I am amazed at some of the items that come to us from each of the news media outlets. Is it the news, or an effort to be first with the news? Television has “breaking news alerts” and the “crawler” is continuous. The newspaper has the headlines to catch your eye.

We should notice the stories that don’t make the front page. When President George W. Bush did not go out to the Gulf of Mexico and confront Hurricane Katrina but allowed it to come into Louisiana, dislodging wards of the state, that was news! We are talking front page here! The very idea that President Bush did not even try to turn the storm away was almost treason in itself.

I am writing to express my utter and total disgust with Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th. On several occasions, I have sent him e-mails on issues and have received no reply.

But this is not uncommon, because I know of others who cannot get a reply or a straight answer from him. He is a poor example of a congressman in the poorest example of Congress that we have had in the last 100 years. He is a lapdog of Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Party that is wastefully spending money like there is no end to it.

I know that there are a lot of hardships occurring and some people don’t really care about what I am about to say.

I am the mother of a son serving in the U.S. Air Force for nearly 23 years. He has gone overseas since Desert Storm, and last year he was in Iraq for six months. He was away from his wife of 20 years and his three children.

Friday was a shameful day in America. The House of Representatives passed the cap and trade bill known by some as the “Waxman and Markey bill.”

I wonder how long it took Rep. Tom Perriello to read the 1,200-page “crap and trade” bill that he helped pass last week?

Is the county highway department in a conspiracy with the local tire dealers? Recent actions cast suspicion in that direction.

What about the industries that have been operating and providing jobs in the county for many years—over 80 in Karastan’s case. Where is our support?

While Members of Congress want to respond quickly to Americans’ concerns about the economy and employment, passing the Employee Free Choice Act would represent a terrible step backwards.

Rockingham County Help for Homeless Inc. thanks the many people who made donations during Reidsville’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast celebration. In particular, we thank the Honorable Pat Morgan and Rockingham County Reads, 2009! for being the driving force behind this effort. 

The big news on Thursday (Feb. 19) was that five Republican governors were considering turning down money from the president’s stimulus bill, but they were grandstanding. Not one of them actually refused the money in President Obama’s bill.

It has been a busy news week for local animal stories.

“It’s All Here!” has been the campaign slogan used to promote consumer participation in the purchase of products and services — as well as active involvement in entertainment and recreation — offered in the local community.

Five months into the Obama administration, both friends and foes alike continue to ponder what makes President Obama so popular.

Recently, I received an e-mail which caused me great consternation. Although the author of this digital communication shall remain unidentified, the subject of the message and its major tenets will not.

News reports regarding the work and responsibilities of the Uranium Mining Subcommittee do not begin to inform the public about the true status and complexity of the uranium study process. There may not be a market for such information, yet there is certainly a need. Urgent questions remain unanswered.