Murphy Power Board thanked for work at elementary school

    Murphy – The Cherokee County Board of Education began its annual tour of schools for its meetings last week, and the first stop  Thursday night brought them to the refurbished and shiny new Murphy Elementary School.
    Principal Dane Rickett thanked the Murphy Electric Power Board and Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters, along with teachers and other volunteers, for sprucing up the campus for the new year. The improvements included new painting inside, a reworked front office and renovated playgrounds.
    “We realized at some point that we were asking people to have pride in something and not giving them anything to have pride in,” he said.
    The playground upgrade facilitated by Power Board employees includes not just equipment, but also fixes to drainage problems they were having on the campus as well.
    “It’s nothing short of a miracle what they changed on this campus,” Rickett said as he gave a certificate of appreciation to Power Board President Larry Kernea and his staff.
    Kernea said he was humbled by the honor but deflected credit back to Rickett and his staff.
    Rickett said once renovations began, teachers were inspired to make upgrades to their own classrooms and follow suit to make the school the best it could be.
    In other school business Thursday:
    * The school system fielded two offers for the old Oaks Academy school property in Martins Creek and agreed to accept a $160,000 offer.
    The school will begin the upset bid process to see if anyone will try to pay more. One other party offered $199,800 but said it would be raising the money over the inspection and closing period, which made board members uneasy about going with that plan.
    The property is adjacent to the Martins Creek Community Center. When finalized, the sale of the property will include an easement for the center’s septic systems and well.
    * Murphy High School will get a new sound system for the field and gym that will replace one installed in the 1960s at a cost of $12,000. The school had been contracting out for graduation because of the poor quality of the system, leading Superintendent Jeana Conley to point out that it will pay for itself in a few years.
    Conley added that having a quality PA system is a safety concern, especially in light of an incident last year, when the stadium had to be evacuated because of a shooting nearby.