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Today's Opinions

  • Pollution from animal waste can be cut by us

    Last weekend, the drinking water of 400,000 Toledo residents was fouled by  animal waste. With unfettered growth of animal agriculture and ineffective  discharge regulations, it will happen again in our own state.

    The problem has become pervasive. Waste from chicken farms has rendered the ocean off the East Coast unfit for fishing. Waste from Midwest cattle ranches carried by Mississippi River has created a permanent “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico larger than that of the infamous 2010 BP oil spill.

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  • Drop the Blue Devil logo if you want Harriman to thrive

    Does anyone in Harriman want to see revival? Thriving businesses, inspired youth, delivered adults, honored   elders?  

    Harriman is filled with empty, decaying buildings, few businesses, oppression, sickness, substance abuse, no senior center and nowhere for kids and adults to have clean fun!  

    Why?  We are in a spiritual battle of good and evil; our unconscious choices of service will determine our lives.

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  • Many backs turned on puppy in hot vehicle

    I am writing this to get one point across to your readers: NEVER leave a living creature inside a hot car unattended and without water.

    I am writing this letter out of concern for a very disturbing situation I recently experienced.

    I was going to my car after shopping at Pinnacle Pointe in Midtown when I heard a little puppy yelping as loud as he could.

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  • Kelley gets need to keep church, state separate

    I support Commissioner Steve Kelley’s vote against the proposal to post “In God We Trust” at the courthouse.

    It is good to know we have at least one commissioner who understands the concerns of the nonreligious residents of Roane County and tries to maintain the separation of church and state.

    Kelley has every right to his own beliefs, as does everyone else. I think it is inappropriate for the other commissioners to denigrate any person’s religious beliefs or lack thereof.

    Dorothy Kosken
    Rockwood
     

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  • GUEST OPINION: Kingston: A case for thoughtful planning made

    By GEOFFREY A. WHITEHEAD
    Kingston has, in the past, recognized the intrinsic value of having trees, forests and greenbelt areas, environmental qualities that give character to the historic city nestled in the wooded ridges of the Clinch and Tennessee river valleys.  

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  • GLIMPSES from a Teacher/Historian: Another View on Polarization

    Author’s note: The following three premises are essential to this column.
    1) None of us see the past or present with absolute clarity.
    2) Each of us has the capacity for glimpses of informed insight that draw from and reflect our personal values.
    3) Cordial, forthright exchange of those insights enhances our mutual well being.

    We Americans appear lost.  

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  • Looseleaf Laureate: Summer reads take Laureate on regional journey

    After a lively visit with some relatives on their way home from the Smokies Sunday, I grabbed a book and sat down out on my covered porch for some much-needed quiet time.

    Storm alerts were being launched everywhere – severe thunderstorm warnings, flood warnings, tornado watches and warnings. The breeze felt nice while I read, and so I remained outdoors.

    Bruised skies to the north made it clear the threats were real. The thunder was faint, but visceral, like the rumbling of a hungry stomach.

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  • President’s power grab bigger danger than immigration

    Although Bill Gillum fails to recognize it, I think most people can see the difference between law-abiding people who meet the requirements of their host country, follow the rules in an orderly manner and assimilate to become productive members of their new communities and tens of thousands of unidentified aliens who disrespect our laws and invade our country, bringing with them diseases, criminal backgrounds, gang affiliations and terrorist ties.

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