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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...

ALISHA BREWER NELSON: Wind In Our Wings

When you are raised in a home by people who are not Christians, who are not living by Biblical principles - who are broken,...

SCOTT DREYER: What’s Good For The Goose?

Leadership is not having the right answers--it’s asking the right questions.  - Andy Stanley In my March 12 column, I erroneously claimed that US Senator...

MIKE KEELER: Play Ball! (And Pass The Mud . . .)

As snow melts in the Northeast, baseball fans’ thoughts turn south, toward spring training. Hopes for the new season are high. But what most...

SCOTT DREYER: Equality Act Takes Country in Wrong Direction

All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.  - George Orwell, Animal Farm Anyone who has read George Orwell appreciates his sense...

SCOTT DREYER: No Man Is An Island Indeed PART IV

The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.  -Psalm 24:1 (KJV) In Parts 1, 2, and 3...

SCOT BELLAVIA: 4 Phrases People Should Stop Using

Maybe these are grammatical pet peeves, or maybe I’m onto something more profound. Either way, here are four phrases people should stop using. Opens Up:...