New academic year barrels ahead into uncertainty
As COVID-19 cases again sharply rise across the Valley, and the Delta variant tests even the best-laid back-to-school plans, local school systems and universities are navigating new waters.
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Infrastructure bill under debate in Congress could hold key to funding Valley rail trail
As planning continues to develop a nearly 50-mile walking and biking trail following an abandoned rail line from Broadway to Front Royal, the infrastructure bill now being debated in Congress could prove to be key to its future.
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No clear path emerges yet for Heritage Oaks’ future
Representatives from the Urban Land Institute presented three possible answers to the question about Heritage Oaks Golf Course’s future, but council members weren’t wowed by any of the options.
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Rockingham schools to stick to neutral turf for future meetings to avoid mask issues
Speaking to an audience of about 30 in the Rockingham County Administrative Offices on Monday, the county’s schools’ superintendent said future school board meetings would meet in similar non-school venues to help diffuse tension about masks.
City’s environmental committee is back — and members say they have urgent work to do
Members of a city committee aimed at suggesting energy and environmental policy changes brought an added sense of urgency to their first in-person meeting since before the pandemic. As part of it, the Environmental Performance Standards Advisory Committee members are looking for even more support from the city.
Task force hears options for ‘reimagining’ school resource officer program
As the group considering the future of the city’s School Resource Officers program explores nuanced approaches to the police’s role, regional experts on Thursday outlined different ways other communities call upon officers.
For transgender students, proposed policies are about dignity
More than a year after the state required local school boards to adopt policies protecting transgender students against discrimination, the Rockingham County School Board is still trying to figure out how to implement those policies. But for transgender students who attend Rockingham County schools, the quest to be treated equally has been painful.
After a long prologue, library launches national search for new director
Massanutten Regional Library’s longtime director Lois Jones officially retired Aug. 31, and the job listing to hire her replacement went out the day before. That leaves the library to operate with a team approach at the top for the next few months.
September 8, 2021
School board gets pushback over vaccinations, as well as policy regarding transgender students
The vaccine requirement protocol and covid testing for unvaccinated school staff also prompted passionate arguments from educators, staff and parents during Tuesday’s school board meeting’s public comment period, as did the recent adoption of a model policy from the Virginia School Board Association regarding treatment of transgender students.