In this Issue of Hey Cherokee County…

✅ Cherokee County Is Getting Flock Cameras: What Sheriff Wood Says They Will — and Won't — Be Used For

✅ Andrews Youth Football Still Accepting Players

✅ Residents Invited to Help Shape Andrews’ Future at Public Visioning Session

Cherokee County Events

August 1st

August 11th

August 15th

August 26th

September 16th-19th

September 26th

October 31st

November 21st

Publisher’s Note: This is Part 1 of a two-part series based on an interview with Cherokee County Sheriff Chris Wood.

Cherokee County is already in the Flock camera business. Sort of.

Deputies here have been working cases alongside North Georgia law enforcement for quite some time — sharing intelligence, flagging vehicles, tracking suspects as they move back and forth across the state line. When the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office has a known drug trafficker in their sights, they can reach out to partner agencies in neighboring jurisdictions, give them a plate number or a name, and tap into a network of automated license plate readers (ALPR) this county doesn't own.

"A lot of the arrests that we post in our press releases are Cherokee County residents who were stopped in Georgia and charged with trafficking drug offenses," Cherokee County Sheriff Chris Wood said. "We can't afford to let them get to the state line. We don't have Flock cameras currently, so we're afraid that we will lose them once they get inside Cherokee County — and then we will have that poison in our county."

That's about to change. Funds for ALPRs were already set aside in the sheriff’s office budget before Wood took over in February. Wood campaigned on the issue of installing Flock cameras in the county, and he’s aiming to have eight of them installed within the next 60-120 days. 

Automated license plate readers have quietly become one of the more divisive technologies in American law enforcement. Communities across the country have debated them, and a handful have rejected them outright over concerns about privacy and government surveillance. The American Civil Liberties Union has even proposed legislation designed to help state and local governments regulate mass-surveillance technologies after numerous reports of ALPR databases being misused.  

Most people call them “Flock cameras” because Flock Safety has become the dominant brand in the industry. Wood intends to get the actual Flock brand when Cherokee County moves forward.

"People don't realize how prevalent they are," Wood said. "Once you have that system and you have a network, it gives you the ability to fight crime in a very technological way that we've not had in the past. I've heard people say, ‘Well, you know, just go out and use manpower to do this.’ Well, I don't have enough manpower to do what that system will do and that's the equivalent to telling me to ride a horse to work today instead of driving a car because cars are bad.”

Wood acknowledged the seriousness of privacy concerns that have followed this technology across the country. He said his office is in the process of building out a formal policy before a single camera goes up — one that will spell out clearly what deputies can and can't use the system for, and who gets access to it in the first place. 

That circle will be small. Access will be credentialed and tiered, Wood said, limited to division heads over investigations, narcotics, and patrol. Not every deputy in the office will be able to log in.

"I don't plan to give myself any access to it," he said. "I don't see why I would have to have access to it."

His chief deputy will serve as the system's administrator. As for anyone who steps out of line with it — Wood didn't leave much room for interpretation.

"I would never want to infringe on anyone's rights," he said. "Anyone that misused that system would be terminated from our office."

So what constitutes misuse? North Carolina General Statute Section 20-183.31 limits use of ALPR data to criminal investigations, apprehending fugitives with outstanding felony warrants, locating missing or endangered people, and recovering stolen vehicles. The statute explicitly prohibits using it to enforce routine traffic violations.

The data itself won't sit in a permanent database, Wood said. Under state law, captured plate data shall not be preserved for more than 90 days after the date it is captured, unless a preservation request or court-issued search warrant ties it to an active investigation. 

“The [State Bureau of Investigation] monitors the system,” Wood said. “It's not like our office would be out there unmonitored, just doing what we wanted to do, which is a good thing.”

Andrews Youth Football is looking for more players for the upcoming season. Players are being accepted through August 1. 

The program offers divisions for children ages 5 through 12:

Organizers encourage parents to involve their children in team sports to help them develop discipline, commitment, teamwork, leadership, and confidence while building friendships that extend beyond the playing field.

Families interested in registering a player or learning more can contact Andrews Youth Football through the Andrews Recreation Department or by emailing [email protected]. 

If you've ever had ideas about what Andrews should look like in the future, here's your chance to share them.

The Town of Andrews is inviting residents, business owners, and community members to attend a Public Visioning Session as part of the development of the town's new Five-Year Strategic Economic Development Plan.

The session is designed to give the public an opportunity to learn more about the planning process while providing input on the future direction of the community. Officials hope to gather ideas, priorities, and feedback from those who live and work in Andrews as they develop a roadmap for the town's economic growth over the next five years.

The event will take place:

Tuesday, August 11, 2026
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Andrews Community Center
535 Main Street
Andrews, NC 28901

The strategic plan is intended to help guide future economic development efforts by identifying community strengths, opportunities, and long-term goals. Public participation is a key part of that process, giving residents a chance to voice what they believe should be priorities for Andrews moving forward.

Whether your interests include supporting local businesses, attracting new investment, improving quality of life, or preserving what makes Andrews unique, town leaders encourage community members to attend and help shape the vision for the town's future.

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