For a population of just over 8,000 individuals, Graham County maintains a constant news cycle.
Each year, The Graham Star looks back at the top 10 stories from the recent 12-month cycle; reliving the positives and the negatives of what has recent transpired.
As we close out 2024, it is time to focus on the moments that had the community talking: some for weeks, others for months – or perhaps, for the entire year itself.
Dumps close – twice
After three weeks of announcements and full-page ads in The Star, Graham County rang in the New Year by closing all of its convenience sites Jan. 1.
Citing “continuous misuse” and issuing a list of items disposed of inappropriately – including tires, appliances, construction materials, land-clearing waste, decomposing matter, human waste, animals, furniture and drug paraphernalia – the county was also under pressure from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, which promised hefty, daily fines if the problem was not rectified.
Under heavy public pressure, commissioners voted 4-1 to re-open the sites just three weeks after their closure. However, the same misuse quickly reared its ugly head, and the county once again shuttered all the sites June 14.
A few of the centers have remained open throughout the cycle of change, albeit with improved oversight (an employee on-site, restricted hours and surveillance cameras). Today, residential waste can be hauled to Bear Creek, which just re-opened Dec. 21; East Buffalo; Johnson Gap/Stecoah; and the Snowbird Transfer Station.
Bear Creek is open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; the remaining centers are open those same hours Monday through Saturday as well as from 1-6 p.m. Sundays.
Unsolved homicide
Officials discovered the lifeless body of 27-year-old Carley Dunn Walls on Feb. 5, 2023, but it took until January to receive autopsy results about her mysterious passing.
Void of clothing when her remains were found on a property adjacent to the now-empty River Breeze Trailer Park, Walls’ vehicle was found ablaze on Tatham Gap Road the night before her body was spotted. The autopsy shifted the Graham County Sheriff’s Office’s investigation to that of a homicide, as Walls was found to have passed away from a combination of blunt-force trauma, hypothermia and intoxication.
Sadly, no arrests have been made in connection with her death some 23 months ago. A reward is being offered for any information that can aid the investigation; tips can be shared by calling 828-479-3352.
Titles galore
The middle school Black Knights capped a flawless 18-0 season to capture the program’s first Smoky Mountain Conference titles since 2010-11.
Robbinsville downed Swain County on the road 56-41 to win the regular-season title Jan. 8, but was able to celebrate a tournament crown Jan. 24 by defeating Hiwassee Dam/Ranger 64-46 on its home court. Robbinsville outscored its opponents 921-448.
Both the Robbinsville Termites and Mites won the Smokey Mountain Youth Conference’s annual year-end championship tournament, with both teams buzzing the Hayesville Yellow Jackets. The Termites won 37-26 and the Mites prevailed 44-38.
The Black Knights’ varsity wrestling team continued their championship tradition, capturing divisional title No. 27 after trouncing Swain County 57-18 on Jan. 22. Robbinsville went on to win the program’s first state invitational tournament team championship Feb. 17, besting Avery County 124.5-114.5. Koleson Dooley, Kage Williams and Alexis Panama all won individual state titles; in the case of Williams, he became just the 13th wrestler in state history to win four championships.
Female grapplers also shined at the 42nd annual Junior High State Championship tournament in Advance, as Alyssa Bohn, Tashay Carpenter, Shayla Dominguez, Latesha Orr and Myah Winfrey combined forces to win six individual gold medals. Robbinsville also prevailed in the team-title race, winning the tournament for the second straight year.
Robbinsville also won the middle school boys track and field championship April 22 at Cherokee, amassing 162 team points. The win snapped a 16-year championship drought for the middle school Knights in the sport.
The Robbinsville varsity softball program earned divisional crown No. 16 on May 1 after knocking off Murphy 11-2 on the road to clinch the pennant. The Lady Knights followed by going on a historic run in the playoffs, advancing to just their second regional finals appearance and finishing the year 24-4.
Likewise, the upcoming varsity stars won their first conference title since 2017 by defeating Cherokee 16-5 on May 14 in a neutral-site game at Hiwassee Dam. The Lady Knights went 13-0 in 2024.
Robbinsville Middle’s baseball squad won its first divisional title in school history at the same location on the same day, knocking off Murphy 4-2. The Black Knights went 10-3 overall during the campaign.
The most decorated athlete in Robbinsville history capped her career with a gold medal in the triple jump at May 20, as Zoie Shuler stood atop the awards podium at N.C. A&T’s Aggie Stadium for the final time. Between indoor and outdoor track and field, Shuler won 11 individual state championships in a span of three years for the Lady Knights.
Robbinsville’s youth baseball and softball teams also shined on the diamond, with both 8U teams sweeping the Mountain Dizzy Dean tournament championship games. The Lady Knights finished the year 13-1 and the Black Knights ended their title run 12-3.
Retirement
After 35 years in Graham County Schools, Angie Knight officially announced she was stepping down as superintendent March 5.
Knight was named the Region 8 Superintendent of the Year in 2023. She was Graham County’s superintendent for nine years; prior to that, she was the assistant superintendent for five years.
Her retirement became effective July 1. Assistant superintendent Robert Moody was selected by the board of education as her successor.
SRO tension
A proposal by sheriff Brad Hoxit to bring school resource officers in Graham County under his supervision turned into a hotly debated topic, which culminated with a two-hour public hearing March 21.
Sheriff’s office attorney David Wijewickrama and elementary school SRO Josh Reap ultimately ended the hearing in a shouting match, disputing each other’s claims about miscommunications between the school district and sheriff’s office. The attorney was escorted from the hearing in the Robbinsville High School auditorium.
The shift in oversight never occurred, and SROs are still under the purview of Graham County Schools. Cherokee, Mecklenburg and Moore counties join Graham as the only districts in North Carolina that do not employ SROs under their local police departments.
Resignation
Debra “Hank” Dinschel resigned from her seat on the Graham County Board of Education following a tumultuous 17-month stint on the panel.
Her March 27 resignation was spearheaded by what she called “health issues” in a letter to the editor published in the April 4 edition of The Star. During her time on the board, Dinschel challenged her fellow elected officials on topics such as parliamentary procedure, masks being worn by students in school and even a survey that questioned middle schoolers on their gender identities.
A Republican, the local GOP soon named Andy Lynn as her replacement. The seat will be up for an election bid in 2026.
White convicted
It took 13 ½ years after crimes began for 47-year-old Stecoah resident Michael Lee White to be convicted on sexual offenses involving a child.
Between Dec. 26, 2010, and June 30, 2012, White committed sexual acts with a seven-year-old child. He was convicted following a brief trial in Graham County Superior Court on May 8, as a jury found White guilty of first-degree sex offense with a child – a felony.
White was sentenced to 300-369 months (25-30 ¾ years) in prison, while being given credit for 2,567 days already served. He is also required to register as a sex offender and will be subject to a lifetime of satellite monitoring.
Drownings
Construction worker Chester Coleman, 63, drowned in Lake Santeetlah on July 13.
The Alberta, Ala., resident became “distressed” – though it was never made clear why – and began yelling for help around 6:20 p.m. Despite the presence of multiple individuals at the lake, no one could reach Coleman in time before he disappeared under the surface. His body was discovered in about 20 feet of water around 25 minutes after he vanished.
Coleman was confirmed to be an employee working for Ozark, Ala.-based F&W
Contracting, a subcontractor on the “Corridor K” improvement project.
Exactly two weeks later, a 1-year-old Swain County infant drowned in Graham County’s Cable Cove section of Fontana Lake. A boat capsized, sending everyone overboard. When the passengers reconvened, they noticed that the infant was missing.
Assistance from nearby vessels quickly led to the infant being found underneath the surface and recovered. Despite life-saving efforts from first responders on the shoreline, the child did not survive.
Sites picked
After decades of speculation, Graham County commissioners finally settled on a location for a new “justice center,” which will replace the aging courthouse in downtown Robbinsville.
The board voted Oct. 15 to build the new facility adjacent to the community building on Knight Street. Construction is expected to begin once the sale of the land has been made by Graham County Schools, which received a $42 million grant to build a new Robbinsville Elementary School in the fall.
The new institution will be built next to the Robbinsville High baseball field. Once completed, it will clear the way for the justice center to be built.
‘Dirty Laundry’
After an increased crackdown on the local drug pandemic in Graham County, the sheriff’s office unveiled the culmination of an 11-month investigation across two separate days.
When all was said and done, over 40 individuals were arrested in connection with illegal drug and gambling activity in the region. The investigation centered on Graham County and two separate raids on Nov. 22 and Nov. 26 led to a large-scale sweep of those involved in cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine and opioid manufacturing/distribution.
The Graham County Sheriff’s Office called in the assistance of multiple regional agencies to help with the effort.
The Nov. 22 raids led to four arrests; the Nov. 26 raids ended with 35, though six more were made in the days that followed on various bills of indictment.
