To the Editor: I am voting Democratic this election season and I would like to tell you why.

To the Editor: We need change in North Carolina’s 118th House District. Incumbent Rep. Mark Pless believes he does not answer to local government officials.

To the Editor: Barack Obama put it succinctly when he said he wanted to “fundamentally transform” our country. His plans were interrupted by the Trump Administration.

To the Editor: Your October 29 issue titled “Saving the Safety Net” borders on yellow journalism. Conflating the statement of one GOP senator to change entitlements to discretionary programs, to justify the title of the piece, “House GOP majority could target Social Security, Medicare,” is appalling.

To the Editor: With the election date drawing near, I am apprehensive about the Republican candidate for Haywood County Tax Collector. I am a resident of Haywood County and the fact that we have a young man representing us with little life experience concerns me.

To the Editor: You have to laugh at the way liberals in the news portray the big bad Republicans. They are all anarchists and should be put in a basket of deplorables. Well that is just a bunch of, to put it lightly, male cow patties. 

To the Editor: Who cares if you’re a Republican or Democrat? Who cares if you like Biden? Who cares who will run for President in 2024? 

To the Editor: Cheri Beasley is a liar. Without providing any proof she claims that the majority of folks in North Carolina believe that Roe v. Wade should dictate reproductive freedom. I think that the majority of people actually think it’s justified murder. There’s nothing reproductive if you kill the “product,” the child! 

Applications are now being accepted for a new round of grantmaking from the One North Carolina Small Business Program, a key source of capital for North Carolina’s emerging technology companies.

Arin Canon doesn’t utilize the parking spot reserved for veterans at Southwestern Community College’s Public Safety Training Center.

Anyone renewing their preparer tax identification number (PTIN) for 2023 will be asked to attest to their data security responsibility and whether they are aware of their obligation to have a data security plan in place to provide protections for all taxpayer information. 

A special veteran pinning ceremony was held last week in honor of Air Force Veteran Edward Tobin of Waynesville. The event was held at his home and was provided by Haywood Hospice & Palliative Care and the VFW/American Legion Honor Guard. 

A contractor for the N.C. Department of Transportation will launch a two-year project to completely replace two bridges on Interstate 40 in Haywood County on Monday.

The following distribution locations receive 50 or more copies weekly, which are located outside in a blue box or inside in a wire rack.

Haywood County

• Ingles Grocery (Hazelwood, Waynesville, Canton)

• Post Office (Hazelwood, Waynesville, Lake Junaluska, Canton)

• Haywood County Public Library (Waynesville, Canton)

• Waynesville Rec Center

• HRMC Fitness Center

• Coffee Cup Café

• Sentelle’s Seafood

• Sav-Mor Grocery

• Maggie Valley Visitor Center

• Joey’s Pancake House

• Sunoco Gas Station (Maggie)

• BP Gas Station (west Waynesville, Canton)

• Mast General Store

• Exxon Gas Station (west Waynesville, downtown Waynesville)

• Haywood 209 Café 

Macon County

• Ingles Grocery (Holly Springs Plaza, Palmer Street, Georgia Road)

• Wells Fargo Bank

• Sav-Mor Grocery

• Post Office (Otto)

• Macon County Public Library

• Food Lion (Macon Plaza)

• Fat Buddies Restaurant

• Big Lots

Jackson County

• Ingles Grocery (Sylva, Cashiers)

• Post Office (Balsam, Sylva, Dillsboro, Webster, Cullowhee, Cashiers, Highlands, Tuckasegee, Glenville)

• Sav-Mor Grocery

• Harold’s Supermarket

• Kosta’s Express Restaurant

• Jackson County Public Library (Sylva, Cashiers)

• Kel-Save Discount Drugs

• Exxon Gas Station (Catamount Travel Center, Top Cats Grocery)

• Burger King (Sylva)

• Huddle House (Dillsboro)

• Hudson Library

Cherokee

• Exxon Gas Station (Acquoni Road, Catamount Travel Center)

• Shell Gas Station (Paint Town Road)

• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino

• Cherokee Visitor Center

• Post Office (Cherokee)

• Peter’s Pancakes & Waffles

• Jenkins Grocery

• Mountain Energy Gas Station/McDonald’s

• Grizzly’s Leather Shop

• Happy Holiday Campground

• Spirit of the Wolf

Bryson City

• Ingles Grocery

• Marianna Black Library

• Post Office (Bryson City)

• Everett Street Diner

• Pasqualino’s Italian Restaurant

• Joe & Kate’s Laundromat

• Swain County Chamber of Commerce

• Cooper’s Creek General Store

Despite significant overnight rain Monday, Oct. 17, Western North Carolina has slipped farther into drought over the last week. 

A third deer in North Carolina has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, an always-fatal nervous system disease that affects cervids like deer and elk. 

A backyard chicken flock in Wake County has tested positive for High Path Avian Influenza, marking the disease’s return to North Carolina two months after the state achieved HPAI-free status. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that the southern population of the bog turtle, which lives in Southern Appalachian bogs, might warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act. The finding, based on evidence presented in a petition the Center for Biological Diversity submitted kicks off a more in-depth review of the turtle’s status. 

During a special ceremony Friday, Oct. 21, Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Cassius Cash received a major award from the National Parks Conservation Association. 

A reception for the “We Will Not be Silenced: Standing for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women” exhibit will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, at the Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum in Cullowhee. 

To the Editor.

I wholeheartedly agree with Editor Scott McLeod’s article in the October issue regarding removing politics from school boards and education in general.  

To the Editor:

Al Platt will be a terrific N.C. 119 District representative. 

Timothy Connor, of Waynesville, pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of a child adding 26-41 consecutive months to his existing 19-year sentence for his previous sexual assaults and kidnapping convictions.

A 40-year-old Jackson County man will spend the remainder of his life behind bars for the repeated sexual assault of two young girls, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said today.

Legal Aid of North Carolina has fully launched its new website at the existing legalaidnc.org address. Designed and developed by Charlotte-based Kelso Communications and Priceless Misc, the website features the new Legal Aid NC brand debuted earlier this year to celebrate and honor the organization’s 20th anniversary.

For many students at Statesville High School, stepping onto the campus of Western Carolina University was their first college experience. 

It’s never too early to teach children the value of a dollar. In fact, even the youngest of kids can sort change and begin to understand that coins and dollars have a value assigned to them. As they get older, their knowledge of finances and savings will organically mature, but there are things you as parents and caregivers to can do to ensure they are set up for financial success in the future.

A new, need-based scholarship is available for people with limited resources to launch a career in whitewater at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. 

After a nine-year closure, Look Rock Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is open. 

Dry conditions in North Carolina expanded to include nine western counties following publication of the most recent drought map Thursday, Oct. 13. 

To the Editor:

The MAGA Republican agenda has nothing to do with making America great. It has everything to do with making America an autocracy dedicated to the rich, powerful and vengeful. Republicans claim that Democrats are radical socialists (whatever that means), but the only political radicals are those in the current Republican leadership.

To the Editor:

The sheriff is our highest elected official in Jackson County and has the duty to “keep the peace and enforce laws.” Jackson County citizens deserve the opportunity to meet with both candidates to ask questions, so they can make an informed decision.  

To the Editor:

The office of secretary of state (not usually considered a high-profile post) this year may well represent the most critical vote cast in all 50 states in November. Secretaries of state perform the tedious role of election administration: training poll workers, managing each states voter registration database, authenticating the accuracy of voting machines and, perhaps most important, certifying election results.

To the Editor:

I believe voting straight ticket, R or D, is this country’s downfall. Too many voters refuse to research the candidates’ background, experience, education and their position on issues. Why? Because too many are lazy. 

Town Manager Amie Owens announced that Devin Holland will be appointed as Franklin’s next Chief of Police effective Dec. 1.

Folkmoot USA hosts the inaugural Field Summit in the Queen Auditorium, 112 Virginia Ave. Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., to provide education and resources to students across Western North Carolina.

Although the footlights have fallen dark on an influential Western Carolina University theatre professor and director, a final curtain call for Stephen Michael Ayers is in the works behind the scenes through the establishment of an endowed scholarship in his memory. 

The community is invited to a Gatsby-style event, with a cause — supporting humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine. The fundraising event, from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31, at Maggie Valley Club, will support the work of Bomb Techs Without Borders (BTWOB) and the organization’s goal of protecting Ukrainians from the thousands of unexploded munitions. 

In the six months after the National Forests in North Carolina announced that the 2022 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree would come from North Carolina, more than 7,500 ornaments were donated to adorn “The People’s Tree” in Washington, D.C., this Christmas. 

A recently released report from Wildlands Network identifies 20 priority sites for wildlife crossings in North Carolina — including four busy thoroughfares west of Asheville. 

Heavy rains from Hurricane Ian eradicated dry conditions that spread through the eastern half of North Carolina throughout September, but the hurricane’s lighter-than-anticipated impact in the western region led to action on the state’s Oct. 4 drought report. 

Two Buncombe County men have been added to the N.C. Mountain State Fair Livestock Hall of Fame in recognition of their longtime support to the fair and livestock industry in Western North Carolina. 

To the Editor:

The print ad published by the Haywood GOP in the 2022 Haywood County Fair Guide was full of disinformation and “dog whistle” claims designed to evoke anger.

To the Editor:

Men, especially young men, need to speak out and vote for a woman’s right to a safe, legal abortion. 

Haywood County Animal Services is offering a free ride home for lost pets they find wandering the county if there is proper identification on the animal. 

Blue Ridge Public Radio announced an upgrade to its services that will expand its capacity to provide 24/7 news and cultural and public affairs programming to an additional 250,000 people in Western North Carolina.

Dennis Edward “Bill” Taylor, a fourth-term Wolfetown representative on the Cherokee Tribal Council, is facing a trio of criminal charges following an Oct. 6 incident in which he allegedly rammed his truck into his wife’s vehicle as she attempted to flee.