Entries by vaobserver

Program Honors High School’s First Black Graduate

By Dorothy Davis In the annals of Clarke County history is the name of a young African American female whose name is recognized by only a few individuals — Mary Patricia “Pat” Reynolds. In 1965 Pat was the first Black graduate of Clarke County High School, thus ending the long saga of segregation in local public […]

Why Native Plants?

By Wendy Dorsey You may have noticed that lately there’s a buzz about native plants. Maybe you read an article or a post on Facebook, an advertisement for a native plant sale, or attended a presentation. In all of these instances, the message was the same. Putting native plants in our yards is a beneficial […]

Three Things You Didn’t Know About Acupuncture

By Tara YG Wells Let’s address the elephant in the room first: needles. As an acupuncturist for 12 years and a promoter of it for 25, it always comes up. It’s mainly because our primary experience of needles is via the hypodermic of conventional medicine. They are big and hollow by nature as fluid must […]

Keep Clarke Clean For Earth Day and Every Day

By John Kei The idea for an Earth Day event is simple – as is the mission of the Clarke County Litter Committee: Keep Clarke County Clean. Ashley Harrison, who chairs the committee, has taken the lead for an Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 20. “We hope to raise awareness of current litter issues and […]

The Barns Story and a Chamber Award

by Diana Kincannon I recently received an honor of which I’m very proud: The 2023 Citizen of the Year Award from the Top of Virginia Chamber of Commerce. The award was in recognition of my years of work for the Barns of Rose Hill, a project to salvage two very old barns in Berryville’s town […]

A roundup of news and community news around Clarke County

Clarke Animal Shelter Has New Hours  The Clarke Animal Shelter revised its hours in March to better serve the animals in its care and the humans who come to visit. New visiting hours are: 10:30am to 4pm Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays; 11am to 6pm Fridays; 10am to 4pm Saturdays. The shelter is closed on Sundays, […]