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August 13, 2009
Bristol Child Abuse Case Defies Logic
The extreme nature of the child abuse case reported in Bristol, Va., this week – a 6-year-old girl allegedly bound for weeks and frightened with toy snakes and spiders as punishment for taking food – seems to defy logic.
August 12, 2009
Tuesday Ruling Only One Step
Mercury, which is proven to cause birth defects, is a by-product of coal-fired power plants and an obvious concern for anyone living near the power plant, and in the larger region where weather patterns could bring pollution. Releasing excessive amounts of mercury into the air, where it could harm neighbors and their children would be unconscionable.
August 09, 2009
Public Could Provide Extra Enforcement Eyes For Officials’ Financial Disclosure Forms
In a joint four-month investigation with our television partner, News Channel 11 Connects, we’ve chronicled how public officials frequently fail to complete required financial interest disclosure forms, sometimes filing them late, if at all. We’ve also chronicled how some use confusion as a crutch when questioned about the timeliness or accuracy of the information provided. We have some suggestions for improvements.
August 08, 2009
Freedom, Festival, Prison & Rumors
Two American journalists were freed by North Korea this week and came home to their families on a flight with former President Bill Clinton.
August 07, 2009
Tax-Free Weekend Offers Small Boost
The annual back-to-school tax-free holiday begins today, a chance for shoppers to skip the 5 percent sales tax in Virginia and 7 percent sales tax in Tennessee.
August 06, 2009
Citizen Recruits Help Everyone
Granted, no one likes “nosy neighbors,” but involved neighbors who are friendly with the police and know when to speak up are the best deterrent to crime any neighborhood can have.
August 05, 2009
Welcome Home To Vitriol, Chaos At Local Meetings
Returning home for the late-summer break, members of Congress should expect greetings that range from icy to outright hostile.
August 02, 2009
OPINION: Stop making excuses for disclosure form errors
Disclosure laws are designed to instill citizen confidence in government, but a joint investigation by the Bristol Herald Courier and News Channel 11 Connects reveals widespread deviation from the reporting requirements in Tennessee and Virginia.
August 01, 2009
Senior Olympics, Bravery, TVA Shame
Some local seniors won big prizes at the Tennessee Senior Olympics last week, including Carol Hicks of Kingsport, Tenn., who was a repeat champion in the 100-meter run.
July 31, 2009
OPINION: Ethics, Finance Merger Makes Good Sense
Since Sunday, this newspaper has been running a daily series to shine light on issues related to public disclosure by public officeholders, under a law aimed at revealing potential conflicts of interest or ethical dilemmas.
July 30, 2009
Must Find A Way To Rein In Costs
While Barack Obama was talking to Kroger employees Wednesday afternoon, Democrats reached a needed health care reform breakthrough that meets the president’s chief goals – extending coverage to about 95 percent of Americans without increasing federal deficits.
July 29, 2009
Eager To Hear Obama’s Health Care Talk
President Barack Obama’s health care town-hall meeting in Bristol today is particularly poignant given last weekend’s 10th annual Remote Area Medical clinic in Wise, Va.
Wings n’ Wheels A Spectacular Event
The Wings n’ Wheels car and air show Saturday at the Virginia Highlands Airport in Abingdon was a spectacular event that raised an estimated $10,000 for area charities.
July 25, 2009
Volunteers, Samaritans, Philanderers
Nothing truly is free – not even the health care provided to thousands in Wise County today as part of the Remote Area Medical Clinic.
July 19, 2009
Recreating Hat Day Was a ‘Special’ Event at Paper
An old friend of mine sent me a weird black-and-white photo the other day. It was Hat Day 1987 at the Chattanooga News-Free Press.
Bristol Should Hire Consultant for City Manager Search
Bristol, Va., city officials should quickly hire a professional consultant to shepherd the search for a new city manager, following a recent pattern set with hiring new city department heads.
July 18, 2009
Miner Memorial, Raffle & Recession
We’re pleased to see the Richlands Coal Miners’ Memorial in Tazewell County become the official miners’ memorial for Virginia, in honor and memory of the men and women who lost their lives doing this important work.
July 17, 2009
Protection Good, But Fearful Steps Make Bad Plans
The Solar Hill District Association got what it sought from the Bristol Virginia City Council this week – unanimous support for its bid to shift from being a mixed-use neighborhood to one that is exclusively residential.
July 15, 2009
How Bad To Be ‘High Hazard?‘
Greater federal oversight is obviously needed when the Environmental Protection Agency leaves one of the nation’s worst coal ash spills in history off the list of “high hazard” sites.
July 14, 2009
Strike a Balance When Setting Virginia Gubernatorial Debates
Ten gubernatorial debates are too many. And dictating the schedule to your opponent is a ploy
July 10, 2009
Bristol Exercised Its Right On Gun Ban
Getting a statewide bill passed that allows citizens to carry firearms into parks became one of the most drawn out and messiest battles of the 2009 Tennessee General Assembly.
July 05, 2009
UVa-Wise Convocation Center Will Benefit Region
The University of Virginia’s College at Wise took another leap forward when it broke ground last week on a $30 million
convocation center.
July 04, 2009
Steady Growth, Stiff Sentence, Texting Ban
After eight months of recounts and court battles, Republican Norm Coleman conceded to Democrat Al Franken in Minnesota’s contested Senate race on Tuesday.
July 02, 2009
Investigation Clearly Needed
We applaud the Virginia State Police for investigating accusations that Abingdon-based magistrates falsified documents to steer bail bonds to a relative.
June 30, 2009
Real Lesson For VI, Bristol
Two years after a financial crisis threatened to close its doors, Virginia Intermont College has raised nearly $12 million and won back unqualified accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
June 28, 2009
Smith/Packett Eldercare Proposal Covers All the Bases
Smith/Packett Med Com LLC has spent more than three years mounting a coalition of support for its plan to build a tiered elder-care project in Abingdon.
June 27, 2009
Aid To Food Bank, Life Bans In Soccer
Patrons of the Barter Theatre in Abingdon donated 1,550 pounds of food to the Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank by bartering their way into several shows in June.
June 25, 2009
Reviews Will Help All Breathe Easier In Va.
Increased ozone and soot pollution is sickening Virginians with breathing problems and keeping them indoors, especially in summer.
June 20, 2009
ROTC, Callous Signs, Lost Business, Hypocrisy
The University of Virginia’s College at Wise will offer an Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program this fall, now that it has partnered with East Tennessee State University to provide commissioned and non-commissioned officers for the program.
June 18, 2009
Police Botched Investigation
When a journalist breaks his word to a source, he loses all credibility and ceases to be a viable prober for the truth.
