Happy New Year! 2014 year-end review from LynnRMitchell.com

This is our first year-end review at LynnRMitchell.com. We started up eight months ago as a group blog, providing daily posts that include opinion, information, and humor about politics and many other issues. It’s been a good year. Our readers have included everyone from politicos to homeschool moms to friends and neighbors. We are generally right-of-center but promote rational thought and discussion as part of the dialogue with our contributors and guest writers.

During our eight months, we’ve published over 900 posts from our four regular contributors — Kurt Michael who is our managing editor, David Karaffa, Daniel Cortez, and Lynn R. Mitchell who is executive editor — as well as 23 guest writers.  Our very first guest writer was Mike Thomas whose post zoomed to the top of the ratings and helped launch us into the blogosphere.

The Top 5 posts for 2014 covered a variety of topics:

– Dr. Rob Marsh … Delta Force soldier finds peace as country doctor
– Augusta County’s Dennis Burnett passes away
– Summer 2014 … 40 things to do in and around Staunton, Virginia
– Louisa tea party chairman wins 7th Congressional District chair
– WSJ: ‘Health Care and the $20,000 bruise’

The next five posts were just as varied:

– Afton’s 2014 Bethlehem Village and the greatest story ever told
– Unaccompanied Child Immigrants in Verona, Virginia
– Sabato: ‘This is not a good development for Mark Warner’
– Did judge in McDonnell trial have conflict of interest?
– Kay Coles James for RPV chairman: A visionary for the future of the party

We have been read all over the country and around the world, thanks to our readers and contributors, and we’re looking forward to what 2015 will bring. We hope you’ll continue the journey with us. Happy New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving from LynnRMitchell.com

By Lynn R. Mitchell

“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” — Charles Dickens

The writers at LynnRMitchell.com — Daniel Cortez, David Karaffa, Kurt Michael, and myself — extend Thanksgiving greetings with gratitude to our readers for helping us become a successful statewide voice in the Virginia conservative blogosphere. We wish you a joyful day with family and friends as America pauses to give thanks for the blessings we all enjoy. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Cross-posted

Special Issue: LynnRMitchell.com writers, guests discuss Atlantic Coast Pipeline

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Today at LynnRMitchell.com, we are looking at the Atlantic Coast Pipeline issue that has stirred opinions both for and against in Augusta County and elsewhere. Posts from guest writers and regular contributors include Augusta County supervisors, citizens, information from Dominion, and an editorial cartoon.

Here is the list of articles in today’s Special Pipeline Issue:

• Atlantic Coast Pipeline: Better ways to the same end by Supervisor Tracy Pyles
• Dominion, environmentalists, and pipeline hypocrisy by Joel Salatin
• Augusta County: Too valuable and vulnerable for this pipeline? by former Supervisor Nancy Sorrells
• Dominion’s Growth – What, Why, How, and Controlling Features by Calvin Lucy
• The Dominion Pipeline Maze by Kurt Michael
• Schedule for 2015 Dominion Atlantic Coast Pipeline open houses from Dominion
• Myths & facts about Atlantic Coast Pipeline from Dominion

Previous articles on the pipeline:

• Dominion Virginia Power pipeline in Augusta County by Supervisor David Karaffa
• Augusta County residents organize against pipeline by Supervisor David Karaffa
• What if Dominion Virginia Power ran high speed internet with Atlantic Coast Pipeline? by Lynn R. Mitchell
• Governors McAuliffe, Tomblin, McCrory provide bipartisan support for Atlantic Coast Pipeline by Lynn R. Mitchell
• Business community, public officials support Atlantic Coast Pipeline by Lynn R. Mitchell
• Augusta supervisors deliver resolution asking for more info, Dominion says 75% of landowners in pipeline path agree to surveying  by Lynn R. Mitchell

Cross-posted

What if Dominion Virginia Power ran high speed internet with Atlantic Coast Pipeline?

By Lynn R. Mitchell

What if the proposed natural gas pipeline running through Augusta County and beyond had fiber optics buried along with it? For those who have advocated opening rural areas to high speed internet, perhaps the answer is to partner with the pipeline. Rumor has it that Dominion could be open to that possibility. High speed internet … Atlantic Coast Pipeline. What do you think?

Back in the homeschool classroom: ’50 reasons homeschooled kids love being homeschooled’

By Lynn R. Mitchell

I loved this article, “50 reasons homeschooled kids love being homeschooled,” by Kris Bales who wrote, “I asked the folks on my Facebook page to ask their kids why they liked being homeschooled and let me know what they said. I asked mine, too, and compiled the answers for you.  Some answers were heard a lot. Some were pretty unique. Some got my added commentary, and some stand alone. So, if you’ve ever wondered why homeschooled kids like being homeschooled, here are the results, in no particular order after the first two, of my really unscientific poll.”

Reading the list brought back lots of memories of the 16 years I spent schooling with my children so, after reading the list and nodding and smiling about various ones, I emailed both my kids with the link. I pointed out that my daughter would very much identify with #15: “Being able to do school with pets. Have you seen the recent studies that show that reading to dogs helps improve the proficiency of struggling readers?” Her kitty, Palmer, was often curled up beside her as she studied or read.

Augusta County’s ‘Chapstick Girl’ has gone viral, AP, Fox News calling – UPDATED: School board responds

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Ten-year-old Grace Karaffa’s common sense question asking why it is against Virginia’s Augusta County School Board rules to carry Chapstick to school has gone viral. Now Fox News has come calling.

Grace attended last week’s school board meeting armed with petitions that included over 200 signatures asking that they reconsider the rule prohibiting students from carrying lip balm to school. She has become the Shenandoah Valley’s “Chapstick Girl.”

I wrote earlier this week (see Grace Karaffa, 10, petitions Augusta School Board to allow Chapstick in schools):

Barbara Comstock campaign ad by Rep. Frank Wolf: ‘Trusted aide’

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Congressman Frank Wolf (R-10th CD) shares some of Barbara Comstock’s “real jobs” and the success she has had as a bipartisan legislator in the just-released campaign ad, “Trusted Aide.”

Dominion Virginia Power pipeline in Augusta County

By David Karaffa
Supervisor, Beverley Manor District, Augusta County

On August 13th at the Board of Supervisors regular meeting, we had representatives from Dominion Virginia Power come and give a presentation about their proposed underground natural gas pipeline that will transect Augusta County. There were over 350 citizens in attendance at the meeting.

First, I would like to say thank you to Dominion and to all of those that showed up for the meeting. All of the information and input was helpful to better understanding the proposal, answer some very important questions, and allow for our citizens to express their concerns about the project.

First time I met the gracious, hard-working Barbara Comstock

By Lynn R. Mitchell

I remember very clearly the first time I met Barbara Comstock who is running as the Republican candidate for the 10th Congressional seat that is being vacated with the retirement of Congressman Frank Wolf.

It was 2009 and hundreds of Republicans from all over the Commonwealth were in Williamsburg for the GOP Advance. A number of us were at an event at the Williamsburg Inn and standing in line for the Friday night buffet. She was behind me and we began talking — exchange of names, where in Virginia we were from, that kind of thing.

NL’s Calvin Trice: ‘Approval, well wishes for Afton popcorn vendor’

Ronald King addresses BZA as Carrie Eheart listens.

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Staunton News Leader reporter Calvin Trice has a great article about Thursday’s Augusta County Board of Zoning Appeals hearing where Ronald King, owner of King’s Gourmet Popcorn on Afton Mountain, appeared to request a permission to continue his business (see Approval, well wishes for Afton popcorn vendor). Calvin wrote: