Annual Council River Float Set

Local government officials will get an opportunity to experience the Rappahannock River up close next Thursday during an annual canoe float next Thursday. 

The event is designed to allow local government officials to meditate on the importance of the Rappahannock River to the regional ecology and economy.

"We have such a great treasure here that runs through us," said Brenda Martin, executive assistant of the City Manager's Office and deputy clerk of council. "You take it for granted until you go out into it." 

The float is organized by the city of Fredericksburg, and several members of the City Council and executive staff will be in attendance. Invitations were also sent out to representatives from Stafford, Spotsylvania, King George and Faquier and Culpeper counties as well as members of the media. Also planning to attend are representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Unable to attend are Mayor Thomas Tomzak and Ward 1 Councilor Brad Ellis. Vice Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw and Ward 4 Councilor Bea Paolucci will be participating in the event for the first time, says Martin. 

Before setting off, the group will gather at the Virginia Outdoors Center on Fall Hill Ave. at 8 a.m. on Thursday, June 9 for a river safety demonstration The 7.8 mile trip starts from the Rappahannock Campground in Culpeper and Faquier counties and ends at Scott's Dam in Spotsylvania. About halfway through the trip, the group will make landfall for lunch and hiking on the Stafford County side of Richard's Ferry, getting an opportunity to explore the historic ruins of the ferry keeper's dwelling.