Seven people applied for a vacant seat on the Manassas School Board relinquished last month by former Chairman Sanford Williams.
Williams said he wanted to spend more time with his family in California, leaving the government school division with the task of appointing someone to serve the remaining 14 months of William's term.
Only three of those who submitted their resume and showed their willingness to serve their community were called in for interviews -- Jill Spall, Sandra Day, and Marlysha Liddel. The interviews will occur in front of the public during special 7 p.m. School Board meeting on Thursday, October 21 at city hall.
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From Prince William police: On October 19 at 8:15PM, officers responded to the 1400 block of Cottonwood Ct. in Woodbridge (22191) to investigate a shots fired call. The investigation revealed that a verbal altercation escalated between two groups of men who were outside near the above area. During the encounter, members of both groups exchanged gunfire before fleeing the area in either a vehicle or on foot. No injuries were reported. A police K-9 and Fairfax County police helicopter searched the area for the suspects who were not located. While investigating, officers located two occupied homes and one unoccupied vehicle that sustained damage consistent with being struck by projectiles. No injuries were reported. The only suspect description provided is men wearing all black clothing. This shooting does not appear random. The investigation continues.
Pepper spray used during assault, police said
Martinez_Lozano
From Prince William police: On October 19 at 3:30PM, officersresponded to a residence located in the 2500 block of Blue Pool Dr. in Woodbridge (22191)to investigate a domestic. The investigation revealed that the victim, a 2-year-old girl, was in a room with her mother, identified as the accused, when two additional family members, a 43-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man, entered the room. A verbal altercation escalated when the accused sprayed pepper-spray which struck the victim and the family members with the substance. The accused separated from the other parties and contacted emergency services for treatment of the substance exposure. No injuries were reported. Following the investigation, the accused, identified as Vanessa Ashley MARTINEZ-LOZANO, was arrested.
Arrested on October 19:
Vanessa Ashley MARTINEZ-LOZANO, 19, of the 2500 block of Blue Pool Dr. in Woodbridge Charged with 3 counts of assault by a caustic substance
Court Date: Pending | Bond: $2,500 Secured Bond
Teen sexually assaulted in 2019, police said
Franco
From Prince William police: On October 18, detectives with the Special Victims Unit concluded an investigation into a sexual assault that was reported to have occurred at a residence located in the Woodbridge (22191) area of Prince William County between October 18, 2019 and October 16, 2021. The investigation revealed that the victim, who was between 15-17 years old during the time of the offenses, was sexually assaulted by a family member, identified as the accused, on more than one occasion during the above timeframe. The victim recently disclosed the incidents to a family member who contacted the police. Following the investigation, the accused, identified as
Julio Cesar FRANCO, was arrested.
Arrested on October 18:
Julio Cesar FRANCO, 39, of Woodbridge
Charged with 4 counts of indecent liberties by a custodian and 4 counts of incest Court Date: Pending | Bond: Held WITHOUT Bond
Glenn Youngkin talked about the state of education in Virginia on Tuesday and held a rally outside the Stafford County Government Center.
If elected on November 2, the Republicans promised to pass the largest education funding increase in the state's history, pouring more money into special education and giving teachers a pay raise.
"And then we're going to hold them accountable," said Youngkin, who added parents are both pulling their children out of public schools and moving to other states to "find public schools they can trust."
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Good morning. Here’s a look at what’s happening around our area today.Good morning. Here’s a look at what’s happening around our area today.
Kamala Harris changes venue: It looks like Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the old Dumfries-Triangle Rescue Squad building on Graham Park Road in Dumfries on Thursday afternoon to rally for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe. Yesterday, it appeared the Vice President was going to occur with McAuliffe in the nearby Potomac Shores neighborhood. Thursday’s event is slated to run from 4 to 7:30 p.m.
New School Board member: An open seat on the Manassas School Board created when Chairman Sanford Williams resigned last month is expected to be filled on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021. A total of seven people applied to fill the seat (their resumes are posted to the school’s board website). The appointee will complete the remainder of Willaims’ term, which ends December 31, 2022.
2.4 tons of trash: On Saturday, October 16, 2021, 389 volunteers helped the Friends of the Occoquan (FOTO) relieve the Occoquan River and Reservoir of 2.4 tons of trash (4,660 pounds in bags and 202 pounds of miscellaneous material) at the Bull Run, Fountainhead, and Occoquan Regional Park/Marinas in Fairfax, and the Lake Ridge Park/Marina and the Town of Occoquan.
Halloween haunts: The Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton is once again holding its annual haunt. This year, the event immerses guests through a themed walk-through experience. We also recommend Haunted Hallow in Warrenton. Now in its 13th season, it’s open Fridays and Saturdays from dusk until 10 p.m. (my family and I have been visiting this farm since at least 2012).
Send me your news:Â I’ve been told that I do a good job summarizing the “good stuff” in this post (hat tip to Desi, a paid member). I’ll continue to do my best. When you send me something, include a link to your press release already posted online or a link to where the press release is posted to your Facebook, Twitter, or other social media account. If you’re using MailChimp (like we do) or Constant Contact, include a “view as a webpage” link in your emails, as that makes it even easier to link directly to your press release or announcement. Our readers want the option to click links to read more, and you’re more likely to be included in this post when you include a link. Thank you.
Scott Hirons is a familiar face in the Stafford County Public Schools as a former school board member from 2014 to 2017.
The government contractor and father of three has become a write-in candidate to represent the Falmouth District on Stafford County School Board, currently held by Dr. Sarah Chase. Chase is the only candidate whose name will be printed on the ballot for Falmouth School Board.Â
Hirons is a graduate of George Mason University with a Bachelor’s of Science in public administration earned in 1996 and an MBA from the University of Maryland in 2000. Potomac Local News talked with Hirons about his decision to run again and the issues he sees as necessary to the Stafford County Public Schools.
“I was hoping somebody else would run”
Potomac Local News: According to your website, you had decided not to run because of family demands and the impact it would have on your family. But, so what changed your mind that you chose to offer yourself as a writing candidate?
Hirons: I stayed knowledgeable and involved with the school issues and the issues that the school board deals with. I was considering filing and running as a regular candidate. Still, my wife and I knew that with two boys going off to college. One that’s a junior in college and one that just started as a freshman in college.
We knew we’d be busy over the summer with our middle schooler and his baseball team. I was hoping somebody else would run, but then nobody else filed. Then at the beginning of the school year here in Stafford, the start of the school year was just a complete debacle.
The transportation, for example, granted there were issues throughout the country with student transportation. Still, here in Stafford, it seemed to be increased because the school board wasn’t prepared. They waited and didn’t ask the right questions.
Also, they haven’t prioritized budgets over the last two years to help minimize the effects of driver shortages and fuel costs. They also switched up the schedule where the elementary schools, students start first, middle schoolers, then high schoolers. Well, that just increased.
Transportation issues
Hirons: The issues of getting transportation settled when we’re coming off a pandemic year. In my view, you want to minimize the number of problems that you could have, and adding a schedule change just increases the issues and the potential risk. I don’t think the school board had asked the right questions, and that frustrated me.
My son had a few days where his bus never showed up, and other times he was over an hour behind arriving home. I realized I could still run as a write-in candidate, but I really wasn’t convinced. Then, I was at a pool party in August, and several neighbors came up to me and said, “Hey Scott, we need somebody. We need a good candidate to run for the school board. We know it’s late but we’re there. We’re going to support you, and we’re behind you.” Meg Bohmke, our current Falmouth District Supervisor [on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors, a separately elected body], had called me and encouraged me to run as well.
And so that’s why I decided to put all my chips on the table and make a run for it as a write-in candidate.
PLN: The board recently put together an ad-hoc committee on the school transportation commission in the wake of the transportation issue you mentioned. Do you think that’s a step in the right direction of trying to address some of these issues that have popped up regarding school transportation?
Hirons: It’s a step in the right direction, but it’s also a year behind. That’s something they really should have been doing a year ago with the plans of going back to school in some sort of normal fashion. If they want to pass it on to a commission or a parent committee, that’s fine. Still, you need to give that parent committee time to be able to analyze the data, ask the right question and make the right recommendations to the school board and this ad hoc committee.
Now, you know, it’s going to take them three months to do their work and provide any real value to the school board and make any sort of recommended improvements to transportation.
The current School Board focuses on social issues, not students
PLN: What are some of the concerns you’ve had about the current board’s priorities?
Hirons: As a whole, I think they have gotten much more political. They focus more on social issues than actually doing the work that the school board should be doing. Prioritizing teacher compensation, facilities, ensuring that we have enough classrooms, ensuring class sizes are small.
That’s happened, really, over the last four years and that’s concerning to me. Where my initial motivation to consider being a write-in came from — when I was on the school board, we adopted a strategic plan. We followed that plan and budgeted based on the priorities of the strategic plan.
Whereas they’ve now shelved the strategic plan, they don’t have an active one. They haven’t reviewed it in at least three years and have not prioritized it long-term in their budget. They’re budgeting essentially on short-term goals and short-term priorities from four years ago.
Need to focus on long-term planning
PLN: What are the issues you believe the board should be facing now, and how different are they from when you were previously on the board?
Hirons: I really, truly believe in long-term planning, especially now as we’re hopefully coming out of the pandemic or at least making strides to come out of the pandemic. I think we need to focus on the long long-term planning of where the school division should be.
We should be able to do better in terms of academic performance in Virginia, better teacher compensation, and overall the quality of schools. Right now, I think we’re on the exact opposite path of that. And we do that by what we did when I was on the school board of adopting a good strategic plan that lays out our vision and informs what the board of supervisors is funding.
“We could have gotten more kids back into a classroom”
PLN: In what areas has the current school board excelled?
Hirons: I will say I think the board and the school division did a pretty decent job reacting to the pandemic with all the forces that come with that, from national mandates to state mandates to even local county health department mandates.
You know, I wasn’t really excited about kids having the only option being a virtual school setting initially. In retrospect, they probably took the right direction there. I wish they would have moved a little bit faster. Get back to the hybrid model where we could have gotten more kids back into a classroom.
And now, as we’re coming out of it, I’m kind of concerned about how they’re approaching things like the mask mandate. I think they’re sort of hiding behind state law, which isn’t necessarily as clear as they claim it to be, to require all students to wear a mask every day throughout the school.
Relaxing quarantining rulesÂ
PLN: The school board recently decided to loosen the rules when it comes to quarantine. They went from a strict 14 days to parents deciding whether they wanted to do 14 days at the most or 10 days without a test or for seven days with a COVID test. What’s your opinion on that?
Hirons: The school board has finally acknowledged that parents exist. They actually listened to some parent concerns because the extended quarantine didn’t make a lot of sense. There was nothing specific within the state code or the health recommendation, no requirements on setting that timeframe.
So, that’s at least a good thing that they listened to parents, but it took a relatively new member of the board, Susan Randall, as I understand. She’s the one who really pushed it to make that happen.
Critical race theory debateÂ
PLN: Virginia has become ground zero for the critical race theory in schools debate. What’s your take?
Hirons: That’s not real or a really heavy focus of my campaign. It’s somewhat of an issue of the day. There are concerns, of course, but I’ll take the interim superintendent’s word that there was no critical race theory being taught within the school division’s curriculum.
I’m concerned about other programs, how some teachers may interpret their teaching, and whether or not there are any parts of what has become CRT within how they teach it.
I understand the board of supervisors’ concern and the action they took [calling the interim schools superintendent to testify on CRT or the lack thereof in the county’s schools]. I would have liked to have seen the School Board and the Board of Supervisors work more closely on the issue, which the Board of Supervisors wanted to begin with back in March.
They kept asking the questions and asking questions. They had to get to the point of taking the action they did to get the school board to at least acknowledge potential issues and discuss them.
Frankly, Sarah Chase’s response to the resolution was that she was frustrated that the Board of Supervisors adopted that resolution because she was concerned about teachers being offended and leaving the school division. Meanwhile, she’s increasing class sizes and not compensating them and apparently not concerned about them leaving the classrooms because of that or leaving late, leaving the division because of crowded classrooms and lower competence.
Reducing class sizes
PLN: Should you become elected, what do you think you can bring to the school board?
Hirons: The first and foremost thing I want to push for is to reduce our class sizes. Again, that was a big issue for me when I served, and I want to see us reduce our class sizes again and reinstate caps that we adopted on the size of classes.
In elementary school, where he had kept [kindergarten] through [third grade] at 24, [in fifth and sixth grades] 26 students, they can have as many as 30 students in the classrooms now under what the school board has done in more recent years.
That’s the first thing I really want to work on. From what I hear from teachers, students learn better and academic performance has shown to be improved with lower class sizes.
I also want to work on making sure we’re compensating teachers to a value that is competitive within our region.
Not confident new high school will be ready by 2026
Hirons: We need to be doing better on teacher compensation and we really need to focus on infrastructure. High school number six is desperately needed, and now I believe the CIP has an opening at best for 2026.
I’m not confident that the current school board would even keep to that date. I almost believe that high school six wouldn’t be pushed off another two to four years.
There has to be a push and a strong demand from the school board to make sure that it happens. It’s going to happen by working with us with the board of supervisors on finding the ways to properly fund new school buildings like school six, the next elementary school, and the next middle school.
These are the things I did when I was on the school board. Previously, I worked with the board of supervisors to ensure that the new Moncure [Elementary School in North Stafford] was built on time and on schedule.
Scott Hirons will be a write-in candidate for the Falmouth District Representative of the Stafford County School Board on Nov. 5.
Veep to Dumfries: Vice-President Kamala Harris is set to campaign for Terry McAuliffe at Potomac Shores near Dumfries on Thursday. Harris is one of the multiple people from the Biden administration to campaign with the Democrat seeking a second term as governor. Others include President Biden, who joined McAuliffe in Arlington earlier this year, and First Lady Jill Biden, who stumped for McAuliffe on October 15. Their visits come after McAuliffe said President Biden is unpopular in Virginia.
Youngkin barnstorms region: Meanwhile, Republican Glenn Youngkin will campaign today at the Stafford County Government Center at noon. The event will occur at the county’s war memorial across the parking lot from the government center. Youngkin was in Manassas on Monday to stump for office at the city’s GOP headquarters. Youngkin will be in Fairfax later today to make a campaign announcement.
Less than a year on the job: Prince William County’s latest planning director, Parag Agrawal, has resigned after less than a year on the job. Agrawal, 44, announced his resignation to Prince William County planning commissioners in an email Friday. The note said he was leaving his post at the head of the county’s planning department to “pursue other opportunities.” Before coming to Prince William, Agrawal was hired by Charlottesville to be the city’s new director of neighborhood services. City officials held a virtual press conference to announce the hire, but Agrawal never showed up and instead took the job in Prince William County.
He’s certified:Â The newest member of Manassas City’s economic development team, Micah Kemp, earned the designation of Certified Economic Developer from International Economic Development Council last week in Nashville, Tenn. Kemp joined the City of Manassas Economic Development Department in June 2021 after serving in various economic and community development roles for Fairfax County, Virginia; the City of Gresham in Portland, Oregon; and Henrico County, Virginia.
Week of lane closures: Drivers should plan ahead for travel on Interstate 95 with scheduled overnight lane and ramp closures, as well as intermittent full traffic stops in the Fredericksburg area for Improve 95 program construction. This week, drivers on I-95 between Quantico and Fredericksburg will see multiple lane closures.Â
Chinn turns 30: In commemoration of 30 years, Chinn Park Library will host a community event on Saturday, October 23 from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. There will be programs for all ages including Touch a Truck and a Petting Zoo, Friends Book Sale, food trucks, giveaways, and more.
New vax centers:Â A state-run Community Vaccination Clinic (CVC) will open Thursday, October 21, 2021, in the former Home Gallery store located in Central Park Marketplace: 1877 Carl D. Silver Pkwy., Fredericksburg. It’s the first time a large vaccination site has been opened in a former retail space in the Fredericksburg area. Meanwhile, this month, the Prince William Health District reopened a vaccination center at the site of a former Gander Mountain store at Potomac Mills mall after shuttering it in the spring.Â
[Updated 6:20 p.m.] The Manassas Park Governing Body is rewriting a new ordinance that allows special flags to fly only on a handful of city-owned flag poles.
If passed, the new rule would prevent U.S. flags specialty flags representing specific causes, such as breast cancer awareness month from hanging on the city's 35 utility poles used to hang banners in years past. Instead, those flags would be hung only on 10 flagpoles owned by the Manassas Park City Government.
The body was set to make a decision on the new flag ordinance at its October 5 meeting. Initially, the officials were going to allow specialty flags to hang on utility poles underneath U.S. flags.Â
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County officials joined Washington, D.C.-based developer Pence Group for a roadside groundbreaking to herald The Garrison at Stafford.
The county's first mixed-use development will include more than 130 apartments and will be anchored by a new Regal Cinemas movie theatre, officials have said since 2016.
The first new business at the shopping center could open late next year, said developer Bob Pence. He declined to name the soon-to-open shop, though drawings presented at the ceremony indicate it could be a Starbucks.
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From Prince William police: On October 16 at 2:44PM, officers responded to area of Linton Hall Rd and Rollins Ford Rd in Bristow (20136) to investigate a single vehicle crash. The investigation revealed that the driver of a 1999 Lexus GS300 was traveling eastbound on Linton Hall Rd at a high rate of speed when the vehicle began to hydroplane. The driver lost control of the vehicle which then left the roadway and struck an electric pole. The driver was pronounced deceased on scene. The driver was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision. The investigation continues.
Identified:
The driver of the 1999 Lexus GS300 was identified as Ryan George KHAZMO, 19, of Bristow
Ice cream shop robbed by man who implied he had a gun
From Prince William police: On October 17 at 8:58PM, officers responded to the Baskin Robbins located at 13801 Heathcote Blvd. in Gainesville (20155) to investigate a robbery. An employee reported to police that he heard a door open and close several times, and upon checking the front of the business, he was confronted by an unknown man who implied he had a weapon.
During the encounter, the suspect demanded money from the cash register before fleeing through the front door. A police K-9 searched the area for the suspect who was not located. No injuries were reported. An undisclosed amount of money was reported missing.
Suspect Description:
A Hispanic male, approximately 5’3” and about 30 years of age
Last seen wearing a face mask, a tan colored baseball-style hat, a black hooded sweatshirt with writing on, dark-colored gym-style shorts, and black sneakers
Shooting into homes investigated in Prince William
Shooting into a Residential Dwelling – On October 17 at 4:26PM, officers responded to investigate a destruction of property that was reported to have occurred at the TGM Sudley Crossing Apartments located in the 10800 block of Gambril Dr. in Manassas (20109) on October 16. A resident of an apartment reported to police that she heard a loud noise sometime between 12:00PM and 3:00PM and did not immediately notice any damage. The following day, she observed a bullet fragment in the tracks of her rear sliding glass door and contacted the police. While investigating, officers observed damage to the wall just above the sliding glass door consistent with being struck by a projectile. No injuries or additional property damage were reported.
Shooting into a Residential Dwelling – On October 17 at 3:54PM, officers responded to a residence located in the 9500 block of Burwell Rd. in Nokesville (20181) to investigate a shots fired call. A resident of the home reported to police that they heard an unknown noise inside the home and upon inspection, observed a hole in a bedroom window. The investigation revealed that a round entered the home through a bedroom window and lodged into the doorframe of the bedroom. No injuries or additional property damage were reported.
Deputies called for unruly customers at auto mart
From the Stafford sheriff’s office: At 2:55 p.m. (today) deputies responded to a disturbance at Mega Auto Outlet 3335 Jefferson Davis Highway. The initial call reported four unruly customers were vandalizing the dealership and staff was assaulted. The suspects fled in a grey Jeep prior to deputies arriving. Deputies located the suspect vehicle and conducted a traffic stop on I-95 South near the 138 mile marker. Traffic was briefly stopped while the suspects were detained. The roadway has since reopened. We will provide additional information as it becomes available.
