Never have I been more impressed with an individual upon an initial meeting, than I was with Chief Robert Youngdeer.

A friend in Cherokee emailed me recently to tell me that former Principal Chief Robert Youngdeer has died. I worked for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for 15 years, and I have to say that he was one of the most remarkable people I ever met.

I read the opinion regarding intravenous drug users who are currently guests of our local Heartbreak Hotel and the used syringes that are now everywhere on the Rez.

Tis the season to get scared. Halloween is a time we get weird and spooky. Some folks are not into the scary stuff. No ghosts. No zombies. No vampires. No werewolves.

Sitting in a Tribal Council discussion over changes in educational funding policy got me thinking.

I live in Murphy and am an avid mountain biker.

Comet Financial Intelligence’s website (www.cometfi.com) has a ticker that updates every few seconds showing the total student loan debt for Americans.  As of the publishing of this commentary, it is $1,434,353,722,910…it’s probably thousands or millions of dollars more by the time you’re reading this.  The website reports that the average student loan debt in America is $37,172 with an average $393 monthly payment. 

As a newspaper editor, I (along with the editorial board) concern myself with balancing the need, the right, of our people to express themselves through their opinions and comments to the news of the day and protecting the public from inappropriate expressions of hate.