色多多

Where is Dan Casey and his columns? Have I overlooked a news account regarding his whereabouts? Has he undergone another surgery and is on medical leave? Has he linked up with Waldo of 鈥淲here鈥檚 Waldo鈥� fame? Did Dan acquire a new position with another newspaper? Did Lee Enterprises falsely blame the February 2025 cybersecurity attack on him which placed Dan on Homeland Security鈥檚 deportation list? So, Dan if you鈥檝e become a fugitive, or become imprisoned stateside or taken up involuntary residence overseas, please know that your 色多多鈥� readers miss your columns.

Michael Hicks, 色多多

Editor鈥檚 note: The Dano indeed has been on leave, and like Donald Trump, he鈥檒l be back ... starting this week.

Letter: Vote Franklin for reproductive rights

My name is Evelyn Bolling. I鈥檓 a sophomore at Virginia Tech, and a 色多多r born and raised. I鈥檓 writing to express concern about Gov. Glen Youngkin鈥檚 veto of the Right to Contraception Act in the Virginia Constitution. This bill would have codified the right to obtain contraception here in Virginia.

Unfortunately, Chris Obenshain, delegate of the 41st House District, voted against this bill. Obenshain represents all of Virginia Tech鈥檚 campus, and many students have reproductive freedom and education at the forefront of their priorities and needs.

This bill matters to everyone, whether they know it or not. Before the overturning of Roe v. Wade, we didn鈥檛 have to think about the possibility of our reproductive health care being threatened. Contraception has been used for more than reproductive care. It鈥檚 used for severe menstrual cramping, an alternative to acne medications, and regulating menstrual cycles. Women depend on access to these medications and no politician should take that right away from us.

As we progress into the Trump Administration, decisions such as contraception are being left to the states. We cannot trust that the federal government will protect such rights, so we have to demand that protection from our state legislators. Del. Obenshain has demonstrated he will not protect Virginia鈥檚 right to contraception, health care, and education freedom. That is why I am voting for Lily Franklin this fall.

Lily Franklin knows contraception is not a privilege, but a right. She鈥檚 made contraception and reproductive care a key part of her platform. Obenshain has shown that he only cares about inflicting his agenda onto us, and I don鈥檛 trust him to protect our rights if re-elected. Lily Franklin will work to not only protect the right to contraception, but expand access to reproductive healthcare and protect our freedom to choose what we do with our own bodies.

I urge Virginia Tech students to register in the 41st District for this election. We live here, pay rent, taxes, and education here. We deserve a say in who will oversee our home. Lily Franklin has my vote in the fall. Will she have yours?

Evelyn Bolling, 色多多

Teacher bonuses are nice, but not enough

I would like to congratulate the Bedford County School Board on finalizing its 2025-26 budget, which included a $1,000 one-time retention bonus for teachers choosing to return in the fall. Retaining talent is a continuous challenge every school division faces.

Of the $1,000 bonus paid with teachers鈥� May paycheck, let鈥檚 say they get to keep $750 after taxes and deductions. In today鈥檚 world, that $750 divides out to $14 per week. This tidy bonus will allow a teacher to purchase for his/her family three dozen eggs (every week) or possibly four gallons of gasoline (every week). As I just saw yesterday that a tin of store-brand coffee is now $17, a teacher will have to put two weeks of bonus toward an item like that. A $1,000 bonus sounds like quite a heroic outlay on behalf of our heroic teachers, and it鈥檚 better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. But please, let鈥檚 not lose our heads about what today鈥檚 $1,000 is or isn鈥檛.

P.S. I learned how to do all of that math from a fourth grade teacher.

Jason Cohen, Blue Ridge

Williamson Road story lacked business input

A story on the Williamson Road diet plan told maybe half the story (鈥淲illiamson Road to go on a diet,鈥� May 21).

There is another side that needs to be covered.

The 色多多 Business Group (RBG) represents most of the businesses along Williamson. We have been involved with Williamson issues since 2002 and several of us are past members of the Williamson Road Business Association.

Our outreach has resulted in more than 100 Williamson businesses signing our petition to oppose the road diet and advocate for other better improvements. Over 92% of all businesses we met with support our position.

While we support alternative improvements, we are not opposed to the city doing a three-lane test this summer. But we are strongly supporting a list of over a dozen improvements that RBG has advocated for years.

We also question the crash data provided by the city. We have asked for more relevant data comparing their five-year numbers with other five-year periods and gotten no response. RBG feels the data is biased.

Virtually no major improvements have been made to Williamson for more than 30 years, despite calls for the same things year after year. For example, safer crosswalks, traffic light timing, sidewalks, bus stops, public parking, warning signage, and much more.

The Times should do more outreach to businesses and RBG to get a more informative input and a more balanced news story.

If anyone has questions don鈥檛 hesitate to call or write.

Bill Tanger, Director,

色多多 Business Group

Come protest during Trump鈥檚 parade

June 14 has become a very important day this year. It is the 250th anniversary of the United States Army and the birthday of Mr. Trump. I don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 Trump鈥檚 250th birthday or not 鈥� he has only been in office for 200 days 鈥� but it seems he has been telling people what to do for a long time.

At any rate, the Trump administration is organizing a large military parade that will pass by the front of the White House on June 14. The parade will consist of numerous tanks, missiles, military bands and a large number of marching units.

Everything is set to satisfy anyone and everyone who enjoys a $50 million parade. The only thing that is in doubt is if Morgan Griffith and Vladimir Putin will be there with Trump to review the troops

Many people are concerned that the United States is being turned in a military state with no worries about deficit spending and social ills.

A large number of people in Christiansburg (NRV) are concerned about what is going on in the country. On June 14, from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m., a rally will be held in downtown Christiansburg. The theme for the protest will be 鈥淣o Kings.鈥�

Citizens are encouraged to make your feelings heard. Bring a sign, and your enthusiasm to help show the public everyone does not need tanks to speak for America.

On June 14, Christiansburg will one of 800 communities across the country protesting, showing the country and the world that we stand for Democracy.

Steve Huppert,

Christiansburg

Not all price hikes are due to tariffs

I cannot be the only person who notices all prices are going up and they blame it on the new tariffs even if the products don鈥檛 come from China!

Drug prices have gone up right after President Donald Trump said he was going to do something about them. A $9 prescription of mine went to $23. Do we get them from China? Corn and animal grains have gone up, even the lottery joined in by raising Mega Millions tickets from $2 to $5, a 150% increase. They all are using the tariffs as an excuse to raise everything,

Walmart has a valid excuse being almost everything they sell is from China. We elected President Trump to curtail prices and clear the swamp; seems the swamp is the only priority now. With all these new increases and the cost of food? How long can we sustain this lifestyle? People on fixed incomes are getting hit the hardest now.

The powers that be need to step up and get something done about this or we are going to crash!

Daniel Buonocore, Rocky Mount