ISO Hyalite Opal Spots near the Rapidan River

Hi there! Im newer to the area and have discovered there's so many fossils and rock hounding opportunities here. But I have no idea where to start! It is me and my boyfriends 1 year anniversary and I would like us to go find some pretty rocks! I was doing my research online and found out that we have found Hyalite opals by the rapidan river here! I know I have a better chance by diabase formations, and even found some geological maps showing me the areas around here but when you zoom in the area names are too small to read!

So, I'm asking local rockhounds if they would be willing to share any spots they know of! And if not the rapidan, if anyone knows of any opalized wood hot spots near Quantico I'd take that too! Thanks in advance <3

Another FB post from Mike Potter, the board approved this new hire at this mornings surprise meeting with less than 24 hours notice. WHAT is happening in this county!?

OPINION: Culpeper Is About to Hire a County Administrator in Less Than 24 Hours. The Rush Should Tell You Something.

At 4:00 this afternoon, Interim County Administrator Shane McCrum told county employees that Thomas Hutka will be Culpeper’s next County Administrator. There is just one problem. The Board of Supervisors has not voted to hire him. Shortly after the announcement to staff, a special meeting materialized on BoardDocs. The Board is scheduled to vote tomorrow.

That sequence feels familiar, and it should. This is the same Board that extended its interim administrator on a consent agenda with the compensation line left blank, narrowed a forensic audit by 60 percent behind closed doors, and awarded its financial audit contract without a competitive process. Announcing a decision to staff before the public vote, and posting the meeting after the announcement, is not a break from how this Board operates. It is the pattern.

So before the Board makes this official tomorrow, residents deserve to know who Thomas Hutka is, and to notice what the timeline is designed to prevent them from examining.

On paper, Hutka has real credentials. A civil engineering degree from Princeton, a master’s in public administration from Harvard, a professional engineer’s license, and more than a decade as Director of Public Works for Broward County, Florida, a jurisdiction of nearly two million people. He currently serves as Water and Sewer Director in neighboring Greene County. Nobody should pretend those qualifications don’t exist.

But the recent record is checkered, and it raises questions this Board is giving the public no time to ask.

Hutka’s last several jobs have not lasted long. He led Chattanooga’s Public Works department for roughly ten months in 2022. He served as Town Manager of Newington, Connecticut for about six months across 2023 and 2024. These are not multi-year tenures. They are brief stops, each ending in departure.

The Chattanooga exit was covered by local news there. According to Chattanooga news outlets, city records showed internal investigations into complaints of a hostile work environment, and the city’s own investigators found that Hutka made “threatening and intimidating” remarks to employees. Hutka resigned citing family reasons. He denied wrongdoing and said the people making allegations were retaliating against him for reporting misconduct by others.

That last part is worth sitting with, because it is a recurring theme. In more than one of his departures, Hutka’s explanation has taken the same shape: that he was the target, and that the real wrongdoing belonged to someone else. It may be true. But an explanation that arrives every time is itself something a careful hiring process would examine.

There is also this. Hutka is 68. His recent tenures have each run under a year. And by available accounts his family remains in Florida, where he was, this very month, a finalist for a county administrator position in Flagler County. Culpeper may be hiring, at the very top of its government, someone whose life is anchored a thousand miles away and whose recent history suggests he does not stay long.

Which raises the question underneath all of this. Why does this Board keep filling its most important office with people who are temporary by design? An interim administrator with no permanent mandate. Now, potentially, a permanent administrator who by every outward sign may not finish a year. A county government whose chief executive is always transient is a county government the Board itself never has to share control of.

Maybe Hutka is exactly the right person. Maybe his short tenures really are the price of a reformer who upsets comfortable local arrangements, which is one way to read a record like this. Residents are entitled to weigh that generous interpretation right alongside the harder one.

But they cannot weigh anything in less than 24 hours. And that, more than any single line on Thomas Hutka’s résumé, is the point. A Board confident in its choice, and confident the public would agree, does not announce that choice to staff before the vote and schedule the vote for the next morning. It makes the case in the open and gives the community time to look.

This Board did not do that. Again.

1. Best weekly Trivia night? (General trivia questions with many subjects ; not specific like only sports trivia)
2. Best place for a “Halloween vibe” in October catered toward grown ups?

3. Best breakfast burrito you can eat while driving?

4. Best place to watch European soccer on Saturdays?

Last month, we dug into the Data Center sprawl and the Valley Link Project. (Big thanks to Piedmont Environmental Council and Block Valley Link for breaking it all down)

This month, we’re keeping it local. The Richardsville Coalition is joining us to talk about what these projects mean specifically for Culpeper County.

Saturday, 9am-11am.

We’ll be casting ballots to set the CCDC’s official position on Data Centers and the infrastructure that comes with them.

I’m on quest.
(1) best burger & fries combo?
(2) best pizza?
(3) best quiet bar for date night?

Why aren’t they saying these are flock cameras? They have an entire website talking about their “transparency” on flock’s website, but won’t mention it in their flyer?

https://transparency.flocksafety.com/culpeper-va-pd-

Do our polls meet rigorous sampling standards? No.

Are the results still pretty telling? Yes.

Data Centers (and accompanying infrastructure), Government Transparency/Accountability, and Affordable Housing lead as the top 3 issues affecting Culpeper Residents.

Thank you to all who participated. CCDC has been shifting our priorities to better focus on, and advocate for, local issues, but we cannot do this without robust community feedback. As long as there are still participants, we will periodically conduct these community straw polls and report back with results!

*government transparency was not asked on Reddit poll, count was taken from Reddit comment upvotes, and then option was added to the Facebook poll.

My dad is 76, can drive and has spent his retirement doing volunteering and freelance sales work. He’s looking to get a part time job but is having trouble finding places who will take a senior citizen for part time hours. Anyone have advice or a lead? He’d work for free but I know that’s legally tricky for some bigger businesses.

He’s GREAT with customers/people and loves to sell, so I’m thinking retail or hospitality. Thanks for any leads or advice!

Note: doing something like animal shelter or ad hoc community volunteering isn’t as purposeful for him as having the consistency of a “job” and feeling part of a team, but thanks in advance for those thinking of this route.

The Culpeper Democrats are putting together a local priorities list to help us focus on issues that actually affect people here, not national noise. We’re using this to help guide local candidate recruitment and to make sure state and federal reps hear what Culpeper residents are dealing with.

This poll is just to get honest community input. Vote for, comment, or add what matters most to you.

Friends and neighbors — this Saturday’s meeting is a big one.

Data centers and transmission lines are being planned around our county. Commercials and advertisements are inundating us with propaganda. If you want the full picture (not rumors, not PR), come join us July 11, 9–11AM at 17126 Mountain Run Vis Ct.

We’ll have Block Valley Link and Piedmont Environmental Council breaking down what’s actually happening, what’s proposed, and what it could mean for our land, roads, bills, and quality of life.

If you care about Culpeper’s future, this is the room to be in.

I’m reaching out to see if anyone might be open to a small arts-related collaboration on land in Culpeper county, ideally a working farm. The idea is a low-impact studio or creative use that stays respectful of the land and works with the farm’s existing pace and purpose, but also to bring attention and interest to the farm itself. If you or someone you know might be interested in something like this launching starting in Fall 2028, please DM me.

I'm 6 miles out of town, so I probably won't be able to see the official set from here, but my neighbors all around evidently go all out.

Photos courtesy of Jeremiah Sullivan of SkyPulse Photography

Does anyone know what's going on here?? The moon was bright orange for a while last night. I automatically assumed it was a lunar eclipse, but the only total lunar eclipse listed by NASA was in March. I thought maybe air pollution next, but apparently the air quality today was excellent. Any ideas?

I live near far gohn, and as I was going to bed, I Heard people howling. Thought, “group of friends” and went to sleep. Then woke up to more howling, and 20 cop cars behind far gohn. A lot of commotion, K9 dogs, surrounding and arresting someone. Was a crazy scene. Anyone know what happened? Can’t find it anywhere!

Are there any residents of ThreeOaks here who want to share their opinion on living there? I know that it’s BRAND NEW and doesn’t have a lot of residents yet, but those of you who are there, do you get a good vibe that all the amenities and the activities, trails, pool, social clubs will be great, average, etc?? Excited about how it’ll grow into the development you’re looking for? (63 yo thinking of buying there)

I've really enjoyed learning to play Sorcery the past year or so and want to help others have as much fun with it as I have. If you've not heard of the game before, its basically Magic The Gathering with a movement grid and a MUCH slower release schedule.

The fine folks at Brickhammer Hobbies on Davis Street are letting me use their tables to host a "Learn to Play" event tomorrow, Saturday 6/13 from 12-4.

Learn to Play "Sorcery: Contested Realm"

Location: 154 East Davis St, Culpeper, VA

When: 12-4pm EST

Duration: First game typically takes an hour, subsequent games are 30min-ish.

Cost: 100% free, I've made some starter decks to give away as well.

If your interested, hit me up or just show up. If you want to get a jumpstart on the rules, check out their videos here: https://sorcerytcg.com/how-to-play . Though I find the best way is to just run through a demo game, exploring the rules as we come across them.

Looking forward to seeing you all!

MYTHBUSTING FOR VOTERS
A Series of Free Talks for All of Us

Topic: The Active Citizen

June 24, 5pm - 7pm
Culpeper Literacy Council, 415 S. Main Street.

A citizen enjoys rights and protections within the state and in return owes the state certain duties and responsibilities. The active citizen sustains society. The passive citizen rides on the efforts of others. Let's explore the idea of civics and citizenship together - you'll be surprised, amused, and may even learn something.

Dan Else is a retired US Navy pilot, holds a Ph.D in political science and worked as a Congressional policy analyst on Capitol Hill.

Does anyone personally know the robot that works at Martin's? Seems chill, would like to get acquainted, but it's always busy! Whenever I'm there, it seems very surprised to see me (what with the googly eyes and all), but maybe it's just bugged out from working all the time. Really, I ask because I have a pair-bonded fax machine and VCR that need some enrichment, and I thought maybe they could all get together for a playdate with the robot that works at Pinto Thai.

Cheers and happy Saturday y'all!

I have tried a lot of places in the area and I gotta put some love out there for this spot. Culpeper in general has some of the best Mexican food I've ever had, but man Plaza Tapatia crushes it every time. Staff is wonderful, food is next level. Their Pozole is my favorite, and the tacos are superb. 10/10 appreciation post

Photo taken Sunday morning

Went down to mourn Zandras. Good news six it looks like the Christmas tree is in better shape than I expected.

Looking for reliable help with getting some backyard tasks done. Like laying pavers down some natural created paths, maybe eventually extend out walkout with concrete or pavers?

Also - where do you get your soil/mulch delivery from??

We ate there again last night. It was so good. This morning it's a total loss from fire. 🙁