Local

Dr. Debbie Denise Reece is hopeful of a 100 percent response to the upcoming 2020 census, as demonstrated by her speech at the GREAT meeting Nov. 14. Photo by Art Miller/amiller@grahamstar.com

Dr. Debbie Denise Reece is hopeful of a 100 percent response to the upcoming 2020 census, as demonstrated by her speech at the GREAT meeting Nov. 14. Photo by Art Miller/amiller@grahamstar.com

GREAT meeting focuses on 2020 census

Fontana Dam – The latest GREAT (Graham Revitalization Economic Action Team) meeting, hosted by the Fontana Village Resort and Marina and sponsored by Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, took place at the resort’s lodge Nov. 14 and included a guest speaker, as well as a Thanksgiving feast.

Spirit of a Warrior

Native Americans volunteer for service in the U.S. Armed Forces at a rate three times higher than non-Natives.

Budget impasse impacts Medicaid

Raleigh – N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen recently warned that her office “can’t make a February start date” for Medicaid transformation “without a state budget in place.” As of Friday, the state legislature was still at a budget impasse.
Pictured is one of the 10 piglets born to Large Black pig, Piper, at Double 00 Farm in Tuskegee. Photo by Art Miller/amiller@grahamstar.com

Pictured is one of the 10 piglets born to Large Black pig, Piper, at Double 00 Farm in Tuskegee. Photo by Art Miller/amiller@grahamstar.com

Local pigs help preserve rare breed

Tuskegee – What do the Large Black pig, the Leghorn Chicken and the Cleveland Bay horse have in common?  All three are examples of heritage breeds, animals that thrived on small farms until industrialized agriculture pushed them to near-extinction.

Warrant executed, substance seized

Robbinsville – For the second time in three weeks, a Graham County man has been caught in possession of a controlled substance. Dennis James Solles was one of five individuals arrested during the execution of a search warrant in Andrews on Oct. 22, allegedly in possession of heroin.

NCDOT gets some reprieve ... with strings attached

By Julie Havlak Carolina Journal News Service Raleigh — The N.C. Department of Transportation’s financial woes may be over, but its headaches live on. After the department overspent by $2 billion, the legislature gave the department $200 million, but at a price.

New House map could help Democrats get seats

By Brooke Conrad Carolina Journal News Service Raleigh — The state House has passed a new congressional map, giving Democrats a better chance to pick up U.S. House seats in 2020, based on recent voting history. The new map in House Bill 1029 was proposed Thursday, Nov.

Local church aiding cause

Stecoah – Volunteers at Stecoah Baptist Church will collect shoebox gifts for children living in poverty overseas this year, as part of the Samaritan’s Purse Project’s Operation Christmas Child.