10 years ago
* AAA once again named Graham County as the most dangerous county in the state for motorcycle accidents, topping the list for most collisions, injuries and fatal crashes of motorcycles in the past three years. Considering that most of the Dragon’s 318 curves, in 11 miles are in Tennessee, the majority of the accidents that were in the county were on the Cherohala Skyway, according to N.C. State Highway Patrol Spokesperson Tressie Phillips. Motorcycle wrecks accounted for 13 percent of all fatal traffic crashes.
* The U.S. Forest Service’s new $552,000 boat ramp was in the process of getting an upgrade, after much criticism about the design from the public since it opened in the spring. Dave Armontrout – owner of The Boat and Auto Shop – and county manager Greg Cable offered suggestions to the forest service regarding the redesign. The cost of the revamp had not been determined. Adams Contracting had built the ramp exactly to the designers’ specification and will come back to construct the new design.
* In a battle of “Knights,” Robbinsville traveled to North Henderson and collected a 29-21 win. Early mistakes from Robbinsville – such as a fumble on the 1-yard line and several dropped passes – kept the game close. But Robbinsville held North Henderson to 26 yards in the second half and negative yards in the fourth quarter. The win put Robbinsville at 4-0, which made the program the only undefeated team left from the Smoky Mountain Conference.
25 years ago
* “Blooming as high as an elephant’s eye!” was the description of a front-page photo of the last blooms of summer – as seen by Olean Jenkins of Stecoah, beside a shed across the street from the white house where she lived with her father, Martin Jenkins, one of Graham County’s oldest residents. Sunflowers and daises held their blooms, as the reds and golds of autumn hovered over the mountain sides.
* James “Bo” Gritz was found near his home in Idaho, suffering from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and was taken to the local hospital. Gritz was known for spearheading an extensive search of the Nantahala area for bombing suspect Eric Rudolph. According to Mark Potok, editor of Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Reports, Claudie Gritz separated from her husband, due to Gritz’s part in the investigation. The wound was not considered life-threatening.
* Graham County Schools were honored with a visit from Mike Ward, the state superintendent of schools. Roger Metcalf spoke in Ward’s place, due to Ward’s helicopter delay caused by bad weather. Metcalf offered congratulations to the county for having schools that were “among the best in the state.” Out of 117 school systems in North Carolina, only 10 qualified for exemplary status.
50 years ago
* Each year in the past, the Thunderbird’s had held an annual white-elephant sale, with all proceeds going to the Graham County Rescue Squad. Each year, the sale had more donations than the years before; the 1972 sale netted $900. Most thought that this record would be hard to beat, but Floyd Graham and the committee members did such an outstanding job in 1973 that their efforts exceeded $1,300.
* A group of Robbinsville youth flew high over the county, as pilots J.H. Erickson of Robbinsville – in his beautiful Cessna – and Tapoco’s Jack Disser – in his powerful Mooney – took three members of the Robbinsville United Methodist Youth Fellowship on several trips. The current membership consisted of young people between the ages of 12-20 from baptist, catholic and methodist churches: although young people of all denominations were welcome.
* The Robbinsville Black Knights traveled to Rosman and won big, defeating the Tigers, 26-8. Tommy Hooper scored on a 3-yard run to get the Knights scoring started, with Scott Perkins passing to Dee Walsh for a 2-point conversion. Eddie Phillips later picked off a Rosman pass in the fourth quarter, which Walsh converted into a touchdown on a 1-yard plunge. Rosman’s only score came late in the ballgame on a 62-yard pass from Ricky Pangle to Emmerson Oshields.
-Compiled by Diane West