GOP majority practicing partisan politics
To the Editor: I thought the new Republican majority in the North Carolina legislature was elected because voters felt they…
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Funding cuts will help us all
To the Editor: As soon as the federal budget was delivered to Congress, members like Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders…
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Budgets and politics clashing across the land
Politics and state budgets aren’t usually that interesting, but this year that’s not the case. Ideologies are clashing as lawmakers…
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If they’ve forgotten, shame on us
To the Editor: I’m not sure if I’m angry, embarrassed, disappointed, or a combination thereof because of an event that…
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Tea Party got worse than it deserved
To the Editor: The tragedy in Arizona resulting in loss of life and injury to so many people was horrible.…
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Train decision good news for Dillsboro
To the Editor: I read with interest your article, “A New Day for Dillsboro” (Smoky Mountain News, Feb. 9). As…
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What is up with fake flowers as memorials to the departed?
By Scott Muirhead • Guest Columnist Politics aside, what could possibly be more absurd than plastic flowers? (OK, there are…
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Just look around, and cultural pursuits abound
After high school, I moved downstate to attend music school. I lived for a number of years in Greensboro and…
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Mainstream networks too liberal
To the Editor: I must agree with Carole Larivee’s letter last week. Everywhere you go people are watching Fox News!…
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Green Energy Park is a Jackson gem
To the Editor: Jackson County truly has a hidden gem in its midst, the Green Energy Park. This innovative county…
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Thank God for Fox News
To the Editor: As I was reading The Smoky Mountain News this morning, I was encouraged after reading a letter…
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Thanks for reporting on tough issues
To The Editor: I want to commend The Smoky Mountain News for reporting on issues that are not popular. The…
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Greenways are pretty good all the way around
One of the nicest things about Franklin is the town’s greenway along the Little Tennessee River. The greenway has become…
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Turn down the global warming, I’m freezing
By George Ivey • Guest Columnist Many years ago on Capitol Hill, a politician said to me, “George, as you…
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Just call me the Rhodes Cove grinch
Being a diabetic with hearing problems (especially in crowds), I have days when I probably shouldn’t be “out and about.”…
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Taxpayer money wasted on silly studies
To the Editor: Recently the National Science Foundation (NSF) granted Professor Thomas Ford (WCU) and Associate Professor Julie Woodzicka (Washington…
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Rowing and paddling aren’t synonymous
To the Editor: As usual, your paper continues to cover important issues of our area that others largely ignore, but…
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Too much Fox News in the public sphere
To the Editor: Fox News seems to be playing in public places all over Haywood County — restaurants, bars, even…
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Muirhead piece lost its focus
To the Editor: The title of Scott Muirhead’s op-ed on Frog Level (“A place where two worlds collide,” The Smoky…
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Hate by any name is still hate
Back in the day, say the late 1980s through about 2000, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s hate map featured Western…
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Vindication for HEP, a little satisfaction here
This is a very odd business, the telling of the news. It’s even more odd as part of an independent…
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Thanks for making Fire and Ice a success
To the Editor: On behalf of the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce, I would like to thank The Smoky Mountain…
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Motocross track would violate our rights
To the Editor: Clarks Chapel is a delightful and quiet area that in recent years has attracted many people, including…
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This epiphany is shiny, new and has all-wheel drive
My epiphany occurred on a bitter cold Sunday afternoon, the snow having momentarily given way to a stray and fleeting…
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GEP does produce private-sector jobs
To the Editor: I thoroughly agree that it is past time to wake up, get Jackson County moving.” For too…
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A few hopeful signs of spring
I detect signs of spring. Whether this is fantasy or reality, that’s for you to decide, but I choose to…
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Care of mentally ill may be Arizona tragedy’s lesson
There are many issues to discuss in the wake of the tragedy in Arizona that left six dead and 13…
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Save the Mark Watson Park trees
To the Editor: I recently received the very upsetting news that the parks and recreation office is managing a county…
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The first 19,000 days
By John Beckman • Guest Columnist I had a birthday recently, which seems to happen every year about this time,…
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A place where two worlds collide head-on
By Scott Muirhead • Guest ColumnistFrog Level is what remains of the golden age of the railroads, the age when…
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Suggestions what, when to plant veggies
As I noted in this space a couple of weeks ago, this is the time of year to order seeds…
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When we prod the mountains, they fall
To the Editor: I have been reading letters in the Franklin Press from several angry people in recent days. I…
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Words have a power we often forget
Just as I was sitting down to write my column on the controversy surrounding a new edition of Mark Twain’s…
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This stretch of road deserves better care
To the Editor: As a Macon County native who learned to drive in these mountains more than 40 years ago,…
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New group seeks political solutions
To the Editor: We live in the greatest country in the world, but we have serious challenges — challenges that…
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How can faith leaders support Dream Act?
To the Editor: I read in the newspaper an article called “Faith Leaders support the Dream Act.” What reality do…
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Immigrants can enrich all of us
To the Editor: Scott McLeod writes accurately and with emotion about the Dream Act (“Hagen, senate wrong on Dream Act,”…
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Just shut up and bang it out
I’ve never been big on New Year’s resolutions. But this weekend I decided to list five and work seriously toward…
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Mistake is a reminder to tell it like it is
“… but a belief in hard work and treating others fairly was ingrained from a very early age in my…
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A fine time to order seeds
One of my favorite annual events is set to take place Jan. 15. I share this information now because it…
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Property values affected election and are a looming problem
By Mark Jamison • Guest Columnist During the recent election for county commissioner in Jackson County, both sides made reference…
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Make love, not war, when you garden
This is a good time of the year to order seeds and plant carrots. That’s not a misprint: It’s an…
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Let the tax cuts for the wealthy expire
To the Editor: Give the wealthy $700 billion over the next decade? Absolutely, say the Republican politicians led by Rep.…
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Shuler isn’t doing much to win my votes
To the Editor: The local radio station in Sylva, WRGC, has reported that the unemployment rate in Jackson County increased…
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Is anyone paying attention to government?
To the Editor: Whether it be a deficit or a debt, no amount of money owed a creditor is a…
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Hagan, Senate wrong on DREAM Act
Few things are as maddening to me as when politics gets in the way of doing the right thing. That’s…
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Bitter cold makes routine memorable
Sunday, 6 a.m.: Get out of bed, stagger downstairs and start grinding coffee beans. What’s that white sheen through the…
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New regulations are a compromise
Editor’s note: This letter was written by Waynesville’s planning director in response to Mary Lamb’s letter above. Dear Ms. Lamb…
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Residents need time to review zoning changes
To the Editor: Like so many other young couples, my husband and I felt so blessed when he landed a…
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Jackson’s new leaders have room for improvement
A bit of a stumble out of the gate can be forgiven among newcomers in any endeavor, but that stumble…
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