The View from Peaks Knob convened a community organizing workshop on July 3, led by trainers from Virginia Organizing. Thirty-five Pulaski County residents got to know each other and learned a little bit about organizing principles and strategies. We used the struggle for a new middle school as a case study for applying these principles […]
A letter to an old friend
While some of you were drafting letters to our Board of Supervisors on the subject of the middle school last week, I wrote a note to their boss who also happens to be an old friend. My dear P, We need to talk. Other than my parents, grandparents, and middle sister, I’ve known you for […]
Confederate Monuments, Pulaski, and Unanswerable Questions
This morning, Facebook showed me two interestingly juxtaposed stories. First was an interview Ezra Klein conducted entitled “Bryan Stevenson explains how it feels to grow up black amid Confederate monuments.” Second was this video from WDBJ-7 with the following caption: “Neesey Payne‘s hometown of Pulaski sure is beautiful from above! We definitely know why she loves […]
How we will win the middle school and beyond, Part II
(Part I here.) After a frustrating Board of Supervisors meeting last night and weeks of discouraging news about Pulaski County’s much-needed new middle school, you might be feeling disheartened. But we can do hard things! Let’s come together on July 3rd to learn organizing skills and create a plan for how we will get a new […]
“An Oasis in Pulaski”
For the past two years, the spring has brought one more reason for me to slow down when I drive by Poor Boys’ Produce on my way in and out of downtown Pulaski. During the school year, I hit the brakes as I round that curve because I want to make sure that I don’t […]
Crowdsourcing ideas for community use of new middle school
The new consolidated middle school will get a lot of usage from 8-3:30 Mondays through Fridays during the school year. And the gyms will be heavily used by rec league basketball teams during rec basketball season. But what about the evenings and weekends? What about the summer? In my recent article, I proposed that we […]
How we will win the middle school battle and beyond
When I first read comments from a certain Board of Supervisors member last week, I, like many others, was angry. But over the weekend, I began to see this middle school fight as a welcome opportunity to build and strengthen relationships across the entire county not just because it’s the right thing to do, but […]
The greatest town in the world, but for whom?
If you haven’t been to downtown Pulaski lately, you should visit. It’s difficult to keep track of all the exciting developments. As the lyrics go in my new favorite musical, “Look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now…history is happening in [Pulaski] and we just happen to be in the greatest […]
3,000 Pulaski County residents to lose insurance coverage
Congress votes tomorrow on TrumpCare. According to the numbers projected by the Center for American Progress, the average Virginia enrollee will pay $4,000 more annually by 2026. A few points of reference: $4,000 is almost 10% of the median income for Pulaski County. 1,115 Pulaski County residents were enrolled in an ACA plan in 2016 and […]
Hung Lui’s “Humbled Life”, Parts I&II
Editor’s Note: It’s easy to see the current debate over refugees coming to the United States as one that does not affect us here in Pulaski. If we do feel connected, most of our media outlets prime us to feel afraid of immigrants and refugees. But the data just doesn’t support this narrative of fear. Not only are […]