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Columnists

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, and it has been hard to figure out where and how to jump back...

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...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Sometimes President Trump Needs To Think Before He Speaks – Part II

Contrary to what President Trump believes, I think that Lakanwal was adequately vetted before September 2021,...

Lord, It is Good to Be

“Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord, my God, you are great indeed!" (Psalm 104) I’m writing this “corner” while at the...

ZOTZ Are in Town or is This the Twilight Zone?

I have a confession to make. I have occasionally been driving all the way out to Cracker Barrel in Troutville to feed a...

If An Event Goes Unreported, Did It Ever Really Happen?

Dent McSkimming was a beat reporter for the St. Louis Star while still in high school.  He served in World War 1, came...

And Yet It Moves . . .

In the late 19th-century, Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov wrote a frantic orchestral interlude, “Flight of the Bumblebee,” for his four-act opera called The Tale...

Backwards Babel – by Tupper Garden

Do you ever wonder at the power and gift of language? We used to think that language is what set us apart from...

Recipe of the Week: Mint Pear Summer Delight

This week for breakfast, lunch and a snack I am exclusively drinking smoothies.  I am going to try out all different combinations that...