Opinion
We can support WNC, albeit in different ways
When you’re a columnist for a newspaper, you don’t take the space for granted. It is a gift and an honor to be given a page every other week to offer my thoughts and opinions on matters of the world or matters of the soul.
Do these politicians have no shame?
To the editor:
The small city of Springfield, Ohio, has been turned into a target of anti-immigrant hate by Donald Trump and JD Vance, echoed by many of their followers. They spread the vicious lie that Haitian immigrants — who are legally documented and were invited by the town leadership to settle there — are eating people’s pets.
GOP’s intent is to handcuff NOAA
To the Editor:
I am concerned about the effects of “Project 2025” — the Republican playbook for a second Trump administration — on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Project 2025 aims to change how federal agencies operate, and it could harm NOAA’s ability to do its work.
We’re open, but be understanding
This is not the end of our story in Western North Carolina. Far from it. It’s an opportunity for a new beginning, a reshaping of this place that has always been so good for the soul. As I stand on my front porch steps and pause to look at and smell the trees, see leaves slowly spiraling earthward, feel the crisp bite of autumn in the morning air, take a deep breath and know that all will be healed in time.
Desecration and beauty all mixed together
Early October, and these mountains are already beginning to put on their glorious garments of autumn. A splash of red here or orange there, the green sleeves of many trees shading to yellow. In just a few weeks, we will be treated to that familiar splendor that beckons tens of thousands of people to get in their cars every year and drive for hours or even days just to get a glimpse of it.
Morrow unfit to lead our schools
To the Editor:
Michele Morrow is the Republican candidate for N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction. Think long and hard before voting for her. She educated her children at home (starting with a child that needed different learning strategies, which I applaud), and then via parent-led teaching coops.
Do we really want to enable Trump?
To the Editor:
Among the multiple insults Donald Trump is hurling at Vice President Kamala Harris (other than purposely mispronouncing her name) is labeling her “the worst vice president ever.” This is laughable coming from a guy that 154 members of the American Political Science Association ranked as the worst president.
An ultramarathon, a book, a flood and a prayer
On the weekend of Sept. 20-21, I went to the Grindstone 100-Mile Ultramarathon at Natural Chimneys Park in Virginia, where my oldest son was a participant. 294 runners took part in this grueling ordeal. Of these, 168 finished the race in the required time of 36 hours.
In the middle of an unimaginable tragedy
It’s hard to know what to write about when my mind is swirling in so many directions, as I’m sure most of yours are as well. As someone said, not only were the effects of Hurricane Helene on a mountain region improbable, they were unimaginable.
