As she stood on the front porch of her Fredericksburg home, Mayor Mary Kathrine Greenlaw delivered some grim news earlier this month in a video posted to the city's YouTube page as the city battles the financial strain of the coronavirus pandemic.
Greenlaw announced that the city would be furloughing roughly 41 city employees effective May 2. Twenty-eight of whom are currently listed as part-time employees, while 13 full-time employees will, unfortunately, be furloughed as well.
The employees affected will be placed on furlough status until July 31.
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As toilet paper shelves sit empty, flushable wipes are in demand across the region. The one catch is that the wipes aren’t supposed to end up in the sewer.
Those ‘flushable wipes’ that residents are sending down the toilet are starting to clog the system.
Kathy Bentz of the Prince William Service Authority is urging residents to stop flushing wipes and hygiene products down the toilet as well as dumping oil, fat, and grease down the sink. When those products get into the pipes, it creates a clog in the pipes that county workers have to manually clean.
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Surrounded by Marvel action figures and posters on the bedroom wall behind him, all while sitting in the comfort of his own home, Del. Josh Cole (D-28, Fredericksburg, Stafford) hosted a virtual town hall Wednesday evening with Stafford County Schools Superintendent Scott Kizner and Fredericksburg City Public Schools Superintendent Marceline Catlett.
Both superintendents answered questions from the public about each school systems’ plan to continue educating its students from home after the coronavirus closed school buildings statewide until at least June 10.
Two weeks ago, Gov. Ralph Northam closed school buildings across the commonwealth for the remainder of the school year citing his concerns about the virus. The sudden change left school systems scrambling to create virtual lesson plans to continue educating Virginia’s students.
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Tapping his foot once, twice, and third time against the rough grey carpet in the School Board chambers, Stafford County Schools superintendent Scott Kizner looked back at the small crowd that faced the School Board meeting Tuesday night.
Immediately after his glance back, Kizner calmly addressed the School Board on his staff’s response to the ongoing fears of the spread of the Coronavirus.
Recently declared a ‘global pandemic’ by the W.H.O., the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, made its way to Virginia last week. The number of positive cases sits at nine, including one in Spotsylvania County, Stafford’s neighbor to the south.
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With Opening Day on the horizon, fans around the Fredericksburg region are getting ready to welcome in the newly formed Fredericksburg Nationals at their new ballpark on Thursday, April 23.
When preparing to spend your evening at the ballpark, keep in mind the team’s latest backpack policy which will be in effect come Opening Day.
This season and in the coming seasons, the FredNats will only allow clear bags and small purses into the new ballpark. Diaper bags will not be an exception and will need to remain in the car or at home according to the team.
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Stafford County Schools superintendent Dr. Scott Kizner announced that he will resign from his position just two-and-a-half years after taking the reins. He will step down about a year from now.
Kizner, 62, announced his decision with a statement he wrote prior to the School Board meeting on Tuesday night.
“After much personal reflection, I have decided to end my superintendency in Stafford effective Jan. 1, 2021,” Kizner said. Kizner told board members that he has “no definite plans’’ about what’s next for him in his career.
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A new policy from Schools Superintendent Dr. Scott Kizner means they can’t take pictures of athletes during school sporting events.
Professional photographers Sandie Waters and Jen Mulenbruck are the inferred subjects of the new policy. The duo had been hired to take photos of athletics teams at Stafford and Colonial Forge high schools, respectively. They’ve been shooting team photos since 2013.
“I am saddened by the decision, I also feel for the Colonial Forge wonderful photographer that this has affected also,” Waters wrote in an email to Potomac Local. “The tremendous outpouring of affection and support from all over has been totally overwhelming! I appreciate everyone’s kind words and comments as they have shared memories they treasure that I have captured for them.”
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STAFFORD — Starting in October, Ferry Farm Elementary School will be home to eight modular classrooms that will not be built with restrooms.
It is the first time trailers will be used as classrooms in Stafford County.
The School Board held a special called meeting Wednesday evening to discuss and take action on using four double-modular classrooms and a single modular building for administrative staff.
The School Board approved the lease on Wednesday evening, which will cost the county a grand total of $219,500.
The eight classrooms and front office were in need of a new home when the School Board approved a $10.8 million renovation in December 2018 to the 1955 wing of the elementary school making it the oldest school in the county. The School Board then added another phase of the renovation in February which will cost the county $1.9 million.
The Board of Supervisors, which supplies the money to the School Board, approved funding for the renovation after rejecting a full-scale rebuild that was presented by the School Board in February 2018.
In March, the School Board requested that the design firm Moseley Architects had to create plans for a modular classroom.
The School Board then started two bidding processes, one in May and one in June, but each of the bids that the school division received back was either over budget or weren’t in line with the School Board’s requirements.
Dwyane McOsker who represents the George Washington district on the School Board expressed his frustration with the bidding process. Ferry Farm Elementary sits in his district.
“People are not bidding on this [modular construction] stuff,” McOsker said.
After not receiving any bids that the Board wanted to pursue, the School Board then entered into an existing contract with Henrico County Public Schools to lease modular classrooms.
School staff reported that the School Board would need to hire two temporary staff members to “aid in escorting students to and from the main building and to aid in the safety and security of the students.”
Aquia representative Irene Egan was the only dissenter in the vote saying that she was concerned with the lack of bathrooms.
The School Board expects the installation of the modular classrooms to begin later this month and be fully furnished by Oct. 13.
Classes, which start Aug. 12, will be held in the existing Ferry Farm building until the modular classrooms are completed.
Griffis-Widewater representative Jamie Decatur was absent for Wednesday’s discussion and vote.
Around this time last year, the School Board was presented with a $99,500 modular classroom that was planned to be fully furnished and completed with a restroom. The modular classroom was appropriated by the Board of Supervisors in order to reduce capacity concerns at Hartwood Elementary School.
The School Board ultimately rejected the modular classroom last year with the dissenters being Patricia Healy, Rock Hill District, Dewayne McOsker, George Washington District, and Pamela Yeung, Garrisonville District.
Sarah Chase, Falmouth District, was absent from the 2018 meeting.
Modular classrooms have been a favored way of housing students at overcrowded schools in neighboring Prince William County.
In 2018, Prince William County Public Schools used more than 200 modular classrooms to teach students across the county. After spending more than a year considering how to reduce that number, School Board members developed a plan to eliminate the trailers by 2027.
That plan to remove all modular classrooms will end up costing Prince William County $143.2 million.
FREDERICKSBURG -- Fredericksburg baseball fans are one step closer to seeing Minor League Baseball in their city -- construction on the new stadium is set to begin in July.
Currently, the site stands dormant with rocks, trees, dirt, and even a local business sign that needs to be excavated before construction can begin.
The Potomac Nationals, the Nationals’ Single-A Advanced affiliate, plan to make the move down from their current stadium in Woodbridge to Fredericksburg by 2020.
