Trump, Meadows just don’t care
To the Editor: President Trump’s campaign staff met with a Russian attorney in Trump Tower to discuss inside “dirt” about…
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Single-payer system is badly needed
To the Editor: Conservative business owners are realizing that our dysfunctional health care system, driven by private health insurance, is…
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Finding the light in an RV
Since my mom’s passing almost a year ago, my dad and I have become very close. Without her here as…
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Meadows once again fighting the wrong fight
The chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus says there could be a government shutdown if money isn’t included in…
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Trumpcare debacle means health care woes will remain
Half a year into his presidency, it seems pretty clear that Donald Trump would rather continue campaigning — or golfing,…
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Trump pushes boundaries of legality
To the Editor: On Sunday morning, July 2, Donald Trump tweeted a short doctored video clip of him attacking an…
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Health bill critics ignore facts
To the Editor: Last week’s letters to the editor were critical of the proposed healthcare reform. HRMC executives write, “Without…
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Was this all a dream?
The other night while channel-surfing I stumbled upon an online Sunday School class sponsored by a host of Baptist churches…
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Finding daily adventure in a place I love
I call myself an adventurer. While I do love to travel, adventuring isn’t just about experiencing new places and seeing…
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Politics may fail us, but our ideals endure
As I sit to write a day before Independence Day, it seems I keep hearing voices questioning whether the shared…
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Long may they sing
It’s a Saturday night in Sparta, and the three sisters — all of them widows — are heading off to…
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People need to take back the power
To the Editor: Editor Scott McLeod’s thoughtful analysis (May 24 edition, www.smokymountainnews.com/archives/item/20019) described the formidable marketplace corporate control that permeates…
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Wrong vision for Haywood libraries
To the Editor: As an inveterate library user, a long-time volunteer at the Haywood Public Library, a former Board member…
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Here come the tax cuts — again
To the Editor: Republicans are again touting the critical need for tax cuts for the upper economic classes. This is…
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Voting issues not hard to solve
To the Editor: The mere length and involved reasoning of your editorial reveals a level of nuance that makes issues…
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A grand vision for Central Elementary
To the Editor: Now that the Haywood County School Board is keeping Central Elementary, it’s a good time to consider…
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Support clean energy and coal country
To the Editor: Coal has played an enormous role in the history of our country, and the infamous black rock…
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Price campaign visits Haywood
To the Editor: We had the great pleasure of visiting Haywood County on Saturday, June 17, as we attended the…
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A plea for fairness from D.C.
To the Editor: A wise good man once said, approximately, “politics is about making people’s lives better.” I don’t believe…
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American Health Care Act will negatively affect this community
By Rod Harkelroad and Maurice Phillips Our country’s healthcare system is in the midst of a massive upheaval. Never before have…
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Raising a glass to Canton’s future
The opening of the new BearWaters Brewing in Canton is a great shot in the arm for one of most…
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Adjusting to WAHM summer life
As I write this column, my two little boys are rummaging through LEGO bricks bickering about who needs which piece,…
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Dad was old school, but he accepted change
My dad’s been dead about 15 years now, and there’s still no fuzzy, larger-than-life, exaggerated memories that pop into my…
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She’s 16, and somehow it snuck up on me
I should have been ready for it, but I wasn’t. My daughter’s sixteenth birthday couldn’t have come as a shock…
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Gerrymandering takes power from voters
To the Editor: It’s no secret that gerrymandering has severely distorted representation in North Carolina and undermined the principle of…
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Welcome to Country Club America
To the Editor: It has dawned on me that Trump’s vision for America is to make it into an exclusive…
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A few thoughts on immigration
To the Editor: Immigration has been a reality for hundreds of years as people leave the safety of their homes…
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Trump’s dismissal of hacking is the problem
By Martin Dyckman • Guest Columnist It’s easy to make a mistake, particularly when relying on another person’s promises or character.…
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A world of wonder at a cheap motel
When you’re a kid, there’s something magical about hotel pools. I’ve written before about growing up in a dance studio.…
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Fighting against money in politics
To the Editor: Scott McLeod’s opinion piece “If it’s all about money, we’re in big trouble” was right on target.…
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We need to keep Wright School open
To the Editor: As most know by now, the House budget includes cuts to mental health programs including a cut…
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GOP’s corrupt elections agenda meets its demise
North Carolina’s efforts to change the elections process to help keep its GOP majorities in office have been declared illegal…
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Shouldn’t there be compassion before greatness?
A friend of mine is in line at the drive-thru of a local fast food restaurant, and a guy with…
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In redrawing districts, a chance to end gerrymandering
By Martin Dyckman • Guest Columnist The people of North Carolina won a nationally significant victory in the Supreme Court last…
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If it’s all about money, we’re in big trouble
Who runs the U.S.? We’ve always known that money and politics go hand in hand, but these days that seems…
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Morality is relative; ignorance is not
To the Editor: This is a response to the letter written by Colton Bailey titled, “Festival is Immoral,” that was…
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Rep. Meadows wants to roll back protections
To the Editor: I found the article in the May 10 edition citing Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, as advocating “high-risk…
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The chickens are coming home to roost
To the Editor: By now, everyone in Macon County and the surrounding counties knows that Angel Medical Center in Franklin…
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Help pets live a good life
To the Editor: On a recent Friday night two 3-week-old kittens were dropped off at the side pen of the…
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Individuals are Christian, not nations
To the Editor: The United States of America never has been, is not now and never will be a Christian…
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Hospitals play key role in local communities
Rural Hospital Week is May 22-26 and Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital are joining community hospitals and caregivers…
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Trump presidency an unmitigated disaster
To the Editor: In a failed attempt to defend Donald Trump, Mr. Van Eck’s recent letter is more of a…
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Roots and wings — an oxymoron made for moms
It must have been a mom who coined the adage “time flies.” I swear it feels like last week when…
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Corporations are not people
To the Editor: A recent letter writer opined that corporations function as groups of people. One single sentence in that…
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Perhaps we need ‘climate ambassadors’
To the Editor: The series of articles you have recently been publishing on “Folkmoot’s Cultural Conversations” have been most enlightening…
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Sylva festival is a bad idea
To the Editor: Thomas Jefferson once stated “I am for a government rigorously frugal and simple.” Yet, these wise words…
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Trump right about Andrew Jackson
To the Editor: In his incessant, sophomoric screeds to diminish Trump, Chris Cox fails once again. He attempts to ridicule…
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Burr may be second N.C. senator to make history
Martin A. Dyckman • Guest Columnist A hero is, almost by definition, someone who didn’t set out to be one.…
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Tastes great, can’t take the smell
When I read about Wicked Weed Brewing getting bought by AB InBev (formerly Budweiser) — one of the world’s largest…
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Party fracturing not necessarily bad
To the Editor: We know that the modern newspaper, in fact all media, feeds on controversy, some of it made…
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