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Letters to the Editor Archive
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Letter: The magic of Camp Fantastic
Posted on September 9, 2010 | No CommentsThere is something magical about Camp Fantastic. It is a weeklong event that volunteers from Rappahannock County participate in once a year, as they have since 1983. The volunteers are led by Beverly Atkins, Linda Baldwin, Sandra Jenkins, Marie Davis, Jan Makela and the Rappahannock... -
Letter: Donate a deer to the Pantry
Posted on September 2, 2010 | No CommentsOur robust deer population is a great asset, but there can be too much of a good thing, as anyone who has met a deer up close and personal at 55 miles per hour can attest. Since times are hard, Rappahannock County is instituting a... -
Letter: Help abuse victims find SAFE haven
Posted on September 2, 2010 | No CommentsSo many issues crowd the headlines and stories called news. There is an issue, abuse, which is just too awful to think about. Abuse comes in so many forms: physical, mental, verbal, control, but the outcome is always the same. Families, women and children who... -
Letter: A helpful Guide
Posted on August 26, 2010 | No CommentsWhen Maureen Harris advised me that you had kindly provided 200 copies of the Rappahannnock News’s annual “Guide to Rappahannock County” for the information packets for the Shenandoah District of the Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs’ semi-annual district meeting, I was ecstatic. We are doing... -
Letter: Fantastic, thanks to you
Posted on August 26, 2010 | No CommentsWe would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who played a part in this year’s Rappahannock Night at Camp Fantastic. Once again, it was a huge success! The committee — Sandra Jenkins, Marie Davis, Jan Makela and Jim Blubaugh — was invaluable in... -
Letter: Jenkins family extends thanks
Posted on August 19, 2010 | No CommentsThe family of Herbert Wayne Jenkins would like to thank all their friends, relatives and church family for their cards, food and prayers following the passing of their son and brother. A special thank you goes to Betty Sisk, Emily and Chrystal Jenkins, Angie Hickerson,... -
Letter: Patient extends thanks
Posted on August 19, 2010 | No CommentsI want to thank everyone for the prayers, cards, flowers and donations. while I was at the University of Virginia hospital and the Fontaine Center in Charlottesville. I especially want to thank Robin Rider and Kim Clark for their assistance while I waited for medical... -
Letter: Many make soccer camp successful
Posted on August 19, 2010 | No CommentsThe Premier Soccer Camp was recently held at Wakefield Country Day School, Flint Hill, and my thanks go out to all whose efforts made it successful: Kathleen Groves, Mike Costello, Tanyon Lee and Amrit Tamang, who shared their soccer talents, and Dave Gillis and Rich... -
Letter: More to know about Bel Air
Posted on August 19, 2010 | No CommentsMore information has come to light concerning the Bel Air Restaurant and Tourist Cabins featured in Out of the Attic on page A4 of the Aug. 12 edition of the Rappahannock News. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Wayland deserve a thank you for adding that the... -
Letter: Preserving family forest legacy
Posted on August 12, 2010 | No CommentsFew challenges that Virginia’s 373,000 family forestland owners face are more important than the issue of passing the forest on to the following generation. Many forest owners want to preserve their lands but don’t know how to involve family members in their ownership and management.... -
Letter: Many thanks
Posted on August 12, 2010 | No CommentsAs many fellow Rappahannock residents know, Bill Baker of Sperryville worked many long, cold, hot, rainy and dry hours at Flatwood Recycling Center in Washington for 10 years. Many may know him for his devotion to the upkeep of the recycle center and for the... -
Letter: SAFE helps those facing danger
Posted on August 12, 2010 | No CommentsI am responding to an article several weeks ago about SAFE. This is a most needed program in our county. For months up until January, I was a victim of a stalker-trespasser who left sexual letters and pornographic pictures at my home for months. Everyone... -
Letter: Protecting county’s water resources
Posted on August 12, 2010 | No CommentsLast week during the discussion as to scenic river designation for the Hazel, concern over our water resources finally clicked. At one time our rivers were our highways and produced all our power in Rappahannock County. But in the 1930s, electricity was brought into the... -
Letter: Kudos to Skyler Owens
Posted on August 5, 2010 | No CommentsCongratulations to Skyler Owens. We were proud to see the nice article on her in the Rappahannock News. We enjoyed having her as an enthusiastic seventh and eighth grader at Belle Meade School. It was a pleasure mentoring her as she strove to integrate her... -
Letter: Calling all clutter busters
Posted on August 5, 2010 | No CommentsYou can feel a lot better about yourself and your circumstances if you will just clean out something. A drawer. A shelf somewhere in the house. Part of the garage. A section of the shed. Just clean and dust and you will feel better -- summer heat, or no. -
Letter: Food Pantry donors acknowledged
Posted on August 5, 2010 | No CommentsThank you for running The Rapp article about meat donations to the pantry. We would have acknowledged the donors then but only learned their names the day the newspaper appeared. I would like to thank them here. The pantry received nine hogs, five lambs, and... -
Letter: The best of all possible worlds
Posted on July 29, 2010 | No CommentsIt is at my own hazard that I cross pens with the Duke of Sperryville, but being as this is Rappahannock County where the tradition of Virginia’s colorful eccentrics lives on, I’ll take another stab at the inkwell. Could Ben Jones have missed the point... -
Letter: Beware the tick; beware the doctor!
Posted on July 29, 2010 | 2 CommentsThank you for your article on Lyme Disease; awareness of this insidious disease is crucial. However, some information in the article was misleading. Less then 20 percent of all Lyme patients present the classic bull’s eye skin mark and in some studies less then 15... -
Letter: Web sites tell more about Lyme Disease
Posted on July 29, 2010 | 1 CommentI am writing this in response to last week’s article on Lyme Disease. I appreciate the work of Gary Barr getting the word out about Lyme Disease, which is becoming epidemic in the area. I would like only to add to the “Looking at Lyme... -
Letter: More on Lyme Disease
Posted on July 29, 2010 | 1 CommentI was very pleased to read the long piece concerning Lyme Disease in the July 22 Rappahannock News; this is a very dangerous and insidious disease and publishing information is vital to combatting it. There is still so much unknown about the spreading among animals,... -
Letter: Thanks to all
Posted on July 29, 2010 | No CommentsOn Thursday, July 22, James Samuel Wines, our father and husband, went home to our Father in heaven. We would like to thank Chester Gap Volunteer Fire Department for its response to our home and the food the ladies provided for fellowship after the funeral,... -
Letter: Scenic River controversy flows on
Posted on July 29, 2010 | No CommentsI just finished reading for the third time the July 15 front-page article about the Rappahannock Board of Supervisors delaying a vote on a State Scenic River designation for the Hazel River in Rapphannock County, from the F.T. Valley Road to just above the river’s... -
Letter: Castleton is . . . awesome
Posted on July 22, 2010 | No CommentsThis past Sunday afternoon I had the pleasure and delight of attending the Castleton Festival’s production of Puccini’s “Il Trittico” at the festival tent in Castleton. The term “awesome” is overly used to the point of becoming meaningless, plus I am too old to use... -
Letter: Recognize the Hazel River
Posted on July 22, 2010 | No CommentsI feel very strongly that the Hazel River should be designated a Scenic River. I worked for many years with landowners and county environmental groups to have the Hazel made a Tier III river. That would mean there would be no new sewage treatment plants,... -
Letter: Opportunity lost
Posted on July 22, 2010 | No CommentsIn the Rappahannock News two weeks ago, there was a letter stating that the Rappahannock Food Pantry would like more volunteers. Having just retired in April after 38 years in the meat department at the Giant Food store in Warrenton, I felt it was something... -
Letter: Thank you, Rappahannock, from SVFD
Posted on July 15, 2010 | No CommentsIndependence Day 2010 was celebrated in an immeasurable fashion again this year at the Thornton Hill Hounds Race Course on July 4. Citizens attended from all corners of Rappahannock County and elsewhere to hear musical entertainment, witness the reading of the Declaration of Independence, and... -
Letter: Potential denied
Posted on July 15, 2010 | No CommentsWalter Nicklin, publisher of the Rappahannock News, poses the following questions in his editorial [Happy 234th?, July 8]: “How could it possibly have happened that such sparsely populated 13 colonies 234 years ago could produce the truly gifted and courageous individuals that signed the Declaration?... -
Letter: Disappointment ‘n things
Posted on July 8, 2010 | No CommentsSeveral weekends ago at the peak of the bloody hot lunch hour I went to Burgers ‘N Things for a sandwich with my beloved beagle, whose tongue was wrapped around her paws. I asked for a cup of tap water for my dog and received... -
Letter: Residents help Haiti during crisis
Posted on July 8, 2010 | No CommentsFollowing the earthquake in Haiti earlier this year, the Flint Hill, Sperryville and Willis Chapel United Methodist churches responded by providing financial support and health kits. These health kits contained basic hygiene necessities: towel, washcloth, soap, toothbrush, comb, nail clippers and bandages. Candy Lamma, a... -
Letter: Rapp Facts was music to reader’s ears
Posted on July 1, 2010 | No CommentsMy mother shares her newspaper with me and I enjoyed reading your “Rapp Facts” column [June 10] about the musicologists who traveled to Rappahannock County. You mentioned Henry Whorton in your article. He was my paternal grandfather and the photograph taken by these two gentleman... -
Letter: A truly memorable Fourth of July
Posted on June 24, 2010 | No CommentsI’ve experienced some very special Fourths of July. I grew up in small-town Hannibal, Mo., where the Fourth is the centerpiece of National Tom Sawyer Days. With its parade, fence-painting contests, Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher lookalike pageants and raft races, no wonder my sister calls it “Americana on steroids.” -
Letter: Need homeless cat data
Posted on June 24, 2010 | No CommentsRappCats, a volunteer organization working to help homeless cats in the county, is seeking the community’s assistance. We need to understand and document the magnitude and scope of the stray cat problem. This information will help us to plan on long-term strategies to care for... -
Letter: Loss of innocence
Posted on June 17, 2010 | No CommentsWhat happened to our peaceful, idyllic county? We have seen an increase in home invasions, drugs and now an attempted murder as a result of an armed robbery. My friend and neighbor Jack Dillinger did not deserve to be shot by a criminal looking for... -
Letter: Patriotic reading
Posted on June 17, 2010 | No CommentsHear ye! Hear ye! Come hear the very stirring words written by our forefathers that marked our independence as a nation from the tyrannical rule of King George III. The reading of the Declaration of Independence is a great way to start celebrating the festivities... -
Letter: Vets can apply for honorary diploma
Posted on June 17, 2010 | No CommentsAt its June 8 meeting, the Rappahannock County School Board approved one of my last acts as superintendent: a recommendation to encourage Rappahannock County veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War who were unable to finish high school due to... -
Letter: How I trashed my burn barrel
Posted on June 10, 2010 | No CommentsI thought we were good stewards of the environment. We grow much of our own food, compost scraps for the garden, recycle everything the County accepts — clear, green, and brown glass, cans, newspapers, and PET 1 & 2 plastic — and have containers in... -
Letter: Caregivers, together
Posted on June 10, 2010 | No CommentsIt’s been a long time coming, but the new caregiver support group for Rappahannock County finally got off to a heartening start last week at The Link. Ten of us came together to sit and share our stories about caring for loved ones suffering from... -
Letter: Siren of the wild?
Posted on June 10, 2010 | 1 CommentYour story on all the bears and their bare facts was wonderful. But maybe another story is due on a certain wild animal that has none of the endearing qualities of black bears. I’m speaking of coyotes. Once associated only with the Wild West, they... -
Letter: Thanks from Ragland Farm
Posted on June 10, 2010 | No CommentsPam and John Kiser would like to express their great appreciation to Larry Grove, Richie Burke and the Sperryville Fire Department volunteers for their great and gracious help at our Antique & Garden Show this past weekend. Thank you. Pam and John Kiser Slate Mills -
Letter: A tribute to Cathryn Kneupfer
Posted on June 10, 2010 | No CommentsWe, the members of the Culpeper Minute Men Chapter, NSDAR, would like you to know how much our beloved Rappahannockian lady, Cathryn W. Kneupfer, contributed to our organization. We are a service organization and she lived a life of service in so many ways. As...