Sept. 29, 2025 Editor, The News-Gazette: I was excited to read about the proposed RCHS recreation center in last week’s paper.
As anyone who has ever had children who attended RCHS has witnessed, the school has been short on gym space since the day it opened more than three decades ago. It sounds like this proposed facility would not only rectify that shortcoming, but also offer the opportunity for all county residents to directly benefit from the facility by sharing space with the Rockbridge Area Recreation Organization.
I would encourage leaders of the county and the YMCA to explore whether the YMCA might also partner in this enterprise, potentially leading to more income and further expanding operational efficiencies.
I’m sure there will be those that question the cost, or urge a scaled back project. Let’s just not end up with another facility like the high school that was cost cut to the point that it didn’t meet our needs and created an environment not conducive to health and learning (no windows).
I believe we will look back on the construction of this facility as a smart investment in the health and wellbeing of not only our children, but everyone in the county.
We could easily pay for this by not building an airport, which by contrast would directly benefit only a handful of county residents. ERIC SHEFFIELD Rockbridge County
