10 years ago
* The twisted saga of the 2009 killing of a Graham County man, Shannon David Sawyer, took a turn with the arrest of Clifford Allen Williams. Sawyer’s body was recovered 35 feet deep in a barrel located in a sinkhole near Tellico Plains, Tenn. in 2011. Sheriff Mickey Anderson said that Sawyers’ arrest came due to “a break in the case.”
* This was the year that sportsmanship, hard work and dedication to the track program paid off big for the Lady Knights, as they picked up their first conference championship ever at Western Carolina University. The Lady Knights beat their nearest competition, Andrews, by a score of 146-107. The Black Knights placed fourth, with 69.33 points.
25 years ago
* According to Fire Chief Ed Ingram, the fire set to clear the debris from inside the shell of the old rock high school did not begin as a controlled burn. “We came over there because Steve Jordan asked us to. He was afraid that his equipment was going to catch on fire,” said Ingram. At least two other contractors – bidding substantially higher than Jordan – wanted to burn the debris and Ingram told them “no.” Several laws may have been broken by the uncontrolled burning.
* The Lady Knights win again and again, as they traveled to Swain and won 18-5, in five innings. Natasha Smith was the winning pitcher. Only three days later, the Lady Knights defeated Andrews 18-11. Smith again was leading pitcher. Robbinsville came back twice during the game; down 6-0 in the second inning and after falling to 11-10 in the fourth inning. The team had a 12-1 overall record and a 7-1 in the conference.
50 years ago
* Congressman Nick Galifianakis – Democratic candidate for U.S. Senator – was greeted by several local democrats as he arrived by helicopter in Robbinsville. Galifianakis landed on the football field and spent several minutes shaking hands with students and autographing annuals, which had been received that day. At his stop, the Congressman reminded the mountain area residents of the promise he had made almost a year prior to be the first U.S. Senator to open a full-time district office in western North Carolina, bringing government to the people.
* The Robbinsville track team went to Western Carolina University to participate in the Smoky Mountain Conference championship. Robbinsville took third place in both the the 440 and 880 relays. They placed first and fourth in the 100-yard dash and broad jump. Many thanks went to Coaches Bob Colvin, Bergin Edwards and Gary Steppe for doing such a fine job with the team.
-Diane West