Quick Reads

  • Abigail Blythe Batton/Staff Correspondent Adria Jones – sitting for a spell with her husband, Loren Jones – holds up a beer and a chicken wing in the VIP section of Murphy Music & Brews, a fundraising festival held downtown on April 22 to raise money and awareness for Shepherd’s Men and the Shepherd Clinic in Atlanta, which treats injured U.S. military veterans. Southern rock band Drivin N Cryin played at the show.
    Abigail Blythe Batton/Staff Correspondent Adria Jones – sitting for a spell with her husband, Loren Jones – holds up a beer and a chicken wing in the VIP section of Murphy Music & Brews, a fundraising festival held downtown on April 22 to raise money and awareness for Shepherd’s Men and the Shepherd Clinic in Atlanta, which treats injured U.S. military veterans. Southern rock band Drivin N Cryin played at the show.
  • Bill Belian/Contributing Photographer Two wiener dog winners – second-place Harley and first-place Shadow, both 3 (from left) – proudly sport their titles in the grand finals, along with winning third and fourth places in the costume division, during the Andrews Spring Fling & Nature Expo held downtown on April 22. They are the pride and joy of Sue Jordan of Andrews.
    Bill Belian/Contributing Photographer Two wiener dog winners – second-place Harley and first-place Shadow, both 3 (from left) – proudly sport their titles in the grand finals, along with winning third and fourth places in the costume division, during the Andrews Spring Fling & Nature Expo held downtown on April 22. They are the pride and joy of Sue Jordan of Andrews.

    MURPHY

    Aegis works for defense

    Aegis Power Systems Inc. was awarded a $28.6 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract on April 21 to create a multi-functional chassis fielded by the U.S. Navy for use on submarines to house multiple electronic devices in order to consolidate onboard equipment rack space, according to the Department of Defense.

    Contract N00039-23-D-9000 is to provide “Program Executive Office, Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence Program Manager, Warfare Information Assurance and the Navy’s Cyber Security Program Office with the development, fabrication, integration, testing, production, and delivery of a new design for the Cryptographic Universal Enclosure Power Supply Modules.”

    The contract includes a three-year ordering period, with the first task order being awarded with a value $744,000. Work will be performed in Murphy and is expected to be completed in April 2026, according to the DOD.

    MURPHY

    Schools get repairs OK’d

    The Cherokee County Board of Education approved paying for a variety of repairs at local public school campuses on April 20. Repairs include:

    • HVAC chiller replacement at Andrews High School. Ireland-based Johnson Controls will be paid $175,000 for the work and $16,100 for an additional four-year warranty. The Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund will pay for the project.
    • Boiler line replacement at Andrews High School. It will replace the leaking underground boiler line in the parking lot between Building A and the Cafeteria Building. Asheville-based MB Haynes Corp. will be paid $36,570 for the work. Funding will come from sales tax proceeds.
    • Engineered drawings and specifications for a chiller at Hiwassee Dam School. Knoxville, Tenn.-based Engineering Services Group Inc. will be paid $5,675 for the work. Funding will come from sales tax proceeds.
    • Engineered drawings and specifications for a chiller at Andrews Middle School. Engineering Services Group Inc. will be paid $7,500 for the work. Funding will come from sales tax proceeds.
    • Engineered drawings for mechanical and electrical work to be submitted to the state for review and for bid documents. Engineering Services Group Inc. will be paid $7,500 for the work. Funding will come from sales tax proceeds.

    WASHINGTON

    Bill benefits vet drivers

    U.S. Reps. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) and Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) introduced last week the bipartisan bill H.R. 2830, the Veteran Improvement Commercial Driver License Act of 2023, to eliminate red tape that excludes veterans from accessing commercial driver-education programs using their GI Bill benefits.

    The legislation would exempt new branches of established commercial driver-training facilities from the statutory two-year waiting period to accept GI Bill benefits if the primary training facility has already been approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs and state approving agencies to receive those benefits.

    “In rural areas like western North Carolina, veterans have to drive for hours to get training for a commercial driver license because closer facilities are forced to wait two years to accept GI Bill benefits,” Edwards said.

    “The truck driver shortage is worsening, and obtaining a CDL can provide veterans with good, high-paying jobs when they finish their service. H.R. 2830 will cut red tape and expand veterans’ access to training.”

    MURPHY

    School board supports arts

    The Cherokee County Board of Education issued a proclamation supporting arts in education.

    The proclamation, approved at the board’s April 20 meeting, says the arts can be part of a well-rounded education and have the power to change students’ lives, and may be a key to reigniting students’ learning in a post-COVID-19 world.

    Arts education experiences help students understand their own cultural roots and appreciate others’ cultural roots and traditions, the proclamation says, adding that arts education supports the social and emotional well-being of students and fosters a more positive, safer school environment.

    MURPHY

    Author will sign books

    B.G. Samuels, author of the new adventure novel Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom, will be signing copies of his book starting at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Curiosity Shop bookstore on Valley River Avenue downtown.

    The event will take place during the first Murphy Art Walk of the 2023 season.

    LOCAL GOVERNMENT

    Public meetings

    THIS WEEK

    • Cherokee County Republican Party meets at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Ranger Community Center, 165 Little Ranger Road.
    • Cherokee County Tourism Development Authority meets at 2 p.m. Monday in the Murphy Visitors Center, 20 Tennessee St.
    • Cherokee County Board of Health meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Cherokee County Health Department, 228 Hilton St. in Murphy.
    • Cherokee County Needs & Solutions Advisory Committee meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Hiwassee Dam Fire Department, 80 Line Drive.

    COMING SOON

    • Cherokee County Veteran Forces meets at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 10, at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in Murphy.
    • Cherokee County Board of Education meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 11, at Central Office, 911 Andrews Road in Murphy.(Live-streamed on the Scout’s Facebook page.)
    • Cherokee County Democratic Party Executive Committee meets at 3 p.m. Monday, May 15, in the meeting room of the Murphy Public Library, 9 Blumenthal St.
    • Andrews ABC Board meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 15, in the Facilities Building, 85 Fourth St.
    • Cherokee County Board of Commissioners meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 15, in the Commissioners Boardroom at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in Murphy. (Live-streamed on the Scout’s Facebook page.)
    • Andrews Board of Aldermen meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 16, in the Facilities Building, 85 Fourth St. (Live-streamed on the Scout’s Facebook page.)

    Compiled by David Brown and Randy Foster.