In this week’s archives of the Cherokee Scout and Andrews Journal:
10 years ago – Nov. 6, 2013, Scout: A woman was grabbed from behind by a person while near the Leech Place on the Murphy RiverWalk, but she bit him and was able to escape his grasp. Murphy Police Chief Justin Jacobs said this was the first time anything like this had happened on the River Walk.
- Wild weather struck over the Halloween weekend, at one point taking a trampoline off of the ground and hanging it on a power pole. At least 56 power outages were reported.
- Martins Creek Elementary/Middle School Principal Paul Wilson spent a night on the roof of the school. He promised students he would sleep on the chilly roof if they sold 500 boxes of doughnuts to raise money for classroom supplies; they sold 800.
Nov. 7, 2013, Journal: Nancy Curtis was elected mayor by a 75-25 percent margin over Johnny Brown as election night was not good for incumbents in Andrews. Ray Frazier, Phillip Horton, Gary James and Jerry Pullium made up the new board of aldermen. Update: Incumbent alderman James Reid, who received the second-lowest number of votes that year, has since been elected mayor twice.
- Vinson Jasper Lee, 48, was walking along Airport Road in Andrews when he walked into the roadway, where he was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer going to the Valwood Corp. sawmill.
25 years ago – Nov. 4, 1998, Scout: Democrat Alan Kilpatrick easily defeated 12-year Republican incumbent Jack Thompson to take over the office of Cherokee County sheriff.
- Republican candidates swept the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners’ races, with Dana Jones, Ernest Jones and Barbara Vicknair winning the three seats. Vicknair was the first female commissioner in county history. Update: The commission has five seats today, with multiple female commissioners serving.
- Jennifer LeAnn Kephart, 14, of Murphy, was named the youth winner of the 1998 Award for Excellence in Service to Children & Youth. For three years, she volunteered at the Murphy Infant & Toddler Center.
Nov. 5, 1998, Journal: A tree and memorial marker were dedicated at Ferebee Park in Andrews to Adam Colt Griggs, who sadly passed away at age 4 after a long battle with cancer. Griggs’ marker reads: “He touched us all.”
- The Dan Holland Reservoir, which provides drinking water to Andrews, was 4 inches below normal, a serious situation that led to the state issuing a boil water advisory.
50 years ago – Nov. 8, 1973, Scout: Whether or not to pay for the sheriff’s new radio system remained a hot topic before the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners. The two Republican commissioners said they never officially approved Democratic Sheriff Blain Stalcup’s purchase.
- You could pick out a free ham or turkey with the purchase of any General Electric appliance or console television – a 25-inch model cost $578 – at Carolina Tire Co. in Murphy.
- The Levi Strauss plant in Murphy ran two full pages of advertisements in the Cherokee Scout celebrating the success of their workers – and how they need even more of them to sew as a result.
Nov. 7, 1973, Journal: The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners agreed to spend $39,050 to furnish and equip the cafeteria and kitchen at the new Andrews Elementary School building.
- Andrews lost to Robbinsville 6-0 on the football field thanks to a “lucky pass,” the article notes. It added: “Both teams showed good sportsmanship and played good defense.”
– Publisher David Brown