Friday night lights, then and now

I took my first baton lesson when I was 3 years old. My sister had been twirling for a while,…
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Mountain Mediation helps reduce conflicts

By Kirkwood Callahan • Guest Columnist Crime does not pay — so most Americans have been told. However, it places enormous…
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Time to put Meadows out to pasture
 

Time to put Meadows out to pasture

To the Editor: Phillip Price, who is running for U.S. Congress from the 11th District, lists 289 “Past Events” on…
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Build road but don’t ruin mountains

To the Editor: I attended the Sylva Town Meeting the other week and viewed the plan for the road re-design. The…
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Asylum seekers deserve some consideration

To the Editor: The U.S. is a country of asylum seekers and their children. Every immigrant to the U.S. arrived…
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Children can’t look up to this president

To the Editor: As a teacher for 25 years, I realize the importance of good role models for children. They…
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Where are my Republican friends?

To the Editor: I remember not so long ago when I could have a civil discussion with a friend who…
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Americans know better, even if Trump doesn’t

We native-born Americans — most of us, anyway — have no real concept of life under a despot except from…
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The casting call is under way at the Cox home

Here’s something I never thought I would say: I’m looking for a cat. Not just any cat, but a particular…
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For me the glass is half full

To the Editor: I hear that Trump derangement syndrome has now morphed into Trump anxiety disorder. I guess that means…
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Expanded ballot choices a good thing

To the Editor: North Carolina now has five political parties represented on the ballot. They include the Republican Party, Constitution…
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Where in the district is Mark Meadows?

To the Editor: Mark Meadows represents a district that covers over 6,600 square miles and a constituent base of nearly…
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Drain the swamp indeed

To the Editor: Do you know why Donald Trump has refused to reveal his income taxes as each president has…
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Rep. Clampitt definitely ‘needs improvement’

To the Editor: Last week I found in my mailbox a political flyer from Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City. He…
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Is this the president you want?

To the Editor: One only has to watch a GOP rally when the president is present to see and hear…
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An antidote to our society’s hysteria

Over the past few decades, our society has pushed for more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) students. Countries like…
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Grief is love’s souvenir

Three of life’s top five stressors are death of a loved one, divorce and moving. Within the past two years,…
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Bad website, long waits mar DMV experience

A recent attempt to update my driver’s license has exposed long waits and online delays at the North Carolina Division…
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Cartoon, Aug. 15, 2018

By Will Studenc
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In this case, the choice is obvious

“Take the high road.” It’s a simple code for life, but one too few take to heart and even fewer…
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No hazy nostalgia with my first car

Some people’s memories of their first car are glazed with sugar, like candy apples at the county fair. It is…
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Apartment complex pleas ignored

To the Editor: On 30 July, the Waynesville Planning Board met once again concerning the proposed apartment complex on Plott…
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Some agency should have saved turkeys

To the Editor: I would like to know why the animal rescue agencies in the Waynesville area, which there are…
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Trump should reveal tax information

To the Editor: Donald Trump can bellow out from the tallest building in New York that he is an innocent…
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Trump is full of bad ideas

To the Editor: It is always amusing to hear supporters of President Trump claim that others are uninformed and vicious.…
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Politics and the search for WCU’s chancellor

As the yoke of political influence grows ever heavier around the neck of the UNC Board of Governors, Western Carolina…
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Coming full circle as a cat owner

Growing up, my family had an abundance of cats running amok. These were the days before spaying and neutering were…
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President Trump, stop the obstruction

To the Editor: Donald Trump has already obstructed justice in the Russian election interference investigation.  Number one, he has failed/refused…
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Conservatives harming our infrastructure

To the Editor: The conservative right has controlled Western North Carolina politics for decades with an ideology of lower taxes…
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Let’s restore checks and balances

To the Editor: In 2016 the Fourth Circuit of Appeals declared the 2013 N.C. Voter ID Act to be unconstitutional on…
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Lawmakers fail to protect our vote

To the Editor: Western North Carolina’s federal representatives have failed their leadership report card on Russia’s interference in our elections. Rep.…
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N.C. 107 safety issues ignored

To the Editor: The stated reason for the N.C. 107 project in Sylva is to reduce traffic problems and increase…
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Trump is for a better America

To the Editor: It always amazes me that folks don’t seem to get it. Economic growth is at 4.1 percent,…
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There’s magic in these evening Edisto walks

EDISTO ISLAND, SC – For us, the magic of Steamboat Landing Road begins where the pavement ends, where the asphalt…
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Mission should not control money

To the Editor: The Mission Health board and CEO Ron Paulus clearly don’t get it: the system’s billions in assets…
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Even conservatives can’t take Trump

To the Editor: A number of letters in The Smoky Mountain News have rightly pointed out that liberals are not…
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President’s ties to Putin are dangerous

To the Editor: It is time for the U.S. Congress to act as a co-equal branch of government and rein…
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They don’t care; we have to

To the Editor: Recently I spoke with N.C. Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, and Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, about the…
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My eyes and heart open after Mexico trip

Though my parents were both teachers and worked second jobs to give my sister and me all we needed, they…
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Don’t traffic in fake news

To the Editor: In reference to the letter from Lowell Crisp titled, “The whole truth about Red Hen incident,” I…
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DACA immigrants should leave U.S.

To the Editor: Here is the news … but it is not new — there is a legal way to…
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Folkmoot wins friends around the world

To the Editor: I would like to express my enthusiastic support for the thoughts expressed in Scott McLeod great article…
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The final call to save red wolves

To the Editor: Some of you may have read my red wolf letter to the editor published in early May.…
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Watershed may not meet standards

To the Editor: The Waynesville Watershed has a Water Supply 1 (WS-1) classification, which is the most strict in North…
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Festival’s intangible value is immeasurable

Lori and I have always loved to travel, to go to new places or to get better acquainted with places…
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It’s a broken record, that’s for sure

Quite a few people have contacted me this week seeking an English translation of President Donald Trump’s recent reflections on…
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President Trump doesn’t understand volunteerism

To the Editor: It is not hard to find a lot of things to detest about what President Donald Trump…
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The whole truth about Red Hen incident

To the Editor: Just a note to let you know that I did not like your Opinion editorial about the…
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Hold off on vote for new justice

To the Editor: I am appalled that Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr want to rush through any nominee for…
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