MURPHY
Mag honors pizza place
Prior to becoming general manager of Downtown Pizza Co., Lizz Aquarian worked as a staff writer with the Cherokee Scout. She used that knowledge to grab the attention of PMQ Pizza, a national industry magazine.
As a result, she made the September edition cover.
The story talks about how her restaurant is more than a buffet concept in small-town Appalachia; it’s also an “experimental pizza world” and a “seven-day-a-week test kitchen.” The writer called Downtown Pizza “a freestyle smorgasbord of tantalizing flavors, textures and hues, with Aquarian reigning
over it all – the benevolent queen of the feast, sporting
a huge and elaborate
pizza tattoo on her arm
that shows she means business.”
Aquarian and her small crew feeds 80-150 people per day; on the Fourth of July, she personally made 145 pizzas. The restaurant was started by her parents, Steve and Kathy Cousin.
Details: Visit pmq.com.
MURPHY
Biz fire lock boxes OK’d
The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners approved voluntary installation of lockable fire boxes on new or remodeled commercial businesses.
State fire code gives fire code officials authority to require key boxes on new or substantially remodeled commercial buildings. The boxes, called Knox Boxes, are mounted outside the building and contain keys and information about the building.
The boxes require an electronic key that firefighters use so they won’t have to break into a building to investigate a fire alarm. County Fire Marshal Kevin Carter has authority to require the boxes, but in a memo said his “office has not required this in the past due to no local fire departments buying into the program for various reasons.”
In June, the Murphy Fire Department implemented an optional Knox Box program that includes electric keys. The boxes list for
$487, paid by the property owner.
Carter went to the board recommending that all new construction or remodels of commercial buildings inside the Murphy Fire Department primary response district be required to have the boxes.
Commissioners Dan Eichenbaum and Cal Stiles didn’t like the proposal. Eichenbaum said he was 100% against requiring them and called them dangerous. “I wouldn’t want one on my buildings,” Stiles added.
Carter said it would be easier for a criminal to simply break into a building than it would be to break into a Knox Box. The board voted 5-0 for Knox Boxes to be voluntary in the Murphy area.
PEACHTREE
Classes for college start
The fall semester started Aug. 19 at Tri-County Community College, which has received $1.395 million in grants and additional funding to improve a variety of aspects at the institution.
That includes $500,000 from the system office to establish a cardiovascular sonography program for the college’s health-care program; a $480,000 Golden LEAF Foundation grant to assist with construction of a dedicated driving pad for the college’s commercial driver’s license and heavy equipment operator programs; $400,000 from the system office to expand the college’s associate degree in nursing program, enabling it to offer second-year instruction on the
main campus, eliminating the need for students to travel outside the county for that instruction; and a $15,000 grant from the N.C. Arts Council to host a children’s theater presen-tation.
The college, which has an enrollment of nearly 3,100, renovated part of the West building to add classrooms and labs for emergency medical services and emergency medical technician training.
MURPHY
ADA getting bigger desk
The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners approved an expense request for $1,200 to buy a new, bigger desk for an assistant district attorney who works out of the Cherokee County Courthouse. The county maintains and furnishes the downtown courthouse.
Assistant district attorney Kimberly Harris requested the money for a “bigger desk needed in order to stay more organized and have some more space to work from,” she said in her request to be on the agenda.
The desk she is looking at is a Series C72W U Shaped Desk with drawers by Bush Business Furniture and sold by Bed Bath & Beyond. She chose cherry/graphite gray.
The board also approved a request for $2,852 from the sheriff’s office for hardware to mount printers in 13 patrol cars. Whole North Carolina’s court distance has gone all online, there are times when deputies need paper copies in the field.
The expenditure pays $2,106 for printer mounts with armrests and $577.24 for mounting hardware. The Administrative Office of the Courts in Raleigh donated 15 Brother PocketJet 7 printers valued at $420.80 each, $6,312 total, to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office to support its eCitation program.
HIAWASSEE, Ga.
Chamber sets annual dinner
The Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, at The Ridges Resort, 3499 U.S. 76 W.
The evening will include celebrating achievements, networking with peers and enjoying a delicious meal, with an opportunity to unwind and socialize in a welcoming atmosphere. There will be awards and door prizes.
Tickets are $100 each, with a deadline of Thursday, Sept. 5. Call the chamber at 828-837-2242 to ease in the registration process.
Details: Visit cherokeecountychamber.com.
RALEIGH
New party is Justice For All
The State Board of Elections last week recognized the Justice For All Party as an official political party in the state. The decision came in response to a court order.
Recognition of Justice for All means voters have nine choices of party affiliation when registering or updating an existing registration. Voters may register with the Constitution, Democratic, Green, Justice For All, Libertarian, No Labels, Republican or We The People parties, or they can register as unaffiliated.
This recognition also means that voters registered with a different political party or as unaffiliated may switch their affiliation to the Justice For All Party if they wish.
Details: Visit ncsbe.gov.
CORRECTION
A person was misidentified in the caption under a photo with the article “1 day, 2 events, lots of winners and smiling faces” on page 9A in the Aug. 7 edition of the Cherokee Scout.
Pictured with Eric West of The Tattered Tartan Pub in Andrews at the Murphy Farmers Market Tomato Fest was his bartender Dawn Naum. The Scout regrets the error.
CHEROKEE COUNTY
Public meetings
THIS WEEK
- Local, state and federal government offices and the Scout will be closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday. The Scout will reopen at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
- Cherokee County Board of Commissioners meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy. Live-streamed on the Scout’s Facebook page.
COMING SOON
- Andrews Board of Aldermen will hold a work session at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, in the Facilities Building, 85 Fourth St.
- Cherokee County Tourism Development Authority meets at 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9, in the Murphy Visitors Center, 20 Tennessee St.
- Cherokee County Board of Health meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9, at the Cherokee County Health Department, 228 Hilton St. in Murphy.
- Murphy Town Council meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10, at Murphy Electric Power Board, 5 Wofford St. downtown. Live-streamed on the Scout’s Facebook page.
- Cherokee County Veteran Forces meets at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.
- Andrews Board of Aldermen meets at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, in the Facilities Building, 85 Fourth St. Live-streamed on the Town of Andrews’ Facebook page.
- Andrews ABC Board meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16, in the ABC Store, 13934 U.S. 19.
- Cherokee County Board of Commissioners will hold a joint meeting with the Cherokee County Board of Education at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16, in the Enloe Building at Tri-County Community College, 21 Campus Circle in Peachtree. Live-streamed on the Scout’s Facebook page.
- Cherokee County Department of Social Services Board meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, in the DSS conference room, 4800 U.S. 64 W. in Ranger.
- Cherokee County Board of Education meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, at Central Office, 2230 Airport Road in Marble. Live-streamed on the school district’s YouTube channel.
Compiled by Publisher David Brown and Editor Randy Foster.