Dispatches from Wharf Hill
IWCS critics might get more help from guv than board
An overhauled Isle of Wight County School Board, which will have seen four of its five seats change hands by January, is unlikely to appease ...
Steve Stewart, Author at Smithfield Times
Dispatches from Wharf Hill
Thankful for hometown merchants in IW, Surry
This robust week of holiday commerce reminds us again of the importance of shopping at home. Despite the many reasons we hear from consumers for ...
by Steve Stewart, Tuesday, November 23, 2021 4:51 pm
Dispatches from Wharf Hill
Let’s talk about something other than politics
When you read these words, the 2021 election will be over and the outcomes known unless, heaven forbid, a race is so close that it ...
by Steve Stewart, Tuesday, November 2, 2021 4:07 pm
Dispatches from Wharf Hill
Gerrymandering won’t die an easy death
Turns out that hyperpartisan citizens are no better than hyperpartisan legislators when it comes to ending gerrymandering. Two-thirds of Virginia voters last fall took the ...
by Steve Stewart, Tuesday, October 19, 2021 5:00 pm
Dispatches from Wharf Hill
Carrsville school board race is a bellwether
Is the uproar over Isle of Wight County Schools’ equity and inclusion movement the product of a few disgruntled parents and taxpayers? Or a much ...
by Steve Stewart, Tuesday, October 5, 2021 5:36 pm
Dispatches from Wharf Hill
Dressed-down Smithfield shines as movie set
Smithfield acquits itself quite well as a movie set for the comedic drama “Mary 4 Mayor,” streaming now on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Roku and several ...
by Steve Stewart, Tuesday, September 14, 2021 5:04 pm
Dispatches from Wharf Hill
Longing for the unity that once healed a nation
Twenty years on, 9-11’s enduring image for this pundit is the unity that soothed a wounded nation. If, heaven forbid, terrorists launched an assault of ...
by Steve Stewart, Tuesday, September 7, 2021 5:39 pm
Dispatches from Wharf Hill
Subscriber loyalty sustains Times during economic upheaval
Since the spring of 2020, when COVID-19 began battering the economy, especially small businesses like The Smithfield Times, many readers have asked how you could ...
by Steve Stewart, Tuesday, August 24, 2021 5:32 pm
Dispatches from Wharf Hill
Proud to call Smithfield home
Life on Commerce Street is tranquil a century after the Great Fire of 1921. Better Half and I — residents at the foot of Wharf ...
by Steve Stewart, Tuesday, August 17, 2021 6:24 pm
Opinion
The adventures of Miss Kitt: a cat story you won’t believe
Owning a newspaper in a small town can carry a certain celebrity status, but the first Stewart to make a splash in Smithfield wasn’t my ...