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Students from Waddell Elementary and Lylburn Downing Middle School participated in the 2023 Virginia State Chess Championships in Norfolk on March 25-26. The team from Lylburn Downing finished in first place in the K-8 under 1,200 division. The Trojans dominated a competitive field of 19 teams, finishing first with 13 points, a full two points ahead of the second-place team. Pictured at left with their team and individual trophies are (from left to right) Graham Shester, Elliott Allen, Edison Rahl, and Sammy Eastwood. Missing from the picture is teammate Luke Drumbl. The team from Waddell finished in fourth place out of 11 teams in the K-5 under 1,000 division. Pictured at right with their team trophy are Alex Eastwood and Theo Rahl. Missing from the picture is teammate Gibson Fox.

The members of Cats Unlimited have begun preparing for their 18th annual “Catapalooza” yard sale to be held at the Sam Houston Ruritan Club Auction Barn north of Lexington on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 15-16. They are currently seeking donations to be sold during the event, such as accessories, electrical appliances, artwork, antiques, books, CDs, DVDs, crafts, tools, housewares, Christmas and other seasonal items, jewelry, kitchen items (dishes, glassware, utensils, baking dishes), linens, pet items, “picker” items, toys, yard decorations, garden implements, sports and exercise equipment, etc.

The Brownsburg Ruritan Club will be hosting its first Rockbridge County Corn Hole Tournament this Saturday, April 29, at the Whistle Hollow Farm located at 2488 Borden Grant Trail, Fairfield.

John Adamson (right), the new owner of the Grands Home Furnishings building, speaks with members of the community – including Morgan Roper (center), incoming executive director of the Historic Lexington Foundation – at a Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours reception in the former furniture store last Thursday. Adamson met with members of the community during the reception to hear their ideas on how the space could be used. He said he does not currently have any specific ideas for the building, but he plans for the lower floor of the building to remain a retail space. (Joseph Haney photo)

Last month “J. Lane, W&L, Class of 1974” placed a commentary in this paper about two recent events at W&L under the title above.

We like to think that those of us in the local news business provide a vital service essential to the proper functioning of a democracy. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution enshrines the right of free speech. This right can only be exercised by an informed citizenry. This newspaper and other local news outlets perform the function of keeping citizens informed.

International Chairman Pays Visit

Rockbridge

Karyn Gardner, (540) 228-2176, (540) 655-3646 [email protected]

Gold Star Memorial Effort Led By Student

Earlier this month, Lexington City Schools administered a survey to employees, parents and students of the LCS community to measure the success of the school resource officer program that began in October.

Baseball Field Named For Mace

Lower Campsites To Open In July

April 19, 2023 Editor, The News-Gazette: Not long ago, America was a place where racism, anti-semitism, xenophobia, misogyny, homophobia, white nationalism and Christian bigotry, while whispered between adherents, were thought too embarrassing to be publicly acknowledged. No more. Trump tapped into the hate that has always existed.

Rachel Clark, (630) 607-9938 [email protected]

Members of the RCHS community gathered at The Seclusion April 19 to honor educators at the 2023 RCHS PTSA Wildcat Inspiration Awards. Each year the PTSA invites senior students to nominate an adult in the RCPS/LCPS community who has inspired, challenged or encouraged them during their school career, and this year six educators were honored: David Miller, teacher and coach at RCHS; Katelyn Nicely, fifth grade teacher at Fairfield Elementary; Jessika Crance, special education teacher at RCHS; Heather Kilgore, former English teacher at LDMS; Ariadne Paxton, environmental science teacher at RCHS; and Robyn Sherman, CTE supervisor at RCHS. Pictured are (from left) Paxton, RCHS senior Destiny Breeden, Kilgore, RCHS senior Meg Liwag, Miller, RCHS senior Sofia Vargas, Nicely, Crance, and RCHS senior Anna Rhodenizer. “The PTSA extends its sincere gratitude to Brian Daniel at The Seclusion for hosting the event, as well as members of the RCPS and LCPS school boards for joining us for this special evening,” said a spokeswoman. (photo courtesy of Lexington Superintendent Rebecca Walters)

Attendees of Lexington’s Historic Garden Week tour Saturday check out the dining room at Stonegate, one of the four Lexington properties on this year’s tour sponsored by the Blue Ridge Garden Club. Despite the off-and-on rain that day, approximately 400 people toured the homes and gardens. (Mary Woodson photo)

April 24, 2023 Editor, The News-Gazette: We are thankful to ever so many local friends, many of whom are active volunteers assisting daily, for their hugely generous support for the three Ukrainian families now living in Lexington.

Turner Ashby used a late goal to claim a 1-0 victory over Rockbridge County High School in a Valley District girls soccer match in Lexington on Friday evening.