Instead of reading tea leaves, some local officials are observing the bustling activity on McKown’s Mountain Road as a sign that an announcement is imminent that Duke Power has picked Cherokee County as the site of a new nuclear power plant.

“It seems like there’s 100 trucks a day coming in and out of the place,” said one observer.

But Cherokee County Development Board Director Jim Inman isn’t getting too excited about the traffic at the former Duke power plant site located on a 2,000-acre parcel in the McKown’s Mountain community.

“They told me it was just some preliminary data collection,” Inman said. “They are doing the same thing at the site (under consideration) in North Carolina.”

But the ongoing activity is making Cherokee County Council Chairman Hoke Parris hopeful that Duke Power has chosen Cherokee County as the site.

“I’m just very optimistic,” he said. “I know there is some work going on there and I just feel like they are coming.”

Duke Power was expected to make an announcement in late 2005. But that decision has been delayed until “the first part of this year,” according to Duke Power District Manager David White.

Other sources have said the announcement has been put on hold during Duke’s merger talks with Cinergy Corporation, an energy provider based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Duke is also involved in negotiations with Southern Power, which will be a minority owner in the project, sources said.

Last December, the county approved a tax incentive package that grants Duke a 4 percent fee-in-lieu and a substantial infrastructure improvement credit.