My granddaughters, the Presidential speech writers

VINTON TODAY
January 21, 2015 1:03 pm

Everyone who knows me knows how ridiculously seriously I take my role as grandfather. We have four granddaughters, three of whom live in Vinton and I have seen every week at least (and often most every day) since the first one entered our lives five years ago.

Thoughts on Martin Luther King Day, from the whitest part of America

VINTON TODAY
January 19, 2015 5:54 pm

Throughout my 22 or so years in this job, I have written about almost every holiday: Christmas. New Year’s Day. Memorial Day. Veterans Day.

The best winter driving safety advice: Don't

VINTON TODAY
January 4, 2015 8:20 pm

    I once had the enlightening experience of working with a teenage girl who had already wrecked her car two or three times.      She did not seem to make the connection between driving decisions and unpleasant results.

2014: The Year of the Wounded Angel

VINTON TODAY
December 31, 2014 7:14 pm

We all learned so much in 2014 – and many of last year’s lessons were from paint, and paintings – and pain. I learned that I could mix one gallon of an impossibly ugly bright green paint with a few ounces of equally ugly of “wet cement grey” paint and a gallon of “historically pale yellow” to create a unique medium-light green that works well in our living room.

Pastor's Blog - “That’s Impressive”

ZACH ZAJICEK
December 12, 2014 6:26 am

A couple years ago, I read an article that caught my attention: “IBM supercomputers simulate 4.5% of the human brain, and all of the cat brain.

Local Pearl Harbor memorial ceremony deserves large audience

VINTON TODAY
December 2, 2014 6:00 pm

"This is amazing, but we should have had a lot more people here." I didn't catch his name, but the grey-haired veteran who stood up at the end of the very first annual Pearl Harbor memorial service at Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School was adamant that more people should have been there to learn about the history behind Dec.

It's the little things that matter

VALERIE CLOSE, EDITOR
December 1, 2014 11:42 am

Yesterday was our day to visit the local homes for our elderly folks. It's always a highlight for me, and I try to remember that as I rush home from church, grab some lunch and head out the door again.

Media, reality TV and the Akhoond of Swat

VINTON TODAY
November 28, 2014 10:55 am

    As writers, we often approach a topic knowing what we want to say, but feeling that something is missing. So in our writing, we do some research, hoping to stumble upon the information that will help us clarify what it is we are thinking or feeling.

How media mediocrity (or malfeasance?) helped fan the flames of Ferguson

VINTON TODAY
November 25, 2014 12:18 am

I was sitting with about a dozen local residents a while ago, when someone asked us to tell what local news station we prefer. Most mentioned the local ABC or NBC affiliates, and a couple confessed to preferring CBS’ local station.

Letter to the Editor: Senate's Failure to allow Keystone pipeline

JOHN STIEGELMEYER
November 19, 2014 6:59 pm

The Senate failed to pass legislation to allow the building of the Keystone XL pipeline by only one vote.  There is no question that a pipeline to transport Crude Oil is safer for the environment than shipment by rail or truck.