In North Carolina, more than 788,000 people older than the age of 50 live alone and are at higher risk of social isolation. That includes many of the 31,700 seniors living in Ashe and Watauga Counties. That isolation is now magnified by social distancing requirements.

Elections have consequences, and we are seeing the results of the current occupant of the White House’s election now. It is obvious that the current occupant of the White House is unable to admit mistakes were made in handling the COVID-19 outbreak find ourselves in currently. The months of …

In times of trouble, you know who your friends are: An old saying now with a new twist. Covid-19 has given everything a new twist. However, tenants of goodness, kindness and compassion for others remain the same.

My wife, Pam, suggested we write a letter to the paper thanking all those involved in keeping things running during this dangerous and stressful time.

As a field organizer working for NextGen North Carolina, I’m working to register young people to vote and mobilize them to get to the the polls in November. If there’s one thing I know from my peers, it is that we are fed up with politicians who seek to concentrate their power at the expense…

This past Friday, Feb. 14, Ashe County lost one of its best … Ray Miller (1933-2020). From the Glendale Springs area, he was a general contractor of note and was highly respected for his integrity, honesty, work ethic and for being a very fine person.

First, I support the 2nd Amendment. I believe in our right to own guns. I own a gun. I also believe that we should be making common sense efforts to curb gun violence. These ideas are not mutually exclusive. We can have laws and resolutions that protect gun owners’ rights and also keep guns …

Do you know why politicians who wield power over you tend to disregard your concerns? Why they don’t seem to care about your lack of confidence in their ability to make things better or to get our country back on the right track? It’s because politicians always follow the path of least resis…

Most are aware of the Sabbath (which means “to rest” in Hebrew), where Moses taught that we should rest every seven days to glorify “The Creator,” thus giving us the week that we still use today. Fewer, however, are aware that the Sabbath also teaches that we should leave fields fallow every…

My husband and I started enjoying Hotel Tavern as soon as it opened. The staff have always offered a warm, personal greeting. Located on the Back Street, it was perfect location for a lovely lunch on the patio, then a short walk or drive to the fabulous Ashe County Library for a few pleasant…

I heard the D.O.T. is bringing the new left turn arrangement at all intersection on U.S. 221 between Boone and West Jefferson to other intersections in Boone. To turn left, you have to first turn right, fight your way to the far left lane and make a U-turn to complete the left turn. What a n…

Americans pay some of the highest brand-name drug prices in the world. This means that too many of us are having to choose between buying the medications we need and other essentials such as food, rent, utilities and other essentials.

In the executive and legislative branches of our national government there appears to be a dearth of real leaders. It has reached the point where it is fair to say we are desperate for real leaders who can find common ground, build a consensus and move forward with solutions, rather than the…

Over the years celebrating the July 4th holiday has changed.

Recently, the NC Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision to grant a polluting industry permit for an asphalt plant in Glendale Springs. The county permit was initially denied by the Ashe County Planning Director, setting off a legal fight between the Ashe County Planning Board and…

If you have ever felt lonely, know that you are not alone. We live in an era where we are more connected with one another than ever yet the national rates of loneliness have doubled since the 1980s. Loneliness can be defined as “subjective distress” which does not always mean not having frie…

My heart breaks. My spirit suffers. Yet another sleepless night. I am left wondering — yet again.

Senator Thom Tillis needs to prevent the health insurance tax from coming into effect again in 2020. This tax impacts health plans purchased by small businesses. It results in thousands of dollars in higher annual costs for businesses that offer health insurance. For my hardware store, this …

I attended the ACHS Varsity Basketball game this past Dec. 21 and I must say I was shocked by the lack of respect that parents of the varsity boys basketball team were portraying during the game.

Is child sacrifice still practiced in our world?

One party government is not working in Ashe County.

When we vote on Nov. 6, we need to elect leaders who are persons of honesty and integrity, people whom we can trust, people who will speak the truth and work for the common good. We need to elect those who are civil in their speech and in their actions, those who would be good models of good…

October is breast cancer awareness month and I have decided to share my breast cancer experience with the community.

This message to voters pertains to one of the six proposed amendments to the Constitution of North Carolina which will be on your ballot.

Personal attention matters in sheriff race

Just how naïve can people be? During Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court justice nomination hearing he gave a very convincing performance of righteous outrage. If he truly was an innocent man being wrongly accused, why did he not demand a full-blown investigation to clear his name with the resul…

At approximately 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, I entered Ashe Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department, I had been experiencing chest pains since waking up that morning.

The article “App State solar vehicle team debuts two-passenger car” was incredibly exciting to read (Mountain Times, June 28, tinyurl.com/ycgo54ly), given the dedication of the students working on their car. Solar energy has immense potential in the coming years in the movement to transition…

Once again we have had to suffer the annual lunacy of people letting off illegal fireworks. Emergency Departments throughout the state and nation experienced their usual high incidence of burn victims on the night of the fourth and early hours of the fifth of July. When are we going to learn?

A few weeks ago, I received a notice in the mail with information about Blue Ridge Energy’s Annual Membership Meeting and Board of Directors election on June 28. If you buy your electricity from Blue Ridge, you probably did too. Many people may not realize it, but this is the most important …

Why is the annual meeting held at its current time and location?

It’s summertime and Ashe County’s children are out of school once again. It’s a great time for most children, but for those in abusive or neglectful homes, it can be a dangerous time because the extra eyes on them during the school year are not there.

Section D of the vaunted US-221 project broke ground on March 3, 2015. Now, three years later, Vannoy Construction seems to have gone home. Patient Ashe County residents now can look at a string of orange barrels over the four-mile stretch at a job that’s nearly complete, but seems to be stu…

Asphalt plants are a necessary evil if we are to have paved roads. The issue is how does an asphalt plant manage air and water pollution so the toxic pollutants stay within the confines of the property lines of the polluting industry? A land owner should be able to do what they please on the…

I have just been reading about the pressure President Donald Trump put on NFL owners to penalize teams that allow their players to protest by kneeling during the playing of the national anthem. This five deferment draft dodger exhibits no credibility in criticizing anyone with charges of lac…

I have written this letter 1,000 times in my head, since the night of May 17. I usually never have a hard time talking or using words, just ask anyone who knows me. I talk, a lot. But, for this I can’t seem to find words to express myself or my feelings. All the words seem so small for an ev…

In a recent article, Walter E. Williams criticized the welfare state by celebrating the American tradition of philanthropy as a preferable alternative to “welfare handouts,” (May 11, “Before and after welfare handouts”).

It was Friday the 13th and I was substituting at Ashe County High School. Not an unusual day, just following the teacher’s instructions as I have for the last 18 years. The first period was for planning and as a sub I had nothing to plan so I started a slow walk down one of the halls and was…

Can mountain bikers, hikers and horseback riders get along on the trails of the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests? Can we also co-exist with birders who need peace and quiet, loggers that depend on our forests for their livelihoods and ecologists who want to protect rare species? The ans…

Our dad was a great man. He was a farmer who worked sunup to sundown to provide for his family. We were blessed and he shared those blessings with others. Whether it was taking oil to a family who had ran out, buying food for a family in need, plowing a driveway or just giving someone a big …

When are we going to drain Ashe County’s swamp?

There is a group of us men from St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country Catholic Church that meets for breakfast on Thursday mornings. At the end of our meeting we always do the trivia questions from the Mountain Times, which also runs in the Watauga Democrat and the Ashe Post & Times. It is g…

I applaud the GOP for working with the Democrats to find a bipartisan plan for immigration. It is now imperative that that plan be passed in both houses of Congress and, as needed, over a presidential veto.

Pat Buchanan’s “Is Flynn’s defection a death blow” (Dec. 6) is a despicable attempt to thwart Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s blatant, multi-pronged, successful attacks on our democracy during the 2016 elections. Flynn plead guilty to a felony from lying to the FBI, but Buchanan…

Republicans in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives have both passed different budget reconciliation legislation in the respective Houses of Congress. You and I should expect war next. And, of course, Republicans are about completing the trifecta of eliminating Social Security, …

Listening to President Donald Trump’s latest rant, I began to wonder, why is he so intent on banning immigrants from countries that might be sources of terrorists? On a whim, he had Chad placed on his list, an act which may well have been the cause of Sgt. La David Johnson’s death in Niger. …

Enclosed is my check for another year’s subscriptoin — I do appreciate getting the news through your publication since we have a second home in Jefferson Landing in Jefferson.

How much lower can Trump go? Our commander in chief, President Donald Trump calls the family of a fallen soldier and allegedly minimizes his sacrifice. I doubt very much that Sgt. La David T. Johnson knew what he was actually signing up for. Someone of Johnson’s caliber would have signed up …

In the current special session of the General Assembly, our representatives will decide whether to overturn or uphold a veto of two bills that will damage our water quality, SB16 and HB56. SB16 guts safeguards against pollution, loosening water quality rules and limiting local governments’ p…