 |
From time to time I get an opportunity to speak with an organization about local news and what we do at the Cherokee Scout, then answer questions. I’m always intrigued by what captures the attention of local residents.
With that in mind, here’s a Q&A with answers to some of the questions raised the last few times I spoke with a community group. Interestingly, the first two questions seem to come up just about everywhere I go.
Q: Could the cause of death be included with obituaries?
A: I’m sympathetic to this request because the news person in me wants to know, and that knowledge would undoubtedly better help us all understand the overall health of Cherokee and surrounding counties. However, the local newspaper’s obituaries are also paid advertisements, which means the family has the right to refuse to include any information.
When I lost my son two years ago, I wrote about his untimely death in my personal column, but I did not share the cause of death in his obituary. I suppose that’s because I want Ian Brown to be remembered more for how he lived his life at his best, not for what robbed him of it at the end, something other families in this situation can surely identity with.
Q: How does the Scout handle letters to the editor filled with misinformation or lacking facts?
A: And this, dear readers, is the bane of my professional existence. Believe it or not, there was a time when the vast majority of items contributed to any local newspaper’s opinions pages needed little to no editing; however, that time has long since passed us by.
What makes misinformation especially challenging today is there’s a “source” online to back up almost every opinion, no matter how outlandish or out of the mainstream of institutional thought it might be. There are people out there who genuinely believe the earth is flat; I’ve even spoken with some who argued that birds aren’t real. Then there are the myriad of differences solely due to personal, political and religious reasons.
If we can nail down that something in a letter to the editor is factually wrong, we will delete it; for instance, a recent letter claimed Murphy’s town government paid for the roundabout downtown, when that project was actually paid for by a grant from the N.C. Department of Transportation. And if a letter is more than 300 words, we will trim it to fit, giving us an opportunity to remove sentences that primary sources disagree with without changing the writer’s meaning.
I wish I had a better answer, but handling each item one at a time is just about the only way a small staff can deal with it.
Q: What’s the status of the N.C. Department of Transportation’s proposed roundabout on U.S. 64 West at The Local Market and Monte Alban in Murphy?
A: Cherokee County Commissioner Ben Adams had the best comment about this idea, which seemingly came out of nowhere, during a 2023 meeting with the DOT at Murphy First Baptist Church. “You keep saying it’s an intersection,” he said. “It’s not an intersection. Everybody wants to know, could this have been solved with a community meeting?”
That’s when the DOT official admitted, “Sometimes we use public involvement,” but “sometimes we don’t. We often make changes and people don’t know until they are implemented.” What a horrible way to spend taxpayer money.
We checked with the proper state officials, and here’s an update. Much to our chagrin, while that roundabout has been paused, it’s still possible down the road.
“Division 14 is planning to pause the proposed roundabout project after the utilities are relocated and the final designs are complete. The new connector road will be opened with a stop sign. Division 14 will submit the roundabout to the SPOT prioritization process as an independent project. If the roundabout becomes a STIP project, the roundabout project will restart,” the DOT reported.
“Over the past year, Division 14 monitored conditions at the intersection of U.S. 19/74/64/129, Smith Hollow/Marks Drive and the new connector road. If safety concerns arise, division will re-evaluate the need to construct a roundabout or other safety measure at this location using its budget for safety improvements.”
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. Call him at 828-837-5122 or email dbrown@cherokeescout.com.