A newly elected Stafford County supervisor has stated her support for the reinstatement of former Aquia Harbour Police Chief Nathan Thompson.

Monica Gary, who will represent the Aquia District on January 1, announced her position on Thompson’s dismissal from his post this past November.

“Nate was recently removed from his position by the HOA without cause, and I have strong reason to believe his removal was politically motivated. Not only was his removal inappropriate, but Nate is a man of solid character whom we ought to admire and go to bat for (as many of his beloved neighbors have done),” said Gary in her post.

Gary followed her statement with a call for a special meeting with the Aquia Harbour Homeowners Association to reinstate Thompson to his post.

Thompson served as chief of police since 2007 for the Aquia Harbour neighborhood, a 2,200-home gated community in North Stafford located off of U.S. Route 1.

The HOA Board of Directors fired Thompson, citing a “misuse of authority,” but the board offered no details to their rationale. The move left residents confused and caused them to speculate on his dismissal.

“We can’t disclose any details because it’s a personnel and confidential matter,” Jack Cavalier, president of the Aquia Harbour Property Owners Association, stated in an interview with the Free-Lance Star. “Social media has been jumping now, and everybody’s jumped to conclusions without knowing any of the facts.”

Caviler represented the Aquia District on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors until December 2019.

The decision to fire the police chief has been met with rallies and petition signings using the #reinstatenate on Facebook. Residents are calling for the reinstatement of Thompson as police chief and the recall of Cavalier and other members of the HOA board. Residents are also calling to hold a vote of no confidence for interim General Manager Ken Laenger, who officially terminated Thompson.

In the meantime, Aquia Harbour has placed police Lt. Jim McCarty as interim police chief. Recognized by the General Assembly, the neighborhood’s police department is one of a handful of its kind in the state that has full policing authority and trains its officers at a regional law enforcement academy.

This past November, Gary won the Aquia Supervisor’s seat in the general election. She ran as an Independent and defeated former county supervisor Paul Milde. Milde. She’ll replace Cindy Lamb, who lost to Milde during a June 2021 Republican Primary Election.

Fatty's Taphouse will open in the former home of Tim's Rivershore Restaurant and Crabhouse, just outside Dumfries.

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By Volunteer Prince William

Greetings, Prince William – Help protect abused and neglected children in your community by becoming a volunteer advocate!  Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) make a difference in abused and neglected children’s lives.

They are seeking volunteers age 21+ who care about children growing up in a safe, permanent, and loving home.  The next virtual Information Session will be on Wednesday, December 15, 12pm-1pm. Learn how you can help protect abused and neglected children in your community by becoming a volunteer advocate. Please email [email protected] or call 703.330.8145 to receive the link to the meeting.

Animal lovers!  The staff at Advocates for Abused and Abandoned Pets (A3P) needs volunteers in a variety of positions to help make life better for the furbabies.  Volunteers under 16 can help but must volunteer with a parent.  Just a few hours a day, a week, or a month can make a difference in the lives of these 4-legged friends!  Please visit www.a3padvocates.org/volunteer or email [email protected] to learn how you can get involved.

You can help fight hunger! The Community Feeding Taskforce Food Helpline urgently needs Spanish speaking volunteers who can assist with answering calls to the Helpline on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.  Volunteers will answer calls from those in need of food, redirect callers to a food pantry closest to where they live and arrange home deliveries for shut-ins.  Training is provided; however, volunteers will work from home and must have their own computer and Internet access.  It’s a flexible schedule and call volume is low enough someone can do this while working from home.  Please visit https://bit.ly/314ZgDn for more information and click on the Respond button to sign up.

Teens, here’s a chance to get in some service hours and join in some holiday fun!  Historic Manassas, Inc. is hosting Jolly Ol’ Confections Dessert Tasting on December 19, and volunteers age 16+ are needed to help as Dessert Attendants from 12:45pm to 4pm.  Wear your festive holiday apparel and help spread holiday cheer!  Please sign up at https://bit.ly/3x4p3qH.  If you have questions, please email Beverly at [email protected].
Give the gift of a holiday meal!  House of Mercy is asking for $25 donations which will provide a holiday meal for a family of 4 in Northern Virginia.  Your support can help make for a Happy Holiday Season for vulnerable residents in our community!  Please visit www.houseofmercyva.org for more information.

Help fight hunger virtually!  Manassas Hunger and Homeless Outreach conducts a Virtual Food Pantry which provides funds to local food pantries at First Baptist Church in Manassas, Manassas Mobile Park Food Pantry and George Mason MAP Clinic.  Funds raised also lets the agency provide grocery cards to those experiencing hunger and homelessness in Manassas.  You can participate by visiting https://bit.ly/3ycEiyu.  Questions?  Please email [email protected] to learn more.

Medical Reserve Corps  Support your local health department and your community during a public health emergency!  Volunteers are needed to support several missions, including public health education and outreach, disease investigation, vaccine clinics, and more!  Medical experience is not required; they have roles for everyone!  Bilingual volunteers are especially needed.  Volunteers must be 18 years of age, complete minimum training, and pass a state background check to serve.  Please fill out an application at vamrc.org.  Questions?  Please email Amy at [email protected] for more information.

Dog lovers, we’ve got a great opportunity for you!  PWC Dogs is looking for volunteers age 18+ to help with the ongoing management and support of the K9 Gunner Memorial Park in Woodbridge.  Volunteers meet monthly to discuss dog park business, as well as support and staff in-person and virtual fundraising/friend-raising events.  Dog ownership experience helpful but not required.  You’ll feel great as you help promote this dog-friendly park in our community!  Please visit https://bit.ly/3pm4vH2 for more details.

Help support veterans!  RSVP’s VETS Program which provides transportation for veterans and their spouses to medical appointments is back, and volunteer drivers age “55 or better” are needed!  Volunteers must be at least 55 years old and successfully complete both a criminal and driving record check.  It’s a wonderful way to give back and say “thank you” to our veterans for all they’ve done!  Please email [email protected] or call 571.292.5307 for more information.

It’s almost here!  Wreaths Across America will be held December 18 beginning at 10am at Quantico National Cemetery in Triangle.  This is a wonderful, meaningful event for families and a good way to Remember, Honor and Teach children about the sacrifices made by our veterans.  Please register on Evenbrite at https://bit.ly/30hGBmT – be sure to read the important information on that page.  Please email [email protected] to learn more.

If you are looking for other opportunities, please don’t forget to call our wonderful team at Volunteer Prince William at 703.369.5292.  You can also visit our website at www.volunteerprincewilliam.org.  Thanks so much for all you do in our community.

Manassas man defrauds Amazon: A Manassas man pleaded guilty today to defrauding the online retailer, Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon), of over $300,000 by operating a mail fraud scheme to buy high-end products, claim a refund, then return a similar item of significantly lesser value. [U.S. Attorney’s Office]

Collective bargaining: Prince William County will decide this week if it will allow employees in its fire and rescue, and police departments to form collective bargaining units. [Insidenova.com]

Gas prices drop 2.4 cents: After steady increases throughout the fall, gas prices continued to drop Monday, the fifth straight week of decreasing prices at the pump, according to fuel tracker gasbuddy.com. [Fredericksburg.com]

Christmas tree recycling: After all the holiday festivities are over, give your Christmas tree, wreath, and other cut greenery another life as compost and mulch. [Prince William County Government]

Expect delays near Quantico: Travelers can expect overnight delays with intermittent traffic stops on I-95 southbound near exit 148 (Quantico) as construction continues to extend the express lanes by 10 miles in Stafford County. [Virignia Department of Transportation]

Be safe with new toys: Prince William County Fire and Rescue System Chief Tim Keen in conjunction with CPSC urges individuals to carefully select toys prior to purchase to reduce toy-related injuries and deaths. [Prince William County Government]

Steps to sustainability: The Prince William Board of County Supervisors recently created a sustainability commission that will have the authority to make recommendations to the board for a Community Energy/Sustainability Master Plan. [Prince William County Government]

The preceding post is a round of stories posted to local and state news websites and press releases emailed to us. Please email your news for inclusion in this post.

More shots rang out in Prince William County.

At 8:35 p.m. Friday, December 10, officers went to the 7800 block of Meadow Court near Manassas to investigate a shooting. Residents told police they heard multiple gunshots. An investigation revealed two masked men fired multiple rounds in front of the home before fleeing in a white sedan a third person. Multiple bullets struck the house. Police report no injuries.

Police found shell casings in front of the home.

In an unrelated incident early Sunday, December 12, four people were shot at The Palace Bar and Grill in Marumsco Plaza. The victims include three male security guards a female bystander.

All suffered injuries that appeared to be non-life-threatening, said police. Police are searching for the shooter.

Attempted sexual assault

On December 11 at 9:40 a.m., officers went to the 4300 block of Glendale Road in Dale City to investigate a report of an unconscious man. A witness told police saw a man appear to sexually assault another individual, later identified as a 59-year-old man, while the two were in a wooded area behind a residence.

The suspect then appeared to rifle through the victim’s pockets before leaving the area on foot. Rescue crews went to the scene, determined the victim was unconscious and took him to an area hospital. Police don’t know if the man took anything belonging to the victim.

Police describe the suspect as a light-skinned male, wearing a black/white baseball-style cap, a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt with an image on the front, light-colored pants, and white sneakers.

Aggravated malicious wounding, home burglary

On December 11 at 12:53 p.m., officers went to a home in the 12500 block of Armada Place in Lake Ridge to investigate a burglary. In this case, they found the suspect and another woman went to the home, pushed their way past the homeowner, and went inside.

Once in the home, the two suspects entered the room of the victim, a 39-year-old man, and struck him multiple times. The victim told police that he and the accused were previously involved in an argument over the phone where the accused threatened the victim.

Rescue crews took the victim to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Following the investigation, officers obtained arrest warrants for the accused, identified as Tyson Amorie Watson, 35, of 1945 Mariner Lane in Woodbridge, who police arrested the next day. Officers also obtained arrest warrants for the suspect’s friend, Brandi Carissa Gooden. They’ve been unable to find her.

Gooden is 36 years old and lives in the 1900 block of Mariner Lane in Woodbridge, police said. She’s black, 5 feet 9 inches tall, 125 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes. She faces a burglary charge.

Trailer stolen from church

The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a theft of a trailer from the Hartwood Presbyterian Church, at 50 Hartwood Church Road. A 2017, measuring 10 wide feet by 16 feet long, white Nexhaul Trailer, owned by a local Cub Scout pack, was stolen from the parking lot on December 7 at 8:26 a.m.

Security footage showed a red dump truck pulling the trailer away from the area. (See the slideshow at the top of this post).

Anyone with information on this theft is asked to contact Deputy D.T. Aubrecht at (540) 658-4400 or by email at [email protected]. Tips can also be submitted by texting STAFFORD + your tip to 274-637.

As county leaders voted on a newly-proposed magisterial district map, Republicans say Democrats made the map-making process a political one designed to help a colleague.

Coles District Supervisor Yesli Vega will pick up about 2,500 new constituents who live south of Manassas, around the semi-rural Yates Ford Road area. The rural subdivision had been in the Occoquan District, represented by Kenny Boddye.

In September, Supervisors hired ARCBridge Consultants to draw new maps, required every 10 years meant to reflect population changes. Supervisors agreed to collaborate on boundary line changes.

“Supervisor Boddye and I never spoke,” said Vega, a Republican who collaborated with other elected colleagues on changes, including Neabsco District Supervisor Victor Angry, a Democrat. “It seems like there is a different set of standards depending upon who the supervisor is.”

Before voters elected Boddye in 2019, the candidate vowed not to vote to develop the county’s rural area. Earlier this year, Boddye, a Democrat, voted in favor of rezoning 340 acres of land off Route 234, clearing the way for 99 new homes in the semi-rural area.

Since taking control of Prince William Board of County Supervisors in January 2020, Democrats have voted to approve new development projects along the boundary of the rural area, over the objection from the Board’s three conservative members.

Moving the voters who live in a rural area from the Occoquan District into the Coles District represented by Vega, a Republican who has consistently voted against rural-area development, benefits Boddye’s political career, said Brenstville District Supervisor Jeanine Lawson.

“This Board over and over again has shown that politics and power trumps principle,” she said.

In a party-line vote on Tuesday, December 7, Democrats voted 5-3 to approve a proposed magisterial district map to present to residents during its meeting Tuesday, December 21. At that time, residents may comment on the new boundary lines, which will be in place until the 2030 Census.

Democrats denied the allegations, saying they deferred to the lines drawn by consultant ARCBridge. On November 23, Vega said she reviewed the map.

On November 30, Chair-At large Ann Wheeler emailed new maps to her fellow Board members. The emails, on which the consultants were not copied, reflected the land swap between the Coles and Occoquan districts.

“That’s when it really started to feel wrong,” said Lawson.

“I was trying to [the emails] out before the weekend,” Wheeler replied. “If you had an issue with them, why don’t you pick up the phone and have this conversation?”

Vega said she tried to speak with Boddye about the new map. “I wish we had a chance…to have a discussion,” Boddye replied.

According to the proposed map, Boddye will pick up about 6,000 new constituents between the Kerrydale area of Dale City and the county’s McCoart Government Center on Prince William Parkway. Meanwhile, Neabsco District Supervisor Victor Angry picks up about the same number of new constituents as the district expands west into what had been the Coles District, picking up new residents who live between the Lindendale and Orangewood areas off Dale Boulevard.

“These changes are all driven by small-area plans introduced by [Supervisors who served on the 2016-2019 Board],” said Boddye.

There are few boundary line changes to most of the county’s other magisterial districts — Brentsville, Gainesville, Potomac, and Woodbridge.

Priti Mathur, principal at ARCBridge Consulting, presented the proposed maps to the Board of County Supervisors. She has over 25 years of GIS consulting, application development, and database experience. Mathur and county government staff received comments from multiple constituents asking officials not to move them from a magisterial district.

County staffers did not ask for the street addresses of those who commented, and used natural boundaries like rivers and streams to determine where to draw district lines, said Nikki Brown, a Prince William County Government spokeswoman who worked with Mathur.

Last month, county supervisors voted against creating an eighth magisterial district for the county, the second-largest jurisdiction in Virginia. Since 2000, more than 80,000 people have moved to Prince William.

Each new magisterial district will contain about 69,000 constituents with the increased population considered. If supervisors voted to create a new district, each would have had about 60,000 constituents.

While the county hammers out its new magisterial district map, new congressional district and General Assembly maps released last week by the Virginia State Supreme Court are now open for public review.

Under the plan, Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, spanning the western suburbs of Richmond north to Culpeper, represented by Democrat Abagail Spanberger, relocates to include Prince William and Stafford counties, a portion of northern Spotsylvania County, and the cities of Manassas, Fredericksburg, and Manassas Park.

The center is a part of George Mason University. According to the "Murals at Mason" Project Manager Yassmin Salem, planners chose the design to reflect the research activities at the science center. The mural shows animals native to the area and includes a Swallowtail Butterfly, a green Tree Frog, a Wood Duck, and a North American River Otter.

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Dumfries Christmas Parade: Here are some photos from Mayor Derrick Wood, who took part in the 47th Annual Dumfries Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 11. [Mayor Derrick Wood Facebook]

Nokesville Christmas Parade: In western Prince William County, the village of Nokesville held its annual Christmas parade. [Mike Beaty/Flickr]

Road work: Here’s a look at road work planned in our region this week. [Virginia Department of Transportation]

DMV expanding in-person service: In western Prince William County, the village of Nokesville held its annual Christmas parade. [Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles]

The preceding post is a round of stories posted to local and state news websites and press releases emailed to us. Please email your news for inclusion in this post.

Shots rang out at early this morning in Woodbridge, injuring four poeple.

When officers arrived at The Palace Bar and Grill in Marumsco Plaza at 2:15 a.m., they found a female bystander and three security guards suffering after they had been struck or grazed by gunfire.

The security guards are aged 26, 33, and 45, and the woman is 28-years-old, police said. Gunfire injured all of them following an argument between the shooter and someone else inside the restaurant. The shooter went to his car parked outside, grabbed a gun, walked back, and started shooting, police said.

Emergency crews took victims to a hospital. Each suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

After the shooting, the shooter got into a dark-colored sedan. Police recovered multiple shell casings from the parking lot.

Police described the suspect as a Hispanic male, between 5-feet 3-inches and 5-feet 8-inches tall, with a thin build, tan complexion, clean-shaven face, a tattoo below his right eye, and short black hair. Witnesses said he wore a blue jacket or shirt, dark-colored jeans, and white shoes. Police encouraged anyone with information about the suspect to call its tip line at 703-792-7000.

When shots rang out, officers already in the area heard the gunshots and could quickly go to the crime scene, a police spokesman said. In August, a 21-year-old bystander was shot in the leg outside The Palace.

Tysons Corner-based retail leasing firm KLNB advertises Marumsco Plaza as a vibrant shopping destination. Over the past five years, the state and Prince William County poured hundreds of millions of dollars into widening Route 1, a significant thoroughfare carrying more than 40,000 cars a day past the shopping center.

The four injured in today’s shooting are the latest victims in a spree of shootings in the Woodbridge area. A week ago, a man was shot in a drive-by while sitting in his car parked at Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center, a busy shopping center featuring an Apple Store, Alamo Drafthouse movie theater, and anchored by Wegman’s grocery.

About a mile from Stonebridge, two men were shot on Crescent and Bakersfield streets on December 4 and 6, respectively. Also, nearby on December 4, gunfire rattled someone sitting inside a home on Castle Hill Drive. Police said no one suffered injuries and that officers found several shell casings on the ground.

On December 3, someone shot a 21-year-old in the Powells Creek neighborhood in Woodbridge, just off Route 1, about four miles from Stonebridge. Emergency crews took the victim to a hospital while police began searching for the suspects who fled the scene.

The shootings in each case do not appear random, police said.