Local

Tennessee officer dies after accident

Cherohala – A Georgia man has passed away from injuries he sustained in a two-vehicle accident on the Cherohala Skyway last month. According to a report from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, 52-year-old Ringgold resident Enoch Daniel Ian Hurd was traveling east on N.C.
Stephanie Oakey’s Poems of a Southern Nobody was just released as both a hardcover and an e-book.

Stephanie Oakey’s Poems of a Southern Nobody was just released as both a hardcover and an e-book.

60 poems in a book

The loss of Sandra Brooms (left) last year inspired her daughter Stephanie Oakey (right) to write poetry. One year later, Poems of a Southern Nobody has been recognized in USA Today.

3 new faces voted into office

Robbinsville – In overwhelming fashion, Graham County voters spent the last 2 ½ weeks frequenting the polls. Of 6,262 registered voters in the county, 3,354 cast a ballot during the one-stop (early) period – or 53.6 percent.

Injured hiker rescued

Snowbird – The Graham County 911 Center received an SOS from a device that can send messages via satellite from a hiker around 5:20 p.m., Saturday. Corey Williams – 34, of Huntsville, Ala.
Robbinsville Elementary School teacher Keilah Stewart recently won statewide recognition for her work as a math instructor for local students.

Robbinsville Elementary School teacher Keilah Stewart recently won statewide recognition for her work as a math instructor for local students.

Teacher wins state math award

Robbinsville – Keilah Stewart has been selected as the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics and North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Outstanding Elementary School Mathematics Teacher for the 2024-25 school year.
Prior to their performance of “Islands in the Stream” at Saturday’s “Graham County’s Got Talent 3,” Kevin Roberts and Becky Diane announced that they were married earlier in the day. More photos from the show will be uploaded soon to The Graham Star’s Facebook page; watch the event now on the Star’s YouTube channel. Photo by Alex Parton/The Graham Star

Prior to their performance of “Islands in the Stream” at Saturday’s “Graham County’s Got Talent 3,” Kevin Roberts and Becky Diane announced that they were married earlier in the day. More photos from the show will be uploaded soon to The Graham Star’s Facebook page; watch the event now on the Star’s YouTube channel. Photo by Alex Parton/The Graham Star

Annual talent show raises $7K

Robbinsville – Delaying the third installment of “Graham County’s Got Talent” did little to hurt the effort. Originally penciled in for Sept. 28, the annual Graham Cancer Support Group fundraiser went off without a hitch Saturday at Robbinsville High School.
Susie Garland Adams attempted to keep a close eye on breast-cancer detection, but the disease still appeared out of nowhere. Thanks to a timely mammogram, Adams successfully combated the diagnosis over 12 years ago.

Susie Garland Adams attempted to keep a close eye on breast-cancer detection, but the disease still appeared out of nowhere. Thanks to a timely mammogram, Adams successfully combated the diagnosis over 12 years ago.

Survivors: Susie Adams

* Final in a 4-part series Sweetwater – In 2012, Susie Garland Adams was doing all the right things to detect breast cancer early.  At 47 years of age, she had a regular exam at Tallulah Health Clinic by Dr. Patricia Johnson. She had been for her annual checkup by her OBGYN in Asheville.

Death by distribution charges dropped

Robbinsville – Citing an inability to locate witnesses, charges that have been on the books against a local man for over three years were dismissed in Graham County Superior Court on Monday.
Hugh Ellis Bennett entertains the masses at Saturday’s Stecoah Harvest Festival. Photo by Royce Worbington/The Graham Star

Hugh Ellis Bennett entertains the masses at Saturday’s Stecoah Harvest Festival. Photo by Royce Worbington/The Graham Star

Harvest festival attracts over 2,000 people

Stecoah – Fall is the perfect time to celebrate the changing of leaves, pumpkins, hayrides and the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center’s annual harvest festival.
Following the closure of I-40 between North Carolina and Tennessee, tractor-trailers have met numerous warning signs – such as this one, at the intersection of N.C. 28 and N.C. 143 in Stecoah – to provide notice that U.S. 129 in Tennessee (the “Tail of the Dragon”) does not allow commercial vehicles over 30 feet. Photo by Kevin Hensley/editor@grahamstar.com

Following the closure of I-40 between North Carolina and Tennessee, tractor-trailers have met numerous warning signs – such as this one, at the intersection of N.C. 28 and N.C. 143 in Stecoah – to provide notice that U.S. 129 in Tennessee (the “Tail of the Dragon”) does not allow commercial vehicles over 30 feet. Photo by Kevin Hensley/editor@grahamstar.com

I-40 closure impacting local traffic

Tatham Gap – An accident inside the Nantahala Gorge on Saturday led to traffic being re-routed through an unusual route: Tatham Gap Road, a single-lane dirt road that serves as an alternate connection between Robbinsville and Andrews.