MURPHY
Art Walk, parade set
Christmas in Cherokee County is looking very Murphy this weekend.
A Very Murphy Christmas, complete with a nighttime electric parade, is set for 6 p.m. Saturday, followed by the lighting of the Christmas tree on the downtown square. The event was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Saturday’s parade and tree lighting festivities will be preceded a day earlier by the last Art Walk of 2021, set for 5-8 p.m. Friday in downtown Murphy. The public is encouraged to come and shop from local artists.
The festivities continue a schedule of events that kicked off with the Light Up Murphy storefront contest in late November.
A downtown Murphy scavenger hunt that began Nov. 26 remains ongoing until Dec. 15. Patrons can shop from 20 different participating merchants as they aim to find a “hidden ornament.” Participants are encouraged to take a picture and post to social media and make a purchase from a retailer. The contest includes a grand prize drawing for two lucky winners who will be announced Dec. 17.
A Very Murphy Christmas is sponsored by Cherokee County, the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce, the Murphy Business Association and the Murphy Art Center.
CHEROKEE COUNTY
13 new cases of COVID-19
A total of 13 local residents tested positive for COVID-19 last week, according to the Cherokee County Health Department, as the total number of local cases continues to decline.
Since the pandemic started through Monday, the health department has conducted 21,737 tests, 16,961 which were negative, Of the 4,747 positive tests, 4,628 have been released, 99 are deceased and 20 are active.
To help keep those numbers down, Health Director David Badger reminds local residents that boosters for all three vaccines, as well as vaccines for children, have been approved. For details, call 837-7486.
“Hopefully we will see that demand increase over time, as people become more comfortable with their safety as more children receive them,” Badger said.
BRASSTOWN
Morningsong at folk school
John C. Campbell Folk School is holding a virtual Morningsong at 7:45 a.m. Fridays, which you can watch online via the school’s Facebook page.
Here’s the schedule of performers this month:
- Friday: Cara Wildman & Dawn Davis.
- Dec. 10: Melissa Weaver Dunning & Martha Owen.
- Dec. 17: Wyatt Espalin.
- Dec. 24: Lorinda Jones.
You can rewatch past events via the school’s YouTube channel.
Unfortunately, Winter Dance Week will not be held at the folk school this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For details, visit folkschool.org.
MURPHY
Foundation here to help
Lori Bailey from the Nantahala Health Foundation spoke with the Rotary Club of Murphy on Nov. 22 about the organization’s mission “to support and collaborate with local organizations to improve the health and well-being of all within the communities we serve.”
The foundation serves Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties as well as the Qualla Boundary.
Bailey spoke about social determinants of poor health – like how 50 percent of our health is affected by our education, opportunities, neighborhoods, built environments and economic stability – and what the foundation does to help with those areas. The foundation also partners with other groups to meet community health needs, help connect groups and help to write grants to leverage money from outside sources.
For details, visit nantahalahealthfoundation.org.
WASHINGTON
$1B more for rural internet
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Nov. 24 the department has begun accepting applications for up to $1.15 billion in loans and grants to help people in rural areas get access to high-speed internet.
This announcement comes on the heels of the recently enacted Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides another nearly $2 billion in additional funding for the ReConnect program. USDA anticipates issuing a new Notice of Funding Opportunity to make the additional funds in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law available in 2022.
“High-speed internet is the new electricity,” Vilsack said in a release. “These are just two of the latest of many historic infrastructure investments the Biden-Harris administration is making. Expanding broadband availability in rural areas will help create jobs, help farmers use precision agriculture technologies, expand access to health care and educational services, and create economic opportunities for millions of rural Americans across the country.”
Eligible applicants are state, local or territory governments; corporations; Native American Tribes; limited liability companies and cooperative organizations. For details, visit www.usda.gov.
RALEIGH
Overdoses on the rise
More Americans are dying from drug overdoses than ever before, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. There were an estimated 100,306 fatal overdoses over the 12 months through April 2021 – the most ever reported in a 12-month period and double the annual number of car accidents and firearm deaths combined.
The record number of deadly overdoses marks a 29 percent increase from the same period a year earlier and is more than double the number reported as recently as 2014. Public health experts attribute the surge to the proliferation of fentanyl – a synthetic opioid reported to be 50-100 times more potent than morphine – as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
In North Carolina, drug overdose deaths are rising at a faster pace than they are nationwide. There were an estimated 3,526 fatal overdoses in the state over the 12 months ending in April 2021, compared to 2,576 over the same period the year prior. The 36.9 percent increase ranks as the 14th largest of all 46 states that reported an increase in deadly overdoses.
The fatal drug overdose rate in North Carolina stands at 33.8 deaths for every 100,000 people, the 18th highest among all states. Nationwide, the per capita fatality rate stands at 30.3 per 100,000. For details, visit cdc.org.
ASHEVILLE
I-40 bridge delays travel
Digital signs posted several counties away are warning of delays on Interstate 40 in the Pigeon River Gorge. They will be in place this week and for the next six months as a contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation replaces a bridge on I-40 over Harmon Den Road and Cold Springs Creek.
Delays are expected in
both directions during holiday travel this week. The DOT recommends that drivers plan ahead, prepare for delays and consider an alternate route through Kingsport, Tenn. Drivers should visit www.DriveNC.gov for real-time traffic information.
Drivers are not recommended to take any exit between Newport, Tenn., and Asheville to traverse mountain roads. While some of these roads might be suggested by travel apps, they may be gravel rather than paved and could be steep or include sharp curves.
CORRECTIONS
- An article on page 1A in the Nov. 24 edition of the Cherokee Scout contained a reporting error. The defendants, District Attorney Ashley Welch and assistant district attorney John Hindsman, filed a notice through their counsel to move the lawsuit to federal court. The Scout regrets the error.
- A caption under a photo on page 2A in the Nov. 24 edition of the Cherokee Scout contained a reporting error. Twins Bella and Lela Mitchel were watching the Andrews Veterans Day Parade. The Scout regrets the error.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Public meetings
THIS WEEK
- Murphy Town Council meets at 5 p.m. Monday at Murphy Electric Power Board, 5 Wofford St. downtown.
- 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.
- 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, Dec. 8, at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.
- Cherokee County Board of Education meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9, at Central Office, 911 Andrews Road in Murphy.
- Cherokee County Tourism Development Authority meets at 2 p.m. Monday, Dec. 13, in the Murphy Visitors Center, 20 Tennessee St.
From staff and The Capital Square reports.