Endowment a fitting legacy for Mib and Phil Medford
 

Endowment a fitting legacy for Mib and Phil Medford

When Lori and I moved to Waynesville with our then 2-year-old daughter Megan, we made a conscious choice to build…
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Obama wants to limit free speech rights
 

Obama wants to limit free speech rights

To the Editor: Albert Einstein, who was a genius both in mathematics and in understanding human motivation, said the following:…
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Forest Service should not tear up hillside
 

Forest Service should not tear up hillside

To the Editor: I live at the head of Tilley Creek, where my family has been since the early 1800s,…
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People, not dogs, are the problem
 

People, not dogs, are the problem

To the Editor: Having read about the dispute of the barking dogs and a push for a county-wide ordinance, I…
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Comment

Affordable Health Care Act is good legislation
 

Affordable Health Care Act is good legislation

To the Editor: Republicans in Raleigh and Washington who want to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act — and those…
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Barking dogs problem a symptom of a cultural shift
 

Barking dogs problem a symptom of a cultural shift

By John Beckman • Guest Columnist I’ve read the letters regarding the barking dogs issue and the responses from both…
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Why Obama is not the rich man’s candidate
 

Why Obama is not the rich man’s candidate

To the Editor: It’s hard to understand why working people would ever vote Republican. The Republican Party is the party…
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Comment

Jones does not support barking dog ordinance
 

Jones does not support barking dog ordinance

To the Editor: In a recent interview with David Joy in the Cashiers Crossroads Chronicle regarding a county wide barking…
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Comment

Speak up about Citizens United
 

Speak up about Citizens United

To the Editor: Your readers may be interested to know the result of petitions signed this year by hundreds of…
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Comment

Billions to buy votes without  disclosure is bad policy
 

Billions to buy votes without disclosure is bad policy

To the Editor: There’s a “For Sale” sign in front of your home, but you didn’t put it there. What’s…
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Comment

GOP leaders push unfunded mandate to counties
 

GOP leaders push unfunded mandate to counties

North Carolina’s General Assembly — under the leadership of Republicans for the first time in more than a century— will…
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Comment

Remember – every year is a new year
 

Remember – every year is a new year

So it’s the New Year. The ball has dropped, the parties are all over, your Kool and the Gang album…
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2008 will be telling year for Cataloochee resort
 

2008 will be telling year for Cataloochee resort

The best news about the proposed Cataloochee Wilderness Resort is that it appears that from here on out, there will…
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Sales tax is most palatable way to meet HCC’s needs
 

Sales tax is most palatable way to meet HCC’s needs

Haywood Community College needs help, and the community that benefits from this beloved institution is going to step up. The…
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Comment

Wealthy are gaining too much political power
 

Wealthy are gaining too much political power

To the Editor: OccupyWNC, an affiliate of MovetoAmend.com, along with groups all across the United States, has worked diligently to…
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Comment

Obama was in over his head from day one
 

Obama was in over his head from day one

To the Editor: Election time is approaching and we are facing a promise gap. In 2008 when vice presidential candidate…
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Comment

Looking forward to our own Hunger Games
 

Looking forward to our own Hunger Games

To the Editor: Have you heard the latest about our local sportsmen? Well, it’s been reported that three elk were…
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Can the dream stay alive for another generation?
 

Can the dream stay alive for another generation?

“You know, this is really the only thing I know I’ve wanted to do my whole life.” That was my…
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Loving guns and badges in Maggie Valley
 

Loving guns and badges in Maggie Valley

To the Editor: Maggie Valley must love the guns, badges and handcuffs. In fact, with Maggie Valley being only about…
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The party of tax-and-spend, really?
 

The party of tax-and-spend, really?

To the Editor: It’s election trash talking time again, and one of the things that will come up will be…
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Comment

Rhyming a solution to our political woes
 

Rhyming a solution to our political woes

To the Editor: As our government officials keep putting off a long-term solution to the debt ceiling problem, perhaps these…
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Comment

Honeydew just another of the many surprises about beekeeping
 

Honeydew just another of the many surprises about beekeeping

The wonderful thing about keeping bees is there are always surprises. Just when you think you’ve learned what there is…
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Thanks for the memories, thanks for being there
 

Thanks for the memories, thanks for being there

I loved Andy Griffith as much as it is possible to love someone you’ve actually never met. In some very…
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Comment

Reduced energy use is natural part of Euro life
 

Reduced energy use is natural part of Euro life

We were nearing the end of our European summer vacation with three other families from Western North Carolina when we…
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Comment

A dip in the Tuck beats bee suits in this heat
 

A dip in the Tuck beats bee suits in this heat

I slept downstairs on a futon last night, trying to escape some of the intense heat that, chimney-like, turned the…
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Comment

We should realize value of natural resources
 

We should realize value of natural resources

To the Editor: In Western North Carolina we are extremely lucky to live, work and play in a place of…
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Comment

A story everyone should read, learn from
 

A story everyone should read, learn from

To the Editor: We, the undersigned, are a group of Haywood County citizens that meets regularly for a respectful dialogue…
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Comment

Sometimes a walk is better than a run
 

Sometimes a walk is better than a run

 For many years I was a dedicated runner. These days I’m much more likely to choose to walk, both for…
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Comment

The fleeting years of childhood give way to a strange, new world
 

The fleeting years of childhood give way to a strange, new world

 My daughter has arrived at an impossible age — impossible for her, impossible for me, impossible for her mother, impossible…
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Comment

It’s time to reverse this regressive course	North Carolina is headed down
 

It’s time to reverse this regressive course North Carolina is headed down

By Martin Dyckman • Guest Columnist My wife and I moved here from Florida because we wanted to live in…
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Noise ordinance an unjust attack on heritage
 

Noise ordinance an unjust attack on heritage

  To the editor: I am writing in response to recent discussions of “Barking Dogs” in Jackson County and to…
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Comment

Barking dogs ordinance would increase burden
 

Barking dogs ordinance would increase burden

  To the editor: Remember when we would say “Sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite” as a nod…
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Comment

Barking dogs a symptom of animal welfare, social issues
 

Barking dogs a symptom of animal welfare, social issues

  To the editor: The barking ordinance that Jackson county commissioners recently said they’d support sounds at first like a…
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Comment

Hearing all the buzz about sourwood
 

Hearing all the buzz about sourwood

This is a special time of the year for beekeepers in Western North Carolina. It is the time they prepare…
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Comment

Women make decisions for themselves
 

Women make decisions for themselves

To the Editor: This is intended for all men: political office-holders, the religious of all faiths, and just plain “guys.” I…
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Comment

Voter ID laws should have bipartisan support
 

Voter ID laws should have bipartisan support

To the Editor: Election reform is needed in North Carolina. Nearly eight out of 10 North Carolina voters support Voter…
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Comment

Romney’s plan will benefit wealthy
 

Romney’s plan will benefit wealthy

To the Editor: Mitt Romney is saying his experience in the private sector means he can do a better job…
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Comment

No good reason for such a colorful plate debate
 

No good reason for such a colorful plate debate

State senators from the mountain region — and we’re especially talking about those representing the southwest, Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin,…
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Comment

Things are as they just should be — just ask Booger
 

Things are as they just should be — just ask Booger

I found Booger at the Coffee Shop some 15 years ago – a tiny kitten with only one eye open,…
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Comment

Teachers get sympathy from readers, peers
 

Teachers get sympathy from readers, peers

You never know what subject in a column will incite readers and friends to open up and express their feelings.…
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Comment

Fight back against Alzheimer’s
 

Fight back against Alzheimer’s

To the Editor: Ask yourself, for just one day, can I match the passion and dedication of Alzheimer’s caregivers and…
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Comment

End of school year teaches some bad lessons
 

End of school year teaches some bad lessons

Each spring as the school year winds down, I can’t decide whether to laugh or cry. As preparations for end-of-year,…
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Comment

Corporations are not people
 

Corporations are not people

To the Editor: This letter is in direct response to Ginny Jahrmarkt’s May 30 letter titled, “Jones made wrong vote…
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Comment

Commissioner’s actions were disappointing
 

Commissioner’s actions were disappointing

To the Editor: It was disappointing to read that Commissioner Mark Jones representing District 4 voted to support a resolution…
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Comment

Arrogant is the word for Sheriff Ashe
 

Arrogant is the word for Sheriff Ashe

To the Editor: When I think of the word arrogant, I usually think of someone who is so intelligent or…
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Comment

Both sides scratching their own backs
 

Both sides scratching their own backs

To the Editor: The word austerity seems to have saturated world and national news of late, sometimes used in a…
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Comment

Time to take out the long knives
 

Time to take out the long knives

Suppose this was your household budget: • Annual family income………………....$23,400 • Money family spends annually….....$35,900 • New debt added to…
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Comment

Jones made wrong vote at last Jackson meeting
 

Jones made wrong vote at last Jackson meeting

To the Editor: At the most recent Jackson County commissioner meeting at the Balsam-Willets-Ochre Hill Volunteer Fire Department, Commissioner Mark…
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Comment

Left changes it’s tune when it loses
 

Left changes it’s tune when it loses

To the Editor: According to recent letters to the editor, Christians, or anyone else, should not be allowed to vote…
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Comment

Planting is an inexact science, but here you go
 

Planting is an inexact science, but here you go

Some time back I wrote that at a future date I’d print seed-starting dates for the remainder of the growing…
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