Relevant Local Media Stories
Latest News
Updated every weekday as availableCulpeper Star-Exponent, February 1, 2012
"Culpeper County grew faster than the nation but slightly slower than the state since the 2010 census. As of July 1, 2011, Virginia’s population grew by 1.2 percent – to 8.096 million – compared to less than 1 percent for the country, according to new data from the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center."
Culpeper finally approves utility deal, town boundary expansion
Culpeper Star-Exponent, January 31, 2012
"At a ten-minute meeting Monday night, the 16 elected officials comprising the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors and Culpeper Town Council unanimously, and officially endorsed an agreement whereby growth areas around the town will have equal access to the town’s water and sewer utility. It also means the town of Culpeper is about to expand its geographic boundaries for the first time in more than 40 years."
Scribbled signatures reveal the stuff of stories
Fauquier Times-Democrat, February 1, 2012
"Chris Mills can read the writing on the wall — literally. Mills is a conservationist with Christopher Mills Conser - vation Services in New York City. He just completed two weeks of work at the Graffiti House in Brandy Station last week where his efforts continue to reveal and preserve writings on the wall from nearly 150 years ago. "
Waters Place project at standstill
Culpeper Star-Exponent, January 27, 2012
"Under development for about six years, so-called “Waters Place” next to the Depot remains on solid ground, although the residential-commercial project has certainly evolved in that time. They’ve had to change its scope in order to coincide with changing demand in the real estate market, says the Charlottesville developer, Octagon Partners, a.k.a., OPRE. But the town of Culpeper claims variations in the multi-million dollar development venture are a “downgrade” not in line with what was originally promised back in 2007, including a “pedestrian plaza” on Waters Place, the street."
Weekly News
Updated every week as available39,000 acres of open space protected
Culpeper Star-Exponent, January 13, 2012
"The Virginia Outdoors Foundation in 2011 protected 39,000 acres of open space across the state through 215 conservation easements. Among the easements, 377 acres in Culpeper County were protected bringing the county’s total to 44 easements totaling about 10,121 acres."
Odor, traffic are concerns on sludge storage permit
Culpeper Star-Exponent, January 13, 2012
"Nobody wants a big pile of processed poop in his backyard—or even in a remote section of woods more than a half mile away. Almost two dozen speakers echoed those sentiments at a marathon public hearing for a special-use permit Wednesday night at the Culpeper County Planning Commission meeting."
Town testing LED streetlights on North Main
Culpeper Star-Exponent, January 16, 2012
"Culpeper said let there be LED, and there was. Last month, the town started testing the energy-efficient “light emitting diodes” in two streetlights on North Main at Piedmont Street."
Uncovering 1860s graffiti; in Culpeper, an expert turns the clock back to Civil War
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, January 16, 2012
"As a general rule, hospitals and dirt don’t get along. In the Culpeper Civil War hospital that has become known as the Graffiti House, however, dirt has literally saved history. At some point, probably years after the war ended, the owner of this old house decided to cover up the graffiti that soldiers from both armies had written—mostly using charcoal—on the walls of the makeshift hospital."
Culpeper Star-Exponent, January 12, 2012
"The Culpeper Planning Commission at last night’s meeting denied a use permit request by Recyc Systems to build a biosolids storage facility in the Elkwood area of the county. The commission’s recommendation will now go before the board of supervisors, who have the final say on the issue... Nearly all community members that spoke at the meeting voiced opposition to the proposal, with concerns including the odor of the facility, depreciating property values, battlefields in the area, truck traffic and environmental reasons primarily focused on the nearby Rappahannock River."
Quotes PEC's Brian Higgins
Culpeper Star-Exponent, December 29, 2011
"Culpeper County was among nine winners of the “Green Government Challenge,” announced earlier this month. The challenge is part of the Virginia Municipal League initiated “Go Green Virginia” campaign, which began in 2007. It is a competition between counties, cities and towns and involves earning points by establishing, implementing and adopting policies or actions that reduce energy usage and promote sustainability. There were 33 entries in the contest."
Farmers help conserve Hazel watershed
Rappahannock News, December 29, 2011
"The clean-up of the Chesapeake bay is an important issue in Virginia – one that often stirs up controversial debates and finger pointing rather than action. In Rappahannock and neighboring counties, however, farmers are tackling water quality problems, now, with innovative solutions... More than eight miles of riparian fencing have been installed in Rappahannock to date, along with more than five miles in Culpeper, Madison and Orange. More than 1,000 cattle have been fenced out of streams and provided with alternative sources of clean drinking water. "
By PEC's Katherine Vance
Board shelves zoning amendments
Culpeper Star-Exponent, January 5, 2012
"The Culpeper County Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to shelve discussions of proposed zoning ordinance amendments that would allow cluster divisions in agricultural and rural zoning districts pending the result of an Orange County case questioning the constitutionality of similar ordinances."
Agreement Reached On Restoration Of Hill At Brandy Station
Civil War News, January 1, 2012
"A memorandum of agreement (MOA) removes an illegally-dug pond, restores the land and conserves 3.1 acres on private property on Fleetwood Hill at the Brandy Station Battlefield in Culpeper County. The pond construction violated state and federal law, according to the MOA."
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, December 14, 2011
"A clustering ordinance is one step away from becoming law in Culpeper County. Wednesday night the Planning Commission voted 6-2 (Jack Frazier was absent) to send to the Board of Supervisors a series of ordinance amendments that would allow property owners to make 11 years of by-right subdivisions at one time. If passed, the new rules would apply to RA- and A1-zoned land and drop the minimum lot size from five and three acres to 1.5 and 1.25 acres."
