As the weather gets nicer and spring slowly transitions to those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, a bevy of longtime and beloved festivals start to pop up in the picturesque mountain communities here in Western North Carolina. 

These annual gatherings are a way to bring all of us together after an extended period of hunkering down during the winter months. Filled with locals and visitors alike, all those present partake in numerous activities and avenues to support those in your town.

Brad Hoxit has filed a notice of appeal following a removal order submitted earlier this month by Superior Court Judge William T. Stetzer. 

Hoxit was initially suspended from office Jan. 29 after District Attorney Ashley Welch filed a petition for his removal on the basis that he improperly used his power to investigate his wife’s ex-husband, Jacob Nelms, a sitting county commissioner. 

Brad Hoxit made history last month, but not in a way he’d ever have hoped.

Hoxit appeared in Graham County Superior Court from March 24-27 for a hearing to determine whether he would be permanently removed as sheriff of the small Western North Carolina county. Last week, Superior Court Judge William T. Stetzer did indeed bar Hoxit from returning to office, and now his attorneys say an appeal is imminent. 

An attorney representing former Graham County Sheriff Brad Hoxit said his client will appeal a recent decision by Superior Court Judge William T. Stetzer that bars Hoxit from returning to office.

Superior Court Judge William T. Stetzer has ruled that former Graham County Sheriff Brad Hoxit will not return to his former office. 

In his order, Stetzer determined that Hoxit engaged in “willful misconduct and maladministration.” 

Superior Court Judge William T. Stetzer has ruled that former Graham County Sheriff Brad Hoxit will not return to his former office.

In his order, Stetzer determined that Hoxit engaged in “willful misconduct and maladministration.”

There was no shortage of gray-haired attorneys in Graham County Superior Court last week. Some represented witnesses; others were just curious to watch a proceeding not seen in modern history. 

Maintaining faith in the justice system and protecting law enforcement were the themes of the four-day hearing held last week in Robbinsville to determine whether Graham County Sheriff Brad Hoxit — now suspended amid allegations of misconduct tied to an investigation of the ex-husband of his current wife — would be officially barred from returning to office.

A Graham County man recently pleaded guilty to felony littering of hazardous waste for throwing used needles on the ground in a local park, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch announced.

Jeffery Charles Heid, 53, of Robbinsville, also pleaded guilty to assault on a law enforcement officer and communicating threats. 

On the morning of Monday, Jan. 12, a group from Cherokee Historical Association visited the Stecoah Valley Center in Robbinsville.

Both CHA and SVC are nonprofits dedicated to the preservation of history and culture. Thus, the CHA representatives’ focus was on how Cherokee history and culture was being presented at SVC. 

Graham County Sheriff Brad Hoxit has been suspended from office following allegations of abuse of power and misconduct related to an insurance investigation into a county commissioner. 

Under North Carolina law, an elected sheriff can be suspended and then removed only through a judicial process. The first step in the process is for a district attorney or county attorney or at least five voting residents in the county to file a petition to the court.