HIWASSEE DAM
Poker Run fights cancer
There will be a Poker Run benefitting the Pediatric Cancer Treatment Foundation on Saturday at Fields of the Wood, 10000 N.C. 294, with the last car out at noon and the end of the program at 4 p.m.
The Tri-State MINIs Group event is open to all automobile brands and motorcycles. There will also be a silent auction, 50/50 drawing and a top prize of $500.
Cost is $25 per driver, which gives you one playing hand, $10 per passenger and $10 per additional hands. For details, visit www.pctf-foundation.org.
MURPHY
Water out for a day
N.C. Department of Transportation contractors are scheduling a planned water outage for all customers on U.S. 64 West beginning at 9 p.m. today and ending at 5 a.m. Thursday, according to Town Manager Chad Simons.
Officials planned the outage for those hours in order to disrupt businesses and residents as little as possible. For details, call 837-2510.
CHEROKEE COUNTY
Grant, new equipment
Cherokee County has received a $5,000 grant from Vaya Health to help a family whose home needs repair. Officials say the home is unsafe and could result in a child being removed from their parents if the repairs are not completed.
In addition, county commissioners voted Sept. 7 to spend $5,000 from the sheriff’s designated fund to purchase new surveillance equipment for covert operations.
CULBERSON
New merge lane wanted
The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution Sept. 7 asking the N.C. Department of Transportation to construct a merge lane for traffic exiting N.C. 60 and traveling eastbound on U.S 64/74.
“The traffic [going eastbound] is coming from away from them ... and below their point of view,” Commissioner Dan Eichenbaum said. “You have traffic coming at highway speeds and then you have people trying to merge on it. It’s very, very difficult to do that safely.”
Commissioners say a new merge lane would cost the state a relatively small amount of money, while protecting the lives and property of residents and visitors.
ANDREWS
Chamber open house delayed
The Andrews Chamber of Commerce is postponing the open house originally scheduled for Saturday. Due to the rise in COVID-19 cases in Cherokee County, and with the open house being an indoor event, the chamber board decided to err on the side of caution.
The open house has been for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23. The chamber invites everyone to come out then for finger foods, soda, door prizes and lots of fun.
The Andrews chamber office is at 955 Main St. downtown. For details, call 321-3584 or see visitandrewsnc.com.
MURPHY
Ag Pro sets celebration
Ag Pro will celebrate it’s one-year anniversary in Murphy from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2, at 88 Butler Mountain Road off U.S. 64 West.
You’re invited to enjoy all the free festivities, including antique tractors, food trucks, vendors and giveaways. For details, call 361-7359 or visit www.agprocompanies.com.
YOUNG HARRIS, Ga.
Blue Ridge EMC meets
The annual meeting of the Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corp. is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23, in the Towns County Recreation & Conference Center off U.S. 76.
The terms three members of the board of directors expire with the meeting. The nominating committee has recommended the following members – all incumbents – to serve another three-year term:
- Fannin County – Gayland Trull, who retired from Southwest Airlines in 2014 and today operates Western Carolina Regional Airport in Andrews.
- Towns County – Roy Perren, principal of Towns County High School.
- Union County – Jack Lance Jr., a lifelong local resident and licensed real estate attorney.
Registration will begin at 4 p.m. The High Country Harmonizers will provide entertainment, and there will be prizes, food and drinks available at the meeting.
RALEIGH
Felons not voting yet
A North Carolina law that bars former felons from voting will stay in place after an appeals court temporarily blocked a lower court's ruling that reversed the law.
Wake County Superior Court ruled last month the state's 1973 law that blocked North Carolinians who have been released from prison and placed on parole or probation from voting was unconstitutional. The court ruled the law violated the Equal Protection Clause and Ban on Property Qualifications in the state Constitution. Plaintiffs and their lawyers argued a person's right to vote depended on their ability to pay debts associated with a previous felony conviction.
The N.C. Court of Appeals blocked the lower court's ruling from going into effect Friday until the appeals case is heard. Attorneys for the General Assembly, defendants in the case, argued that North Carolina's Constitution states felons cannot vote unless the General Assembly adopts a law to re-enfranchise them.
Lawyers for the North Carolina NAACP, Community Success Initiative, Justice Served NC and Wash Away Unemployment said the Wake County ruling would have resulted in the state's largest expansion of voting rights since the Voting Rights Act of 1965. More than 50,000 North Carolina felons were slated to regain their voting rights.
MARBLE
Lunsford to get honored
The N.C. Department of Transportation is inviting the public out at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 24, for a ceremony naming a bridge in honor of the Rev. Fred B. Lunsford.
The event will take place at Marble Springs Baptist Church, 80 Marble Springs Church Road. Lunsford is a U.S. Army veteran who has dedicated a lifetime to serving families and children in his community.
For details or to RSVP, contact Sazia Bashar at sbashar@ncdot.gov or 919-707-2681.
ANDREWS
Hot Summer Nights nears
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7620 and the U.S. Marine Corps League, Cherokee Detachment 1011, will present Hot Summer Nights, a cruise-in automobile show, from 3-7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, at Hall Memorial Park downtown.
Bikes, cars and trucks will be on display; they are free to show, and the event is free to attend. There will be hot dogs, popcorn and more. For details, see the group’s Facebook pages.
CORRECTIONS
There was a reporting error in a photo caption on page 1A in the Sept. 8 edition of the Cherokee Scout. Hiwassee Dam Fire Chief Chad McNabb said Daniel McNabb is the assistant fire chief but was unavailable for the photo, while Barry Getch is a longtime and valuable volunteer with the department. The Scout regrets the error.
There was a typesetting error in a letter to the editor on page 4A in the Sept. 8 edition of the Cherokee Scout. The last sentence of Willena Helton’s letter should have read, “If I was chief of police from Andrews, I would not consider him hired.” The Scout regrets the error.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Public meetings
THIS WEEK
- Andrews ABC Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the Facilities Building, 85 Fourth St.
- Cherokee County Board of Commissioners will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the multi-purpose room of the Cherokee County Courthouse, 75 Peachtree St. in downtown Murphy.
COMING SOON
- Cherokee County Department of Social Services Board will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23, in the DSS conference room, 4800 U.S. 64 W. in Ranger.
From staff and The Center Square reports.