In this week’s archives of the Cherokee Scout and Andrews Journal:
10 years ago – June 11, 2014, Scout: A N.C. Superior Court judge ruled that it’s unconstitutional to eliminate tenure for teachers who have earned it, knocking down parts of a new Career Status Law.
- D.J. Mock was valedictorian, Tyler Dockery was salutatorian and Constance Owl was the vocational honors student at Murphy High School. All three had a 4.0 grade point average.
- Publisher David Brown’s opinions column, “Fracking bill misses mark,” proclaimed that this issue is “too important to be left up to the honor of (gas and oil companies), who all too often substitute greed for good faith.”
June 12, 2014, Journal: The two-week Appalachian Care mission wrapped up in Andrews, Bryson City and Peachtree. The special medical mission of the U.S. Department of Defense serving more than 5,008 people and 1,453 animals. The total local economic impact of the free health clinics was estimated at more than $1.5 million.
- Brian Gatti was the valedictorian, while Amber Gearhart was the salutatorian, at Nantahala High School.
25 years ago – June 9, 1999, Scout: Outboard Marine Corp. in Marble announced that 60 new jobs would be created to support expanding operations. Update: The former OMC plant is where Team Industries works today.
- A 24-year-old Florida man who failed to register as a sex offender was charged after neighbors complained about shots being fired in Granny Squirrel. As a convicted felon, the man was not legally able to own a firearm.
- Local law enforcement officials were on the lookout at every campus after rumors arose about violence during high school graduations. Thankfully, all was well for the graduates, their families and staff members.
June 10, 1999, Journal: James Drew, 73, of Andrews, died when his pickup was involved in a single-vehicle accident on Junaluska Road. The truck went off the right shoulder, crossed the road and went off the left shoulder before it hit a ditch, overturned and caught fire.
- The family of the groom were adored in Nigerian national attire during the wedding of Ade Mafe and Tracey Williams, niece of Andrews residents Roy and Daphne Sargent. Mafe, a former Olympic sprinter, and his bride lived in England.
50 years ago – June 13, 1974, Scout: An open house was set for the renovated 50-year-old Cherokee County Jail in downtown Murphy. The sheriff’s office worked out of the Murphy Police Department during construction. Update: That jail was torn down in 2008; replacing it was the Cherokee County Detention Center, which is next to the sheriff’s office on Regal Street.
- The Tennessee Valley Authority sent out a statement with higher electricity rates, which affected Murphy Electric Power Board and other power customers served by TVA.
- More than half of Cherokee County’s graduating high school students will be going to colleges and technical schools in the fall with a total of $581,167 in scholarships.
June 12, 1974, Journal: The top seven junior students at Andrews High School – Debbie Patterson, Karla Mintz, Barbara El-Khouri, Steve Maennle, Ronnie Newman, George Rector and Boyd Luther – served a marshals during graduation ceremonies.
- William Pitt Walker, 66, postmaster in Andrews for the last 14 years and a former town aldermen, passed away. He was a charter member of both the Andrews Lions Club as well as the Andrews Chamber of Commerce.
– Publisher David Brown