In this week’s archives of the Cherokee Scout and Andrews Journal:
10 years ago – May 2, 2012, Scout: All 11 candidates for the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners took part in a political forum organized by the county’s 9-12 Chapter. On one end of the table was candidate Eddie Adams, with Cal Stiles at the other end. Update: Stiles and a committee led by Adams have shared opposing full-page ads concerning the 2022 primary election in the last two editions of the Scout.
- Four local residents were arrested after a methamphetamine lab on Hibberts Brand Road at the end of Ware Road in Murphy caught fire, burning an acre or two.
- Scott Earl Bull of Murphy was charged with downloading and distributing child pornography.
- Ray Gutierrez was named the head varsity girls basketball coach at Hiwassee Dam High School. Update: Since later moving to Murphy as coach, Gutierrez has led the Lady Bulldogs to two state 1A championships.
May 3, 2012, Journal: The Up, Up in the Air Fair hot-air balloon festival was delayed by a year. Update: Unfortunately, it never got off the ground.
- A letter Hope Powell of Andrews wrote to an unknown soldier during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 was discovered 21 years later in New Jersey.
- Gary Leming of Andrews was arrested after he allegedly changed his medicine’s prescription to read 114 pills instead of only 14.
25 years ago – April 30, 1997, Scout: Despite being thrown through the windshield of her mother’s automobile, a 5-year-old local girl was not seriously injured in the accident. Her 2-year-old brother was not hurt.
- The Cherokee County Board of Education voted to put out bids immediately for a new school in Ranger, plus construct a new building and make renovations at Murphy High School.
- Graham County decided not to join the new landfill project with Cherokee County in Marble.
May 1, 1997, Journal: District Memorial Hospital in Andrews was fully accredited again after losing that status in 1984. Update: The hospital closed several years later anyway.
- A water advisory for Andrews residents was lifted, so boiling all water before drinking it was no longer the thing to do.
50 years ago – May 4, 1972, Scout: Four people, all awaiting trial on drug charges, escaped from the Cherokee County Jail in downtown Murphy. Husband and wife Gerald and Patty Jean Shaffer were rearrested a day later; brothers James and Kenneth Radford were still at large.
- The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners discussed a planned county garbage system as well as whether to renovate the jail, which clearly wasn’t difficult to escape from at the time. (See above.)
- The Cherokee Scout endorsed four candidates in the Democratic Party primary – although they were all for state offices, not local.
May 3, 1972, Journal: A settlement was reached between the company and union after a one-day walkout at the Magnavox plant in Andrews.
- The Adams Co. of Seneca, S.C., was contracted by the county to crush hundreds of vehicles collected during last fall’s junk car cleanup campaign.
– Publisher David Brown