Questions about proposed Library Foundation
Botetourt County Library Director Julie Phillips and the Library Board are working towards forming a Library Foundation. What does that mean? On the positive side, a Foundation will be able to accept tax-deductible donations which will help lower the libraries’ burden on the county budget. On the negative side, once formed, a Foundation will not be accountable to the county government and its citizens on how that money is spent.
Case in point: the San Diego Library Foundation is making available to residents digital access to what it calls “banned books” which would otherwise not be allowed or purchased through the normal channels where the libraries are located. (See LibraryFoundationSD.org/news/stories/book-bans-have-no-place-in-our-schools-and-libraries-heres-how-were-fighting-them.)
Incidentally, a book isn’t banned because it’s not on a library shelf. The objectionable books in question are readily available from retailers.
Tell your county supervisor to not allow this to go forward unless there are clear restrictions on how donated money is spent. With their track record, our libraries can’t be trusted to do the right thing to protect the innocence of our teens and children.
Charles Ruhl
Fincastle
Thanks for a successful dedication ceremony
The Botetourt County Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution would like to thank the Botetourt County Historical Society and the Town of Fincastle and everyone who made our event on May 18 a success. On that afternoon we dedicated an America 250 Patriots’ Marker at the Botetourt County Museum of History & Culture. The marker honors the memory of the men and women who helped establish the United States of America, and it is intended to remind everyone of our Patriots’ sacrifice for their benefit.
Many organizations and people worked with our chapter to plan this dedication event. We wish to thank the Botetourt Museum of History & Culture, the Fincastle Town Council, Fincastle Presbyterian Church, Mary Bess Smith, Melanie McFadyen, Patsy Dickerson, Robin Reed, Matt di Simone, the Sheriff’s Office and many others who worked behind the scenes. We thank Delegate Terry Austin for being our guest speaker and sharing words about VA250.org. We were happy to have Board of Supervisors Chairman Steve Clinton, County Administrator Gary Larrowe, and Congressman Ben Cline at our event.
The State Regent of the Virginia NSDAR, Laurie Parker Nesbitt, also spoke that afternoon. She said it was good to see a small town where people were involved with one another and cared about their community. Botetourt is a county that has several small towns that care about one another, and it was meaningful for a visitor to see and share what county residents already know.
Thank you, everyone, for the part you played in making this a memorable event for our chapter and our community.
Betty Holt, Regent
Botetourt County Chapter, NSDAR
A thank you the community and Fincastle Presbyterian congregation
Historic Fincastle, Inc. would like to thank the Fincastle Presbyterian Church congregation for hosting the second in our series of History/Music Celebrations of Fincastle Historic Churches on Thursday, May 30.
The event began with Lori Turner, FPC’s musician, and David Austin presenting some sing-along church music accompanied by the guitar and electric piano. The people in attendance seemed to enjoy singing along with these old favorite hymns. Lori introduced the gathering to the concertina, a musical instrument of the 18th century, with a lovely sound that is very peaceful. The backdrop for the music was a drone video of Fincastle provided by Bo Trumbo on “the big screen.”
This portion of the program ended with David singing his original composition of The Botetourt 250th Anniversary Anthem. Then Bo Trumbo talked about the history of the Fincastle Presbyterian Church. He emphasized the importance of topography and geology of this area that led to the settling of Germans, Scot Irish, Quakers, and French during the 1600s and 1700s. His program was very informative and stressed the importance of our heritage in understanding our present. His program was concluded with an organ rendition of “For All the Saints,” a hymn whose “roots” are in the Anglican Church as are the “roots” of Fincastle Presbyterian Church.
Lori and David began the program with gathering music and ended the program with a sing-along for the people to exit. All in attendance had a great time and learned a little bit more about Fincastle and the beautiful historic churches in the town.
The next Celebration of Fincastle’s Historic Churches through History and Music will be held on Sunday, June 30 at 3 p.m. It will be held at Fincastle United Methodist Church. Angela Coon will tell the history of FUMC and the music will be presented by the musicians of the church – pianist, choir, and brass ensemble. It will be a patriotic celebration. If you are a veteran, you are encouraged to wear something that would indicate which branch of the service in which you served and will be recognized during the choir’s anthem, “A Tribute to the Armed Services.”
Thank you again to the entire community for supporting the Celebration of Fincastle Historic Churches through History and Music.
Patsy Dickerson, President
Historic Fincastle, Inc.
