In this week’s archives of the Cherokee Scout and Andrews Journal:
10 years ago – June 6, 2012, Scout: Douglas Parker of Dalton, Ga., who was charged in the shooting deaths of both his mother and sister, was arrested by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office after he was found in an “intoxicated stupor” inside his vehicle on U.S. 64 West.
- The unemployment rate in Cherokee County was 12.4 percent, making job prospects bleak for local teenagers. Update: The county’s jobless rate was 3.5 percent in May 2022.
- Cherokee County’s proposed budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year included a millage rate of 52.5 cents per $100 of property valuation, a 14-cent increase from 38.5 cents, after property revaluations were done. Update: Commissioners later reduced the millage rate to 52 cents.
- Murphy’s proposed budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year included a millage rate of 42 cents per $100 of property valuation, up from 33 cents, for the same reason as the county.
June 7, 2012, Journal: Gerald Parker, 85, of Marble, constructed a beautiful spiral waterfall after he said a male voice – who he doesn’t believe was God – told him to build one.
- Andrews High School graduated 72 seniors. Valedictorian Andrew Um joked with fellow students that he was going to deliver his entire address in Korean.
25 years ago – June 4, 1997, Scout: The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners proposed a $13.5 million budget for the 1997-98 fiscal year, which included a significant hike in garbage fees.
- The Cherokee County Board of Education nation swapped .71 acres of their land for .71 acres of Randall Shields’ property in order to build Ranger Elementary/Middle School, which came in longer than expected.
- The Lady Bulldogs’ softball team made the state 1A/2A fast-pitch championships. Update: While the Bulldogs lost two games in a row, this was only Murphy’s first year playing the fast-pitch softball game.
June 5, 1997, Journal: Charlene Lynn Reese, 7, of Marble, died after she found a loaded .22 caliber handgun while visiting her grandparents’ home in Florida and accidentally shot herself in the chest.
- A “private landfill” was marring the beauty of the area near Pisgah Baptist Church, where 10 garbage truck loads of debris had been unloaded a month earlier.
50 years ago – June 8, 1972, Scout: Burglars with a nicotine addiction hit Cal’s Supermarket in Murphy, absconding away with $2,000 in cigarettes and change. Update: Steven Stiles, 19, of Murphy, was arrested a week later and was charged with stealing 850 cartons of smokes.
- The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners quit paying poll workers’ meals after receiving a bill for steak and shrimp dinners, which cost a lot more than the usual hamburgers.
- Steve Allison, 17, of Culberson, drowned at the foot of Cherokee Lake dam while trying to swim across the channel. His friends tried to rescue him to no avail.
June 6, 1972, Journal: William Keith Moore of Marble was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy in West Point.
- The A&P grocery store in Andrews was selling four loaves of a bread for $1. Update: That’s $1 total, not each. Good luck finding anything close to that today.
– Publisher David Brown