I am a direct descendant of Edmond Bayse ("A Journey Through Amissville's History"). He is my great-great-great grandfather. I was pleasantly surprised to see the family mentioned in the Rappahannock News’ recent Amissville coverage.

Nostalgia is defined by my online dictionary as “…a wistful desire to return to a former time in one’s life … a sentimental yearning of a former place or time…” I thought about this while reading Ben Jones’ commentary in last week’s Rappahannock News.

The latest hearings by the Jan. 6 committee detailed activities within the White House on that day. As the Capitol was being invaded, then-President Donald Trump watched the events on TV, ignoring pleas from staff, advisors, friends, and his family to intervene and tell the rioters to go home.

Regarding Greg Rushford’s Letter from Rappahannock (“Rural Republicans….”, Rappahannock News, July 21, 2022): I could not decide what I wanted to respond to, and then I realized I had a response in anecdotal examples of my various reactions.

To whom it may concern: Thank you for bringing Mr. Sisk and Mr. Atkins to the Planning Commission for Rappahannock County. Their intimate knowledge of the county can only improve upon the planning and policy going forward. 

Ever wonder how a baby bird might feel after pecking diligently against the strong enclosure of its shell, finally breaking free to experience the grand outside environment? A brief while back, I had such an aha moment when I finally seemed to break free and emerge from what I had thought was just a seemingly long everlasting winter.

The family of Roy Alther, would like to express our thanks and appreciation for the many acts of kindness and expressions of sympathy shown to us during our recent loss.

Great to read the article about John Halberg's upcoming enterprise! (Rapp News, July 7) I certainly recall the meads John used to offer at Smokehouse Meadery in F.T. Valley back in the day, and I'm sure his ciders will be every bit as good as his meads were! 

Mr. Casimir Eitner doesn’t seem to understand that I am a long-time supporter of public education and his continuing attacks on me point to the fact that he has some sort of “learning problem” with comprehending that fact. 

Not long ago, I withdrew $300 in cash from my Atlantic Union account. I like cash because I spend less money.  My goal is to ration my discretionary spending and minimize the use of that devil called ‘the credit card.’  

On an otherwise happy and normal morning of the 4th of July here in Rappahannock County, I was happily making the potato salad and coleslaw for my husband’s family barbecue later that afternoon when I got a text from my sister and parents saying “everyone we know thus far is ok.”

I am concerned that our Planning Commission has now lost two experienced Commissioners willing to serve and replaced them with two commissioners with no apparent relevant background.

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

My wife and I bought our Amissville property in 1968, just before U.S. Route 211 was four-laned. That was 54 years ago. I remember shopping at Tapp’s Store, a convenience store at the intersection of 211 and Hinson’s Ford Road.  Lombardy’s was a burgers-and-beer place and Mayhugh’s was a gun store, on a two-lane highway.

To me, rainbows hold the promise of hope and joy. Here in Rappahannock, we are lucky to see great rainbow arches after some storms, arches seemingly holding all of this county we hold dear in their embrace.

Rappahannock's trash from Flatwood and Amissville is hauled to Page County. Mixed solid waste is landfilled at a charge of $35/ton. Separated recyclables are further processed at $20/ton and sold at a profit to Rappahannock.

I am a person who stutters and found "How I Fell in Love with Writing When My Own Words Failed Me," the essay by Luke Ellis, to be inspirational. 

On behalf of the Shenandoah National Park Trust staff and Board of Trustees, as well as our partners at Shenandoah National Park, we wish to thank the entire Rappahannock community for their overwhelming support of SNPT’s first annual Shenandoah Soiree on June 26 in Washington.

I was horrified by the article on the retreat for school board members. It was not that they held a retreat. Retreats to discuss issues and to nurture camaraderie are good. What was appalling was the stated intent of the retreat,

In 2020, Virginia ranked 44th of all states in how much it funds community colleges per student. At $5,000 per student, it is well below the national average of $8,000. It’s neighboring states, even West Virginia, are all above or near the national average. As a result, community college tuitions in Virginia are as much as 40% higher, and enrollment has declined in recent years.

I enjoy opening my copy of the Rapp News and being berated, condescended and patronized by Ben Jones as much as anybody. And I’ve gotten past the cognitive dissonance of Ben’s laudable work on behalf of the civil rights movement and his unwavering embrace of all things Confederacy.

As we endure the implementation of the great reset one has to question why our Board of Supervisors have been unwilling to stand for righting a wrong in the renaming of Lord Fairfax Community College. An even bigger question is why the Youngkin administration has remained quiet on the subject.

Quite a while ago (decades, again, actually) I watched a daytime television show panel discuss its weekly topic of “The American Family — Is It Vanishing?” A psychologist on the panel reflected on an opinion about the role of father in the family that was new and astonishing to me.

Thanks to the help from many community supporters, free fishing returned to Rappahannock County Park on Saturday, June 4 — a perfect weather day.  The Rush River was stocked with 200 10-12 inch trout on Tuesday evening.

Middle Street Gallery will be moving to a new location later this month in the back of the old Tula’s building. A story in last week’s Rappahannock News implied that we are not happy with our new space. We actually feel very fortunate to find a place to move that is in an excellent location facing Main Street in Little Washington and is within our budget. 

Standing in line at the grocery store, the two ladies in front of me were complaining about the cost of gas. “We need a new president,” they said. What? Blame the U.S. president? 

Over the last year, our family has come to learn that without a doubt, a diagnosis of childhood cancer messes up what once appeared to be a structured and semi-orderly life (a well disguised facade!).

Last Friday, I made my first visit to Flatwood Refuse and Recycling in a while (my younger son had been making the trash runs for me, oh, happy day) and was gratified to discover the spaciousness there now.

We wish to thank everyone who supported SperryFest and those who donated so generously of their time, talent and gifts to make it a wonderfully harmonious community event.

COVID-19 is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. today. It’s not going away. New variants continue to emerge, and it seems as if COVID-19 will be included in our annual flu shot in the future.

Tuesday, May 3, 2022, marks the 9th year for Give Local Piedmont, a program from the Northern Piedmont Community Foundation, focused on highlighting the work our nonprofit organizations accomplish in our northern Piedmont region.