Two drownings occurred in our area over the last few days. In the latest, an 18-year-old Hickory High School student, Zimera Smith, drowned Tuesday at Lake Lookout. The Catawba County Sheriff's Office says she was swimming with a friend at approximately 7 PM; she jumped into the water from the end of a boat ramp and didn’t resurface. Her friend called for help and her body was discovered eight feet deep in the lake.

A 31-year-old Greenwood, SC, man, Kadeem McGrier, drowned Saturday near Lake Norman State Park. He and three friends had rented a pontoon boat. McGrier jumped from the boat into the water and never resurfaced. He was the second person to drown at Lake Norman this year.