NEWS
Fauquier Times | www.fauquier.com | March 14, 2018
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Opinion & Commentary COMMENTARY
Fighting for a cure
One of my co-workers here at the Fauquier Times sent out an email recently looking for team members to join this year’s Relay for Life, the signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Nancy Keyser, who heads our circulation department, has volunteered for nearly two decades. Thirteen of those years she has served as a team captain. For years, I’ve covered these events for one paper or another. I’ve written stories of unheralded heroism in the face of cancer challenges, amounts of money raised, and the number of luminaries lit to remember those lost or honor those who have survived this insidious disease. This year I decided to join a team for the first time. Over the years while I have felt empathy or sympathy for anyone dealing with cancer in any way, I’ve kept guarded. I’ve felt safe that I’ve avoided that emotional roller coaster. Then last year cancer came creeping to my doorstep. It came like a thief in the night leaving me feeling vulnerable, out of control, humbled and angry. My husband, Don, was diagnosed
FROM WHERE I SIT ANITA SHERMAN with colon cancer. Blessedly for us, it was caught early, removed quickly and has made its exit from our lives. January of last year had him in the hospital for several days and then several weeks of recovery. A shout out to Dr. Golub and Dr. Henson for their conscientious and professional care. Don is 75. Then in September of last year we learned of a young lady in Georgia experiencing health issues, her parents concerned. She is the granddaughter of very good friends of ours who also happen to be godparents to our youngest. Her name is Austen. By October the diagnosis came in. She has embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, otherwise known as ERMS, a form of cancer that typically affects young children when it strikes.
In November she had a hysterectomy and after that a 24-week regimen of chemo treatments began. Through CaringBridge, I can follow the journal writings of her mother, the good days and the bad, the hair loss, the anxiety, the prayers, the tears and the smiles. Austen is 5. Cancer came to visit me on a very personal level striking a senior gentleman who happens to be my husband and a young girl who happens to be the granddaughter of very good friends. These two people in my life represent two ends of the spectrum illustrating in dramatic fashion that cancer shows no favoritism. Numbers from the American Cancer Society suggest that in 2018 there will be an estimated 1,735,350 new cancer cases diagnosed and 609,640 cancer deaths in the United States. Reports of large numbers tend to numb us. Putting your arms around such statistics is overwhelming. But the face of your husband or the face of a young child you know — those are close up and personal. It’s easy to take those two and wrap your arms and heart around them. Spring isn’t officially here but the warm breezes and daffodils poking
their heads up suggest it’s very close. Relay for Life teams sprout at this time of year staffed by volunteers in thousands of communities and 27 countries. They all come together to take action against cancer. There are more than 3,500 Relay for Life events around the country supporting and celebrating survivors and caregivers. Here in Fauquier County there are currently some 27 teams with hundreds of participants. So far more than $8,000 has been raised with a goal of $130,000 by the event in June. Wielding the weaponry of research would appear to be the most effective strategy. And that requires resources. We shouldn’t have to be directly hit before we decide to be proactive. But that is what happened to me. I’m sharing my personal reasons for joining a team in the hopes that you might attend a spaghetti dinner, or have your car washed, buy a cake at a bake sale or a ticket to attend a fashion show. You’ll see lots of fundraisers going on at churches, in backyards or neighboring parks. Donating is your easiest route and it’s very effective. Check out www. relayforlife.org. Oh, we’re the FT Warriors. You can support us there.
YOUR VIEW
Burroughs needed as GOP chairman April 14 is an important date for voters as the Fauquier County Republican Committee will hold its canvass election to determine the next chairman. Every citizen in our county has a stake in the outcome as important issues such as zoning restrictions that help us maintain Fauquier’s rural charm are involved. I am endorsing Harry Burroughs for the chairmanship. The candidates for the job are Harry Burroughs and Greg Schumacher. Both are good men. Both hold conservative values and are upstanding citizens who want to serve their community to support Republican candidates win local, state and national elections. It’s an important job that pays nothing, and as we have seen in the past couple of years, can be thankless, and a challenge keeping FCRC committee members focused on the mission of electing Republicans to office. As is often the case in politics, we’ve had issues that sometimes appear to divide us more than unite
us. The job involves a lot of time, hard work and dedication, with the only payback being the satisfaction of seeing Republican candidates win important political seats. How many among us are willing to volunteer to tackle a job like this? I know both men. Mr. Schumacher is a retired Army major general. Good to know this. You don’t become a general officer without strong character, achievement, intellect and leadership qualities. I commend him for his service to our great country and applaud his desire to parlay his skills in serving Fauquier County. But I don’t know where he stands on key issues in our county concerning unchecked growth, industrial and highway expansion, and construction. He hasn’t told us. We don’t know if Mr. Schumacher will support future Republican candidates in Fauquier who want to preserve Fauquier’s rural charm, or who favor expansion that may challenge the very reason why many of us moved to this county. Further, Mr. Schumacher states on
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his website: “So my view is that the FCRC has no rightful role in selecting a particular candidate with particular views on various issues, other than ensuring the candidate subscribes to the principles contained in the Virginia Republican Creed.” I believe that is a dangerous viewpoint to hold and one that every voter in the April canvass needs to consider. We need leadership in the FCRC who want to preserve our rural county charm and who will support candidates who hold the same view. It is no coincidence that Mr. Schumacher is supported by the Tea Party faction within the FCRC that promotes policies that would reverse our county’s distinct rural tranquility. He is also the Fauquier Cornerstone Committee’s candidate. Mr. Burroughs also has strong qualities, but in a civilian career in politics where his political experience tips the scale in his favor. And he has stated his position very clearly. From his website, Mr. Burroughs states. “I am running for Chairman of the Fauquier County Republican Committee to help build our committee, continue to grow our party, and ensure the rural culture we
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all enjoy here in Fauquier is preserved.” He’s had a 38-year civilian career in the U.S. House of Representatives, political experience that included working for conservative Republicans in election campaigns in Alaska, California and Virginia. In the five years I have known Mr. Burroughs, I have observed his tenacious work on the FCRC, planning and covering various community political events throughout Fauquier County, manning Republican booths at numerous fairs and festivals trumpeting support for candidates and conveying conservative principles to interested citizens. For the past two years Mr. Burroughs has served as the FCRC vice chairman of precincts, recruiting, training and managing precinct captains for Election Day operations. In this time, we have had numerous elections. Fauquier County did not lose a single precinct in any of those elections. Precinct organization played a major role in those election outcomes thanks largely to Mr. Burroughs’ efforts. We shouldn’t part with successful talent. We have important elections ahead that will require proven political expertise and we need an active party leader to win those elections. I think Harry Burroughs is the right man to lead our party in this undertaking and he has my strong support and endorsement as the next FCRC chairman. Phil Kasky Warrenton