To the Editor:

Have you noticed how quietly our basic freedoms can disappear? Right now in Jackson County, a small group of commissioners is on the verge of dismantling our entire library system — not because it’s failing us, but because it’s succeeding at something they fear: exposing people to ideas beyond a single worldview. 

With a new middle school on the horizon, Jackson County Public Schools is budgeting for a changing school system. On May 6, JCPS made its official request for local funding from the Jackson County Commission.  

Fairview School kindergarten teacher Anna Woods was named the Jackson County Public Schools District Teacher of the Year during the Excellence in Education Awards Evening on May 8th, 2025. 

Jackson County Recreation is offering opportunities for people to enjoy a stand-up paddleboarding session for anyone age 14 or older.

Sessions will be held May 20 and July 1 at Wolf Lake and June 5 and June 20 at Bear Lake. 

Back in the 1940s, while World War II was still raging in Europe and the Philippines,  Charlie Kilpatrick and I used to entertain ourselves by prowling through the kudzu thickets near his house. 

Full-time residents of Haywood, Jackson and Buncombe counties can save money playing golf at Lake Junaluska Golf Course with a seasonal rate discount card. 

Kids ages 10-14 in Jackson County will have the chance to learn the ins and out of archery.

The course will be held from 2-5 p.m. May 17 at the Cashiers/Glenville Recreation Center. 

Prior to its appropriation by communist regimes, International Workers Day — May Day — was first commemorated in honor of Chicago workers killed while striking for an eight-hour workday.

Gary Carden has accomplished a great deal in his life. But by his own estimation, none of it compares to his most recent endeavor — donating a treasure trove of books to the Jackson County Public Library that took him a lifetime to collect. 

To the Editor:

I would like to thank the local author David Joy for speaking out about the removal of the plaque from the Confederate statue outside the Jackson county Library. He spoke for many of us, but being a multi-generational Southern man his words carried more weight.