What’s happening to waterfowl at Lake J?

To the Editor: I would like to know what is happening to the ducks and geese at Lake Junaluska.
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Loss of paper mill is a loss for forests

The closing of the paper mill in Canton is a major loss for its 1,100 employees and a shock to…
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Law-and-order Republicans are silent

To the Editor: It is truly disheartening to see the response of elected Republicans to the indictment of Donald Trump.
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Take the bait, or get more sleep?

I can hear my son rolling around upstairs.
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Embracing summertime

According to the calendar, summertime is still a couple weeks away, but with morning birds singing and the sun brightly…
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We can, and should, stop the bloodshed

To the Editor: Letter-writer Dave Waldrop (SMN, May 25 edition) asked: “What is the cost of mass murder?”  The next…
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Tyrants of all stripes are dangerous

Donald Trump is a paradigm of vices who deserved both of his impeachments and deserves indictment — which may happen…
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Store’s lawn jockeys are very disturbing

To the Editor: A Floridian friend, who recently arrived in Maggie Valley, called me Sunday morning to alert me to…
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What is the cost of mass murder?

To the Editor: What is the typical cost of a mass murder? My bet is that it is very expensive.…
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A few words about your accommodations …

Dear family, we are so very pleased to have you with us this weekend to celebrate Jack’s graduation from high…
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Don’t legislate your ‘beliefs’

To the Editor: According to a couple of newsletters I got, the week of May 14-20 was National Women’s Health…
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Minor correction on partisan voting

To the Editor: I would like to offer a small clarification to Ron Rokstool’s fine column last week  concerning Rep.…
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Real reporting is much appreciated

To the Editor: My oh my, but Janet Presson, R.N., M.Ed., seemed intent on ripping Cory Vaillancourt a new one…
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Remembering our aging warriors

When I was growing up and even in early adulthood, World War II veterans were the elder of the veterans…
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The U.S. just can’t really ‘budge it’

The national budget is often compared to that of a family. We are told to “Live within your means just…
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Election bill would encourage uninformed voting
 

Election bill would encourage uninformed voting

I read the recent article by Rep. Mark Pless, R-Haywood, regarding partisan municipal elections . I am dismayed that this…
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Towns don’t need to be politicized

To the Editor: Rep. Mark Pless, R-Haywood, does not seem to have a clue as to what cities and towns…
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Thanks to SMN for their investigative work

To the Editor: As a subscriber to Smoky Mountain News, I wish to thank Politics Editor Cory Vaillancourt for his…
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Dreams are now memories, and a line’s been crossed
 

Dreams are now memories, and a line’s been crossed

For years, Tuscola High School’s location high on the hill overlooking the Lakeside Plaza, a fragment of Lake Junaluska, and…
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Django was a wanderer, a free spirit

This morning was one of those times when Django being gone hit home, when I got a little emotional thinking…
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Embracing the sisterhood of motherhood

Last weekend, I flew to Phoenix for a conference. During the four-hour flight, I sat beside a lap child, which…
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Journalism is cesspool of propoganda

To the Editor: Journalism used to be an honorable profession, but over the past two decades or so has become…
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GOP should not politicize debt ceiling
 

GOP should not politicize debt ceiling

To the Editor: During the Trump administration, bipartisan votes increased the debt ceiling three times, without conditions. Now that a…
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Most vote for those ‘they know nothing about’

Editor’s note : State House Rep. Mark Pless, R-Haywood, wrote this column to describe why he filed a bill that…
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Thanks for the gift of music

The nicest thing my mother ever did for me was buy me a stereo I didn’t deserve. I was a…
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What happened to all the smiles?

During a recent trip to the grocery store I noticed that everyone looked stone faced. The only people who were…
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This must be the place: ‘A hot dog at the ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz’

It was a spur of the moment decision. Cold suds and hearty banter at The Scotsman in Waynesville on an…
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This must be the place: ‘To rouse the spirit of the earth, and move the rolling sky’

Dropping my girlfriend off at her house in West Asheville, it was a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon. She was headed…
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We’ll trust commissioners on library controversy

To the Editor: Mr. Dan Kowal’s second letter to the editor  (April 12 edition of The Smoky Mountain News) is…
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Life without the phone? Simply unimaginable

I hear tell of people, a precious few, who are not permanently tethered to their phones, people who are able to…
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The Hoyle house still lives in my memories

Shortly after I went to work for the Eastern Band of Cherokees back in the 1980s, my wife got employment…
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Long in the Toothwort

There are three species of toothwort (Cardamine spp.) in the woods of Southern Appalachia, two of which are very common…
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Work together, resolve library controversy

To the Editor:  I was wrong in my previous letter (“Use common sense with library controversy,” April 5, SMN). The library…
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Librarians are a reader’s best friend

To the Editor:  The first librarian that I remember was Sadie Luck, a grandmotherly type who dispensed Kleenex and wiped…
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GOP hypocrisy is overwhelming

To the Editor:  Republicans defend weapons of war for civilian use even though those are only designed to take away…
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‘There’s nobody better, kid’

Ever notice how the sparkle in a kid’s eyes diminishes with age? The older I get, the more I want…
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The road to tyranny starts with censorship

To the Editor:  “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Franklin Roosevelt said this at his inauguration…
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NC’s repeal of handgun licensing is shameful

Since 2020 gun violence has been the leading cause of death among children in the United States, not automobile accidents or…
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Use common sense with library controversy

To the Editor:  As a parent, as a teacher of elementary children and as a former member of the Macon…
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March is a tease, so hello April

March is over. It’s over at last, thank merciful heavens. 
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When they come for the librarians …

As Americans, we’re banning a lot of books these days, perhaps 1,650 in the past year, censoring others, and coming…
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Country has been victimized by Trump

To the Editor: “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is…
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Faith in our beloved Papertown

“Americana”: noun. Things associated with the culture and history of America. “Grief”: noun. Deep and poignant distress caused by or…
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‘Papertown’ through the eyes of a lifelong resident, historian

The whistle at Canton’s paper mill talked to me daily, sending the reassuring message that the mill was producing paper…
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Mill closing an example of American capitalism

To the Editor: I liked Scott McLeod’s column last week, but disagree with the characterization of Pactiv Evergreen’s disastrous decision to…
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The mill’s legacy looms large over Haywood

“The mill.” In Canton, as in hundreds of other towns across America, that was the only description needed to describe…
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When your child blossoms, all is good in the world

The earliest expressions of our daughter’s deep and abiding affection for cute, fragile creatures were frightening and very nearly catastrophic.…
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Schools – and libraries – should bring communities together

It seems to me that when we talk about the spaces in our community for our children, we should be…
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