10 years ago
* The mother and grandmother of a 3-year-old child appeared in court, only to have their case postponed to a later date. Susie Anderson and Vanessa Adams were charged after the child was mauled by five of his grandmothers’ pit bulls while he was playing in the yard.
* No one was more surprised than head coach Todd Odom to discover the year’s wrestling Knights had once again won the James Orr tournament. Odom now has four tournament titles, a feat that he attributed to his wrestler’s assistant coaches. Of course, he also had kids ready to step up when the need arose.
25 years ago
* With only five days notice to employees – and no notice to town officials – Bennett Manufacturing closed its Robbinsville plant. The plant employed between 20-30 employees. They had only operated in the county for about a year.
* The Black Knights’ on-court struggles continued, as Robbinsville fell 71-58 to Nantahala, 76-39 to Andrews and 76-62 to Cherokee over the course of the week. According to coach Lonnie Snider, “It was going to be a hard year.”
50 years ago
* Ted Jordan, president of Appalachian Construction Company, was elected to the Asheville Board of Managers of Wachovia Bank and Trust. He was also president of Phillips and Jordan, Inc. Investment Company, and of Graham Land Company. Jordan also was a director of Kaneb Pipe Line Company of Houston, Texas.
* Duke head coach Mike McGee was the guest speaker at the Robbinsville High School football banquet, which was held at the Fontana Village Cafeteria. The banquet was sponsored by Black Knights’ Booster Club and honored the coaches and players from the 1970 squad, which captured the State Class A football championship for the second consecutive year.
– Diane West