Let’s send GOP leaders home this election
To the Editor: The Republican Party in North Carolina has repeated, time after time, that the public schools were broken.…
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Rep. Mark Meadows needs to go
To the Editor: I am no Paul Revere, but like him I am providing warning that we are threatened. The…
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Elect Republicans, keep state moving forward
To the Editor: Beam me up Scotty if you have heard of any big oil or gas companies prowling the…
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Jane Hipps is the right choice for Senate
To the Editor: From many perspectives, North Carolina is in big trouble. Rather than governing to provide the best direction…
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Cullowhee planning will take away rights
To the Editor: On Tuesday night, Oct. 7, I along with many property owners attended the presentation of the “Cullowhee…
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Sen. Davis votes against will of people
To the Editor: “Tis a puzzlement.” How can any elected representative currently in office perpetually insist on being proud while consistently…
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No, Mr. Clampitt, fracking is an issue
To the Editor: Suppose we turn history upside down, we might have heard the following from famous and infamous people:…
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District attorney hopeful needs an answer
To the Editor: Two weekends ago I went to the district attorney debate in Canton at the Colonial Theater. The…
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Everyone reads the local free papers
To the Editor: I was just thumbing back through recent issues of SMN and read your piece about supporting local…
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Support Sen. Jim Davis in the coming election
To the Editor: When I read letters to the editor demanding more government spending, it is clear many do not…
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Why isn’t GOP protecting property rights?
To the Editor: Republican leaders like Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, Rep. Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, and Rep. Roger West, R-Marble, voted to…
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In this election, vote for education
To the Editor: I am a 1953 graduate of Waynesville Township High School, received my undergraduate degree from Furman University…
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I’ve had enough of Donnie Earl Dipstick at 5 a.m.!
Though I will wear one sometimes as a “fashion statement,” on most days I do not wear a watch. I…
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Protect the treasures of WNC from frackers
To the Editor: This is my first written word, publicly in 20 years. I pray that it be as in…
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Tillis, Davis responsible for increased premiums
To the Editor: Rep. Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, has been running ads that say N.C. citizens are paying more for health…
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Preserving air and water quality important
To the Editor: Becky Johnson’s report on the Canton and paper mill landfills gives me a much-needed better understanding of…
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Hipps will make education a priority
To the Editor: I am a retired classroom teacher and worked in Haywood County Schools for 37 years. During the…
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Take back our sacred property rights
To the Editor: There has been a lot of discussion regarding environmental impacts of fracking, yet two areas have not…
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Midterms a chance to change leadership
To the Editor: Our country is in a heap of trouble. Ebola has now been introduced into the United States.…
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N.C. Democrats go conservative
To the Editor: The dictionary definition of “conservative” is, “Holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or…
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Celebrate community, support local (newspapers)
When National Newspaper Week (Oct. 5-11) was started 74 years ago, there wasn’t much competition for newspapers. If you didn’t…
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Let’s show real respect for teachers
By Jim Hunt • Guest Columnist Earlier this year, I called for a state commitment to raise teacher pay to…
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Let your voice be heard at the ballot box
To the Editor: By this means I thank N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, for presenting the fracking forum in Macon…
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Fracking debate needs more research, facts
To the Editor: The letter writer on fracking in the Sept. 17-23 issue of The Smoky Mountain News appears to…
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Why textbooks matter even now
To the Editor: Although Speaker Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, and his fellow Republicans Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, and Rep. Michele Presnell,…
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Fracking is a ticking time bomb
To the Editor: As someone with 25-plus years of experience in water and wastewater equipment design, manufacture and installation, I…
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Burning the couch and chair, now that’s practical
Tammy is out in the yard burning the couch. There is no telling where this will end. All by herself,…
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Webster wants to keep post office open
To the Editor: The letter from Mark Jamison of Webster that’s published in your most recent edition (“What does Webster…
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Ellison just plain wrong about Granville Calhoun
To the Editor: I have read with interest the original article by George Ellison questioning the account that Granville Calhoun…
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Use better science to support position
To the Editor: Ironically, the executive director of an organization named for the sacrificial bird used in mining operations endorses…
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Nikwasi Mound belongs to people of Macon
To the Editor: The deed to the Nikwasi Mound states that, “the mound shall be preserved for the citizens of…
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U.S. also commits acts of barbarism
To the Editor: We have chosen war yet again because we have deemed someone else’s behavior to be barbaric; in…
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North Carolina’s great balancing act
To the Editor: Since they took over control of the North Carolina Legislature, there has been a great cry among…
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Cutting taxes not always the best way to lead
To the Editor: A candidate for the county commission wants to cut your taxes. That is the basis for his…
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More on the saga of Kephart’s arrival at Hazel Creek
To the Editor: Readers may well be approaching exhaustion with this ongoing exchange regarding circumstances surrounding Horace Kephart’s arrival at…
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There’s cool ... and then there’s Glenda cool
Her name was Glenda. She was a senior and one of the more popular girls in school, a volleyball star…
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Say no to those who support fracking
To the Editor: Fracking is a contentious and potentially disastrous environmental and social issue heading for North Carolina and possibly…
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Surveys reveal serious climate change issues
To the Editor: On Sept. 9 the National Audubon Society released the results of several years’ worth of studies that…
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Elect Tom Hill to replace Rep. Meadows
To the Editor: I generally find that when I cast a ballot for anyone in a national election, I’ve voting…
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Hipps will help state ban fracking
To the Editor: Jane Hipps wants fracking banned in North Carolina. Her opponent, state Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, is a…
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Sen. Jim Davis dancing on a beach ball
To the Editor: It seems that state Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, has found his beach ball, and it’s called fracking.…
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Anti-fracking crowd is just wrong
To the Editor: Vic Drummond has written several times about the silliness of the anti-fracking group, and I would have…
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What does Webster hope to achieve with planning initiative?
To the Editor: I read the news that Webster had obtained a planning grant with mixed emotions. Local planning is…
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Tillis out of step on birth control issue
To the Editor: Thom Tillis is one slick fellow. During his debate with Sen. Kay Hagan last Wednesday, he slithered…
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Evergreen paper and the fracking debate
By Avram Friedman Last year Becky Johnson of The Smoky Mountain News interviewed me about Evergreen Packaging’s plans to convert…
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Beer town bragging rights go west of Asheville
I heard about this story from the Facebook crowd, so I imagine some of you have already read it. There…
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GOP has not kept its promises
To the Editor: How can you tell if a politician is lying .... his lips are moving. It’s an old joke;…
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PETA got it right at Osborne Farm
To the Editor: As one who blew the whistle on Osborne Farm Inc., I can attest that PETA’s footage shows…
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Celebrating this region’s culture part of our identity
Anyone who reads The Smoky Mountain News regularly knows we emphasize in-depth, investigative stories when that’s what is called for…
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The chronic complainers will never change
Some people complain all the time, about everything. They complain about the weather, the price of gasoline, their neglectful friends,…
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