To the Editor:

I do not share Mr. McLeod's optimism that the the legislature  "...will do what is needed for our region ...." (Volume 26, Issue 28). 

The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council has again classified the whole state as at least abnormally dry with a moderate drought affecting three far-west counties and most of the eastern part of the state. 

The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council has classified parts of Western North Carolina as being in a moderate drought.

While it certainly appears that a “red wave” washed over the United States on Nov. 5, that’s not exactly the case in North Carolina, where Democrats held onto critical Council of State offices and made solid gains where it really counts — in the General Assembly. 

A trio of high-ranking state and federal agriculture officials is warning that if farmers affected by Hurricane Helene don’t get help soon, next year could be a bleak one for both producers and consumers. 

So here we are, days away from this pivotal election, and here’s a word of advice: take a deep breath, relax, and let the system play out as it’s intended, because we won’t know who our next president is until days after Nov. 5. 

In-person early voting ends Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m., but voters will still have one last opportunity to cast their ballots on Election Day — Tuesday, Nov. 5. 

(Editor’s Note: Amid the chaos of the recent floods from Hurricane Helene, this column wasn’t able to run in the Oct. 2 issue of The Smoky Mountain News due to space issues in the midst of crisis.)

Hello from Room 13 at the Seabirds Motel in Kure Beach, North Carolina. Saturday morning.

He fought to get on the ballot, and then fought to get off the ballot. 

Now, after a favorable ruling from North Carolina’s highly politicized Supreme Court, anti-vax conspiracy theorist and Trump endorser Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will have his name removed from North Carolina ballots, costing counties large and small, rural and urban, thousands upon thousands of dollars and delaying the start of absentee voting in a crucial swing state. 

Torches were passed at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last week, even more so than most people might have seen on their television screens.