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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,...

Recipe of the Week: Basil and Tomato Baked Eggs

When I think of what to prepare for Easter breakfast or lunch or dinner I obviously feel the desire for the meals to...

Job Hunting / Body Re-Building Not for The Faint of Heart

by Jon Kaufman Available immediately; one highly motivated, salesperson/writer, familiar with the Roanoke market and recently released into the wild.  Hardworking and brimming with...

My Big College Miracle

by Mary Jo Shannon Homecoming at Mary Baldwin College was last weekend. The campus has expanded since my college days, but the hills are...

Government Makes Good on A Very Old Promise

by Mike Keeler It involves a small tract of land, set amid rolling foothills, adjacent to a world-famous tourist destination. For many years...

Terrible Twos or Feisty Fourteens?

by Keith McCurdy “Just what is the big deal with the terrible twos?” a mom recently asked.  She had been talking with other mothers...

Who Is Going To Lead?

by Hayden Hollingsworth From the day humans came to the realization survival depended on communal living, "who is going to lead," must have been...