I’m researching a massive article to commemorate the 90th anniversary of FDR’s New Deal Civilian Conservation Corps — the CCC.

As to Ben Jones’ thankfully brief comments in reply to my letter to the editor of the March 3 (“For a better future we must know who we are”), his ad hominem slurs are factually incorrect and spiritually vapid, suggesting a small man without character which I will assume, evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, he is not.

I have no dog in this fight, so I can observe all the recent dog kennel commotion with some detached amusement.

I support the efforts of Charlotte Wagner to have a dog training facility on her commercially zoned property in Sperryville.

I recently wrote a long “piece from my heart” in the Rappahannock News about my hope for our future in America. It was a clear call for an end to the lingering racial discrimination in our culture and a straight-forward acknowledgement of building that future by continuing the work begun in the 1960’s. I have spent much of my life involved in that “dream.”

In these rather rough economic times, where prices have risen so much just recently, inflation higher, interest rates rising in apparent efforts to address many economic issues that plague Americans these days, I had the opportunity to talk about this last week and then continued to think about solutions along with some pretty vivid memories about a past and then a current home.

I am sick of political posturing, on the part of both parties (but, as usual, Democrats are better at complaining). We are not going to “default on the National Debt”; calm down the rhetoric.

I am sick of political posturing, on the part of both parties (but, as usual, Democrats are better at complaining). We are not going to “default on the National Debt”; calm down the rhetoric.

I just want to thank Debbie Donehey and the Griffin Tavern Gang for all the magical times they provided to us all. If I could have dreamed up the perfect neighborhood Tavern or Pub, it would have been The Griffin Tavern.

Giant thanks to all who attended our very first Crankie Concert this weekend at John Hallberg's new "Apple Atcha" Cidery in Sperryville. I’ve discovered a new art form that I’m totally excited about, my first crankie.

There was an egregious error in the Feb. 2 article, “BZA denies permit for Harmony Manor to operate B&B.”  The writer, Julia Shannon, stated that “…the former property owner, who does not live in the county…”. 

I commend Ben Jones for reminding us of his embrace of the civil rights movement in the 50s and 60s, when he was young. It was and is a noble cause built on ideas that we accept today without question, but when the Declaration of Independence was written, holding that all created equal, endowed with certain "inalienable rights," it was viewed as the epitome of what we now call Woke.

As tributes to Martin Luther King, Jr. appeared in special programs, and media coverage this month, one quote of his is forever in my mind: that he dreamed of a day when people will not be judged by their skin color, but by the content of their character.

Thank you to all of my co-workers, friends and family for the cards, gifts and kind words on my retirement. We had a great time at Headmaster’s Pub – good food, good friends and lots of laughs.

It is more than a year and a half since Rappahannock News' "Conservation Purchase" banner headline announced the very welcome news of Mr. Chuck Akre's purchase of Eldon Farms (Rappahannock News, July 6, 2021), and a year since Rappahannock News named him "Citizen of the Year.

The Rappahannock News graciously published a Veterans Day column honoring all veterans while allowing a special mention about the heroics of a United States Air Force pilot Lt. Col. Thomas A. Neal, who was one of the most decorated Vietnam war fighter pilots. 

To say that I was shocked a couple weeks ago to find my photo on the front page of the Rappahannock News and named one of two citizens of the year, is a total understatement. I received a phone call from a friend asking me, “did you know you're on the front page?” I thought to myself, “for what?....what could this be about?” 

Casey Eitner's December letter, "Facts needed for balanced political discourse," misses the target completely in terms of his comments about the nation's decades-long, federally-created immigration crisis.

Since you quoted me in a statement I made at the short notice meeting that was held on Dec. 13, 2022, I felt compelled to clarify what I said since it was taken out of context in the paper. The point I was making is that those of us who are Rappahannock pioneer family descendants do not believe in expecting handouts for personal WANTS.

We always have many reasons to rejoice during the holiday season. Spending time with friends and family, exchanging gifts, wishing for peace and good will to all. We are fortunate to live in this country and in this county. Not that we don't have problems: inflation, immigration, the fentanyl curse, income inequality, discrimination and many others are just a few of the problems that urgently need our attention.

Ms. Sheila Gresinger’s assertion last week (“Considering all sides is paramount,” Dec. 15), that the media are not balanced because they do not stress that former President Donald Trump called for participants at the Jan. 6 riots to stay peaceful and support law enforcement, is jaw-droppingly disingenuous.

On behalf of the Rappahannock Association for Arts and Community (RAAC), I want to thank the cast, crew, and community for five magical performances of “A Christmas Carol” at the RAAC Theatre.

One of my favorite gifts this time of year is when my daughter Debbie sends a tin of family favorite homemade cookies, one time in a vintage Charlie Brown Gang tin she’d discovered in a Florida shop.

We have a trifecta of epidemics this year — three viral respiratory infections, all coming at the same time, NOW.