johnhildreth

An e-zine version of the New River Valley's new community newspaper.

part of the town square in pearisburg, virginia.

the view from behind the iron fence at the giles county courthouse in pearisburg, virginia.

the old, abandoned high school in eggleston, va

cindy plays fiddle at the annual summer corn festival

the old, abandoned high school in eggleston, va

I am moved to write a little more.

Living close to today's events at Virginia Tech has been surreal and utterly disturbing. A massacre of this magnatude truly does not sink in right away -- it's a like a deep cut that, while not initially painful, becomes ever more so as the shock of injury wears off.

So it is today in Blacksburg.

This comes on the heels of a previous shooting incident on the first day of classes in August 2006, in which two people were shot and killed by an armed prisoner who escaped from a local hospital after feigning an injury. The culprit was a townie many in the area had known for years, whose motive for the killings was as empty as the petty robbery attempt that landed him in jail. Small towns are slow to get over such an event, and after today, I don't know what's going…