It is no longer appropriate to discuss the efficacy of masks in preventing COVID-19 infections. Numerous scientists have asked this question, and there is literature confirming the usefulness of masks.

Although the Lions’ Club big annual Chilifest fundraiser was sidelined this year by COVID-19, I am delighted to report the club forged ahead with its Grand Raffle. Thanks to the generous support from our community, this turned out to one of our most successful fundraisers.

So Trump disrupts the markets, causes huge losses for farmers, then buys off the richest of them with our tax dollars. Does that apply to the farmers around here?

I'm here in the 5th district for an extended stay, but I come from Oregon where our governor and other liberals have made our state a haven for illegal immigrants.

However, it is possible to challenge our own assumptions and imagine that Trump supporters defaced your sign in order to cast partisan anger toward the BLM [Black Lives Matter] movement.

All Rappahannock County Public Schools (educators, administrative staff, librarian, gym and music teachers, athletic coaches, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and support, school resource officers, sanitization crew and janitorial services, and so many more) have been playing the part of "First Responders" in our schools. 

He has filed suit to destroy the Affordable Care Act, and has nothing to replace it with. He has never had a plan to bring COVID under control, and still doesn't.

Currently Americans are suffering under a pandemic that is killing us at an average rate of 700 people a day. While this is going on, our federal government is making the situation worse: by lying and ignoring the medical data and by sheer incompetence.

To join the fray regarding the now infamous hay bales on 211, whenever I drive by that sign on that huge field I think of how lucky we are that, because of how spread out we are, in spite of some folks not taking the pandemic seriously, we have not lost a lot of lives in Rapp.

Our beloved country is on the verge of destruction by Democrats. As you prepare to vote, consider this simple, yet extremely important question. What would ultimately happen to our country under a Biden/Harris administration? 

If you think the United States should not be #1 in the world … which should? Do China, Russia, Iran, N. Korea, Cuba, or Venezuela look good … all would!

As I have suspected all along the root to all this turmoil over the Trump haystacks is simply that age old, green eyed monster, JEALOUSY!

Our large Trump-Pence sign placed prominently in front of our farm on US 211 was defaced by spray painting “BLM” across it.

Honesty and the rules. Important to live by. I am voting for Dr. Webb, who tells us where he stands. 

Well, Mr. Settle, in response to your question of Sept. 24 [“Farmer can decorate as he so chooses,” Sept. 24], most reasonable people would find the baleful billboard less obnoxious if it were built in support of an honest man.

Let’s work together to get this country back on track. I don’t want to go through that toilet paper shortage again! We can still come together with different political differences and make this country a great place for our kids.

LGBTQ+ people are our friends, neighbors, family members, coworkers, and fellow church members.. We are all God’s children and we all deserve to go about our daily lives without the fear of discrimination.

I read in the Rappahannock News that someone was upset with the Make America Great sign at Massies Corner. Well gosh, put up your own Biden sign on hay bales. 

I find it interesting that the Chairman of the Planning Commission, David Konick, and the entire Planning Commission are ignoring the public in their recent public hearing on the changes to the county's Comprehensive Plan. 

Passage of the amendment would assure that next year and every 10 years after the census results are in, the process of redistricting (drawing the new election districts lines) will be fairer and less partisan.

Amendment No. l on the back of your ballot would provide for a bipartisan redistricting commission responsible for drawing congressional and state legislative districts.

What does it mean if you love your country but disdain its laws? What does it mean if you love your country but scorn its fundamental processes?

Terry Dixon’s September 17th op-ed is an insult to the readers of Rappahannock News. Its center is a series of wild claims backed by no evidence whatsoever.

As I observe the “news” (even Fox) I am struck by the number of people who can read minds these days. 

For heaven's sake people, it’s a haystack. How a farmer chooses to decorate his haystack on his property should concern no one but the owner!

Seems to me this is a situation where government officials, perhaps led by incompetent counsel, repeatedly violate the law, and a local attorney takes the time and makes the effort to corral them.

Meanwhile, Republicans have exiled their moderates —Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney — and given themselves over entirely to a right-wing provocateur who plays only to his fevered base.

Had America's reputation among other free countries tanked because our president was ill informed, ill mannered and an untrustworthy partner? 

I express my heartfelt appreciation to Sillus and Richard Chapman for donating their time and talent to create Rappahannock's most famous work of art.

We are of course free to express our support for the candidates of our choosing, but perhaps these codes may have been put in place in order to help prevent that expression from blemishing an entire landscape.

Last week Ellen Adams wrote that she agreed with a previous letter from Nan Butler Roberts that “the dominant culture doesn’t get to tell the oppressed how to protest.”

While being stuck at home with the coronavirus pandemic I have become a contemplative monk reflecting on reality and the state of things.

Letters to the editor reflect the opinion of the writer, not the Rapp News. Comment below or by writing a letter to the editor: editor@rappnews.com.

What was new in REC’s election this year is that the co-op increased by tenfold the number of prizes awarded to voters, and increased the prizes’ value by about fivefold, to almost $10,000.

I find that I have a lot of listening to do, especially to the experience of Black Americans. I want to more fully appreciate their experience so I can be a part of the solution to the systemic injustices that I am more fully understanding, each time I stop and truly listen.