State-written history

Ken Plum

   Column by Ken Plum www.kenplum.com My studies in history and political science at the institution that is now Old DominionUniversity were eye-opening, exciting and fulfilling, but my resulting bachelor of arts degree did not provide me any specific career training. That is why I entered a master in education program at the University of…

Tribute to fallen leaves – let them be!

Contributors

   Column by Shepherd Bliss Submit guest columns and letters: [email protected] First, some background: This November a City Council member in our small Northern California town of Sebastopol proposed a ban on leaf blowers, which the community and Council are currently discussing. Bans have been passed in many cities around the United States and proposed…

Let it ‘Shine’

Chris Graham

Seminary student releases CD with Christian message Story by Laura Lehman Amstutz EMU news: www.emu.edu Along with writing papers and reading books, first-year Eastern Mennonite Seminary student Jessica Crawford has been busy producing a recording. Her first solo CD, “Shine,” is a mix of acoustic rock and folk with a Christian message. “Just before entering…

Transcript: President Obama on job creation

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  Speech at The Brookings Institution www.whitehouse.gov Almost exactly one year ago, on a frigid winter’s day, I met with my new economic team at the headquarters of my presidential transition offices in Chicago. And over the course of four hours, my advisors presented an analysis of where the economy at that time stood, accompanied…

Transcript: UVa. welcomes Mike London

Chris Graham

  Staff UVa. sports: www.virginiasports.com CRAIG LITTLEPAGE (director of athletics): Good afternoon, everybody. And we appreciate your taking time to be with us this afternoon to conduct some very important business as it relates to our football program. I want to reiterate the message that Jim brought us from President Casteen. He’s deeply disappointed that…

A dad, his son, and Ds and Fs

Contributors

   A Dad’s Point of View column by Bruce Sallan www.brucesallan.com What parent hasn’t dreaded report card time, especially when a child is underperforming? How do two kids, born of the same genetic material, turn out so differently when it comes to school performance and their work ethic? When is it wrong if the “problem”…

Casual comments

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  Column by Nan Russell Columns, letters: [email protected] “Nana, when I get older, I want blue eyes,” my nearly 3-year-old granddaughter remarked, prompting a discussion about eye color followed by praise for her dark brown eyes. Still she persisted in her wishful thinking, telling to her grandfather, mother, and father that she was going to…

Sustainability plan for Stuart Hall gets OK

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Staff Report The parent organization to Stuart Hall in Staunton has endorsed a plan for long-term sustainability developed by the private school’s Board of Governors in the face of economic challenges faced by the school in the continuing economic downturn. “We recognize that the critical keys to our sustainability are recruitment of new students, retention…

Can I openly say, ‘In everything, give thanks?’

Jim Bishop

Column by Jim Bishop “And I think to myself what a wonderful world . . .” -Louis Armstrong (1963) What a breathtaking, surprising experience early Monday morning. I was still struggling to defrost my bleary-eyed vision while motoring in my Miata to start another work week after another blur of a weekend.