Thunder and lightning lead the Wildcats to victory in North Georgia

Sports, TeamFYNSports
A special report from the voice of the Andrews Wildcats- Scott Fletcher!
Landon White and Gavin Wilson rushed for a combined 333 yards as the Andrews Wildcats downed the North Georgia Falcons in Friday night action in North Georgia.

Quarterback Tucker Holloway with Gavin Wilson and Landon White. Photo credit: Mary White

The Cats got on the board first with a 22 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tucker Holloway to the speedy Gage Gillespie. The Falcons started the scoring in the second quarter with touchdown runs of 30 and 49 yards. Gavin Wilson capped a long Wildcat drive with a one yard touchdown run to end the first half.

The Falcons scored first in the third with a 65 yard pass from Kade Harkness.  The Cats rounded out the scoring in the third with a run of 12 yards by White and a one yard run by Wilson.
In the fourth it was all Wildcats as White powered in the end zone with a one yard touchdown. Quarterback Tucker Holloway scampered for 45 yards and a Wildcat touchdown. Gavin Wilson scored on runs of 15 and 49 yards to put the game out of reach. The Wildcats won the game by a final score of 53-20.
The Cats improve to 2-1 while the Falcons fall to 1-3.  Andrews returns to Hugh Hamilton Stadium this Friday, playing host to Rabun Gap.  Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Board approves temporary off-site fitness plan for Station 1 first responders

News

MURPHY, N.C. – The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners approved a temporary off-site fitness plan for on-duty emergency personnel at Station 1 at the board’s June 4 meeting.

The plan will now allow only Station 1 personnel to use nearby fitness centers at their own expense while on duty in an effort to improve health and strength of the emergency personnel and provide the best service to citizens, according to information provided by the Cherokee County Emergency Services.

As Chairman Dr. Dan Eichenbaum explained, “(The agreement) is only until they get a new facility. It has been shown this will not cause a delay in response time. Both truck workers must agree and only one truck at a time (may leave Station 1). This is to allow them because they do not have adequate space to work out in (at the station).”

Brian King, of the Cherokee County Emergency Medical Services (EMS), explained to commissioners there has been a “movement” within the department to work out and exercise to increase physical strength and improve job performance over the past five years, but limited space at Station 1 has disallowed its personnel from doing so.

According to information presented to the commissioners from EMS concerning response times for personnel at a fitness center, “Crews are very adept at being able to meet our required chute times during all situations. Any delay would no different than eating showering, using the restroom, being at the hospital, or sleeping.”

Commenting on the benefits of the plan, Commissioner Gary Westmoreland stated, “Personally, I would rather somebody healthy pick me up than somebody out of shape. And I think it’s good for them. It’s good for their morale.”

Commissioner C.B. McKinnon stated while he himself can see the benefits of the plan to the county’s emergency personnel, he is also concerned about public perception.

“I understand that we’ve been in this location for a lot of years and I don’t know what’s been done in the past … but the optics of it – the public just doesn’t understand it. We’ll have the other facility up soon, and for that reason, I’m just not willing to support it,” McKinnon explained.

Ultimately, the board approved the temporary plan 4-1, with McKinnon voting against.

The board also approved a contract with Turner & Company CPAs (certified public accountant) to conduct the county’s fiscal year 2017-18 audit in the amount of $44,900.

County Finance Officer Candy Anderson explained to the commissioners the cost of the audit is the second lowest among seven counties in western North Carolina.

“I checked with surrounding counties … and a lot of them are seeing 12 to 41 percent increases in their audit fees,” Anderson stated.

The contract was approved by the board unanimously.

A capital project ordinance for the phase 5 construction project at the Cherokee County Solid Waste facility in Marble was approved by the commissioners. The ordinance appropriates $2.5 million to the project for permitting, construction, engineering, and contingency funds. According to the ordinance, revenues from the general fund are anticipated to be available to complete the project.

The board approved a number of 2017-18 budget revisions including a revision in the total amount of $31,043 to allow the use of the restricted/designated school sales tax fund balance for various projects. The amount will cover the purchases of a generator replacement at Ranger Elementary School ($19,207), bus cameras and camera systems for five new buses ($4,925), fertilizer for Bermuda turf for the football fields at Andrews and Murphy high schools ($2,653), approximately 225 lbs. of refrigerant for a compressor at Hiwassee Dam School ($2,517), and diagnostic services from Trane ($1,741).

A budget revision in the amount of $800 was approved to transfer funds from the fund balance to the detention center trust account for legal settlements.

A budget revision in the amount of $94.14 was approved to cover half the cost of new carpeting at the Martins Creek Community Center. Previously, the board approved an amount of $261; however, actual costs for the carpeting came to $710.27, which increased the county’s half share to $355.14.

In other business, commissioners also voted to allow Lewis and Clark Circus to again use Heritage Park Sept. 22 and 23 of this year.

The board also voted to allow North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission law enforcement officers to enforce laws concerning spotlighting wildlife from the right-of-way of any public road, street, or highway.

A number of upcoming Board of Commissioners are slated for June. On June 21 and 25, the board will hold fiscal year 2018-19 budget work sessions in the boardroom of the Cherokee County Courthouse at 6:30 p.m. The Board of Commissioners next regularly scheduled meeting is set for June 18 at 6:30 p.m. In addition, the board will have a special called meeting June 28 at 6:30 p.m. to officially adopt the new county budget. All meetings are open to the public.

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that attracts more than 300,000 page views and 3.5 million impressions per month in Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYNTV attracts approximately 15,000 viewers per week and reaches between 15,000 to 60,000 per week on our Facebook page. For the most effective, least expensive local advertising, call 706-276-6397 or email us at [email protected]

Author

Jason Beck

Born in Merrillville, Indiana, raised in Cleveland, Tennessee, and currently resides in Copperhill, Tennessee. Graduated from Bradley Central High School in 1996 and attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, eventually earning a B.A. and M.A. in English. Hobbies include hiking, camping and fly-fishing. Interests include baseball, hockey and cliff jumping.

Andrews soccer field discussed by commissioners, Mayor Reid

News

MURPHY, N.C. – Grant money for a new soccer field located at Heritage Park in Andrews was discussed by the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners along with Andrews Mayor James Reid at the April 23 county commissioners meeting.

“Previously, the board had approved the soccer club to use and construct a field at Heritage Park,” Commissioner C.B. McKinnon explained. “In conversation, maybe … Andrews is willing to take the lead of that because there’s some possibility of applying for some grant money to help with that. It looks like we got about $30,000 now roughly to work with and so if we could compound that with a grant, it would mean a lot.”

Reid stated the goal of the proposed soccer field is for it to be open for use not only for the local soccer league but also for the entire community.

“We do have someone that’s ready to break ground on it pretty quick,” Reid said. “We also have that PARTF (Parks and Recreation Trust Fund) grant that we could go after. If the county decided to do something with that, we could do it in (the county’s) name or (the town of Andrews’) name … but we’d just like to go ahead and try to move forward to try to get that grant money secured if at all possible.”

Also, Reid added the town’s long-term goal is to eventually construct three soccer fields but for now, the initial plan is to construct one field. Concerning the potential PARTF grant, Reid stated the application deadline was May 1. To this, Commissioner Cal Stiles suggested to Reid to consult with Russ Harris, a grant writer with Southwestern Commission, for assistance with the grant application process.

After further discussion, commissioners approved for the town of Andrews to take the lead in planning and in the construction for the soccer field.

“So between now and maybe even the next meeting, let’s see if we can develop that plan and be ready and we’ll present it and we’ll all be on board with the same process so there’s no confusion,” McKinnon told Reid.

Gary Chamberlain, of the North Carolina Litter Free Coalition, proposed a proclamation to the board to declare May 19 an America the Beautiful Event Day in Cherokee County during which residents are encouraged to pick up litter along roadways of their choosing within the county. Of the event, Chamberlain spoke of the importance of leaving the orange bags of trash collected from county roadways for three days as a reminder to citizens of the impact of littering. After three days, participating residents are encouraged to call the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) at 828-837-2742 to have the NCDOT pick up the collected bags of trash.

Commissioner McKinnon stated while he supported the proclamation, he was concerned about the prospect of leaving bags on the side of roadways for three days.

“The three-day deal, with the garbage on the road, I know its purpose is to show people that you’re out there picking the garbage up,” McKinnon said, “but they (NCDOT) like to get that as quick as they can and they really don’t like leaving it three days for a number of reasons. One being is they get a little criticism over that … That’s the only part of (the proclamation) I’d like to leave out, so they can go ahead and pick it up when they can or as soon as they can.”

To this, Chamberlain told McKinnon leaving the bags on the side of roads for three days has a “very positive value” and “sends a message.” After some further discussion, commissioners passed the proclamation as presented 4-1 with McKinnon voting against.

“Mr. Chamberlain, I can agree with you that it does make an impact when you drive down the road and you see those bags out there,” Commissioner Stiles said of the event.

The board approved a number of budget revisions during the meeting. A $5,000 budget increase was approved for the Emergency Management department to purchase an accountability system to use to track personnel of the county’s volunteer fire departments. According to the revision, Emergency Management received $17,722 in additional grant money from an Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) and the funds for the purchase were approved to be taken from this grant money.

A budget revision to repair a Jeep Cherokee used by the Department of Social Services (DSS) in the amount of $2,844 was approved. The vehicle, according to Finance Director Candy Anderson, had been in two accidents and the county received insurance proceeds in the amount $1,879.

Commissioners also approved Cherokee County Schools to use $44,658 from the half-cent school sales tax to cover replacements of two fire alarm systems at the Andrews High School band building and shop building in the amount of $11,540 each, a $20,939 expenditure for Microsoft Office upgrades and licensing expenses for the school system, and a $639 match with the county to replace bleachers at Peachtree Elementary School.

A $25,000 revision for a school system match to expand the Murphy River Walk Trail near Konahetta Park was tabled after County Manager Randy Wiggins told the board issues involving the flood plain of Valley River were still be researched.

Oscar Valdes, an 86-year-old Korean War veteran, spoke to commissioners about changing the sign at Konahetta Park to read “Konahetta Veterans Park” and to add a patriotic red, white and blue color scheme to the proposed new sign. Valdes stated the new sign would cost $898.80 to erect, of which $58.80 of the estimate from Curtis Sign Shop is sales tax and would not not be charged to the county. Valdes said he would like to see the sign installed sometime before Memorial Day. Because the park lies within the city limits of Murphy, the board tabled its decision to allow more time to consult with the city of Murphy about a joint venture regarding the sign and to review draft of the sign’s design.

The board set 4:30 p.m. as a daily deadline for all land recordings submitted to the register of deeds office. Last month, Daphne Dockery, register of deeds, petitioned to the board to set an earlier time for a deadline for recordings in an effort to manage overtime for employees within the county register of deeds office.

Southwestern Commission was approved by the commissioners to continue as lead agency to coordinate the preparation of the county Home and Community Care Block Grant (HCCBG) program for Aging Services for fiscal year 2018-19. The board also approved the committee structure for the HCCBG five-member committee to be the Cherokee County Senior Center director, the county transit director, the director of DSS, the county manager and county finance director, or designees of the aforementioned positions.

Also, commissioners set a budget work session for May 30 at 5 p.m.

Following an executive session, two decisions were approved by the board. Commissioners unanimously approved a grant resolution for The Mining Store, a cryptocurrency mining data storage center that will be occupying the former Emerson building in Peachtree, North Carolina, and will create 25 jobs with an average pay of $40,000 annually. According to the resolution, the county Board of Commissioners is providing $30,000 in Incentive Funding to the project to be paid over a three-year period and $15,000 for a 5 percent match for a Building Reuse Grant. The county is expected to be reimbursed by the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

The board unanimously approved revisions to a five-year airport ground lease with MedTrans. County Manager Wiggins read the changes to the contract to include a $30 per month fair-market lease price, to eliminate one clause concerning the lessee’s right to erect, maintain and alter buildings or structures upon the premises, to change the wording in the arbitration clause to read “Cherokee County, North Carolina” instead of “American Arbitration Association”, and “for (the county attorney) to add language to (the lease) that should at any time the FFA (Federal Aviation Administration) find the agreement to be incompatible with their rules and regulations that the lease would be terminated at that time and a new lease would be developed.”

 

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that attracts more than 300,000 page views and 3.5 million impressions per month in Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYNTV attracts approximately 15,000 viewers per week and reaches between 15,000 to 60,000 per week on our Facebook page. For the most effective, least expensive local advertising, call 706-276-6397 or email us at [email protected]

Author

Jason Beck

Born in Merrillville, Indiana, raised in Cleveland, Tennessee, and currently resides in Copperhill, Tennessee. Graduated from Bradley Central High School in 1996 and attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, eventually earning a B.A. and M.A. in English. Hobbies include hiking, camping and fly-fishing. Interests include baseball, hockey and cliff jumping.

Conley discusses school safety at Board of Education meeting

Business

MURPHY, N.C. – At the Thursday, March 8, Cherokee County Board of Education (BOE) meeting, Dr. Jeana Conley, school superintendent, delivered an update on current school safety guidelines and policies as well as plans for continued improvement in this area.

After the Feb. 14 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which claimed the lives of 17 students and staff, many school systems across the region have reviewed safety measures and taken steps to enhance safety procedures at school campuses.

Cherokee County School Superintendent Dr. Jeana Conley, center, addresses school safety at the Cherokee County Board of Education meeting Thursday, March 8, with board members Paul Brown, left, and Jeff Tatham, right.

Conley told the board several local meetings have taken place with principals, school resource officers (SROs) and other law enforcement officials since the Florida tragedy in an effort to review safety procedures and priorities. Currently, a number of measures are in place or are being established to enhance the safety of Cherokee County Schools.

The superintendent explained comprehensive safety and emergency response plans are in place at each campus across the school system and all staff have been trained for emergency response. Additionally, the school board is currently reviewing a re-evaluation of the system’s safety preparedness policies and will recommend further actions at its April BOE meeting. Students will receive updated safety training and instructions Tuesday, March 13, which has been designated Student School Safety Awareness Day by Cherokee County Schools. Also, monthly emergency drills are being conducted at all county schools.

Conley also stated Cherokee County Schools has received a grant to help secure a fifth SRO to serve at its 12 campuses countywide. The school system also plans to ask for additional funding for enough SROs to serve at all 12 schools on a full-time basis, Conley added.

Other improvements include the installation of keyless-entry hardware at school entry access points and school security cameras at school sites.

“All of our school administrators and counselors will be receiving professional development in threat assessment protocol to better identify students who are in need of support and further attention,” Conley informed the board.

A new and improved Safe Schools Alert, which allows individuals to report safety and security concerns anonymously via email, phone or text message, is also in the works, according to Conley.

The superintendent also stated she would like to see veterans, retired law enforcement, and other willing volunteers take part in an overall safety plan for each school.

“Caring community members can make an impact, just with a physical presence. We are hosting meetings in each area to explain how to become a volunteer and receive the volunteer application packet,” Conley said.

Cherokee County Schools have also adopted the “Run, Hide, Fight” emergency protocol enacted by the state as a method to counter an active-shooter event. Conley stated this method is applicable not only for students at schools but also at any public place where an active-shooter event takes place.

In other business, a number of potential purchases were presented for approval by Winfield Clonts, board member and chairman of the board’s financial subcommittee. The board awarded a contract bid to Ben Hill Roofing & Siding in the amount of $343,900.00, which was the lowest among four received bids, to replace the roof of the Andrews High School gymnasium and cafeteria buildings. Though Conley admitted the project might come with a “sticker shock,” she added the roof replacement is a necessary project, stating games played in the gymnasium in the past have had to be stopped during heavy rains.

The purchase of a new scoreboard for the softball field at Murphy Recreational Park was approved. Clonts explained the Murphy High School girls softball team uses the field for its games, and the school board will split costs for the scoreboard with the recreation park. The cost to Cherokee County Schools will be $1,537.

The board also approved the purchase of 68 new stools for the Murphy Middle School cafeteria in the amount $2,485. Clonts further explained the table tops in the school’s cafeteria remain in good condition.

Other purchases approved at the BOE meeting included:

  • A $6,500 purchase for a 12-by-24 storage unit for Hiwassee Dam School;
  • A $9,973 upgrade for the sprinkler system on the Murphy High School football field; and
  • A $3,312 project to resurface the infield of the Hiwassee Dam High School baseball field.

 

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that attracts more than 300,000 page views and 3.5 million impressions per month in Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYNTV attracts approximately 15,000 viewers per week and reaches between 15,000 to 60,000 per week on our Facebook page. For the most effective, least expensive local advertising, call 706-276-6397 or email us at [email protected]

Author

Jason Beck

Born in Merrillville, Indiana, raised in Cleveland, Tennessee, and currently resides in Copperhill, Tennessee. Graduated from Bradley Central High School in 1996 and attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, eventually earning a B.A. and M.A. in English. Hobbies include hiking, camping and fly-fishing. Interests include baseball, hockey and cliff jumping.

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