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Columnists

BOB BROWN: When the Underdog Bites Has Rabies, and a Mean Owner

We have a strong human urge to identify with the “underdog.” There is nothing new about this tendency. The biblical story of David and Goliath, reported 3000 years ago,...

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

Unfortunately, Trump’s present ceasefire as of October 9 is analogous to the armistice signed between...

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...

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...

The First Day of School 1939

My initiation into the world of education began in an unorthodox way. My family had just moved to our new home near Verona...

Peonies as Baseballs

I fancy myself a passionate gardener; I love digging in the dirt, experimenting with new plants and battling the many weeds that seem...

“Invest In A kid, Change A life” by Pastor Quigg Lawrence

Everyone is busy.  I am busy, you’re busy, we're all busy.  It is easy to use the “I’m so busy” card as an...

Recipe of the Week: Blues Burgers

Mmmmmm blue cheese is one of my weaknesses; it is my kryptonite. So on Labor Day when I am experiencing my annual end...

The Oceans: Not Too Big to Fail

Let’s imagine for a moment that we live in a fictional future world—a world where, for fifty years, the planet’s plant life on...

When You Need “Someone With Skin On”

The funeral is over and family and friends who came to express their condolences have turned their attention to other matters. Loneliness and...