The delicious taste of the wait is disappearing
It must have been 20 years or more since I heard a futurist telling a skeptical crowd the extent to…
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Medicaid expansion equals economic growth
To the Editor: A recent letter suggested that its author does not believe in economic projections. He may not realize…
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N.C. loses by not expanding Medicaid
To the Editor: An earlier letter requires concrete proof of the success of the Affordable Care Act. Those truly interested…
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Jackson votes supports real free speech
To the Editor: Thank you, Jackson County Commissioners for your courage in passing a resolution calling on the North Carolina…
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N.C. GOP leadership likes to bully opposition
By Martin Dyckman • Guest Columnist Whether they strut across schoolyards or along the polished halls of a state capital, all…
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Time for universal, free pre-K is long overdue
“… the long-term benefits of a high-quality pre-K program can be substantial. These include higher high school graduation rates, lower…
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For some, facts just don’t matter
“It is an Internet Age paradox: We have more information than ever before and yet, seem to know less. Indeed,…
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Beware the company you keep
To the Editor: Jackson County Commissioners, I want to congratulate you on the entertaining meeting on Jan. 29 and your…
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In my world, estimates are different from facts
To the Editor: Ed Morris’s recent letter to this newspaper criticized a letter I had written to The Franklin Press…
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Use Lent to try a meat-free diet
To the Editor: This Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the 40-day period before Easter, when many Christians abstain from…
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Appreciate community support for 5K run
To the Editor: On behalf of Dryman’s Chapel United Methodist Church please allow me to express thanks and grateful appreciation…
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Let’s re-think attitudes toward wood
To the Editor: Have you ever heard the expression “waiting for the other shoe to drop”? I thought of it…
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Does Maggie Valley need 200-foot cross?
To the Editor: At first blush the idea of a 200-foot cross seemed kind of cool. It could make Maggie…
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The sweet dreams of snow days
“Dad, do you think we’ll get out of school tomorrow?” My son, Jack, is standing in the doorway of our…
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Waynesville missing an opportunity
To the Editor: It’s true, you only get one chance to make a good one. Entering Waynesville from any direction…
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Sen. Tillis wasted no time becoming an embarrassment
To the Editor: It took newly elected Sen. Thom Tillis , R-N.C., merely a month in Washington to make himself…
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Too much of a good thing can be dangerous
I wish those planning to open a new charter school in Haywood County the best. Their intentions are completely honorable.…
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Three men walk into a bar ...
To the Editor: A rich man, a middle class man and a poor man walk into a bar. They sit…
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Harris Regional committed to the region
Over the past couple of months there has been a fair amount of coverage in area media outlets about the…
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Pardon the explanation, but I can’t help myself
I am living the days I have dreamed of all my life. “One day,” I said, somewhere ages and ages…
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Facts and beliefs are different animals
To the Editor: Vic Drummond’s recent letter about “The Economic and Employment Costs of Not Expanding Medicaid in NC.” was…
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U.S. youth need unifying experience
To the Editor: Historical injustices, real and perceived, create seeds of terrorism. Today’s policies create a fertile environment for the…
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Hunters and their dogs don’t deserve special protections
By Bill Lea • Guest Columnist In the article about the bear dogs attacking a camper’s dogs (www.smokymountainnews.com/outdoors/item/14952), Wallace Messer (a…
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Surely there is a solution for noise dispute
Here’s hoping No Name Sports Pub and the town of Sylva can work out their differences on noise so that…
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A perspective of a retired ob-gyn on today’s situation
By Gwang S. Han • Guest Columnist Obstetrics is the branch of medicine dealing with parturition, including care before and after…
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Sounds preachy, but it’s right: be true to yourself
One of the pure joys of my job — teaching English on the college level — is getting to spend…
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School boards need to fight the good fight
The Haywood County School Board narrowly voted (5 to 4, with Chairman Chuck Francis breaking a tie) to contribute money…
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Macon leaders should reconsider stance on wilderness
To the Editor: The Nantahala Hiking Club requests that Macon County commissioners reconsider or rescind the resolution passed on July…
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Going ‘all in’ on free speech takes backbone
I watched world leaders with arms linked lead a march of about 1.5 million people in Paris to commemorate the…
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We have to close the widening gap
To the Editor: About 10 years ago I said to a client of mine perhaps the most outrageous thing I’ve…
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New animal shelter is long overdue
To the Editor: I was happy to read the article about the need for a new animal shelter in Haywood…
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Some successional habitat a good thing
To the Editor: The recent announcement by the U.S. Forest Service of more potential logging in the new forest management…
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Time to break the holiday laws of inertia
Two miserable characters — the larger one in a terry cloth bathrobe and fleece pajama bottoms, the smaller one in…
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Canary Coalition works to help WNC
By Thomas Crowe • Guest Columnist In case you didn't know it, right here in our midst we have a gem…
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Time to eschew meat products
To the Editor: It’s time for New Year’s resolutions, particularly those about our health. Although gun violence remains the leading…
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Time for appointed tax collector in Haywood
To the Editor: As we approach the year 2015, I appeal to the decision makers of Haywood County to take…
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The only lesson may be that there is no lesson
One of my wife’s childhood friends lives near Wilmington. Her daughter, a senior at Appalachian State, died last week in…
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Real vs. fake facts, and knowing the difference
To the Editor: Denying facts because they conflict with a belief is a survival tactic for the human race. We…
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All are welcome at Pigeon Center
To the Editor: An article in the Dec. 17-23 issue of The Smoky Mountain News states that the Pigeon Center…
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Lonely this Christmas? Hire an old-time hermit
Serendipity: an aptitude for making significant discoveries by accident. I have always loved that word, and I have had numerous…
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Somehow, I was meant to be right here
By Laura Amour • Guest Columnist “The mountains attract seekers.” That comment was made by a cherished friend that I have…
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Board games – most of the time – are a fun holiday tradition
We’re all at home, on vacation at last. Ella Fitzgerald is wishing us a swinging Christmas, as she does every…
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Faster than thought: two book covers
By Steve Ellis • Guest Columnist As we leave this political season, which has been nasty, brutal and long, I’d…
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This is no time to devalue our wild heritage
By Bill McLarney • Guest Columnist We humans are highly skilled and devilishly clever. We can create ball fields, schools,…
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Letter writer needs help connecting the dots
To the Editor: I certainly hope Santa brings Bob Wilson a “Connect the Dots” book — he could use the…
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Time for many to relearn tolerance
To the Editor: The letter “Democrats hurting African Americans” (SMN, December 3) confuses race with economics. The implication that Democrats…
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Plutocrats drive modern GOP agenda
To the Editor: It’s amusing to hear Republicans and other reactionaries describe Democrats and the Democratic Party. Contrary to their fiction-based…
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What do people really want?
Dr. Graeme Potter • Guest Columnist As one of the practicing, board-certified OB/GYNs in the community who provide prenatal care, I’ve…
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Hard to believe that it has been 14 years
I am in my office between classes, eating egg drop soup out of a little plastic container with a white…
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Democrats hurting African Americans
To the Editor: Kudos to Bruce Gardner whose wise comments appeared in the Nov. 26 Opinion section of The Smoky…
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