Here’s a check of the latest from WataugaOnline.com for Thursday, September 17, 2026.
First Lady Melania Trump Visits Mountain View Elementary, Announces AI Learning Initiatives for Ashe County Students
First Lady Melania Trump visited Mountain View Elementary School in Jefferson on Tuesday, touring a rural Ashe County school known for its focus on AI, robotics, and engineering, and using the stop to highlight both education technology and the community’s recovery from Hurricane Helene. Trump opened her remarks by recognizing the two-year anniversary of Helene, which kept students out of school for more than 30 days after flooding hit the neighborhood around Mountain View. The school itself was pressed into service during the storm’s aftermath, first as an emergency childcare center and later as a community distribution site for supplies. Speaking to several hundred students, teachers, and administrators, Trump called the community’s story “incredible” and said “North Carolina is the definition of resilience.” The library was decorated for the occasion with a hand-painted banner reading, “Welcome to Ashe County 1st Lady Melania Trump!” Trump also announced two new initiatives for local schools. Her Be Best program will help provide 1,500 Ashe County students with subscriptions to StudyFetch, an AI learning platform, and Mountain View along with other schools in the district will receive 100 Jetson Nano Developer Kits — small computers used to run AI applications. “Maybe one of you will create the next great robot,” Trump told the students. Tuesday’s stop was Melania Trump’s first appearance in western North Carolina since she and President Trump toured Helene damage together in January 2025.
Last Missing Helene Victim in Washington County, TN: Remains Found Near Nolichucky River
The Washington County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that human remains discovered along the Nolichucky River last weekend belong to Nancy Tucker, 76, the last person reported missing in the county following Hurricane Helene nearly two years ago. Tucker and her husband, Jimmy Tucker, disappeared together when floodwaters from the Nolichucky River swept away their rural Washington County home on Sept. 27, 2024. Jimmy Tucker’s body was recovered within days near the Jackson Bridge area, but Nancy Tucker remained missing until this past weekend. The couple’s son also lived in the home but was at work when the flood hit. Washington County Sheriff Keith Sexton had vowed after the storm to recover every person still missing, and search teams continued working through flood debris in the county for nearly two years. The search for Tucker’s remains moved to Jackson Island in August, roughly three miles from where she was last believed to have been seen, as U.S. Army Corps of Engineers debris-clearing operations progressed through the area. Remains were discovered Saturday afternoon, with recovery work continuing into Sunday evening. James Matthews, an operations and public affairs officer with Washington County/Johnson City Emergency Management, said searchers had tracked every previous search of the area. Describing the moment recovery crews found evidence confirming the discovery, Matthews said, “We stopped. We cried. All of us cried. And we prayed.” Final positive identification was made by a medical examiner at the William Jenkins Forensic Center at East Tennessee State University on Monday afternoon. Jimmy and Nancy Tucker met while both serving in the U.S. Army and were married 44 years. In a statement provided through Matthews, family spokesperson Risa Buck said the family can “now work on healing and celebrating and bringing her home,” so she can be laid to rest beside her husband.
Missing Wilkes County Man Found Dead After Single-Vehicle Crash on Mountain Valley Church Road
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to a fatal single-vehicle collision on Mountain Valley Church Road in North Wilkesboro on Friday, Sept. 11, at approximately 11:15 a.m. According to the Highway Patrol, a gray Nissan Frontier was traveling west on Mountain Valley Church Road when it ran off the road to the left, traveled down an embankment and struck a tree. The driver, identified as 58-year-old Roger David Harris, was found deceased at the scene. Harris had previously been reported as a missing person on Friday, Sept. 4, in Wilkes County. Troopers said Harris was wearing his seat belt at the time of the crash. The cause of the collision remains under investigation.
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WEATHER
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— WataugaOnline