Winners and Losers column by Chris Graham
Winner: Riverheads and Turner Ashby football fans
Football games featuring the local powers will be broadcast on WSIG-96.9FM and WBOP-95.5FM this fall – every week, home and away.
I like the concept, personally – and honestly, can’t understand why we don’t see more of this kind of thing. I mean, it’s not like you wouldn’t be able to find sponsors for broadcasts of games featuring the local high-school football team.
Hmmm …
This one has me thinking …
Winner: Charlottesville pastor William T. Coles
Coles made the news this week by publicly imploring the local black community to step up and stop the senseless spate of attacks in Downtown Charlottesville that have been ongoing in recent months.
Kudos to Coles – for making the point that we don’t have to sit by passively and let the government do for us what we should be doing for ourselves, namely, taking responsibility for raising our kids and ensuring that they come up the right way.
Loser: Augusta County farmers
News item: The county board of supervisors seeks disaster assistance for farmers affected by the drought.
The question that begs: What in the sam hill took them so long?
Loser: Justice
News item: Man convicted in 1984 assault of UVa. student to be freed after serving six months.
Yes, I’m aware that the reason William Beebe is getting an early parole is because he committed his crime in 1984 before mandatory-sentencing laws took effect in the 1990s.
But still … the guy got away with his crime for more than two decades, and now he’s going free after six months on a technicality?
Yeah, justice loses here big-time.
Loser(s): David Cox and Arin Sime
I know it’s the summer, and therefore it’s supposed to be the quiet time before a fall election, but …
Are you seriously going to be able to knock off a three-term incumbent by playing by the supposed rules?
This is the time for Cox, the Democratic nominee, and Sime, the Libertarian nominee, to begin building momentum for their respective campaigns against 24th District Sen. Emmett Hanger.
And sure, I know that they’re out doing things on the local county-fair circuit and the rest – but I don’t know, if I were their James Carville or Mary Matalin, I would have them on TV and in the papers every day blasting Hanger for his vote on the transportation-funding bill that resulted in us getting these silly abusive-driver fees, and calling for a special session immediately and getting on Hanger’s case for not thinking up the idea himself.
I think it’s great to do all the one-on-ones at fairs and related events here in the heat of summer, but I also think that you have to strike when the iron is hot – and as hot as it is right now on these driver fees, I can’t imagine that it’s going to stay this way through November.
Chris Graham is the executive editor of The Augusta Free Press.
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