Ghost Town’s obituary is written
To the Editor: Frankie Wood conned Alaska Presley into believing he could bring Ghost Town back and was able to…
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Elton John and the value of forever friends
Many moons ago, when I attended a seventh-grade sleepover, I met a new girl in town. Her name was Lana.…
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Reaction to accident is disheartening
To the Editor: It makes me sick to think people would applaud Helping Hands not getting funding from Waynesville after…
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Loose canines are a cyclist’s nightmare
To the Editor: I became a cyclist in June 2020, and it has changed my life for the better. I…
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Swain ‘Rally’ was a huge success
To the Editor: The Swain County “Rally for Health, Hope and Recovery” was a huge success. The event included about…
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Haywood School Board misses an opportunity
When the Haywood County School Board announced that it had chosen Trevor Putnam as the system’s new superintendent, I can’t…
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A cautionary tale of Covid’s resilience
Last week I was among five friends on an outdoor excursion. It was a lovely early fall day, the river…
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We need to stop the overspending
To the Editor: The article regarding the backlash over Biden’s forgiveness of student loans was another, “Well, Susie did it!”…
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We can't normalize Trump’s criminality
To the Editor: Every American should be troubled, attentive and very concerned about the mishandling of classified documents by the…
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Thoughts on hunting and being vegan
I know next to nothing about hunting, but a random man in the gas station got me thinking about the…
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Preserving WNC’s culture and natural beauty
Bluegrass and mountain music. American Indian culture. Unparalleled natural beauty. The most-visited national park in the United States. The tallest…
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Rep. Clampitt’s values aren’t mine
To the Editor: The current issue of The Smoky Mountain News (September 7) has a sticker affixed to the front…
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Reporting just the facts is getting harder
“Alternative facts” was a phrase used by U.S. Counselor to the President, Kellyanne Conway, during a “Meet the Press” interview on January 22, 2017,…
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No semi-fascist here
To the Editor: I am not a semi-fascist. A ‘deplorable’, maybe. I am not a MAGA terrorist.
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Does the GOP support Fascism?
To the Editor: With the mewling and whining by Trumpian Republicans at having been accurately branded fascists by the president…
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Feeling a lot like ‘Animal Farm’
To the Editor: This election, remember our personal liberties and freedom to voice sentiments without fear. The risk to our…
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Should Jackson have sheriff’s debate?
To the Editor: With the current Jackson County sheriff not running for re-election, we will have a new sheriff to…
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Let’s have a civil dialogue about abortion
To the Editor: Thank you, Jane Harrison, for setting me straight about my being in the minority of Americans because…
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Successful tyrants sell big lies
Americans may wonder what it felt like to be living in Italy or Germany when they were submitting to tyrants. Now…
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A purple state is a better state
To the Editor: I’ve been a casual visitor to Highlands for years, becoming more of a seasonal visitor and now…
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Trump should be prosecuted
To the Editor: One of the most revealing, declarative statements ever uttered by a politician in the last 50 years…
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Back-to-school season is upon us
In May my boys were counting down the days until school ended; now, they are counting down the days until…
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A year later, there is still much to be done
Earlier this week, I had started writing a column about the progress made in the year since the flooding from…
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Letter writer had it all wrong
To the Editor: Oh, good grief! The often-repeated exasperation by the cartoon character Charlie Brown came to mind upon reading…
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What to look for in a judge
To the Editor: Until 2018, judges in North Carolina had been non-partisan, after which the Republican legislature changed the law…
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Let’s have a discussion without hate and anger
As a pediatrician, I spent many years on hospital call in Haywood County and many long hours in the middle…
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The importance of streamside vegetation
Some people consider streamside vegetation a nuisance in need of being cut back. However, it serves a valuable purpose. It…
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Socialism is a misused word
To the Editor: The only thing I learned from a letter in a recent edition is that the letter writer…
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Most Americans support abortion rights
To the Editor: I read with interest Mr. Crider’s “Another view on Abortion” opinion piece in the Aug. 3 edition…
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Living in the moment, cleaning the mind
I’m writing this column from Playa Del Carmen, Quintana Roo in Mexico. We just watched the sunrise over the Caribbean…
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Do opinions still belong in newspapers?
“Not all opinion pieces have to be complaints or deal with issues. Sometimes it is enough to share old memories…
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Better cops make for better communities
I never did buy in to the “defund the police” movement that swept the country a few years ago. Yes,…
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Don’t forget Hiroshima Day
At this moment we are all struggling with many critical issues. The war in Ukraine, the increasing disasters of climate…
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Conservatives must save our country
To the Editor: Three hundred Spartans. The battle of Thermopylae, fought between the Greeks and the Persians in 480 B.C.,…
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Breaking down walls and sharing some magic
“… I hear Mariachi static on my radio / And the tubes they glow in the dark / And I’m there with her…
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Christianity is not partisan
To the Editor: During the past several weeks, a seemingly coordinated series of increasingly vitriolic letters to the editor have…
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Muddying the waters school board election
To the Editor: Over the past few weeks, a series of letters has appeared in local papers which seems to…
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Lessons learned from superheroes
In a previous column, I talked of my personal challenge to undergo “The Great Susanna Reset” this summer. One of my…
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School board race has important choices
To the Editor: On Tuesday, July 26, there will be a runoff election for school board in Jackson County. Early…
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