2021 has been a good year for Circles and in the last few months we have had some special things occur that we are excited to share with you.

I don’t know how to address our national history without talking about the role systemic racism plays in it. The United States was built upon the principle of exclusivity. We came late to the diversity dance.

I come from one of those families that’s always hugging on each other, so it feels mighty strange not to have hugged my dad since his wedding last March.

By Paul Mauney and Bill Moss

Cherokee is in the news again this month.

A guest commentary appeared in the Jan. 28 edition of The Sylva Herald by two assistant professors from two colleges. The general conclusion of the article was the criticality of the delicate, interwoven complexities of future U.S./China (the latter will be referred to as the PRC) relations.

As we popped the cork to toast the new decade, we anticipated that 2020 would be an exciting year, filled with interesting developments – some good and perhaps even rambunctious. Nobody could have predicted the four crises we would face.

I have been a voter for more than 45 years, and this year for the first time I had an official role in the election process. I worked in the Jackson County Board of Elections office for several days prior to the election, and I worked at the Cullowhee Recreation Center on the day of the election.

In the early days of the pandemic, Duke Energy took swift action to help customers knowing the financial burdens that would result for many due to the health crisis. We suspended electric service disconnections for unpaid bills. We also hit the pause button on charges for late payments and r…

In his “I Have A Dream” speech, Dr. Martin Luther King looked forward to the day when his children would be judged “not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Let’s apply that same standard, his character, to President Trump this election season.

North Carolina could miss out on an additional congressional seat and forfeit billions of dollars in state and federal tax dollars that rightfully belong to state citizens unless the people who live here get more serious about participating in the 2020 Census.

I didn’t grow up in this small town in Western North Carolina, where I realize that fact is important to many in order to interpret my words and opinions.

The United States of America continues to fight its Civil War. One skirmish currently underway in Sylva could erupt into a battle between two opposing sides. Or, it could turn into an opportunity among several groups to do something more difficult – to create rather than destroy.

My family, like many others, has existed in Sylva since the early 1800’s. They were teachers and farmers, and helped build two Baptist churches. None of them owned a slave. And that goes for 99.9 percent of the residents of Jackson County at the time.

The rapidly expanding scope of the COVID-19 pandemic has put the ultimate stress test on our country’s institutions. While doing so, the contagion continues to expose the strengths and weaknesses of those very institutions.

End of Main Antiques & Home Decor has donated space to display and sell an assortment of books during the closure of the Friends of the Library Book Store. The business is located at 482 W. Main St. in Sylva and is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The Friends send a thanks to John…

Every May we commemorate National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW) to celebrate the value travel holds for our economy, businesses, and personal wellbeing. This year’s NTTW theme is “Spirit of Travel.”

The number of cries to reduce restrictions and re-start our economy grows louder each hour, it seems. Yes, we are tired of our movements being restricted and from being unable to earn our livings. All of us have experienced the pain of this pandemic.

As a graduating senior at Western Carolina University, I had the opportunity to be a social work intern for AWAKE Children’s Advocacy Center this semester.

I murmured under my breath when North Carolina’s governor asked politely for everyone to curtail traveling anywhere except for necessities. I moaned out loud when he firmly ordered the same, and I walked outside and screamed from the top of our little mountain when it became a mandate!

On Sunday, we watched our church worship service on YouTube, after Methodist Bishops in North Carolina told churches not to hold services for at least two weeks. I admit being surprised that watching from my favorite chair could be so meaningful.

If you draw your information about current events only from politicians, news outlets, and social-media influencers that share your worldview, you will be poorly informed. If you act on that information, you and others may come to regret it.

You often hear that North Carolina’s public universities are the “crown jewel” of the state. While this is indeed true, the deadlock in Raleigh over funding for a new budget continues to hamstring our state’s public institutions. Some of the most urgent needs can be found at Western Carolina…

Every human requires food, clothing, shelter, air and water to survive. Many of us don’t worry about these basic needs, but food scarcity and shelter are concerns for too many North Carolinians.

If you haven’t participated in early voting, it closes on Feb. 29. Election day proper is Tuesday, March 3. Be responsible. Voice your opinions with your votes.

Have you been watching the presidential debates on TV? Falling viewer numbers indicate a growing number of us are tuning out and turning off these slickly produced spectacles that are dull, unhelpful, ill-conceived and poorly executed.

North Carolina and Duke Energy have been leaders as solar power has grown as a portion of our energy mix.

The Cullowhee Community Garden would like to thank garden member David Claxton for his kindness and efforts in building tables for our greenhouse.

At their January meeting The UNC Board of Governors lamented problems resulting from not having a state budget.

I grew up in Greenville in the 1950s and ‘60s.

We have said this decade will be called the “Transformative Twenties,” so let’s explore some of those changes.

Everyone knows that North Carolina is a closely divided purple state. Everyone knows that in 2020, many statewide races and control of the state legislature will be hotly contested. And everyone knows that with Democrats increasingly dominant in urban areas and Republicans in rural areas, th…