Kristi Cornwell disappeared nine months ago, presumed kidnapped during an evening stroll near her Blairsville home. She has not been seen or heard of since the incident. Many leads thus far have been far fetched and quickly short lived.

The latest suspect, James Scott Carringer of Young Harris, Georgia was well known for his recent psychotic behavior as the rapist of a Kennasaw State University student. Following that incident, he committed suicide during an Atlanta Police standoff. He has also been identified as responsible for the abduction of a young child in Alabama  although she managed to jump from his vehicle and escape;  he is suspected of other reckless criminal activity in western North Carolina, and north Georgia.

In a recent interview, John Bankhead, of the GBI said Carringer did in fact own a silver Nissan Xterra with a brush guard. The same type vehicle reported in another attempted abduction of a woman in the Ranger community of Cherokee County, NC, and a close match to the description of the vehicle used in the Cornwell abduction.

The GBI says it now has possession of the silver Xterra and is thoroughly combing the vehicle to obtain further evidence to connect it with the Cornwell abduction;  however they have yet to release any information publicly that pins Carringer as the abductor.

A member of the Cornwell family says this is the most significant lead they have had so far, but he and the family are not getting their hopes up until solid evidence surfaces.

It looks like Cherokee County will have a brand new board of Commissioners.  The results from the May 4th Election Primary show that all three incumbent commissioners have been defeated.  In this primary, just under 17% of Cherokee County’s registered voters cast their ballot.  The unofficial results are posted below.   Statistics provided courtesy of the Cherokee County Board of Elections.

US Senate Democrats

16 of 16 Precincts Reporting

Marcus W. Williams (DEM)		13.60%	176
Ann Worthy (DEM)		5.41%	70
Elaine Marshall (DEM)		39.95%	517
Ken Lewis (DEM)		8.27%	107
Susan Harris (DEM)		13.83%	179
Cal Cunningham (DEM)		18.93%	245
			1,294

US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT 11 – DEM (Vote For 1)
16 of 16 Precincts Reporting
Percent Votes Aixa Wilson (DEM) 27.58% 414 Heath Shuler (DEM) 72.42% 1,087 1,501

COUNTY COMMISSIONER DISTRICT II – DEM (Vote For 1)
16 of 16 Precincts Reporting
Percent Votes Jonathan Dickey (DEM) 43.09% 649 Barry Clark Curtis (DEM) 8.63% 130 Curtis Brown (DEM) 48.27% 727 1,506

COUNTY COMMISSIONER DISTRICT III – DEM (Vote For 1)
16 of 16 Precincts Reporting
Percent Votes W. David Sumpter III (DEM) 44.03% 657 Lawrence E. McNabb (DEM) 55.97% 835 1,492

CLERK OF SUPERIOR COURT – DEM (Vote For 1)
16 of 16 Precincts Reporting
Percent Votes Randy Phillips (DEM) 36.95% 552 Charles W. McHan, Jr. (DEM) 63.05% 942 1,494

US SENATE – REP (Vote For 1)
16 of 16 Precincts Reporting
Percent Votes Larry Linney (REP) 8.15% 148 Brad Jones (REP) 16.57% 301 Eddie Burks (REP) 8.76% 159 Richard Burr (REP) 66.52% 1,208 1,816

US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT 11 – REP (Vote For 1)
16 of 16 Precincts Reporting
Percent Votes Kenny West (REP) 13.47% 268 Gregory A. Newman (REP) 2.06% 41 Jeff Miller (REP) 9.20% 183 Ed Krause (REP) 2.06% 41 James (Jake) Howard (REP) 2.56% 51 Dan Eichenbaum (REP) 70.65% 1,406 1,990

NC STATE SENATE DISTRICT 50 – REP (Vote For 1)
16 of 16 Precincts Reporting
Percent Votes Jimmy Goodman (REP) 36.81% 629 Jim Davis (REP) 63.19% 1,080 1,709

NC HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT 120 – REP (Vote For 1)
16 of 16 Precincts Reporting
Percent Votes Roger West (REP) 65.81% 1,353 Tim West (REP) 34.19% 703 2,056

COUNTY COMMISSIONER DISTRICT I – REP (Vote For 1)
16 of 16 Precincts Reporting
Percent Votes Dana H. Jones (REP) 43.46% 867 Steve Gerstman (REP) 56.54% 1,128 1,995

SHERIFF – REP (Vote For 1)
16 of 16 Precincts Reporting
Percent Votes Mike Rey (REP) 70.12% 1,389 Linda Marcie (REP) 29.88% 592 1,981

COURT OF APPEALS JUDGE – Calabria Seat (Vote For 1)
16 of 16 Precincts Reporting
Percent Votes Mark E. Klass 37.10% 1,078 Jane Gray 31.52% 916 Ann Marie Calabria 31.38% 912 2,906

COURT OF APPEALS JUDGE – Elmore Seat (Vote For 1)
16 of 16 Precincts Reporting
Percent Votes Steven Walker 53.57% 1,529 Rick Elmore 21.79% 622 Leto Copeley 8.37% 239 Alton D. (Al) Bain 16.26% 464 2,854

DISTRICT COURT JUDGE DISTRICT 30 – Bryant Seat (Vote For 1)
16 of 16 Precincts Reporting
Percent Votes David F. Sutton 26.07% 776 J. Caleb Rogers 12.90% 384 Justin B. Greene 14.28% 425 Kristina L. Earwood 32.45% 966 Greg Boyer 14.31% 426 2,977

DISTRICT COURT JUDGE DISTRICT 30 – Davis Seat (Vote For 1)
16 of 16 Precincts Reporting
Percent Votes Roy Wijewickrama 34.91% 1,041 Russell (Rusty) McLean III 31.42% 937 Stephen G. Ellis 33.67% 1,004 2,982



Here are the unofficial results: In the Democrat Primary Joe Shook had 977 votes to Deby Jo Ferguson’s 459.  For the three person board of commissioners Dan McGlamery- 1026 votes; Charles L. Penland -901 votes and Herbert Cheeks-747 votes will be Democratic candidates in the fall. Wanda Anderson-461 votes, Tommy Hogsed-436 votes and Richard Bernhardt-120 are eliminated. For Clerk of Court: Melvin Cantrell with 824 votes or 56.4% of the votes will be running in the fall. Israel Rogers had 531 votes, and K Denise Hallauer Fox garnered 106 votes.

For Republicans:In the Sheriff’s race- Vic Davis-1007 votes beat out Kevin Jackson-105 votes and Jake Ehrhart -488 votes. Board of Commissioners: Tighe White-795, Dwight Penland-787 and Stephen Sellers-768 were the three high vote getters. Pat Margo was 4th with 728 votes; Shirlee Blankenship had 644 votes; Don Hunt-354; Bo Hager 340. The three highest vote getters will be candidates in the fall.

Republican candidate for Clerk-of-Court will be Tim Barrett-702 votes. Ricky Rogers had 384 votes and Gary Nichols had 565.

In the school board election the six highest candidates who will be facing off in November will be Jason Shook-1,627; Tony Ellis-1,433; Wanda Cotton-1,126; Darryl McClure-1,074; Terry Utt-900 and Chad Hodges-835. Others in the race included Jeff Long-712; Lamar Chastain-556; John Martin-350 and Angelo Caiazzo-191.

In the congressional race: Congressman Heath Shuler-990 votes beat out Aixa Wilson-338 in Clay County for the Democratic candidate. In the Republican race, Clay County voters went for Kenny West-717 votes; Dan Eichenbaum placed second with 600 votes; others include Jeff Miller-155; Gregory Newman-35; Ed Krause-28 and James Howard-27.

For NC Representative incumbent Roger West beat out his opponent, the other West by 1,150 votes to 356 as the Republican candidate.  He will be unopposed in the fall as there was no Democratic candidate for this office.

For NC Senate: Jim Davis carried Clay County 955 votes to Jimmy Goodman-383 vote; the winner of the district will face Democratic Senator John Snow who was unopposed in the Primary.

In the U.S. Senate race : Senator Richard Burr won 68.48 % of the vote with 956 votes in Clay County’s Republican Primary.

In the Democratic race Elaine Marshall took 319 of Clay County’s votes. Her nearest competitor was Susan Harris-212 votes about 20 %. However it appears Cal Cunningham was one of the high vote getters in the state, so the race could be between him and Marshall.

On Tuesday, April 6, Carringer drove to Kennesaw, GA and met a relative at Dick’s Sporting Goods parking lot. He then abducted the 19-year-old female, drove her to a remote part of Gilmer County and raped her.

Early on Wednesday morning Carringer released the victim at the campus of Kennesaw State University where she attends college. She then proceeded to check herself into North Georgia Medical Center and reported the crime to Gilmer County Police. The police then issued an alert for Carringer’s black Nissan Xterra.

At around 5:30 a.m. Thursday a suspicious vehicle matching the description of Carringer’s Xterra was reported in the Midtown Atlanta Area on Peachtree Street. Police arrived on the scene shortly thereafter.

“The man in the vehicle said that he had explosives, and was suicidal,” said Major R.L. Browning of the Atlanta Police Department.

Police attempted to talk with Carringer to no avail. A SWAT team was soon called in and about 20 minutes later a gunshot was heard from inside the SUV.

A bomb squad robot detonated a window and after thorough inspection no explosives were found.  That is also when they found that the driver was dead from a self inflicted gun-shot wound. He was confirmed to be James Scott Carringer.

Peachtree Street was blocked off in Midtown Atlanta from 5:30 to 8:30 a.m., causing multiple traffic jams during the heavy morning commuter hours.

Carringer was a home appraiser working with the Appraisal Agency in Young Harris, GA. The Georgia Real Estate Commission’s website reports that Carringer’s appraiser license had been revoked.

Carringer was a former resident of Cherokee County, N.C.

Out of respect for the victim and the family of Carringer, no further information will be released concerning the rape, and the case is now said to be closed.

A new board may be appointed to oversee retail operations in Clay County’s historic courthouse.

Clay County Communities Revitalization Association members Rob Tiger and John Bayne approached commissioners Thursday at the request of commissioner Harry Jarrett.

Numerous comments and surveys suggested choosing a nonprofit organization to lease the old courthouse to, Jarrett said.

Tiger said that forming a limited liability company would ensure a board was appointed to handle business and other operations.

“That board would include members from other civic organizations in the county and also include a representative from the county,” Tiger said. “It would be at the discretion of the commissioners who that person was.”

Tiger proposed that a commissioner serve on the board if the position wouldn’t create a conflict of interest.

“It would be a more transparent operation if we had somebody from the county on the board,” he said.

Bayne said that having a member from the county on the board would create a more efficient communication process.

The lower floor would serve as retail while the upstairs could be used as community space for the general public or performances, Tiger said. Bayne added that events such as weddings or class reunions could use the space.

Asserting that nothing has yet been settled, Bayne said the county would be expected to help with maintenance and upkeep. Revenue from retail stores would ideally fund day to day operations one day, Tiger said, noting that the county would need to pitch in, at least initially.

“I don’t know whether if in the first year or two years or three years you can expect [retail] to be paying all the utility bills, critical maintenance issues,” Tiger said. “I think the county would have to help on that.”

Bayne said the CCCRA was too active to take more on at the moment.

“We’re stretched kind of thin on a daily basis right now, so that’s why we want to have this new group set up to specifically work for the courthouse,” he said. “It’s beyond important; it’s absolute necessity in my personal opinion.”

Decisions on specific uses are in progress, Jarrett said.

“I think one of the things we’ve all wanted is for [the old courthouse] to continue being a living building with a lot of activities going on,” he said.

The next course of action is to determine who in the county would be interested in writing business plans, securing grants, and forming a new advisory board, Bayne said.

“This particular plan would be somewhat unique, at least in Western North Carolina,” he said. “Whereas other counties in the past have turned their older courthouses into museums, museums don’t generate income at all.”

Commissioner Herbert Cheeks emphasized the necessity of transforming the courthouse back into the county’s “focal point.”

“We don’t get anywhere if we don’t have community involvement,” he said.

Commissioner Stephen Sellers, however, expressed concern over the plan.

“I’m all for it; I think it’s a great idea,” he said. “[But I'm] wondering what taxpayers would have to pay… I’m not saying we can’t do it… but it throws a flag up for me.”

Steve Kaagan and Bryan Hedden emphasized such statistics Monday in an effort to step up recycling efforts at Clay County Schools.

Partners for more than four years now, Hedden and Kaagan transformed the “Tough on Trash” campaign they created into an entire initiative dubbed “Greening Clay County.”

Having collected a freshly-tossed mud-speckled bottle from a county roadside earlier in the day, Kaggan explained to the school board that student learning is key to the plan.

“This isn’t a waste; it’s a resource,” he said, adding that the goal was to turn the next generation into advocates for recycling.

Hedden said that the high school’s environmental science class is already collecting recyclables on campus, having recently gathered nine 33 gallon bags filled with plastics (during just the month of March) and taking the bags to the transfer station.

The school also has a mixed paper trailer for use.

By becoming more conservative and sending less to landfills, the school system can save money, Kaagan insisted. He said he was interested in inspecting the school’s current operations.

Short-term goals include setting up paper recycling boxes in every classroom and establishing a strong recycling system for special school events and sports matches.

Hedden said that they’re trying to find state grants to acquire a cardboard recycling trailer for Clay County Schools. Eventually, he said, a system should be in place to handle recycling in the school cafeteria.

It’ll be great to see money come back to the schools,” Kaagan said, noting that the school system is one of the biggest producers of refuse in the county.

There are just two decades left (on average) for United States landfills, Kaagan said, stressing that there aren’t likely to be new ones built in the meantime.

Appalachian Community Bank in Blairsville was closed along with nine other branches in North Carolina and Georgia. All branches operated under the trade name of Gilmer County Bank.
On Friday the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver taking action to protect depositors. The FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Community & Southern Bank. The bank reopened on Monday under its new ownership.
Depositors continue to be insured by the FDIC. Customers should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from Community & Southern Bank that it has completed systems changes.
As of December 31, 2009, Appalachian Community Bank had approximately $1.01 billion in total assets and $917.6 million in total deposits. Community & Southern Bank is to pay the FDIC a premium of one percent to assume al of the deposits of Appalachian Community Bank. In addition to assuming al of the deposits of the failed bank, Community & Southern Bank agreed to purchase essentially all of the bank’s assets.
FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $419.3 million. Community & Southern Bank’s acquisition of all the deposits was the “least costly” resolution for the FDIC’s DIF compared to all alternatives, according to its press release.
Appalachian Community Bank is the 34th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the fourth in Georgia.

Hayesville may not be getting a new homeless shelter for women if the town council takes the advice of the local planning and zoning board.

The council voted unanimously not to recommend a zoning ordinance exception to allow the women’s center in the central business district downtown.

New Life Women’s Center’s Executive Director Brenda Cormack and representatives from Reach, the county’s existing shelter, were present March 9 to answer questions from the board.

The board decided that the shelter’s placement is inconsistent with the commercial district around the courthouse.

“The land use plan is not law, it’s a guide,” Zoning Administrator George Schaaf told the board, noting that there’s no obligation to follow the plan.

The board was concerned that an increasing homeless population in downtown Hayesville would not contribute to local commerce revenues.

“These women will be shopping,” Cormack said. “Monies will be coming into local businesses.”

The Reach shelter was established before zoning regulations took place.

The house under consideration for the new shelter was important because of its location within walking distance of downtown, Cormack said.

“Most homeless individuals, you want to get them as close as possible so there’s conveniences for them,” she said. “There won’t be any loitering or congregating around the front of the building.”

Cormack said she looked for a suitable location for a year and a half, but had to settle on something close to Hayesville.

“From past experience I know that law enforcement is not going to drive 25 minutes” to take someone to a shelter, she said. “I have had my eye on that house for a long time.”

The house belongs to Truett Memorial church, which originally purchased it for use as a children’s shelter, Cormack said. However, the church found a larger location, so Cormack said she thought the building was already approved.

“I never thought that it would not be approved by the city,” she said. “I never dreamed that that would be a problem.”

When a story about the new shelter first hit local newspapers, calls for help started flowing in, Cormack said.

“We have a house that’s in place and I have women who are living out by creeks in tents,” she said. “Is this something that’s needed? I say yes. There’s nothing like it in a 50-mile radius.”

The board expressed concern that the new shelter might simply be a duplication of services already offered by Reach.

“I think it’s great that [Reach is] here,” Cormack said. “When it was established domestic violence was a huge issue.”

In recent times, the economic situation has created a bigger need for the homeless, Cormack said, promising that she’ll network with other regional agencies to work together.

While the board noted that Murphy’s homeless shelter is struggling to secure grants, Cormack said she was able to tap into a strong grant writer she worked with previously in Florida.

While the shelter is currently built to house eight women, Cormack said she is considering doubling the possible number of occupants in the future.

Clay County’s director of social services, Debbie Mauney, said her department works hard to prevent homelessness.

As a former Reach board member, she said that the shelter has never turned down women and children. Homeless people who enter Clay County are entitled to public assistance, she stated.

Board chairperson John Miller said he was concerned about whether government money spent on such programs would stay in the county.

Because most counseling and mental health services for the homeless take place out-of-county, in-county circulation of funds can’t be guaranteed, Mauney said.

The board was concerned that due to the county’s relatively low population, an extra shelter might compete with grant funding for Reach.

“These people are going to need mental health, they’re going to need substance abuse services… we have none here,” Betty Smith, chairperson of the Reach board and transportation director, said. “Right now we’re barely hanging on;… I’d love to take care of everybody but we barely have enough for Clay County.”

Reach member Amanda Patterson said that her current shelter could hold up to ten people but that in her five years of employment, the shelter has never been full.

“Ninety-two percent of all homeless women have been abused at some point in time. That’s only an eight percent gap, so we try to take everybody,” she said.

Reach previously maintained a 30-day stay limit, but as the economy worsened, the stay limit has been dropped, Patterson said.

“We’ve had to relieve the limit as long as the women are attempting to find employment,” she said. “I personally don’t see a difference. Ours has a domestic violence title and their’s doesn’t.”

While Reach aims only to house the Clay County homeless, the New Life Women’s Shelter would operate for people from multiple counties.

“I don’t want this to impact and cause problems on the county,” Cormack said. “Any of us sitting at this table could be homeless tomorrow. We’re just a paycheck away.”

Cormack said she wouldn’t compete with county transportation funding as her shelter aims to purchase its own bus.

“Monies brought into the area will benefit the county,” she said. “I’m not here to drain the county.”

The planning and zoning board’s report will be reviewed by town council in April.

Smoky Mountain Center needs more time to transfer regional mental health services to a new provider, CEO Brian Ingraham told Clay County commissioners Thursday.

Ingraham called the privatization of SMC’s services the most significant change to sweep the organization in some time. The reform, orchestrated by the Department of Health and Human Services, aims to shift SMC from an area program to a local management entity. In the process, SMC will become a manager and contractor for services instead of providing them directly.

“Smoky rode that horse about as far as it could go,” Ingraham said, noting that the organization has been operating under a waiver to continue facility-based crisis, mobile crisis management, walk-in services and access to psychiatrists until new agencies can take on program role.

Access to psychiatrists has been a huge challenge, specifically in Western North Carolina, Ingraham said. SMC Community Relations Coordinator Shelly Foreman said the region is currently being wired for telepsychiatry services.

For now SMC has entered a request for proposal process and is waiting for agencies to respond.

“This is a real, real big deal,” Ingraham said. “These are services that are really the safety net for folks. This can not fail. It has to work, and we have to make sure it works.”

SMC has put a great deal of effort into designing the application, Ingraham said, encouraging prospective agencies to focus on continuity of care and how current services will be improved upon.

“We made a point of saying we do not want these services split apart,” he said. “There’s a great benefit of all of these services being packaged together in a bundle and delivered by one agency.”

Ingraham said that the biggest concern is finding an agency that will make a commitment to balancing service to patients in multiple counties.

“We have recognized that access to services is not the same to everyone,” he said. “It’s good if it’s great in Haywood or Jackson, but what about over here in Clay?”

Agencies must provide a plan to make the system better, Ingraham said.

“We look at our relationship with the successful applicant as a long-term relationship,” Foreman said. “We’re really committed to working with this provider to help them be successful. We’re not doing this to try and save money…”

The submission deadline for proposals was Friday, Ingraham said, noting that eight agencies were represented at a recent bidders conference.

“I’m proud of the way we’re doing this,” Ingraham said, adding an analogy for the interested agencies: “This is kind of like an open book test. We’re telling you what we want, you show us how well you can do it, and then we’re going to monitor the implementation of that very carefully.”

Ingraham said SMC would meet with representatives from all seven counties in which the organization operates, before a final decision is made to divest the services.

Commissioner Herbert Cheeks asked if any efforts had been made to make it easier for deputies to get substance abuse patients proper care.

Efforts have been made to make mobile crisis teams more accessible in Clay County, Foreman said, adding that the goal was to keep people out of in-patient care.

Sheriff Joe Shook agreed that the process has improved, but Ingraham said that overall system improvements are only incremental, noting that the problem is usually getting access to beds at Broughton, the state’s westernmost psychiatric hospital.

Commissioner Harry Jarrett asked the CEO how long the contract with a new agency would last.

“I hope a long time; these are cornerstones for us,” Ingraham said. “I wouldn’t foresee this changing in the near future… We’re trying to make this absolutely boiler-plate, bullet-proof solid;… there’s no intention to switch these out.”