10 years ago
* Graham County Schools sold three parcels of land on Golf Course Road, for approximately $128,000. The 9-hole golf course had not been used in many years, containing 20 acres and a clubhouse. The original appraisal was $300,000 for four parcels of land. The land was deeded to Graham County Board of Education with the understanding that the land would be used for educational or recreational purposes. According to Graham County Schools Superintendent Chip Carringer, “No immediate plans had been made for the proceeds.”
* Snow and howling winds on Hooper Bald were generated by Hurricane Sandy, so those hoping for snow could find it on the Cherohala Skyway. While snow at Halloween was rare, it’s not the first time for the county. According to early snowfall records, there were five inches of snow on the ground on Halloween in 1993.
25 years ago
* Several suspects were being considered in the murder of Ella Mae Holder, according to Chief Deputy Jerry Crisp, who was working with the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation. Holder was found stabbed to death in her home on Oct. 20. “We have recovered a lot of evidence at the residence and all of that has been packaged up and delivered to the SBI in Raleigh.They’ve put a top priority on it,” Crisp said. Some items that were missing from Holder’s home are still being checked against evidence gathered by suspects. There was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the murderer.
* Convicted child molester David Jordan escaped from a department of corrections work crew in Haywood County on Oct. 27, only to turn himself in the following day. Formerly of Robbinsville, Jordan was sentenced to over 41 years in jail. He was being held at Craggy State Prison. Wade Hatley, of the department of corrections in Buncombe County, said that Jordan would be ready for parole in 1999; his projected release date was 2012. “I think after Jordan’s escape, he knew the seriousness of his actions and regretted it,” Hatley said.
50 years ago
* W.T. Walker, president of the Nantahala Power and Light Company, announced that the N.C. Utilities Commission had authorized a 15-percent increase in rates and charges. The increased rates were effective for all services rendered after Nov. 1, and bills rendered on – or after – Dec. 1. Nantahala’s last rate increase of 10 percent resulted from an application filed in 1960.
* Sgt. Larry Stewart was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for Heroism, in connection with ground-combat operations against North Vietnamese forces, while serving in the U.S. Army in South Vietnam in 1969. The award cited Stewart for courage and devotion to duty, when his company was attacked by a reinforced company of North Vietnamese. He was credited with saving many lives. Stewart is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Tillman Stewart in Robbinsville and is married to the former Carolyn Sue Cooper also of Robbinsville. He suffered fragment wounds in the fierce fighting, but with complete disregard of his own injuries.
-Compiled by Diane West