Letters

I would like to share with you a favorite Psalm of Thanksgiving, Psalm 103:1-5.
“Praise the Lord, O my Lord; All my inmost being praising His Holy name; Praise the Lord O my soul and forget his benefits who forgives all our sins and heals all our desires, who redeems your life from the pits and crowns us with love and compassion, who satisfies our desires with good things so that our youth is renewed to life, like the eagles.”
The theme of this Psalm is God’s great love for us.

We have just enjoyed our best Veterans Day weekend, and certainly one of the best parades ever.
To all the Hillsville parade participants on Nov. 12, I extend a very warm and hearty thank you!
For fear of forgetting somebody, I will not try to list all of you, but to the marchers, riders, Carroll County High School band, Junior ROTC, reigning VFW queens, scouts, classic cars, individuals, military units, fire departments, and especially our veterans and Ladies Auxiliary, you helped to make this a special time for us.

We often read an obituary in our local newspaper that includes recognition of the deceased being a veteran of the U.S. military. Many of these are survivors of World War II and the last of what is rightfully called "The Greatest Generation."
Aside from family and close friends, little is known of the true history of these individuals. Their passing is marked without fanfare, except for the VFW, and very little knowledge of their bravery in battle.

Let me tell you some things about Christina Bedsaul.
This is a woman who worked 10 hours a day [at Rooftop of Virginia] for 8 hours of pay. Who cried over budget cuts that would cause layoffs and fought tooth and nail for funding to avoid some.
This is a woman who took the job not for money but to help those who needed help. Took money out of her own pocket to pay for a motel room for a homeless man in the winter because she could not find a shelter with a room and bought him a meal, too.