The towns of Waynesville and Canton have recently joined hundreds of other communities in declaring a need to dramatically reduce the use of throw-away/single-use plastics.

When I travel and tell someone I’m from Waynesville, a small town nestled in the Smoky Mountains, the comment is always met with awe and excitement.

Chuck Edwards defeated Rep. Madison Cawthorn in the District 11 Republican congressional primary because of the incumbent’s bizarre and immature personal behavior.

The mantra since starting this newspaper has been straightforward: put out a high-quality newspaper and work like hell to make sure the business survives. If we can do both, I’ll be one of the lucky ones: doing what I love, making a living doing it and living in a place I’m fortunate to call home.

“Hollywood and video games glorify violence while those with mental illnesses remain untreated.“ 

Those are the words of Chuck Edwards, who most likely is the man who will be the new congressman for the 11th District after the election in November. He mouthed those words recently in response to the question of what needs to be done to prevent school shootings like the recent one in Uvalde, Texas. 

As Cory Valliancourt report s in The Smoky Mountain News, North Carolina House members Rep. Mark Pless , R-Haywood, and Rep. Mike Clampitt , R-Swain, have proposed a bill ( HB998 ) to move municipal and school board elections in Haywood County to partisan contests where each candidate’s party affiliation is listed on the ballot next to their name. HB998 is a local bill  which means that the barriers to becoming law are lower. If the legislature passes the bill, it will become law without making a stopover on the governor’s desk.  

‘Tis the season is not only a motto for the Christmas holidays, but also an apt way to describe the craziness that is the month of May when you’re managing schedules, events, birthdays, celebrations, practices, banquets, end-of-year parties and final exams for five children. As school comes to a close and summer teases the horizon, life becomes a chaotic mixture of busyness, excitement and sentimental moments.

When I came back to The Smoky Mountain News after six months away from journalism, one of my first trips was to the Haywood County Courthouse. 

Using Samuel Alito’s logic in proposing to strike down the “right” to an abortion, other rights that you take for granted could also be eliminated. The argument is that if something is not mentioned in the Constitution, that “right” is based only on the majority opinion of the Supreme Court. Thus, if the Roe vs. Wade decision was wrong, the current court could reverse that decision.

The affordable housing crisis looms as this region’s most pressing problem. And so far, no one has proposed any kind of sweeping proposal that will solve it.