Poetry at the Augusta County Library

Chris Graham

Edited by Chris Graham [email protected]   April is National Poetry Month, and Augusta County Library in Fishersville is ready with several events and activities. “In Their Own Words” will take place at noon on Friday, April 9. The public is invited to bring lunch and listen to two library staff members. Mary Binda, known for…

Was the PGI deal a good one?

Chris Graham

Special Report by Chris Graham [email protected]   How much did the economic-incentive package put together by the City of Waynesboro have to do with the ultimate decision of Polymer Group Inc. to expand its operations here and not in Mooresville, N.C.? The first question that I posed to PGI spokesman Cliff Bridges was the generic,…

J.R. Tolbert: Keeping the faith on Earth Day

AFP

Column by J.R. Tolbert Submit guest columns: [email protected]   Forty years ago, nearly 20 million Americans participated in what was the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Inspired by Sen. Gaylord Nelson after witnessing an oil spill off California’s coast, Earth Day was started to spotlight issues related to environmental degradation and the need to…

GOP candidates press Perriello – and each other

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected]   Fifth District Congressman Tom Perriello is facing a full-court press from the Republicans gunning for the chance to knock him off in November. The press might work better if the GOP’ers weren’t trying at the same time to steal the ball from each other. “My opponent Jim McKelvey put…

Local student runs marathon in honor of late brother

AFP

Submitted Item News tips: [email protected] Thomas Sheffer, a Mount Sidney resident and graduate student at Virginia Tech, will run in the National Marathon in Washington, D.C., March 20, to raise money for the nonprofit organization Active Minds Inc. His run will be made in honor of his brother, Daniel, who passed away in December 2008….

Austin Gisriel: Par for the worse

Chris Graham

Column by Austin Gisriel Submit guest columns: [email protected]    With our record snow now melting, local golf courses will soon be dotted with duffers everywhere. My only question is: Why? The problem with golf is that the fun is fleeting, but the aggravation is permanent. Golfers talk about the need to work on your game,…

Building a new industrial sector in Waynesboro

Chris Graham

Special Report by Chris Graham [email protected]   Waynesboro was once the envy of Western Virginia for its manufacturing economy. As recently as 1990, almost half of the city’s workforce was employed in manufacturing, whose rate of pay has traditionally been at least 40 percent and some years approaching 50 percent higher than the median income…