Battlefield threat: Manassas National Battlefield Park’s superintendent has issued two letters opposing a plan to allow data centers on 2,133 acres of land adjacent to the park, calling it “the single greatest threat to Manassas National Battlefield Park in nearly three decades.” [Prince William Times]
Teacher pay raises: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam plans to propose a 10% teacher raise and record funding for pre-K-12 public education in his budget proposal for next year, according to a Monday announcement. [The Center Square]
Apps down: Amazon Web Services suffered a major outage Tuesday, the company said, limiting service at many key and popular sites. [The Associated Press]
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.
By Volunteer Prince William
Greetings, Prince William – You can help fight hunger! The Community Feeding Taskforce Food Helpline urgently needs Spanish-speaking volunteers who can answer 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.
Ho Ho Ho! Christmas is getting near, and the fun staff at ACTS is accepting new toy donations for Toys for Tots until December 8. Your donation will help a local child have a Happy Christmas! Please email [email protected] to learn more.
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.
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 athttps://bit.ly/3x4p3qH. If you have questions, please email Beverly at [email protected].
A portion of Harrell Road is open again after road crews repaired the street’s surface.
One of the steel grates that makes up a drain leading to a ditch broke this morning at about 8 o’clock. It took three hours to repair the road on the surface and reopen the street to traffic, said Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Darragh Frye.
Used by about 3,000 vehicles each day, the Stafford County street links Forbes Street and Deacon Road near Falmouth. “I can say this hasn’t happened during the past five years I’ve been here,” added Frye.
The Claiborne Run passes through a culvert underneath the street. The steel grate is a component of the trench’s drain.
In recent weeks, a low bridge over Harrell Road at the culvert site, which carries both freight and passenger trains over Harrell Road, has made headlines after multiple trucks struck the bridge, which has a 9-foot, 2-inch clearance.
Transportation officials consider installing larger signs to warn drivers about the low clearance. However, most drivers that collide with the bridge blame GPS.
“Many times they say ‘Google sent me this way,” said Frye.
Officials continue to work with GPS providers to update their maps and implement a feature that would re-route drivers around the low bridge. In the meantime, drivers may use the Virginia Truck Routing Map, which travelers can use to help navigate any truck restrictions.
“This tool may assist a driver that will be renting or driving a vehicle with different dimensions from their typical vehicle,” added Frye.
The map shows clearly marks the height restriction for Harrell Road.
Today, the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office posted this photo of a portion of Harrell Road closed to traffic after a drain grate broke.
Emergency crews said a man made a mistake when he drove his late-model Toyota Camry into a building in Woodbridge today.
Rescue crews went to Black Wolf Auto Specialties, at 1324 Profit Court, off Farm Creek Drive at 11 a.m. The driver collided with the building and then got out of his vehicle unharmed, emergency crews said.
The car sustained front-end damage. A crack appeared in the building’s front cinderblock wall.
County officials dispatched a full complement of rescue vehicles, including a building collapse team. However, an incident commander sent the majority back to their respective stations once he determined they didn’t need them.
Black Wolf Automotive Specialties restores old vehicles. The business has served customers since 1996.
The Embrey Mill neighborhood is getting ready to hold its fifth annual Frosty Three-Miler and Reindeer Run.
The event will occur at the Jeff Rouse Swim and Sports Center at 1600 Mine Road in Stafford. Organizers expect 600 people for this family-friendly event on Saturday, December 11. Organizers encourage participants to dress up in holiday-themed costumes.
Forecasters say showers could spread across the region after 8 a.m. on race day. However, the run will be anything but frosty with a forecasted high temperature of 68 degrees.
Runners have two courses to choose. The Reindeer Run is a one-mile run for kids aged 12 and younger. Girls will race at 9 a.m., and boys at 9:15 a.m.
The second event, the Frosty Three-Miler, will see participants run a three-mile course along Mine Road. Organizers will award prizes for each age group, including cash prizes for the top three runners in the male and female categories.
Organizers will also hold a virtual event for athletes, allowing participants to run by December 12.
The event is the fifth and final race of the Stafford Race Series. These included races held earlier in the year, such as the Stafford Hospital Spring Fever 5K and the Halloween 5K. The race series is co-sponsored by the Stafford County Economic Development and Tourism Department and run by the Garrisonville-based Arsenal Events.
Arsenal Events coordinates races throughout Northern Virginia, like the Fredericksburg Blue and Gray Half Marathon and the Dahlgren Half Marathon.
Proceeds from the race will support Gwyneth’s Gift Foundation, a Virginia-based non-profit organization dedicated to teaching CPR and the use of Automated External Defibrillators. The foundation also supports research on congenital heart defects, pediatric neurology, and traumatic brain injuries.
Joel and Jennifer Griffith created the foundation after the death of their daughter Gwyneth in 2012, who died from cardiac arrest just after her 13th birthday. The event inspired Gwyneth’s Law, signed by then Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell in March 2013. The bill mandates training for Virginia teachers in CPR and automated external defibrillators.
Participants for the races can sign up online. The fees will cost $40 for the three-miler and $25 for the Reindeer Run.
A $1.2 million park will open next week in Lake Ridge.
Located on an old, underutilized commuter lot next to the Tacketts Mill shopping center at 13030 Harbor Drive, the new park will be a place for the community to congregate and exercise.
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Finishing touches: As the Chatham Bridge rehabilitation project continues, crews need daytime lane closures, and brief traffic stops on Route 3 Business this week to complete work underneath the bridge between Stafford County and the City of Fredericksburg. [Virginia Department of Transportation]
New Board blood: The Stafford Education Foundation announced four new board members to support the non-profit’s work to impact and advance education in Stafford County Public Schools through charitable activities that support sound educational programs and practices. [Stafford Education Association]
Data centers + more tax revenue: Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chair Ann Wheeler said in a recent interview she would “consider” voting to allow data centers to be built on 2,133 acres in the county’s rural crescent as a way to boost commercial tax revenue and reduce the residential tax rate. [Prince William Times]
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.
Photo: Stafford County Fire and Rescue Department
Strong winds brought down a tree into a house.
Stafford County fire and rescue crews went to a single-family home at 15 Franklin Street, just off Rock Hill Church Road in the western portion of the county, for a report of a tree into a house.
About 10 p.m. Monday, rescue crews reported a dead oak tree smashed into a master bedroom on the home’s second floor. Crews found no one injured and say all occupants escaped the house before rescue crews arrived.
After an examination, crews found no structural damage to the home. Firefighters used plastic to cover the hole left by the tree.
North of Stafford in Fairfax County, the National Weather Service posted a wind advisory through midnight. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph were possible, forecasters said.
Forecasters issued a gale warning on the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay until 3 a.m. Tuesday. Forecasters warned boaters that the high winds could capsize their watercraft and cause waves as high as four feet tall.
The driver honked his car horn at the Caddilac in front of him, and the driver responded by waving a gun in his face.
According to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office, the victim sat in his car in the parking lot at Walmart, 11 Village Parkway in southern Stafford, at 6:22 p.m. Sunday, December 5. When the Cadillac stalled, the victim honked the horn, and the Cadillac moved on.
When the victim parked his car, the driver of the Cadillac pulled alongside, brandished a gun, and threatened the man, according to a sheriff’s office spokesman.
Authorities describe the suspect as a male in his 20s. They’re reviewing surveillance video captured at the Walmart store for more clues.
There were no injuries in the case. Police encourage anyone with information on the crime to call 540-658-4400.
Meanwhile, earlier that morning in an unrelated incident, deputies stopped a man with two children in his car and charged him with DUI and child enlargement.
At 2:27 a.m., a sheriff’s deputy spotted a car traveling 74 mph in a 45 mph zone on Route 1 near the Prince William County line in North Stafford.
The deputy noticed an odor of alcoholic beverage from inside the vehicle and two children in a backseat.
The deputy conducted a field sobriety test and then arrested the driver. Authorities took the two children to be with their relatives.
Hugh Rose, 32, of Triangle, is charged with DUI, reckless driving, and two counts of child endangerment, a Stafford sheriff’s spokesman states. Guards at the Rappahannock Regional Jail held Rose without bond.
