Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 4 · column 2 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
not only prepare students for college but it will give them the necessary skills to enter the working world.
Students will learn more than how to grow vegetables in a home garden or how to prune an apple tree, plant a com field and fertilize a hay field. All these are important skills, especially in Rappahannock County where folks cling to their agricultural heritage. But we must acknowledge that the demand for farm labor will decrease in the coming years if present urbanizing trends continue.
Realistically, not many RCHS students can expect to own, manage or work on farms. While agriculture is on the decline in the Piedmont area of Virginia, horticulture is a booming, multi-million dollar enterprise.
We’ve only to take a look around to see new green house businesses that have opened in the last few years in Culpeper and Middleburg. Airiie Foundation has expanded its already mammoth green house set-up. Plant shops have sprung up in Warrenton, Culpeper, Marshall—and in practically every other town and city in the United States.
Ten years ago, Safeway, Giant, A<SP and other chain grocery stores stocked food. They still do but their shelves are also crowded with house plants, as are the aisles of drug stores, dime stores and hardware stores. House plants have found their way from these outlets into homes, businesses and public buildings. Why the sudden interest in plants? As the open spaces on our urban landscape dwindle, as rolling country farms are gobbled up by subdivision development, people may be trying to preserve a little of this soul-soothing greenness by bringing it inside or into their yards. Whatever the reason, the plant phenomenon exists. It’s not a flash-in-the-pan fad. A horticulture program at RCHS will allow Rappahannock youngsters to jump on the bandwagon. A good high school program would give our young people the skills they need to start their own small business or to work for a larger operation with little or no further training. For once, let our high school reach further than the bottom rung of the accreditation ladder. We urge the supervisors to reinstate the green house and horticulture classroom in the building program. It will be one of the best investments this county has ever made.
88.8%