Type | Weekly newspaper |
---|---|
Format | Broadsheet |
Owner(s) | Community Newspapers, Inc. |
Publisher | David Brown [1] |
Editor | Randy Foster |
Founded | 1889 |
Headquarters | Murphy, NC, 28906 United States |
Circulation | 5,748(as of September 2023 [2] ) |
OCLC number | 10012322 |
Website | cherokeescout |
The Cherokee Scout is a weekly newspaper in Murphy, North Carolina, and Cherokee County. It is one of the largest newspapers in far-west North Carolina.
The print edition is published on Wednesdays and had a paid circulation of 5,748 in 2023. [2] The paper is published by Community Newspapers, Inc. (CNI), Athens, Georgia. [3]
The Scout publishes a number of special sections throughout the year. It has published "Readers Choice Awards" since at least 2015. The newspaper also prints an annual football guide named "Pigskin Preview," an annual basketball guide, "Mountain Hoops," and other guidebooks on schools, health, and veterans. [4]
The Cherokee Scout was preceded by multiple Murphy newspapers: the Cherokee Herald (1874-1876), the Murphy Bulletin (1885-1889), and The Murphy Advance (1889). [5] The Cherokee Scout began weekly publication in July 1889 using a letter press. [6] [7] A 1910 map shows the Scout's office on Peachtree Street near the Cherokee County Courthouse. In January 1946, the Scout offices and printing plant relocated to a newly constructed flag stone building on Hickory Street. Before then the offices and printing plant were separated by two blocks. [8] An offset printing plant was installed in March 1961 on Hickory Street to replace the letter press. It was the first offset press in western North Carolina. [7]
The Scout opened a 5,000-square-foot office it built on Church Street on January 16, 1964. [9] Four years later in March 1968 the paper installed a new Goss offset press to print the Scout and five other western North Carolina newspapers: The Andrews Journal , Clay County Progress , The Franklin Press , Highlands Highlander, Smoky Mountain Times , and Graham Star . [7] The first color photographs appeared in the Scout by November 1973. [10] The newspaper built and moved into its current downtown office in 2008. [11]
The Cherokee Scout website, CherokeeScout.com, launched by 2005. [12] The Scout faced competition from the weekly Cherokee Sentinel newspaper until the Sentinel closed in January 2012 when its publisher fell ill. [13] [14] Since merging with The Andrews Journal on January 1, 2019, the Scout has been the only newspaper serving Cherokee County. [15] Randy Foster became the current editor in Feb. 2023.
Former slogans include “If it isn’t in the Scout it’s because we didn’t know it” (c. 1920s), “The People’s Paper” (c. 1934), “Our Aim: A Better Murphy, A Finer County” (c. 1939), “Dedicated to promoting Cherokee County” (c. 1956), and “Cherokee County’s Best Buy” (c. 1966). [16]
The newspaper has won numerous awards from the North Carolina Press Association including news photography in 2016 as well as sports and religion reporting in 2016. The paper won second place in the "Best Niche Publication" category that year as well. [17] In 2019, photographer Ben Katz won Hugh Morton Photographer of the Year in the Community Newspaper Division. [18]
Clay County is a county located in the far western part of U.S. state North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 11,089. The county seat is Hayesville.
Cherokee County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It borders Tennessee to its west and Georgia to its south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,774. The county seat is Murphy.
Andrews is a town in Cherokee County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,667 at the 2020 census.
Murphy is a town in and the county seat of Cherokee County, North Carolina, United States. It is situated at the confluence of the Hiwassee and Valley rivers. It is the westernmost county seat in the state of North Carolina, approximately 360 miles (580 km) from the state capital in Raleigh. The population of Murphy was 1,608 at the 2020 census.
Hayesville is a town in Clay County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 311 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Clay County.
Western Carolina Regional Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the central business district of Andrews, in Cherokee County, North Carolina, United States. It was formerly known as Andrews-Murphy Airport.
Marble is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Cherokee County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 321.
The Andrews Journal was an American community newspaper based in Andrews, North Carolina, covering the regions of Andrews, Marble, Nantahala and Topton. It merged with the Murphy-based Cherokee Scout on January 1, 2019, leaving the town of Andrews without a newspaper of its own.
Clay County Progress is a weekly newspaper in Hayesville, North Carolina, and Clay County. It covers Clay and Cherokee counties in North Carolina and Towns County, Georgia.
The Possum Drop is an annual New Year's Eve event in which an opossum is lowered at midnight. The event began in 1990 in Brasstown, North Carolina. Since 1990, the event has evolved to include various elements such as contests, music, and festivities.
Brasstown is an unincorporated community located mostly within Clay County, North Carolina, United States, though roughly one third of Brasstown is within the adjacent Cherokee County. Brasstown Creek travels through the community and separates the two counties.
Cherokee County Schools manages the 13 public schools in Cherokee County, North Carolina, United States, with an enrollment of 3,081 students and a 12.7:1 student-to-teacher ratio.
Andrews High School (AHS) in Andrews, North Carolina serves grades 9–12 and is one of only three high schools in the Cherokee County Schools System. As of 2007 it had a full-time teaching staff of 27 teachers giving an average of 11 students per teacher. In 2023-24 enrollment was 221. The school's capacity is 530. The current building is a one-story, three building campus, built in 1962, after the original three-story campus was burned down months earlier. A May 2020 vote by the Cherokee County Board of Education was to consolidate Andrews, Murphy, and Hiwassee Dam High Schools, and a grant of $50 million was given to the school system in September 2022, though the grant was returned as a result of another vote of this time, the new members of the Cherokee County Board of Education.
Murphy High School (MHS) is a public high school in Murphy, North Carolina. It serves grades 9–12 and is one of only three high schools in the Cherokee County Schools system.
Hiwassee Dam High School (HDHS) in Murphy, North Carolina serves grades 9–12 and is one of three high schools in Cherokee County Schools. It is the westernmost public school in the state of North Carolina. As of 2007 it had a full-time teaching staff of 20 teachers giving an average of 11 students per teacher. Enrollment is 147 students. The school's capacity is 361 students.
Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital is a hospital located in Murphy, North Carolina certified by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It is the only hospital in the state west of Bryson City and Franklin. The hospital is licensed for 191 beds. Of the 191 beds, 120 are nursing home beds, 57 are general beds, and 14 are beds for patients with Alzheimer's disease.
The Clay County Courthouse is located on Main Street in Hayesville, Clay County, North Carolina. The T-shaped two-story brick building was built in 1888, and is a prominent local example of vernacular Italianate architecture. Its most visible feature is a three-story square tower, which projects for half its width from the main facade, and through which entry to the building is gained.
Community Newspapers, Inc. is an American publisher of newspapers and advertising-related publications throughout the southeastern United States. The company was formed in 1967 by Newton Jerue Babb, and is based in Athens, Georgia. It owns and operates about 25 newspapers.
Bellview is an unincorporated community in Cherokee County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is part of Notla Township, and is located immediately north of the Georgia border, about 10 miles south of Murphy, NC. Its average elevation is 1800 feet above sea level. U.S. Route 19 is the main highway through Bellview.
Peachtree is a community located in Cherokee County, North Carolina. It is named after the numerous peach trees found in the area. The local schools are Peachtree Elementary School, Murphy and Andrews Middle School, and Murphy and Andrews High School.
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