Ethanol plant draws opposition
Op-Ed by Shirley Rothman
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Is there anyone out there who can help us in Mecklenburg County? The Planning Commission and the County Board of Supervisors are ignoring the citizens. Osage Bio Energy LLC from Glen Allen is forcing an ethanol plant down our throats. This is the same outfit that is attacking Hopewell. Osage has never made a drop of ethanol, but the Tobacco Commission (TICR) approved $1 million to run a water pipeline 13 miles to the site, a beautiful farm on the edge of Chase City that Osage wants rezoned heavy industrial. Read more
Eagles concert provides ‘Peaceful, Easy Feeling’
Column by Jim Bishop
The stage lights came up, applause and cheers erupted, and I stared down on music legends. The Eagles had landed.
The incredibly popular band, formed in the early 1970s in Los Angeles, Calif., was in Charlottesville, Va., on its “Long Road Out of Eden” tour. Tickets, though outrageously priced, were available, the venue just one hour’s driving distance from Harrisonburg. Opportunity knocked, and I had to answer.
It felt especially good to make the excursion with daughter Sara, half my age and always ready for an adventure. I anticipated a mob scene, and it would be the early morning hours before we’d return home in the middle of a work week. Read more
Play it, Sam
Item by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
You know how it ends. But you want to see it anyway.
“Casablanca” will be on the big screen at Court Square Theater in Downtown Harrisonburg on Tuesday, June 3. Read more
Why let facts get in the way of a good argument?
Fear and Loathing in Waynesboro column by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
It would seem to buttress the case of the ultraconservatives that the average tenure of a city manager was five and a half years according to the International City/County Management Association, given that Doug Walker will be finishing up five and a half years in the city-manager job in Waynesboro when he steps down on June 30.
Only if it were true … Read more
War, economy, high gas prices? No, it’s the Second Amendment again
The Politcs Beat column by Chris Graham
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Why is Bob Goodlatte banging the drum on the Second Amendment?
“You can count on me to fight to protect our rights,” Goodlatte wrote in a fund-raising letter dated May 16 that he began with mention of a case now in front of the United States Supreme Court that he said “could impact our constitutional right to own a firearm.” Read more
It’s all in the detail: Banjo part of fundraising efforts for Wayne Theatre
Item by Crystal Graham
freepress@ntelos.net
It’s not your everyday banjo.
With musical instruments being cranked out of big factories every day, Geoff Stelling’s handmade banjos are a true rarity. The Afton-based business produces just 200 or so banjos annually.
Geoff’s son, Jimmy, who works with his dad in the business, is a banjo player who has played music professionally. He’s been playing Stelling banjos since he was 8 years old.
Together, the family has dedicated themselves to making what Geoff calls a “better banjo” – working 25 hours plus on each banjo – spread over six to eight weeks. A process that is precise because you have to wait an ample amount of time for the glue to dry and the finishes to cure between coats, among other details that make Stelling’s banjos stand out in the industry. Read more
Help direct Augusta County’s economic future
Item by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Augusta County residents will have the chance to shape the crafting of the county’s Economic Development Strategic Plan at a series of workshops beginning June 9.
The first of three community workshops will be held June 9 from 7-9 p.m. at Stuarts Draft High School. Workshops are also on the schedule for June 10 from 7-9 p.m. at Riverheads High School and June 11 from 1-3 p.m. at the Augusta County Government Center in Verona. Read more
