Staff/Contributed Reports

Retired diplomat and county resident Bill Ryan of Amissville has taken on a new challenge as a playwright with his third play about Thomas More entitled “Thomas More: The Last Hour.” The play will be performed at a “Renaissance in Rappahannock” gala at Rappahannock Cellars on Saturday, May 8, by actors that include Rappahannock’s...
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At the end of nearly seven years as Rappahannock’s school superintendent I continue to be overwhelmed by the number of school employees and school volunteers who go above and beyond the call of duty in service to the children of Rappahannock County. However, the schools have few award programs for employees, and none for...
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On April 17, Rappahannock County High School wrestling and softball coach Jamie Harris joined 100 coaches from the mid-Atlantic region at the Washington Redskins Concussion Awareness and Education Forum. The free, invitation-only event was held at Redskins Park where Peter Gonzalez, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Norfolk’s Eastern Virginia Medical School,...
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Shelley is a playful, lovable, wormy-squirmy six-month-old kitten. She is not of the aggressive, fearless type; rather she is jumpy and inquisitive, yet cautious. She will play and engage with other cats but is also submissive She would be a good kitten for a very young child who wants to play and carry her...
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From contributed reports The Castleton Festival returns this July with an impressive array of opera and concert performances and an additional full week of programs. The music of Puccini takes center stage with a new production of the beguiling one-act operas that comprise “Il Trittico ― Il tabarro,” “Suor Angelica” and “Gianni Schicchi.” The...
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Hospice of the Rapidan’s eighth annual Butterfly Celebration gets under way at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 9, in the gardens at the Locust Grove campus of Germanna Community College.
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Honored at Amissville Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company’s annual awards banquet last Saturday (April 24) were, from left: Tom Dart, supportive member of the year; Blake Yowell, firefighter of the year; Chief J.B. Carter, excellence in fire service; Zach Stalls, junior firefighter of the year; and Sarah Mills, EMS person of the year. The...
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On Monday (May 3), the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors will hold a 2 p. m. session and a 7 p.m. public hearing. Both meetings will be at the Rappahannock County Courthouse on Gay Street. Highlights on the agenda include: school budget FY11 adoption; RSW regional jail; jail office expansion; continuation of county budget...
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By Jean Lillard The weather was cool and a little windy on Saturday but the 280 runners, walkers, and baby carriage pushers who crossed the finish line of the 32nd running of the Fodderstack 10K Classic didn’t seem to mind the “coolerness.” Chuck Love of Madison, Va., overall winner in 2009, won again this...
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An opportunity to learn from Farm-to-Table students, a prestigious volunteer award for a Sperryville man, Miss Rappahannock and more.
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Headwaters Foundation’s Farm-to-Table program at Rappahannock County Public Schools receives a $12,000 donation from the Rappahannock Farm Bureau. Farm-to-Table instructor Trista Scheurlein (center) and Headwaters executive director Toni Egger (left) accept the check presented by Farm Bureau president Chris Parrish. The pictured check has been modified to show the increase from two years ago...
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Tucker Hill’s work lives on after his death. On two consecutive weekends in May, the Etlan-based artist, well known in the Rappahannock County arts community, will be honored. The Firnew Farm Artists’ Circle’s Mother’s Day show is, in the words of its founder Trish Crowe, “dedicated to the light and creative spirit of Tucker...
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The Rappahannock Hunt's Hunter Pace Races took place under bright sunny skies Saturday. The McNears of Gid Brown Hollow hosted the event.
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The ancient Irish festival of Beltane, or May Day, signals the end of winter and the coming of summer. It will be celebrated at the Theatre at Washington with a concert beginning at 8 p.m. on May 1, when Washington, D.C’s award-winning Celtic ensemble, the Ocean Quartet, joins forces with members of the Washington...
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In the April 8 edition of the Rappahannock News, Robert Alcott of Washington wrote a most appropriate letter to the editor regarding the trash along Rappahannock roads. Kudos are in order for his thoughts. Praise also goes to Nick Riedel, a 13-year-old student, who wrote an article on March 18...
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The recent exchange between Ron Maxwell and Christopher Moyles caught my eye for a couple of reasons. First, in my view, Mr. Maxwell’s analysis of the impact of illegal alien labor on wages is sound, and so is his view of the humanitarian rhetoric that camouflages so much government waste. Second, the “response” to...
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The Rappahannock County Republican Committee will be holding its 2010 Ronald Reagan Dinner on Saturday (April 24) at 6:30 p.m. at the Washington Volunteer Fire & Rescue fire hall. The event is an annual tradition and guests from Rappahannock and elsewhere are invited. The dinner acknowledges President Reagan’s service to the nation and celebrates...
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The Rappahannock County Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association’s annual awards banquet, postponed from February due to the severe snowstorms, was held on April 10 at the social hall of the Chester Gap Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company. Some 90 members of the county’s fire and rescue companies and their guests, family members and friends...
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Summer is a time for doing things you love. That's certainly true for Rappahannock students who have used their summer for educational enrichment while having fun.
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The Rappahannock County Nonprofit Center, which offers support activities to nonprofit groups such as churches and fire departments throughout seven Blue Ridge counties, is bringing back “partner” dancing on Saturday, May 1. The Spring Dance will be held at the center’s building in Sperryville, the old schoolhouse which is now The Link. Dancers will...
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You may know that rabbits reproduce quickly, but I am here to tell you that there aren’t enough of them. There never will be enough for me — never. Lemme at ‘em! Why do you think I was put on this Earth? I am a year old and I love kids and there will...
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Amissville’s Narmada Winery has a fetching exhibit up through June 1 in the tasting room of photos by John A. Bechtold, an advertising photographer based in New York City for 30 years. An Amissville resident the last 15 years, Bechtold worked for such magazines as Gourmet, Food and Wine and Cuisine, and his clients...
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Warrenton Rugby Football Club (shown in red) has a playoff match this Saturday (April 24) at the Laurel Mills Polo Grounds against Roanoke. Kick-off is 1 p.m. — and is preceded by an under-19 Warrenton Wolfpack youth club match against Western Loudoun at 11 a.m. More at warrentonrugby.com.
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Go, Gavin, Go Gavin Jenkins, an 11-year- old Rappahannock County Elementary School fifth-grader, has a dream of becoming a professional automobile race driver, and this year he is on his way to accomplishing his dream. As a dirt track go-kart driver, Gavin won the Capital City Speedway Championship for his class at this, his...
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At Local Flavor’s first-ever “Meet Your Farmer” open house Saturday at the farm buyer’s club’s Amissville storehouse, some 250 local farmers, customers and others showed up to meet, greet and otherwise connect. Among the suppliers, farmers and friends (who brought quiches, cheeses, chutney, fresh-picked spinach and asparagus, fried chicken, brats, burgers, herbal teas, coffees,...
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By Steve Campbell and staff The hospital of choice and necessity for many Rappahannock residents, Warrenton’s Fauquier Hospital, last week laid off 32 employees — citing economic uncertainty and the impact of unemployment on patients. The bad economy caused many area residents to delay health care decisions. Also, many of those who’ve lost jobs...
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By John W. McCarthy The Fodderstack 10K Race is at 9 a.m. Oh, and we’re moving the starting line. Last year, for the first time, the Fodderstack 10K Race began at precisely 9 a.m. The race started fine with no pile-up of over-eager type A runners, no children pushed aside by the overly aggressive,...
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Rappahannock high-schoolers are likely looking at a tougher time getting into state colleges than their predecessors faced — plus higher tuition and fewer classes if they do get in. That’s because of Virginia’s ever-shrinking higher-education budget. The budget that state legislators approved last month calls for reductions of $243.5 million in the 2011-12 fiscal...
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On behalf of the Flint Hill Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, we would like to thank all of the businesses who donated food items for our fried chicken dinner. Also a big thank you to Gayle Phillips Turner for frying all of the chicken and fixing all of the food. Great job, Gayle. Thank...
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A high five from senior Dane Wellemeyer. A shout of enthusiasm from varsity soccer star Austin Burnett. Then the rest of the Advanced Placement English class — and most of the school — mobbed seniors Justin Fitzmorris and Gary White, prompted by the exciting announcement surging through Rappahannock High School’s public-address system: The fourth...
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We want to thank Mike Cannon, manager of the Rappahannock Co-op, and Cucie Baldwin, owner of 211Quicke Mart, for letting us sell raffle tickets to support the Miss Rappahannock Pageant – and especially all the people who gave generous donations. Harold Beebout, Stephani and Dollie Atkins Sperryville Volunteer Rescue Squad
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On Saturday, friends of Scrabble School volunteered their time and talent to complete the pathway around the perimeter at the school property: Adam Kerr (Rappahannock Landscapes) with his tractor, Marc Malik of Sperryville (retired Shenandoah National Park landscape engineer), master gardener Ed Stetson, James Raehn with Boy Scout son Austin, and Scoutmaster Roger Pierson...
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By Ray Holland Special to the Rappahannock News Everyone needs an escape now and then. Whether from the rigors of spring cleaning, garden planting or the daily drudgeries that tie us down, we all need a diversion. The RAAC Community Theatre is ready to help by providing highly talented actors to facilitate a getaway....
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Occasionally John Hagerty, who works at Rappahannock Cellars in Huntly and writes The Tasting Room column for Times Community Newspapers, will catch up with owners of Piedmont-area wineries and get their take on the world of Virginia wine. His first chat is with Chris Pearmund, managing partner of the eponymous Pearmund Cellars located in...
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Varsity soccer The Owls started off with a good win coming off of break defeating Notre Dame Academy 4-1 at home April 6. The girls scored two goals in the first half, one by Abby Whitaker and the other by Alex Cancio-Bello. Early in the second half Makenzie Magaro netted a goal. Abby Whitaker...
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Second Lieutenant James Nilan, USMC of Flint Hill, recently graduated from The Basic School at Quantico, Va. The 26-week program consists of seven basic officer courses and is the equivalent of two and a half years of college. He was selected to serve in the field artillery and will report to the 2nd Marine...
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White’s winning performance Michelle “Mimi” White, of Flint Hill, won first place for her flute solo at the Virginia Lions’ regional Bland Music Contest last month in Gainesville. Her rendition of “La Flute de Pan” qualified her for the Lions’ District Contest, encompassing northern Virginia, on April 16 in Alexandria. Two judges gave White...
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I’m writing to take issue with statements made by Amy Hitt in her letter published in the Rappahannock News. Ms. Hitt believes that Rappahannock County High School (RCHS) should rejoin the Bull Run District for basketball and football. That’s an honest belief, but Ms. Hitt...
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It would be fortunate if Ron Maxwell used the same level of accuracy and attention to detail that he attempts as a filmmaker in characterizing the mission and motivations of the nonprofit organizations which I am honored to lead . Sadly, he did not. His primary assertions — that Fauquier Housing Corporation...
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The recent letter from Nick Riedel was both inspiring and incredibly sad. The fact that a 13-year-old should have to write to your publication to remind his elders not to litter, to pick up trash and treat the land with a little respect was a sad reflection on...
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