In this Issue of Hey Cherokee County…

✅ Big Brother Or Life Saver? The Camera System Dividing Western North Carolina

✅ TomatoFEST Returns to Downtown Murphy for Fourth Year

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 2 of a two-part series based on an interview with Cherokee County Sheriff Chris Wood.

In April 2025, an elderly man left his home in Woodstock, Georgia, and never made it back. Investigators used automated license plate readers (ALPR), often called Flock cameras, to track his movements from Woodstock all the way to the North Carolina state line. Then the trail went cold. He was found deceased in his car in Cherokee County.

“He disappeared because we didn't have a way to follow his path here,” Cherokee County Sheriff Chris Wood said. “Could he have been saved? Maybe. The odds obviously would have increased that he would have been saved in that situation.”

Automated license plate readers are already woven into daily life in ways most people don't think about. School systems across the country have them on their property. School bus stoparms use them to catch drivers who blow past stopped buses. Large corporations like Lowe's Home Improvement have them at some locations. 

Their use has generated controversy in communities across the country, with residents raising concerns about privacy, government surveillance, and who ultimately controls the data. Wood aims to have eight Flock Safety cameras installed in the county within the next quarter. 

"I do realize that it is a controversial topic. I just want them to listen to me and understand why it is something that our office needs to utilize to provide the best service to them,” Wood said. “We've had commissioners in the past here that felt that it was necessary to spend tens of thousands of dollars to put cameras to guard our trash. We have cameras on our green cans to make sure that someone doesn't throw a paint can in the green can…So that's okay, but you don't want me to find a child that's been abducted?”

The sheriff’s office is in the process of building out the internal policy that state law requires them to have in place before the cameras go up. By state statute, ALPR data use is restricted to criminal investigations, locating missing or endangered people, apprehending felony fugitives, and recovering stolen vehicles. Law explicitly prohibits its use for routine traffic enforcement.

"The average citizen of Cherokee County that drives to work every day will never know they're there," Wood said. "If you're a drug dealer, you might hear from us. If you're a murderer that drives through our county, you might know about it. But the average citizen will never know that it's there."

Wood said much of the pushback that he’s heard regarding the use of ALPRs revolve around perceived violations of the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from unreasonable government searches and seizures by requiring law enforcement to obtain a warrant based on probable cause. 

“The Supreme Court has ruled that it's not a violation of our Fourth Amendment rights. That your right to privacy in a vehicle on public highways does not extend to the same level as it does on your private property,” Wood explained. “There are federal and state case laws that have already ruled that license plate readers in general is no different than an officer being behind your car and running your tag driving down the road, which happens every day.”

He said the legal principle that there's no expectation of privacy in a public place is the same concept that allows a private citizen to film daily life on a public sidewalk and record others with their phone.

“That's the reason that a TV crew can ride in that police car and film someone on a traffic stop, which is a highway, which is a public area, but you don't see them go into someone's house when they respond to a call because your expectation of privacy is different,” Wood said. “I hate for somebody to stand and film with a cell phone. I don't know why. I guess maybe I'm old and I just don't like it. But you know, I have accepted the fact that that's what the law says.”

The Cherokee Clay Food Alliance, a nonprofit that aims to strengthen the local food system in Cherokee and Clay Counties, will host its fourth annual TomatoFEST celebration on Saturday, August 1, at the Riverwalk behind the L&N Depot.

The event offers something for everyone—from cooking demonstrations to children's activities to a spirited competition to crown the region's best Bloody Mary.

Inside the L&N Depot, attendees can learn to prepare different tomato-based dishes throughout the morning. At 9:30 a.m., instructors will demonstrate how to make tomato pie, followed by caprese salad at 10:30 a.m. The final session at 11:30 a.m. will feature two recipes: shakshuka and pan tomate.

The Family Fun Tent will keep younger visitors entertained with vegetable stamp art, a community quilt project, and a sensory play area. The Nantahala Regional Library will bring its Book Adventure Mobile (BAM) for story time, and face painting will also be available.

For those 21 and older, the Bloody Mary Contest offers a chance to taste and vote for the best Bloody Mary in Cherokee and Clay counties. Tasting and voting will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Hackney Building. Judging tickets cost $10 and include samples from each competitor and one vote.

Parking at the event is limited, with a team managing the event lot to maximize available space. If the lot fills, attendees can use any public parking spaces around downtown. 

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