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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...

Why Are You Standing There Looking At The Sky? by Joe Lehman

When Jesus was being taken into heaven, it appeared to his disciples to be over.  He was no longer going to be physically...

Student Loan Program in Need of Major Overhaul

by Dick Baynton Funding of the education loan landscape changed in March of 2010 when President Obama signed the bill that overhauled the ‘Student...

Recipe of the Week: Strawberry Spinach Salad

by Leigh Sackett It is strawberry season and my son Anthony is so excited. He loves strawberries.  I rarely serve up strawberries in creative...

Time to Bail?

by H. Bruce Rinker, Ph.D. Colleagues and friends Tony Oppersdorff and Kyrill Schabert published a delightful collaborative paperback in 2011 entitled “Best Nature Sites...

Taking Things for Granted

by Hayden Hollingsworth That’s a phrase that often has negative connotations but there are some things that we ought to be able to take...

“Do a Little Less”

by Keith McCurdy Let’s all do a little less for our children this week.  I mean it, let’s do a little less.  Oh, I...