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8.6% raise for Montgomery County teachers. GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!! It's still not enough with what you deal with and the lives we put into your hands to mentor, train and teach. How about 10% next year? The issue here is not the size of the raise, but how quickly we can pay our teachers what they are really worth!

Tuesday is election day for many local races and state primaries. If you aren't sure where you vote, take a look at our community pages to find out. Polls open at 6:00am and close at 7:00pm.

Obviously, that little guy on my shoulder has been saying "do endorsements" while the Angel has said "leave it be". For the most part the Angel won. It has become obvious that I am being led astray in many directions and in some cases, away from what my heart was telling me. We made the decision not to take any political advertising because we did not want there to be a notion that money led to our endorsements. At the end of the day though, there are a lot of personal agendas driving some of the races, and there will be some tremendous fallout especially in places such as Christiansburg. 35 years of following and reporting on elections has taught me one thing - sudden friends before an election usually turn out the opposite afterwards. You laugh, accept it and move on until 4 years later when you spank their ass for some other person who is your new best friend at the moment. So, for most of it this time around, we'll stay to the sidelines and watch as things unfold. However, here are a few "short ones" for you.

In Blacksburg, my take is this. It would be nice if there were 4 board seats up for grabs instead of 3.  Leslie Hager-Smith would be a great addition. More than anyone currently on the board, Hager-Smith has a grasp on downtown Blacksburg issues and what it will take to attract the types of businesses everyone wants to see come to the downtown area. You can top that with the fact that she is a very open, honest and caring person - character traits always needed at any government level. Problem is, I'm not sure that Langrehr, Holliman and Lancaster should be voted out. Tough call there.

In Pulaski, I'll keep it simple. If Jeff Worrell is not elected Mayor, then I will swear the "fix" is in. Jeff's too good, too smart, too honest and has worked dilgently for the betterment of downtown Pulaski. He'll make a great mayor.

In Dublin, there's Benny Skeens and there's............Bennie Skeens. Council members are little more than hood ornaments in Dublin. It's Benny's show for as long as he wants it.

The only other local election I will be watching with quite some interest are the Christiansburg Town Council races. This election has brought about the worst from a lot of people and rumors, threats and accusations have been flying for months. Clearly, the current Town Coucil did some things that put them on the radar screen with the "Freedom of Information" laws - that in itself is reckless and there has to be a penalty in there somewhere.

There are problems now with only bigger problems and issues to come. It won't end with this election. Frankly, Dick Ballengee will have a mess on his hands to try and gain consensus in the community. It will have to start with a sincere effort in his taking the lead role in opening up the government to the citizens. As for who will win tomorrow, my money is on Barber and a dart board following that. Christiansburg could pay for that "swimming pool" if they set up betting stations for the election. There's a lot of money out there needing a win. But there is a lot of dust that needs to settle also - cooler heads are needed and some of the candidates are simply unsuited for that.   

Updated 12:00pm 05/06/2008: A news report in the Roanoke Times is reporting that local developer Roger Woody has filed a civil suit against the website www.thinkchristiansburg.com and the people who operate and post blogs for the site. Two other individuals were named in the suit and their response to the suit can be seen at www.depotdazed.com. While there seems to be an air of surprise among the defendants, this does not come as a surprise to me. Clearly, right or wrong, Woody was being targeted along with members of the Town Council and it was obvious that extreme measures would have to be taken to "slow the tide". I stated there would be bigger problems and issues to come, even after the election. Don't be surprised when more suits are filed, especially if certain candidates lose this election. 

Moving on, but staying local, what happened at the Montgomery County local Republicans' meeting a couple of weeks ago? We keep hearing about some strange "goin' ons" and some disgruntled people, but nobody is going on the record. Smart move considering "who's who" among the local Republicans. Only an idiot like me would even mention it.

Will it be over for Hillary after Tuesday night? What scares me most about the Presidential election this year? The fact that Sean Hannity is starting to make sense. Being the Democrat I am, I am sworn to hate the guy. So, what's up with that?

A quick "thumbs up" for Sherri Blevins and her New River Driving School for hosting the "Shattered Dreams" program at Christiansburg High School last week. I am usually skeptical at many programs aimed at teenagers because peer pressure usually overcomes, making it more "hip" to reject the program than to accept. Not in this case. I've heard that many of the students came away with a better understanding, and a little shock, of why they should not drink and drive. My only question is this - are we assuming that kids under 21 in the New River Valley are going to drink? Are we forgetting that the age limit is the first line of defense in underage drinking and driving?

HALLELUIAH, my step-daughter will be walking the walk among the graduates of Virginia Tech this Friday and Saturday to pick up her degree in Computer Science. The jobs and the money she and her fellow graduates have been offered their first year out of school simply proves once again that an education and a degree from Virginia Tech is a very valuable thing to have. We all spend time praising the Hokies and the athletes at Virginia Tech and too often we forget that an education from Virginia Tech is one of the best in the world. We also forget sometimes that both Tech and Radford have tremendous resources that we in the surrounding communities should be taking advantage of. There will be a lot of proud papas, mommas, grandmothers, grandfathers, brothers, sisters and more in Blacksburg this weekend, all cheering for a lot of brain power walking the walk. I'll be there too - great job Megan!

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Notes; opinions
written by citizen, May 05, 2008

1. Congrats to Megan and your family; grad/VT
2. Town Council races: Even though I agree with your surmising, it's sad that ALL are not "put in the same basket," RE: Christiansburg's activities that council and others in the circle have let fester. Not one councilperson or official has EVER been pro-active/outspoken for citizen's causes (in a logical, LEGAL manner.) CLEAN HOUSE in Christiansburg! (I know, local "clubs," etc., will "block-vote"...so, never "clean")Hope: high voter turn-out
3. Blevin's Mock event was great, and so was the coverage, via EverythingNRV.com

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