Eleven, down to two

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected] Eleven – yes, eleven – people want to be the new clerk of court in Rockingham County. But the race for the $123,000-a-year job seems to be coming down to the two major-party nominees. “I really think it’s going to be a two-person race,” Bridgewater College history and political-science professor…

Riverheads District candidates speak out

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham Nancy Sorrells is running for her first re-election to the Riverheads District seat on the Augusta County Board of Supervisors in next month’s general elections. The independent will face the challenge of a Republican Party nominee, farmer Michael Shull, on the Nov. 6 ballot. Sorrells and Shull both talked…

WVPT documentary tackles illegal immigration

AFP

Story by Chris Graham Brent Finnegan is on the immigration issue where many of us are. “It’s a mess,” said Finnegan, the director and producer of “Virginia Reports: The Latino Underground,” a documentary that will air on WVPT-Virginia’s Public Television beginning Oct. 22. “There are conflicting solutions,” said Finnegan, who spent a year putting together…

EMU honors two distinguished grads

Jim Bishop

Story by Jim Bishop The Alumni Association of Eastern Mennonite University honored two of its graduates Sunday for their work in reflecting the school’s vision, mission and values. Dr. Ingida Asfaw, 67, of Grosse Pointe, Mich., a 1962 EMU graduate with a double major in biology and chemistry, and originally from Ethiopia, received EMU’s 2007…

U.S. business, big and small, hurting because of our current health-insurance system

AFP

Column by Sam Rasoul The practice of work-related health insurance began as a way for employers to get around the wage controls of the Second World War. The idea worked then, providing companies a way to attract the best workers in a time of labor shortage. Today, though, corporations find providing health insurance for their…

Seminary interns spreading themselves across Valley

AFP

Story by Laura Lehman Amstutz As second-year Eastern Mennonite University students anticipate the start of the new school year, they usually think about one thing – the internship. Seventeen second-year seminary students began internships this fall. The internship is part of the “Formation in Ministry” course, required for students in the three-year master of divinity…

Local preacher, author, recounts post-9/11 experiences

AFP

Story by Chris Graham Bob Johnson will never forget what he saw when he returned to his native New York for the first time following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. “It was overwhelming,” said Johnson, who made the trek to NYC after answering a call from the International Conference of Police Chaplains, of which…

Local GOP chairs endorse Hanger

Chris Graham

Item by Chris Graham It’s official – Emmett Hanger has received the formal endorsement of local Republican Party leaders in Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County in his bid for re-election in the 24th Senate District this November. “We would like to congratulate you on your victory in the primary this past June. As the Republican…