Support elected leaders who support teachers

To the Editor: Why are teachers leaving?
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Reaction to accident is disheartening

To the Editor: It makes me sick to think people would applaud Helping Hands not getting funding from Waynesville after…
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Loose canines are a cyclist’s nightmare

To the Editor: I became a cyclist in June 2020, and it has changed my life for the better. I…
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Swain ‘Rally’ was a huge success

To the Editor: The Swain County “Rally for Health, Hope and Recovery” was a huge success. The event included about…
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Haywood School Board misses an opportunity

When the Haywood County School Board announced that it had chosen Trevor Putnam as the system’s new superintendent, I can’t…
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A cautionary tale of Covid’s resilience

Last week I was among five friends on an outdoor excursion. It was a lovely early fall day, the river…
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We need to stop the overspending

To the Editor: The article regarding the backlash over Biden’s forgiveness of student loans was another, “Well, Susie did it!”…
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We can't normalize Trump’s criminality

To the Editor: Every American should be troubled, attentive and very concerned about the mishandling of classified documents by the…
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Thoughts on hunting and being vegan

I know next to nothing about hunting, but a random man in the gas station got me thinking about the…
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Preserving WNC’s culture and natural beauty

Bluegrass and mountain music. American Indian culture. Unparalleled natural beauty. The most-visited national park in the United States. The tallest…
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Rep. Clampitt’s values aren’t mine

To the Editor: The current issue of The Smoky Mountain News (September 7) has a sticker affixed to the front…
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Reporting just the facts is getting harder

“Alternative facts” was a phrase used by U.S. Counselor to the President, Kellyanne Conway, during a “Meet the Press” interview on January 22, 2017,…
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No semi-fascist here

To the Editor: I am not a semi-fascist. A ‘deplorable’, maybe. I am not a MAGA terrorist. 
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Does the GOP support Fascism?

To the Editor: With the mewling and whining by Trumpian Republicans at having been accurately branded fascists by the president…
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Feeling a lot like ‘Animal Farm’

To the Editor: This election, remember our personal liberties and freedom to voice sentiments without fear. The risk to our…
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Should Jackson have sheriff’s debate?

To the Editor: With the current Jackson County sheriff not running for re-election, we will have a new sheriff to…
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Let’s have a civil dialogue about abortion

To the Editor: Thank you, Jane Harrison, for setting me straight about my being in the minority of Americans because…
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Successful tyrants sell big lies

Americans may wonder what it felt like to be living in Italy or Germany when they were submitting to tyrants. Now…
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A purple state 
is a better state

To the Editor:  I’ve been a casual visitor to Highlands for years, becoming more of a seasonal visitor and now…
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Trump should be prosecuted

To the Editor: One of the most revealing, declarative statements ever uttered by a politician in the last 50 years…
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Back-to-school season is upon us

In May my boys were counting down the days until school ended; now, they are counting down the days until…
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A year later, there is still much to be done

Earlier this week, I had started writing a column about the progress made in the year since the flooding from…
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Letter writer had it all wrong

To the Editor: Oh, good grief! The often-repeated exasperation by the cartoon character Charlie Brown came to mind upon reading…
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What to look for in a judge

To the Editor: Until 2018, judges in North Carolina had been non-partisan, after which the Republican legislature changed the law…
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Let’s have a discussion without hate and anger

As a pediatrician, I spent many years on hospital call in Haywood County and many long hours in the middle…
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The importance of streamside vegetation

Some people consider streamside vegetation a nuisance in need of being cut back. However, it serves a valuable purpose. It…
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Socialism is 
a misused word

To the Editor:  The only thing I learned from a letter in a recent edition is that the letter writer…
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Most Americans 
support abortion rights

To the Editor:  I read with interest Mr. Crider’s “Another view on Abortion”  opinion piece in the Aug. 3 edition…
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Living in the moment, cleaning the mind

I’m writing this column from Playa Del Carmen, Quintana Roo in Mexico. We just watched the sunrise over the Caribbean…
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Do opinions still belong in newspapers?

“Not all opinion pieces have to be complaints or deal with issues. Sometimes it is enough to share old memories…
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Better cops make for better communities

I never did buy in to the “defund the police” movement that swept the country a few years ago. Yes,…
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Don’t forget Hiroshima Day

At this moment we are all struggling  with many critical issues. The war in Ukraine, the increasing disasters of climate…
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Conservatives must save our country

To the Editor: Three hundred Spartans. The battle of Thermopylae, fought between the Greeks and the Persians in 480 B.C.,…
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Breaking down walls and sharing some magic

“… I hear Mariachi static on my radio / And the tubes they glow in the dark / And I’m there with her…
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Christianity is not partisan

To the Editor: During the past several weeks, a seemingly coordinated series of increasingly vitriolic letters to the editor have…
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Muddying the waters school board election

To the Editor:  Over the past few weeks, a series of letters has appeared in local papers which seems to…
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Lessons learned from superheroes

In a previous column, I talked of my personal challenge to undergo “The Great Susanna Reset” this summer. One of my…
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School board race has important choices

To the Editor: On Tuesday, July 26, there will be a runoff election for school board in Jackson County. Early…
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‘You’re OK,’ and more notes from the road

She was 70, or so she said, but looked 15 years younger. She was alone and sipping wine and eating…
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Three education facts you should know

I have strong opinions about education policy in North Carolina and beyond. Maybe you’ve noticed!
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