In this Issue of Hey Cherokee County…

✅ Bryant: You Can Be 100% Christian or 100% Politician — But Not Both

✅ Heritage Park Pavilion Takes Shape

Cherokee County Events

July 17th

August 1st

August 15th

September 16th-19th

September 26th

October 31st

November 21st

Publisher’s Note: This is the fourth and final installment of a multi-part series based on an exclusive interview with former Cherokee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Alan Bryant.

Alan Bryant didn't just leave the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners because of board dysfunction or budget battles or broken promises. There was something deeper driving it — a tension between his faith and the job itself.

But before that tension reached its breaking point, something else had already shifted: his understanding of what government can actually do.

When asked whether his idea of the role of government had changed, Bryant said the job turned out to be far more reactive than he imagined. Less about leading, more about approving.

"The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners, from my point of view, is this,” he said. “I was in there, and what I done was okayed what everybody else wanted to spend. Fire department would need this — is it okay? Yeah, if they need it, they gotta have it. Sheriff's department — they need this, is it okay? Yeah, they need it, go ahead and spend it. We need a vehicle over here, we wrecked this vehicle, we gotta replace it with this vehicle. Just the little bitty things that occupied every minute of your life."

He had gone in thinking he could drive real change. He came out feeling like he'd mainly kept the machine running without fixing what was actually broken.

"We just keep adding to what's going on. We're not taking care of the problem,” Bryant said. “We're just spending more money building bigger things just to keep up with the problem and we're not taking care of the problem."

He traces it back to something deeper.

"I was raised to be self-sufficient,” he said. “Take care of myself, do my own thing, pay taxes and die — ain't that the old motto?"

His frustration with government carried over into his views on society itself.

"We live now in a society to where God is put on the back burner — period,” Bryant said. “To make our little town better, what did we do? We open up live bands and beer drinking on the corners in town. That's not how I was raised. That's not gonna help anything."

He sees the consequences playing out in real time.

"Alcoholism rates up, teenage drinking is up, drugs are out the roof. Why? Well, just look back at why — you promote it. You've promoted it. It's simple fact."

He was equally candid about schools.

"The decline in students is happening,” Bryant said. “People said, 'Alan, what do you think schools will be like in 20 years?' I think they're gonna be more obsolete than — I just don't see it."

He pointed to the growing number of families choosing to homeschool.

"There's such a big percentage of kids right now that are homeschool,” Bryant said. “Every school I go to, more and more people telling me how they're gonna try homeschooling this next year. They've got their own computers. It's so simple."

The implication — though he stopped short of saying it — is that in a world where information is available on demand, the traditional school model may have a shorter shelf life than anyone in county government is ready to admit.

His larger worry was simpler: "Our kids…they promote more fear in them than they do actually getting out here and trying to accomplish something in life," Bryant said.

All of it — the government frustration, the cultural concerns, the schools — fed into what became an impossible personal tension.

He, his wife, and his pastor had talked about it directly. His conclusion was unambiguous.

"You can either be 100 percent Christian and stand on values and stand on what's right, or you can be 100 percent politician,” he said. “But when you start becoming 50 percent Christian, 50 percent politician, you are going downhill quick because the two don't mix.

"I'm not going to be a part of something that I don't feel like the Lord's happy with in my life," he added.

He's not done, though. He sees being on the outside as an advantage.

“Now I'm on the outside looking in, and I know exactly what the inside can and can't do,” he said. “I think in a way it helps me be more powerful out here now that I know. You've not heard the last of me on things that need to be said and stood up for in the county."

Heritage Park is getting an upgrade, and if you've spent time in the park lately, you've already seen it taking shape.

The Town of Andrews is building a brand-new pavilion — funded by a $100,000 grant — designed to make one of the community's most-used green spaces even better. Think covered seating, public restrooms, and a concession area all in one spot. No more leaving the park because nature called or the sky opened up.

Construction is moving quickly. The concrete slab is already poured, with plumbing installed beneath it. Walls are going up, and grading has begun on the parking area.

Much of the assembly work is being supported by volunteers, town employees, local elected officials, and local ministries.

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