Two weeks after the Jackson County Commission floated a possible withdrawal from the Fontana Regional Library system, residents showed up to speak at the May 20 commission meeting for more than three and a half hours of public comment, with the majority voicing their opposition to withdrawal. 

To the Editor:

I am a retired military officer (veteran); senior citizen; middle class; have grandchildren that are part of the LBGQ+ community; live in a rural area; have a grandchild still in school; and, I am a female.

After reading David Lawson’s letter, “Maybe Trump’s Win Was about Policy,” I sympathize with Dr. Lawson’s desire to focus on policy. However, some of Dr. Lawson’s claims about the Biden/Harris administration’s policies are puzzling. 

Editor’s note: This story is a compilation of Smoky Mountain News Politics Editor Cory Vaillancourt’s pop-up daily dispatches, “Via Chicago,” originally published online from the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago the week of Aug. 19. 

To the Editor:

I have no hatred towards anyone who chooses a different lifestyle than me. The vast majority of Americans do not care about an individual's sexual preference or what books they read.

To the Editor:

Trans person filmed in WCU bathroom ... that’s false information. There are no trans persons. 

The Town of Sylva Board of Commissioners signed a proclamation last week declaring June to be LGBTQ Pride Month, just weeks after the board denied Sylva Pride’s application for its annual march.

In its final week of classes, Western Carolina University became the subject of a video that went viral on social media in which a trans woman was filmed inside a women’s bathroom on campus. 

They couldn’t be more different. But it’s not about race, religion or party affiliation. 

Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, and Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, a Republican, present strikingly different views not only on their priorities if elected governor but also on the 30,000-foot view of what North Carolina is and will be. 

After the Sylva Town Council denied Sylva Pride’s road closure application for the annual Pride Parade, the community organization has decided to hold “Chalk About It,” to talk to community members and garner input on the best path forward.