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Columnists

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

Shirley Padgett Lester of Vinton went to her heavenly reward October 4. Below is the powerful eulogy her daughter Kelly Kiser wrote and calmly delivered at the memorial service...

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: Sometimes President Trump Needs To Think Before He Speaks – Part I

I read an article in the New York Post written by Ryan King on November 27 entitled...

“The Misplaced Magi”

This year are you celebrating Christmas or the holidays?  If you look around it seems to be getting more and more difficult to...

A Shepherd’s Tale by Gary Robbins

If a reporter had invited one of the shepherds to share his story the day after Jesus’ birth, maybe, just maybe, it would...

Consider All the Pampered, Ungrateful Professional Athletes You Know – And Then There’s This Guy

He joined the Cleveland Indians in 1936 for the bargain price of .  He immediately proved himself to be one of the hardest-throwing...

Public Speaking Requires Divine Intervention

Perhaps the most common phobia shared by people of all ages is the fear of speaking in public.  Clearly, the thought of standing before...

Making the Most of Christmas Eve

Years ago churches in Roanoke would have double, even triple their normal attendance on Easter Sunday as the unchurched and nominally churched came...

My Christmas Donkey Miracle

Several years ago I agreed to coordinate Journey to Bethlehem, a Christmas tradition at Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church that began shortly after our...