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Columnists

FRED FIRST: Approaching the Longest Night

Yes, you’re right—if you’ve even noticed—that this space has been neglected for some weeks now, and it has been hard to figure out where and how to jump back...

A Life Well-Lived: Shirley Padgett Lester (1947-2025)

Shirley Padgett Lester of Vinton went to her heavenly reward October 4. Below is the...

BOB BROWN: How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden “Presidency”

Permit me to think out loud as an old-fashioned person who respects authority, history, and...

JOHNNY ROBINSON: The Gratitude Perch

On the old road up Mill Mountain, part of Roanoke’s fabulous greenway system, there’s a...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Sometimes President Trump Needs To Think Before He Speaks – Part II

Contrary to what President Trump believes, I think that Lakanwal was adequately vetted before September 2021,...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: America’s Endless Wars for Endless Peace Continue in Ukraine

The United States may be approaching in the near future a hot war or direct conflict with Russia, which could possibly escalate into a...

SCOTT DREYER: Are Dems Making Trump A Martyr?

Never having claimed to be a legal expert, I share these observations as a social studies teacher and concerned American. Last week President Trump was...

DEVOTIONAL: Jesus’ 7 Sayings From The Cross (3)

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is...

SCOTT DREYER: No April Fools’ Prank–Pres. Biden Made Sick Jokes After Transgender Killed 6 In TN School Shooting

The violence in our culture is mind-numbing and shows what happens when a people turn their backs on God, order, and any sense of...

SERWAN ZANGANA: Del. Rasoul Betrays Faith Values And Roanoke Parents

By opposing the parental rights bill that was recently shot down in the General Assembly and calling it “nonsensical,”  Delegate Salam “Sam” Rasoul (D)...

DEVOTIONAL: Jesus’ 7 Sayings From The Cross (2)

 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43 (NIV) Some people wonder, "Are some people so evil,...