Perry’s Water Garden nurtures love of water plants
Most of the business being done at Perry’s Water Garden these days is selling plants through the wholesale market. But…
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Roads all about money, power and ethics
To the Editor: The patronage politics of roads, money, power, and ethics in North Carolina is a strange creature. Individual…
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Safety is primary concern for SCC
To the Editor: It is with astonishment that I have been following the flurry of recent articles in the newspapers…
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GOP-led legislature did some good work
To the Editor, We North Carolinians are very fortunate people. Our Republican majority state legislature had the courage to make…
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What does Harvard know about milk, anyway?
You’ve probably seen the ads. Some famous face sports a white “milk mustache” and encourages you to drink more milk.…
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Voter ID bill is needed
“The American people are losing confidence in the system and they want electoral reform ....” What American political leader, a…
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Life lessons from the world of beekeeping
The blossoms on the sourwood trees are opening. This is exciting for mountain beekeepers, though in their enthusiasm for the…
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Haywood needs to hold line on taxes
To the Editor: The past few months have been filled with letters to the editors, editorials and presentations to the…
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Tsunami sweeps over North Carolina
To the Editor: The State of North Carolina has been blessed in many ways. One of her blessings, in spite…
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Summer in the mountains: baptisms and clotheslines
“Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows, we shall come rejoicing bringing in the sheets.” — (slight adaptation from…
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Republicans run roughshod in Raleigh
To the Editor: A new federal study confirms what many people have sensed — news coverage of state and local…
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Reid Brown is nothing less than a saint
To the Editor: My name is Brian Strum and I live in Clyde. Just prior to my move to Haywood County…
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Hahn’s criticism of story missed the mark
To the Editor: Carrie Hahn’s June 8 letter to the editor criticizing The Smoky Mountain News and Reporter Quintin Ellison…
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Despite my neglect, summer greens are coming on strong
I have not put the time into my garden this year that I usually do. Between a lack of rain…
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Expecting little, what we get is even less
Groucho Marx once said, “I wouldn’t want to be a member of any club that would have someone like me…
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SMN showed great support for library
To the Editor: As the opening of the new Jackson County Library Complex draws near, it brings to mind the…
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Article was like those found in tabloids
To the Editor: It was shocking to read the article entitled “Crossing the Line” published June 1 in The Smoky…
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Minick’s reviews are a great part of paper
To the Editor: Jeff Minick has always provided informative and insightful book reviews. His review of Till We Have Faces…
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Of mice, Ming and my seed stash
When planting season is upon us, gardeners and farmers of all stripes are making plans and counting seeds. As long-time…
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Rooster 1, Farmer 1 – a first-round draw
There are two puncture wounds decorating my left leg, courtesy of a rooster who has taken an inexplicable but pronounced…
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Really, we just have to get out more often
(Atlanta, GA) — We don’t get out much. Unless “getting out” means running out to Taco Bell because the fish…
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Appreciating good stories, civic engagement
A week before this week’s dedication of the new Jackson County Library complex, this newspaper’s 12th birthday passed almost unnoticed…
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Protect wilderness before legislation makes it too late
When Congress passed the Wilderness Act back in 1964, it immediately became one of the most important pieces of conservation…
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Education cuts will harm student, schools
To the Editor: Republicans are cutting off education from beginning to end in North Carolina. The new cuts will take…
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Profit motive should not be driving education
To the Editor: It appears that the radical Republicans in control of the N.C. legislature are starving funding for public…
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Radical Senate budget crippling NC’s future
To the Editor: The fact that Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, refers to the radical budget being proposed down in Raleigh…
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Junaluska garden is indeed a gem
To the Editor: This letter is further comment on Quintin Ellison’s column about the Corneille Bryan Native Garden at Lake…
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Commissioner right to question SCC road
To the Editor: Jackson County Commissioner Jack Debnam’s recent comments on the proposed SCC spur road are valid and show…
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Just where are all the promised jobs?
To the Editor: Republican Sens. Ralph Hise, R-Spruce Pine, and Jim Davis, R-Franklin, promised “jobs, jobs, jobs” and “better times”…
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Life lessons learned in the barnyard
Goats view a gate left open as a passageway to excitement. And it is exciting, too, for the goat keeper,…
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Six pints of Guinness and a glass of milk
What do Barack Obama and my son have in common? They both visited Ireland in May. Obama, though, was proud…
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The rise and the fall of outdoor recreation
Maybe it’s the fear of snakes, mountain lions, or Bigfoot. Or the perceived boredom of time spent unplugged. Perhaps it’s…
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A thank you to our elected officials
To the Editor: I’d like to thank the state House of Representatives for putting rich white kids first in North…
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As engaged citizens, we must vote priorities
To the Editor: Do you think more of your car than you do of your children? If something is wrong…
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Transportation plan won’t help economy
To The Editor: I attended the recent public hearing on the Comprehensive Transportation Plan and came away confused. First, according…
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Bryan Garden is a true treasure for the region
To the Editor: I’d like to thank Quintin Ellison and The Smoky Mountain News for Ms. Ellison’s excellent article about…
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Road is in best interest of SCC and students
To the Editor: Having served for more than a decade as president of Southwestern Community College, I was dismayed by…
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Taking the sting from a wasp, and finding peace
Last night, lying in bed on the screened porch reading before darkness fell, I looked up from my book and…
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SCC road gets mired in questions about motives
A planned new access road that will provide an exit and entrance into Southwestern Community College in Webster should not…
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Don’t rush by this little Lake Junaluska treasure
I traveled over the Balsams this past weekend from Sylva to Lake Junaluska for a native plant sale, and I’m…
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Leadership Institute can solve problems
To the Editor: The Natural Resources Leadership Institute is a multi-faceted instructional and community service program of North Carolina Cooperative…
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House budget proposal goes down wrong path
To the Editor: The House in Raleigh recently passed a budget with deep spending cuts. According to Forbes.com, House Speaker…
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US policy on killing is confusing
With its unending contradictions, life is at best confusing and at worst inexplicable. The U.S. is in the minority of…
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Common sense loses to ideology in House budget proposal
North Carolina is facing a budget crisis. I get that. What I don’t get is the proposed slashing of so…
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TDA picks bad time to open visitor center
To the Editor: Regarding the monument to the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, these two headlines are just too much…
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Waste in education lies with many bureaucrats
To the editor: Oh yeah, then there are the children. How many bureaucrats does it take to educate a child?…
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Don’t jump on the nuclear bandwagon
To the editor: With the recent rapid rise in gas prices, the hype about nuclear as an alternative source of…
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Winnowing through the homesteading sites for the cream of the crop
Some years ago, confined to an office through work obligations but dreaming of farming, I spent more time than I…
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Classrooms, like the rest of us, forced to make do
For both teachers in the classroom and local administrators, this is shaping up to be the most challenging budget year…
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Revaluation now was just a bad idea
To the Editor: Now that you have received the re-evaluations of your Haywood County property, are you pleased county commissioners…
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