A Northern Virginia furniture retailer has received permission to open a warehouse, distribution center and outlet store at a former industrial site in Berryville. A 260,000-square-foot, U-shaped building that once housed the largest apple distribution facility east of the Mississippi River occupies the 22-acre location.

Clarke County officials have drafted a 74-page document for use in making decisions about developing land in the countryside. A public hearing on the proposed Rural Lands Plan will be held by the Clarke County Planning Commission during its next business meeting at 9 a.m. July 10.

Valley Link Transmission Company LLC announced on Tuesday morning a proposed 260-mile, 765-kilovolt (kV) transmission line called the Valley North Project that preliminary information indicates would go through both Frederick and Clarke counties, according to a media release.

The Clarke County Planning Commission on Friday postponed — yet again — considering a special-use permit application by the White Post Village Association (WPVA) at its request.

Recent rainfall didn’t get rid of the drought in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. Groundwater supplies are hurting. So are farmers dealing with “a tremendous loss” of hay they need to feed their cattle, according to a Virginia Cooperative Extension official.

The Orange County Hunt Conservation Foundation, based in The Plains, recently announced the inaugural recipient of the Malcolm Matheson III Memorial Scholarship Fund. The new initiative supports young conservation leaders through hands-on environmental education, wildlife stewardship, and conservation training.

Following a public hearing, the Berryville Planning Commission voted Tuesday night to recommend that Berryville Town Council deny a rezoning request that would allow for more than 100 homes in a subdivision in the northeast part of the town. The council will consider the request during an upcoming meeting.

In mid-April, residents reported that vegetation on private property as well as along public rights of way was either heavily damaged or destroyed by a VDOT contractor’s herbicide spraying. Among the affected plants were blooming Virginia Bluebells for which the rural area is well-known.

Mackintosh Fruit Farm in Clarke County will open Saturday for the strawberry picking season. Fields will be open for picking from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays, rain or shine, until the strawberries are gone.

A Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) contractor’s recent herbicide spraying along roadsides in northeastern Clarke County significantly damaged vegetation and possibly the environment, according to some of those who say they were impacted.