Looking Back: Rappahannock’s 2023 News Ticker

Jan. 7: Joe Whited, the Town of Washington’s new mayor, advocates a two-year holiday on meals and lodging taxes for new and expanding businesses in the community.

Jan. 9: By a 3-2 margin, the county’s Board of Supervisors votes to apply for a grant to hire a management consulting firm, The Clearing, to help the county’s volunteer fire and rescue services develop a five-year plan for providing emergency services. Also, Wakefield Supervisor Debbie Donehey is re-elected board chair.

Jan. 26: The Board of Supervisors appoints a new chief and board of directors to run the troubled Flint Hill Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company instead of following the recommendation of the county’s Public Safety Committee to withdraw financial support for the company. The rescue squad hadn’t been able to respond to calls since March 2022 because its certification with the Virginia Department of Emergency Services was not renewed.

Jan. 30: After 20 years in business in Flint Hill, Griffin Tavern is sold to D.C. area restaurateur Mark Kirwin. It reopened as Dark Horse Irish Pub.

Feb. 3: The National Park Service announces a continuation of the ticketing program to climb Old Rag.

Feb. 6: Former leaders of the Flint Hill Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company sue the Board of Supervisors and the company’s new officers, claiming their ouster and replacement was an “attempted hijacking” of power.

Feb. 9: The county’s Recreational Facilities Authority approves the creation of two pickleball courts in the county park.

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Feb. 16: Rappahannock County Public Schools suffer a financial setback when a Virginia Senate committee tables a measure that would have raised the state’s contribution to the school district by more than $1 million.

March 9: The Rappahannock Lady Panthers basketball team wins the Virginia High School League Class 1 state championship, defeating the Eastside Spartans, 70-65.

The Black Twig restaurant opens in Sperryville in the space formerly occupied by Headmaster’s Pub.

March 11: The Rappahannock Benevolent Fund’s Celebrity Waiter Dinner returns after a three-year hiatus tied to the pandemic.

March 14: The Rappahannock County School Board approves a $14.6 million budget that would increase the county’s financial support by almost $550,000.

March 24: The county receives a grant of more than $560,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support volunteer fire and rescue recruitment and retention.

April 3: The county Board of Supervisors agrees to a boundary line adjustment with the Town of Washington, a key step in the second phase of the Rush River Commons project.

April 15: Fodderstack 10K race celebrates its 45th year.

April 24: The Board of Supervisors passes $29.6 million budget, avoiding a threatened increase in real estate taxes.

April 29: The Great Rubber Duck Race on the Thornton River highlights SperryFest.

May 1: The Board of Supervisors and the county’s Planning Commission vote to strip the Board of Zoning Appeals of its legislative authority, taking the position that permits should be approved only by elected officials. The board also adopts an ordinance prohibiting residents from getting permits if they aren’t current on their taxes.

May 3: Sperryville auto shop Wrextorations, catches fire and explodes, knocking out power to 300 homes.

May 8: Washington Town Council establishes an Economic Development Authority to boost local businesses.

May 9: Rappahannock County School Board extends Superintendent Shannon Grimsley’s contract another four years.

May 11: The Inn at Little Washington unveils a major expansion plan, including the addition of a luxury spa.

May 15: The Board of Supervisors and the county School Board honor 11 Rappahannock school students who helped save a drowning couple during a class trip to Florida.

May 26: Rappahannock County High School Class of 2023 graduates.

June 10: An engineering firm hired by the county uses stakes, colored tape and balloons to show the height and perimeter of a proposed new courthouse.

June 16: Rappahannock County Circuit Court judge dismisses a petition filed on behalf of the ousted board of directors of the Flint Hill Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company, and rules that the Board of Supervisors had authority to dismiss former leadership of the company.

June 30: Mimi Forbes ends her 14-year run as manager of the Rappahannock Food Pantry.

July 1: Ours Noir, a Cajun/Creole restaurant at the former location of Tula’s on Gay Street, has its soft opening.

July 3: The Board of Supervisors approves a special permit for an event space/conference center on F.T. Valley Road near Sperryville. Property owner Algis Penkiunas plans to use 36 acres of the space for weddings, reunions and other large gatherings.

Aug. 8: Flint Hill Volunteer Fire and Rescue Chief David Jarrell resigns six months after the Board of Supervisors, in a 3-2 vote, named him to the position.

Aug. 9: The Board of Supervisors decides not to vote on a new sign ordinance after hearing objections from more than a dozen local citizens at a public hearing. It also puts off increasing the county’s meals and lodging tax rate from 4% to 6%.

Aug. 15: The Virginia Court of Appeals supports the Board of Supervisors’ position denying a special exception permit for a contractor’s yard for Amissville contractor John Cappiali.

Aug. 23: Washington resident Doris Critzer is found murdered in her home. No one has been charged with the homicide.

Sept. 11: By a 3-1 vote, the Board of Supervisors appoints Sean Knick to fill the vacant position of chief of the Flint Hill Volunteer Fire and Rescue company.

Sept. 24: A butternut squash raised by Amissville resident Jason Loris weighs in at 131.4 pounds at the State Fair of Virginia, setting a new world record.

Oct. 2: BOS approves new pay scale for county employees based on number of years they’ve worked for county. The change will cost the county $130,000 this fiscal year.

Oct. 24: An apparent lightning strike near Quaker Run Road in Madison County starts a forest fire that burns for three weeks. It damages almost 4,000 acres, including 700 acres in Shenandoah National Park.

Nov. 6: By a 4-1 margin, the Board of Supervisors votes to begin searching for an architectural and engineering specialist to help guide the county in the effort to renovate the county’s courthouse or possibly build an addition or a new courthouse. Also, due to one of the worst droughts this century – one stretching back to mid-summer – the BOS votes to impose an outdoor open burning ban. It’s lifted a month later.

Nov. 7: Jackson Supervisor Ron Frazier loses the seat he held for 28 years by 29 votes to Amissville resident and political newcomer Donna Comer. Board of Supervisor Chair Debbie Donehey (Wakefield) is re-elected for the only other contested board seat. Supervisor Keir Whitson (Hampton) ran unopposed.

Nov. 13: Washington resident Chester Brown is indicted by a Rappahannock County Circuit Court grand jury on three felony firearm charges. Brown, 63, was arrested in August for the theft of a firearm that belonged to 74-year-old Doris Critzer, who was found dead in her Washington home. He has not been charged in connection with her homicide.

Nov. 13: The National Gallery of Art announces that several paintings of Haitian art belonging to Washington residents Beverly and John Fox Sullivan will be part of a first-time Haitian exhibit at the gallery next September.

Nov. 15: The Rappahannock County Planning Commission votes unanimously to hold a public hearing on a proposal to impose a two-year waiting period on tourist home applications.

Nov. 26: Veditz and Company Brewing opens Virginia’s first deaf-owned brewery in Sperryville.

Dec. 1: Attorney David Konick appeals a Rappahannock County Circuit Court decision dismissing a lawsuit filed by the former leadership of the Flint Hill Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company. He contends the Board of Supervisors lacked the authority to oust the company’s officers.

Dec. 12: The Rappahannock County School Board votes to join 400 other school districts across the country in a lawsuit seeking damages from social media companies for their “harmful and addictive nature” that affects school children.

Dec. 12: Jeff Atkins, Rappahannock County High School girls’ varsity basketball coach, is named the 2022-2023 Virginia High School League Coach of the Year for Girls’ Basketball by the coaches association of the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Dec. 14: Wakefield Country Day School announces the retirement of Head of School Paul Larner, effective June 30, 2024.

Dec. 21: Brittany Dwyer Gianoli, executive director of Headwaters, is named 2023 Citizen of the Year by the Rappahannock News.

Foothills Forum is an independent, community-supported nonprofit tackling the need for in-depth research and reporting on Rappahannock County issues.

The group has an agreement with Rappahannock Media, owner of the Rappahannock News, to present this series and other award-winning reporting projects. More at foothillsforum.org.