In this week’s archives of the Cherokee Scout and Andrews Journal:
10 years ago – May 14, 2014, Scout: Terry Taylor, longtime chair of the Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corp. Board of Directors, resigned after it was revealed that his construction company’s account was $48,643.53 past due. Board vice president Lenny Parks took over in his absence.
- James Mathis, 52, of Cleveland, Tenn., was clinging to life after his vehicle collided the week before with one driven by Glenn Carson of Peachtree, who died in the accident. The N.C. Highway Patrol reported that Mathis’ vehicle crossed the center line before the collision.
- Cherokee County Schools assistant superintendent Kenny Garland, former principal of Hiwassee Dam High School, was leaving the area to become superintendent of Whiteville City Schools on the other end of North Carolina.
May 15, 2014, Journal: Korbin Smith, 2, and Zack Williams, 7, both of Andrews and fighting the cancer neuroblastoma, were walking at the Relay for Life at Konehete Park in Murphy. Update: The event raised more than $62,000 for the American Cancer Society.
- Andrews High School held a prom night to remember with about 130 students. Seniors Kate Trammel and Aaron Devore were named queen and king, respectively.
25 years ago – May 12, 1999, Scout: Kenneth
Dale Chastain, 39, of Murphy, drowned in a creek off of Hiwassee Lake, where he was apparently camping with others. He was a self-employed auto mechanic.
- Cherokee County planner Ann Miller Woodford said zoning was not on the planning board’s agenda, squashing rumors that claimed otherwise.
- Damage was reported at multiple schools, and elsewhere in Cherokee County, after thunderstorms rolled in and hail pounded the area. Some hail stones measured up to 4 inches.
May 13, 1999, Journal: Jeffery Wade McTaggert, 22, of Andrews, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting serious injuries with intent to kill, after his brother Charles was cut during an altercation.
u The Andrews Board of Aldermen decided to keep the town’s property tax rate at 57 cents per $100.
50 years ago – May 16, 1974, Scout: The Murphy Volunteer Fire Department refused to answer a call, which led to a new house being destroyed just outside of the town limits. The firefighters apparently made the decision themselves.
- Detailed plans for a bicycle trail from the Fairgrounds along the Valley River to Murphy High School were enthusiastically received by town and county officials. Dot Mason, secretary of the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce, was heading up the project.
- Family Dollar showed just how far a buck could stretch by selling boys’ knit shirts for 99 cents, men’s shirts or shorts for $2.99 each and “ladies fashion-right summer sportswear” for $2 each. And that’s not to mention the five rolls of aluminum foil for $1.
May 15, 1974, Journal: The Andrews Board of Aldermen was seeking a 50-50 state grant to improve the town’s water system in the area of the hospital and housing project. Update: Some things haven’t changed.
u A thin, fragile 800-pound slab of gray marble featuring the names of people who donated to the Valleytown Cemetery Improvement Project was erected at the site.
– Publisher David Brown