In this week’s archives of the Cherokee Scout and Andrews Journal:
10 years ago – March 26, 2014, Scout: A juvenile was hospitalized for a gunshot wound after allegedly leading law enforcement officers on a chase that started at the intersection of Harshaw and Martins Creek roads.
- More than $23,000 in wheels and tires were stolen from vehicles at Jacky Jones GM Superstore in Murphy during a weekend robbery.
- Small Town USA premiered an episode of a proposed television show that featured downtown Andrews and other local attractions, making it one of the most positive promotions ever of Cherokee County. Update: Unfortunately, the show was never picked up.
March 27, 2014, Journal: Richard Parker, a longtime volunteer at Western Carolina Regional Airport in Andrews, called a meeting to discuss funding for a new terminal. Update: Despite Parker’s best efforts, a new terminal still hasn’t happened at the airport.
- Only two weeks after she was demoted as Andrews’ town administrator, Teresa Ricks was rehired to the position, while also continuing to serve as town clerk, deputy tax collector and finance officer.
25 years ago – March 24, 1999, Scout: Jose Antonio Rivera, 22, of Murphy, was arrested and charged with three counts of statutory sex offenses of a person ages 13, 14 or 15. He had a $150,000 bond.
- Cherokee County commissioners scheduled a meeting with J.C. Pierce Enterprises of Blue Ridge, Ga., about a “plasma torch” alternative waste disposal system that featured “temperatures hotter than the surface of the sun.”
- Kindergarten students at Murphy Elementary School visited Notla Farms in Ranger. Owner Johnny Shields said there used to be 25 dairy farms in Cherokee County, but now there were only two.
March 25, 1999, Journal: A new water line installed at the Hillbilly Mall of U.S. 19/74 in Andrews tested clear of harmful bacteria.
- Agents with the Southeast Bomb Task Force believed Eric Rudolph was still hiding in the Nantahala National Forest, and listening in on radio calls. The number of people looking for the fugitive Olympic bomber in the area was dwindling.
50 years ago – March 28, 1974, Scout: Right of way among 64 parcels of land along U.S. 19/74 was being bought by the N.C. Department of Transportation in order to build a new four-lane highway between Andrews and Murphy. Update: Some clever residents quickly constructed out-buildings to drive up their price.
- High winds flattened the screen at the Murphy Drive-In in Peachtree, and also removed the roofs from two nearby chicken houses. The Andrews Drive-In took care of movie watchers for the next six weeks.
- Jewell Kirby was finally scheduled to be tried on a 1967 murder count. He was at first found mentally incompetent to stand trial, until hospital officials reversed course and declared that he was competent.
March 27, 1974, Journal: A subsidy of Sea Pines Co. in Hilton Head, S.C., was interested in developing 7,000 acres around Nantahala Lake. The company called it a “private national park.” Update: It wasn’t built.
- Three seventh-grade Andrews students – Kathryn El-Khouri and Douglas Ward on trumpet, and Judy Gilbert on tuba – were chosen to play in the All-State Junior High School Band concert.
– Publisher David Brown