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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...

Local Doctors Overcome Adversity and Inspire

One of the services offered by WVTF, our National Public Radio affiliate, is little known:  Reading for the visually handicapped.  On a special...

A Little Latin Goes A Long Way

This essay is just a draft.  If it were final, it wouldn't contain the well-known phrase, lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci...

Turkey Wild Rice Soup

Leftovers, leftovers, what to do with all the leftovers! Well my favorite leftover cuisine is to mix turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing into...

Taking in The Last Garden of 2010

I put away the garden of the summer of 2010 this morning. It was a fair year—more productive than some disastrous gardens we’ve had,...

The “Unassuming Craftsmen” are The Real Heroes

If you’ve never seen the movie, “The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn” with Sidney Poitier, you should. It’s a fascinating tale of an...

A Little Man

Jesus looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today. Zacchaeus hears that Jesus...