Ed. — This appeared in the Sunday, June 7, print edition of The Independent News. BY ISRAEL ZOBERMAN VIRGINIA BEACH — What a year it has been, and it is not yet over. I was awakened early in the morning by my… Continue Reading
BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE CREEDS — On a Thursday evening in early April, a couple of weeks into our local response to a pandemic, members of Oak Grove Baptist Church cooked up a ham dinner in the church kitchen, wore gloves and masks… Continue Reading
BY JANE BLOODWORTH ROWE CREEDS — Creeds native and writer Rita Jones sees humanity as a single patchwork quilt that’s sewn from many threads, and she developed this vision into a program she coordinated for the Senior Resource Center, Inc., in… Continue Reading
BY ERIC MICHAEL MAZUR Virginia Beach Schools Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence on Friday, Jan. 30, sent a letter to “Virginia Beach City Public School Jewish Community Families” because the first day of school for the 2021-2022 academic year will fall… Continue Reading
BY JANE BLOODWORTH ROWE PUNGO — The Rev. Walter A. Whitehurst loved family, church and his home community of Pungo – and these became intertwined in his legacy as a storyteller.Whitehurst died on Saturday, Jan. 4, after a brief illness. He… Continue Reading
Ed. — This originally ran in the Aug. 9 print edition. BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE PUNGO — Hudson’s Playground, celebrating the life of 4-year-old Hudson Foschi, was dedicated on Sunday, July 28, at Charity United Methodist Church. The new and improved playground… Continue Reading
Ed. — This originally ran in the Aug. 23 print edition. BY JANE BLOODWORTH ROWE PUNGO — Holly Veber was on a mission trip to Chile with other members of Charity United Methodist Church a few years ago when she got the… Continue Reading
BY TERRY KING KNOTTS ISLAND, N.C. — My friends and neighbors removed me from my family when I was about 25 years old – they drafted me – and changed my life. Once I was in the Army, it became… Continue Reading
BY JAMES ALLEN VIRGINIA BEACH — I write this as we approach another Memorial Day, when service men and women are putting their lives on the line for all of us, and I am reminded of one thing that stays… Continue Reading
BY SHELLY SLOCUM COURTHOUSE — At lunchtime on Monday, June 3, dozens of people dressed in blue gathered at Courthouse Community United Methodist Church to remember the 12 people who died in the mass shooting at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center.… Continue Reading