MURPHY
Local legend on TV show
The Cherokee County Historical Museum on Peachtree Street downtown will be featured on the History Channel’s The UnXplained – as hosted by William Shatner of Star Trek fame – at 8 p.m. Friday.
The topic of discussion with local historian Billy Ray Palmer will be centered around a statue that is enclosed in plastic inside the museum on its lower level. The statue was discovered along what is known today as the River Walk. “The Moon-Eyed People,” as it is named, was found in 1841.
The museum purchased the piece about 10 years ago. For details, call Director Terrisa Carringer at 837-6792.
ANDREWS
Murder and dinner meet
Somebody murdered Artemus Ward, and the Valleytown Cultural Arts Center invites the public to help solve the mystery this weekend. Welcome to Murder on the Menu, a theatre-in-the-round performance by Act 2 productions written by Bill Hand.
Despite joking, “I was pushed into it,” director Cory Cheeks is excited to share the dinner theatre play with the public. In addition to a fancy dinner, the audience gets to interact with the players. “There is plenty of audience participation,” Cheeks said.
Proceeds from the sales go directly to the building itself, including air-conditioning updates and a new paint job. Tom Vogler and Michele Howe will display their original artwork at 5 p.m. before each dinner and performance, which begins at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
The $50 tickets are limited to 100 per night. For details, call 361-2781.
RALEIGH
Grants for the internet
The N.C. Department of Information Technology’s Broadband Infrastructure Office has received 305 applications from 38 high-speed internet providers for the current round of Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology grants to expand the state’s broadband infrastructure.
These grants will help connect North Carolinians with high-speed internet infrastructure so they can access crucial digital resources for work, education and telehealth. Organizations and counties across the state expressed interest in participating in the GREAT Grant program, which may award up to $350 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to provide matching grants to broadband providers that compete for funding to expand access to high-speed internet service to unserved households, businesses and farms.
NCDIT expects to begin awarding GREAT grants to internet service providers on a rolling basis beginning in July. For details, visit www.ncbroadband.gov.
MURPHY
Art Walk set Friday
The Valley River Arts Guild will present the second 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 showcase and sell their art, perform music and just have a good time with good people.
The Art Walk runs through December, and everyone is invited to the free event. For details, call 360-3038.
ANDREWS
VFW plans open house
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7620 is planning an open house at noon Saturday, June 11, at the point building next to Andrews Town Hall, 190 First St.
The event will include a flag-retirement ceremony, with an assist from the shooting teams at Andrews high and middle schools. Any damaged flags can be brought to the event or placed in the flag receptacle at Chestnut and Main streets downtown.
There will be free food and drinks afterward. For details, call Scott Ramler at 407-718-9485.
RALEIGH
‘Click it or Ticket’
Fasten your seat belts – summer’s heating up, and so is the statewide Memorial Day Click It or Ticket enforcement campaign, which began May 23.
Through Sunday, law enforcement officers in all 100 N.C. counties will be patrolling the roads to make sure citizens are buckling up, whether they’re behind the wheel, in the passenger seat or in the backseat.
In 2021, 555 North Carolinians who were not wearing seat belts lost their lives in vehicle crashes, including nearly 30 over last year’s two-week Click It or Ticket enforcement period.
North Carolina law requires all passengers in a vehicle to be properly restrained and violations are punishable by fines of up to $180. Children younger than 8 years and under 80 pounds must be properly restrained in an approved child safety seat or booster seat. If a passenger under 16 is not properly restrained, the driver faces a $266 fine.
SYLVA
Skip court, go to prison
A Jackson County man who skipped court in February prior to a jury returning a verdict of guilty for drug trafficking and possession has been sentenced to prison, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch and Sheriff Chip Hall said last week in a joint announcement.
Phillip Jordan Andrews, 25, must serve a minimum of 70 months in prison to a maximum of 93 months for trafficking in opiates by sale and trafficking in opiates by possession. He must pay a mandatory fine of $50,000.
In connection with a separate, March 8, 2020, incident, Andrews also must serve a consecutive sentence of 32-51 months for second-degree burglary and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.
Andrews also received a third consecutive sentence of 6-17 months, suspended. He will be placed on supervised probation for 60 months for possession with intent to sell and deliver fentanyl and the drug’s direct precursor, ANPP, or anilino-N-phenethylpiperidine.
On Aug 5, 2020, Jackson County investigators and SBI agents arranged a controlled “buy” at Andrew’s residence. They seized a plastic bag that contained 6.98 grams of both fentanyl and ANPP.
After Andrews absconded, authorities issued arrest warrants and entered his name into the National Criminal Information Computer network. U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Andrews on March 7 as he attempted to re-enter the United States from Mexico, outside of San Diego, Calif. He was extradited to Jackson County on April 22.
RALEIGH
Business recovery
The N.C. Department of Revenue continues to accept applications for Phase 2 of the Business Recovery Grant program. Since the application process opened on May 2, the department has received more than 7,000 applications.
BRG will issue a payment to an eligible North Carolina business that suffered an economic loss of at least 20 percent during 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.
Many additional businesses qualify for the grants
due to updates to the program’s eligibility criteria. In addition to COVID-impacted businesses in the hospitality industry such as restaurants and hotels, the BRG is open to all other business industries.
A business that received other COVID-19 relief may be eligible for a grant in Phase 2. About $200 million remains to be granted of the $500 million in American Rescue Plan funds appropriated for the program.
SWANNONOA
Kids for Life founder ride
The Pediatric Cancer Treatment Foundation is holding the first Mike Traynor Memorial Ride on Saturday at Harley-Davidson of Asheville, 20 Patton Cove Road.
Former employees and volunteers are coming to Asheville from all over the country to honor Traynor, founder of Ride for Kids (Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation) in Asheville. The ride is open to everyone, and all brands of motorcycles, to have fun and raise money for the kids.
Registration opens at 9 a.m. and is $35 per rider, $15 per passenger. For details, email rtrigueros.pctf@att.net or visit www.pctf-foundation.org.
RALEIGH
Watch for baby scams
Shortages in the supply of baby formula are leading new parents to find other ways of finding the much-needed item – and risking themselves to potential online scams.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration announced it is taking proactive measures to increase supply to help ease the shortage.
According to the 2021 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report, online shopping scams are the riskiest. With the current supply issues on many items, including formula, scammers are watching.
How it works: An ad, post or social media group posts they have baby formula available. The buyer contacts the seller via chat or direct message, showing photos of the cans available. The buyer makes a payment through a peer-to-peer platform, but the formula never arrives.
If you believe that you have been the victim of a scam, call 877-5-NO-SCAM or file a complaint online at https://ncdoj.gov/file-a-complaint.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Public meetings
THIS WEEK
- Cherokee County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a budget meeting for 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the multi-purpose room of the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.
- Murphy Town Council meets at 5 p.m. Monday at Murphy Electric Power Board, 5 Wofford St. downtown. Council members will also hold a public hearing on the proposed 2022-23 budget, which can be reviewed online at www.townofmurphync.com.
- 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. A public hearing on the county manager’s recommended budget will be held at the beginning of the regular meeting, while a budget work session will be held immediately following conclusion of the regular meeting
- Cherokee County Tourism Development Authority meets at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Murphy Visitors Center, 20 Tennessee St.
- The Learning Center Board of Directors meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at 945 Connahetta St. in Murphy.
COMING SOON
- Cherokee County Veteran Forces meets at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 8, at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.
- Cherokee County Board of Education meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 9, at Central Office, 911 Andrews Road in Murphy.
- Cherokee County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a budget meeting for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 9, in the multi-purpose room of the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.
- Cherokee County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a budget meeting for 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 13, in the multi-purpose room of the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.
- Andrews Board of Aldermen meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 14, in the Facilities Building, 85 Fourth St.
- Andrews ABC Board meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday, June 20, in the Facilities Building, 85 Fourth St.
- Cherokee County Department of Social Services Board meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 21, in the DSS conference room, 4800 U.S. 64 W. in Ranger.
From staff reports.