Articles

Editor’s note: The assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, made front page news everywhere in the United States, including Lexington. A story in the following week’s issue of The News-Gazette described the various memorial services held at local churches, the gun salutes fired at Virginia Military Institute and the flags displayed at half-staff throughout Lexington. The story noted that Kennedy had recently accepted an invitation to attend the dedication of the George C. Marshall Research Library that was to be held the following May. An editorial in tribute to Kennedy was also published that week, and we reprint that editorial here, 60 years later.

50 Years Ago

Pop Goes The World

Even The Grinch Went Shopping

The fate of a 3.0 megawatts solar array proposed for 21 acres of a 141-acre farm near Natural Bridge Station won’t be determined until after the first of the year.

XFS Global Hiring 60 Employees Initially

Bobbie Wagner, former director of the Rockbridge Area YMCA, has been named the new chief executive officer of the Alleghany Highlands YMCA in Covington.

Fire Fully Contained

Nov. 27, 2023 Editor, The News-Gazette: I am a mail subscriber to your paper and was driven to respond to your “What Do You Think?” online poll topic about the preferred timing for one’s home Christmas decorating.

The city of Lexington will host a meeting for citizens of the Diamond Hill area to offer observations and suggestions to address parking issues on the streets in that part of the city.

Chandler, Sheffield Repeat As Top Runners In 5K

Nov. 27, 2023 Editor, The News-Gazette: Mr. Paxton, a response to your good column “Is the USPS Shooting Itself In The Foot?”: If our beloved USPS had been allowed to be a part of the email revolution, all those figures Mr. Paxton gave would be so different today.

The 12th annual Lexington Gobble Wobble 5-kilometer race welcomed close to 500 runners and walkers on Thanksgiving morning, and the children’s fun run drew 28 youths. With the help of more than 500 registered individuals, the event raised money for the Rockbridge Christmas Baskets, the Lexington-Rockbridge Chamber of Commerce and the Community Table for the Rockbridge Area. Kedryn Chandler, a 2021 Parry McCluer High School graduate and a Southern Virginia University senior cross country runner, won the 5K for the third consecutive year, finishing in 15 minutes, 30.07 seconds. The top female finisher was Laurel Sheffield, a 2014 Rockbridge County High School graduate, who placed 16th overall in 19:17.99. TOP LEFT, Sarah Crim (616) of Auburn, Ala. and Jackie Gillespie of Marion, Ill. Finished the 5K. TOP RIGHT, Finn Miller of Natural Bridge leads a group of runners down Wallace Street before the final turn. ABOVE, Runners start the Gobble Wobble 5K in front of Maury River Middle School. Among them are Bradley Beaver of Twin Falls, Idaho (786) and Caleb Cooper of Buena Vista (923). For full results, visit www.commonwealthtiming.net. (Claudia Schwab photos)

The three local college football teams in the Rockbridge area boasted 24 selections for all-conference honors.

Three Rockbridge County High School volleyball players received Class 3 all-state honors last week. Senior hitter Maddie Dahl, the Region 3C player of the year, and senior setter McKenzie Burch were named to the all-state first time, while senior hitter Sophie Vaught was selected to the all-state second team.

The Rockbridge Area Recreation Organization’s monthly board meeting will be held Wednesday, Dec. 6, starting at 6 p.m. at Lexington City Hall, second floor meeting room.

EDWARD P HIGGINS November 30, 2023 Happy Birthday

Buford Lee Clark, 86, of Natural Bridge Station, was carried by angels into the arms of Jesus on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023.

Boyd Alvin Walker, 82, of Glasgow, died Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023, at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

Born July 17, 1931, at Stuart Circle Hospital in Richmond, Cornelia “Connie” Arvin Lawrence Snider died peacefully after a long illness in the hospital in Lexington on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023. She was 92.

Infant Holton Allen Scott Hostetter passed away peacefully to the arms of Jesus on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, at Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital in Lexington.