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Today's Opinions

  • Handwriting important for cognitive skills

    Thank you for your Oct. 24 news item on the value of written communication.
    I notice The Gazette photo showed a student using a pencil and paper, as well as a computer tablet. Does this mean, I hope, that Galax schools are teaching cursive handwriting?
    If not, here’s a plug for the process: Learning cursive is great for developing cognitive and motor skills.

    Click here to read more...
  • Confront bullies when they appear

    Donald Trump has denigrated Mexicans, Muslims, disabled and overweight people.
    Since April, teachers across America have reported a rise in bullying, and today, we see white supremacists and racists bullying some segments of the above-mentioned groups.
    This is frightening for those of us who will feel the need to protect these individuals, for it will mean confronting the bully.
    So what’s the solution? We dry our tears, sooth our sick stomachs, release our heartache and confront the bullies when they appear.

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  • Holidays a time to heal after stressful year

    By the time you read this, the giant, pulsing dark cloud of this year’s election will have finally passed over us… and I, for one, am looking forward to remembering what conversations were like before it happened.

    As usual, I am writing this column on a Sunday night, the eve of my Monday deadline for this paper — before the election — and when future me reads this in print later in the week, I just want to say to her: “At least it’s over.”

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  • The meat industry is scary

    I have no fear of all the goblins, the witches, or even the evil clowns lurking on Halloween. What really scares me are the latest reports about the meat industry.

    Like news of pig farms dumping millions of gallons of pig feces into North Carolina’s water supplies during Hurricane Matthew.

    Or of saturating their neighborhoods with windborne fecal waste spray. Or of animal farming accounting for more greenhouse gases than transportation.

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  • Kitts has dedicated life to service

    I watched the Ninth District debate between our incumbent, Morgan Griffith, and his challenger Derek Kitts. I have read their pitches to voters in the Roanoke Times.
    Nothing I see or hear makes a strong case for retaining Mr. Griffith. His focus is purely on blocking Democratic proposals, with no positive plans to help the voters of Southwest Virginia. In six years, he has done almost nothing for our area.

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  • Davis is best choice for school board

    As we go to the polls this fall, we will elect someone to the Grayson County School Board.
    I encourage you to elect James Davis to fill this position for these reasons:
    • He is a good Christian man with high morals.
    • He is well educated.
    • He has worked with our boys and girls for many years.
    • He served the school system as a teacher for driver’s education instructor and also as golf instructor. He has served as coach on many sports teams.
    • His children went to Grayson County schools.

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  • Abortion is deciding factor for voter

    First, let me say that I am not a Democrat or Republican.
    I was not going to vote until I learned what partial-birth abortion is.
    That is where a woman carries a baby for nine months and, as it is being born, they put forceps to the head, make a hole and pull the brain out.
    Hillary Clinton calls this woman a mother. She is no such thing.
    That baby was a living human being. They suck their thumb while in the womb and turn over. They get hiccups. Now, you tell me that this is not a human being.
    She is for gay marriages.
    She is a liar.

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  • Legal or not, conflict exists on board

    Concerning the conflict of interest article, I find it a bit concerning that when a citizen points out the perceived conflict of interest on the Grayson County school board, that the board utilizes their its legal resources to go and find evidence that they did nothing wrong legally.
    The fact that the board had to consult legal council on this issue reflects the board’s reluctance to avoid any perceived conflict of interest.

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