Quick Reads

  • The Pediatric Cancer Treatment Foundation held a drawing for a Strider kid’s bike drawing on Dec. 16 at Farley Insurance Services in Murphy. The winning ticket belonged to Greg Knust of Murphy. The foundation thanks all those who participated, as well the Cherokee Scout for support, and especially the staff at Farley Insurance for hosting this year’s drawing.
    The Pediatric Cancer Treatment Foundation held a drawing for a Strider kid’s bike drawing on Dec. 16 at Farley Insurance Services in Murphy. The winning ticket belonged to Greg Knust of Murphy. The foundation thanks all those who participated, as well the Cherokee Scout for support, and especially the staff at Farley Insurance for hosting this year’s drawing.
  • Bill Belian/Contributing Photographer  Allen Graves, a lifelong Murphy resident, feeds ducks and geese at Konehete Park. He hopes other people will also feed them, especially in the winter months.
    Bill Belian/Contributing Photographer  Allen Graves, a lifelong Murphy resident, feeds ducks and geese at Konehete Park. He hopes other people will also feed them, especially in the winter months.
  • Chad Higdon, a former band director at Andrews High School, recently led Patton High School’s band to back-to-back championships in a single day.
    Chad Higdon, a former band director at Andrews High School, recently led Patton High School’s band to back-to-back championships in a single day.
  • Anngee Quinones-Belian/Staff Correspondent An image taken by Bill Belian of Ranger, a frequent contributing photographer for the Cherokee Scout, was recently chosen to be placed on a downtown building as part of the Murphy Art Xplosion project.
    Anngee Quinones-Belian/Staff Correspondent An image taken by Bill Belian of Ranger, a frequent contributing photographer for the Cherokee Scout, was recently chosen to be placed on a downtown building as part of the Murphy Art Xplosion project.

    MORGANTON

    Local’s band takes 2 wins

    Chad Higdon – a former band director at Andrews High School and son of Joan Higdon, owner of Drapery Outlet in Murphy – has led the Patton Regiment at Patton High School to back-to-back championships in a single day.

    The News Herald reported that Higdon and his band competed at the Freedom High School Classic on Oct. 15, the Southeastern Band Classic at Newton-Conover High School on Oct. 22 before the Fred T. Foard High School Band Classic and Cavalier Classic at East Burke High School, both on Oct. 29.

    The Panther Regiment collected a number of awards at Foard High, including “Best in Class” and “Grand Champion,” the biggest trophy of the day. They had 10 minutes to celebrate before climbing aboard a bus and heading to East Burke High in Icard.

    The Panther Regiment again stole the show, sweeping every single category in their class – percussion, drum majors, color guard, music, marching and general effect – before it was announced that Patton High had won its second “Grand Champion” honor of the day.

    Higdon told the News Herald that awards are won on the practice field – and the Panther Regiment proved it.

    PEACHTREE

    Funeral home owner dies

    Cochran Funeral Homes, which has an office in Cherokee County, has announced the death of owner Steve Cochran, who was born in 1954.

    Family received friends Tuesday night at Hickory-Cochran Funeral Home in Blue Ridge, Ga. Services will be held at 2 p.m. today in First Baptist Church of McCaysville, Ga.

    DAWSONVILLE, Ga.

    TCCC trains new leader

    Dawson County Fire & Emergency Services recently hired new leaders for two of its five overall divisions, according to dawsonnews.com.

    Prior DCFES employee and longtime firefighter Johnny Irvin has been named the division chief of operations and training, a position previously held by Jason Dooley. Fire and Emergency Medical Services veteran Don Patterson was hired as the EMS division chief, filling the spot left by Robby Lee.

    Like others before him, Don Patterson was intrigued at the EMS role because the division’s reputation already preceded them. Patterson became certified as a nationally registered intermediate EMT in 2000 and, five years later, he attended paramedic school at Tri-County Community College in Cherokee County, N.C.

    RALEIGH

    Moore top Tar Heel

    The Raleigh News & Observer newspaper has named Ricky Moore as Tar Heel of the Year for 2022.

    Moore shares the honor with distinguished prior Tar Heels of the year such as banking leader Hugh McColl and historian John Hope Franklin. This new honor follows Moore’s designation as “Best Chef: Southeast” in the 2022 James Beard Awards competition.

    These honors and the praise are capstones to Moore’s amazing and inspirational life. In his book Saltbox Seafood Joint Cookbook, Moore describes how he rose from a hard-working family in coastal North Carolina and used his growing up experiences, military service, an education at the country’s leading college for chefs, and experience in kitchens of the best restaurants in the United States and Europe to make a tiny seafood restaurant in Durham one of the country’s most admired eateries.

    BLUE RIDGE, Ga.

    Have laugh, help chimps

    Blue Ridge Community Theater announces a fundraising partnership with Project Chimps at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, when everyone to attend a night of improv and laughs with special guests from Dad’s Garage, Atlanta’s most celebrated comedy theater since 1995.

    A team of improvisers led by television’s Amber Nash (Archer) will perform games, stories and characters, all made up on the spot for your pleasure. Never seen before, and never seen again, a night of improv with Dad’s Garage is always guaranteed to be one-of-a-kind Atlanta talent without Atlanta traffic.

    Tickets cost $65, and are available on our website www.BlueRidgeCommunityTheater.com or by calling 706-632-9191.

    Project Chimps was founded to provide lifelong exemplary care to 200 former research chimpanzees at its sanctuary on 230-plus acres of forested land in the Blue Ridge Mountains of north Georgia. Today, Project Chimps is home to 99 chimpanzees, and officials are working to move nearly 100 more to permanent sanctuary.

    RALEIGH

    Rapist loses case appeal

    Attorney General Josh Stein has announced that his office won a criminal appeal in a sexual assault cold case that was solved when law enforcement began testing older untested kits in their custody.

    The criminal appeal was handled by Solicitor General Ryan Park’s office within the N.C. Department of Justice. As a result of the Court of Appeals’ unanimous decision, Wayne Soller’s convictions and sentence will stand.

    “This case demonstrates why we can never let up in our effort to test older kits,” Stein said in a release. “When we test kits, we solve crimes, get dangerous offenders off the street and make our communities safer.”

    Soller was convicted in 2021 for second-degree rape, first-degree sex offense and first-degree burglary and sentenced to 24-29 years in prison. The assault occurred 25 years earlier in 1996, but the victim’s sexual assault kit was never submitted for testing.

    At the time, kits were only submitted for analysis if law enforcement had already identified a suspect. The Wilmington Police Department eventually submitted the kit in 2018 upon the victim’s request, and DNA from the kit matched Soller’s.

    LOCAL GOVERNMENT

    Public meetings

    THIS WEEK

    • Local, state and federal government offices and the Cherokee Scout will be closed Monday for the New Year’s holidays. The Scout will also closed at noon Friday, then be open as usual Tuesday.
    • Murphy Town Council meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Murphy Electric Power Board, 5 Wofford St. downtown.
    • Cherokee County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the multi-purpose room of the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy. The hearing is to receive public input on re-establishing the Cherokee County Board of Social Services. The commissioners’ regular meeting will follow. Story, page 1A.

    COMING SOON

    • Cherokee County Tourism Development Authority meets at 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 9, in the Murphy Visitors Center, 20 Tennessee St.
    • Andrews Board of Aldermen meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10, in the Facilities Building, 85 Fourth St.
    • Cherokee County Veteran Forces meets at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11, at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.
    • Cherokee County Board of Education meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, at Central Office, 911 Andrews Road in Murphy.
    • Local, state and federal government offices will be closed Monday, Jan. 16, for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
    • Andrews ABC Board meets at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17, in the Facilities Building, 85 Fourth St.
    • Cherokee County Department of Social Services Board meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17, in the DSS conference room, 4800 U.S. 64 W. in Ranger.

    Compiled by Publisher David Brown.