Fauquier Times - 04/24/2024

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April 24, 2024

Our 207th year | Vol. 207, No. 17 | www.Fauquier.com | $2.00

The thrill of the foxhunt

PHOTO BY MICHAEL STEVENS

The Warrenton Hunt heads out with Hunt Master E. Sue Bopp in the lead.

Local clubs and riders pitch foxhunting to newcomers By Aimée O’Grady Contributing Writer

New to the area, Margaret Daely had taken a few horseback riding lessons three years ago when her instructor, Susan Deal of Grovespring Farm in Culpeper, pitched her on another week-

end activity: foxhunting. “My initial reaction was to laugh, and I asked her if people actually still do that,” Daely said. “Susan was very excited to introduce me to the sport.” Fauquier County and its surrounding area is one of the epicenters of foxhunting in the United States. Piedmont Fox Hounds, in the Middleburg-Upperville area, is the oldest club, with its first hunt dating back to 1840. It is one of 135

registered hunts across the country. In Fauquier, Loudoun and Rappahannock counties alone, there are 11 foxhunting organizations, each with a distinct but vast territory. “It’s incredible that there is enough open space to support that many hunts to preserve this tradition,” Warrenton Hunt Master E. Sue Bopp said. See FOXHUNT, page 4

Warrenton officials clear Amazon data center for construction By Peter Cary

Piedmont Journalism Foundation

Town officials Thursday cleared the way for the construction of an Amazon data center in Warrenton, reaching a milestone in the long and tumultuous saga that splintered the town’s council and its residents. Warrenton’s planning and zoning staff signed off on the latest site plans for the data center, removing the last major administrative hurdle for the 220,000-square-foot project on Blackwell Road. Now that the site plan has been approved, Amazon will move on to obtaining routine permits for site work and building construction. Town Manager Frank Cassidy said that Amazon, in its fourth and final submission, had finally answered all questions posed by town staff during earlier reviews. See DATA CENTER, page 2

BLAKE CORUM’S BIG DAY COURTESY PHOTO

A rendering of the 220,000-square-foot data center Amazon plans to build behind Country Chevrolet near U.S. 29 and Blackwell Road in Warrenton.

University of Michigan running back Blake Corum, a Warrenton native, will be home this week for a party at a local venue to celebrate his selection in the NFL Draft. See Pages 13-17

The story behind Middleburg Books, page 8

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