back to top

Columnists

BECKY MAUPIN: The After Bedtime Search

Picture this: You manage to get everyone fed and the dinner aftermath cleaned up. Then starts the bedtime rodeo that includes 4 meltdowns, 3 sips of water, 2 more...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Israel’s Second Sum Of All Fears

I first heard about a dirty bomb in early September 1993 when an IBM coworker,...

BOB BROWN: What Happened to Happiness?

We can quibble about the origin, even the definition or meaning of “happiness,” but I’m...

FRED FIRST: Homeward Bound

It would happen: the trip back to Floyd. And then it wouldn’t. And then it...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) Needs To Be Censured

Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), who appears to be a self-important crackpot, tried hysterically (without officially...

DEVOTIONAL: Want To Be a Better Conversationalist? (1)

(...) let every person be quick to hear (....) - James 1:19 (ESV) Today, the Covid pandemic is still painfully in our minds, but there...

SCOTT DREYER: My Message To The Roanoke County School Board

These remarks were shared with the Roanoke County School Board by email on August 17, 2023. I share these thoughts with the Roanoke County School...

SERWAN ZANGANA: Learn From Roanoke County School Board To Adopt Unbiased Policies

It was another night and another Roanoke County School Board (RCSB) meeting on July 27, when the school board officials had to face a...

MELINDA MYERS: Fall-Planted Cover Crops Provide Many Benefits to Gardens

Put your garden to work over winter by planting a cover crop this fall. Covering the soil with plants that are turned into the...

DEVOTIONAL: Why Be “Normal”?

Do not conform to the pattern of this world (....) - Romans 12:2 (NIV) As a child, do you remember adults warning you about the...

MIKE KEELER: Are You A Wordle-er? There’s Much More Waiting . . .

Let me ask, what puzzle games do you play online? These days everyone’s into Wordle, and some have made the jump to Quordle or...