My Shenandoah County »« Looking toward the future.
All Virginia counties are required to have a Comprehensive Plan as a general guide to physical growth; normally reviewed every 5 years. Changes in the economy, government policies, and population growth make this too long a period.
Shenandoah County has a standing Citizen's Advisory Committee to recommend needed changes to the Comprehensive Plan. John Riffee and Rosemary Wallinger were the first District 2 representatives to this committee. The Committee meets at 7 PM the 3rd Wednesday of every month in the County office building, 600 North Main in Woodstock.
Rosemary is a 2003 graduate of Virginia’s Natural Resources Leadership Institute, a court certified mediator, and is active in the Shenandoah Valley Network and the Shenandoah Forum.
John is retired from the Army, formerly teaching life-cycle and systems analysis at the university level. Due to health concerns, John resigned after a year on the committee. Peter Jordan of Mount Jackson has agreed to take John's former seat on the committee.
Planning Commission
After a decade on the Planning Commission, John Jordan of Mount Jackson has resigned from his seat on the Planning Commission. John had some health problems, but as he said, the biggest reason was his hearing, saying he had ‘trouble hearing Ma (his wife) talking, and that’s not a good thing at all.’
Recognizing his years of service and solid, commonsense decisions, John was presented with a framed map of Shenandoah County signed by the entire Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors. Thank you for the service, John.
Gary Lantz has been appointed to the Planning Commission for the District 2 seat. Gary is a construction supervisor for Holtzman’s. He and his wife, Martha (Scothern) own Cannon Hill Farm in Mount Jackson, a certified organic producer of beef, pork and alfalfa hay.
Gary previously served on the Sliding Scale Study Committee and on Shenandoah County’s Ag Task force. His solid knowledge of organic process gives him invaluable awareness of the impact that Planning Commission decisions have on agriculture and water quality; from his construction experience the knowledge of what mitigation methods work and which ones don’t.
In addition to all that, after a lot of trips to Charlottesville, Gary just completed the coursework to become a Virginia Certified Planning Commissioner.
These are volunteer positions; their time and work is very appreciated. We wish these citizens the best as they work toward bettering Shenandoah County. Any suggestions, assistance, comments or questions can be directed to these folks or through me.