Thanks for helping feed the hungry
To the Editor: Thanks to many, many individuals and businesses, the 2015 Turkey Drive sponsored by the Maggie Valley Area…
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Social injustice and our universities
To the Editor: In last week’s letter to the editor (www.smokymountainnews.com/opinion/item/16807), Mr. Jones commented on the politicizing of WCU. Let…
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Economic injustice needs to be addressed
To the Editor: It is time to wake up and take a big whiff of reality. The shape of our…
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Forest Service needs capacity to manage
To the Editor: As the U.S. Forest Service proceeds through the plan revision for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests,…
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We can find a better cell tower location
To the Editor: I hope to be understood that my family is as pro-wireless communication as anyone in Cashiers. Verizon…
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Candidates would strip us of rights
To the Editor: Below are several of the solutions proposed by many of the candidates running for president to end…
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Investing in what’s best about WNC
While I was living in Elizabethtown in southeastern North Carolina in 1988, Walmart opened a brand-new store. Most everyone was…
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HRMC praised for patient care
To the Editor: This is in praise of our new hospital, “new” meaning the Haywood Regional Medical Center, now run…
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Politicizing at WCU is just a bad idea
To the Editor: It is my understanding from an article written in the Asheville Citizen Times that Western Carolina University…
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This holiday, it’s a family united
When I was 12 years old, there were few things I liked better than the Dallas Cowboys. Definitely my Farrah…
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Is the free market free for everyone?
To the Editor: “I am a conservative Republican, a firm believer in free market capitalism. A free market system allows…
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Does Lake Junaluska need Waynesville?
To the Editor: Here we go again. Another article (Nov. 18 Smoky Mountain News or at www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/16735) regarding the annexation…
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Now is the time to finish Green Energy Park
To the Editor: Currently, Jackson County’s Green Energy Park is not self-sustaining. Neither are parks and public schools. Perhaps if…
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A banquet table of issues, one bite at a time
So much going on locally and around the world that it’s just a tough week to bear down on a…
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If it’s good vs. evil, only one outcome is tenable
When terrorism strikes like it did this weekend in Paris, the first reaction to the horror is shock from the…
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When a part of you goes missing
Mike and I were not exactly a match made in heaven. In fact, I didn’t think we were much of…
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In the end, Haywood leaders make the right call
Hindsight is indeed 20-20, and this time Haywood County commissioners very likely saw things exactly as they should have. The…
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Pisgah High Millennials ready to voice their opinions
Somewhere at this very moment, a political science major is writing a dissertation on why young people these days are…
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Some capitalism not so admirable
To the Editor: In 2008, the CEO of BBT, John Allison, gave $1 million to Western Carolina University. Some have…
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Don’t succumb to fears in Beaverdam
To the Editor: I would like to elaborate on the comments I made at the hearing on Oct. 19 on…
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Duke profits take precedence over state’s public interest
By Avram Friedman • Guest Columnist By proposing to replace its Lake Julian coal plant in Asheville with a new…
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Steep slope protections a very real economic incentive
Jackson County commissioners are going to pass a smart steep slope ordinance that will help as this region shakes off…
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Little-known Cherokee history, from the archives
When I used to work for the Cherokees, there were occasions when there was little to do. When that happened,…
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Reelected Hamlet, Mull to Canton board
To the Editor: I am writing to express my support for Ralph Hamlett and Gail Mull for Canton aldermen. …
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Waynesville needs Mayor Gavin Brown back in office
I sincerely hope Waynesville citizens support Mayor Gavin Brown for reelection. Municipal elections carry more import than most people realize.…
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Rep. Mark Meadows not a worthy congressman
To the Editor: Politics is often described as the art of the possible. The recent resignation of Rep. John Boehner,…
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Signed letters better than mystery ads
To the Editor: Letters to the editor in a newspaper illustrate the highest tradition of a free press. Letters represent…
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Letter writer was wrong about Republicans
To the Editor: A recent letter writer has gone over the top with the surreal allegation that the Republican Party…
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War on men evidently is going strong
To the Editor: Seventeen pages of your Oct. 7 issue (including the cover) were dedicated to “Women in Business,” more…
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Corporate charm rebuttal misses mark
To the Editor: The BB&T Distinguished Professor of Capitalism at WCU has responded to my letter regarding BB&T bank’s practice…
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Support Gavin Brown for Waynesville mayor
To the Editor: I am writing to express my support for the re-election of Gavin Brown as mayor for Waynesville.…
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Raymond Fairchild recognition long overdue
To the Editor: Congratulations to legendary banjo player Raymond Fairchild for his induction into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame, and…
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Pisgah-Tuscola rivalry is as good as it gets
When my daughter, who is a freshman this year at Tuscola High School, made the Color Guard this summer, the…
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Former park biologist honored for conservation
Kim DeLozier, conservation program manager for the eastern U.S. Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, won the title of Wildlife Conservationist of…
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In search of the uplifting and the ephemeral
“At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless; Neither from nor towards; at the still point,…
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Waynesville library slipping in quality
To the Editor: When I moved to Waynesville in 1987 the library was the pride of the mountains. It was…
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The ugly truth about tribal politics
To the Editor: As the tribal elections drew closer and closer, it became fairly obvious early on that Patrick Lambert…
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Free enterprise gives people the freedom to flourish
In his Oct. 7 letter to the editor, Franklin political activist Dan Kowal cautioned readers not to “buy the corporate…
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America’s ‘culture of me’ has got to change
If we are ever going to have any hope of stemming the bloody tide of mass shootings — which happens…
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Help children stay warm with clothing donation
To the Editor: October is the last month for donations to the 2015 Coats for Kids of Jackson County Coat…
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Don’t buy the corporate charm offensive
To the Editor: This week we’ve heard from the BB&T Distinguished Professor of Capitalism at Western Carolina University, hyping the…
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Legislature pushes state into a freefall to the right
Just a few more dollars, that’s all. When you get your car fixed or a new dishwasher installed, now you’ll…
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Let’s avert another shutdown
To the Editor: If Congress fails to reach a federal budget resolution by midnight, September 30, the Great Smoky Mountains…
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GOP has too many contradictory views
To the Editor: I am not much of a religious scholar, but I did have 16 years of excellent Catholic education.…
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Telling Washington just what we will do
To the Editor: Tried to take a nap but couldn’t get my mind off of some of the enormous problems…
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Skip the theatrics and let’s debate issues
To the Editor: Recent letters have presented opposing views on the future funding for Planned Parenthood. Some are based on…
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Valuing the process more than the outcome
This is one tradition that could just die and I don’t think many will care. I’m talking about the recently…
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Asheville baristas’ behavior a sad commentary
I had never heard of “The Red Pill Theory” or the “manosphere” until I saw references to them in the…
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Smart action on cell towers in Jackson
By Craig Pendergrast • Guest Columnist I am writing to applaud the Jackson County commissioners for recently completing a difficult re-write…
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Community needs supporters to step up
To the Editor: This past weekend I had the privilege of working beside my fellow students and colleagues in an…
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