Just My Opinion Winners and Losers.............Just My Opinion | Winners and Losers.............Just My Opinion |
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| Written by Ron Walton | |
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Sooooooo, what happened at Giles High School during a Relay for Life event this past Saturday night? Our sources are telling us today that a good time was had by all........maybe too good of time? The secret is not safe with us as we are digging into this story. Lots of politically charged happenings on Tuesday. A few surprises here and there in the election results, but the real loser of the day was the political process itself. When only 12 or 13 percent of the registered voters actually vote, then one must come to the realization that over 90% of the population doesn't care. Seriously. Think about that. I'll say that the returns in Blacksburg were a bit of a shocker, and I believe this is one election we can point to and say that low voter turnout probably worked against the incumbents as both Paul Lancaster and Mary Holiman lost their seats on the Town Council. As disappointing as this is to many people, the good news is that Leslie Hager-Smith will fill one of those seats in fine fashion as she brings a voice that needs to be heard. Clearly she got the downtown Blacksburg group to the polls as evidenced by her top vote count of 1,175 people. Don Langrehr got a vote of confidence from the voters and will be returning to his seat with 1,100 votes. The other newcomer to the council is Derek Myers, who beat out Paul Lancaster by a mere 44 votes. I, for one, did not see this one coming. While the voters made their decisions in Blacksburg, there will be many people - including those who were elected - sad to see Lancaster and Holiman go. They may have lost in the vote count, but in the count of friends and people who respect them – they have high marks and leave the council with a new level of achievement for others to reach. The media especially will hate to see them go - both Holiman and Lancaster represented what local government should be and that is an open and honest dialogue with the media. Over in Christiansburg, the voters got it right. The three best candidates won: Mike Barber, Henry Showalter and Jim VanHoozier. Not only do I believe they are the most qualified in a variety of areas, I also believe that each will display the temperament needed to help get the many ethics issues under control and see the council moving again as a functional unit. Already it appears that Carol Lindstrom of DepotDazed.com is making some giant strides in working with the Town regarding the timely release of information. You can find a great deal of information at http://historiccambria.com/Town%20Information.htm. Speaking of Lindstrom, our David Grimes spoke with her yesterday regarding her status as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by Roger Woody of Showcase Homes. Her comment was "What is this and who is Roger Woody. I have no idea what he is talking about. I have never addressed any of his projects." We also spoke to Roger Woody's attorney and hope to talk to others as we prepare a story for later today. It's a mess and a mess that I believe that most of the media will back off from. If the story did not have some connections to the elections, I am doubtful anyone but the Roanoke Times would spend 10 second on it. It's a newspaper.............mention "freedom of speech" and they generally come running. Speaking of newspapers...........don't you think the brand "NRVToday" belongs on a newspaper and not just a website?????? Take the mention of it as one of those things that makes you go "Hmmmmmmmm". The New River Valley has grown to the point that it deserves a real alternative to the Roanoke Times and the fact that we see so many retired newspaper professionals moving to this area is cause to believe that there is a growing talent pool to startup a professional publication............well, you get the rest of the story - for now. So, is Hillary done after last night? Probably. But we Democrats shouldn't be singing songs of joy just yet. As much as Barak Obama says this election is not about him but about the American people; the American people are starting to say it is about Obama's ties with Jeremiah Wright, William Ayers and a host of other issues that have remained in the spotlight now for several weeks. I continue to say that we Democrats need to take two steps back and take a closer look at this guy. Let's admit it, this guy has some "splainin to do". I'm not sure I am too interested in seeing a racist and a terrorist as our new Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense. Obama has made some bad judgement calls with his "friends" in the past.........who is to say he won't make the same mistakes moving forward? Democrats know the "red flag" is up but will we be so enthralled to be back in the White House that we ignore it? So I have to keep bragging on my step-daughter. As I wrote earlier, she graduates this weekend from Virginia Tech. Last night she informed us that she is on the Dean's List. Let me get this straight......two months ago, the people at the job she hasn't even started yet called to give her a raise, and now the Dean's list? I am afraid that she is laying down some mighty big footprints for her brother and step-sister to follow in. But we are awfully proud of her as you can tell. We've pretty much bought out all of the fog horns in the boating section of WalMart, so if you hear them going off Friday night and Saturday, it's just us rednecks making noise. Comments (3)
  written by Christianburg Resident, May 07, 2008
I must agree here with you Mr. Walton on the several issues. I too, was really disapointed of the tournout of local voters. Those 90 percent that did not vote will do about 95 percent of the complaining on how the local govt. is ran.
As for a newspaper, Yes "NRVTODAY" would be a great newspaper for this area. The other local newspaper, and I'm not talking about the big daily newspaper, is nothing but a fluff piece that runs news weeks and sometimes months later. We need a real newspaper that will be fair, honest, and will listen to both side. I would more than welcome seeing a "REAL" local newspaper in the NRV that covers news and sports.In the past our so-called "Local Weekly" turn its cheek toward covering recreational sports and wouldn't even cover two state rec. baseball tournaments that drew teams from all across Virginia, including teams from Blacksburg and Christiansburg, and these BIG tournaments where played at Harkrader Sports Complex. I have never known a newspaper that when 5 p.m. rolls around, its time to call it a day and go home. I guess news never happens after 5 p.m. and before 9 a.m. As for your daughter. She is a GREAT YOUNG LADY.Both you and your wife, and family should be proud of her. report abuse
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 written by citizen, May 07, 2008
1. Voter turnout: much apathy exists, many feel that figureheads often leave personnel, such as town managers, in place for too long, without much review. Not much changes. NOW, I feel there is some hope for improvement. Personally, I've never missed any voting opportunity.
2. Hard-copy newspaper: Yes, there is a need for specific coverage of this metropolitan area, with broader coverage included. While expensive to produce, there is a good demand-level for a quality product. Besides, the area needs more than one viewpoint in prioritizing headlines, editorial viewpoints, etc. Of course, the sports section is the first part of a paper that many folks want to view. Portability, accessibility, keepsake "clippings"; a newspaper is viable. report abuse
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Please, please start a local paper (or take one over) that covers real news stories and important issues in our area. Did anyone look at the Current on Tuesday or Wednesday? If you did, you didn't see any mention of the elections, who won, or even the fact that "some" of the candidates the Times were backing actually did win. Ridiculous. I did see a story on the "Perfect Sandwich" in the Tuesday edition, so that was "helpful".