Mental health should be covered
To the Editor: While the ACA is being re-considered I am asking why did we allow the insurance industry to…
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Let commissioners hire tax collector
To the Editor: I read the recent letter by Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, and would just like to say…
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The first Mother’s Day without her
I’ve tried hard to keep grief out of my columns lately. There’s only so much melancholy and broken-heartedness readers can…
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‘Born in Franklin’ may never be heard again
At some point in the future, here’s something you might never hear again: “I was born in Franklin.” Look no…
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This just isn’t going to get any better
“What? Over? Did you say ‘over’? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans…
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Don’t throw baby out with bathwater
To the Editor: In a recent Q&A in The Mountaineer, Congressman Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, seemed very light on specifics related…
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Haywood GOP does battle with anarchists
To the Editor: It was odd to be reminded of the Spanish Civil War when reading your article about the…
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The solution is to destroy all nukes
To the Editor: Back in 1979, then National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski received a middle-of-the-night phone call with the alarming…
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Votes will help Haywood Schools
To the Editor: The Haywood County Schools Foundation is a participant in “A Community Thrives” project sponsored by Gannett, USA…
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Corporations are not U.S. citizens
To the Editor: Are you sick of government ignoring the people it was meant to represent? Do you want your…
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Thanks for the help with Panthertown
To the Editor: Friends of Panthertown and Mainspring Conservation Trust would like to thank all of our donors, including Jackson…
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A big thank you to Rep. Mark Meadows
All citizens of western North Carolina owe a big “thank you” to Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, and the Freedom Caucus…
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N.C. Senate back dangerous measure that could re-write U.S. Constitution
By Martin A. Dyckman • Guest Columnist Russian paratroopers dropping on the White House lawn could scarcely do more damage…
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Patriot faction not being honest
To the Editor: Each of Ms. Becky Johnson’s two articles about the Haywood Republican Party were well researched and accurately…
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Rep. Presnell should not politicize school boards
To the Editor: As a former teacher of children with learning disabilities in Alabama, I have experienced the politicization resulting…
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Trump’s trips are a waste of taxes
To the Editor: White House budget director Michael Mulvaney recently said in an interview that: “When you start looking at…
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Thankful to have been a teacher
At 37, I’m still sorting out what I want to be when I grow up. When I was 8, I…
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Boiling days down to simple routines
“The ONLY thing is, we don’t have to go all the way to Adam’s Creek,” my wife Lori said. We…
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Chaos comes in several shapes and sizes
As all successful couples understand, the key to happiness is mastering the art of communication. When facing a Big Decision…
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Partisanship over statesmanship, Raleigh knows best
Sorry Haywood County citizens and others in the western part of the state, the most grassroots and local ballots you…
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Like mercury on slick glass
To the Editor: Please don’t even try to convince most people that Republicans are slow to change due to some…
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Thank the EPA for WNC’s success
To the Editor: I was born in a steel town in 1948. When I was 2, we moved to a…
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Never forget the past
To the Editor: The other day I read something that chilled me to the bone, especially considering the direction the…
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If Trump fails, there is always 2020
To the Editor: Regarding Mr. Martin Dyckman’s op-ed published in the March 8 issue of The Smokey Mountain News, I…
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Healthcare needs to be affordable
To the Editor: As I prepared to leave home to participate in Sylva’s rally and march for affordable health care…
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Voters have decided tax collector issue
To the Editor: Funny how Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, never mentions once that we are the only county in…
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Voters should decide tax collector issue
To the Editor: Haywood County Board Chairman Kirk Kirkpatrick has publicly complained “It feels like we have no representation” in…
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Hello darlin’, nice to see you
Ever since I left for college and began talking to my dad on the phone regularly, he’s answered my call…
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There are more than cornfields in the Midwest
I’m severely under-acquainted with the Midwest. My older son has a game on his Kindle that asks him to identify…
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The perfect game come round again
I found them in the corner of the basement, hidden like Easter Eggs underneath a blue tarp which was itself…
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What would we really get with a wall?
By Paul Strop • Guest Columnist Last summer when we returned to this country, the presidential election was in full cry,…
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Writer is right: you can’t fix stupid
To the Editor: After reading the letter “You can’t fix stupid” in the March 15 edition of The Smoky Mountain…
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Unity instead of division; keep politics friendly
By Joseph Trisha • Guest Columnist So who else is tired of negative politics and the constant negative President Donald Trump…
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Monteith leaves a lasting legacy in Swain
It was July or August of 1999, best I remember, and the Swain County Commissioners at that time were meeting…
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Departing Trump’s alternate universe
To the Editor: As a journalist and former member of the working press, I continue to be appalled and frankly…
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We all need to speak up
To the Editor: Does opening your email or Facebook feed or nightly news programs make your blood pressure go up?…
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You just can’t fix stupid
To the Editor: First off, no anonymous person here. My name is Sandy Sanders. I read Chris Cox column a…
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Enjoy the articles by Chris Cox
To the Editor: I sure enjoy the opinion columns by Chris Cox in The Smoky Mountain News. I enjoy reading…
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From beauty pageants to soccer fields
It’s not my proudest accolade, but I spent a significant portion of my childhood in a pageant dress. The doctors…
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Trump’s rise has some similarities to Hitler
To the Editor: Among the many sources available to explain current events in Washington is an excellent recent book that…
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Perhaps school board has learned a lesson
Since it is, after all, the Haywood County School Board, I can only hope they’ve learned a lesson. Last week…
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Trump tweets himself back into the muck
As near as I can tell, the readers of this newspaper are pretty evenly divided on whether I should continue…
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Let’s keep a little separation between God and politics
He’s a respected member of the community, a physician, and we ran into each other unexpectedly. “I really have to…
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Protecting privacy in two steps
To the Editor: North Carolina state Sen. Jim Davis, Franklin, in a recent newspaper interview indicated he opposes the repeal…
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How the mountain towns died
To the Editor: Once there was once a busy, thriving community nestled in beautiful mountains that surrounded the town on…
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Rep. Mark Meadows has gone missing
To the Editor: As a constituent of Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, I am disappointed that he did not use this…
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Let’s just get people back to work
To the Editor: People do not appear to understand how important it is that Obamacare be repealed with no replacement.…
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The big lie about immigration
To the Editor: Everyone wants to feel safe. We want to protect our lives, our property and our jobs. When…
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Time to solve problems
To the Editor: Obviously, the GOP has won control of government for a brief while. The use of such language…
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For me, there is real joy in solitude
My favorite time of day is quiet time. Every morning before the hustle and bustle of the day begins, before…
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