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tion of Rappahannock youth. Certainly there are far more than there were when I was growing up, and of course it is a far cry from the limited prospects that faced most members of prior generations.
It is wonderful to know that Rappahannock County High School students can put on Shakespeare for their senior play and that any young person regardless of race, family background, or economic status has the chance to pursue a professionl career. It is good that Rappahannock has employers like Faith Mountain and The Inn that offer modem workplace benefits to employees, like paid leave, health insurance and pension plans.
Having said that, I would like to comment on some issues raised in recent issues of the paper, that pertain to the future of the county.
Everyone seems to agree that the natural beauty of county, its farms, fields and forests needs to be safe guarded. To me the thought of places like, Gid Brown Hollow covered with sub divisions and shopping malls, is a surrealistic nightmare.
However, central to the preservation of this beauty is the ability of land owners to keep their land, not to have to sell to developers in order to make ends meet. A letter from R.O Bridges in the April 29, issue caught my eye with his discussion of how real estate taxes continue to soar.
I was amazed to learn that Rappahannock County, with about 7,000 people, has a higher tax rate ($.83/$100) than Albermarle County with 77.000 population (.72/$100).
Further research revealed that of the 15 counties with a higher tax rate all were over 10.000 in population. Ten were over 50,000, and six over 100,000. Fairfax County is close to $1 million.
In contrast, the other 14 counties under 10,000 in population had tax rates ranging from .50/$ 100, the average being .58/$100, omitting
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