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Let the process work
I first met Bill Fletcher in the spring of 2001, he was standing in a middle school library helping unpack books - much later I discovered that he had paid for the library books himself, but that is another story. Since that time I have come to know Bill in several
roles; single parent, father, sportsman, barrister, sponsor, historian, but mostly as a friend. He is a character, no doubt, but a character with a heart of gold who thinks of his family, friends and those in need before he thinks of himself. I would hope that as the arguments swirl over the proposed conference center, people remember the neighbor who purchased a van to help a handicapped person in our community, contributes generously to local churches and our fire department, opens his farm for the county to
use for the July 4th fireworks and has raised two fine young people, mostly on his own.
Bill is simply asking the county to consider a proposal to help keep the family farm in his family. It is his right to ask, the residents right to debate and the boards right to decide. However, the proposal must be judged on its own merits, not on an overstated
campaign to vilify the requestor's good name or to cloud the argument with
unsubstantiated claims. The rhetoric of special interests and those who embrace the status quo must be balanced by a vision of what the citizenry and Board of Supervisors can reasonably hope for the county 20 years from now.
Vision is the key word here. The beauty and serenity of Rappahannock is a gift to cherish and preserve for future generations, no one should question that. The job of our neighbors and elected officials is to decide how best to preserve that vision while still preserving a citizen's rights. Bill is a good and decent man trying to find a way to keep the Miller Farm in the family. The conference center proposal represents a way to uphold Bill Fletcher's property rights while choosing a solution that ultimately benefits the county with minimal disruption to our
community.
Bill Schmieder
Amissville
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