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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...

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...

Rise of the Beta Male

Watching my one football game of the year, share for a moment my perplexity at a Super Bowl commercial showing a pathetic gaggle...

Is Your Adoption Complete? by Ed Dunnington

“Are they both yours?” was the question from a stranger in the grocery store as my wife walked through the fresh produce.  That...

Something Wicked This Way Comes

by H. Bruce Rinker, Ph.D. In the greenhouse adjacent to my lab, I grow dozens of species of tropical plants.  Orchids, bromeliads, banana palms,...

Real Men Don’t Wrap (Or Shouldn’t)

I was near-about done with wrapping Christmas presents. I like to get an early start; and more importantly an early finish. As I plowed...