MURPHY
Spring Fest is Saturday
The Murphy Spring Festival is back for the first time since 2019 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and is free of charge for everyone to enjoy.
“This is a great way to showcase what’s going on downtown and provide opportunities for folks to come together,” said Laura Lachance, downtown development director for Murphy.
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There will be 65 arts and craft vendors and informational booths lining Tennessee Street. There will be live music on stage all day from artists like Rob Leines, Steven Phillips & Midnight Express, Troy Underwood, The High Strangeness, Sugah & Thuh Cubes and Dottie the Band.
If good brew is your thing, stop by the beer garden, where there will be 14 local and regional brewers as well as wine makers offering a party for your pallet. There will also be artist demos, numerous games and activities dedicated to children and, of course, plenty of eats from the food trucks on site.
About 6,000 people expected to come out and enjoy the day. Parking is free, but Tennessee Street will be closed to traffic. The annual Spring Festival is brought to you by the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce, Murphy Business Association and sponsors.
MURPHY
Art Walk’s back Friday
The Valley River Arts Guild will present the first Murphy Art Walk of the 2022 season from 5-8 p.m. Friday, with dozens of arts and crafts vendors and musicians flocking to downtown to set up displays to showcase and sell their art and perform their music.
The Art Walk runs through December. For details, call 360-3038.
In conjunction with Art Walk, downtown Murphy will have new art panels featured in the MAX Project, Murphy Art Xplosion. This is the grand opening reveal, with 35 new artworks featured in the Outdoor Art Gallery along the Art Trail all over downtown.
The MAX Project started in the creative minds of Debra and Dave Vanderlaan last year. Several art panels were installed last summer on the historic brick wall of the Murphy Art Center.
With the guild working in partnership with the Murphy Main Street Appalachian Culture Committee, there will be 35 big new outdoor artworks installed all over downtown. The art panels measure 5-by-3-feet, with each featured image showcasing the mountains, rivers, lakes and flowers of our area.
If you would like art panels installed on the outer walls at your downtown Murphy business, contact Vanderlaan, president of the guild, at debrav@bellsouth.net or 561-601-6484. Phase II will begin later this year with 35 more framed panels being showcased downtown.
PEACHTREE
College gets a $1M grant
Golden LEAF has awarded more than $10 million in finding to support economic growth in western North Carolina, and 15 percent of that is coming to Cherokee County, according to a release.
Tri-County Community College has been awarded $1 million to prepare an educational lab and simulation space for clinical training for establishment of a new medical sonography program. This grant will pay for sonography training equipment and supplies, plus construction/renovation to prepare an educational lab and simulation space for clinical training.
In addition, the Town of Murphy was awarded $500,000 to increase the capacity of the section of its sewer system in an area that serves existing business and industry that is ideal for future industrial development and economic growth.
MURPHY
Reach plans Fashion Show
Next week’s Wear the Care runway event will raise funds for Reach of Cherokee County Inc.
This must-see event engages the community with models from Murphy High School’s theater department. The charity show will open at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 12, inside The Ballroom on Hiwassee Street downtown.
The brainchild of Lizz Aquarian of downtown Pizza, Jody Quillian of Glitz & Glamour Boutique and high school theater teacher Wendy Alexander, the event planning required little coaxing. The trio share interest both in fashion and the work Reach does fighting domestic violence and sexual abuse in the community.
More than 40 outfits from Quillian’s boutique will sashay down the runway, modeled by Alexander’s students at Murphy High.
If you are interested in attending the runway show, call Quillian at 828-557-8927 for tickets or business sponsorship opportunities. One hundred percent of the ticket price and 10 percent of the clothing sales will go directly to Reach.
ANDREWS
Co-op helps homeschools
Have you thought of homeschooling your child but don’t have the time due to work or other? Valleytown Christian Academy Homeschool Co-Op is here to help!
According to a release, the co-op’s mission is “to encourage the development of young learners to be prepared academically and spiritually to serve God and to impact the world with their light through character and leadership.’ That is exemplified in Matthew 5:16: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
The homeschooling cooperative meets four days a week from 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. at Valleytown Baptist Church. Leaders help teach all subjects and levels, from kindergarten to 12th grade.
“We have trained staff to help guide children in their curriculum and assure a quality educational experience collectively with our homeschool parents,” the release says.
For details, call Director Emily Malin at 557-4360, pastor Eric Byrd at 360-2404 or lead deacon John Cook at 361-4304. Sign up before July 1 to assure a position.
FANNIN COUNTY, Ga.
Hiker ID’d as a veteran
A body found earlier this year on Springer Mountain has been identified as that of military veteran Stephen Lucas Ryan, 40, of Pennsylvania, The News Observer reported.
Fannin County Coroner Becky Callihan said the identification was made by two specialists in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Missing Persons unit.
Rebecca Hughson, Fannin County chief deputy coroner, said a cause of death has not been determined.
Hughson, who headed up the local coroner’s investigation, said Ryan joined the U.S. Navy immediately after high school. He was awarded a full scholarship to the Naval Academy at Annapolis, where he earned a degree in physics. Ryan transferred to the U.S. Marine Corps and became an Osprey aircraft pilot.
Ryan’s remains were discovered on Jan. 21 off the Benton MacKaye Trail, where it is part of the Appalachian Trail.
RALEIGH
Phase 2 of biz grants
The N.C. Department of Revenue announced Monday it is accepting applications for Phase 2 of the Business Recovery Grant program beginning.
Many additional businesses qualify for these grants due to updates to the program’s eligibility criteria. BRG will issue a payment to an eligible North Carolina business that suffered an economic loss of at least 20 percent in the pandemic.
The grant amount is a percentage of the economic loss demonstrated by the eligible business or $500,000, whichever is less. The application deadline is Wednesday,
June 1.
“Barbershops, cosmetology businesses, gyms, and other businesses that provide services were hit hard by pandemic and it’s important to expand these grants from the American Rescue Plan to help them,” Gov. Roy Cooper said in a release. “Our small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and strong support for them is critical.”
About $200 million remains to be granted of the $500 million in American Rescue Plan funds appropriated for the program. Eligible business owners may apply for Phase 2 online at https://www.ncdor.gov/business-recovery-grant.
MURPHY
Free legal clinic here
The University of North Carolina School of Law’s Pro Bono Program will visit western North Carolina on Wednesday and Thursday, May 11-12, to hold free legal clinics that will provide wills and advance directives, and will also assist with paperwork for individuals who may be eligible for an expunction.
The program will be held at Penland Senior Center from noon-4 p.m. Thursday, May 12.
Law students will partner with attorneys from two different law firms that are based in the mountains, Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Smoky Mountain Offices and the Legal Assistance Office of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Students and lawyers will draft the documents during the clinic. Individuals must be eligible for services from one of those two organizations to receive assistance at the clinic.
Pre-registration is strongly encouraged. To inquire further or register, call Lorinda Baker at 389-5065.
CORRECTION
There was a typographical error on page 7A in the April 27 edition of the Cherokee Scout. The correct spelling of a Brasstown family’s name is Scroggs. The Scout regrets the mistake and should have caught it.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Public meetings
THIS WEEK
- Cherokee County Tourism Development Authority meets at 2 p.m. Monday in the Murphy Visitors Center, 20 Tennessee St.
- Andrews Board of Aldermen meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Facilities Building, 85 Fourth St.
COMING SOON
- Cherokee County Veteran Forces meets at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 11, at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.
- Cherokee County Board of Education meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 12, at Central Office, 911 Andrews Road in Murphy.
- Andrews ABC Board meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 16, in the Facilities Building, 85 Fourth St.
- Cherokee County Board of Commissioners meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 16, in the multi-purpose room of the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.
- Cherokee County Department of Social Services Board meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 17, in the DSS conference room, 4800 U.S. 64 W. in Ranger.
From staff reports.