“Shifting to a ‘we’ instead of a ‘me’ mindset” critical for the future, say some of those interviewed A consulting firm hired by the county to help develop a vision for how Rappahannock shapes its fire and rescue system unveiled its first report Tuesday at a joint...
Local Services
Getting rides to medical appointments should get easier
In a community with an older population like Rappahannock County, the medical needs of its residents only increase with time. There’s a part of that trend that’s often overlooked: The challenge of actually getting people to treatments and checkups. As Mobility Manager...
Preserving history, one marker at a time: Civil War signs in Rappahannock get a refresh
When driving from Ben Venue to Massies Corner, it’s not uncommon to feel that you are somewhere special, with the hilltop views of foothills leading up to the Blue Ridge. No one can say whether any of the 70,000 Confederate troops who marched through there on their...
Real Estate commotion hits Sperryville
The School House is up for sale; Copper Fox Antiques narrowly avoids foreclosure auction Update: The foreclosure auction of the Copper Fox Antiques was called off late last week after owner Alex Sharp and Atlantic Union Bank ended a year-long impasse. They agreed to...
‘We are out of balance’
Stories of the search for home in Rappahannock By Sara Schonhardt — For Foothills Forum Home means something different to everyone. Yet what we discovered through responses to a Community Housing Questionnaire we circulated last year is that those who choose to make...
Amissville: A village without a Main Street
How does Amissville sustain and build community? Fifty years ago, motorists traveled through Amissville on a two-lane road dotted with historic homes, small hardware and grocery stores, restaurants, tourist cabins, garages, and a post office. Today, most travelers on...
Chris’s Corner | The Base at Blue Ridge: A family business
Theresa Ruffo Swanson hails from a large Italian family — six siblings and a mom and dad now watching from above. She’s a career caterer, founder of Distinguished Engagements, and a firefighter in Chantilly. The Base at Blue Ridge is at the location where the...
Commercial kitchen, food service education to expand at Carver Center, serving Rappahannock food ventures
State Extension Director visits, tours renovated Culpeper facility Regional representatives with an interest in agriculture and business convened recently at the Carver Center in Culpeper County to meet the new state cooperative extension director and tour the...
Editors’ efforts to hold onto readers and advertisers
local news logo ‘We don’t want to shut down’ Norman Styer has devoted his career to reporting news in Loudoun County, an outer Washington suburb that has quintupled in population over 30 years and is now Virginia’s third-most populous county. He signed on as Leesburg...
An African-American weekly carries on a proud legacy
local news logo The Richmond Free Press, an African-American weekly newspaper, was established in 1992, but if it seems much older it may be because its late founder, Raymond H. Boone, was at the center of covering the struggle for civil rights for half a century....
News industry travails pose challenges for Virginia’s specialty papers
local news logo Newspapers that specialize in covering the interests and concerns of Black Americans, ethnic groups, gay readers and other targeted groups face the same economic and demographic challenges that buffet general-interest newspapers in Virginia, including...
Nonprofit news organizations step in where some Virginia papers pulled back
local news logo There’s a ray of light shining in the otherwise bleak landscape of local news: a profusion of new, colorful websites where readers can find out what’s happening now instead of waiting until morning or midweek. These include the homepages of legacy...
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