In this week’s archives of the Cherokee Scout and Andrews Journal:
10 years ago – Dec. 4, 2013, Scout: A local resident stole a motorcycle and took it for a joy ride in Peachtree, but when the night ended he was in the hospital receiving treatment after an accident, with charges for him – three others with him were already facing charges – on the way from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
- “Moonshiner Wayne,” aka Wayne Nix of Hanging Dog, learned the fine art from a still made for him by the colorful Marvin “Jim Tom” Hedrick of Robbinsville, which led to Nix appearing on the Discovery channel reality show Moonshiners. Update: Jim Tom sadly passed away on Sept. 6.
- Jerry Chautin’s regular “Business Mentoring” column in the Scout showed entrepreneurs how to price baseballs as well as their products. Update: Chautin was the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Journalist of the year in 2006.
Dec. 5, 2013, Journal: Nancy Curtis took office as mayor, while Ray Frazier, Phillip Horton, Gary James and Jerry Pullium were sworn in as the Andrews Board of Aldermen.
- There was no red on Black Friday, as local businesses did well on the first big shopping day for Christmas.
25 years ago – Dec. 2, 1998, Scout: A Cherokee County resident found the severed front paws of his missing dog at the Caney Creek convenience center site on U.S. 64 West. The owner said “Sam” was one
of six dogs that had gone missing over the last six months.
- Three brush fires forced volunteer firefighters in Hangin Dog, Murphy and Ranger to come to the rescue and douse the flames before the dry, windy weather made it worse.
- The Scout’s sports section shared the story of Sparky – a big, lanky, black and white hound belonging to the Runyan family of Martins Creek – who enjoyed hanging out at Cherokee Hills Golf Course about 2 miles. Alas, a late-night barking incident had Sparky in the doghouse at the moment.
Dec. 3, 1998, Journal: The search for a missing plane believed to have crashed in the Andrews Valley was suspended after one month, according to the FBI.
- David Hidden intentionally put in a low bid of $22.590 for an Andrews paving project, but still didn’t get it. White’s Paving put in a higher bid of $23,400, which was accepted.
50 years ago – Dec. 6, 1973, Scout: The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners agreed to spend $100,000 of revenue-sharing money on capital improvements at county schools.
- Ralph Randy Cable, 11, became Cherokee County’s fourth traffic fatality of the year when he died after being struck by a truck in Peachtree.
- McAllister’s Store on U.S. 64 West in Murphy was robbed for the second time in a little more than a year. W.L. Monteith, 36, of Hayesville, was charged with walking into the store with a high-powered rifle, ordering the casher to lie down on the floor, then stealing $250 in cash and several guns.
Dec. 5, 1973, Journal: Local residents Bill Coe, Wendell Lovingood and Edgar Wood were named by Cherokee County commissioners to serve on a new three-person Fire Commission and oversee the financial operations of the Valleytown Rural Fire Department.
- The three-story frame home of Earl Burris and family of Marble completely burned. Burris was so upset by the ordeal that he refused to allow firefighters to put any water on the home’s still-burning remains.
– Publisher David Brown