Hospital had great service
On April 15, I fell on our cement sidewalk hitting my head and breaking my left wrist. Bob called 911 and Dispatch was efficient, helpful and caring. Emergency Medical Services arrived in record time, and the medics couldn’t have been more professional and well-versed in what I was experiencing. They also gave a good dose of good ol’ Southern caring.
They took me to Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital emergency room. I was immediately cared for professionally by ER staff, doctor and X-ray technician, with a dose of caring beyond the required medical needs.
Once I was discharged with a clear CT scan and a huge cast on my wrist and arm, I was scheduled to see Dr. Clarke, an orthopedist, the following week. The break was worse than I had anticipated, and surgery was scheduled for April 21.
Upon arriving at the ungodly hour of 5:45 a.m., there was no waiting. I was efficiently cared for by intake nurses and whisked to surgery. Dr. Clarke had explained the procedure to me, and with a plate and a few screws I should be as good as new after a few months.
Everyone was professional and caring. I never felt like a number to be hurried along so the next patient could be ushered in. The nurses who did my pre-op the day before surgery even stopped in to see how I was doing.
I didn’t know any of these people before I entered their care, but felt like I was family. I wish I could list all their names but I was a bit groggy, and there were a lot caring for me.
I had heard our hospital wasn’t all that great. In my experience, they are wrong. I feel we should be thankful to have this facility in our community.
Judy Grove, Brasstown
Ad was unfair to our election
The Committee for Fair and Just Elections without Corruption ad was paid by one man for self-serving whiners to slam Cal Stiles and Jan Griggs for representing us, not special interests!
At the last Cherokee County Board of Commissioners meeting, Stiles again revealed truth to citizens! Had he sat down, as demanded by You-People-Dan Eichenbaum, we wouldn’t have known about the negative easement, trading a small bit of land for a far larger taxpayer-owned piece that included airport buildings.
The triad of Eichenbaum, Gary Westmoreland and Randy Phillips regularly costs taxpayers massive amounts of money. The ad’s contention that “nothing plays a bigger role in the county’s progress than the airport” is absolutely laughable. Most taxpayers will never have a flight in or out of that airport.
The triad cavalierly awarded $2.4 million to Wells & West for Emergency Medical Services Station One, roughly twice the amount if we’d waited 30 days for another bid.
Westmoreland said he’d rather “give money to Wells & West than to lawsuits.” Those lawsuits are a direct result of his and Eichenbaum’s incredible criminal negligence, as he served on the DSS oversight board. Those lawsuits are compensation for horrific actions of an out-of-control DSS, causing grave harm to children and families.
The school site is across from ANKR’s deafening crypto mine. Who will pay the lawsuits when special needs children go off the rails because of excessive noise?
Return control to citizens. We deserve respect, full information, complete openness and transparency. No more closed meetings or dark deals! Cherokee County citizens should be at the top of the organizational chart, not Eichenbaum’s triad!
I urge all county voters to vote for John Midkiff to replace Eichenbaum. Vote for Ben Adams to replace Westmoreland. And vote for the re-election of Stiles, who has our backs!
Judy Stines, Murphy
Candidate rebukes ad
Can you smell fear?
You often hear about people being able to “smell fear,” although no one ever seems to be able to describe just what fear smells like. I can tell you the smell of fear is very potent, because I smelled it in the paid advertisement on page 7A of the Cherokee Scout last week. Fear you are about to lose your influence, power or other rights you perceive are yours because you have had them for so long.
The good ol’ boy network is not sure how to get rid of those of us that are not part of their group, people who care about Cherokee County and want to help the county be what it should be, so they resorted to name calling.
They attacked me as a side note to their vicious attack on other candidates and elected officials, but it was an attack nonetheless. I am self-financed in my campaign because I don’t want to owe anyone or even have the perception of that after I win.
Please note that it is the ranting of the good ol’ boys and their last-gasp for control of the county they have taken so much from. I ask for you to stand with me and say enough is enough. We the people are taking back our county and voting for those who will help us do it.
Vote John Midkiff for Cherokee County Board of Commissioners, District 4.
John Midkiff, Wolf Creek
Editor’s note: The Cherokee Scout only allows candidates for office to write letters to the editor when an advertisement or article has been published that they feel is inaccurate.
Change is coming soon
I have been attacked both personally and professionally by a group of spiteful individuals who feel threatened by the upcoming election. They did this in an ad last week in the Cherokee Scout. They hid behind a committee that had not yet been legally formed because they are afraid to face the public with their false accusations.
Positive change for this county is coming with the upcoming election. We need a board of commissioners that will work together for the betterment of this county as a whole.
I am proud to say that I have been 100 percent honest and up front. Everyone should know by now that I am for the residents of this county and will stand up for them.
This attack on me is because I had lunch with Cal and Janet Stiles, and those people who have a personal vendetta against Cal saw a change coming and tried to stop it then. I am a retired Marine of 23 years, and fear is not in my vocabulary. I will not be intimidated, I am my own person, stand on my own two feet and vote my own way based on my research and the voice of the people.
My campaign was not financed by Stiles. I want the people of this county to know that my campaign was financed by myself and numerous unsolicited donations.
Zoning has never been an option for me. I will continue to support this county with honor, courage and commitment. Vote for change May 17 and let your voices be heard once again.
Jan Griggs, Hiwassee Dam
‘There is none righteous’
Folks, it does make a difference who is running the sheriff’s office and other departments within Cherokee County.
Example 1: In the chain of command, the sheriff is the chief law enforcement office of a county, charged with the keeping of the peace and the execution of court orders.
Example 2: The Cherokee County Department of Social Services is going to cost the taxpayers millions for illegally removing kids from homes.
Example 3: We had persons within the county and state that turned their back on Eddie Adams, who has worked for the Republican Party, little league and his community for more than 58 years, served in the military and served on the Cherokee County Board of Elections for 12 years, but they should have honestly expressed why they voted him off the Cherokee Board of Elections behind closed doors.
Example 4: Why are Democrats voting in the Republican Party primary?
Today, the most serious challenge comes from big tech, big business and the bureaucracies, that control everything. If not checked, they will destroy mankind with the “230 Law” and greed. Why are people paying big tech to censor them and paying more taxes to a corrupt system?
To the men and women within the sheriff’s office, veterans, Emergency Medical Technicians, fire departments, health-care workers, Commissioner “Doc” and other law-enforcement officers, thank you for your service and love for mankind.
Cotton Allen, Brasstown
Dying for a vote
Cherokee County has had two successive Republican congressmen from our district, both proud Freedom Caucus members, neither of whom was qualified to hold the office.
Mark Meadows was an out-of-state Virginia resident maintaining N.C. and S.C. voting addresses. Madison Cawthorn is simply an embarrassment to all of us he represents and the poster boy for home schooling. He just hasn’t a clue, and we voted for him?
Twice, Cherokee County has in effect waived its right to effective congressional representation. Child welfare payments, badly needed by below-poverty line families, heavily represented in our midst, was voted NO by Madison, who later claimed he voted for it.
Child care services for working parents, voted NO.
Free community college tuition, voted NO.
These were needed by our least-fortunate residents, but they never benefited because they were in the other party’s (Democrat) program. This is our representation?
Our congressional representatives have been working against our best interests. Ukrainians show us every day how they fight for free elections. We should appreciate are our own liberty and vote more responsibly, but also hold those voting against our own interests
accountable.
Charles Larsen, Marble
Stick with Fox News
Recent letters maligning Fox News are calling for a response here with.
Rush Limbaugh has passed, and that is so sad; we must view Fox for good, true, conservative content.
One writer recently wrote they were neither Republican or Democrat (sic). Maybe, but if you are against Fox, I’m sure you are against Rush, former President Donald Trump and anything conservative.
Also, manmade global warming is a hoax. I’m a native of Marble, but now in probably the most left-wing looney town of any size in North Carolina (Asheville).
Tommie Lee Trantham, Asheville
Floral baskets coming soon
Dear Beautification Sponsor Cherokee Scout:
On behalf of the 1,800 residents of Andrews and all western North Carolina, we say thank you for your sponsorship of the sixth annual Andrews Beautification Project for 2022. By working together to make “Andrews a Town of Beauty,” we can make a difference.
We are pleased to report a new record of 82 businesses, civic clubs, churches and individuals who participated this year for a total of $18,450 donated.
The flower baskets will be hung in early May, weather permitting. Thank you.
James Reid, Mayor, Town of Andrews
Gayle Horton, President, Andrews Chamber of Commerce
Bill Anderson and Terry Gribble