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Background checks are government overreach
 

Background checks are government overreach

To the Editor: The Jackson County commissioners recently made a mistake — an honest, well-meaning, well-intentioned error, yet a mistake…
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How did county finance not catch on?
 

How did county finance not catch on?

To the Editor: The alleged embezzlement of around $50,000 from Macon County taxpayers by a county employee highlights incompetency within…
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Teachers, public education get raw deal
 

Teachers, public education get raw deal

To the Editor: If you have been following the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, you have recently learned that…
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Public Art Commission needs to speak up
 

Public Art Commission needs to speak up

To the Editor: I served on the Waynesville Public Art Commission from 2006 until March of 2011. Public art was a…
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Vouchers are just bad education policy
 

Vouchers are just bad education policy

The Smoky Mountain News published an excellent analysis of the controversy centered on the current legislation called the “Opportunity Scholarship…
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Climate change still an important issue
 

Climate change still an important issue

To the Editor: A critical skill for magicians is to be able to misdirect your attention while executing the deception.…
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We need to oppose fracking in WNC
 

We need to oppose fracking in WNC

To the Editor: James Womack, Chairman of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources Mining and Energy Commission, would…
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Support Sen. Hagan, not Koch brothers
 

Support Sen. Hagan, not Koch brothers

To the Editor: The billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch don’t live in North Carolina. One resides in New York…
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Wildlife officers did a good job for us
 

Wildlife officers did a good job for us

To the Editor: Thanks to the wildlife officers for catching the poacher who shot the mother bear on our private…
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Low-wage workers deserve a better deal
 

Low-wage workers deserve a better deal

By Doug Wingeier • Columnist Debate is picking up these days on help for the unemployed and low-wage workers. Congress is…
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GOP leaders should provide emails
 

GOP leaders should provide emails

To the Editor: Everybody wants transparency in government — everybody except our Republican legislators in Raleigh. Last year, they passed…
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Keystone Pipeline could help economy
 

Keystone Pipeline could help economy

To the Editor: Are you concerned if you are in your 50s or late 40s that the Social Security fund…
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On the way to an imperial presidency
 

On the way to an imperial presidency

To the Editor:  This is what President Barack Obama said this week: “Where I can act on my own without…
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Weaker slope law could lead to lawsuits
 

Weaker slope law could lead to lawsuits

To the Editor: After reading the Jan. 15 edition and seeing continued plans to weaken the present Steep Slope Ordinance…
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Awards deserve a little more comment
 

Awards deserve a little more comment

To the Editor: I always look forward to the “Awards” issue of The Smoky Mountain News. May I make three short…
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Education is alternative to killing more bears
 

Education is alternative to killing more bears

To the Editor: The changes in the five-year black bear management plan currently being proposed by the North Carolina Wildlife…
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Plan for teacher raises a bone of contention
 

Plan for teacher raises a bone of contention

The ramifications of one particularly disturbing directive passed in the last session of the General Assembly is unfolding right now…
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Columnist’s anti-Israel tirade distorts truth
 

Columnist’s anti-Israel tirade distorts truth

David C. Friedman • Guest Columnist Doug Wingeier’s op-ed published in The Smoky Mountain News on Dec.  25, 2013, titled, “Christmas…
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Views on Israel based on life experiences
 

Views on Israel based on life experiences

Doug Wingeier • Columnist My oh my! Looks like the long arm of Israeli surveillance has reached out to us…
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Much of ACA came from conservatives
 

Much of ACA came from conservatives

To the Editor: When Hillary Clinton proposed a government-run, single-payer system to solve our health care crisis, Republicans responded by proposing…
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Natural areas under assault from warming
 

Natural areas under assault from warming

To the Editor: I love this time of year. Cold, crisp days remind me of the days I spent with…
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Lake J annexation issue not fairly represented
 

Lake J annexation issue not fairly represented

To the Editor: While I recognize that The Smoky Mountain News’ annual year in review awards are meant to be…
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Lots of problems with ‘Something Bruin’
 

Lots of problems with ‘Something Bruin’

In numerous newspapers in late November 2013, it was reported that six U.S. Forest Service (USFS) employees from Western North…
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If the shelf was small, these are the books I’d fill it with
 

If the shelf was small, these are the books I’d fill it with

Each new year brings out the list-makers, pundits and critics who catalogue everything from the year’s best movies, books, and…
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Education reform effort is like a slap in the face
 

Education reform effort is like a slap in the face

To the Editor: This move by the state to “reward” 25 percent of the state’s teachers (and I’m not even…
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Christmas ‘peace’ in the land of the Holy One
 

Christmas ‘peace’ in the land of the Holy One

Doug Wingeier • Columnist Some years back I spent the Christmas season in the Land of the Holy One. (It is…
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Why voter ID and not background checks?
 

Why voter ID and not background checks?

To the Editor: I do not understand why so many Republican congressmen support voter I.D. laws when it has been…
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My, how the universe has changed course
 

My, how the universe has changed course

To the Editor: After the Clinton administrations’ efforts to get a universal health care bill passed back in the 90s,…
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Gov. McCrory, N.C. are moving forward
 

Gov. McCrory, N.C. are moving forward

To the Editor: No doubt 2013 was a much better year for Western North Carolina than was the previous year. …
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Earth’s warming will harm wildlife
 

Earth’s warming will harm wildlife

To the Editor: I love this time of year. Cold, crisp days remind me of the days I spent with…
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Healthcare is people, not logos
 

Healthcare is people, not logos

John Beckman • Columnist The discussions and debates regarding health care on both the local and national levels have been going…
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Libertarians alive and well in Haywood County
 

Libertarians alive and well in Haywood County

To the Editor: I would like to respond to the article in the Oct. 30 issue of The Smoky Mountain…
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Affordable Care Act a blessing for my family
 

Affordable Care Act a blessing for my family

To the Editor: Today I visited healthcare.gov on the internet, and thanks to the Affordable Care Act, also known as…
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The horse ‘network’ warmly welcomes a stranger
 

The horse ‘network’ warmly welcomes a stranger

I was trying to sell myself to my prospective new boss, Scott McLeod. I may not know anyone in the…
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WestCare employees excited about changes
 

WestCare employees excited about changes

To the Editor: Recently, we the employees of WestCare learned of an exciting decision that we are entering into a …
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Righting what’s wrong means making changes
 

Righting what’s wrong means making changes

We are now — officially — barreling into the holidays. Thanksgiving is already a fading, drowsy memory of turkey carcasses…
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Gov. McCrory is leading a turnaround in N.C.
 

Gov. McCrory is leading a turnaround in N.C.

To the Editor: For the past few months some of the people in Western North Carolina who write letters to…
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Who are the real job creators?
 

Who are the real job creators?

To the Editor: As I write this, the stock market is hovering around record highs. The Federal Reserve is keeping…
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Zoning advocates had predictable response
 

Zoning advocates had predictable response

To the Editor: The response from zoning advocates — to my letter that was printed two weeks ago — was typical.…
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Freedom versus limited government
 

Freedom versus limited government

To the Editor: Limited government was ridiculed in a recent Smoky Mountain News article. Most Americans are strong believers in…
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Resilient living on a different planet
 

Resilient living on a different planet

By Doug Wingeier • Columnist In early October we spent two weeks in our 150-year-old log cabin situated on a corner…
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Once we did it, dancing with the Mouse was well worth it all
 

Once we did it, dancing with the Mouse was well worth it all

We had talked about going to Disney World for so long that it had become an abstraction, so distant and…
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Civility begins with us
 

Civility begins with us

By Doug Wingeier • Columnist  The cover story in the Oct. 30-Nov. 5 issue of The Smoky Mountain News described divisions in…
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Community help needed to save education
 

Community help needed to save education

I’ve heard all the speeches and read all the legislative fantasies, and I’m still not satisfied with what I’ve heard…
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Enough of unbridled growth in Cullowhee
 

Enough of unbridled growth in Cullowhee

To the Editor: Cullowhee is the fastest growing community in Jackson County. After several years of effort and well-attended community…
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Planning in Cullowhee is a community effort
 

Planning in Cullowhee is a community effort

To the Editor: I attended last week’s open forum sponsored by the newly formed Cullowhee community planning group where local…
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Cullowhee planning will help community
 

Cullowhee planning will help community

To the Editor: As a retort to the concerned citizen who wrote a letter to the editor about the intent…
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Improving patient care is priority
 

Improving patient care is priority

The last couple of weeks have been filled with a lot of news about Haywood Regional Medical Center and its…
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Turkey drive helps many needy families
 

Turkey drive helps many needy families

To the Editor: It’s that time of year again. The Maggie Valley Lodging Association is making plans for its 16th…
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Don’t let Cullowhee planning steal rights
 

Don’t let Cullowhee planning steal rights

To the Editor: Historically, the citizens of Jackson County have been overwhelmingly against zoning outside the city limits. After failing…
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