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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...

A Letter To My Rock – [Lucky and Sabrina recently lost their nine-year old Dobie, Rock.]

by Lucky Garvin Dear Rock, First, the vet was there that day because we called her to set you free. Ultimately it was my decision...

Stop, Look, Listen

by Hayden Hollingsworth That’s what the bars on the railroad crossing signs used to say.  It was not an idle warning.  In the early...

A “Pick-Up” At Lipe’s Pharmacy In 1953

by Mary Jo Shannon Every Wednesday at 7:00 a.m., approximately twelve persons gather in the chapel at Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church to read and...

Recipe of the Week: Honey Lemon Pasta Salad

by Leigh Sackett It is hard for me to fathom that summer is here already. It really feels like last summer just ended! Summer...

A “Pick-Up” At Lipe’s Pharmacy In 1953

by Mary Jo Shannon Every Wednesday at 7:00 a.m., approximately twelve persons gather in the chapel at Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church to read and...

One Mo’ Cup O’ Joe . . .

by Joe Kennedy I achieved a major milestone a week or two ago. It happened on a Saturday, a day rife with rain, a day meant...