ANDREWS
New chamber leader sought
The annual Andrews Chamber of Commerce Trunk or Treat event on Oct. 31 was also the last day for Executive Director Sara Posey-Davis, whose brief tenure came to an end as she handed out candy along the Yellow Brick Road beside her vehicle with her family.
Davis said her departure, which was addressed in a resignation letter to the chamber’s board of directors, centers around the position “not [being] a part-time position.” “I am passionate about downtown development and outdoor recreation,” she said. “But with the current structure without an events coordinator, the position is a more than even a full-time one.”
Davis added that she is “seeking truly part-time work so that I can pursue my passion and take care of my small children.”
Davis said the board will be handling the organization’s last event of the season, the popular Christmas on Main, which provides the town with an opportunity to shop for Christmas gifts from local artists and vendors immediately after the Thanksgiving holiday and Black Friday.
Details: See visitandrewsnc.com.
RALEIGH
$50M for broadband
Gov. Josh Stein announced last week a $50 million Broadband Recovery Program that will provide grants to help internet service providers rebuild and repair broadband infrastructure destroyed by Hurricane Helene. Impacted internet service providers are invited to apply for funding.
“We are working hard to rebuild western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, and that includes making sure folks have access to high-speed internet services,” Stein said in a release. “With these investments, western North Carolinians can stay connected and more easily get back on their feet.”
The program was made possible after Stein signed legislation in August allocating funds to restore and strengthen high-speed internet access for communities in western North Carolina that suffered significant damage from the storm.
Under the new program, internet service providers with infrastructure projects in the 39 Hurricane Helene disaster-designated counties, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, may apply for funding for reconstruction or repair of broadband infrastructure needed to connect residents, businesses and community institutions to reliable high-speed internet.
Details: Visit ncbroadband.gov/broadbandrecovery.
MURPHY
Meals for Head Start
Four Square HeadStart program of Cherokee County will be having children’s meals prepared in the kitchen at Cherokee County Detention Center.
Skillet Kitchens is the vendor that uses the jail kitchen to prepare meals for inmates at the jail. County commissioners also agreed to allow Skillet Kitchens to use the jail kitchen to prepare meals for the HeadStart program.
Skillet Kitchens will reduce the price it charges the jail by 15 cents per tray for use of the facility.
PEACHTREE
Mythical night at the theater
The Cherokee County Schools of Innovation Theatre proudly presents Myth‑Understood by Jackie Martin (produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service of Denver) at 6 p.m. Thursday at 4700 U.S. 64 E. Alternate. Tickets are $10 at the door.
Two teenagers, buried in a school project about Greek mythology, suddenly find themselves visited by the messenger Hermes, winged helmet and all. Hermes whisks the students off to Mount Olympus, where the gods and goddesses decide they need to revamp their reputations and tell myths from their point of view.
Expect to see Medusa pleading she only wanted to be noticed. Eurydice growing weary of Orpheus’ attention. Paris having to decide who gets his golden apple via a reality TV style twist. Turns out, the mythological figures might not be telling the whole truth.
MURPHY
Thankful for a free dinner
The free community Thanksgiving dinner is back again this year, and everyone is welcome to join Thursday, Nov. 27.
Meals will be served drive-through or walk-through only at Main Street USA on Hiwassee Street downtown. No reservations are needed; just come as you are and enjoy a warm Thanksgiving meal shared in the spirit of community and gratitude.
Those wishing to help can donate food, funds or time.
Details: To volunteer or contribute, call Cecilia Crawford-Faulkner at 828-837-2097.
ANDREWS
Fundraiser a chili success
Friends of the Andrews Public Library held the first in a series of monthly events Nov. 4 with a bingo and chili night. The event was well-attended, with a capacity crowd in the renovated meeting room.
Friends President Kelly Bryant said the event raised more than $500, which will be used to purchase books, DVDs and other materials for the library. The group also is offering holiday T-shirts for sale.
Events are scheduled as of for the first Tuesdays of each month, when the library is open until 7 p.m., with festivities starting at 4 p.m. The next dinner and bingo night is set for Tuesday, Dec. 4.
Details: Call the Andrews Public Library at 828-321-5956 or visit facebook.com/AndrewsPublicLibrary.
MURPHY
Grants for workers set
Gov. Josh Stein has announced that the U.S. Department of Labor has released additional funds to help North Carolinians get back to work in areas affected by Hurricane Helene.
The new funds, totaling $4 million, represent the remaining portion of a $10 million Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grant that the U.S. Department of Labor initially awarded to North Carolina in 2024 in the wake of Helene. The funds were part of an original request from the N.C. Department of Commerce’s Division of Workforce Solutions in October 2024.
DWS will administer
the new funding in partnership with five local workforce development boards, including the Southwestern one that includes Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties.
To apply for the Hurricane Helene Dislocated Worker Grant program, residents should contact the N.C. Works Career Center on U.S. 64 West in Murphy.
Details: Visit ncworks.gov.
CORRECTION
A photo in Law & Order on page 8A in the Nov. 5 edition of the Cherokee Scout was from a different event. The photo that ran with a drug bust was actually from a DARE event, as shown on page 7A inside this week’s edition. The same K9 unit was involved in photos from both events. The Scout regrets the error.
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 in Andrews.
- Cherokee County Board of Commissioners meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy. Live-streamed on the Scout’s Facebook page.
- Murphy ABC Board meets at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the ABC Store, 818 U.S. 64 W. 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
- Local, state and federal government offices – as well as the Cherokee Scout – will be closed Thursday and Friday, Nov. 27-28, for the Thanksgiving holiday and Black Friday. The local newspaper’s office will reopen at 9 a.m. Monday, Dec. 1.
Compiled by Publisher David Brown. Editor Randy Foster and Staff Correspondent Nicole Wright contributed to this report.