CHEROKEE COUNTY
291 positive virus cases
From Jan. 24 through Monday, 291 local residents tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Cherokee County Health Department.
Of the 25,229 tests handled through the department, 18,561 were negative, 71 are still pending and 6,597 were positive. Of those cases, 341 are active, 6,147 have been released and the 110th COVID-related death was reported Tuesday. Only 60 percent of North Carolina and 45 percent of the county is fully vaccinated.
Health Director David Badger spoke before the Rotary Club of Murphy on Monday and said vaccination requests have dramatically reduced here. He encouraged everyone who has not been vaccinated to do the research, which he said shows the vaccines are safe and effective at limiting the spread and symptoms of the coronavirus.
ANDREWS
Spring Fling set in April
The Andrews Chamber of Commerce is planning for its annual Spring Fling from April 22-24.
The chamber encourages seminars, exhibits and activities that help event attendees understand how important our ecosystem is to our area. The schedule is:
- Day one: Learning Stations at the Andrews Public Library (Friday, April 22). Need: Volunteers to help keep the kids moving through the stations.
- Day two: Street Fair & Nature Expo (Saturday, April 23). Need: Volunteers for check-in and setup, takedown and cleanup.
- Day three: Spring Litter Pickup in honor of Gary Chamberlain (Sunday, April 24). Need: Volunteers to hand out bags and gear, plus explain how the event works.
The first planning meeting will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday at the Andrews chamber office on Main Street downtown. For details, call Director Nola Cooper at 541-2765.
PEACHTREE
Learn to eat local
There will be a Farmer-Buyer Event from 3-5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28, at Tri-County Community College, 21 Campus Circle just off U.S. 64 East.
Potential buyers will meet and talk with prospective farmers and processors to create potential sales relationships, according to a release. Growers at each table have 8-10 minutes to share product lists, photos of their farm and samples with buyers. Buyers have the opportunity to share their requirements for volume, insurance, delivery terms and specific product needs.
The release says the meeting model is like a “speed-dating” event, where restaurants and providers will meet briefly then move on to the next vendor. Register for this free event at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/farmer-buyer-meeting-tickets-227051255417.
RALEIGH
Grants to get online
Qualified internet service providers and electric membership cooperatives providing internet service can apply for up to $350 million in grants to expand broadband infrastructure in North Carolina and get more people connected to high-speed internet.
Funds from the federal American Rescue Plan are being used to provide the largest-ever round of Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology Grants available in North Carolina. The grants are part of Gov. Roy Cooper’s plan to give 95 percent of North Carolina households access to broadband of 100/20 Mbps by expanding access and addressing issues of affordability and digital literacy.
Applications for the spring award period will be accepted through April 4. An information session for applicants will be held Feb. 10. Details can be found at www.ncbroadband.gov/grants/great-grant-federal.
Administered by the N.C. Department of Information Technology’s Division of Broadband & Digital Equity, the GREAT Grant program provides matching grants to broadband providers and electric membership cooperatives that compete for funding to expand access to high-speed internet service to unserved areas of all counties across the state. Since the GREAT Grant program launched in 2018, the state has invested nearly $56 million matched by more than $35 million from private investors to connect more than 40,000 households and businesses to broadband.
RALEIGH
Cooper vetoes election delay
Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a bill Friday that would have delayed North Carolina’s primary election by three weeks as the state Supreme Court reviews the state’s new legislative district maps.
Cooper, a Democrat, said the measure is part of the Republican plan to compromise the voting process.
“This bill is an additional attempt by Republican legislators to control the election timeline and undermine the voting process,” Cooper said in a statement. “The constitutionality of congressional and legislative districts is now in the hands of the N.C. Supreme Court, and the court should have the opportunity to decide how much time is needed to ensure that our elections are constitutional.”
The Republican-led Legislature approved the maps, but voting advocacy groups have sued to block them, claiming they were drawn to maintain a partisan advantage. A Supreme Court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 2, which is 12 days before a N.C. State Board of Elections deadline for finalizing district lines. House Bill 605 would have moved the already delayed primary from May 17 to June 7.
If needed, a primary election runoff would have been held July 26 under the measure, except for federal election races, which the Legislature pushed to Aug. 17. The filing date for the elections would have been moved to March 24.
WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
BBB faces 23K issues
The Better Business Bureau of Southern Piedmont and Western North Carolina released its 2021 annual report last week, detailing consumer activity related to businesses located in the BBB’s 37-county service area.
In 2021, consumers filed nearly 23,000 complaints against area businesses, showing a slight increase from 2020. In spite of the large number of complaints filed, the BBB was still able to resolve 92 percent of all complaints submitted.
In 2021, customers submitted more than 19,000 verified reviews about businesses, showing a 30 percent increase from 2020.
The top complaint generators last year were for, New Car Dealers, Used Car Dealers, Auto Service, Collection Agencies and Property Management. In 2020, they were, Banks, Home Improvement, Gun Dealers, Auto Repair and New Auto Dealers.
Consumers can visit www.bbb.org to check out a business, file a complaint or leave a review.
RALEIGH
What drivers pay at pump
With many Americans working from home now, far fewer commuters get behind the wheel every day compared to before the pandemic. Still, travel has picked up considerably over the last year, and gas prices have followed suit.
Drivers were paying an average of $3.31 per gallon as of mid-January, according to AAA, up considerably from the early months of the pandemic when gas prices tumbled to less than $2.00 per gallon. From December 2020 to December 2021, the energy index portion of the consumer price index leaped 29.3 percent, contributing to an overall index jump of 7 percent, the largest 12-month increase in nearly four decades.
The average price of a gallon of gas across North Carolina was $3.09 in January, the 13th lowest price in the country. Taxes levied by the state account for 38.8 cents per gallon, or about 12.6 percent of the total cost of fuel.
In neighboring Georgia, drivers pay 37.6 cents per gallon, while in Tennessee it’s only 27.4. The highest is California at 68.2 cents per gallon, while Alaskans only pay 15.1 cents.
RALEIGH
Hospitals bill poor for care
Despite receiving billions of dollars in tax breaks to provide free or discounted health care to patients, some of North Carolina’s charity care hospitals billed the poor at an average rate up to almost three times the national average, a new report shows.
The report by the National Academy of State Health Policy and N.C State Health Plan said North Carolina nonprofit hospitals received about $1.8 billion in tax breaks from 2019 to 2020, but some of them billed $149.2 million to patients who should have qualified for charity care under the hospitals’ own policies.
State Treasurer Dale Folwell, who commissioned the study, said the state needs to implement more oversight and accountability measures to stop the financial abuse by the hospitals.
Even though the patients should have received free or discounted service, the hospitals still attempted to collect payment for the medical bills, the report found. Some hospitals went as far as garnishing wages, suing patients or pressuring them to open medical credit cards. Once the hospital exhausted its collection efforts, it absorbed the cost.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Public meetings
THIS WEEK
- None this week.
COMING SOON
- Murphy Town Council meets at 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 7, at Murphy Electric Power Board, 5 Wofford St. downtown.
- Cherokee County Board of Commissioners meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 7, in the multi-purpose room of the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.
- Andrews Board of Aldermen meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, in the Facilities Building, 85 Fourth St.
- Cherokee County Veteran Forces meets at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9, at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.
- Cherokee County Board of Education meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10, at Central Office, 911 Andrews Road in Murphy.
- Cherokee County Tourism Development Authority meets at 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 14, in the Murphy Visitors Center, 20 Tennessee St.
- Andrews ABC Board meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 21, in the Facilities Building, 85 Fourth St.
- Cherokee County Board of Commissioners meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 21, in the multi-purpose room of the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.
- Cherokee County Department of Social Services Board meets at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, in the DSS conference room, 4800 U.S. 64 W. in Ranger.
Compiled from staff and The Center Square reports.
Email your potential Quick Read to Publisher David Brown at dbrown@cherokee-scout.com.