Don’t legislate your ‘beliefs’
To the Editor: According to a couple of newsletters I got, the week of May 14-20 was National Women’s Health…
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Minor correction on partisan voting
To the Editor: I would like to offer a small clarification to Ron Rokstool’s fine column last week concerning Rep.…
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Real reporting is much appreciated
To the Editor: My oh my, but Janet Presson, R.N., M.Ed., seemed intent on ripping Cory Vaillancourt a new one…
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Remembering our aging warriors
When I was growing up and even in early adulthood, World War II veterans were the elder of the veterans…
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The U.S. just can’t really ‘budge it’
The national budget is often compared to that of a family. We are told to “Live within your means just…
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Election bill would encourage uninformed voting
I read the recent article by Rep. Mark Pless, R-Haywood, regarding partisan municipal elections . I am dismayed that this…
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Towns don’t need to be politicized
To the Editor: Rep. Mark Pless, R-Haywood, does not seem to have a clue as to what cities and towns…
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Thanks to SMN for their investigative work
To the Editor: As a subscriber to Smoky Mountain News, I wish to thank Politics Editor Cory Vaillancourt for his…
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Dreams are now memories, and a line’s been crossed
For years, Tuscola High School’s location high on the hill overlooking the Lakeside Plaza, a fragment of Lake Junaluska, and…
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Django was a wanderer, a free spirit
This morning was one of those times when Django being gone hit home, when I got a little emotional thinking…
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Embracing the sisterhood of motherhood
Last weekend, I flew to Phoenix for a conference. During the four-hour flight, I sat beside a lap child, which…
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Journalism is cesspool of propoganda
To the Editor: Journalism used to be an honorable profession, but over the past two decades or so has become…
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GOP should not politicize debt ceiling
To the Editor: During the Trump administration, bipartisan votes increased the debt ceiling three times, without conditions. Now that a…
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Most vote for those ‘they know nothing about’
Editor’s note : State House Rep. Mark Pless, R-Haywood, wrote this column to describe why he filed a bill that…
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Thanks for the gift of music
The nicest thing my mother ever did for me was buy me a stereo I didn’t deserve. I was a…
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What happened to all the smiles?
During a recent trip to the grocery store I noticed that everyone looked stone faced. The only people who were…
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This must be the place: ‘A hot dog at the ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz’
It was a spur of the moment decision. Cold suds and hearty banter at The Scotsman in Waynesville on an…
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This must be the place: ‘To rouse the spirit of the earth, and move the rolling sky’
Dropping my girlfriend off at her house in West Asheville, it was a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon. She was headed…
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We’ll trust commissioners on library controversy
To the Editor: Mr. Dan Kowal’s second letter to the editor (April 12 edition of The Smoky Mountain News) is…
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Life without the phone? Simply unimaginable
I hear tell of people, a precious few, who are not permanently tethered to their phones, people who are able to…
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The Hoyle house still lives in my memories
Shortly after I went to work for the Eastern Band of Cherokees back in the 1980s, my wife got employment…
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Long in the Toothwort
There are three species of toothwort (Cardamine spp.) in the woods of Southern Appalachia, two of which are very common…
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Work together, resolve library controversy
To the Editor: I was wrong in my previous letter (“Use common sense with library controversy,” April 5, SMN). The library…
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Librarians are a reader’s best friend
To the Editor: The first librarian that I remember was Sadie Luck, a grandmotherly type who dispensed Kleenex and wiped…
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GOP hypocrisy is overwhelming
To the Editor: Republicans defend weapons of war for civilian use even though those are only designed to take away…
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‘There’s nobody better, kid’
Ever notice how the sparkle in a kid’s eyes diminishes with age? The older I get, the more I want…
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The road to tyranny starts with censorship
To the Editor: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Franklin Roosevelt said this at his inauguration…
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NC’s repeal of handgun licensing is shameful
Since 2020 gun violence has been the leading cause of death among children in the United States, not automobile accidents or…
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Use common sense with library controversy
To the Editor: As a parent, as a teacher of elementary children and as a former member of the Macon…
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March is a tease, so hello April
March is over. It’s over at last, thank merciful heavens.
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When they come for the librarians …
As Americans, we’re banning a lot of books these days, perhaps 1,650 in the past year, censoring others, and coming…
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Country has been victimized by Trump
To the Editor: “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is…
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Faith in our beloved Papertown
“Americana”: noun. Things associated with the culture and history of America. “Grief”: noun. Deep and poignant distress caused by or…
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‘Papertown’ through the eyes of a lifelong resident, historian
The whistle at Canton’s paper mill talked to me daily, sending the reassuring message that the mill was producing paper…
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Mill closing an example of American capitalism
To the Editor: I liked Scott McLeod’s column last week, but disagree with the characterization of Pactiv Evergreen’s disastrous decision to…
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The mill’s legacy looms large over Haywood
“The mill.” In Canton, as in hundreds of other towns across America, that was the only description needed to describe…
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When your child blossoms, all is good in the world
The earliest expressions of our daughter’s deep and abiding affection for cute, fragile creatures were frightening and very nearly catastrophic.…
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Schools – and libraries – should bring communities together
It seems to me that when we talk about the spaces in our community for our children, we should be…
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Transitions are hard on a mom’s heart
I’m the mom to two boys, ages 14 and 11. Both of them are currently on the cusp of a…
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Truckstop traffic is very dangerous
To the Editor: I was heartened to see the recent coverage that the Pilot Travel Center off of I-40 on Exit…
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George Robert Ellison II — Thoreau in a jockstrap
Editor’s note: George Ellison, a renowned naturalist and writer who lived in Bryson City, passed away on Sunday, Feb. 19.…
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It’s time to re-program pop culture’s storyline
Pop culture wants to kill us. At the very least, it wants to make us miserable, to ensure that from…
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Shifting the disconnect before it’s too late
A study conducted by the scholarly journal, Science, found that lack of human connection can be more harmful to your…
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Building a community that’s resilient to climate change
On April 17, 2021, volunteers from Haywood Waterways, Haywood Community College, Climate Action Coalition, and others, gathered at River’s Edge…
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Bravo, Chris Cox
To the Editor: I enjoy the articles written by Chris Cox. They are always thoughtful and thought provoking. I particularly appreciated…
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Tapping gently at her door, fate beckoned me in
Some sage once observed that your whole life really comes down to just a handful of moments, and it has…
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Some anti-vaxxers spread lies
To the Editor: I recently read in The Smoky Mountain News the article regarding the January 17, 2023, county commissioner meeting…
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Uncle Joe was proud to pay taxes
To the Editor: I don’t like paying taxes. Why should I pay my hard-earned money to a government? Governments are full…
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