Wake me when something important … zzz …

Stop the Presses column by Chris Graham
newdominion@ntelos.net

I didn’t watch the YouTube debate.

I don’t make it a point of watching any of those debate things.

I think they’re beyond pointless.

I mean, seriously, a bunch of suits lined up giving us 45-second answers to all of our problems.

My attention span runs out at 15 seconds anymore.

What – you’re still on that topic? Read more

A sweet start

Story by Theresa Curry
AGratefulSeason.com

Every year about this time, the men and women of the Waynesboro Church of the Brethren fire up their ovens and disappear into a whirlwind of flour and sugar. They’re getting ready for the Church’s annual Craft and Cookie Bazaar Saturday, now in its fourteenth year. The event has become so popular that crowds shiver outside in the early dawn, lining up in the lower parking lot with bags and boxes, and advancing on the fellowship hall as the clock strikes eight. Read more

Community group wants county, state to improve safety on Nelson highway

Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net

An accident that killed a mother and her two young daughters in Nelson County this summer happened 75 yards from the front door of Tommy Stafford’s office.
“We knew we needed to do something,” said Stafford, the founder of Project151.org, a web portal that is serving as a launching pad for a community effort to get Nelson County and the Commonwealth Transportation Board to take needed steps to improve traffic safety on the congested Va. 151. Read more

Numbers don’t add up

Stop the Presses column by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net

I read somewhere once that the average blog has one – yes, one – reader.
This, of course, makes absolutely no sense.
Consider, for example, that this blog – and I hesitate to call it a blog, because it also happens to be the web portal for a legitimate newsgathering operation; but let’s go with the terminology for a sec, if only because we get accused often of being bloggers, mainly by self-styled detractors – can get in the order of 10,000 unique visitors in a single day.
Also consider that this is not at all a remarkable number – not when you consider the kind of traffic that, say, The New York Times or newsmax.com or HuffingtonPost or insert-name-of-favorite-blog here gets. Read more

Ryan ready for Tech challenge

Story by Chris Graham
sportsdom@ntelos.net

Matt Ryan at least knows what Virginia Tech did to stop his Boston College offense for 56 minutes the first time the two teams played.
“I’m not sure if it’s an advantage or disadvantage. You’ve just got to play with the cards that you’re dealt,” the BC quarterback said of the ACC Championship Game rematch of the Eagles’ 14-10 win in Blacksburg on Oct. 25. Read more

Lucente ‘leaning’ in direction of voting to approve bond issues

Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net

A series of legal snafus that arose during the process of confirmation following the bond referenda in Waynesboro that were on the Nov. 6 ballot could soon be resolved without a new election or a court order.
“I think the people made an error in putting in the fire station, but I work for the people, so I have to abide by what the people want. So I’m in all likelihood going to go with what the people want, and I’m going to vote for the referendums that they passed. … I’m not 100 percent sure, but I’m leaning in the direction of – I think I work for the people, and I have to do what they want me to do,” Waynesboro City Councilman Frank Lucente told The Augusta Free Press this afternoon. Read more

Sweet music to this holiday message

Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net

Tim Spears saw two needy children one Christmas 27 years ago.
From a humble effort to help those two enjoy a decent Christmas, an effort that has brought Yuletide cheer to more than 7,000 youngsters since was born.
“I went to my band – we were playing on the road – and I asked them, Would it be OK if we just took the money from just one job and gave it to these two children and bought them shoes and toys and coats. Because they just weren’t going to have a Christmas. The following year, we started doing a couple of shows – and then after that it really escalated into raising some big money for these children,” said Spears, the owner of Tim Spears Music City in Downtown Waynesboro and a country-music musician and singer. Read more

Tech’s two-headed monster

Story by Chris Graham
sportsdom@ntelos.net

Al Groh was getting ready for what turned out to be a nailbiter with Connecticut when he saw something on the TV that worried him about another game that his Virginia team had on the schedule.
“We had a later game the day that Virginia Tech was playing Duke – and when Tyrod (Taylor) got hurt, and Sean (Glennon) went into the game, I thought to myself, This is going to be trouble,” Groh said after Virginia Tech’s two-quarterback monster put up 33 points on his defense in a win last weekend in Charlottesville that sent the Hokies to the ACC Championship Game. Read more

“The SportsDominion Show” – Nov. 28, 2007

This week …
- Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan and Virginia Tech defensive end Orion Martin talk about this weekend’s ACC Championship Game.
- Chris Coleman of TechSideline.com breaks down the Tech-BC game.
- We look inside the prolific UVa. three-point game.
- Richmond coach Dave Clawson helps us preview UR’s playoff game with Wofford on Saturday.
- Greg Trippiedi of Hog Heaven discusses the tragic passing of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor.
Download this week’s show here.
  

  

“The Augusta Free Press Show” – Nov. 28, 2007

Joining us this week …
- Ruth Jones of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Network talks about how the local food bank and food banks across the country are being squeezed by the current economic downturn.
- Tim Spears of the Tim Spears Christmas Fund discusses his ongoing 27-year effort to bring Christmas to needy children in the Greater Augusta area.
- Tommy Stafford of Project151.org introduces us to the Nelson County-based community organization that is dedicated to improving traffic safety on Va. 151.
- Author David Shreve talks about the release of three new volumes of books coming from the private White House recordings of the late president Lyndon B. Johnson.
Download this week’s show here.

County decals, swastika guy, Ray Robertson

Winners and Losers column by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net

BIG WINNERS: Augusta County considering dropping vehicle decals
Even bigger winners would be Waynesboro if they decided to do this.
You know, since I live there now.

LOSER: Suspect in Greater Augusta-area swastika case apprehended
Did you catch the details in the local media as to where they caught this obvious brainiac?
He was just leaving the Dairy Queen in Verona after leaving another mark at around one or two in the morning.
For those who don’t know the lay of the land, the Dairy Queen is three doors down from the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office.

WINNER: Ray Robertson
I’ve criticized the hell out of the guy for his work on the Staunton porn-store case, but to his credit, he sat down with me for a lengthy interview for a story on the obscenity issue that will appear in our upcoming New Dominion magazine.

Chris Graham is the executive editor of The Augusta Free Press.

New book chronicles educators, church leaders from WWII generation

Story by Jim Bishop

They were born in the Depression, grew up during World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War and Vietnam. All moved from more rural to professional settings and made major impacts on the Mennonite Church, its institutions and the larger society.
Reflections and stories from these 16 educators and church leaders form the basis of Making Sense of the Journey: The Geography of Our Faith, a 350-page paperback. The volume, with a foreward by EMU president Loren Swartzendruber, is edited by Mennonite educators and church leaders Robert and Nancy V. Lee. Read more

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