First of all, let me be clear, I’m fully vaccinated. I got both doses of the Moderna vaccine as soon as I could and I was losing patience at the time I had to wait. My wife got her vaccine before I got mine and I was glad she did. To me, the decision was…
A dire shortage of people willing to work
Saturday morning I had to go to Roanoke for an MRI on my back. I plugged the address in my GPS, set the cruise control at the speed limit, and sipped my coffee as I headed up the road. Pre-covid I used to go out and eat breakfast every once in a while and one…
Appalachian Power’s technical shortfall is shocking
First of all, my wife and I live in the city and we obviously have city power at home. The WHEE studios uptown are in the city and so I have city power there also. But the transmitter site for WHEE is on Appalachian Drive (the road named after Appalachian Power) in the county and…
Martinsville, Henry County delay reversion timetable to negotiate their differences
Probably the most interesting thing about Martinsville reverting to a town is the reluctance of the people doing it to talk openly about it. It’s as if it’s some secret business deal that will blow up if the public finds out what they’re up to. They would argue they have to keep quiet because of…
Catholic bishop suspends priest and issues a trespass order over blog about clergy sex abuse
A story I broke and have written nine subsequent articles is covered by the Washington Post today. They used one of my pictures with credit – so I guess I landed on the worldwide stage as a photographer, not a writer. All kidding aside, I remember when I began covering the story of Father Mark…
They want his death to bring light
I covered a city council meeting in Feb. when a lady came up to the podium to address council. It was during the time when matters from the floor are allowed. She was nervous, but she gathered her thoughts and made an impassioned plea for council to put up a stoplight at the intersection where…
One place in Martinsville has plenty of hand sanitizer – but does it work?
I was sent out to uncover the story of the expired hand sanitizer last week. This turned out to be fun and very unexpected. Manufacturers Liquidation Center at the Patrick Henry Mall is selling bottles by the six-pack for $9, and they are flying off the shelves. There is only one problem — the stock…
Two men indicted on charges that one urinated on food product at plant in Martinsville while the other shot video.
The title says it all, but here’s the first sentence of the story… Two men have been indicted on charges that one of them urinated on food product at Monogram Foods in Martinsville while the other made a video that was used in an attempt to extort money from the company. This took a bit…
Martinsville City Council’s closed reversion meeting apparently violated state law
There was a period of time, prior to me being hired full time, when the Bulletin was down to one news reporter, a sports reporter and an editor. As a result, some meetings were missed. City Hall may have sent out the notice that they were having a closed door meeting, but they denied the…
Fire destroys house on Askin Street in Martinsville
Neighbors from across the street were visiting when the occupants of a house at 1027 Askin St. in Martinsville smelled smoke around 8 p.m. Tuesday. Martinsville Fire Department and EMS responded to a 911 call, but fire spread quickly through the roof and totally destroyed what was home to seven people. “There were no injuries,…