April 10, 1986
* Freeman Carver was sentenced to life in prison for the Oct. 11, 1985 shooting death of Ned Nichols. The fatal shooting occurred in the Mill Creek community off Tallulah Road, when a dispute between the 44-year-old Carver and Nichols escalated into Carver brandishing a .308 rifle and shooting Nichols in the chest. Carver had shown up to the home with two other individuals; reportedly, all three were uninvited.
* The Graham County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to purchase a new fire truck, which had an attached price tag of $72,000. The county's existing truck did not come under compliance for a District 9 fire classification. A 20% down payment was required up front for the truck.
April 10, 1980
* The North Carolina Board of Transportation approved "Alternate 8" as the designated route for a planned highway improvement project between Almond and Andrews. The route chosen bypassed the Nantahala Gorge and plans were to expand the strip of U.S. 19/N.C. 28 into a four-lane highway in the future. Update: This is the now-infamous "Corridor K" project that finally broke ground in Graham County on Oct. 3, 2022. A four-lane was constructed for just eight miles of the segment; the current project will simply improve the existing road.
* After resurrecting the program the year prior, the Robbinsville Black Knights baseball team posted a 2-2 mark right out of the gate. Robbinsville stunned Sylva-Webster 4-2 and picked up a Smoky Mountain Conference victory over Hiwassee Dam, 13-4; while falling 11-4 to Franklin and 6-1 against Cullowhee. Phillip Buchanan gave up just three hits to Sylva-Webster, while Ricky Stiles was 2-for-3 at the plate. Against the Eagles, Kevin Waldroup shined with a six-RBI afternoon; thanks to a grand slam and a 3-for-4 afternoon at the dish. He also toted the workload on the mound, striking out nine and surrendering four hits.
April 10, 1970
* Four Japanese businessmen visited Fontana Mills on behalf of the Mitsubishi Rayon Company, which had recently combined forces with Burlington Industries to produce carpet exclusive to Japan and other countries in the Far West. Burlington Industries Office Manager O.P. Holder was pictured alongside H. Takamura, Tatsuo Suzuki, Tomotumi Milasaka and Akira Yamauchi.
* Charles George signed a letter of intent to play football at Western Carolina University. At the time, the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Robbinsville tackle was the 21st Black Knight to sign with the Catamounts. George had received All-Western North Carolina honors as part of Robbinsville's 11-2, 1A state championship season in 1969.
-Compiled by publisher/editor Kevin Hensley.