We are doomed to repeat history
To the Editor: We repeat our mistakes because we never seem to learn the lessons of history and, in our…
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Just look at what the Tea Party is doing
To the Editor: The letter saying the Tea Party is making changes is correct, but let’s look at the changes…
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Foundation should aid Good Samaritan Clinic
To the Editor: The Haywood Regional Hospital Foundation need look no further than The Good Samaritan Clinic. The support of…
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Everyone wants to protect the mountains
To the Editor: Everyone in Jackson County needs to know there was an overflow crowd at the public hearing on…
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Our schools deserve better than this
To the Editor: Sixty-nine school boards across this state joined with the State Board of Education in challenging the constitutionality…
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Reasonable people can disagree on development ordinance
By Clark Lipkin • Guest Columnist I am the vice chairman of the Jackson County Planning Board. I presided over…
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My family will miss the Shoney’s on the hill
If someone had told me 30 years ago that someday I’d be sentimental about a Shoney’s restaurant closing down, I…
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Jackson TDA working hard for the county
Letter to the Editor: While I currently serve as chairperson of the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority, I wish to…
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Haywood room tax hike just a bad idea
To the Editor: I see the notion to hike the Haywood County bed tax by 50 percent has risen again.…
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The TEA Party is who is making change
To the Editor: Recent elections in Haywood County have seen Republicans getting elected. Some of this activity is due in…
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Fracking firms don’t care about rights
To the Editor: Here are just a couple thoughts about fracking. My home water supply is spring fed, and I’ve…
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Pat the polluter is helping old friends
To the Editor: The old cliché of follow the money continues to be true, and now it’s close to home.…
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GOP pulls a fast one on ‘tax cuts’
To the Editor: I hate paying taxes. So when someone promises to lower my taxes, they have my attention. Most…
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Don’t fix what isn’t broken
To the Editor: We have heard much from GOP Gov. Pat McCrory and some leaders in the state legislature about…
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Nothing wrong with teacher pay plan
To the Editor: Regarding the plan to give some teaches a pay raise: I cannot for the life of me…
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Visualizing the options for growth
By Ben Brown • Guest Columnist Think of it as a starter kit for a comprehensive business plan for North Carolina’s…
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Democratic whining ignores progress
To the Editor: Some parts of Western North Carolina are loaded with socialist agenda people, especially in Asheville and Cullowhee. …
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Article misstated my views on slope rewrite
To the Editor: I want to thank The Smoky Mountain News for the article in the Feb 5 edition (www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/12419)…
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Moral March is not a moment, but a movement
By Doug Wingeier • Columnist As I write this, I have just returned from a tiring but exhilarating day participating in the Moral…
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Background checks are government overreach
To the Editor: The Jackson County commissioners recently made a mistake — an honest, well-meaning, well-intentioned error, yet a mistake…
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How did county finance not catch on?
To the Editor: The alleged embezzlement of around $50,000 from Macon County taxpayers by a county employee highlights incompetency within…
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Teachers, public education get raw deal
To the Editor: If you have been following the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, you have recently learned that…
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Public Art Commission needs to speak up
To the Editor: I served on the Waynesville Public Art Commission from 2006 until March of 2011. Public art was a…
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Vouchers are just bad education policy
The Smoky Mountain News published an excellent analysis of the controversy centered on the current legislation called the “Opportunity Scholarship…
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Climate change still an important issue
To the Editor: A critical skill for magicians is to be able to misdirect your attention while executing the deception.…
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We need to oppose fracking in WNC
To the Editor: James Womack, Chairman of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources Mining and Energy Commission, would…
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Support Sen. Hagan, not Koch brothers
To the Editor: The billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch don’t live in North Carolina. One resides in New York…
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Wildlife officers did a good job for us
To the Editor: Thanks to the wildlife officers for catching the poacher who shot the mother bear on our private…
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Low-wage workers deserve a better deal
By Doug Wingeier • Columnist Debate is picking up these days on help for the unemployed and low-wage workers. Congress is…
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GOP leaders should provide emails
To the Editor: Everybody wants transparency in government — everybody except our Republican legislators in Raleigh. Last year, they passed…
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Keystone Pipeline could help economy
To the Editor: Are you concerned if you are in your 50s or late 40s that the Social Security fund…
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On the way to an imperial presidency
To the Editor: This is what President Barack Obama said this week: “Where I can act on my own without…
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Weaker slope law could lead to lawsuits
To the Editor: After reading the Jan. 15 edition and seeing continued plans to weaken the present Steep Slope Ordinance…
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Awards deserve a little more comment
To the Editor: I always look forward to the “Awards” issue of The Smoky Mountain News. May I make three short…
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Education is alternative to killing more bears
To the Editor: The changes in the five-year black bear management plan currently being proposed by the North Carolina Wildlife…
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Plan for teacher raises a bone of contention
The ramifications of one particularly disturbing directive passed in the last session of the General Assembly is unfolding right now…
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Columnist’s anti-Israel tirade distorts truth
David C. Friedman • Guest Columnist Doug Wingeier’s op-ed published in The Smoky Mountain News on Dec. 25, 2013, titled, “Christmas…
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Views on Israel based on life experiences
Doug Wingeier • Columnist My oh my! Looks like the long arm of Israeli surveillance has reached out to us…
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Much of ACA came from conservatives
To the Editor: When Hillary Clinton proposed a government-run, single-payer system to solve our health care crisis, Republicans responded by proposing…
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Natural areas under assault from warming
To the Editor: I love this time of year. Cold, crisp days remind me of the days I spent with…
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Lake J annexation issue not fairly represented
To the Editor: While I recognize that The Smoky Mountain News’ annual year in review awards are meant to be…
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Lots of problems with ‘Something Bruin’
In numerous newspapers in late November 2013, it was reported that six U.S. Forest Service (USFS) employees from Western North…
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If the shelf was small, these are the books I’d fill it with
Each new year brings out the list-makers, pundits and critics who catalogue everything from the year’s best movies, books, and…
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Education reform effort is like a slap in the face
To the Editor: This move by the state to “reward” 25 percent of the state’s teachers (and I’m not even…
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Christmas ‘peace’ in the land of the Holy One
Doug Wingeier • Columnist Some years back I spent the Christmas season in the Land of the Holy One. (It is…
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Why voter ID and not background checks?
To the Editor: I do not understand why so many Republican congressmen support voter I.D. laws when it has been…
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My, how the universe has changed course
To the Editor: After the Clinton administrations’ efforts to get a universal health care bill passed back in the 90s,…
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Gov. McCrory, N.C. are moving forward
To the Editor: No doubt 2013 was a much better year for Western North Carolina than was the previous year. …
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Earth’s warming will harm wildlife
To the Editor: I love this time of year. Cold, crisp days remind me of the days I spent with…
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Healthcare is people, not logos
John Beckman • Columnist The discussions and debates regarding health care on both the local and national levels have been going…
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