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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...

Christmas Musings By Joe Lehman

The feast of Christmas is both magical and mystical. And there’s much that helps make it so.  The most obvious are three: In Christmastide,...

Celebrating Marriage

by Keith McCurdy We have just celebrated Thanksgiving and are now upon the very Eve of Christmas.  How about celebrating a little marriage in...

Another Christmas Tree War

You can always tell what you think of the giverby how well you take care of his gifts.        -- Rev....

A Few Thoughts at 63 and Counting

by Lucky Garvin Flying across the highway in front of me was a crow; and in its beak, a long piece of limp brown...

Cornish Hens with Cornbread Stuffing

by Leigh Sackett I love giving a Christmas dinner recipe to all of you. The problem I always find is that I make the same...

Extra, Extra! Christmas Stolen – Grinch Exonerated!

by Fred First Granted, his methods were nefarious the year he stole Christmas. But his tiny heart secretly was—and is—in the right place. He...