Garland’s successor admits she has ‘big shoes to fill’
Robbinsville – The individual who spent just a moment under the learning tree has been officially appointed to become the next finance officer for Graham County.
Stacy Carpenter transitioned to county government from Graham County Schools, where she served in a similar capacity for Robbinsville High School. An unanimous vote of the Graham County Board of Commissioners on April 18 removed the qualifier “interim” from in front of her job title, and the role now solely belongs to Carpenter.
She takes the place of Becky Garland, who announced her departure Feb. 21.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to work for you and I’ll do my best to represent you well,” Carpenter said. “I have big shoes to fill; Becky was absolutely amazing at what she did.
“I hate making mistakes – so when I do, I will learn from it.”
Cryptomining?
Cryptomining has became a controversial topic in neighboring Cherokee County. Right next door, Clay County commissioners has already taken a precautionary measure by signing an ordinance prohibiting cryptomining from even beginning within its borders.
Lisa DeLoach wants to make sure Graham County also nips the topic in the bud before it even is considered.
“It’s very noisy. Very noisy,” DeLoach said April 18 about a visit to a cryptomining facility on Harshaw Road in Murphy the day prior. “It has a highway close to it and you can still hear all this noise, so I would think in the quiet of night that it would be much louder.”
A covered cryptomining location exists off of Airport Road in Marble. Residents near both locations have filed complaints about the noise generated from the facilities, which is caused by cooling generators that have to constantly run in order to keep computers from overheating as individuals work to access digital funding.
“I’m sure none of you want this in your back door, or anyone in your family have to listen to this,” DeLoach said. “I don’t want our county ruined.”
After her speech April 18, board chair Jacob Nelms said the commissioners would reach out to neighboring counties for guidance.