Quick Reads

  • Children ages 3-12 were “Running the Race” during vacation Bible school at Murphy Seventh-day Adventist Church from June 26-29. Checkered flags, trophies and race cars set the stage for learning biblical principles, making crafts and having fun. The drive-up of two real race cars offered driver-seat testing and a finish-line victory.
    Children ages 3-12 were “Running the Race” during vacation Bible school at Murphy Seventh-day Adventist Church from June 26-29. Checkered flags, trophies and race cars set the stage for learning biblical principles, making crafts and having fun. The drive-up of two real race cars offered driver-seat testing and a finish-line victory.
  • Children ages 3-12 were “Running the Race” during vacation Bible school at Murphy Seventh-day Adventist Church from June 26-29. Checkered flags, trophies and race cars set the stage for learning biblical principles, making crafts and having fun. The drive-up of two real race cars offered driver-seat testing and a finish-line victory.
    Children ages 3-12 were “Running the Race” during vacation Bible school at Murphy Seventh-day Adventist Church from June 26-29. Checkered flags, trophies and race cars set the stage for learning biblical principles, making crafts and having fun. The drive-up of two real race cars offered driver-seat testing and a finish-line victory.
  • Children ages 3-12 were “Running the Race” during vacation Bible school at Murphy Seventh-day Adventist Church from June 26-29. Checkered flags, trophies and race cars set the stage for learning biblical principles, making crafts and having fun. The drive-up of two real race cars offered driver-seat testing and a finish-line victory.
    Children ages 3-12 were “Running the Race” during vacation Bible school at Murphy Seventh-day Adventist Church from June 26-29. Checkered flags, trophies and race cars set the stage for learning biblical principles, making crafts and having fun. The drive-up of two real race cars offered driver-seat testing and a finish-line victory.

    CHEROKEE COUNTY

    School board meeting twice

    The Cherokee County Board of Education will hold a specially called meeting at noon today at Tri-County Community College’s Harper Administrative Wing, 21 Campus Circle in Peachtree.

    The purpose of this meeting is to discuss confidential personnel matters. No formal action will be taken, according to a release from Cherokee County Schools.

    The next regular meeting of the board of education will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Central Office, 911 Andrews Road in Murphy. If you can’t attend in person, you can watch the meeting live on the Cherokee Scout’s Facebook page.

    MURPHY

    Tuesdays get tastier

    Tasty Tuesdays will be held at the L&N Depot, 4 Railroad St. downtown, from 5-8 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, with the next one set July 26.

    There will be food trucks and craft beer, with live music, tables and chairs in the depot. The event will be held rain or shine. Sponsors include the Town of Murphy, Olive’s Porch, Exit Realty-Murphy and the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce.

    YOUNG HARRIS, Ga.

    Home show on weekend

    The eighth annual Northeast Georgia/Western North Carolina Home & Garden Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday 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.

    ASHEVILLE

    Federal funds replace tower

    Asheville Regional Airport is set to receive $15 million in federal funds to replace its aging air traffic control tower as part of a $5 billion Airport Terminals Program included in the infrastructure law approved by Congress last year.

    The Federal Aviation Administration announced a series of grants on July 7 for “Building Better Airport Terminals” that includes the first $1 billion in funding for more than 90 projects across the country. The $15 million grant for Asheville Regional is one of only two grants awarded to build a completely new air traffic control tower; the other is in Peoria, Ill.

    The project will replace an existing 61-year-old air traffic control tower with a new, expanded facility, work that will be in conjunction with another project to expand and renovate the existing terminal, according to a White House statement. The $5 billion for terminal improvements is part of a broader overall budget of $20 billion for airport improvements in the infrastructure law.

    RALEIGH

    Sign online is approved

    Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill last week that allows notaries to use internet technologies to identify people and notarize their signatures remotely. This significant legislation means homebuyers will soon be able to close loans and buy houses from the comfort of their couch.

    Because of the extensive work required to implement permanent Remote Online Notarization, the portion of House Bill 776 addressing RON becomes effective July 1, 2023. Emergency video notarizations will resume, effective immediately, as a stop-gap measure to allow video notarizations while permanent RON procedures are being put in place.

    The new Remote Online Notary fee will be $25 per principal signature. The law also immediately updates other fees that public notaries across the state can charge.

    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.

    RALEIGH

    Sex assault kits up 18%

    Attorney General Josh Stein announced Thursday a new record of hits in the CODIS DNA database: 1,211 hits. That is a nearly 18 percent increase from the previous fiscal year and means that – thanks to increased testing – law enforcement has more ability than ever to move forward on cases.

    In addition, Stein launched a statewide sexual assault kit tracking dashboard at www.ncdoj.gov/testthekits. The online dashboard provides up-to-date information about North Carolina’s progress in ending the backlog of older untested sexual assault kits in local law enforcement custody.

    Of the 16,235 older kits in local law enforcement custody, 12,189 kits require or may require testing based on the criteria of the Survivor Act. Of those kits, more than 80 percent have been tested (6,640) or are in the process of being tested (3,440). In recent years, law enforcement has made at least 66 arrests from CODIS hits related to at least 91 assaults, including kidnapping, robbery and attempted murder.

    WASHINGTON

    N.C. is No. 1 for business

    Powered by an economy that has hit its stride, and turbocharged by a long track record of innovation, North Carolina is America’s top state for business in 2022, according to CNBC.

    The Tar Heel State has always been a contender in CNBC’s annual competitiveness rankings, rarely finishing outside the top 10 since the study began in 2007. The state finished a close second last year, but 2022 is the first year it has been able to climb to the top.

    What made the difference this year? For one thing, state leaders keep managing to put aside their deep political divisions to boost business and the economy.

    Last fall, Cooper and the General Assembly finally came together to pass a two-year state budget – the first comprehensive spending plan since Cooper took office in 2017 – and the two sides announced that they are close to a deal on expanding Medicaid, which has been a contentious issue for several years.

    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.

    CLARIFICATION

    An article on page 3A in the July 6 edition of the Cherokee Scout failed to mention that Frank Monaghan of Cross Electrical Contractors designed and installed the lighting setup for the alley off Valley River Avenue in downtown Murphy, while Murphy Power Board paid for the costs.

    LOCAL GOVERNMENT

    Public meetings

    THIS WEEK

    • Cherokee County Board of Education will hold a specially called meeting at noon today at Tri-County Community College, 21 Campus Circle in Peachtree.
    • Cherokee County Board of Education meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Central Office, 911 Andrews Road in Murphy. (Watch via the Scout’s Facebook Live.)

    COMING SOON

    • Murphy Town Council meets at 5 p.m. Monday,  Aug. 1, at Murphy Electric Power Board, 5 Wofford St. . (Watch via the Scout’s Facebook Live.)
    • Cherokee County Board of Commissioners meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 1, in the multi-purpose room of the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy. (Watch via the Scout’s Facebook Live.)
    • Cherokee County Tourism Development Authority meets at 2 p.m. Monday, Aug. 8, in the Murphy Visitors Center, 20 Tennessee St.
    • Andrews Board of Aldermen meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9, in the Facilities Building, 85 Fourth St. (Watch via the Scout’s Facebook Live.)
    • Cherokee County Veteran Forces meets at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10, at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in Murphy.
    • Cherokee County Board of Education meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, at Central Office, 911 Andrews Road in Murphy. (Watch via the Scout’s Facebook Live.)
    • Andrews ABC Board meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 15, in the Facilities Building, 85 4th St.
    • Cherokee County Board of Commissioners meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 15, in the multi-purpose room of the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy. (Watch via the Scout’s Facebook Live.)
    • Cherokee County Department of Social Services Board meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 16, in the DSS conference room, 4800 U.S. 64 W. in Ranger.

    From staff reports.