Voting rights bill deserves support
To the Editor: Voting records show that North Carolina and Haywood County had the largest voter turnout ever in the…
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How many visitors are too many?
The Smokies region is an outdoor mecca that attracts millions of people each year. For better or worse, that onslaught…
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The ‘Sap is Risin’ and a life well lived
By Randy Siske • Contributing writer | Our “Breakfast Club” started eating together in 2006 just because we went to…
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Election fraud evidence is slim to none
To the Editor: I am alarmed by the variety and sheer numbers of claims of election fraud we still see,…
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Letter writer has her facts wrong
To the Editor: This is in response to the recent letter by Carol Adams of Glenville: “Trump was 1,000 Percent…
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Getting vaccinated also helps others
To the Editor: On behalf of the Haywood County Senior Democrats, I would like to express our profound gratitude to…
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Falling hard for pandemic puppy love
I’d always heard having a puppy was a little like having a baby. I’ve learned over the past two months…
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Who can you trust to tell the truth?
Another poll, another reality check for the media: Americans don’t trust us. The question that comes to mind, for me,…
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Cawthorn cares only about Cawthorn
To the Editor: In the six weeks since being sworn in as North Carolina’s new 11th District representative in Congress,…
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Media gives lies too much power
To the Editor: America has failed to punish Trump, the ex-president who has done so much harm to our country.
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Trump deserved to be impeached
To the Editor: Senator Patrick Leahy (eight-term Democratic senator from Vermont) recently wrote a column charging former President Trump with…
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Persistence pays off in rebel mascot issue
When I read that Annie McCord-Wilson was among those leading the charge to have the rebel removed as the mascot…
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Introducing triple-win climate solutions
By Mary Jane Curry • Guest Columnist “Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.” — William Wordsworth, 1798…
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Jail spending doesn’t solve problems
To the Editor: Budgets, it has been said, are moral documents. This is because how a community chooses to spend…
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Defer to sheriff on need for jail
To the Editor: There has been a bit of discussion and controversy over the proposal for Haywood County to spend…
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N.C. should pass ERA
To the Editor: Thank you for your February 3 primer on the history of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as well as…
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Broken wrist presages my new reality
I started snowboarding when I was 15. Even though neither of my parents were athletes, especially skiers or snowboarders, I…
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Hatred is a human flaw
To the Editor: We all probably hate something. It could be a certain vegetable, a hard or distasteful task like doing…
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Dental health helps children learn
To the Editor: Since 1963, Blue Ridge Health (BRH) has provided essential healthcare to residents with the greatest need in…
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When will N.C. ratify ERA?
To the Editor: In January 2020, Virginia became the 38th and final state needed for ratification of the Equal Rights…
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A modest proposal for Medicare
By Steven Wall • Guest Columnist | With so much division in our country, and some folks even losing faith…
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Madison Cawthorn needs to go
To the Editor: For weeks leading into the insurrection and ransacking of our Capitol on Jan. 6, Madison Cawthorn’s words…
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Facts, compassion are important
To the Editor: Humanity has a universal propensity for lies and distortions, and Trump-supporting extremists ruled by reality-free ideas are…
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Despite claims, truth does matter
To the Editor: I always enjoy the illuminating letters from Carol Adams. Her most recent (last week’s Smoky Mountain News, www.smokymountainnews.com/opinion/item/30705)…
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We must learn to protect the earth
To the Editor: In the aftermath of recent events in our nation’s Capitol, we are still reeling in shock, disbelief…
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It is a steep hill we climb
Last Wednesday was a day women have been waiting for, working for, speaking out of turn for, making trouble for…
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Lessons learned from Larry King
Growing up I wasn’t a fan of Larry King. As a little girl in the 1980s, I was more concerned…
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Spend county money compassionately
To the Editor: Our Haywood county government is planning to build a new jail at a cost of over $14…
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Trump was 1000 percent correct
To the Editor: Checking a track record, a review of past performance, is a good way to determine a decision…
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Vaccination process was smooth, uplifting
To the Editor: Today, January 21, I received my first Covid-19 vaccine shot administered by the Haywood County Health Department…
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Thankful for dad’s vaccination process
To the Editor: My 89-year-old dad got his first COVID vaccine this afternoon.
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For at least a while, all the noise stopped
Short escapes from all of the noise coming from everywhere are so refreshing, so worthwhile. The holidays were a fantastic…
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Counties should loosen pursestrings
To the Editor: It is totally baffling. At a time when the pandemic is pretty much out of control, vaccines…
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No time to glorify dying for lost causes
To the Editor: Barely a week after the violent and deadly attack on our nation’s capital by domestic terrorists, The…
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A ray of hope for me and others
To the Editor: A ray of hope has appeared in a strange but clear way over the past number of…
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Seek truth, don’t just point and shout
To the Editor: Who is going to make a difference? Who’s going to clean up the mess this GOP administration…
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Let a court decide Cawthorn’s accusations
To the Editor: In your article, “Words matter: Rhetoric became rage in D.C. insurrection,” Rep. Madison Cawthorn admits that he…
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People must be held accountable
To the Editor: Let’s look at the definitions. Sedition: “conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a…
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Just remember, this too shall pass
I recently saw a funny political sign that said, “Presidents are temporary, Grateful Dead is forever.” Did you know that…
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Scrapping Electoral College could stop a tyrant
By Martin Dyckman • Guest Columnist | During the Spanish Civil War, which the Fascists won, one of their generals…
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Cawthorn is off to a bad start
To the Editor: As one of Mr. Madison Cawthorn’s constituents in the 11th District, I wish to inform him that…
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Are fixed-period pardons legal?
To the Editor: In 1974 Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he committed,…
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Public rhetoric should prompt removal
By Jesse Lee Dunlap • Guest Columnist | As someone whose politics are centered on bodily autonomy, I sympathize with…
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Nowhere to go but forward into 2021
This year has prompted a reckoning unlike any in memory, so we’re all looking to put a bow on 2020…
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A promise to keep on keepin’ on
How does one best express gratitude? That thought kept coming up as I sat down to write a column for…
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Freedom isn’t free
By Heather Hyatt Packer • Guest Columnist | There’s a lot of discussion about freedom, rights and patriotism when discussing…
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