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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,...

DEVOTIONAL: Be A Servant Leader

Then they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them and grant them their...

DEVOTIONAL: How To Beat Burn-Out

Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked...

MKE KEELER: The Right People Were There

It was dumb luck the three of them were there when it happened. (Editor's note: Or was it?) Kira Turner is a graduate student at...

SCOTT DREYER: Saint Patrick Was Irish, Right?

This column was originally posted on March 17, 2021, in theroanokestar.com For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.  — Psalm 91:11...

White House Misdirection on Energy

Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine calls for the United States to respond with the diplomatic and economic tools we have in our...

DEVOTIONAL: Pray…Acknowledge…Turn

If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and if they pray toward this...