Morality is relative; ignorance is not
To the Editor: This is a response to the letter written by Colton Bailey titled, “Festival is Immoral,” that was…
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Rep. Meadows wants to roll back protections
To the Editor: I found the article in the May 10 edition citing Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, as advocating “high-risk…
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The chickens are coming home to roost
To the Editor: By now, everyone in Macon County and the surrounding counties knows that Angel Medical Center in Franklin…
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Help pets live a good life
To the Editor: On a recent Friday night two 3-week-old kittens were dropped off at the side pen of the…
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Individuals are Christian, not nations
To the Editor: The United States of America never has been, is not now and never will be a Christian…
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Hospitals play key role in local communities
Rural Hospital Week is May 22-26 and Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital are joining community hospitals and caregivers…
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Trump presidency an unmitigated disaster
To the Editor: In a failed attempt to defend Donald Trump, Mr. Van Eck’s recent letter is more of a…
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Roots and wings — an oxymoron made for moms
It must have been a mom who coined the adage “time flies.” I swear it feels like last week when…
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Corporations are not people
To the Editor: A recent letter writer opined that corporations function as groups of people. One single sentence in that…
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Perhaps we need ‘climate ambassadors’
To the Editor: The series of articles you have recently been publishing on “Folkmoot’s Cultural Conversations” have been most enlightening…
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Sylva festival is a bad idea
To the Editor: Thomas Jefferson once stated “I am for a government rigorously frugal and simple.” Yet, these wise words…
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Trump right about Andrew Jackson
To the Editor: In his incessant, sophomoric screeds to diminish Trump, Chris Cox fails once again. He attempts to ridicule…
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Burr may be second N.C. senator to make history
Martin A. Dyckman • Guest Columnist A hero is, almost by definition, someone who didn’t set out to be one.…
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Tastes great, can’t take the smell
When I read about Wicked Weed Brewing getting bought by AB InBev (formerly Budweiser) — one of the world’s largest…
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Party fracturing not necessarily bad
To the Editor: We know that the modern newspaper, in fact all media, feeds on controversy, some of it made…
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Mental health should be covered
To the Editor: While the ACA is being re-considered I am asking why did we allow the insurance industry to…
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Let commissioners hire tax collector
To the Editor: I read the recent letter by Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, and would just like to say…
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The first Mother’s Day without her
I’ve tried hard to keep grief out of my columns lately. There’s only so much melancholy and broken-heartedness readers can…
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‘Born in Franklin’ may never be heard again
At some point in the future, here’s something you might never hear again: “I was born in Franklin.” Look no…
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This just isn’t going to get any better
“What? Over? Did you say ‘over’? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans…
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Don’t throw baby out with bathwater
To the Editor: In a recent Q&A in The Mountaineer, Congressman Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, seemed very light on specifics related…
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Haywood GOP does battle with anarchists
To the Editor: It was odd to be reminded of the Spanish Civil War when reading your article about the…
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The solution is to destroy all nukes
To the Editor: Back in 1979, then National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski received a middle-of-the-night phone call with the alarming…
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Votes will help Haywood Schools
To the Editor: The Haywood County Schools Foundation is a participant in “A Community Thrives” project sponsored by Gannett, USA…
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Corporations are not U.S. citizens
To the Editor: Are you sick of government ignoring the people it was meant to represent? Do you want your…
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Thanks for the help with Panthertown
To the Editor: Friends of Panthertown and Mainspring Conservation Trust would like to thank all of our donors, including Jackson…
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A big thank you to Rep. Mark Meadows
All citizens of western North Carolina owe a big “thank you” to Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, and the Freedom Caucus…
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N.C. Senate back dangerous measure that could re-write U.S. Constitution
By Martin A. Dyckman • Guest Columnist Russian paratroopers dropping on the White House lawn could scarcely do more damage…
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Patriot faction not being honest
To the Editor: Each of Ms. Becky Johnson’s two articles about the Haywood Republican Party were well researched and accurately…
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Rep. Presnell should not politicize school boards
To the Editor: As a former teacher of children with learning disabilities in Alabama, I have experienced the politicization resulting…
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Trump’s trips are a waste of taxes
To the Editor: White House budget director Michael Mulvaney recently said in an interview that: “When you start looking at…
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Thankful to have been a teacher
At 37, I’m still sorting out what I want to be when I grow up. When I was 8, I…
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Boiling days down to simple routines
“The ONLY thing is, we don’t have to go all the way to Adam’s Creek,” my wife Lori said. We…
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Chaos comes in several shapes and sizes
As all successful couples understand, the key to happiness is mastering the art of communication. When facing a Big Decision…
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Partisanship over statesmanship, Raleigh knows best
Sorry Haywood County citizens and others in the western part of the state, the most grassroots and local ballots you…
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Like mercury on slick glass
To the Editor: Please don’t even try to convince most people that Republicans are slow to change due to some…
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Thank the EPA for WNC’s success
To the Editor: I was born in a steel town in 1948. When I was 2, we moved to a…
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Never forget the past
To the Editor: The other day I read something that chilled me to the bone, especially considering the direction the…
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If Trump fails, there is always 2020
To the Editor: Regarding Mr. Martin Dyckman’s op-ed published in the March 8 issue of The Smokey Mountain News, I…
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Healthcare needs to be affordable
To the Editor: As I prepared to leave home to participate in Sylva’s rally and march for affordable health care…
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Voters have decided tax collector issue
To the Editor: Funny how Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, never mentions once that we are the only county in…
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Voters should decide tax collector issue
To the Editor: Haywood County Board Chairman Kirk Kirkpatrick has publicly complained “It feels like we have no representation” in…
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Hello darlin’, nice to see you
Ever since I left for college and began talking to my dad on the phone regularly, he’s answered my call…
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There are more than cornfields in the Midwest
I’m severely under-acquainted with the Midwest. My older son has a game on his Kindle that asks him to identify…
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The perfect game come round again
I found them in the corner of the basement, hidden like Easter Eggs underneath a blue tarp which was itself…
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What would we really get with a wall?
By Paul Strop • Guest Columnist Last summer when we returned to this country, the presidential election was in full cry,…
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Writer is right: you can’t fix stupid
To the Editor: After reading the letter “You can’t fix stupid” in the March 15 edition of The Smoky Mountain…
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Unity instead of division; keep politics friendly
By Joseph Trisha • Guest Columnist So who else is tired of negative politics and the constant negative President Donald Trump…
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Monteith leaves a lasting legacy in Swain
It was July or August of 1999, best I remember, and the Swain County Commissioners at that time were meeting…
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Departing Trump’s alternate universe
To the Editor: As a journalist and former member of the working press, I continue to be appalled and frankly…
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