Rappahannock Nature Camp is set to open for a limited season Aug. 3-7. Instead of its usual two-week sessions held in June and July, five half-day morning sessions will be held for campers eight to 16 years old at its campsite along the Hazel River.

Officials assume in-person classes will resume in August: ‘We need to work out a lot of details in a very short amount of time’

Remember the opioid crisis? Not long ago, it was an awful reality of modern rural life, a relentless calamity destroying lives and damaging families. It still is. Last year, Virginia had more fatal drug overdoses — 1,617 — than ever before.

Biggest Challenge: Many experts believe stresses caused by COVID-19 have triggered a shadow pandemic in mental health, especially in rural communities like Rappahannock. 

By necessity, doctors and therapists have had to switch to telehealth to treat patients during the COVID-19 lockdown. But it’s looking more and more likely that “distance medicine” is here to stay. 

Faced with a myriad of requirements to combat COVID-19, Rappahannock’s restaurants and wineries continue to move ahead under the first phase of “Forward Virginia,” the state’s plan to re-open the economy.

Country Café Pit Stop is “doing very well,” said Huff, who dealt with his share of financial hardship in the months prior to the pandemic.

The Rappahannock Food Pantry has seen an outpouring of support through donations of time, money and supplies since emergency measures to arrest the spread of COVID-19 took effect in March.

At this point, most Virginia universities say they still intend to welcome students back to campus in a few months, although that could change if there’s a rise in COVID-19 cases as businesses in the state reopen and social restrictions ease.

Traditional graduation ceremonies lost. Assemblies recognizing academic and athletic achievements canceled. Senior trip and prom scrubbed. Time honored rites of passage for Rappahannock students — spring commencement ceremonies and related functions — are falling victim to COVID-19. 

The county’s planners are learning to manage the unmanageable, as they put the final touches this week on a budget introduced in March and immediately upended by the worst pandemic to hit the United States in a century.

Parents now find themselves playing a new role as at-home teachers, juggling responsibilities between their work and schooling their children. Many others who have been furloughed or lost their jobs are trying to make ends meet, adding pressure.

When someone needs help, no matter how difficult, you figure out a way. It is that simple. Our mask-making started when a friend in home-health care told me her staff were at risk and she needed 400 masks. 

As coronavirus-imposed stay at home orders extend into their sixth week, stress is starting to mount on some caregivers. It’s a feeling in-home health workers know well. But private providers, already in demand, are further limited now as they try to scale back their number of clients to minimize the spread of any infections.

This past week, the school district sent an email to the parents of all of its students to gauge their interest in something called the Phone Pal Program, a new initiative meant to connect generations here during this time of stress and uncertainty.

Small businesses are seeking loans to buy time until they can resume normal operations.

Some Rappahannock businesses are starting to receive funds from loan programs put in place to ease damage inflicted by widespread measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, according to the county’s local banks.

The idea is that people who aren’t patronizing bars and restaurants can still be tipping their servers as they would on a normal night out. Participating businesses, which include Headmaster’s Pub, Griffin Tavern, Three Blacksmiths, Sperryville Trading and Little Washington Winery, say it’s a good way for the community to provide income to workers who may be struggling to pay bills and buy essential items.

“I worry about where our families are going to be when this does lift…after the utility bills and rent and mortgages all come due. We definitely need to start planning for that. That’s going to be a huge burden for some people.”

Businesses in much of Rappahannock have had to alter their operations over the past week under new orders from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam aimed at slowing the spread of Covid-19.

“We’ve seen how limited we are in our capacity to continue instruction through distance learning. It makes it very difficult because you have to be able to provide equity among all the students."

“To support our patrons and the Rapp community at large, we are recording yoga, martial arts, and exercise videos and putting them online free of charge."

Bette Mahoney: Founding Member and Past President, Rappahannock Food Pantry; Former Treasurer, Benevolent Fund, Rappahannock Garden Club, Ki Theatre, and Foothills Forum; Former Secretary, RAAC, Rappahannock American Cancer Society; Former Board Member, Headwaters; Fauquier Community Action …

Rapp News will host full-time reporter focused on the county’s future

From community resistance to recovery housing to opposition to needle exchanges, addicts face headwinds. But there are also promising signs of hope.

Trying to protect the next generation with an early start to prevention

There’s only one place in our region that offers medical detox and extended inpatient substance treatment.

The county’s Department of Social Services has taken another step in addressing what had become a dire dilemma.