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Check It Out:
See if our Paparazzi cameras caught you or your friends at any recent events around town.
FRONT BURNER: Wake-up call: Dealing with diabetes
Dan Wooldridge has always been an athletic man. The retired referee, former ODAC commissioner and supervisor of the Big East conference had spent much of his career running up and down basketball courts and football fields. So when he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about five years ago, he was stunned. “I had never been a sickly person,” said Wooldridge, 79.
5 things to know about The Avett Brothers
In seven years and at least nine stops in the Roanoke and New River valleys, The Avett Brothers have steadily built their audience. It started with a 2005 side stage appearance at FloydFest. The next year, the band played the Coffee Pot in Roanoke.
YOU DOCS: Guys, try natural strategies to improve your ‘zoom’
Lightning ROD. Bullet Proof. Zoom-Zooma-Zoom. Since 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings for these and 24 additional sexual-enhancement supplements that are secretly laced with dangerous drugs. If you’re among the more than 33 million North American guys looking for an erectile-dysfunction fix, don’t believe the hype that these pills are “all natural” or safe. Under a microscope, some of these chemicals look similar to the active
AGE MATTERS: Severe allergic reaction to insect bites can be deadly
Dear Dr. Camardi: When I brought Dad to you after that bite he got in the garden, I thought nothing of it. He’s 76 and he’s been getting bit by something all his life, why should this be any different? Whatever you gave him worked, so we didn’t go to the allergist like you recommended . The good thing was I got the EpiPen. The bad thing was I didn’t
Cornershot
Last Tuesday was a night for musical kids in downtown Roanoke. At Fork in the City, Girls Rock Roanoke volunteer publicist Kim Bratic threw a late birthday shindig for herself, with the goal of getting folks to come out and eat for the kids. The restaurant pledged a portion of its sales that day to the Girls Rock program, new to Roanoke, which is planning its inaugural summer camp for
CAROLYN HAX: Grandparents’ love worth more than measly check
Carolyn: I have a bizarre dilemma that needs a light touch in handling. My wife, my children and I are very close to my grandparents, who live within an easy drive. We still see them often, and never miss birthdays, holidays, etc. My grandparents are generous with gifts but, in recent years, gifts have been replaced by checks (usually about $100) because it’s harder for them to get around to
THE PEOPLE'S PHARMACY: FDA confuses people about drugs and cancer
Cancer is one of our scariest diseases. That’s because it is the second-leading cause of death in the U.S., killing nearly 600,000 people each year. It is not surprising that many Americans do everything in their power to avoid exposure to toxins that might increase their chances of getting cancer. Millions have quit smoking. Others buy organic food to reduce exposure to herbicides and pesticides. Despite such proactive steps, there
TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH: Hyperbaric oxygen an effective treatment for radiation damage
Q: In 2008, I was treated for prostate cancer with radiation. A couple of months later, I started passing blood during bowel movements. I went to a gastro-enterologist, who found that my colon was “burned” by radiation. After several treatments I am still bleeding, though not as badly. I use Canasa suppositories every night. I also had cardiac stents placed in 2012. My cardiologist put me on clopidogrel (Plavix). Both
Out & about: Papa Grows Funk returns to Roanoke Valley on Wednesday
A renowned New Orleans band is making a final funky round of shows that will bring it to Martinsville on Wednesday. Papa Grows Funk, led by the Hammond B3 work of band founder John Gros, is scheduled for a show at the Rives Theatre. It will be the first, and likely last, stop for the band in that town. PGF announced in January that after 13 years together, it is
Overuse of ‘like’ a habit young ones need to break
“Are you trying to tell me something?” I asked my pre-teen grandson. “Um, uh, yes.” “Then don’t use that word. You know how I feel about it.” “Okay.” And the conversation proceeded from there, unimpaired by repeated insertions of “like” into every sentence, as in, “I, um, like, wanted to go to like the soccer game but like I wasn’t like able to because like I had to stay home
Teen repeatedly asking parents for help not a cause for alarm
Your 18-year-old texts you for help dozens of times per day. Is this the new normal? Parent advice: My wife and I were in a college admission meeting when one son (not the prospective candidate) repeatedly rang my wife’s cellphone until we finally picked up. “Where’s the butter?” he asked. I suggested through gritted teeth that, given the limited universe of possibilities, looking for butter ought to not pose an
Books & talks calendar
MONDAY The Salem Museum Speaker Series Virginia Western Community College historian David Hanson will speak on the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. When: 7 to 8:30 p.m. Where: The Salem Museum, 801 E. Main St., Salem Cost: Free Contact: 389-6760
Cornershot
On a recent spring morning all seemed right with the world. I had attended Mass, where we had sung “Canticle of the Sun,” a hymn that reflects St. Francis’ love for all of God’s creation. One verse praises the bountiful Earth and its creatures as expressions of God’s glory. As I approached an intersection on Colonial Avenue, two such creatures stepped out on faith to cross the road. Duck faith.
DADLINE: Family roles redefining dad
Today we bring you a special edition of Dadline for Father’s Day. At the end of a long day at the office, I like to go home, loosen the tie, put my feet up, light my pipe, pat the (silent) children on their heads and read the evening paper as my wife emerges from the kitchen and greets me with a peck on the cheek and a scotch on the
Blacksburg's Lyric Theatre celebrates its crowd-funding success
The Lyric Theatre in Blacksburg was struggling to raise funds to pay for its new digital projection system. So the nonprofit broke with traditional methods to test the waters of Internet crowd-funding. In May, the Lyric launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $50,000 for its digital upgrade. The Kickstarter website allows a creator to pitch a project and ask people to pledge money to make it happen. It turned out
Cornershot
Roanoke reader Charles Knowlton, who has had four CornerShots published in the Extra section since 2012, recently sent in a letter about his experience that sums up why these short pieces are so beloved — and why people love to write them. Here’s Charles, in his own, meticulously hand written words: From time to time, you’ve been kind enough to print some of the items I’ve submitted to CornerShot and
Travel calendar
DAY TRIPS Wednesday Lake Norman cruise and Shelton Vineyards Roanoke County Parks, Recreation and Tourism is sponsoring a cruise aboard the Catawba Queen, a replica of a Mississippi River paddle wheeler, for lunch and sightseeing on Lake Norman in North Carolina. A tour and wine tasting at the vineyards follows. The $72 cost per person includes breakfast biscuit, lunch, cruise, wine tour and tasting, bus transportation and escort. Registration is
A Florida escape without breaking the bank
After what felt like the longest winter we could recall since moving to Roanoke, my husband and I needed a little sunshine. With limited time to get away and a desire to keep our travel budget in a reasonable range, we decided to head to St. Petersburg, Fla., for a long weekend getaway. Allegiant Air flies direct to St. Petersburg on Thursdays and Sundays, and that was a good fit
Diva of the big top
There is no entertainment as mesmerizing as the circus. Author Dean Jensen calls the circus “a church of gaiety.” His “Queen of the Air” is a portrait of Lillian Leitzel, the star celebrant in that church’s cathedral, The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. “Queen of the Air” exceeds expectations of a biography; it functions more as a work of fiction. Certainly, the subject would be an apt one
Beyond the parlor tricks
Peter Parker as Spider-Man stops a speeding train by shooting out webs that attach to some trackside buildings. The train continues for an improbable distance ; all the while the web material stretches without thinning, the attachment to the buildings remains intact, and Parker himself is not torn apart by the momentum of the speeding train. It’s great theater, but we understand Newtonian physics well enough to know that such
‘The Child Thief’ one of the year’s best thrillers
“The Child Thief” is a good novel; let’s just get this out of the way first. Dan Smith has written a good story, and it definitely is worth the time of any reader remotely interested in a historical thriller. In “The Child Thief,” which is Smith’s first novel distributed to the United States, a Russian man and his family encounter a refugee, who is dragging behind him the mutilated bodies
What's not to love about lavender?
My husband and I have developed a great fondness for lavender. It's hard not to love a plant with attractive foliage, pretty flowers and a wonderful scent, particularly when it is also drought resistant and one of the few plants deer will leave alone. Perfumed with one of the most popular fragrances in the world, lavender is an easy plant to grow, taking very little time or resources. With just
1. COMMENTARY: A letter to the ones left behind
2. Meteorologist Jamey Singleton fined $200 for February wreck
3. Smith Mountain Lake man's steam boat is a step back in time
4. Military takes down Roanoke woman's ‘Operation Bedsheet’
5. Two more suspects arrested in Salem burglary
6. Dublin town attorney Baker found guilty of reckless driving, not DUI
7. Police investigate Monday armed robbery at SW Roanoke convenience store
8. 5 things to know about The Avett Brothers
9. Christiansburg man pleads guilty to assault on 2 deputies
10. Top event picks for week of June 16, 2013
THE ROANOKE TIMES
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