For most people, the word “snorkeling” conjures images of blue Caribbean waters, pink coral reefs and a rainbow of tropical fish. But witnessing a world of aquatic beauty doesn’t require a flight to the Florida Keys.

Who would have thought a true story with a link to Clay and Macon counties would arguably be the most popular movie in the United States today?   

Western North Carolina has one of the most proactive anti-drunk driving forces in the state, and now a contingent from this region is pushing for a new set of laws that will further restrictions.

I think most of you would agree that there are more people speeding, and speeding faster on the highways with less enforcement in evidence than there used to be a while back. Well, I have a suggestion concerning that, and I will ask you all, “Why not?” But first a few caveats.

Leaning against a wall in the basement of the train station right about midnight, they were cold and tired and broken, and it quickly became clear that they wished to go no further.

Since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine millions of people have left the war-torn country, with millions more driven from major cities and small villages in the east by the fighting.

As it has been stated in this publication many times before, the litmus test of the strength of a community is by how strongly its arts is supported.

The year 2022 was no 2020. But hey, that’s a good thing. In some ways the year seems less exciting than the pandemic years that preceded it, but when you take a step back and look at all that happened, it’s striking how consequential this trip around the sun may have been.

Dinner conversation last night with a young couple who live in New Zealand but are here for the holidays — he’s a native Kiwi, she’s from Haywood County — came around to how it seems this area is getting so many newcomers from all over the country. As 2022 draws to a close, you gotta wonder just how many more people will be moving to this region over the next few years, and subsequently, how it will change this place we call home. 

The holidays, a time of overabundance for some, can be the toughest time of year for those suffering food insecurity looking ahead toward a long winter.