Editorial: Few Thoughts on General Assembly Action
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Editorial: Few Thoughts on General Assembly Action

Yes, allow homeschoolers access to programs in public school.

It’s possible that this is not the right bill exactly, and in general, we favor local control. But it is wrongheaded of public schools to force families into a take-it-or-leave-it position.

Families that homeschool their children are likely saving localities more than $10,000 a year in operating costs and take some pressure off overcrowded schools. It makes sense that these students should not only have access to sports, if they can meet the requirements, but they should also have access to other extracurricular activities and even some classes.

Public schools need to provide for the best for all students in their jurisdiction.

This is HB63.

Are We Barbarians?

Testimony stated that on occasion the clothing of the person in the electric chair would burst into flames and the man throwing the switch for an execution feared the person being executed might burst into flames as well.

There have been problems acquiring the drugs needed for lethal injection for execution, so the Virginia House of Delegates passed the following: HB1052 Method of execution. Provides that if the Director of the Department of Corrections certifies that lethal injection is not available as a method of execution, electrocution shall be used instead. House: VOTE: PASSAGE (64-Y 32-N)

How local Northern Virginia delegates voted:

YEAS: Albo, Comstock, Hugo, LeMunyon and Rust.

NAYS: Brink, Bulova, Filler-Corn, Herring, Hope, Keam, Kory, Krupicka, Lopez, Plum, Sickles, Simon, Surovell and Watts.

Please No Hunting on Sundays

For those who enjoy a hike or a ride through the Virginia countryside, it’s good to know that on Sundays during hunting season, one can still enjoy the outdoors without worrying about being mistaken for a deer. On Saturdays, vigilance, bright colors, loud talking and sometimes even jingle bells hung on clothing or saddles helps provide a sense of safety. This bill already passed the House of Delegates, and will likely proceed in the Senate.

Send Photos for Pet Connection

The Pet Connection, a bi-annual themed edition, will publish Feb. 26.

We invite you to send us stories about your pets, photos of you and/or your family with your cats, dogs, hamsters, snakes, lizards, frogs, rabbits, or whatever other creatures share your home or yard with you.

Tell us the story of a special bond between a child and a dog, the story of how you came to adopt your pet, or examples of amazing feats of your creatures. Can your dog catch a Frisbee 10 feet in the air, or devour an entire pizza when you turn your back for less than a minute?

Do you volunteer at an animal shelter or therapeutic riding center or take your pet to visit people in a nursing home? Tell us about your experience.

Have you helped to train an assistance dog? Do you or someone in your family depend on an assistance dog?

Or take this opportunity to memorialize a beloved pet you have lost.

Send photos and identify everyone in the photo including the pets and tell us what is happening in the photo, and include your address (we will only print the town name).

Submissions should arrive by Feb. 19.

Email editors@connectionnewspapers.com, or submit photos and stories directly on our website at www.connectionnewspapers.com/pets/.