In the bygone days of my youth the golden-throated poet Joni Mitchell sang: “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” Ain’t it the truth. In hopes that we might avoid that pitfall here in Rappahannock, I would like to set down a few words regarding the historical and architectural significance of our old courthouse — a building whose fate now teeters precariously between posterity and the wrecking ball. 

Are you feeling nostalgic? I am. Maybe because it is the 80th Anniversary of when Rick and Ilsa had an appointment with destiny. Let’s go back to Casablanca, Vichy French Morocco, just before the WWII Allied invasion of North Africa.

While it was interesting to read Ron Maxwell’s Commentary, “The Noah Option” (Rappahannock News, Aug. 11), it also made me pause to think through his actual proposal to practice the Half Earth principles set forth in Edward O. Wilson’s book Half Earth (additionally described in title as “The Planet’s Fight for Life”).

An alarming study reveals that the population of North American birds has dropped nearly 30% since 1970. Each day, an estimated 6,000 acres of open space are converted to development of one form or another – seemingly endless seas of concrete and asphalt covering the living land. Nearby Clevengers’s Corner is a harbinger of the looming menace.

When Saigon fell in April 1975, a generation of American warriors had to accept that, as President Reagan said, regardless of the strategic loss, they had all served in a noble cause.  

The direction of my work is shifting. Within the kitchen I’ll be emphasizing chocolate and I additionally plan to begin providing education. I’m going to tell you a bit of the story in my own words, so you can understand why.

I’ve been noodling with a funky tune entitled “Inside the Great Rappahannock Divide while Outside the Inn Crowd and Sadly Still Missing The Appetite Repair Shop and Randolph Clater at the Corner Store Blues.” But I fear the song could never be as evocative as the title, and this sort of material always works better as prose, unless you are Johnny Mercer or Willie Nelson.

In my first year of college a required course was Logic — Logic 101. My mind is a bit blank about what information that single semester course tried to impart to my distracted freshman brain, but the one nugget of knowledge from the curriculum that has stayed with me over the decades is: IF, A=B and B=C then A=C.

Readers will have seen various national headlines in recent years suggesting that some American Republicans — Putin admirers like Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson are usually the first-mentioned — believe that Democrats like President Joe Biden are greater threats to America than Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

I have been a visitor to the Fauquier, Culpeper, and Rappahannock counties area since the mid-1970s when I was 15 and I became enchanted with Shenandoah National Park.

Winston Churchill was once reportedly asked “Why, after several centuries there was still an “Irish Problem?” Sir Winston responded, “We have always found the Irish a bit odd in that they refuse to act English.”

I couldn’t help but notice that my recent comments about what I believe to be the sophomoric behavior of those who changed the names of Lord Fairfax and Patrick Henry Community Colleges were answered not with history-based logic, but with personal attacks on me as an apparently uninformed interloper to Virginia and to the Blue Ridge.

I have always enjoyed writing to a great extent, and always liked letting my creative side show through my writing. This is probably why English was always my favorite subject instead of science or math. I could go on reading and writing about anything for hours, but the second you ask me to balance a chemistry equation or solve an algebraic expression, my brain immediately  crashes.

It appears that every word associated with the gun debate is in and of itself a potential land mine as vicious and explosive as the bullets fired from an AR15. When trigger words such as “ban,” “control,” “restrict,” and “regulate” are verbalized, a certain segment of the population goes ballistic, shutting down the discourse.

Anyone else remember bug splattered windshields while out driving on the roads around here? In the 40 years I’ve lived here, those messy windshields are a pretty distant memory, I thought recently.

Memo to the woke idiots of the cultural cleansing police: Our nation was largely built upon slave labor, which existed in all of the original colonies, and was vital to the growth of New England and New York.

On the morning of April 8, I got to the high school at 3 a.m., much earlier than usual. I was greeted at the cafeteria doors by a teacher holding their coffee. The halls of the school were empty but bright, a tough contrast from the darkness outside. I walked through them to the opposite side of the school, where a classroom was overflowing with suitcases and duffle bags. Several more teachers sorted through the luggage. A handful of my classmates stood around the room and, even though it was early, excitement was buzzing in the air. 

Chief Justice John Roberts has a problem that is eerily similar to one I faced years ago at the Federal Trade Commission. A year or so after President Reagan appointed me to chair the FTC, a story appeared in the press about a major merger we were investigating and a draft of preliminary findings.

President Ronald Reagan was known to state, “Trust, but verify,” which I think is appropriate when hearing Supervisor Ron Frazier, during the April 4, 2022, Board of Supervisors meeting, state that the newly opened Washington Post Office had no exterior lighting so was too dark for some citizens to get their mail late in the day. 

Our friend Doreen, a short time ago, when Wendy needed a heart operation, visited her to talk about her operation, advice and what she learned. Wendy was always radiant and also 100% honest. 

In last week’s Rappahannock News, readers learned that Rapp at Home went to extraordinary lengths to secure a refrigerator for Edward Williams, an elderly widower living in Woodville. 

Rappahannock County High School’s (RCHS) LEO Club is built to help out the community in different ways through acts of community service. Supported by Lions Club International, the club encourages young people to develop leadership qualities by participating in social and community service activities.

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

When the call came into Rapp at Home that a Woodville resident’s refrigerator had stopped working, his food was spoiling, and he — Mr. Edward Williams — at the age of 90, had virtually nothing to eat, we began a journey that we couldn’t have taken without our Rappahannock community. Nor could we have imagined the outpouring of those wanting to help.

Recently, I was looking through my file of past articles for the Rappahannock News and came across my 17-year-old piece below. It has been slightly shortened, but the wise messages that sprang from Dr. Jack McCue are needed more than ever today.

The Library is thrilled to announce the recent return of its basic computer help services. This important and much appreciated service is generously provided by the Friends of the Rappahannock County Library.

I come to this conclusion based on my experience with the Office of Resolution Management (ORM) of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Congress determined that complaints of discrimination (under Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act) within the VA were not being properly handled by the line organizations.

Currently Rappahannock County has a fairly large proportion of retired people. They are increasingly important in the supporting enormous variety of community organizations which make this county so pleasant.

When I arrived at the high school around 6 a.m., it was already bustling with activity. Outside the double doors to the cafeteria, FFA member Logan Crider and his dad were cooking pancakes and bacon on their grill.

“What makes a perfect day? A bright blue sky? Quiet Time? River Time? Bubbleheads singing a new verse on the bridge over the Hazel River? Perhaps … or maybe … when you look for something, you can find it.”

Too many of our media pundits would have us believe that Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is somehow our fault. If we had just accepted Russia’s “rightful” dominance of its neighbors

The history of boundary changes for the Town of Washington, Virginia, begins with a petition on Nov.10, 1796, by George Calvert, James Jett Jr., and James Wheeler to the General Assembly of Virginia to "establish a town by the name of Washington on land of your said petitioners." The town was to be named for George Washington, who had announced his retirement from the presidency six weeks earlier. The General Assembly responded by passing an act on Dec.14, 1796, establishing the Town of Washington on 25 acres of land of the three petitioners, to be laid off in “lots of half an acre each, with convenient streets.”

As St. Valentine’s Day approaches, we asked library patrons to tell us what they love about their library. Patrons of all ages voluntarily recorded their responses, signed their name if they wanted to do so, and placed them in a special box. 

Rappahannock County Public Schools (RCPS) have recently introduced a new snowboarding and skiing club that is open to elementary and high school students. The new program runs for six weeks with students leaving the school at 3:00 p.m. every Friday afternoon for Bryce Resort in Basye. There, they have the options of skiing, snowboarding or tubing. 

Thank you to the Rappahannock News for the article in the January 20, 2022 edition about  Lillian’s award and the MLK event. However, as president of SSPF, along with our Board  members, we think the emphasis on Lillian as the recipient of the award and the information  about the program was incomplete and lacked balance.

For many, the month of January brings a renewed sense of hope and excitement surrounding the beginning of a new year. For the Headwaters Foundation, the month of January brings an extra dose of excitement, as it is also National Mentoring Month.

Not ours, but some of yours! While we are not happy about some of the circumstances that have led you to the library recently, we are thrilled to see you. In case you slipped in without a welcome, or if you have not made it in yet, I want to let you know that we appreciate your patronage.

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

Rappahannock County High School (RCHS) ended the 2021 year with many new beginnings. With the stress of finals and end of the semester testing, the school came up with many unique ways of having some fun and stress relief for students. In December, RCHS hosted its first-ever Winter-Wonderland Gala, along with their first Renaissance Day, and had a student vs. faculty volleyball game. 

For us at the Mental Health Association of Fauquier County, it underscores the decline in overall mental wellness we have been seeing in Rappahannock and Fauquier counties since before the pandemic began and is an urgent call to action to bolster programs and resources in our community, not only for youth but for all our residents.

My paternal grandfather, Kazimierz Eitner, after whom I was named, was killed with a single bullet to the head on the night of April 6, 1940 in the city of Tver, Russia, in the basement of the local headquarters of the Soviet Secret Police.

Washington may not be in a time warp — after all we house the world renowned Inn at Little Washington known for it’s agenda-setting culinary innovation — but we do not rush change here

The Board of Supervisors should approve the All Points contract to deliver fiber to the homes that want it. Here’s why: Quality of Life: It seems that everyone supports the idea of broadband access across the county.  The benefits to workers, students and families are obvious.

Rappahannock has tied their own hands in two ways. First, they voted to agree to not work with any wireless providers, and secondly, committed over $1 million in funds to a project with an estimated buildout of three years. With two problems articulated by the supervisors: