piantadosi

Roger Piantadosi is the editor of the Rappahannock News. He was an editor, staff writer and information architect at The Washington Post for almost 30 years before retiring (or so he thought) in 2008. He and his wife, Charmaine Lee, have lived in Washington, Va., since 1999.


Cafe for lease but Rapp Central stays

Jan. 26, 2012
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Reports of the death of Rappahannock Central have been greatly exaggerated.
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Marijuana-growing charges downgraded

Jan. 19, 2012
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Charges of growing and distributing marijuana against several members of a Castleton family – the result of flyovers by law enforcement on an unrelated manhunt last summer – are downgraded to misdemeanors.
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Crime and Courts for Jan. 12

Jan. 12, 2012
RNThisWeekNew

A plea agreement has likely been reached with 18-year-old Cameron MacArthur of Amissville in the cases spawned by August’s burglary, arson and manhunt on Grand View Road.
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Christmas parade slideshow, version 2.0

Dec. 9, 2011
SantaClaus179

More, better pictures in Version 2.0 of our “Christmas in Little Washington” parade and festival slideshow — for which we owe many thanks to all who sent in photos this week (credits are on the last slide), some of which we were also able to get into our little paper this week. (On an...
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County will pay off lights rather than loan interest

Dec. 8, 2011
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With $220,000 outstanding, the note being paid by the county for the stadium lights installed three years ago at the high school has been accruing interest at the rate of $30 a day. The Board of Supervisors put an end to that and voted to pay the note off.
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Slideshow: Christmas in Little Washington

Dec. 4, 2011
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NOTE: There’s a newer, better version of this slideshow here. A beautiful day, and maybe the best Christmas in Little Washington parade and festival ever. This slideshow’s just the first batch of photos — we’ll post another version by Friday with lots more staff and reader-submitted photos. (And be sure to check the Thursday,...
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Fire at Sperryville School House

Dec. 1, 2011
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Fire and rescue companies from around the county responded early Thursday morning to a fire at the Sperryville School House (formerly the Link), reported by a passerby sometime before 5 a.m. By 10 a.m., when this photo was taken, Sperryville Volunteer Fire Company chief Richie Burke (speaking into a radio atop the ladder) and...
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Retail back to ‘School’

Dec. 1, 2011
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Retail businesses return to Sperryville School House (formerly the Link), and business is looking up elsewhere.
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Ted Pellegatta: photos, with feeling

Nov. 24, 2011
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Ted Pellegatta has worn a lot of hats in his life. When he’s doing what he loves best, however, he usually has to remove the hat – the brim interferes with the camera. With his new book out, it's time for the rest of to take our hats off.
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The winners: Smith, Lee, Lesinski, Hitt, Ubben, Rifaat, Kerr, Webert

Nov. 10, 2011
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The unofficial returns, with 100 percent of the county’s five districts counted, made winners Tuesday night of Sheriff Connie C. Smith, Hampton district supervisor Bryant Lee and school board candidates John Lesinski, Amy Hitt and Chris Ubben.
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Voter survey results

Nov. 4, 2011
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We asked who you'd be voting for (and why) in Rappahannock County's upcoming election Nov. 8 — for sheriff, supervisor, school board, House of Delegates and more. The results are in.
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A letter FROM the editor

Nov. 3, 2011
RNletter

Links to all campaign-related letters we printed — and didn't print — in the Oct. 3 edition of the Rappahannock News.
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Voters survey results online Friday

Oct. 28, 2011
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We asked respondents to tell us who they'd be voting for (and why) in Rappahannock County's upcoming election Nov. 8 — for sheriff, supervisor, school board, House of Delegates and more. The survey is now closed; look for results in Thursday's paper and online here Friday.
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The busy-ness of fall

Oct. 28, 2011
Photo by Robert Ellis

Greg Williams’ garden supply emporium on U.S. 211 at Richmond Road has been taking advantage of its first fall in a more conspicuous location, with displays of pumpkins, a moonbounce for kids and an on-site barbecue, and at last Saturday’s open house at the Sheriff’s Office, investigator J.C. Welch took kids on a brief...
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Battle on the Potomac River

Oct. 27, 2011
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Confederates commanded by Brig. Gen. Nathan Evans on Monday, Oct. 21, stopped a badly coordinated attempt by Union forces under Brig. Gen. Charles Stone to cross the Potomac River at Harrison’s Island and capture Leesburg. Forces numbered about 1,700 on each side. A timely Confederate counterattack, in which Col. William Barksdale of the 13th Mississippi established...
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The focus turns to Virginia again

Oct. 20, 2011
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Sharp fighting on Sunday, Oct. 13, near Henrytown, Missouri, resulted in the dispersal of a Confederate scouting party intent on raiding Federal communications between St. Louis and Springfield.  Another skirmish occurred at Cotton Hill in western Virginia.  Brig. Gen. Thomas Williams superceded Brig. Gen. Joseph K.F. Mansfield in Federal command in North Carolina.  The...
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Farm-to-Juggle in Sperryville

Oct. 9, 2011
Rappahannock News Staff Photo/Roger Piantadosi

After getting a decent show of hands from the 30 or so kids present who were sure “it’s impossible,” Jazzy Juggler Nathan Bynum (jazzyjuggler.com) got up on his unicycle and kept the juggler’s club, the tennis ball and the ring in the air for a good long time Saturday afternoon at Waterpenny Farm’s annual...
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Coloring book central

Oct. 8, 2011
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“The Colors of Rappahannock and the Piedmont” is a coloring book that is the brainchild of Washington, Va.-based painter Kevin Adams, who recruited 11 other noted local artists to submit black-and-white panels representing Rappahannock County and their own work, which ranged from photography to painting to sculpture. The book, sponsored by the Rappahannock Association...
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Gowen’s 9/11 musical tribute

Oct. 3, 2011
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September Day from UUBRidge on Vimeo. Rappahannock County resident Geoff Gowen’s response to the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001, was to put his feelings into music. On the 10th anniversary of the event, his new composition for chorus and guitar, “September Day,” was performed by the UUBRidge Singers at the weekly service on...
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Two airlifted in 211 accident

Sep. 19, 2011
Staff Photo/Roger Piantadosi

Two young men extracted by rescuers from a car with Maryland license plates were airlifted to area medical centers just after 6 p.m. Monday, where both were reported Tuesday to be in critical but stable condition in the facilities’ intensive care units. The driver of the car was identified by Virginia State Police Trooper...
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Updated candidates list, location

Sep. 5, 2011

The Rappahannock Democrats have moved their planned candidates night — a chance to meet and hear briefly from candidates for local office — from the Rappahannock Library to the Washington fire hall. Event starts at 7:15 instead of 7, and the candidates expected are: Beverly S. Atkins – Commissioner of Revenue Roger A. Welch...
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Ready, set, returned: Rapp volleyball is back

Sep. 2, 2011
From left, members of the Rappahannock varsity volleyball team include: Maria Garralda, Katie Leake, Peyton Bailey, Maddie Kopjanski, Lyndie Paul, Haley Hogan, Amber Dodson, Bryn Sonnett, Shelby Burnett, Kaitlyn Jenkins and Paige Paul. Staff Photo/Alex Sharp VIII

The return of the Panther Pride could be a theme of the Rappahannock girls’ volleyball team this season. “We have a lot of returning girls,” Maddie Kopjanski said. “A few are back from varsity, but now there are a lot of JV girls on varsity. The good thing is that we’ve played together for so...
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Photos: Pole down in Little Washington

Aug. 28, 2011
View from Main Street. Photo by Joanie Ballard.

Joanie Ballard sent these photos along, taken this morning at Main Street and Warren Avenue in Little Washington, of a power pole leaning precariously over the roadway. At 10 a.m., Joanie said there hadn’t yet been any loss of power.
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18th district Republican primary today

Aug. 23, 2011
kelleywebert

All of Rappahannock’s voting district polling places are open today until 7 p.m. for voting in the Republican primary race to choose the party’s candidate for the General Assembly seat in the 18th District, which includes all of Rappahannock, most of Fauquier and parts of Warren and Culpeper counties. The candidates are both first-time...
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Cafe Indigo hires Inn sous chef

Aug. 20, 2011

Sperryville’s Cafe Indigo has hired as its new chef former Inn at Little Washington sous chef Anthony Ahrens. The 26-year-old Ahrens is the second sous chef in as many months to leave the renowned Washington restaurant not for one chef Patrick O’Connell’s many high-end competitors around the U.S. and Europe but for a restaurant...
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Peyton Farms manhunt

Aug. 20, 2011
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Read the complete story here, in our eEdition. Though the Rappahannock County Sheriff’s Office has made no public statements yet about the case, deputies — assisted by at least one helicopter — were searching early Saturday for one or more suspects involved in what was said to be an arson and assault incident on...
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The ‘Dukes’ reunion returns to its roots

Aug. 12, 2011
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Though “Catherine Bach” never quite became the household name that “Daisy Duke” did – Daisy being the character Bach played for six years CBS-TV’s “Dukes of Hazzard” sitcom from 1975 to 1985 – households are still something dear to the 57year-old actress’s heart. Households, that is, being the place where families congregate. For Bach, that family...
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Rabies cases on the rise

Aug. 12, 2011
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While rabies cases involving animals have risen about 15 percent statewide in the first seven months of 2011 (compared to the same period in 2010), Rappahannock County authorities have reported just one case of confirmed rabies so far this summer. It was reported last week and involved a skunk. Although it is the only...
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The Rapp for Aug. 4

Aug. 4, 2011
Photo by Camden Littleton

A candidate update from Bill Fletcher's place and the Democrats monthly meet-up . . . A photography contest in Rappahannock . . . the end of an era as the Chapmans leave for Lexington.
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In search of . . . contributors

Aug. 2, 2011

Come September, the Rappahannock News is planning to start making short news and community-announcement posts here on what we hope to be a daily basis, likely cross-posted on our Facebook page. At that time, it will also be possible for anyone to sign up directly on our site to become a contributor and to...
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The Rapp for July 28

Jul. 28, 2011
Staff Photo/Jan Clatterbuck

New slogans (or maybe not), an Angus Show award for a young Sperryville woman, Ballard's summer sale ends Saturday, amazing vegetable-growing news, pretty good peach-growing news, and the Piedmont claims another Soap Box Derby champion.
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Free shows Sunday at Castleton

Jul. 21, 2011
Photo courtesy CastletonFestival.org

Between its final two formal performances this weekend, the Castleton Festival is offering two more free concerts Sunday, July 24: noon at the Manor House Cafe, a Steven Sondheim-inspired cabaret featuring singers from the Castleton Festival; and 2 p.m. at the Theatre House, a chamber music performance with festival musicians. For reservations and information,...
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The Rapp for July 21

Jul. 21, 2011
The 7th Virginia, currently commanded by Lt. Steve Hensley of Castleton (not shown here), from left: Pvt. Trevor Pradis, Capt. William Graham III, 1st Sgt. Brian Pretlow, 2nd Cpl. Robert Yowell, Pvt. David Yowell, Pvt. Mark Dupuis, Pvt. Colton Weaver and 2nd Sgt. L.T. Fox.

• Kudos to the Castleton Festival, which ends its one-month program this weekend. • Heat-related warnings, and good wishes, to this weekend's First Battle of Manassas reenactors, including a couple from Rappahannock.
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The chihuahua vs. the hogs

Jul. 16, 2011
Photo: Schenk fotos via Wikimedia Commons

I just posted something about this earlier today on Rappnet, Rappahannock County’s late-model (but still running) email list-serve, after I saw an urgent notice about a lost chihuahua in Sperryville Friday afternoon — and then another notice today that the dog had been found and reunited with its owners. Sometime after I posted it...
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Sustainability: The dance goes on

Jul. 15, 2011
Farm at Sunnyside owner Nick Lapham stands amid a yellow sea of lance-leaved coreopsis, eastern gama grass and echinacea in one of his native-plant meadows. Staff Photo/Roger Piantadosi.

As if it wasn’t enough of a challenge to follow all the rules and guidelines necessary to have your products designated as “organic,” Nick Lapham has also tackled . . . biodiversity. Certain newspapers that would attempt to cover certain rural Virginia counties filled with singularly distinctive people must exercise caution when calling out...
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A note to our Web visitors

May. 27, 2011
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RappNews.com is undergoing a few changes — for the better, we hope. The site will be undergoing some major changes from Friday, May 27 through this weekend. Not everything will be working and some pages might look a little ragged; we appreciate your patience. With the introduction of our new subscription-based eEdition earlier this...
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The May 5 Rappahannock News

May. 5, 2011
RNThisWeek

Supervisors OK school budget Most energy-related renovations at school moved forward Supervisors unanimously approved the $11.69 million budget to operate Rappahannock County schools in 2011 and 2012 during their regular monthly meeting Monday (May 2). As usual, the school’s budget comprises the major part of the county’s overall budget – 65 percent of $22.12...
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The Rapp for May 5

May. 5, 2011
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A stamp display in Flint Hill, new judges in Rappahannock, a memorial service for Dugald Day, Civil War poetry's relevance and the Masons honor Sheriff Connie C. Smith.
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RappNews.com Poll #1: Frequent eats

Mar. 31, 2011
From PollDaddy.com

In the Rappahannock News' first online poll at RappNews.com over the past week -- a highly unscientific, hardly conclusive experiment -- 55 respondents might have confirmed something everybody around here already suspected: Rappahannock County's most well-known restaurants are not meant for everyday use.
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For November, a big to-do list

Mar. 24, 2011
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There will be some changes in Rappahannock County's school and county elected officials in the year to come.
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