Thanking Fields for service
For the past dozen years — eight on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors and the last four on the Planning Commission — Pete Fields has done what he could to try to preserve Stafford's quality of life, and was at least partially (if temporarily) successful. This included longtime service as chairman of Virginia's Coalition of High Growth Communities, the consortium of local governments which sought permission from the state to determine the destinies of their respective communities.
Pete is now in the process of moving to Northern Virginia — initially to Falls Church, eventually to the Del Rey section of Alexandria. A concert guitarist and past president of Virginians for the Arts, he is seeking an environment where the direction, culture and leadership are more in tune with his values.
Some may see this as a capitulation to forces that seek to promote and facilitate suburban growth in the county, as in some sense it is: Such policy changes have gained traction in the past two years and appear to be accelerating. However, the housing market is weak (even here) and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Stafford may indeed become a place in which few will want to live, but this road to ruin cannot be traveled quickly. Pete's departure is not the result of panic, but rather the reaffirmation of music as the concentrated focus of his life.
We should all take time during this holiday season to thank Pete for his many services in our behalf.
David Beiler
Falmouth
* The writer is a former member of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors.
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