On behalf of RAAC and its members, the Artist Relief Committee wants to let the arts community know that we are closing the project for the rest of the year, effective July 15.

Mr. Randall Fort’s blathering attack on the opponents of the location of the Rush River Commons  (“The tide is going to come in,” June 26) should be a serious warning to those who cherish the traditional ambience that generations of Rappahannock folks have vigilantly worked to protect.

It’s a positive and encouraging sign that Rush River Commons has stirred up strong emotions and opinions — it’s evidence that the community is engaged and paying attention.

I am not usually a fan of government-funded programs but when the Conservation Resource Enhancement Program (CREP) began about 20 years ago, I was an early adopter. This program removed cattle from streams and provided alternate sources of water. It was well funded, with significant private funds from Ducks Unlimited.  

I really dislike having this kind of dialogue about a problem. However, I think that the total negative impact of the Taylor request for rezoning is regrettable. It does nothing for affordable housing. I would love to have more young families in Sperryville. This plan does not invite them.

The playing field must be level for favorite sons and newcomers alike. This application has been on the table since October 2020, more than ample time for the applicant to come forward with proffers to back up his “vision.”

The Mt. Airy LLC application presents a special problem for Sperryville. Throughout its history it has served as a gateway to the wilderness. John Kiger once built sturdy Conestoga wagons here for the westward voyage. The wagons are gone, but visitors are still drawn by the wilderness.

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.

Mr. Hobson’s response (“Change is the order of existence,” June 17) to plans for the highest-density real-estate development in Rappahannock County’s history is to say: “Nothing in the universe stays the same … change is the order of existence.” That statement, however, defies logic and is akin to surrendering to the forces of unchecked commercialism that surrounds our county, and now threatens to penetrate the county line.

I write in response to the previous commentaries, “Akre’s Trojan Horse” (By Ron Maxwell, June 3) and “Adjust your sails” (By Sheila Gresinger, June 3). Dramatic presentations can be wonderful in the world of movies, but are not always helpful in healthy real life decision making — especially when amplified by inaccuracy.

Twice in the past two weeks my name has been used in these pages by friends of mine on opposite sides of a local issue (an issue on which I have no opinion). I don’t mind this per se, but I do take exception to my name being weaponized to advance a position I haven’t taken. 

Right at the beginning let me express my support for the Rush River Commons; thank Mr. Akre for his generosity; and thank the many people who have labored long and hard to create a sustainable plan for the project taking into consideration the land, the county’s comprehensive plan and the future of Rappahannock.

Summer is here, and we just faced our first hot, sticky weekend, with many more to follow. Even though the Virginia Piedmont is much closer to New York than to New Orleans, we often experience the sultry days familiar to our neighbors to the south.

The ambition of the Rush River Commons might be the “fix” for something that simply isn’t broken, but it could and likely would have the effect of forever changing the easy, quiet pace and the “down home” way of life here.

I was struck by the differences in tone and substance between Ms. Gresinger’s letter, “Adjust your sails,” and Mr. Maxwell’s piece, “Akre’s Trojan Horse,” in last week’s edition of this newspaper.

The Rush River Commons, if approved and built, will be the single biggest real estate development in the history of Rappahannock County. Or, to put it differently, the biggest single addition of housing since the land was inhabited by its Indigenous Peoples in the early 17th Century. 

Follow Devin @DevinSherwoodDraws

Years ago, my late husband Jack Dwyer and I traveled to California to see some of the wondrous beauty there. Majestic Lake Tahoe was one stop and there I loved the striking sailboat surrounded by snow capped mountains. That called to my mind the quote, “You can’t change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sails.”

After more than a year of darkness imposed by COVID-19, the Rappahannock Association for Arts and Community (RAAC) Theater brought Rappahannock’s own theater back to life on Friday night with a magnificent performance of “Let Me Down Easy,” a very human play by Anna Deveare Smith. You can still see the performance online this weekend, Saturday and Sunday. You don’t want to miss it.

The Food and Drug Administration expanded emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to include adolescents 12 to 15 years of age on May 10. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention followed with recommendations endorsing use in this age group after their advisory group meeting on May 12. The American Academy of Pediatrics also supports this decision.

After 50 years of orogenic calm, suddenly the directors of Lord Fairfax Community College (LFCC) are trying to change the college name, and the school’s public relations cadre has been in full-blown smackdown and smearing of the deceased namesake, Lord Fairfax the 6th.

The year 2020 was definitely one for the history books, and the events of last year are going to have a huge impact on our girls. During the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools across the nation abruptly. This forced parents and teachers to provide support and education under conditions unfathomable just a year before.

On behalf of the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors and our County Administrator, Garrey W. Curry, Jr., I wish to publicly thank the Rappahannock CFC Farm & Home Center’s manager, Mike Cannon, and his staff, especially Gwen Parker, for their support in allowing the County to hold a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day at the store.

As a representative of the people of Fauquier County and the surrounding areas primarily served by Lord Fairfax Community College (LFCC), I respectfully ask that the LFCC advisory board reconsider their decision to change the school's name. 

The year 2020 was definitely one for the history books, and the events of last year are going to have a huge impact on our girls. During the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools across the nation abruptly. 

Recently on social media and in conversation with citizens, there has been speculation about the public library. Change needs to occur at the library, but the Library Board of Trustees (Board) is just beginning to research the potential scope of a library renovation and expansion project for the community.

One thing this past year has illustrated is the good that can be accomplished if we work together.  As a Community Foundation serving our Northern Piedmont region including Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison and Rappahannock, our goal is to strengthen our community resources through philanthropy.

Perhaps some have not read some of my commentaries in this newspaper about our precious  county and how it is, in fact, protected from the ravages of development that some warn might be our fate. For one, all the major roads depicted in the art I’ve attached (Routes 7, 50, 66, and 29) lead economic growth along those corridors, bypassing Rappahannock County (the star drawn) completely. 

I am writing in response to the wonderful article on the “hippie invasion,” written by Isaac Parish and published in last week’s edition. I was 14 or 15 when the hippies migrated to Rappahannock County in the early 70s. This occurrence had a significant impact on me, informing and influencing the trajectory of my life in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Many of the values expressed by the counter-cultural movement continue to resonate for me, some four decades later.

Can we accept a responsibility to protect this place, not just for us humans, but for our wild kin who were here first and whose habitat is increasingly diminished and threatened on all sides? Can our lives continue to be enriched by this close contact with nature if we unwittingly take part in its destruction — even if this destruction is ever so gradual? 

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.

Remember, I’m not invested in whether the decision to release Vincent Martin was the right one or wrong one. And I’m not in a position to fully understand the procedures and policies that were or weren’t followed.

Mr. Maxwell’s criticism of the leadership of Lord Fairfax Community College (LFCC) is long on history but gets the fundamental question wrong. True, Lord Fairfax was a man of his time and cannot be fairly judged by today’s standards. But LFCC is a product of our times — it was founded in 1970, not 1770.

Follow Devin at @DevinSherwoodDraws

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

In his presentation to the Rappahannock BOS last week, Ron Maxwell brilliantly refuted Mike Wenger’s claim in a recent Rappahannock News commentary that Lord Fairfax had, “left no significant contributions to the political development of colonial Virginia” [Feb. 25, 2021]. At that same meeting, LFCC President Kim Blosser said that, in part, the college’s students of today, and potential future students, have very little in common with Lord Fairfax, the man.

In a recent issue of the  Rappahannock News, I wrote an opinion piece in response to an attack on Supervisor Ron Frazier regarding his attendance at the huge Trump rally in the Ellipse park by the White House. Ron was being accused, without any evidence whatsoever, of being amongst that crowd of idiots who invaded the Capitol later that day. 

The time has come to draw a line. I have learned to eschew involvement in public debate because what currently passes for civil discourse is all too often anything but civil. I am especially reticent about commenting on matters pertaining to Judaism because it is my experience as a historian of Jewish descent that many people involved in these discussions do not appreciate the depth of historical Jewish suffering. Prima facie evidence of this issue can be seen in the growing tendency of commentators to use Jewish bodies as a currency for measuring an expressed sense of grievance.

The truth is that Lord Fairfax did work. As is well documented in the archives of the Commonwealth — he served as County Lieutenant and as Justice of the Peace.

The headlines can’t by themselves explain what’s been driving American politics. Always remember former House Speaker Tip O’Neil’s truism that “all politics is local.” So let’s look at America’s divisions narrowly, through a lens focused on how prominent politicians in our own congressional district have been dealing with the turmoil.

George Shultz, who passed away earlier this month at age 100, was a man about which any mother would be proud. He excelled in so many dimensions, and his strength of character was exemplary. 

After reading about the joint meeting of the School Board and the Board of Supervisors regarding the school budget (Feb 11), I suggest this paper investigate in greater depth the Local Composite Index (LCI), the calculation used by the state to allocate funding to school districts, and how it affects so adversely the funding provided by the state to Rappahannock’s schools.

How does “the newspaper” feel about (fill in the blank)? You will be hard pressed to know because “the newspaper” rarely writes editorials which express the newspaper’s viewpoint. That’s intentional: Why would you care what some newspaper thinks about anything?

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

I am amazed at the energetic debate roused in our quiet county about changing the name of Lord Fairfax Community College. And gratified too — it shows how many of us love the college enough to have strong opinions about what is best for the students.

Rappahannock County Supervisor Frazier has every right to peacefully protest the results of the presidential election. Indeed, the history of my family would not permit me to affirm otherwise.