In this week’s archives of the Cherokee Scout and Andrews Journal:
10 years ago – Jan. 27, 2016, Scout: Four suspects with familiar names to local law enforcement officials were arrested on drug charges after a large amount of controlled substances were seized from a home in Hanging Dog.
- Convicted child rapist Robert Shoopman, who was freed from prison two years before his sentence was up, was indicted on an old case in Ohio. Shoopman was convicted of a child rape that occurred in Cherokee County in 1999.
- More Cherokee County families were choosing to homeschool their children, reducing state funds to local public schools. There were 249 families registered as homeschooling at the time. Update: There are a lot more today.
Jan. 28, 2016, Journal: The Town of Andrews received a $2 million grant from the N.C. Water Infrastructure Authority to install 4,100 linear feet of new sewer lines on five streets in the Happy Top community.
- Andrews High School senior Breanna Orr was one of only 100 U.S. students to win a Horatio Alger Scholarship for $22,000. She was planning on majoring in biology at Western Carolina University.
25 years ago – Jan. 31, 2001, Scout: Supporters of APAC-Tennessee’s proposed asphalt plant in Hot House said opponents were using the debate to try to enact zoning in Cherokee County. “I’m a conservationist, not an environmentalist,” one local truck driver told commissioners.
- People from as far away as North Dakota gathered in a small room built in 1838 at the home of J.C. Murphy in Camp Creek to remember the first assembly of the Church of God movement in 1906.
Feb. 1, 2001, Journal: Off-duty Cherokee County sheriff’s Deputy Milton “Sport” Teasdale was in serious but stable condition following an armed robbery where he was working at the Valley River Amoco in Andrews. When Teasdale confronted the gunman in the parking lot, he was run over by the robber’s vehicle.
- The Andrews varsity boys basketball team remained undefeated in Smoky Mountain Conference play with a 50-46 win over Swain County. Wildcats’ senior Brandon Brown led the way with 19 points.
50 years ago – Jan. 29, 1976, Scout: Murphy’s town fathers said they wanted better access to downtown from the planned four-lane U.S. 64/74 bypass and planned to meet with state officials to discuss the matter.
- E.L. “Leondas” Shields, who served as mayor of Murphy in the early 1940s, died at 83. The former teacher and Shriner also was an accountant, served as city clerk, and was owner and operator of the popular Murphy Motor Court.
Jan. 28, 1976, Journal: Dave Bristol of Andrews talked with the town’s Lions Club about his newest position in Major League Baseball as manager of the Atlanta Braves. He called new team owner Ted Turner “a real go-getter.”
– Publisher David Brown