PEACHTREE
Town Hall meet April 1
There will be a Cherokee County Republican Party Town Hall Precinct meeting in the Peachtree Community Center at 6 p.m. Friday, April 1. Everyone is invited to attend.
Candidates for the local offices will be in attendance, as will several candidates running for the 11th Congressional District, including U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) and District Chair Michele Woodhouse. For details, call Alex Parker at 828-644-4875.
RALEIGH
A’s & B’s not up first
With a drawing and a coin flip on March 4, the State Board of Elections randomly determined the order of candidates on the ballot for the 2022 primary and general elections in North Carolina.
Candidates whose last names begin with the letter “C” will appear first in contests in the primary and general elections. A subsequent coin flip determined that additional candidates will follow in alphabetical order as follows: C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, A, B.
This ballot order drawing applies to all 2022 primary and general election contests except for municipal contests. Candidates for municipal office are listed in strict alphabetical order beginning with A, according to state law.
The ballot order selection process was streamed on Facebook Live and is available on the State Board’s Facebook page. The 2022 primary election is May 17. The general election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 8.
CHEROKEE COUNTY
12 new cases of COVID-19
Only 12 local residents tested positive for COVID-19 from March 7 through Monday, according to the Cherokee County Health Department.
Of the 26,052 tests handled through the department since the pandemic began in March 2020, 18,950 were negative, four are pending and 7,098 were positive. Of those cases, 10 are active, 6,969 are released and 119 are deceased.
About 50 percent of the county has received at least one vaccination shot. Health Director David Badger encourages everyone who has not been vaccinated or needs a booster to set an appointment online at https://novelhealth.ai/practice/cherokee-county-health-department-287668.
CHEROKEE
Phone talks Cherokee
The Cherokee language, considered severely endangered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization, is now available on Motorola devices that support Android 12, according to a release.
In an effort to preserve the native Cherokee language, Motorola – with the help of academics from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Cherokee linguists – has carefully digitized the language into its Mobile Phone User Interface with the goal of language revitalization.
UNESCO lists the Cherokee language as “severely endangered.” There are about 400,000 Cherokee citizens in the United States, and less than 2 percent are first language speakers, with fewer than 200 first language speakers within the Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolina.
CHEROKEE SCOUT
Youth sports pics wanted
Did you have a youth recreation or travel team that had a particularly good season?
Did they win or possibly play for a championship?
If that sounds like your team, then we’d love to run their photo in the Cherokee Scout. Please drop off a photo at our office, 89 Sycamore St. in downtown Murphy, or email a photo, along with the names of the people in it, to Sports Writer Justin Fitzgerald at sports@cherokeescout.com.
CHEROKEE SCOUT
Send people profiles here
Are you an interesting person? Do you know someone who is? How about a volunteer behind the scenes who helps make a local business, nonprofit or endeavor amazing?
Let the Cherokee Scout tell their story. Please email the person’s name, phone number and brief information to anngeeq@gmail.com, and we’ll do the rest. Special people deserve a few minutes in the spotlight.
ANDREWS
‘Wizard of Oz’ playing here
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is coming to the Valleytown Cultural Arts Center, 125 Chestnut St. downtown, from March 25-26.
The Community Youth Players/ACT 2 is producing the play, with help from the Andrews Chamber of Commerce. Showtimes are 7 p.m. Friday, March 25, as well as 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, March 26.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at 828-361-2781.
CHEROKEE COUNTY
Man seeking local patches
A young man from out of state, David Chiacchio, is a serious collector of emergency service agency patches. His search has led him to Cherokee County.
Chiacchio wrote the Cherokee Scout to request help obtaining patches from the Andrews Fire Department, Andrews Rescue Squad, Cherokee County Rescue Squad, Grape Creek Fire Department, Murphy Fire Department, Peachtree Fire Department, Ranger Fire Department, Unaka Fire Department and Valleytown Fire Department.
If someone has a patch they would like to donate, please drop it off at the Scout, where they will be mailed to Chiacchio in a self-addressed stamped envelope he provided.
If you would like to sell or barter for a patch, you can reach him at 70 Bumble Bee Circle, Shrewbury, MA 01545.
BRASSTOWN
Arts & crafts show coming
The first Brasstown Arts & Crafts Spring Fling Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday, March 26-27, at 811 Settawig Road.
Admission is free. Come on down for arts, crafts, face painting, games, helicopter rides, bounce houses, axe throwing and all the food you can eat.
Vendors are welcome to be part of the festival. For details, call Crystal McGrath at 828-371-7717.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Public meetings
THIS WEEK
- Cherokee County Board of Education meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Central Office, 911 Andrews Road in Murphy.
- Andrews ABC Board meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the Facilities Building, 85 Fourth St.
- Cherokee County Board of Commissioners meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the multi-purpose room of the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.
From staff reports.