Courthouse Series #3

Growing Up around the Clay County Courthouse
Tom Gray, Jr.  2011
Guest Columnist
The Clay County Courthouse was a big part of my growing up in Hayesville because my father Tom Gray had his office in the courthouse. He was the County Attorney and a Lawyer for many years, in fact from before my birth [...]

Growing Up Between the Jail and The Courthouse Through The Eyes of a Child
Not many people can say they grew up in jail. Well, I did. My father was Sheriff Neal R. Kitchens, who served a total of twenty years as sheriff of Clay County. He went in to office first as a Deputy Sheriff [...]

Remembering the Old Courthouse: Part 5
During the Great Depression & recovering years of World War II.
By: Bud Padgett
Guest Columnist
I grew up in Hayesville and Clay County during the 1930’s and 1940’s. I can remember the hard days of the GReat Depression and the recovering years of World War II. There was very little for pre-teens [...]

Courthouse Series #4

Remembering the “Old” Courthouse

By: Martha Neal Warth
Guest Columnist

My earliest memories of the courthouse- of actually being in the courtroom upstairs- was when I was about four years old and seeing my first “moving picture”. According to the tale my family tells on me, it was a war movie showing  on [...]

Courthouse Series #6
The Courthouse Square- Past. Present and Future
By: Julia Taylor July 15, 2010
About two years after my parents moved to Hayesville a major change took place in my life and the lives of my three sons, Russ, Taylor and Brooks. During this time of instability Hayesville was a safe haven and a joyous experience [...]

For-Profit Schools: Do Your Homework Before You Enroll

By Attorney General Roy Cooper
In these uncertain economic times, many North Carolinians are heading back to school to improve their job opportunities.  Your local community college is always a good place to turn for high-quality programs at an affordable price.  There are also reputable career and [...]

Leaning Left
Jim Fitzgerald
It seems many conservatives are looking for the government to create jobs at the same time they are saying government is bloated and should radically reduce spending. Conservatives are clearly looking to the government to fix the economy while also calling for a weak federal government. They seem to believe that the federal [...]

You can’t keep a good diner down
Hayesville Family re-opens
By Frank Bradley
Sentinel writer
The thing that makes a great family restaurant is not only that the food is good and reasonable, but that it’s also a place where you can meet friends, listen to stories, laugh a bit and just plain relax. I’ve always found something about [...]

This week I went on what is called a battlefield circulation.  I have soldiers at five different locations throughout Afghanistan.  Occasionally I get the opportunity to travel and visit with them.  This week I traveled to an outpost called Wilderness.  This base rests at over 6500 feet elevation and is tucked away against a mountainside [...]

I am now just under eight months into the deployment.  It seems as if the days that were once flying by are now starting to crawl along.  Perhaps it is because I have been doing my current job for long enough to become efficient at it.  Now with more free time on my hands I [...]