ANDREWS
New projects moving ahead
Several infrastructure projects funded through $20 million in grants are in progress or set to begin.
“I know a lot of other towns that are jealous of you all,” Joe Storrow, a professional engineer at McGill, told the Andrews Board of Aldermen at its work session Thursday. McGill is an engineering firm that advises the town on infrastructure projects, which include:
- Water transmission line replacement. A $1.6 million construction project by Ledford & Parker to replace 4,000 feet of 12-inch and 16-inch asbestos cement water line from Dan Holland Creek Road to Main Street. The town’s reservoir is at the end of Dan Holland Creek Road. Construction began in January and is expected to be completed by October.
- Wastewater treatment plant upgrade and moderation. This $12.078 million project is 100% funded through a COVID-19-era American Rescue Plan Act grant. It includes a new oxidation ditch to replace existing trickling filters, influent equalization basin, sludge dewatering system, and laboratory and control building. Design and permitting start January 2025, construction begins in April 2025, and completion is expected by September 2026. The town has until the end of 2026 to complete ARPA projects.
- Leatherwood water storage tank replacement. This $1.548 million project will replace an existing 500,000 gallon water storage tank on Justice Street. The funding comes from Appalachian Regional Commission ($300,000), the N.C. General Assembly ($1.09 million) and the town itself ($156,700). Design and permitting are expected by March 2025, construction begins in June 2025, and construction is expected to be completed by May 2026.
- Other water and sewer projects. These projects total $787,000 from the N.C. General Assembly through the N.C. Division of Water Infrastructure. They include 600 feet of 8-inch water line service to Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters, 25 fire hydrant replacements, upgrades to sewer lift stations and a sewer line extension to enable the town to install restroom facilities at its recreation park. Work on the Snowbird phase begins in January 2025 with an April 2025 completion, and for the remainder, starts June 2025 with a May 2026 completion.
MURPHY
Board OKs school funds
Cherokee County Schools expenditures totaling more than $765,171 were approved by county commissioners at their Sept. 3 meeting.
The expenditures include:
- Salaries and benefits: $187,670 coming from Article 46 sales tax revenue to cover the county’s share of state-mandated salary and benefits increases for Cherokee County Schools.
Final numbers for school personnel spending are waiting on the state budget, but legislators did pass an interim measure that took effect July 1. In that measure, educators were given pay increases ranging from 1.5% for veteran teachers to 7.1% for new beginning teachers. Other employees received a 3% salary increase. The measure also resulted in lower retirement and higher health insurance costs.
County commissioners recently detached Article 46 sales tax revenues from the schools, but funds remain in that account from previous proceeds.
- Hiwassee Dam campus paving: $437,521 for repairs and repaving of the parking lot, which serves Hiwassee Dam middle and high schools. The school district had difficulty finding a bidder for the project after three attempts, and in the end had only one bidder.
- School resource officer patrol cars: $140,000 to replace four of the oldest patrol cars used by school resource officers. Cherokee County Schools police have 10 vehicles. Four are 2022 models with low miles; three 2017 models have 59,000-74,862 miles; all seven are described as excellent condition. Older models range from 2001 to 2016, with mileage ranging from 122,118 to 181,888 miles.
MURPHY
Board revises records policy
Hammered by public records requests eating up staff time, the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners revised the county’s public records policy and will charge for any request that requires more than 30 minutes to fulfill.
County attorney Darryl Brown said many public records requests are no problem for staff, but some can eat up a large amount of staff resources.
In one case, someone asked for a series of emails going back a decade, he said. Besides sifting through all those emails, staff must also go through each email separately to ensure they don’t contain confidential information such as personnel details.
Under the new policy, any request that takes more than 30 minutes to complete will have cost calculated based on pay rates of staff involved along with charging for any physical media, such as SD cards. If the cost is greater than $20, the requester will have to post a deposit.
The board of commissioners voted 3-1 to approve the new policy, with Ben Adams voting against it and Chair Randy Phillips ill and absent. Adams said he objected to the open-ended nature of the fee, saying there should be a limited maximum fee.
The policy does not apply to Cherokee County Schools and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
MARBLE
‘Remember Our Heroes’
The Marble Precinct of the Cherokee County Republican Party invites Republicans and like-minded conservatives to a Patriot Day celebration, “Remembering Our Heroes: A Tribute to First Responders and All Who Serve,” at 5:30 p.m. today.
The event takes place at the Marble Volunteer Fire Department, 2160 Airport Road. First responders being honored include the sheriff’s office, police department, firefighters and fire marshal, and emergency management.
Eric Gelbman, a retired New York firefighter, was the bell ringer for 9/11. He will be sharing what happened on the fateful day of Sept. 11, 2001
The event will end with a candle lighting ceremony. Voter assistance, registration and candidate information will be available
Details: Call 828-458-0691 or email nativeheartcda@gmail.com.
ANDREWS
Artistry in bathtubs
Andrews Garden Club members Nancy Purser and Lynnie Anderson are turning bathtubs with missing feet into works of art.
The first four floral designed tubs were filled with dirt and colorful flowers from Hillside Nursery. The project was funded by the club.
The finished project was so stunning that the ladies would like to continue; however, they are out of bathtubs. Anderson and Purser are seeking donations so they can continue making Andrews look even lovelier with this particular project.
Each of the bathtubs cost about $150 to fill with flowers, not including the dirt nor paint. As long as the tubs keep coming in, their project will continue.
Details or to donate: Call 828-361-5396.
MARBLE
Venison donation
In partnership with Adam Farms Processing and N.C. Hunters for the Hungry, the Extension Venison Donation Program for Cherokee County started Saturday in an effort to decrease food insecurity and support local food pantries.
If you are a licensed deer hunter and you would like to donate a legally harvested deer, bring your deer to Adam Farm Processing, 184 Stiles Packing Lane, this season. Full deer that have been field-dressed and quartered deer (preferred) are accepted for donation.
Once you drop off your freshly harvested deer, Adam Farms will process the deer meat into ground venison. A local food pantry will then pick the meat up for distribution to food insecure populations in Cherokee County.
Five food pantries are participating in the program. One deer can provide about 200 meals.
Details: Visit cherokee.ces.ncsu.edu/2024/07/extension-venison-donation-program.
MURPHY
Shop & Sip downtown
Shop & Sip, held from 2-5 p.m. on the second Saturday of every month through December, returns to downtown Saturday.
This series of events is presented by the retailers of Downtown Murphy and Main Street Murphy. Retailers will be providing refreshments, special sales, raffles and fun. Everyone is welcome, and you can sip a glass of wine while shopping.
Details: Visit townofmurphync.com/main-street-murphy/page/second-saturday-shop-sip.
YOUNG HARRIS, Ga.
EMC plans annual meet
The annual meeting of the Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corp. Board of Directors will start at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Harp Recreation & Commencement Center at Young Harris College.
Blue Ridge Mountain EMC is celebrating 86 years of service. This year’s theme is, “Let’s Taco ‘bout Power & Fiber,” which goes along with a free taco bar lunch at the end of the meeting.
Entertainment will be provided by college students. The guest speaker will be Gil West, CEO of Hertz and former CEO of Delta Airlines.
The terms of three members of the board of directors have expired, and the nominating committee has recommended voting for them to serve another term. They are Jack Lance Jr. of Union County, Roy Perren of Towns County and Gayland Trull of Fannin County.
Details: Visit brmemc.com.
MURPHY
Last 2 days of Book Fair
The Rotary Club of Murphy’s Community Scholastic Book Fair continues through Thursday night at The Ballroom, directly across from Downtown Pizza.
Book fair hours today and Thursday are from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m.
All proceeds from the Book Fair will go directly to support the Rotary Reads program, making a lasting impact on local students by providing them with valuable literacy resources.
Details: Visit rotaryclubofmurphy.com.
CHEROKEE COUNTY
Public meetings
THIS WEEK
- Cherokee County Veteran Forces meets at 10 a.m. today at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.
- Andrews Board of Aldermen meets at 6 p.m. Thursday 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 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 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 in the DSS conference room, 4800 U.S. 64 W. in Ranger.
COMING SOON
- 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.
- Cherokee County Board of Commissioners will hold a work session at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30, in Room 342 at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy, to discuss animal control. Live-streamed on the Scout’s Facebook page.
Compiled by Publisher David Brown, Editor Randy Foster and Staff Correspondent Nicole Wright.