Guest Columns
Latest Guest Columns
SVCC is continuing its mission through the pandemic
A year ago when I accepted the offer to serve as Southside Virginia Community College’s (SVCC) sixth president, the world was a different place. People ... Read more
6 days ago by Guest Columnist.
We have much to mourn
This is a time for mourning. We began the week as we have traditionally done with Memorial Day, mourning for those that we have lost ... Read more
6 days ago by Frank Ruff Jr..
There is light at the end of the tunnel
Summer is almost here, and the weather is improving. Fortunately, so is the coronavirus situation around most of the commonwealth. As of this writing, the ... Read more
1 week ago by Matt Fariss.
Farmville will thrive through this crisis
This hard spring of 2020 in Farmville and for America is one we will never forget. Our proud two-college town has never looked more beautiful ... Read more
2 weeks ago by Guest Columnist.
We must do better for Virginians who are hurting
Gov. Ralph Northam has signed Executive Order 61 in an effort to ease some of the restrictions he put in place due to the ongoing ... Read more
3 weeks ago by Matt Fariss.
Clean Economy Act is too expensive
Everything in life should and must be balanced. We can never let pursuit of the perfect destroy the opportunity and ability of others to achieve ... Read more
4 weeks ago by Frank Ruff Jr..
STEPS moves lives forward
Social distancing is a phrase we have come to know all too well through the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. As good citizens, we practice ... Read more
4 weeks ago by Guest Columnist.
Welcome to the marketplace of ideas
Last week The Farmville Herald received a call and a letter, also on this page today, about why we would publish a letter from a ... Read more
4 weeks ago by Roger Watson.
COLUMN — FACES tackles COVID-19 challenges
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed all of our lives but it hasn’t fundamentally changed who we are — except to challenge us to do better. ... Read more
1 month ago by Ellery Sedgwick.
COLUMN — Looking to the future amid the pandemic
What Farmville will be going through the next several months can be compared to a forest fire. Forest fires are scary acts of nature if ... Read more
1 month ago by Roger Watson.
Consumers control our economy
Nothing happens until someone buys something. That was the motto for a national retailer where I once worked. Simply put, you can set the stage ... Read more
1 month ago by Frank Ruff Jr..
COLUMN — Preventing a freefall of our fiscal future
Given all the disruptions which have overpowered the certainties in our lives brought about by the coronavirus, each of us probably starts each day wondering, ... Read more
1 month ago by Guest Columnist.
Many protections for LGBT citizens approved
I hope everyone had a beautiful weekend remembering the crucifixion, death, burial of Christ and of course, celebrating Resurrection Sunday. For those of us used ... Read more
2 months ago by Guest Columnist.
Firearms, elections and coronavirus updates
Gov. Ralph Northam has signed several bills in the past 72 hours, including legislation on voting, energy, firearms and more. The Virginia General Assembly plans ... Read more
2 months ago by Matt Fariss.
A breakdown of the redistricting debate
This week, Gov. Ralph Northam proposed moving town and city elections to the Nov. 3 general election and primaries to June 23. In both cases, ... Read more
2 months ago by Frank Ruff Jr..
What happens when we get out of quarantine?
As we begin to see a glimmer of light at the end of the dark tunnel of this pandemic, I’m beginning to wonder what life ... Read more
2 months ago by Roger Watson.
Speaker plans to reconvene House outdoors April 22
Virginia continues to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak as best we can. Gov. Ralph Northam has closed beaches, entertainment venues, and many other non-essential places ... Read more
2 months ago by Matt Fariss.
Emotions ran high on statue issue
For some, legislation that would permit local government to remove monuments was an emotional issue. Under the final version of the bill, cities and counties ... Read more
2 months ago by Frank Ruff Jr..
We are all in this together
This is a time of great concern for so many of us. As we monitor the COVID-19 pandemic in Virginia and across the nation, we ... Read more
2 months ago by Guest Columnist.
Details of CARES Act explained
Virginia continues to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak as best we can. But the toll is impossible to ignore. Hundreds are ill, and more than ... Read more
2 months ago by Matt Fariss.
A place to find shelter
As spring bursts forth, we find ourselves living in a strange and different world. Flowers bloom, birds sing, the sun shines — and people increasingly ... Read more
2 months ago by Guest Columnist.
Virus is immune to diversions
I’m having a difficult time dealing with this coronavirus thing. What’s bugging me is this crisis is almost inescapable. In times when the news cycle ... Read more
2 months ago by Roger Watson.
Take precautions against coronavirus
This past week has been one for the history books. I was in Richmond Thursday to finish the 2020 General Assembly session and vote on ... Read more
2 months ago by Guest Columnist.
Details of Virginia’s budget deal
Thursday, March 12, we returned to Richmond to finish the biennium budget. As in every budget, there are good and not so good things. It ... Read more
3 months ago by Frank Ruff Jr..
Budget, redistricting still unsettled
We are only a few days away from the end of the 2020 Session of the General Assembly. Most of those who have contacted me ... Read more
3 months ago by Frank Ruff Jr..
Red Flag law passed by General Assembly
The 2020 Session has completed its seventh week in Richmond, and I’d like to take a moment to update you on the latest from the ... Read more
3 months ago by Matt Fariss.
There is no gun problem in Virginia
The first swipe to ban guns/magazines in the Virginia legislature failed. Still, the core philosophy by which Democrats desire to govern demands unflinching dependency on ... Read more