Spreading the joys of community

I thank you, enthusiastically, for Karen Hager’s column (“Growing inspiration,” June 29) on two Blacksburg artists: master gardener Elissa Steeves and Roanoke Times photographer Matt Gentry.

Steeves is an imaginative sculptor of the Earth and it’s floral progeny, as well as being someone who generously shares what she knows with those who don’t. We have all witnessed Gentry’s talents in The Times for years. Those who have been the subject of his camera lens will know how kind, patient and appreciative he is in his work.

What your newspaper allows for, however, is the pure pleasure of scanning your prominent and extensive display of their talents. Placement in the paper lends weight to our understanding of how important these two are to our community, something an online treatment of the material cannot accomplish.

Occasionally, you demonstrate an intuitive understanding of the strength that newspapers have to survive the sucking sound of the Internet: reminding us of the joys of living in this region. It is a pleasure to greet the news quietly in the morning, enjoying the visual presentation that allows us to thoughtfully contemplate the virtues of our neighbors and neighborhood.

ELIZABETH McCOMMON
BLACKSBURG

Weather Journal

5 hours ago

1. 41-vehicle wreck ties up traffic Sunday on I-81 in Rockbridge County 

2. Virginia Tech football roster has holes on picture day

3. Medicare penalties hit hospitals in Roanoke, New River Valleys

4. Microfestivus beer event gets downtown Roanoke hopping 

5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football 

6. Arrest made in case of missing Nelson County teen

7. DAN CASEY: Copter cost still stirring up dust

8. Roanoke farmers markets making local foods more accessible

9. Virginia attorney general's office grows under Ken Cuccinelli 

10. Man's drowning is 5th in Lynchburg area