Rowing and paddling aren’t synonymous
To the Editor: As usual, your paper continues to cover important issues of our area that others largely ignore, but…
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Too much Fox News in the public sphere
To the Editor: Fox News seems to be playing in public places all over Haywood County — restaurants, bars, even…
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Muirhead piece lost its focus
To the Editor: The title of Scott Muirhead’s op-ed on Frog Level (“A place where two worlds collide,” The Smoky…
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Hate by any name is still hate
Back in the day, say the late 1980s through about 2000, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s hate map featured Western…
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Vindication for HEP, a little satisfaction here
This is a very odd business, the telling of the news. It’s even more odd as part of an independent…
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Thanks for making Fire and Ice a success
To the Editor: On behalf of the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce, I would like to thank The Smoky Mountain…
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Motocross track would violate our rights
To the Editor: Clarks Chapel is a delightful and quiet area that in recent years has attracted many people, including…
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This epiphany is shiny, new and has all-wheel drive
My epiphany occurred on a bitter cold Sunday afternoon, the snow having momentarily given way to a stray and fleeting…
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GEP does produce private-sector jobs
To the Editor: I thoroughly agree that it is past time to wake up, get Jackson County moving.” For too…
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A few hopeful signs of spring
I detect signs of spring. Whether this is fantasy or reality, that’s for you to decide, but I choose to…
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Care of mentally ill may be Arizona tragedy’s lesson
There are many issues to discuss in the wake of the tragedy in Arizona that left six dead and 13…
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Save the Mark Watson Park trees
To the Editor: I recently received the very upsetting news that the parks and recreation office is managing a county…
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The first 19,000 days
By John Beckman • Guest Columnist I had a birthday recently, which seems to happen every year about this time,…
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A place where two worlds collide head-on
By Scott Muirhead • Guest ColumnistFrog Level is what remains of the golden age of the railroads, the age when…
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Suggestions what, when to plant veggies
As I noted in this space a couple of weeks ago, this is the time of year to order seeds…
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When we prod the mountains, they fall
To the Editor: I have been reading letters in the Franklin Press from several angry people in recent days. I…
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Words have a power we often forget
Just as I was sitting down to write my column on the controversy surrounding a new edition of Mark Twain’s…
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This stretch of road deserves better care
To the Editor: As a Macon County native who learned to drive in these mountains more than 40 years ago,…
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New group seeks political solutions
To the Editor: We live in the greatest country in the world, but we have serious challenges — challenges that…
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How can faith leaders support Dream Act?
To the Editor: I read in the newspaper an article called “Faith Leaders support the Dream Act.” What reality do…
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Immigrants can enrich all of us
To the Editor: Scott McLeod writes accurately and with emotion about the Dream Act (“Hagen, senate wrong on Dream Act,”…
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Just shut up and bang it out
I’ve never been big on New Year’s resolutions. But this weekend I decided to list five and work seriously toward…
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Mistake is a reminder to tell it like it is
“… but a belief in hard work and treating others fairly was ingrained from a very early age in my…
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A fine time to order seeds
One of my favorite annual events is set to take place Jan. 15. I share this information now because it…
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Property values affected election and are a looming problem
By Mark Jamison • Guest Columnist During the recent election for county commissioner in Jackson County, both sides made reference…
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Make love, not war, when you garden
This is a good time of the year to order seeds and plant carrots. That’s not a misprint: It’s an…
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Let the tax cuts for the wealthy expire
To the Editor: Give the wealthy $700 billion over the next decade? Absolutely, say the Republican politicians led by Rep.…
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Shuler isn’t doing much to win my votes
To the Editor: The local radio station in Sylva, WRGC, has reported that the unemployment rate in Jackson County increased…
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Is anyone paying attention to government?
To the Editor: Whether it be a deficit or a debt, no amount of money owed a creditor is a…
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Hagan, Senate wrong on DREAM Act
Few things are as maddening to me as when politics gets in the way of doing the right thing. That’s…
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Bitter cold makes routine memorable
Sunday, 6 a.m.: Get out of bed, stagger downstairs and start grinding coffee beans. What’s that white sheen through the…
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New regulations are a compromise
Editor’s note: This letter was written by Waynesville’s planning director in response to Mary Lamb’s letter above. Dear Ms. Lamb…
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Residents need time to review zoning changes
To the Editor: Like so many other young couples, my husband and I felt so blessed when he landed a…
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Jackson’s new leaders have room for improvement
A bit of a stumble out of the gate can be forgiven among newcomers in any endeavor, but that stumble…
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Let’s be honest about Kephart
To the Editor: I was surprised to find my views somewhat misstated in Quintin Ellison’s column, “Kephart, Transplants and the…
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Take time to contact DOT about N.C.107
To the Editor: The North Carolina Department of Transportation is proposing high-impact road modifications for N.C. 107 and is planning…
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Guilty as charged, and free at last
I have a confession to make. Underneath my tough, no-nonsense newspaperwoman exterior, I’m an individual who is ridden with guilt.…
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Remembering Terry … and not too fondly
When I was in the fourth grade, some dirtbag stole my hat. But it wasn’t any old dirtbag, and it…
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In defense of the Tea Party
To the Editor: I am a member of the Tea Party-The 9-12 group. I am an American mom and grandparent. Prayer…
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The tendency to follow greed off a cliff
To the Editor: Various citizens have made comments about the rich versus the poor based on their ideological thinking, but…
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Macon needs steep slope ordinances
To the Editor: Anyone who was living in this area at the time of the tragic Peeks Creek disaster off U.S.…
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Writers can’t write whatever they want
To the Editor: In last week’s (Nov 24-30) Smoky Mountain News opinion piece by Quintin Ellison, she writes … ”I maintain…
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More effort need to combat underage drinking
By Patti Tiberi • Guest Columnist “Alcohol is the most widely used substance of abuse among America’s youth. A higher…
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Shuler is making the most of his opportunities
I don’t particularly remember U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, from our days growing up in Swain County. He is younger…
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Middle class needs the tax break
To the Editor: Regarding the Nov. 14 Associated Press article in the Asheville Citizen-Times, “GOP lawmakers stand tall for all…
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Honor Bob Zahner with a real wilderness area
To the Editor: The proposal to make the Overlook Area in Blue Valley a wilderness area in honor of Bob Zahner…
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Kephart, transplants and the debate over legitimacy
You can be excused for perhaps having overlooked the recent fireworks, but a minor war has erupted over one of…
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Ridding schools of bullying will require changing culture
By Raymond Turpin • Guest Columnist Bullying, unfortunately, has always existed in the American school systems and it continues to…
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Water task force gives a glimpse of the future
Sometimes what at first seems utterly ridiculous turns out to be a foreshadowing. It’s happening with water use in this…
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Around here, March madness is a religion
March Madness is upon us, and if you or anyone in your house has ever played basketball or perhaps even…
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