CHEROKEE COUNTY
COVID cases increase here
There were 231 positive cases of COVID-19 in June, according to the Cherokee County Health Department. Of those cases, 38 were fully vaccinated without a booster, while 56 were fully vaccinated with a booster.
A total of 106 cases were ages 60 and over, while only 22 were ages 18 or under. According to the N.C. department of Health & Human Services, 77 percent of adults have received at least one vaccination shot statewide, but only 25 percent of Cherokee County residents have been vaccinated with a booster.
The health department is managing between 60-70 active known cases per day, according to a release. It’s important to understand that these numbers represent reported cases, so it’s an underrepresentation of the actual case rate, as many people are taking home tests or simply not testing.
In addition, it’s important to remember that if you have been exposed or have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 to take necessary precautions to prevent further transmission, which include self-isolation during the first five days of infection and masking during the second five days or quarantine following exposure. Vaccinations/boosters are also effective tools at reducing the risk of transmission if exposed and preventing serious illness from infection.
CULBERSON
Singing to help teen
A benefit dinner and singing is planned for 5 p.m. Saturday at Valley River Baptist Church, 211 Raper Road, to help local teenager Eli Jones. Everyone is invited.
The energetic Eli, 14, recently broke his leg. An X-ray discovered a tumor on his femur, and he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer). Dinner will be held after the singing.
MURPHY
Cheerleader coming home
Murphy School of Dance is hosting two professional cheerleading and dancing clinics next month featuring Sheridan, a local native who is a cheerleader with the Baltimore Ravens in the National Football League and was featured in the Jan. 19 edition of the Cherokee Scout.
The camps, for ages 7-18, will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3, at $65 per person and 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, at $75 per person. This is not related to the school’s fall registration.
The clinics are not limited to cheerleaders or dancers only, as everyone is invited on a first-come basis. The school is at 281 Tennessee St. downtown. For details, email torie.pinkleton@gmail.com.
MURPHY
Residents to get shredded
To assist members of the community in reducing their risk of identity theft, civic and local government federal credit unions are sponsoring a free Shred event from 8-11 a.m. Thursday at the L&N Depot, 4 Railroad St. downtown.
Members of the community and surrounding areas are invited to bring documents that include personal or confidential information for disposal. These documents include pre-approved credit card offers, monthly statements, out-of-date account statements and other printed personal information. These documents will be shredded on site.
This is not for use by businesses, commercial entities or county departments. There is a limit of three boxes or 75 pounds of paper per individual.
SMITHVILLE, Tenn.
Local wins fiddle honor
Noah Goebel, 13, of Elkton, Ky., claimed the Grand Champion Fiddling Title at the 51st edition of the Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree & Crafts Festival on July 2, according to WJLE.com.
As the 2022 Grand Fiddle Off Champion, Goebel will be invited by the Grand Ole Opry to play a “fiddle tune” for the Opry square dancers’ live performance during a selected show. This is the 11th year in a row – not counting the 2020 virtual jamboree – that a Junior Fiddler has beaten the Senior Fiddler for the Grand Championship of the festival.
Cherokee County was well represented at the festival, as Bridget Esterhuizen of Murphy won first place in the Senior Old-Time Appalachian Flatfoot Dance (ages 40 & over) category. The other first-place winner from western North Carolina was the Rocky Top Revue of Franklin in Square Dancing.
BRYSON CITY
Plane lands in highway
A single-engine plane made an emergency landing on a Swain County highway last week. You can watch a video of the tense moment on the Cherokee Scout’s Facebook page.
According to the Swain County Sheriff’s Office, the plane landed on U.S. 19 around 11:50 a.m. July 3. No injuries were reported, according to WLOS.
Pilot Vincent Fraser said he was flying with his father-in-law after looking at property he purchased near Fontana Lake. That’s when he said the engine started to fail.
“I started going through my checklist and I was able to get the aircraft to restart and kind of fly a little bit, but she would only fly for three to five seconds, and then she would come back down and start to sink again,” he told WLOS.
With the plane dropping lower, Fraser – who said he only received his private pilot license in October and has just under 100 hours of flying experience – looked for a safe place to land. With the difficult mountainous terrain, the five-lane highway was the best spot.
“By the grace of God, I looked to my left, and you couldn’t see it before because, you know, it’s just all valleys and mountains, but there’s a road -- that road that I landed on just right there, perfectly lined up,” he said.
Dodging multiple lanes of traffic and power lines, Fraser made a successful emergency landing. WLOS reported that he is expected to fly home to Florida this week.
YOUNG HARRIS, Ga.
Home show July 23-24
The eighth annual Northeast Georgia/Western North Carolina Home & Garden Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 23, and noon-5 p.m. Sunday, July 24, in the Towns County Recreation & Conference Center, 150 Foster Park Road.
Admission is free for exhibitors, staff and the public. A big crowd is expected to be in attendance as events return following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event is produced by Expo Management Inc. of Andrews. For details, visit expomanagementinc.com.
FRANKLIN
2 guilty in drug crimes
Two Macon County men admitted guilt last week in connection with drug-related crimes, District Attorney Ashley Welch said in a release.
Carl Floyd, 32, Franklin, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking in connection with his arrest on June 2, 2019, along U.S. 441 North. A Macon County sheriff’s deputy stopped a vehicle for erratic driving, and a search revealed a plastic baggie with methamphetamine in Floyd’s possession. Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Bill Coward sentenced Floyd to serve a minimum of 70 months in prison up to a maximum of 93 months, and also ordered Floyd to pay a state-mandated $50,000 fine.
Derek Camp, 32, of Franklin, pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking opium/heroin fentanyl in connection with his arrest on Sept. 1, 2021, at a service station on Dowdle Mountain Road, and Feb. 3, 2022, at a local Franklin hotel. A Franklin police officer observed Camp participate in a drug deal, and a search revealed fentanyl and methamphetamine as well as drug paraphernalia. Coward sentenced Camp to serve a minimum of 160 months in prison up to a maximum sentence of 213 months, plus levied the state-mandated $150,000 fine.
The successful prosecutions are part of a targeted effort across the 43rd Prosecutorial District to take dealers off the streets, Welch said. Also last week, five drug traffickers in Haywood County pleaded guilty to drug-related charges and are in the N.C. Division of Adult Corrections.
WARNE
Benefit for senior dogs
“Love Doesn’t Keep Track of the Years,” a charitable benefit honoring the Senior Scenter for Elderly Dogs, will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, in the Warne Community Center, 4759 Old Highway 64.
The event, which is sponsored by the Hidden Mountain Brilliance homeschool academy activity group, will include a food truck, 50/50 raffle, live auction and live gospel entertainment.
CORRECTION
The photo of Serenity Faith Cable on page 1A in the July 6 edition of the Cherokee Scout was taken by Katina Zenobi of Any Day Photography by Katina. The Scout regrets the error and says thanks for her contribution to the local newspaper.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
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.
- Cherokee County Board of Education meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Central Office, 911 Andrews Road in Murphy. (Watch via Facebook Live.)
- 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. (Watch via Facebook Live.)
- Cherokee County Department of Social Services Board meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the DSS conference room, 4800 U.S. 64 W. in Ranger.
From staff reports.