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Columnists

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Is Phase Two Of Trump‘s Peace Plan In The Gaza Strip Doomed To Fail? – Part I

Phase one of Trump‘s twenty-point peace plan in the Gaza Strip, which began on October 9, called for a ceasefire, cessation of military operations, along with a hostage and prisoner...

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,...

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...

Are You Prepared? And If So, Why?

Elizabeth Myer Boulton recalls that, during the energy crisis, her grandmother “became obsessed with keeping the needle of her Buick’s gas gauge above...

Lessons From Walt

Walt was an old man when I first met him in seventh grade. Oh, he was my age mathematically but a galling poverty...

Disappointment and Magic

I seem spend a lot of time being disappointed.  Disappointed in myself and those around me.  Disappointed in the ways of the world and...

The Ultimate Carolina Cross-Branded Culinary Confection

In 1917, the Carolina Beverage Company was established in Salisbury NC, which is strategically located along a major railroad distribution system.  There the...

So What is Your Favorite Pet Peeve?

Hate is a very strong word and one which is often overused.  All of us nine- to-fivers claim to "hate" traffic, even though...

Lunacy or Enlightenment?

On 21 July 2010, we celebrated the 41st anniversary of NASA’s lunar landing: the first time for our species to set foot, literally,...