Is health care a right or commodity?
To the Editor: No one wants to talk about this question, least of all the folks who make our laws.…
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We must stop the coup
To the Editor: An American coup d’etat is in progress. There are no guns being fired, no booting out of…
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GOP’s tribal loyalty will be its downfall
Many years from now, Americans are going to look back on the election of the 45th President Donald J. Trump…
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Sexual violence and the workplace
By Buffy Queen • Guest Columnist “Sexual violence is a societal issue that requires systemic change. Sexual violence does not occur…
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Holiday traditions are worth their weight in gold
Growing up in Weaverville and living in Waynesville, I’m very comfortable with small town Christmases. I wouldn’t know how to…
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Vision for ‘Art of Music Festival’ is attainable
“It’s exciting to think about what Haywood County could be. The desire is there.” — Buddy Melton, fiddler/singer, Balsam Range…
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Remembering the quieter, essential aspects of a life
The day of my stepfather’s celebration of life service was a brisk, sunny Saturday morning, as good a day as…
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Tax bill is payback to wealthy donors
To the Editor: Make no mistake about it. The so-called tax reform is first and foremost a payback to the…
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Senate budget harms children
To the Editor: I recently received a personal assurance from Congressman Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, that the CHIP/Health Choice program upon…
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Consciences and consequences
Devin Patrick Kelley, a 26-year-old Texan, killed 26 people before apparently taking his own life on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017,…
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Winners and losers in the tax bill
To the Editor: Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis stand poised to vote for the current Republican tax bill in…
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Tax bill details just who’s pulling the strings
In a book on the nature of state legislatures, the journalist Frank Trippett coined the term “true constituency” to explain…
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A new kind of Thanksgiving
Holidays are all fun and games until death and divorce happen. Then they become an aching headache, if a person…
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Come Saturday, remember: local, local, local
I don’t like following crowds and have a naturally occurring cynicism of trends. That said, there’s one holiday promotional movement…
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Thirty-four years later, Lightning still strikes
Lightning. It’s a yellow, 20-ounce Vaughn framing hammer with one of the claws broken that I’ve owned for about 34…
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It is very tough out there
To the Editor: It really upsets me when I hear that the economy is doing good and the unemployment rate…
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Men can no longer just look the other way
The list of allegations is dizzying and depressing. Every day, it seems, there are new reports of predatory behavior by…
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Partnering with Asheville can only help Haywood
Asheville is red hot in more ways than I can list here. Pick up a travel magazine, visit an outdoor…
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Time to remove Trump from office
To the Editor: By whatever authority you use one thing is clear: Donald Trump’s presidency is unraveling and accelerating faster…
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Chamber director helping Haywood
To the Editor: Bravo to CeCe Hipps! As a former Haywood County Chamber of Commerce employee years ago, I have…
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Phillip Price has common sense
To the Editor: If you elect Phillip Price to Congress, he will work toward some moderate, common-sense policy shifts that…
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Libraries are economic engines
To the Editor: As I read this week’s (November 1-7) Smoky Mountain News and the article entitled “Swain library project…
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Away with the rose-colored glasses
Over the past couple years, this column has been a sounding board for me. I’ve written about everything from coping…
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Welcome to a rising tide of young candidates
Local politics in Western North Carolina have long been dominated by the good ole boys. But like they say about…
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Kneeling in protest is a proper protest
To the Editor: Will Americans allow the symbol of “liberty and justice for all” to be more highly regarded than…
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They’ve been dancing the whole time
The first time I met my stepfather I threatened to beat him up. My brother and I were both in…
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Do you write stories to dispel rumors?
“A lie can run around the world before the truth has its boots on.” That’s one of the few quotes…
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If truth doesn’t matter, we are doomed
By Norman Hoffman • Guest Columnist Some time ago a cartoon had Donald Trump’s press secretary and Kelly Ann Conway…
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Embracing the wicked vibe of Halloween
In less than a week, I’ll spend Tuesday evening traipsing the streets of Waynesville watching two little boys knock on…
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An alternative to opiates for pain relief
Like placing a bandage over a deep wound and hoping it will just go away, opiate painkillers are prescribed to…
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Gun debate a microcosm of a deeper challenge
By William Everett • Guest Columnist Garret Woodward’s Opinion piece “After tragedy in Vegas, where to from here?” (Oct. 4-10) leads…
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The NRA and waiting periods
To the Editor: I agree 100 percent with Andy Borowitz that there should be a mandatory three-day waiting period whenever…
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Planting garlic means it’s fall, y’all
As if the changing colors, cooler temps and falling leaves weren’t reminders enough, there’s also those walnuts dropping like cluster…
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My son’s a ham, while I was Houdini
There are very few decent photographs of me as a child. When I die, I feel sorry for the poor…
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Save your crude posts for other websites, please
Something newspaper editors never say: “I wish that fewer people responded to that piece in last week’s paper.” Well, thanks…
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Tweet shows that Trump is unfit
To the Editor: After reading that this is Newspaper Week in the U.S., I happened to see an article about…
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Planned Parenthood kills, not the NRA
To the Editor: When a deranged person like Stephen Paddock, the Las Vegas shooter, randomly kills and wounds hundreds of …
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Tax reform plan won’t help middle class
To the Editor: Now that the drama over the ACA is done, it’s time to move on to tax reform.…
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If I had a purple crayon…
Last night I read Harold and the Purple Crayon to my 5-year-old. He sat wide-eyed with an expression of intrigue…
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After tragedy in Vegas, where to from here?
I’ve never shot a gun. Nope. Not once. I come from a family of gun owners. I’ve held plenty of…
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Air Force Academy general deserves praise
To the Editor: All men and women who have served in the armed forces can hold their heads high when…
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Children’s healthcare must be supported
To the Editor: Last week the US Congress failed to reauthorized the Children’s Health Insurance Plan — CHIP — known…
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We can survive the Trump era
To the Editor: President Trump never ceases to amaze me on his downward spiral to be the worst president in…
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A part of my generation’s soundtrack
We were pretty full of ourselves, I guess. Barely 19, barely finished with our freshman year in college, having left…
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Hand on heart or on bended knee — Americans all
This is what it means to be an American. I’m talking about NFL players and coaches and owners uniting to…
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Park’s fire response was woefully inadequate
To the Editor: Regarding the Chimney Tops 2 wildfire review article, my stomach clenched as I read quotes from the…
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Immigrants need to assimilate
To the Editor: A common sense response is necessary to the foolish arguments in a letter printed in a recent…
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‘Stranger Things” and DACA truth
To the Editor: With all the news of DACA and how the changes will affect many people including some family,…
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Learning to let my emotions breathe
I’ve always been prone to bouts of melancholy. I’m not sure if it’s a writer thing or a woman thing…
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