Please relay to Daphne Hutchinson my gratitude for the article she wrote this week about my cousin, Mary Botts. She was an extraordinary woman who had more energy than most.

The founders’ view of eventual freedom and equality for all is in diametric opposition to the written Constitution of the Confederate States of America, which codified and perpetuated slavery. 

We would like to thank the community for reaching out to our family during the last two weeks after the passing of our son, Robbie Smith. 

In less than one hundred days, Virginians will vote to decide the fate of an amendment of the state Constitution. The amendment is an effort to stop getting our districts gerrymandered. 

History is the study of past events including human affairs. America, the great melting pot, where people of many cultures and histories have been assembled, continues to struggle with diversity. 

The right wing is all about denying that people have any responsibility for each other, and muzzling experts who try to tell people in power things they don’t want to hear.

Let’s not destroy the monument, but move it from the town center to the property of a descendant. Let us get beyond the loyalties of yesteryear and be considerate of all of our neighbors and friends.

Thank you [to the Rappahannock News] for the live stream of Rappahannock’s graduation. We are from central Pennsylvania and were unable to attend. 

Reading about what is soon to take place after the studies being done to calm traffic in downtown Sperryville seems to me to be a band-aid on things. 

Thanks for the fair and balanced Town Council airing, providing a valuable start point for dialogue on the Civil War Memorial. We live [in the Town of Washington] and have since 2010. 

Those who would like to support the Lions can still do so through the Amazon Smile program or with a donation directly to the Rappahannock Lions Foundation or through the Rappahannock Lions Club Facebook page.

While reading the Culpeper newspaper this [Wednesday] morning, I was startled to learn the Culpeper Board of Supervisors is allowing a Supervisor to participate remotely due to his concerns about COVID-19.

I write in again today to share my gratitude and give thanks for my community. Susan and I received dozens of emails, phone calls, texts, comments, hand written letters and cards, all with sincere and heartfelt condolences and kindness.

I paused a bit to think about the lengthy shut-in times we have been experiencing. Perhaps we can use this pause as suggested in the Robert Frost poem about how taking a fork in the road to a path less traveled led to unexpected benefits

I am writing to thank Rappahannock County voters and to offer my whole-hearted support for Dr. Cameron Webb for Congress in our Fifth District.

It goes without saying that Commonwealth Attorney Goff is entitled to his opinions about the actions of Governor Northam with respect to the statue of Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue in Richmond. But the language Mr. Goff uses to express his opinion is most unfortunate. 

Seth Heald deserves your vote for the Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC) Board this summer. Seth has been an REC member-owner for 12 years and is also a co-founder of Repower REC (RepowerREC.com).

Many of us hereabouts have ancestors who fought for the Confederacy. I am one. 

I contacted VDOT and requested they not mow the median strip section that contains the huge stand of wild daylilies along west-bound Route 211 just west of Ben Venue. VDOT graciously honored that request.

Sunday night at Eldon Farms about 500 people gathered — every one of them masked and six feet apart.  The music was spectacular, the rhetoric soaring and the sense of community and unity and solidarity in moving forward with long-delayed justice was palpable. 

I can say that he has never expressed a single thought, or taken a single action, in his job as Commonwealth’s Attorney, that would show that he has any latent or active feelings of racism.

I as a registered voter in our county desire and request the knowledge of what was voted on and how each member present voted. I would also like to know how those members excluded would have voted on the matters presented!

These monuments cannot be viewed as separate from the continuing oppression and terror they represent. Glorifying a mistake my great-grandfather made, now that is a slap in the face. 

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.

The letter, thinly disguised as praise for Dominic, downplays the importance of Black lives by refusing to acknowledge the BLM slogan and superimposing All Lives Matter.

We live in a county where many honor the Confederacy and oppression of black citizens continued into our times. It takes courage for local folks to demonstrate their support for the Black Lives Matter Movement.

This denied to the Board of Supervisors, the Board of Zoning Appeals, the public, and the applicants the views, advice and recommendations of 3 out of 7 Commissioners.

What do you think would be Robert E. Lee's reaction to the vitriol directed at our governor by the fellow who is called our Commonwealth Attorney, as reported in last week's paper? 

Given the momentous events of the past few months, it behooves us all to examine the ways in which we perpetuate racist institutions and ideas, whether consciously or not.

During his time on the BOS, John Lesinski was an outstanding member of the board. What I observed was a man that always came prepared for his responsibilities.

Be it known that The Rappahannock Clergy Association stands with biblical tradition against all forms of racism, prejudice, and injustice. We earnestly pray for peace and reconciliation. 

Open Letter to Dominic Wilson [“Young Rapp activist speak up,” June 11]. You are to be commended for your support of a cause which is obviously so important to you. Black lives do matter! 

An Open Letter to Dominic Wilson [“Young Rapp activist speak up,” June 11]:

Well done, Young Man. Your initiative is an important example for us all.

We know John Lesinski to be an extremely capable person of character that you can trust to do what is best not just for us living here in the district, but also for the country. 

Having moved here six years ago from a jurisdiction where political campaigns vied to place the most yard signs, I note the beginnings of a plethora in Rapp. Some are on public owned roadways and intersections. 

If you think it would be nice to have someone from Rappahannock represent us in Washington, this is your opportunity. All bring a wealth of different experiences to the race, but they are close together on many issues, especially the desperate need for affordable health insurance for all Americans.

I am writing to throw my wholehearted support behind John Lesinski’s nomination to represent Democrats for the Fifth Congressional District in Virginia. 

I wish to thank all those in the community who were so caring and supportive following the death of my mother last month.

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.

I am writing this letter in support of John Lesinski as our Democratic nominee for Congress. I worked with John on the school board for four year and attended many meetings while he was on the board of supervisors.

I wish masks were not political. Their use clearly reduces the speed and reach of COVID-19’s spread. 

We invite you to join us for our weekly online concert series — “Life is Good (Because We Have Music)” — featuring local artists performing in the round every Sunday at 7pm: www.KidPanAlley.org/hconcert

The Rappahannock Food Pantry would like to express a heartfelt thank you to the local community for its generous outpouring of donations made these past weeks for our Annual Pantry Day fundraiser and during Give Local Piedmont.

Our warmest thanks to everyone who donated to RappCats for Give Local Piedmont 2020. Your gift helped us meet and beat our target for this campaign and earn a wonderful $5,000 donor match. 

As the newest nonprofit organization in Rappahannock County, we are very pleased that through your generosity, we were able to raise funds to continue planned improvements in collaboration with the RCRFA.