May Surprise in 24th GOP race

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham You’ve heard of October Surprises. How about a June Surprise – a day early? A report on a local politics website has brought to light two drunk-driving convictions on the record of Mary Brandt Sayre, the wife of 24th Senate District Republican Party nomination candidate Scott Sayre, who is challenging incumbent…

Get rid of all that stuff, Momma said

Jim Bishop

Bishop’s Mantle column by Jim Bishop What makes any of us acquire so many things? This pesky question resurfaced as I rummaged through accumulated items once deemed priceless treasures. The occasion was preparing for the semi-annual (spring) Belmont Estates yard sale. This seminal event, a cross between a street market and a family reunion, still…

Radio daze: Pushing Platters with frequency

Jim Bishop

Bishop’s Mantle column by Jim Bishop “A dream is a wish your heart makes. . .” – Jiminy Cricket Nearing the end of my illustrious high-school pilgrimage, my overriding dream – other than to graduate with some semblance of academic respectability – was to play music on the radio. I don’t mean sitting by my…

Smucker family faces wait and a weight, part two

Jim Bishop

Bishop’s Mantle column by Jim Bishop Dave and Shari Smucker were stymied. Nearly three years had passed, and it didn’t appear hopeful that Aaron, now 3 years old, would ever join their family in Harrisonburg. The couple had made several visits to the youngster’s home in Guatemala, and each time, some technicality prevented them from…

Family encounters – wait and weight

Jim Bishop

Bishop’s Mantle column by Jim Bishop The past four years, Dave and Sheri Smucker of Harrisonburg have had numerous hands-on lessons in learning to wait … and waiting some more. Their amazing odyssey includes two adoptions, a near-death experience and several minor miracles – if one believes that certain experiences defy rational explanation.

Three strikes, but not out

Jim Bishop

Bishop’s Mantle column by Jim Bishop “EMU – Bluffton baseball game cancelled.” This notice in small type on the calendar of the sports section of the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record might normally command a passing glance. But on this occasion, these few words jumped out at me like special effects in a 3-D movie, a jarring…

No bones about it – it was Ian’s day

Chris Graham

Golf Things Considered column by John Rogers [email protected]   In a subtle, pleated-pants way, golf has potential for those transcendent moments when we feel larger than life, when we go beyond our personal limits. It’s very rare, though, that achievements on the golf course rise to heroic. In my mind there was only Ben Hogan…