Sheriff Sprinkle is Fincastle Christmas Parade Grand Marshal
Editor:
The Fincastle Christmas Parade will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday with many floats, James River High School Band, Lord Botetourt High School Band and many walkers.
This year’s grand marshal is Botetourt County Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle. Sheriff Sprinkle has served our county for 20 years. At the end of 2019 he will retire.
Ronnie Sprinkle has been a wonderful sheriff and a wonderful friend to the residents of Botetourt County and neighboring counties. We are honoring Sheriff Sprinkle as the Fincastle Christmas Parade marshal. Thank you, Sheriff Sprinkle, for all that you have done for Botetourt County.
Come to the parade to honor Sheriff Sprinkle and enjoy the parade and the Christmas lights. This is the beginning of Fincastle Christmas season.
Paige Ware
Fincastle
Wind turbines good opportunity for Botetourt
Editor:
I’m writing to express my support for the Rocky Forge Wind Project, an opportunity for Botetourt County that has been a long time in the making but that is almost ready to be realized.
Wind energy is good for Virginia, and it’s good for Botetourt County. This project will provide enough renewable electricity for over 20,000 homes while contributing substantially to our county’s taxes. Yes, the developer has proposed amendments to the previously issued permit, but we should view those changes as a good thing. Yes, the turbines will be taller, but they were always going to be tall. The updated permit means that there will be fewer of them, allowing the project to generate the same amount electricity with even less turbines.
kThe updated project, which now has a purchaser for the power, the Commonwealth of Virginia, is still also a benefit for northern Botetourt County. Because each turbine takes up less than an acre of land, Rocky Forge will allow the vast majority of North Mountain’s land to remain wild and undeveloped for future generations, something that we should all appreciate.
I am looking forward to seeing Rocky Forge finally happen and I encourage the Botetourt Board of Supervisors to support the project.
Ed VanNess
Eagle Rock
Botetourt a sanctuary county?
Editor:
At least 12 Virginia counties have now declared themselves to be Second Amendment sanctuary counties in anticipation of numerous hostile Democrat threats to gun rights in the coming 2020 General Assembly session. More counties are joining them. The Botetourt County Board of Supervisors heroically passed a resolution affirming its dedication to the Virginia and United States Constitutions.
Consider the staggering significance of this action for a moment. Local officials are vowing their support for the fundamental laws of the land in preparation for sweeping betrayals by radical state legislators and Gov. Ralph Northam.
As a rule, I am inclined to oppose sanctuary policies for the simple reason that they are usually enacted by rebellious people who are determined to shield themselves from the legitimate laws of government. But the actions proposed by Gov. Northam and Democrats in Richmond are not legitimate. These are dangerous times in which renegade politicians are running roughshod over the U.S. Constitution and the will of the people– not only regarding the Second Amendment, but also the First Amendment and the very right to life.
Gun regulations proposed by Gov. Northam, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Democrats in Congress and the General Assembly are routinely couched as efforts to curb gun violence. But they are disingenuous. When these folks speak of “common-sense gun regulations” and “universal background checks,” they actually mean gun registration– the first crucial step toward confiscation and prosecution of the just.
The fact is that we all want to stop gun violence, but no effort by politicians in Richmond or Washington will prevent gangsters or convicted felons from getting guns by theft or other illegal means. No law or court of men can affect the depraved condition of a human heart. That’s where the real problem lies.
There are some who foolishly believe that any firearm that is not specifically designed for hunting should be banned. Others have been persuaded to despise a particular type of firearm such as a misnamed “assault rifle,” or blindly led to believe that limitations on the number of rounds any weapon can contain are acceptable, even harmless restrictions. But they are wrong. These poor folks fail to recognize that the purpose of the Second Amendment is to provide to citizens the ability to defend themselves from a tyrannical government, if necessary, not from an invasion of wildlife or garden pests.
Short-sighted people are often willing to forfeit liberties that they consider to be incidental. But I must declare that there are no incidental rights. An affront to the constitutional rights of the people in any form must be seen for what it truly is– an attack on all the rights of the people by reprobate lawmakers.
Today, it’s the Second Amendment; tomorrow, it may be the First, Fourth or Fifth. Gov. Northam and his colleagues support killing the just-born infant today. Tomorrow, they may come for children or adults at any age for any reason or no reason. This brand of evil will never be satiated. We deceive ourselves by thinking otherwise.
As America rejects its foundational faith in God, it becomes more horrifying and dangerous. Evil thrives equally well in low light and in total darkness. Free access to a variety of firearms by legal citizens is a precious freedom that saves thousands of innocent lives each year.
Virginia was the primary site of the first American Civil War. I’d rather not see it become the site of a second. But the nation is throttling swiftly in that direction. If making Botetourt County a sanctuary of liberty in a lawless state will preserve the individual liberty of our neighbors and dissuade treacherous Democrat politicians from sparking an armed conflict, then I support the adoption of such a policy and urge all county residents to do likewise.
Perhaps we may then avoid a return to the wholesale tyranny that our ancestors cast off 243 years ago.
Timothy Buchanan
Buchanan
Blood drive next Thursday in Fincastle
Editor:
Our next blood drive is Thursday, Dec. 12 at the Fincastle United Methodist Family Life Center from 12 noon until 6 p.m. We collected 27 units at our last blood drive! Outstanding pizza was provided for the donors and volunteers by Pizza Hut of Daleville.
The need for blood continues to be critical, especially type O. Donations have been very slow this year and the need for blood continues to rise! If levels do not improve treatment to patients could be delayed. Give someone a great Christmas gift early this year when you donate blood.
Streamline your donation experience. Visit RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass and save up to 15 minutes by completing your pre-donation reading and health history.
See you on December 12! Thank you for your support.
Sam Saunders
Bloodmobile Coordinator
