be channeled constructively, he said. Change and growth “should

be channeled constructively, he said.

Change and growth “should be channeled and directed through land use, the county’s Comprehensive Plan, and its zoning and subdivision policy. They are tools toward the end of keeping the open space we have to maintain the unspoiled rural quality of the county. I would hope that if there is growth — individually or of communities —that it be of the type which is most suited to a rural community. It should not scar the land or spoil the things which we cherish here.”

“Through reasonable and contained growth,” he pointed out, “we could make it possible for increasing numbers of young people to settle or stay here in the county.”

Turning to the county’s budget, Mr. Bird said that several projects which were set in motion this year will occasion a rise in taxes. There are needed public improvements, he said, and the schools have not made their last demand.

Tax revenue is required to provide for these needs, and the continuing decrease in state and federal subsidies will mean that the county will have to come up with more money each year.

“It’s a hard case,” he admitted. The county’s land use tax policy eases the pressure on farmers Who stay on the land, “yet open land doesn’t send children to school. In terms of paying for services received .. . landowners subsidize the rest of the community.”

“There are no sure answers,” Mr. Bird said, “because neither society in general nor we in Rappahannock have arrived at a consensus on issues, or how to plan to meet the issues. All I can suggest is that the supervisors will have to work at problems as they come up — to try to anticipate and meet them in a