Columns

    I have a very skeptical view of the government’s ability to do anything efficiently. However, I have to compliment the Bedford’s town government on doing a couple of things right.
    One of these things concerns the former Bedford Middle School building and Old Yellow. Town Council and Town Manager Bart Warner and his staff seem to be moving promptly to respond to a developer proposal to renovate and repurpose both buildings.

    Virginia Republicans will go to the polls next week to pick a challenger to the popular, talented U.S. Senator Tim Kaine. They have a choice of three candidates, at least two of whom are ridiculous options.
     Even as a proud and partisan Democrat, I miss the days in Virginia when we could count on Republican candidates to have integrity, experience and good judgment. We knew they were qualified, and we knew the state wouldn’t be embarrassed if they were elected.

    Like the president himself, most of the current members of his Cabinet are ideological hacks who don’t even believe in the functions of the agencies to which they were appointed.
    Only Donald Trump could have put such people as Betsy DeVos, Ben Carson, Rick Perry and others in positions of power. In every case, it’s the classic example of foxes guarding henhouses.

By James F. Burns
Retired professor
University of Florida

    Sorrow so deep that it can be seen but not said.  “Strong men grasped each other’s hand, none able to express their sympathy to the bereft except by look.”  A tide of sorrow swept over the small village, a silence of sadness breached only by the occasional “outburst of anguish from some broken-hearted mother, wife, or friend.”