Finally, back to school for all
I’ve missed chaotic mornings fighting for the bathroom, looking for shoes under beds, packing lunches, slinging bagels in the toaster…
Read More
A glimmer, and it sure feels nice
A year later. We’re still mourning the deaths and illnesses, the disruption of life as we knew it, the months…
Read More
A modest proposal for reviving Ghost Town in the Sky
By Case Brown • Guest Columnist | The on-and-off again investment deals for the embattled Ghost Town amusement park are…
Read More
Another view on childhood poverty
To the Editor: In last week’s edition of The Smoky Mountain News the editor gave us his thoughts of the…
Read More
Let’s do away with Electoral College
To the Editor: In the recent election Joe Biden received a majority of 7.1 million popular votes and 74 Electoral…
Read More
A long overdue plan to cut childhood poverty
The Covid relief bill now working its way through Congress will mark a transformation in the way this country treats…
Read More
Getting my hands dirty and loving it
I moved from Maggie Valley to Waynesville last fall. My house in Maggie was on the side of Soco Road…
Read More
Let’s honor a different history
To the Editor: I am so sick of hearing this argument that we’re “changing” or “erasing” history by changing statues…
Read More
Trump is a threat
To the Editor: The other day a friend of mine made this remark: “I never want to hear Trump supporters…
Read More
Cawthorn should have stayed to vote
To the Editor: I’m writing to express my outrage regarding Madison Cawthorn’s bogus attempt to defend his proxy vote when…
Read More
Voting rights bill deserves support
To the Editor: Voting records show that North Carolina and Haywood County had the largest voter turnout ever in the…
Read More
How many visitors are too many?
The Smokies region is an outdoor mecca that attracts millions of people each year. For better or worse, that onslaught…
Read More
The ‘Sap is Risin’ and a life well lived
By Randy Siske • Contributing writer | Our “Breakfast Club” started eating together in 2006 just because we went to…
Read More
Election fraud evidence is slim to none
To the Editor: I am alarmed by the variety and sheer numbers of claims of election fraud we still see,…
Read More
Letter writer has her facts wrong
To the Editor: This is in response to the recent letter by Carol Adams of Glenville: “Trump was 1,000 Percent…
Read More
Getting vaccinated also helps others
To the Editor: On behalf of the Haywood County Senior Democrats, I would like to express our profound gratitude to…
Read More
Falling hard for pandemic puppy love
I’d always heard having a puppy was a little like having a baby. I’ve learned over the past two months…
Read More
Who can you trust to tell the truth?
Another poll, another reality check for the media: Americans don’t trust us. The question that comes to mind, for me,…
Read More
Cawthorn cares only about Cawthorn
To the Editor: In the six weeks since being sworn in as North Carolina’s new 11th District representative in Congress,…
Read More
Media gives lies too much power
To the Editor: America has failed to punish Trump, the ex-president who has done so much harm to our country.
Read More
Trump deserved to be impeached
To the Editor: Senator Patrick Leahy (eight-term Democratic senator from Vermont) recently wrote a column charging former President Trump with…
Read More
Persistence pays off in rebel mascot issue
When I read that Annie McCord-Wilson was among those leading the charge to have the rebel removed as the mascot…
Read More
Introducing triple-win climate solutions
By Mary Jane Curry • Guest Columnist “Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.” — William Wordsworth, 1798…
Read More
Jail spending doesn’t solve problems
To the Editor: Budgets, it has been said, are moral documents. This is because how a community chooses to spend…
Read More
Defer to sheriff on need for jail
To the Editor: There has been a bit of discussion and controversy over the proposal for Haywood County to spend…
Read More
N.C. should pass ERA
To the Editor: Thank you for your February 3 primer on the history of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as well as…
Read More
Broken wrist presages my new reality
I started snowboarding when I was 15. Even though neither of my parents were athletes, especially skiers or snowboarders, I…
Read More
Hatred is a human flaw
To the Editor: We all probably hate something. It could be a certain vegetable, a hard or distasteful task like doing…
Read More
Dental health helps children learn
To the Editor: Since 1963, Blue Ridge Health (BRH) has provided essential healthcare to residents with the greatest need in…
Read More
When will N.C. ratify ERA?
To the Editor: In January 2020, Virginia became the 38th and final state needed for ratification of the Equal Rights…
Read More
A modest proposal for Medicare
By Steven Wall • Guest Columnist | With so much division in our country, and some folks even losing faith…
Read More
Madison Cawthorn needs to go
To the Editor: For weeks leading into the insurrection and ransacking of our Capitol on Jan. 6, Madison Cawthorn’s words…
Read More
Facts, compassion are important
To the Editor: Humanity has a universal propensity for lies and distortions, and Trump-supporting extremists ruled by reality-free ideas are…
Read More
Despite claims, truth does matter
To the Editor: I always enjoy the illuminating letters from Carol Adams. Her most recent (last week’s Smoky Mountain News, www.smokymountainnews.com/opinion/item/30705)…
Read More
We must learn to protect the earth
To the Editor: In the aftermath of recent events in our nation’s Capitol, we are still reeling in shock, disbelief…
Read More
It is a steep hill we climb
Last Wednesday was a day women have been waiting for, working for, speaking out of turn for, making trouble for…
Read More
Lessons learned from Larry King
Growing up I wasn’t a fan of Larry King. As a little girl in the 1980s, I was more concerned…
Read More
Spend county money compassionately
To the Editor: Our Haywood county government is planning to build a new jail at a cost of over $14…
Read More
Trump was 1000 percent correct
To the Editor: Checking a track record, a review of past performance, is a good way to determine a decision…
Read More
Vaccination process was smooth, uplifting
To the Editor: Today, January 21, I received my first Covid-19 vaccine shot administered by the Haywood County Health Department…
Read More
Thankful for dad’s vaccination process
To the Editor: My 89-year-old dad got his first COVID vaccine this afternoon.
Read More
For at least a while, all the noise stopped
Short escapes from all of the noise coming from everywhere are so refreshing, so worthwhile. The holidays were a fantastic…
Read More
Counties should loosen pursestrings
To the Editor: It is totally baffling. At a time when the pandemic is pretty much out of control, vaccines…
Read More
No time to glorify dying for lost causes
To the Editor: Barely a week after the violent and deadly attack on our nation’s capital by domestic terrorists, The…
Read More
A ray of hope for me and others
To the Editor: A ray of hope has appeared in a strange but clear way over the past number of…
Read More
Seek truth, don’t just point and shout
To the Editor: Who is going to make a difference? Who’s going to clean up the mess this GOP administration…
Read More
