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Published: Feb 01, 2012
Ultrasound bill misses the mark As a long-time and passionate supporter of the Pro-Life movement, I joined many others in recent weeks in watching the progress of a bill that would require women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound prior to the procedure. While I would rarely say that a non-violent tactic used to chip away at the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision is not justified, I found this move unsettling.
“Giving a woman access to the most advanced medical technology available, including an ultrasound, can only ensure that her health is protected,” said Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation… Read more...
Published: Feb 01, 2012
Move to allow Sunday hunting disregards the common good Every Session it is instructive to discover which bills prove to be of most interest to the public, or of most importance to the Commonwealth, as they percolate their way to the top of the legislature’s agenda. This year has been no different. Whereas the still-enfeebled private economy restricts action on many major matters, there is no little energy being devoted to a handful of bills from among the 3,000 that have been introduced. Without question the most calls and emails to my office have been generated by bills, in both the Senate and House, to allow hunting on Sunday, specifically… Read more...
Published: Jan 25, 2012
As ‘fireworks’ subside, a new spirit of cooperation? I couldn’t help but shake my head the other day, when a good friend from Cumberland began telling me about some of the “fireworks” at that county’s first supervisors meeting of the year. “You just wouldn’t believe it,” she said. Yes, I replied. I just might. Few could deny that the first few weeks of the New Year were filled with more political turmoil than most of us would have preferred. Fewer still would say that the county as a whole is not ready to move forward and get down to solving problems.
It would seem, thankfully,… Read more...
Published: Jan 19, 2012
An open letter to Powhatan Supervisors Dear County Supervisors, You might not understand why the residents of Powhatan have been upset in recent weeks with some of your actions. After all, as has been explained in statements first from Mr. Moore and, in this week’s issue, from Mr. Hodge, you did what needed to be done for the betterment of Powhatan. Even so, it’s hard to ignore what many see as a serious dereliction of your promise to remain transparent, and to include your constituents in the decision-making process. Instead, you treated the residents of Powhatan as if we were children,… Read more...
Published: Jan 04, 2012
Per mom’s advice, an abbreviated letter My mother, always a bastion of good advice, shared with me at an early age her method of dealing with people who had made her angry. “Write them a letter,” she would say, “and get it all out. Then rip up the letter.” In keeping with my sainted mother’s advice, I had to rip up about 97 percent of this week’s editorial column, which centered on the recent behavior of supervisor Jason Moore and incoming supervisors David Williams and Barry Hodge. All I was left with—after excising the parts about pettiness and juvenile behavior, about… Read more...
Published: Dec 07, 2011
New supes face challenging days ahead “It is like always being on dress parade — one can never relax. It is a great strain…People are more aware of you, more critical, and they have no pity for one’s mistakes and stupidities…They seek your company because they expect something particular from you, and if they don’t get it, they drop you. They are always intriguing and caballing; one must be very alert. They are sensitive and easily become enemies. But it is never dull.” I recently came across these lines, written by the author T.S. Eliot in a letter to his brother in 1919. Eliot was… Read more...
Published: Nov 30, 2011
When it comes to hiring smokers, Bon Secours making the right call In the paper of November 23 the Editor’s Opinion Column berated Bon Secours for making smoking a consideration for hiring. I’d like to take an opposing point. I think Bon Secours is right on this issue. I have 26 years of direct experience in management in hospitals in eight different states. I have presented training programs in person to management personnel from all walks of life such as airport executives, food manufacturing management people, school and college administrators, etc. I also have presented seminars via telephone to hospital department heads all over the… Read more...
Published: Nov 30, 2011
A new song for the season A new song for the season
Editor’s note: The following is re imagining of that classic Christmas tune, Jingle Bells—composed after a brush with Black Friday hysteria. Dashing down Route 60
As fast as I can fly
Headed to the mall
To see what I can buy I’ll find all the deals
I’ll look both high and low
That crazy gleam that’s in my eye?
That’s just my ‘Christmas Glow!’ Chorus:
Oh, shopping spree, shopping spree
Spend into the red!
Oh what fun it is to buy
A scarf… Read more...
Published: Sep 28, 2011
High stakes game I paused when I came across the following statement in an article last week, and something compelled me to jot it down: “I moved to a small town and nobody played chess there, but one guy challenged me to a game of checkers,” said a man who had moved to a remote county in Colorado. “I always thought it was kind of a simple game, but I accepted. And he beat me nine or ten times in a row. That’s sort of like living in a small town. It’s a simpler game but it’s played to a higher level.”
A simpler game, played to a higher level. … Read more...
Published: Sep 21, 2011
Approval of apartment plan would be disaster for the county It was a full house at Rosa’s on Thursday Sept 8th when the community meeting was called to order. Jason Moore was introduced to the public and proceeded to explain in detail Balzer and Associates rezoning and conditional use permit request for the Stavemill tract of land next to Stavemill Rd. He filled in the packed audience with the details of the proposed plan. Balzar and Associates and Shady Oaks Development Corp are planning to build a large apartment complex off of Rt 60 on Stavemill Rd across from the new Wal-Mart. 220 apartments and 38 townhomes. This tract of land is owned… Read more...
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