Quick Reads

  • Photos by Anngee Quinones-Belian/Staff Correspondent Bill Belian of Ranger, a contributing photographer to the Cherokee Scout, won fourth- and fifth-place ribbons for his wildlife photography as well as a monetary prize at the Georgia Mountain Fair.
    Photos by Anngee Quinones-Belian/Staff Correspondent Bill Belian of Ranger, a contributing photographer to the Cherokee Scout, won fourth- and fifth-place ribbons for his wildlife photography as well as a monetary prize at the Georgia Mountain Fair.
  • Tzarrell Smith, 8, of Chicago, shows his throwing skills at the Ring-A-Bottle game booth during the 2024 Georgia Mountain Fair in August.
    Tzarrell Smith, 8, of Chicago, shows his throwing skills at the Ring-A-Bottle game booth during the 2024 Georgia Mountain Fair in August.

    ANDREWS

    County Fair weekend set

    The Cherokee County Fair returns to Andrews Recreation Park, 160 Park St., for its third consecutive year Friday though Saturday.

    The fair will open at 10 a.m. each day with differing closing times of 10 p.m. Friday, 11 p.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday. Rides will open at 5 p.m. Friday, noon Saturday and Sunday. General admission tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under age 12. Ride tickets and wristbands will also be available for purchase, with food vendors on hand.

    The fair will again feature various rides and games provided by R&D Amusements. There will also be live music each evening and all day Saturday, including the return of the Danny Dawson Band and Georgette Jones, daughter of country music legends George Jones and Tammy Wynette, as the headliner Saturday evening.

    The popular church service will also take place at 10 a.m. Sunday.

    The fair – sponsored by the Town of Andrews, local businesses and organizations, – is seeking volunteers. Email hello@cherokeecountyfair.org to sign up.

    Details: Visit cherokeecountyfair.org.

    RALEIGH

    Ballots going out on time

    All 100 county boards of elections must have sent absentee ballots to eligible military and overseas citizens who requested them for the 2024 general election by last week under a new schedule released by the State Board of Elections.

    County boards were prepared to send absentee ballots out on Sept. 6, the deadline for absentee ballots to be sent under state law. However, rulings by the N.C. Court of Appeals and N.C. Supreme Court required election officials to remove the We The People party line from the presidential contest on the ballot.

    The Cherokee County Board of Elections office said it would cost local taxpayers about $3,500 to print new ballots, unless the state decides to pay for it. Oct. 11 is the voter registration deadline; in-person early voting begins Oct. 17, despite damages from Hurricane Helene.

    Details: Visit ncsbe.gov.

    ANDREWS

    Club comes Full Circle

    Live rock ’n’ roll comes to The Blue Stage, 889 Main St. downtown, at 8 p.m. Saturday with the local band Full Circle.

    Details: Visit thebluestage.com.

    RALEIGH

    747K off voting rolls

    From the start of 2023 through August 2024, county boards of elections in North Carolina removed more than 747,000 ineligible registration records from the state’s voter rolls.

    That’s an average of more than 1,200 voter records removed from the voter list every single day during those 20 months, according to a release. The county boards follow careful policies to ensure that only ineligible records are removed, not those of eligible voters.

    Meanwhile, newly eligible voters are constantly being added to registration rolls. North Carolina has nearly 7.7 million registered voters, a 4.3% increase since 2020.

    Registrants can be removed from the voting rolls after being inactive for two federal elections, in addition to moving, being convicted of a felony or dying.

    Details: Visit s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Voter_Registration/North_Carolina_List_Maintenance_Policy_2024_08_21.pdf.

    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.
    • Cherokee County Tourism Development Authority meets at 4 p.m. Monday in the Murphy Visitors Center, 20 Tennessee St.
    • Cherokee County Board of Health meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Cherokee County Health Department, 228 Hilton St. in Murphy.
    • 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, Oct. 17, at Central Office, 2230 Airport Road in Marble. Live-streamed on the school district’s YouTube channel.
    • Andrews ABC Board meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21, in the ABC Store, 13934 U.S. 19.
    • Cherokee County Board of Commissioners meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28, at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy. Live-streamed on the Scout’s Facebook page.

    Compiled by Publisher David Brown.