GOODER PUBLISHING CORP. County Superior Court with his lawyer, Tony Dalton. FRANKLIN, NC 28734-3401 See GUILTY PLEA page 2 2 THE MACON COUNTy NEWS & SHOPPINg gUIDE VOLUME 38 NUMBER 15 THURSDAy, AUgUST 27, 2020 them (the women) up in the house.” Funds available to help with energy bills GUILTY PLEA “They were scared of Paul,” Assistant Dis- Funding is now available to help North Car- drop off at a local DSS office after comple- Continued from page 1 trict Attorney John Hindsman, who prose- olinians pay cooling or heating bills or secure tion. Applications may also be made by call- cuted the case, said in court. “They told cooling or heating resources. The North Car- ing the county department of social services funeral expenses. numerous individuals, ‘If something hap- olina Department of Health and Human Serv- or at county departments of social services of- On Nov. 6, 2016, a driver noticed the glow pens to us, Paul did it.’” ices' Crisis Intervention Program provides fices, through June 30, 2021, while the funds of a fire in the Cartoogechaye community, at Snow’s lawyer pointed the finger of blame assistance to qualified, low-income house- are available. Households are individually Sunshine and Jacquetta Snow’s house on on his client’s father. He said the man was holds who are experiencing a cooling related evaluated by county departments of social Creekside Drive. Firefighters arrived to find an alcoholic pedophile who sexually and crisis (or heating related crisis in the winter). services staff to determine whether there is a the upper two stories of the three-story home physically abused his children. The night A household is in a crisis if it is experienc- heating or cooling crisis. The funds are dis- fully engulfed. Snow killed his mother and sister, Dalton ing or is in danger of experiencing a life- tributed through county departments of social With the help of an arson dog, investiga- said Jacquetta Snow made a comment about threatening or health related emergency and services directly to the vendor or utility com- tors discovered two badly burned bodies in the sexual abuse that triggered her brother. sufficient, timely and appropriate assistance is pany. In Macon County, DSS is located at the rubble of the home. A medical examiner “He reacted, he snapped,” Dalton told not available from any other source. A life- 1832 Lakeside Dr.; phone (828)349-2114. found bullets in the women’s heads; addi- Judge Coward. “This man comes into here threatening emergency is defined as a house- To be eligible, a household must have at tionally, Jacquetta Snow had been shot in her as a broken person and has suffered through hold which has no heating or cooling source least one person who meets certain criteria, in- torso. a lot.” or has a past due notice for primary heating or cluding being income eligible, and have a Paul Snow denied knowledge of the As investigators closed in, Snow fled cooling service, and the health or well-being heating or cooling related emergency. Full el- crimes. He claimed to have spent his time Macon County for Florida. Police in Santa of a household member would be in danger if igibility details are available online at that night in a bar, but the statement later un- Rosa County arrested him about two weeks the heating or cooling crisis was not allevi- www.ncdhhs.gov/crisis-intervention-pro- raveled. after the murders, on Nov. 21, on an out- ated. gram. Detectives with Macon County Sheriff’s standing warrant of failing to register in The Energy Programs Application form is The Crisis Intervention Program is funded Office and agents with the N.C. State Bureau North Carolina as a sex offender. available for download at https://epass.nc.gov federally by the Administration for Children of Investigation identified more than 10 peo- Submitted by Quintin Ellison, PIO/legal for applicants to print and mail, fax, scan or and Families. ple who told them Snow threatened to “burn assistant for the District Attorney’s office. continuing with in-person instruction. IN-PERSON On Sunday, Aug. 23, the school board Continued from page 1 learned of the number of substitutes needed at MMS. Macon County Public Health conducts con- “Under normal circumstances that is dif- tact tracing. MCPH identifies all the indi- ficult, but because of the six foot mandate viduals that might possibly have to be it is very difficult to operate as we normally quarantined. Dr. Baldwin explained. would with that amount of substitutes,” said "They do this out of an abundance of cau- Baldwin. tion. Macon County is still in the cautious "While we are faced with obvious con- stage in regard to schools reopening. We cerns by those families affected by the pos- have 15.1 active cases per 100,000 citizens. itive cases as well as those in quarantine due The threshold is 25 active cases per to exposure, those are concerns. What we 100,000. We are seeing some issues with are faced with now are the staffing concerns 828-524-8080 regard to reopening.” that were originally discussed, the number 121 Phillips Street After meeting with the principals of of staff that can be removed from schools Franklin, NC MMS, MVI, and UA, Dr. Baldwin deter- due to quarantine from positive cases as mined that suspending in-class instruction well as those who are quarantined due to ex- was necessary due to lack of staff due to posure.” quarantine. “Those in quarantine were not all positive Dr. Baldwin also met with the principals cases, they were taken into quarantine as a of East Franklin Elementary, South Macon, precaution,” added Jim Breedlove, School Cartoogechaye and Iotla Elementary Board Chairman. Schools. They felt comfortable continuing Notices will continue to be disseminated the face to face classes for now. Nantahala, to parents as the information becomes avail- Highlands and Macon Early college are also able.

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