Loading ...
Gone fishin’: RappVoice takes a long summer break
By James P. Gannon
Some months ago, I made a decision that the time had come for me to retire (again) and have more time for travel, for my family, and other pursuits. I’ve never been much good at retirement, but I think I am getting better at it lately.
A ten-day trip to England in May reminded me of the joys of doing nothing but having fun and visiting new places. We’re going to do more of that in the weeks ahead, especially spending time with kids and grandkids–which can be a full-time occupation when you have six of one and eleven of the other.
- Three men in a boat, three generations together.
All this is by way of explaining that RappVoice will go quiet this summer. I am hanging a “Gone fishin’” sign up here from now until after Labor Day. What will become of RappVoice at that point remains an open question, but for now we will put aside our reporter’s notebook and camera while we enjoy the lazy days of summer.
We trust the Rappahannock News will keep you informed of what’s going on locally, and that all the news will be good.
Now, where did I put that old fishin’ rod?
Alternative Energy Expo will be held Saturday
The fourth annual Piedmont Alternative Energy & Electric Vehicle EXPO will be held Saturday, June 20, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Brumfield Elementary School, 550 Alwington Blvd, Warrenton, Virginia (behind WalMart and Home Depot off Business 17 & 29).
Nearly 50 exhibitors will showcase working models of alternative, green and energy saving systems. Children from 5 to 105 will delight in the Energy Bicycle requiring degrees of effort to power various lights and appliances, the Piedmont Railroaders’ model trains, the DC Electric Vehicle Association model solar race cars and the restored MIT Aztec which competed in the 1990 Tour de Sol. Read more »
Fourth of July celebration offers big bangs, and big bucks too: $2,500 in raffle prizes dangled amid fireworks
By James P. Gannon
Rappahannock County’s annual Fourth of July celebration this year will offer not only the usual family fun and the big bangs of fireworks, but big bucks as well–$2,500 in cash raffle prizes to go to seven lucky winners.
$8,000 worth of fireworks will light the July 4 sky
The committee planning this year’s celebration has added a new element–a raffle drawing for cash prizes. The Grand Prize winner will receive $1,500; second prize will be $500, and there will be five additional winners at $100 each.
Up to 5,000 people are expected at the celebration to be held for the third year on about 100 acres of the Thornton Hill Hunt grounds, donated for the occasion by owner Bill Fletcher. The site is along Route 522 between Woodville and Sperryville, VA.
Rappahannock’s Independence Day celebration, which was held for many years in the town of Washington, will take place on the rolling, grassy site on Saturday, July 4. In its first year there, the event drew about 4,000 people, but attendance slipped a bit to 3,000 or less last year due to rainy weather. Read more »
VDOT abandons mowing duties along roads, raising safety dangers for motorists
Commentary
By James P. Gannon
Something is missing along Rappahannock County highways and back roads as summertime approaches this year. Missing are those work crews on tractors with bushhogs, cutting down the tall weeds and grasses along the roadsides and in the median strips.
Overgrown intersections limit view of oncoming traffic
The Virginia Department of Transportation, which hires the mowing crews to control overgrowth along the state’s roads, is in a budget squeeze and has decided to drastically cut back on mowing. VDOT has notified county governments not to expect to see much mowing done this summer.
The result is that the county’s roadsides are being overgrown with high grass and weeds, especially in view of the generous rains that boosted growth during May. Along Route 211, the county’s main highway, the unmowed median is nearly waist-high in grasses and weeds. On the county’s many secondary roads, the growth is encroaching the roadway on both sides, often obscuring sight distance for motorists, especially at intersections–many of which already are dangerous due to hills and curves. Read more »
Rappahannock Quiz Bowl team claims 3rd place among smaller schools at national competition
Rappahannock County High School’s Quiz Bowl team took third place among 23 small schools in the national Quiz Bowl competition in Chicago last weekend, adding to the many honors it has already won. See the School News section for details.
County adopts budget that cuts Rappahannock property tax bills
By James P. Gannon
Rappahannock County’s Board of Supervisors formally adopted a slimmed-down, recession-year budget that allowed them to cut the real estate property tax rate for fiscal year starting July 1 by about 3.3%.
At its monthly meeting Monday, the supervisors voted unanimously to adopt the fiscal 2010 county budget totaling $20,152,069, a reduction of more than $2 million from the current year’s budget of $22.2 million.
They then voted unanimously to adopt a real estate tax rate of 58 cents per $100 of valuation, a 2-cent cut from the 60-cent rate in effect in 2009. On a property assessed at $500,000, the lower tax rate will produce a savings of $100 in the owner’s tax bill in 2010, compared with 2009. Read more »