Free Republic

Over 40 people are unaccounted for and more than 100 homes have been damaged or destroyed after devastating floods ripped through western Virginia on Wednesday, officials said. Torrential rain, which began on Tuesday and lasted through early Wednesday morning, caused flash flooding in Buchanan County, as well as widespread power outages and damages to roads and other infrastructure, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management said. The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office said in a Wednesday afternoon statement that 44 people, including children, in the Whitewood area were “unaccounted for” after their loved ones were unable to immediately get into contact with...

The Rev. David Baer is out to save the town of Whitewood’s honor from the shame of a street named Hooker. Baer, a Lutheran pastor in the small northern Hills town, asked the Whitewood city council to rename the street that honors the Civil War general, Joseph Hooker. Baer finds it offensive because of the word’s connotation with prostitution. We heard from many readers who found Baer’s sign-change campaign humorous, sad, silly and maybe even a little dirty-minded. One man, who happens to be named John W. Hooker Jr., thinks it is Baer, not his family name, that’s offensive. “I...