Anatomy of a stimulus effort gone wrong

AFP

   Column by Chris Graham [email protected] It all sounded good. A Small Business Administration workshop leader told a group of small-business owners in Harrisonburg this past summer about a new loan program funded under the Recovery Act that was designed to help struggling small-business owners deal with short-term cash-flow issues resulting from the ongoing financial…

WEMC trio

Jim Bishop

  Staff Report EMU news: www.emu.edu They are three men on a mission – seeking to serve up an appetizing smorgasbord of eclectic music that may otherwise not hit the local radio airwaves. John L. Horst, Ted Grimsrud and Jim Bishop produce and host weekly programs on public radio station WEMC, 91.7 FM. They do…

Historical markers focus of book release

AFP

  Staff Report News tips: [email protected] Markerhistory.com recently announced the release of Virginia Marker History – Volume V – Shenandoah Valley Region as part of its Historical Marker Collection series. “The Shenandoah Valley region guidebook brings history home, eliminating the danger of being rear-ended while slowing down or pulling over on busy roads to read…

Charity wrestling show on tap for Dec. 12

Chris Graham

Staff Report LTW Entertainment and Spotswood High School are teaming up to put on a professional wrestling show Saturday, Dec. 12, with a 7 p.m. belltime. TNA Wrestling’s Awesome Austin Creed will be the featured attraction, with NWA legends George South and Preston Michaels joining Doink the Clown, Spotswood special-education teacher Chris Dodson and more.

Eastern Mennonite Seminary features new divinity offering

AFP

Story by Laura Lehman Amstutz Eastern Mennonite Seminary is offering students a new opportunity in the master of divinity degree. An academic track has been added to the three-year MDiv program as part of an overall curriculum revision. This track will give students opportunity for more study in their field of interest and better prepare…

JMU rallies to knock off Virginia Tech

AFP

Staff Report Junior guard Dawn Evans (Clarksville, Tenn./Northeast) had 14 points during a 27-9 James Madison scoring run to end the game as the host Dukes defeated Virginia Tech 66-59 in non-conference women’s basketball at the JMU Convocation Center Sunday. Virginia Tech went in front 28-24 with the final five points of the opening half…

Photography subject of Historical Society lecture

AFP

Staff Report Photography in Virginia takes center stage at the third and final event in the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society’s Fall 2009 Strickler Lecture Series. On Thursday, Nov. 19, Jeffrey Ruggles, curator of prints and photography at the Virginia Historical Society, in Richmond, will discuss the history of photography in Virginia, 1840s to present. He also…

Focus | Fortune smiled upon him

AFP

Story by Chris Graham With AFP Audio It was a cover of Roy Orbison’s “Crying” that landed Jimmy Fortune in the Statler Brothers. That’s why a cover of “Crying” is in Fortune’s new CD, “Windows,” which is being launched this weekend with a release party in Harrisonburg. “Lew Dewitt heard me sing that song at…

Focus | Tensions over social policy take center stage

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham Bob McDonnell led the GOP sweep in the 2009 state races and a six-seat Republican Party pickup in the House of Delegates with his move early in the ’09 election cycle to stake his campaign and by extension the campaigns of Republican candidates across Virginia on the economy and jobs to…

Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley: The Perfect Place to Be

AFP

Column by Stan Horst Many of us dream of finding the perfect place to live, Stan Horst found that perfect place when he moved to Central Virginia 20 years ago where he runs Cabin Creekwood, a vacation rental business near Waynesboro with his wife Debbie. Stan say he will never grow tired of the variety…