A refreshing victory for what started as a grassroots effort
In this business of covering the news, we often bear witness as apathy wins the day. Citizens sit back and…
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HCC’s green dream requires money and faith
By Kirkwood Callahan • Guest Columnist Haywood County Commissioners on Aug. 16 will conduct a public hearing on a $12…
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Misguided leaders tout benefits of new Wal-Mart
To the Editor: The standing-room-only Aug. 2 public hearing of the Franklin Town Board of Alderman regarding the development of…
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Jackson salary hikes just plain wrong
To the Editor: In response to Jim McCarthy’s Aug. 3 letter, “County pay raises gone afoul,” I want to thank…
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HCC needs first-rate, enlarged arts building
To the Editor: HandMade in America fully supports Haywood Community College’s new Creative Arts Center to expand a program that…
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Forest Hills and CuRvE could fulfill Cullowhee’s potential
A meeting that could lead to a completely new personality for the Cullowhee area will be finished by the time…
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Taking the pulse of a region
We in the news business provide historians with some of the crucial data necessary to write the story of any…
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Thanks to all who helped with July 4 in Franklin
To the Editor: On behalf of the Franklin Chamber of Commerce, I would like to thank those who helped to…
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Haywood Garden Tour was a great success
To the Editor: We are writing to express our gratitude for your excellent coverage of the 2010 Haywood County Garden…
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Energy industry is not all bad
To the Editor: I wish the article written by Thomas Crowe (“The terrorists are right here among us,” July 23…
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Poll improper, but results will be revealed
To the Editor: Last week I announced that I would be conducting an online poll seeking input about public sentiment…
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Small is not only beautiful, but necessary
There are books that get your attention, and then there are books that GRAB your attention. The new book by…
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Federal investment in the outdoors a good thing for WNC
The federal government, the nation’s largest land manager, has a responsibility ... to help develop a conservation agenda worthy of…
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Shuler’s TVA lies show he can’t be trusted
To the Editor: Since November, the whole district has known that Shuler told us all an endless stack of lies…
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Sen. Burr is not a fiscal conservative
To the Editor: North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, a self-defined fiscal conservative, has a lot of explaining to do. He…
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Tourism data simply not that hard to obtain
To the Editor: I read with great interest your recent column about the tourism industry in Western North Carolina. As…
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Evergreen should not get to keep tax dollars
To the Editor: Taxpayers should be infuriated about any tax dollars going to such an organization as the Evergreen Foundation. …
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Tourism industry has to market a moving target
Tourism leaders in the mountains agree they’ve got to re-invent their marketing tactics over the next decade to stay competitive.…
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Feds listening to our outdoors agenda
By Ken MurphyWestern North Carolina is a special place, a region with awe-inspiring scenic vistas, waterways and forested watersheds that…
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The real problem with the economy
To the Editor: Let’s look at what truly stimulates an economy, creates jobs, drives markets and produces tax revenue to…
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Poll reveals discontent among the populace
To the Editor: The Smoky Mountain News and Western Carolina University’s Gibb Knotts and Chris Cooper are to be commended…
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State must do better job at Allens Creek quarry
Finding the sweet spot in government regulation, like on a wooden baseball bat, is often difficult. It’s the place where…
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Perhaps the real terrorists are here among us
By Thomas Crowe • Guest Columnist With the recent rash of mining disasters, oil and gas spills here in the…
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Watching the world’s game
Every four years the World Cup interrupts business as usual for a month in countries that have nothing else in…
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Economic development that works for the region
A couple of stories we’ve covered in the last two weeks illustrate better than any data the new face of…
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Williams’ world is one of blues, ghouls and Budweiser
By Brent MartinI went down to the water but he left me in the mud; I wanted me some wine…
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Tough times lead to tough choices
For its entire existence, this country’s leaders have wrestled with the slippery issue of power and how much is too…
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WNC’s economic stimulus lies in tourism
By David Huskins • Guest Columnist Much of the talk nationally, as well as locally, has been centered on how…
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An engaged – and very angry – electorate
The primary election is over now, but even before the vote tallies made winners and losers out of so many…
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A package from home opens portal to a treasured past
When I took my morning walk with our miniature dachshund to the mailbox to get the mail last Friday, I…
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Time to tackle immigration reform
Now that the health care debate is over, here’s what we have: a very middle-of-the-road health insurance reform package. Most…
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Will cell phones rule the World??
By John Beckman • Guest Columnist If Alexander Graham Bell were alive today he’d probably be carrying an iPhone. Based…
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Life and death aboard a tin can
By Dr. Robert H. Spiro Jr. • Guest Columnist Friday, April 6, 1945, is a day emblazoned in my memory.…
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President Obama’s change brings debt and doubts
By Kirkwood Callahan • Guest Columnist Plunging public support for Obamacare accelerates presidential efforts to convince the nation that great…
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Marking Easter with a community of three
When I was young, Easter was a circumscribed affair. We woke up, hunted for painted eggs in the backyard, ate…
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Politicians would be wise to read the Tea leaves
By Bruce Gardner • Guest Columnist The Tea Party movement is sweeping the nation and has found its way through…
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How we found the Wondermutt
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a news story about how animal rescue organizations are being inundated with unwanted…
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Evergreen’s fate is important to WNC
Mix a strong environmental ethos, economic realism and strong community pride all together in the same brain (mine, in this…
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‘Judge not,’ or so my mom always taught me
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and…
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Watching sleazy 80s movies late at night
“Don’t do it, Dan.” Michael Douglas is Dan Gallagher, and he is sitting across the table from Alex Forrest, played…
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Making sure Swain County gets its due
The cash settlement now signed and sealed for Swain County in lieu of building the North Shore Road is a…
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‘Accidental note’ starts teen’s healing process
By Buffy Queen • Guest Columnist As the middle school girls trailed out of the classroom one morning last spring,…
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Rich Cove may be a portent of things to come
Writing about the weather is usually about as exciting as a yawn. For 12 months, though, we in the mountains…
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Fur clumps, scratches and other musings on store cat Kea
By Chris Cooper Kea was a filthy, grease-covered little miscreant when she was found by In Your Ear Music Emporium…
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A cold winter’s hike reminds me of the value of wild places
Back in early January, I found myself waking early to pack for a day-long excursion into the backwoods of Chunky…
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It’s a bum deal ... I resent the hell out of it
By Joe Cowan • Guest Columnist Editor’s note: Jackson County Commissioner Joe Cowan made the following comments following a vote…
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If you reform a reform, is it still reform?
Michael Watson, assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, contends the state’s overhaul of its behavioral health…
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National Guard soldiers deserve better
The Smoky Mountain News cover story last week about the troubles faced by returning National Guard soldiers after deployments in…
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Finding a WNC solution for ‘aging in place’
With so many unknowns ahead, it’s comforting there are proven solutions to one big challenge — the aging of the…
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Striking a balance between religion and religous freedom
Religion and its place in local government have once again arisen as issues in North Carolina. This means that many…
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