Lake 97.7 WJUL - The Greatest Music Ever Made, 1352 Main Street, Young Harris, GA (2026)

07/23/2025

By Jeff Batten
WJRB 95.1/WJUL 97.7 Newscast
July 23, 2025

The county’s dissolution of its development authority in February came with a hard cost.

Union commissioner Harold Collins announced Thursday that former executive director Mitch Griggs was awarded $200,629 by the county through his severance package. Counties are on the hook for outstanding liabilities when such an authority is dissolved.

It took a question from an audience member at the county meeting to reveal that Griggs (pictured) and his legal team had sought nearly $1 million in damages before settling on the lesser number.

When asked why the county would put itself into a situation that such a payout would be necessary, Collins told the room, “what other way was there to terminate him? You’ve got to get rid of him. You’ve got to fire him.”

There has never been any reporting that Griggs or the board had acted inappropriately. Collins’ point is that the $200,000 was the price of poker necessary to put an end to a salaried position.

Griggs has now accepted a similar job in the middle Georgia community of Dublin-Laurens County.

A newly appointed development authority in Union is supposed to begin soon - this time without a salaried director.
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A Blairsville man has been charged in North Carolina for the murder of a Lincoln County woman. Zachary William Ramey, 35, is being held there without bond. The woman’s remains were found last February after she went missing in March 2023

07/22/2025

By Jeff Batten
WJRB 95.1/WJUL 97.7 Newscast
July 22, 2025

In the coming days. a Brasstown couple will celebrate the life and memory of their son, a decorated veteran who earned five combat stars. He succumbed to heart disease complications last week.

Kenneth “Alexander” Bohannon’s obituary indicates that served in the Army for 13 years before an early retirement. He had received heart transplant surgery just last year.

Bohannon is credited with serving three tours in Iraq and one in South Korea. Reportedly, he was the first “foot soldier” to use a drone on enemy bomb sites while in Iraq, and he later became som**hing of an expert in military drone usage.

His parents are Ken and Tina Bohannon of Brasstown. Alex was 43 and leaves behind a wife and two children.
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The Georgia State Patrol indicates that the vehicle driven by the woman killed in Hiawassee Sunday left the road and overturned.

It happened at Highway 288 and DB Lowe road. The unidentified woman was the only occupant. It was a single-vehicle crash.
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The public is welcome to attend a fundraiser tonight for fallen Cherokee County sheriff’s employee Francisco Flattes. A percentage of all food sales at the Legends Steakhouse in Murphy will support his family’s expenses. The event runs from 11am to 8pm.

His GofundMe account is still active too. About $20,000 had been raised through Monday. You can search “Back the Blue NC” if you want to get involved.

The town of Murphy’s police department is hosting a fun run this Saturday as well to honor Flattes’ life and to raise funds. The event is called ‘Running 4 Heroes.’
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07/18/2025

By Jeff Batten and Chris Hawkins
WJRB 95.1/WJUL 97.7 Newscast
July 18, 2025

As predicted, yesterday’s political demonstration in Hayesville was much smaller than June’s version, though no less law abiding.

Lt. Bruce Moore tells WJRB that the “Good Trouble Lives On” event produced “no arrests, no citations and no problems to report.”

He estimated the crowd size at several dozen compared to the 600 reported from June 14. One Hayesville Republican who attended acknowledged that there was less tension present this time too. “I didn’t hear the F-word a single time,” she said, laughing.
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The two Miller brothers are recovering steadily from the various burn wounds they suffered in the July 4th boat explosion on Lake Nottely.

Aiden Miller was released from the Grady Burn Unit Tuesday while Isaac, whose burns were the worst, has been taken off a ventilator and is making progress with his speech. Fundraisers and information continue via Art Miller’s page.
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And that tragedy has already made an impact on governmental leaders - even those outside Union County.

Last night, Towns County commissioner Cliff Bradshaw told WJRB that fire chief Harold Copeland approached him about purchasing water pumps for county pontoon boats in case of marina, boat or residential explosions near the water.

BRADSHAW AUDIO: “When you see that, you say ‘well, this could happen here.’ We’ve been very fortunate as a whole with how many visitors come to (lake Chatuge) but we do want to get set up with a pump on the two pontoon boats that the fire department has.”

Copeland is checking on costs but Brashaw says it’s som**hing the county is going to move forward with.
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The mountains’ only daily newsbrief is sponsored by Valley River Chevrolet in Murphy. Car shopping made easy with VRC.

07/17/2025

By Jeff Batten and Chris Hawkins
WJRB 95.1/WJUL 97.7 Newscast
July 17, 2025

Clay County law enforcement is not expecting any trouble at today’s left-leaning rally, whether it’s ‘good trouble’ or any other kind.

Lt. Bruce Moore predicts that today’s event, called “Good Trouble Lives On,” probably will not attract the large crowd from last month, if only because of its weekday scheduling.

Local Republicans were skeptical of the large “No Kings” turnout composition in June: how, they wonder, could 600 anti-Trump protestors turn up in a county that saw only 1900 vote for Kamala Harris last year?

But Moore says he has no reason to believe that outsiders have ever been brought into Hayesville for the protests - or that they will be brought in today.

MOORE AUDIO: “(The crowd) seems to be just a bunch of local people from a variety of local communities in and around Hayesville. Maybe some from adjacent counties. As far as people being bussed in, I don’t foresee that at all.”

The event, sponsored by the Clay County Democrat party, will be at Mayors Park this evening at 5:30pm.

Coincidentally, a local GOP meeting begins at 6:30pm.
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As expected, the Towns County government has begun refunding $100 fees that the county has been collecting for residential outbuilding permits. Commissioner Cliff Bradshaw made that announcement at the county meeting this week and has suspended the practice indefinitely.

As WJRB originally reported, there was honest confusion over what constituted an inspection fee versus a building fee. An ordinance from 2006 is on the books protecting residents from inspection fees.

Research compiled by former commissioner Bill Kendall suggests there are nearly 400 Towns County residents who might be in line for the $100 refund. The building department is trying to construct such a list.
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And the town of Murphy is asking residents to be cautious of three door-to–door salesmen pitching new window products.

Mayor Tim Radford tells WJRB that he’d heard from a resident about sketchy sales practices and behavior. Later, when confronted, one of the salesmen reportedly changed his story as to who he was and what he was doing there.

Radford is advising home dwellers to “watch (the salesmens’) behavior” and not to let them into your home unless you’ve verified who they are.

The mountains’ only daily newsbrief is sponsored by Valley River Chevrolet in Murphy. Car shopping made easy with VRC.

07/15/2025

By Jeff Batten
WJRB 95.1/WJUL 97.7 Newscast
July 15, 2025

The average layman might suspect that May and June’s heavy rainfall was a blessing to area farmers and growers. After all, who wants a drought? But a county extension agent suggests it was almost a curse, depending on the crop.

WILLIAMS AUDIO: “That could be som**hing that we see come back to bite us. Commercially, we’ve seen too much rain.”

Jacob Williams, who works with growers in Towns and Union, tells WJRB it was a small positive, for example, for the vineyard owners planting new vine. On the other hand, it meant a late start to the season for hay growers, which is a top crop in our area.

WILLIAMS AUDIO: “The longer that grass sits out there without being cut, the quality starts to decline over time. The quantity might go up because you have more stems in there, but the quality goes down.”

Williams (pictured) says, though, that landscape plants like hydrangeas have clearly benefitted from the rain.

The rain hasn’t slowed the Union County Farmers Market down at all. Manager Dustin Rogers tells WJRB, if anything, visits are up this year.

ROGERS AUDIO: “Tomatoes will be coming in the next few weeks which will be a really big seller. Of course, green beans, squash and cucumbers right now…”

He says 1500-2000 people is a typical crowd for a Saturday. The market is also open Tuesdays.
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As deportations nationally continue to increase and make news, it’s currently very quiet in the local jails. Responses from Union, Towns, Clay and Cherokee county law enforcement indicate they aren’t holding any undocumented visitors for ICE currently.

There were a handful behind bars this Spring and there was some thought that the number would grow locally.
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And traffic violators in Blairsville no longer have to ‘tell it to the judge.’

The city announced yesterday that you can now pay certain kinds of minor citations online without coming to municipal court. You can find the link on the police department page. Be warned, though: if you pay that way, you’re admitting you did it.

07/14/2025

By Pat Malone and Jeff Batten
WJRB 95.1/WJUL 97.7 Newscast
July 14, 2025

Permits are now in place to break ground on the affordable housing apartments in Young Harris, even as mayor Andrea Gibby is thinking that might do it for a while.

GIBBY AUDIO: “I doubt while I’m mayor that we’ll have any more apartments but we need one more set of apartments. And we’re really looking citywide at (other) housing options.”

Gibby tells WJRB that construction across from the EMC building is supposed to start this month or next.

Those one, two and three bedroom apartments will range in rent from $700 to approximately $1200. There are stipulations on who can rent there and there are only 48 units available. The developer received tax credits from the state in 2023 that enabled them to set lower-than-market rental rates.

GIBBY AUDIO: “There’s a lot of rumors but our city and council has ordinances and zoning and we don’t want to be overpopulated. We just want to have enough places for people to live and work.”
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Emboldened by the large turnout last month, the Clay County Democrats are publicizing another rally in Hayesville this Thursday.

The event called “Good Trouble Lives On” is intended to both honor the late civil rights activist John Lewis and protest the Trump administration.

Local activist Dianne Olansky tells WJRB, “On July 17, the anniversary of Congressman John Lewis’s passing, we’re taking action across the country to defend our democracy and carry forward his legacy of Good Trouble.”

The event is being promoted outside the area; the website, findaprotest.info says the rally is scheduled to start in Mayors Park at 5:30pm.

Coincidentally, the Clay County Republican party had already scheduled its monthly meeting for the same day at 6:30pm.

The mountains’ only daily newsbrief is sponsored by Valley River Chevrolet in Murphy. Car shopping made easy with VRC.

07/11/2025

By Jeff Batten
WJRB 95.1/WJUL 97.7 Newscast
July 11, 2025

The fundraiser to benefit the seven victims of Friday’s boat explosion is nearing its $45,000 goal. The Go Fund Me page shows a total of nearly $38,000 had been raised as of Thursday night.

The online plea for help says all are facing significant medical bills and recovery challenges. There are other support avenues too, including a recovery fund at United Community Bank.

A message posted Tuesday declared that badly burned teenager Isaac Miler had woken up from his medically-induced coma and was speaking to staff at the Grady Burn Unit in Atlanta. Yesterday, it was reported that his burned skin had been removed, clearing a path for future skin grafting.

All of the casualties resulted from a boat explosion in Lake Nottely on the 4th of July.
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North of Nottely, the TVA says it will still be late summer before it announces what construction option it will choose for the Lake Chatuge dam spillway.

Engineer Chris Saucier told WJRB recently that even though the spillway is the repair priority, there is some thought that work might also be done on the dam itself. After all, he says, the dam is approximately 80 years old. Saucier, of course, announced last month that all work on the spillway will be done in the off-peak months.
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And the Union County sheriff’s office made a significant drug arrest Tuesday that resulted in bond denials for two Blairsville men.

Roy Byers and Coy Dockery will face “m**h sale” charges after they were stopped that morning on the Murphy highway. Byers will have to answer for at least six felony drug charges. Dockery was charged with two felonies.

07/10/2025

By Jeff Batten
WJRB 95.1/WJUL 97.7 Newscast
July 10, 2025

North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, Attorney General Jeff Jackson and other dignitaries attended one of the most significant funerals in Cherokee County history yesterday.

A large local turnout also honored the life of fallen officer Francisco Flattes at Tri County Community college. A local elected official called the procession and service “probably the highest profile funeral that I’ve ever known of.”

An impressive contingent of law enforcement from various agencies attended as well. Congressman Chuck Edwards and local representative Karl Gillespie also paid their respects. Flattes, 56 of Hayesville, was shot and killed by an inmate in an escape attempt June 30.
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Qualifying for municipal office continues in Clay and Cherokee counties - and throughout North Carolina - through next Friday.

Apparently, Hayesville city council member Benita England and Mayor Joe Slaton have decided to swap seats, so to speak. England qualified for mayor this week while Slaton did the same for council. Harry Baughn is also running for re-election.

In Murphy, Jeff Crane has qualified to run against Mayor Tim Radford. Crane also qualified for mayor in 2021 but bowed out before the election.
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And the city of Hiawassee decided to punt on the idea of conducting an employee salary survey. The council failed to pass a motion last week that would have paid a firm nearly $10,0000 to do the research. The survey was to ensure that the city is paying salaries and benefits competitively. Hiawassee also conducted a similar study in 2022.

07/09/2025

By Jeff Batten
WJRB 95.1/WJUL 97.7 Newscast
July 9, 2025

Tragedy was averted in Hayesville early Sunday when a local woman was pulled from Lake Chatuge just as she was about to go under.

An unknown fisherman and two Clay County deputies are credited with saving the woman after she was heard screaming for help in the water near the dam.

Deputy Drew Judge says, miraculously, a man in a bass boat was nearby when he arrived and they sped toward an area of 60-foot water between the dam and the circle.

“Had we been five minutes slower, she would have been to the bottom,” Judge tells WJRB. “She was bobbing up and down when we got there.”

He adds the unnamed woman appeared inebriated and said she was swimming to get away from a male acquaintance who was still on an island. Once she reached land, she was escorted to a friend’s house.

Judge was assisted by deputy Chris Harper, a county fire/rescue team and officers from the Forestry Service.
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More lake horrors toward Fannin County as an 18-year old was reportedly hit by lightning in Lake Blue Ridge Friday.

A Georgia DNR press release reports that the young man was struck on his boat around 4:30pm near Lake Blue Ridge Marina. He was taken to the Blue Ridge medical center. Nothing more is known
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And seating will be limited at today’s funeral service for fallen Cherokee County officer Francisco Flattes. The public, though, is encouraged to line the streets and pay respects as the procession travels from Townson Rose funeral home to Tri County Community college.

Visitation is 11am-1pm and the funeral is at 1pm. Flattes was shot and killed by an inmate attempting to escape last Monday.

07/03/2025

By Jeff Batten
WJRB 95.1/WJUL 97.7 Newscast
July 3, 2025

Law enforcement sees som**hing new every day but last Friday’s workload in Hayesville involved som**hing different: discovering and disposing of dynamite.

Several sticks were found in an abandoned tractor trailer which had been obscured for years by kudzu and brush.

SMITH AUDIO: “It was a pretty good bit of dynamite. It’s a substance that can get really dangerous really fast. That kind of dynamite is nitro-based so if it takes a really hard shock or som**hing like that, it could potentially detonate. And whenever it’s been sitting for many years, it gets more volatile and we all know what could happen.”

Investigator Steven Smith was at the scene and watched as a bomb squad was called in to stabilize it with diesel fuel. The next morning, it was hauled away and burned at a remote location.

The sheriff’s office notified a nearby daycare, church, and residents prior to the removal of the dynamite.

Smith isn’t sure but speculates it was left over when nearby property was used as a quarry decades ago.
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The Hiawassee City Council officially voted itself a raise Tuesday but by a closer margin than at June’s first reading.

WJRB had been alerted by one council member that the vote at the second reading - the one that counts - might actually overturn the vote at last month’s first reading.

Ultimately, though, the council did vote 3-2 to award its five members a $100 monthly raise. Amy Barrett and Patsy Owens were the nay votes. It was 4-1 in June with Barrett dissenting.
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And Clay County Sheriff Mark Buchanan has some good advice about Friday’s pyrotechnics.

He says keep a bucket of water or water hose nearby. Soak all spent fireworks in water before disposal to avoid a trash fire. Hot embers may remain long after the sparks have stopped. And finally he says don’t try to re-light fireworks that have not ignited fully. Soak them in water and dispose of them.

The mountains’ only daily newsbrief is sponsored by Valley River Chevrolet in Murphy. Car shopping made easy with VRC.

(photo: supplied by CCSO)

07/02/2025

By Jeff Batten
WJRB 95.1/WJUL 97.7 Newscast
July 2, 2025

Towns County is considering the refund of some $37,000 to property owners who have purchased permits for outbuildings on their property - even though the county thinks it shouldn’t have to.

The matter came to light last week when former commissioner Bill Kendall wrote a letter to current commissioner Cliff Bradshaw protesting that Bradshaw was ignoring an ordinance that Kendall had put in place in 2006. That ordinance was designed to protect residents from having to subdivide their open spaces for basic structures like barns, garages and hay sheds.

According to Kendall’s letter, 374 individuals have paid a $100 fee that may not have been required.

County attorney Robb Kiker counters that Kendall’s claim is not technically correct. He says Kendall’s ordinance was referring to inspection fees and requirements, not to building permits or building fees.

Nevertheless, Bradshaw may follow through with the refunds anyway as a good-faith gesture at this month’s county meeting.
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A Blairsville parolee is back in the Union County jail after he allegedly approached the victims of a crime he committed in 2022.

The sheriff’s office says Terry Anderson, 41, was visited by deputies about the matter Friday and he wouldn’t cooperate. He was eventually tased and taken to jail for assault, obstruction and making terroristic threats.

Anderson supposedly made contact with one of the teenage victims that he accosted at gunpoint at the Blairsville McDonalds in December 2022. If so, that would have violated his probation conditions.
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And a GoFundMe account has been set up to raise funds for the family of fallen officer Franciso Flattes. About $5,000 had been raised by Tuesday afternoon.

The organization “Back the Blue NC” says the donations will go toward funeral expenses, lost income and other financial burdens.

Flattes is the Cherokee County detention officer who was shot and killed in the act of duty Monday while escorting an inmate to an orthopedic appointment.

06/30/2025

By Jeff Batten
WJRB 95.1/WJUL 97.7 Newscast
June 30, 2025

A Blairsville man has bonded out of a Cleveland, Tennessee jail after being arrested last week for pointing a loaded gun at his girlfriend with an infant child nearby.

The Cleveland Daily Banner newspaper reports Cason Brown, 18, was charged with aggravated assault among other crimes. His girlfriend called law enforcement after she said he began destroying items in their room and retrieved a loaded 45 caliber G***k. He allegedly cocked the gun and pointed it at her. There was no further incident or injury. His bail was set at $50.000.
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Four area sheriff’s offices wrapped up a joint operation last week that resulted in the arrest of two suspected local drug traffickers. The Cherokee County sheriff’s office says a two-year investigation into the activities of residents Scott Decasper and Juliana Perry concluded Thursday in Gilmer county. The pair reportedly was in Georgia to retrieve trafficking amounts of m**h and return it to Cherokee County for sale. Narcotics agents in Cherokee, Union, Gilmer and Fannin each contributed to the arrest.
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And the No Kings political rally in Hiawassee concluded without incident Saturday afternoon. Hiawassee police chief Paul Smith tells WJRB that about 50 protesters were in attendance and "peacefully assembled and held signs.” He adds that there were no counter-protestors at the event. Towns County Democrat party leader David Plunkett called it a successful event with “lots of support from passersby.”

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