.....Advertisement.....
.....Advertisement.....

Today's Opinions

  • Volunteers needed for campaign

    Now that Anthony Flaccavento has been chosen in the recent primary by voters in Grayson, Independence, Carroll, Galax and all the other localities in our 9th Congressional District, to be a candidate on the November ballot, we need as many volunteers as possible to help get information out to voters.
    If you are interested in sending a working person from our region to be our real representative in Congress, and could spare a little time now and then as a volunteer, please email me at sjrflacisback@gmail.com.
    Scott Jackson-Ricketts
    Independence

    Click here to read more...
  • Silence reveals moral bankruptcy

    Morgan Griffith’s latest newsletter is devoted to the opioid crisis. In it, he touts the bills that he has introduced and supported to deal with the crisis and how he has worked with Democrats to move these bills forward.
    I guess it is better late than never that our delinquent congressman is doing this, but I suspect this latest activity has a lot to do with the fact that he has a credible opponent, Anthony Flaccavento, in the next election, and he figures that he just better get something done for the Ninth District.  

    Click here to read more...
  • Closing Baywood a tough decision, but necessary

    Much debate surrounds the Grayson County School Board’s recent decision to close Baywood Elementary.

    The matter passed with a 3-2 vote on June 18, weeks after the school board and Division Superintendent Kelly Wilmore explained that the decision was forced on them due to an anticipated $1 million shortfall in the upcoming school year.

    Click here to read more...
  • Others should be allowed to disagree

    Since the school shooting in Florida and other schools, many people are calling for gun control.
    I agree that we need to have stricter control of guns, especially assault rifles. These are weapons of war.  Why are they so available to so many people?
    When looking at gun control we need to look back at history. The history of prohibition when whiskey and alcohol beverages were outlawed, crimes increased and many people became outlaws, living the outlaw life for the wealth that came with that illegal business.

    Click here to read more...
  • Editorial: Fitness center deserved better outcome

    Last week the Galax School System and the Police Fitness organization received a nasty surprise: Lift Life Inc., the non-profit wing of professional fitness website Bodybuilding.com., said it is not going to fund its promised portion of the Curtis Bartlett Fitness Center.
    The center, intended as a tribute and legacy to the life, goals and memory of Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputy Curtis Bartlett, was to be a workout space for both student athletes and first responders at Galax High School. Bartlett died in the line of duty in March 2017.

    Click here to read more...
  • Community needs access to road

    Our place is centered between Middle Fox and Grubb’s Chapel on the Old County Road. Maps dating back to the early 1900s show the road and home sites.
    Two property owners put up two locked gates on the center portion of the road to end through travel. One continues to demand that gate stay in place. Mr Hash, on Grubb’s Chapel says he was threatened when crossing. Another risked the right to a spring that feeds their home for using the road.
    Henry Reed has horses and a carriage he rides often. He was told he could no longer use the road.

    Click here to read more...
  • In praise of public servants

    Many people who spend their careers in public service consider it more a calling than a profession.

    Teachers, for instance, are not drawn to the classroom for the pay or benefits. Quite the contrary. Many spend their lives working with children despite the hardship it inflicts on their bank accounts.

    Click here to read more...
  • Phone service fix needed in Elk Creek

    What is happening to the phone service in Elk Creek? My phone has been dead for 26 days, as of May 16. There are phone trucks around, but when the drivers are spoken to, they claim to be contractors who do not do repairs.
    Without access to 911, I am in a critical situation as is a large percentage of Elk Creek residents living in a dead zone for cell service.

    Click here to read more...