Budget impasse harms retirees, taxpayers
To the Editor: It is my understanding that the state legislature and the governor are at an impasse over the…
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Grave consequences to follow assassination
The assassination of Iranian Major General Qasem Suleimani is the latest in a string of incoherent, dangerous foreign policy decisions…
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Coffee grounds for breakfast no more
I’m not that big on New Year’s resolutions, but one thing I do want to do in 2020 is practice…
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Bumper stickers can divide us
To the Editor: On a recent ride into town, I found myself behind a car with a bumper sticker that…
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Four more years for Trump
To the Editor: Recently, a prolific contributor of letters to editors asked how much longer we could stand to have…
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Sixty snuck up and smacked me
I just turned the big 6-0. Sixty. What the hell? I’ve been reading essays on reaching this point in life,…
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Twelve commandments for the New Year
When I was a little girl, my dad would make huge snack trays on New Year’s Eve and pour sparkling…
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Trump’s mental health issues a problem
To the Editor: Mr. Waldrop, as always, nails the truth to the sticking-place in his last letter to The Smoky…
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Because one day they aren’t there
The hardest thing to get used to is the stillness. The quiet. The absolute absence of any movement at all.…
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National parks should not depend on fees
By Mark Jamison • Guest Columnist | In Democracy’s Discontent: America in Search of a Public Philosophy, the political philosopher…
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How much longer can we tolerate Trump?
To the Editor: Only a few short years ago Americans criticized Russian leaders for their overt political philosophy: “The end…
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Car seat education will save lives
To the Editor: Five years ago, shortly after partnering with the Sheriff’s Office to begin a Safe Kids coalition in…
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Thanks for reporting on animal cruelty
To the Editor: Thank you for reporting on the recent animal cruelty case in Haywood County. The suffering of so…
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Time to face reality regarding the Smokies
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park — for all its grandeur — is facing serious challenges, and it’s going to…
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Downsizing Christmas, meaningful memories
It seems a lot of folks are downsizing Christmas this year, me included. My reasoning is specific to my life…
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Make America great by dumping Trump
To the Editor: George Washington led Americans in the Revolutionary War defeating a tyrant, King George III, and giving birth…
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Children in poverty face many challenges
To the Editor: Did you know that 44.1 percent of children are living in poor or low-income homes in Jackson…
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‘OK Boomers,’ let’s just settle down
By Bob Clark • Guest Columnist A 25-year-old New Zealand legislator, Chloe Swarbrick, was speaking about the environment when an older…
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The long wait is finally over
I didn’t know how much I would miss Shoney’s biscuits and gravy, potato soup, and hot fudge cake until they…
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Roadside trash hurts our economy
To the Editor: I recently sent this letter to Jackson County commissioners. I am writing because I am dismayed in…
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Gov. Cooper is red wolf ally
To the Editor: Fewer than 20 red wolves persist in the wild in Eastern North Carolina. Although the population has…
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Thanks for EV charging stations
To the Editor: This Thanksgiving season I would like to recognize and thank the towns of Waynesville, Maggie Valley, Sylva…
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2020 election could be compromised
To the Editor: Rachel Carson, legendary scientist and writer, made this profound statement in her 1962 classic environmental book Silent…
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Trump overplays his hand with military
Under this commander-in-chief, war criminals are framed as heroes for political gains with his base while veterans who served with…
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Food and exercise make good medicine
I was recently introduced to a book called What Made Maddy Run written by reporter Kate Fagan. It’s the story…
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Congress should fix drug prices
To the Editor: I am an older American and live on a fixed income. Some seniors have to choose between…
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DBD bill won’t help anyone
To the Editor: Back on Oct. 3 at WCU’s Opioid Town Hall, I found myself applauding Sen. Jim Davis, R-Macon,…
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Celebrating family, longevity and all that’s possible
Lillie is my dad’s big sister. He’s been gone for nineteen years — from a heart attack, in bed, while…
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Politics too often beats our morality
The past few weeks have demonstrated the dark direction the United States is taking in foreign policy. Our country declared…
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Do us a favor, Meadows: retire
To the Editor: Our NC 11th Dist. Rep. Mark Meadows suggested that he is bored with his job when he stated…
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Facts learned from impeachment hearings
To the Editor: Those of us who watched the impeachment inquiry testimony and some of the factual news reports afterward…
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It’s all about the journey
It’s called Blue Ridge Motorcycling Magazine, and it’s become part of our family. Let me explain. At almost 60 years…
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A winding plot to a published children’s book
Tattoos often follow times of darkness or transition. When my mom’s cancer got to a point of no return, I…
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Budget vote was for my district
To the Editor: In response to Kevin Brock’s letter to the editor regarding my vote on the North Carolina budget…
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Learning to relish the meaningful moments
As fall draws to a close, and the leaves turn brown to pile up on the sidewalk instead of in…
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Grocery store is stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey
Mushrooms. I needed mushrooms, and mushrooms were all I needed. It was my night to cook, and I wanted to…
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Trump echoes Joseph McCarthy
To the Editor: In the 1930s FDR’s administration passed the New Deal. The centerpiece of this legislation was Social Security.…
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Words matter, and this is extortion
To the Editor: We need to be clear that the impeachment inquiry is about extortion and not quid pro quo.…
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Why Corbin should not be our senator
To the Editor: In the stifling summer humidity of Philadelphia a couple of centuries ago, a group of men put…
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Can you put a value on what we provide?
Does the information we provide each week — information that we have been producing free for the last 20 years…
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A sweet reminder of fate
My two boys are children of divorce. That’s a phrase I never thought I’d say. But then again, life never…
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Compassion needed for homelessness
By Jesse-lee Dunlap • Guest Columnist After last Tuesday’s town hall forum at Frog Level Brewing, I found myself shocked and…
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Moving Open Door won’t solve anything
To the Editor: I keep trying to grasp how a brewery can be the voice for a community battling addiction.
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You don’t turn your back on friends
By Hannah McLeod • Guest Columnist The raid that led to the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was…
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