PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — The proposed Prince William County budget would significantly increase spending for the Office of Elections by nearly $800,000, targeting issues that led to voter complaints in 2018 just in time for the 2020 presidential primary.

County Executive Christopher Martino presented his budget proposal for fiscal year 2020 to the Board of County Supervisors, telling board members the increased funding includes about $300,000 for the March 2020 presidential primary plus another $400,000 for Election Day equipment.

Problems during the Nov. 6, 2018, mid-term election led Prince William to experience the second highest rate of voter complaints in the state. Those issues generally stemmed from inadequate staffing and equipment at polling places, and the budget proposal would address those issues. As the county’s population continues to grow, so do the number of voters — and the need for more staff and equipment to conduct elections.

“It’s a significant investment in the community and our democratic process,” said Dave Sinclair, director the county’s Office of Management and Budget.

Money Targets Critical Needs

The county currently spends $2.64 million for the Office of Elections, which amounts to 3.14 percent of its general expenditures. That money pays for voter registration, conducting elections and maintaining voter records as wells as staff salaries and training.

In the budget proposal, two election-related items are listed as “must do” items with the greatest sense of urgency — adding electronic poll books and preparing for the 2020 presidential primary. Two other items were listed as “critical needs” — adding an assistant registrar and purchasing optical scan readers.

The proposed budget would raise spending by $778,475 from the fiscal year 2019 level of $1.86 million to $2.63 million. That 42 percent increase is one of the largest for any agency in this budget cycle, Sinclair said.

It would address three specific areas:

• Presidential Primary. The additional $300,000 in funding would cover the cost of conducting the election, set for “Super Tuesday,” March 3, 2020. That includes voting machine programming and testing, paper ballot printing, staffing, supplies, and Election Officer compensation. The cost would be split, with $135,000 from county revenue and $165,000 from state revenue.

• Additional Staffing. It would add one fulltime position to the current staff of 14, an assistant registrar at a cost of $56,771, to help with updating voter registration information.

• Election Day Equipment. The budget includes funding for essential equipment needed to conduct and certify elections, including:

• The “must do” purchase of electronic poll books for $114,371, which is a recurring yearly expense. The equipment is mandated by the state and vendors are approved by the state, but the cost is borne by each local jurisdiction.
• The “critical need” for 46 additional ballot scanners for $288,734. The one-time expenditure would mean 51 of the county’s 94 precincts would have two scanners available.

Reduce Election Day Lines

These items would address the issue that led to Prince William tallying the second highest number of voter complaints — 69 — in the state following the November 2018 election. About half of those complaints — 49 percent — stemmed from long lines at polling places, while another 23 percent involved voting equipment.

A report by the State Board of Elections found that “Prince William County’s staffing at polling places seems to be outside the norm.” The county used fewer election officers than other localities with a similar number of registered voters. “Inadequate staffing at polling locations can, and in November 2018, did contribute to long lines,” the report concluded.

In addition, the Board of Elections report noted that an insufficient number of voting machines and electronic poll books also can lead to complaints about equipment and long lines. In November, that created a domino effect, leaving voters waiting first to check in to vote, then to scan their ballots after they’d voted.

“Having only one voting machine/scanner in each polling location (as Prince William County did) combined with a high voter turnout created a situation where voters were waiting to cast their ballots after having marked them,” the Board of Elections report said. “The wait at the scanner resulted in a wait at voter check-in, thus resulting in long lines.”

The new Election Day equipment would help alleviate those long lines, Sinclair said. “This would help eliminate a choke point,” he said, when voters wait to feed their ballots into the scanner.

Increased Voter Registration Reflects Population Growth

Meanwhile, the county has taken other steps to address these problems by adding two new voting precincts by splitting the two largest precincts in the county. State law requires polling places to serve no fewer than 500 and no more than 5,000 registered voters. The two split precincts are:

• Bristow Run in the Brentsville Magisterial District, which had 4,879 registered voters.
• Potomac Precinct in the Potomac Magisterial District, which had 4,785 registered voters.

A September 2018 internal audit of the Office of Elections showed Prince William’s average number of voters per precinct falls in the middle of neighboring jurisdictions at 3,061 voters. Ten precincts currently serve more 3,900 voters — including the two that already have been split — but because of redistricting issues, no additional precincts can be added before the 2020 elections.

That same audit found Prince William has experienced a marked increase in voter registrations, in large part due to the 15 percent increase in population over the past 10 years, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Among neighboring jurisdictions, Prince William registered the highest number of voters — 2,550 — from April to June 2018.

The new assistant registrar would help with the increased workload stemming from the growing population. The budget proposal indicates there has been a 10 percent increase in registered voters since fiscal year 2014, the last time new elections staff was added, as well as a 454 percent increase in absentee votes cast.

“This position is to help meet those workload increases,” Sinclair said. In addition, the five-year budget proposal calls for adding one additional staff member in each fiscal year 2021 and 2022 — one of whom would be on staff before the 2020 presidential election.

Martino released the budget proposal Feb. 19 in a presentation to the Board of County Supervisors.

County officials will hold a series of public workshops on the 2020 budget, culminating with a recap and public hearing April 9. The board is expected to approve a final version of the budget later in April, and it will take effect on July 1.

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY -- The longtime head of the Flory Small Business Center is retiring Dec. 31, leaving Prince William County residents without small business development services for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Linda Decker, the center’s CEO and president, is stepping down after deep disagreements with Prince William County officials about the future of the small business center she has headed since it opened in 1991.

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MANASSAS PARK — The somber message from everyone involved with the drug epidemic resonated clearly: Opioid addiction continues to be a growing problem in the Prince William County area that cuts across all demographic distinctions, costing lives and wreaking havoc in its wake.

More than 80 people gathered Nov. 17 at the Manassas Park Community Center to assess the scope of the current opioid crisis as well as ways to combat it. They heard from law enforcement officers, health care professionals, elected officials and people whose lives have been devastated by opioid drugs.

All agreed: The crisis is increasing, it will take a concerted effort to stop it, and people need to learn the signs of drug abuse so they can intercede when it happens.

“We have to get this out of the shadows; we have to get this out in the open,” said state Rep. John Bell, a Democrat who represents Loudon County. “Our futures depend on it.”

Bell speaks from experience. His son, Josh Bell, is a recovering opioid addict. After a car accident, the younger Bell came home with a painkiller and five refills — and by the time he finished the prescription, he was addicted. That led to a seven-year odyssey that has included heroin use and multiple stints in rehabilitation.

“It’s a tough journey,” said Bell, a retired Air Force officer. “It continues to be a struggle today.”

Grim Statistics

Nationwide, opioid overdoses led to more than 42,000 deaths in 2016, more than any previous year on record, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. And about 40 percent of those overdose deaths involved a prescription opioid.

On average, the Centers for Disease Control estimate that 115 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.

In Virginia, more people die from drug overdoses than car crashes. In 2017, there were 1,445 opioid-related overdose deaths from all sources, according to the Governor’s Task Force on Prescription Drug and Heroin Abuse. There were more than 10,000 emergency room visits for opioid and heroin overdoses.

The situation is so dire that former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) declared the opioid crisis a statewide emergency in 2016. The federal government followed suit, declaring it a public health emergency in 2017.

The opioids behind the current crisis breakdown into two categories:

• Prescription pain relievers, such as oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin) and codeine.
• Illegal opioids, including heroin, which is made from morphine, as well as fentanyl, a synthetic drug that can be made illegally and mixed with heroin.

While an addiction may begin with a prescription, as in the case of Bell’s son, it can lead to illegal drug use. It’s often a matter of economics, law enforcement officials said, because it’s cheaper and easier to get heroin than prescription opioids.

Opioids prevalent in Prince William

In Prince William County, the problem is “huge,” said 1^st Sgt. Kenneth Hulsey of the Prince William County Police Department.

“You can buy heroin and opioids on the streets as much as you can buy marijuana. It’s pretty prevalent,” Hulsey said. He spoke at the event sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Prince William Area, Prince William County Community Services and the Lifelong Learning Institute of Manassas.

What Hulsey and other officials have seen locally follows the pattern of the epidemic nationwide. It began in the 1990s, when opioid prescriptions increased after pharmaceutical companies said the drugs were not addictive. Since then, overdose deaths involving those prescriptions have continued to rise, according to the CDC.

Then the illegal drugs began to factor into the situation. Beginning in 2010, heroin-related deaths increased. That was followed, beginning in 2013, with significant increases in overdose deaths from synthetic opioids – particularly those involving illegally manufactured fentanyl.

What may have started with a medical prescription can spiral out of control into addiction, said Katrina King, a Prince William resident whose personal story of opioid addiction was featured in the FBI’s “Chasing the Dragon: The Life of an Opiate Addict” documentary.

“It can happen to anyone — because it has happened to everyone,” said King, who lost her daughter to an opioid overdose and who spent time in jail because of her own addiction. She now dedicates her time to helping others through the organization she founded, Recovered Purpose.

King and others who spoke at the event said it would take a two-pronged effort to combat the opioid epidemic: helping those who are already addicted while simultaneously preventing others from becoming addicted in the first place. That will require the combined efforts of the law enforcement officials and health care providers on the front lines, but also the support of everyone from parents who need to recognize the warning signs of drug abuse to elected officials who can enact policies to help alleviate the problem.

“We cannot arrest our way out of this,” said Bell. “This is a disease, and it’s everywhere.”

Addiction resources and upcoming Narcan training

There are dozens of community organizations throughout Virginia offering assistance to anyone suffering from addiction, which can be located at https://hardesthitva.com/resources/.

In Prince William County, contact:

• Prince William County Community Service Board provides emergency services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In Manassas, call (703) 792-7800, or in Woodbridge, call (703) 792-4900.
• Families Anonymous at 8201 Ashton Avenue in Manassas, (703) 928-9385.

In addition, Virginia offers an education program called “REVIVE!” that trains people to be prepared for, recognize and respond to an opioid overdose emergency by administering naloxone — in the form of the Narcan nasal spray — an antidote that can reverse an opioid overdose. In 2017, Narcan was administered 4,533 times across the state.

There are several upcoming REVIVE trainings in Prince William County. Two will be held at the McCoart Building, 1 County Complex Court, Woodbridge, VA 22192:

• Nov. 28, 7-8:30 p.m.
• Dec. 12, 7-8:30 p.m.

A third training will be held at the Ferlazzo Building, 15941 Donald Curtis Drive, Suite 180, Woodbridge, VA 22191:

• Dec. 6, 7-8:30 p.m.For more information about any of the local REVIVE trainings, contact Heather Martinsen at 703-792-7739 or [email protected].

Northern Virginia elections officials are seeing a significant increase in the number of voters casting absentee ballots, a trend they expect to continue as the Nov. 6 midterm election draws closer.

Officials in Prince William and Stafford counties, along with Manassas city, will have extended hours for absentee voting in the final two weeks before next month’s local and federal election.

With less than two weeks until Election Day, deadlines are quickly approaching. In all Virginia jurisdictions:

• The final day to request an absentee ballot by mail is Tuesday, Oct. 30, by 5 p.m. That can be done via the Virginia Department of Elections website.
• The final day for in-person absentee voting is Saturday, Nov. 3. To vote in person, you don’t need to request a ballot in advance. Simply appear at the voting location with photo identification.

Officials expect the number of absentee votes to continue at the above-average pace they’ve seen so far.

“It is like a presidential year, and I know it’s true across the commonwealth,” said Leslie O. Kostelecky, elections administrative specialist in the Prince William County elections office. Most days, more than 500 county voters have been casting absentee ballots.

In Stafford County, Registrar Greg Riddlemoser said absentee voting is “definitely up,” adding that “it’s nowhere near a presidential year, but it’s more than a gubernatorial year.”

As of Oct. 24, more than 126,000 people had cast absentee ballots statewide since voting began Sept. 15, according to an analysis of voting data by the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project. That’s an increase of more than 115 percent from the same point in the 2017 election, which included the governor’s race.

In Stafford County, the increase is 185 percent compared to last year, while in Prince William County it’s 135 percent.

The Virginia absentee numbers reflect the trend nationwide, where the number of people voting before Election Day is up considerably this year, according to a report in The New York Times.

“If these patterns persist, we could see a turnout rate at least equaling the turnout rate in 1966, which was 48 percent, and if we beat that then you have to go all the way back to 1914, when the turnout rate was 51 percent,” Michael McDonald, a professor of political science at the University of Florida who studies elections, told The Times. “We could be looking at a turnout rate that virtually no one has ever experienced.”

Virginia does not permit early voting, but voters who can’t make it to the polls on Election Day can qualify to vote absentee for a variety of reasons. Those include: commuting to work or being out of town on Election Day, attending college away from home, being a first responder or active military member, being pregnant, being ill or caring for someone who is ill.

A complete list of the qualifications for voting absentee can be found on the Virginia Department of Elections website.

What’s on the Ballot

This year is a midterm election, meaning it’s not a presidential election year. All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and one-third of the 100 U.S. senators are up for election.

This year, that includes a Virginia statewide U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Tim Kaine, the former governor, who is facing Republican Corey Stewart, the chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, and Libertarian Matt J. Waters, a Northern Virginia political fundraiser.

In addition, there are three congressional races in Prince William, Stafford, and Manassas:

• 1st District: Republican Robert J. “Rob” Wittman vs. Democrat Vangie A. Williams.
• 10th District: Republican Barbara J. Comstock vs. Democrat Jennifer T. Wexton.
• 11th District: Republican Jeff A. Dove Jr. vs. Democrat Gerald Edward Connolly vs. Libertarian Stevan M. Porter.

There are several ways to find out which congressional district you’re in, including:

• Check your voter registration online, which lists your congressional district, via the Virginia Department of Elections.
• Check via the U.S. House of Representatives website.

You can find sample ballots for your specific locality — including two constitutional amendments plus local races — via the Virginia Department of Elections website.

Absentee Voting in Prince William County

Voters in Prince William County can cast absentee ballots in person at three vote center locations:

• Main Office of Elections
  at 9250 Lee Avenue, Suite 1, in Manassas.
• DMV Office of Elections
  at 2731 Caton Hill Road in Woodbridge.
• Haymarket Gainesville Community Library at 14870 Lightner Road in Haymarket.

All vote centers will be open Monday through Friday, until Nov. 2, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In addition, they will be open the two Saturdays before Election Day — Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 — from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Complete voting information can be found at the Prince William County Office of Elections website.

Absentee Voting in Stafford County

Voters in Stafford County can cast absentee ballots in person at the elections office at 1300 Courthouse Road in Stafford.

The office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In addition, the office will be open the two Saturdays before Election Day — Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 — from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More information can be found at the Stafford County Voter Registration website.

Absentee Voting in Manassas

Voters in the city of Manassas can cast absentee ballots in person at the elections office at 9025 Center Street in Manassas.

The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be extended evening hours Oct. 24-26 and Nov. 1-2, with voting available those days from 8:30 a.m. until 9 p.m.

In addition, the elections office will be open the two Saturdays before Election Day — Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 — from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More information can be found at the Manassas Voter Registration and Elections website.

Absentee Voting in Manassas Park

Voters in Manassas Park can cast absentee ballots in person at the elections office at City Hall, One Park Center Court, in Manassas Park.

The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In addition, the elections office will be open the two Saturdays before Election Day — Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 — from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More information can be found at the Manassas Park Voter Registration website.

Absentee Voting by Mail

You also can vote absentee from home by having a ballot mailed to you. To get a ballot mailed, voters must submit an application, which can be found at the Virginia Department of Elections website .

The deadline for requesting to have an absentee ballot mailed is Tuesday, Oct. 30, by 5 p.m. Those completed ballots must then be returned to the elections office in your locality by the time the polls close at 7 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted.

Three Things to Know Before You Go

• Whether you’re voting absentee or on Election Day, make sure your voter registration is up to date. You can verify that online via the Virginia Department of Elections.

• On Election Day, you need to know where your polling place is. You also can find that information online via the Virginia Department of Elections.

• No matter which method you vote, you’ll need to bring photo identification with you. There are several forms you can use — including a Virginia driver’s license or DMV-issued photo ID, a U.S. passport, and an employer or student ID. You can find a complete list of the acceptable forms of valid identification online via the Virginia Department of Elections.

MANASSAS — Four 1,200-horsepower radial engines slowly revved up, spewing clouds of gray smoke when the propellers began to rotate, as the massive B-17 bomber prepared for takeoff Thursday at the Manassas Regional Airport.

The whooshing of those nearly 12-foot propellers grew into the unmistakable roar of a World War II airplane. That sound meant the Aluminum Overcast was ready to soar.

One of only about a dozen B-17s still flying, the Aluminum Overcast will be at the Manassas airport through Sunday, Oct. 21, offering the chance to fly or tour one of the iconic “flying fortresses” that symbolized the U.S. and Allied war effort, helping to turn the tide of battle in World War II.

“When we talk about the greatest generation,” said Jeremy Kinney, an aeronautics division curator for the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, “this is what they flew.”

Although he’s devoted his career to aeronautics, Kinney had never flown in a B-17 — until Thursday. Going up in the restored aircraft, strapping in with a military-style buckle and peering out the windows equipped with machine guns was a bit like time-traveling back in history.

“People can see it,” he said. “They can hear it. They can get an idea of what it was like at the time for the men who flew on these planes.”

The B-17 heavy bombers represented both an engineering and a military achievement, Kinney said. “It was one of the greatest moments in American history.”

The B-17s were used primarily in Europe, participating in long-range, strategic bombing missions from bases in England. That was the experience of Kraig Butrum’s father, Clarence. A B-17 pilot stationed in England, he regularly flew bombing runs into Germany — until he was shot down on his 23^rd mission.

As he prepared for his first flight on a B-17, Butrum said he could “feel the spirit of my Dad,” whom he’d accompanied to reunions as well as visits to the World War II memorial.

Each of the B-17s carried a 10-person crew. Ernest “Merle” Hancock of Manassas served as a gunner on B-17s, until his plane was shot down over Germany in July 1944. On Thursday, he took to the skies again, this time as a passenger aboard the Aluminum Overcast.

Between 1935 and May 1945, there were 12,732 B-17 airplanes produced. Of those, 4,735 were lost during combat missions. Currently, fewer than 100 of the original B-17 airframes exist, including the Aluminum Overcast.

The Experimental Aircraft Association sponsors tours of the Aluminum Overcast. The vintage airplane will be at the Manassas Regional Airport, 10600 Harry J. Parrish Boulevard in Manassas, from Friday through Sunday, Oct. 19-21.

Weather permitting, the plane will fly each morning and open for ground tours when flight operations cease. The first flight of the day is usually at 10 a.m., and ground tours typically begin by 2 p.m.

Once the aircraft is in the air for the 24-minute flight, passengers can move around to visit various areas of the plane, including the cockpit, the nose, the bomb bay, and the navigation section.

Tickets can be booked online for EAA members for $409 or non-members for $449

Tickets also can be purchased at the airport for EAA members for $435 or non-members for $475. For information, contact the tour coordinator at (920) 371-2244.

For those who want to tour the plane without flying, tickets cost $10 for an individual or $20 for an entire immediate family. Ground tours are free for veterans and active duty military, and for kids under 8 with a paid adult or a vet.

The Manassas EAA Chapter will be serving food and drinks. And the Freedom Museum in the airport terminal will be open with free admission.

The tours not only help educate the public, they fund the actual restoration efforts for the Aluminum Overcast and other historic planes, said Crew Chief Tim Bourgoine.

“The only way it keeps flying is to have people come out and fly during these tours,” he said. “Otherwise, it would be sitting in a museum.”

The purpose, Bourgoine said, is to focus on an era of selflessness in the nation’s history.

“We hope people will experience what Americans did in that time so we could live in the country we do,” he said. “If that hadn’t happened, our lives would be very different.”

Kaiser Permanente is continuing its regional expansion efforts with plans to open two new state-of-the-art medical office buildings in Stafford and Prince William counties.

But the future of a potential $200 million “hub” in Woodbridge appears to be uncertain. Company officials could not confirm the status of the proposed 335,000-square-foot Kaiser South Northern Virginia hub campus on Minnieville Road, east of Caton Hill Road.

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The tech start-up must locate its headquarters in the county or repay $100,000 from funding that’s helped other local companies

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY -- Prince William County officials recently gave education software company Scriyb, LLC, an additional 15 months to relocate its headquarters within the county or face the prospect of repaying its $100,000 economic development grant.

Scriyb is one of at least five companies that have received $400,000 in county funds since 2016 aimed at generating economic development, but it’s the only one facing the prospect of repaying its grant. The company so far has been unable to find a suitable location for its operations.

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PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY -- If you’re looking for a job in the computer industry, you’re in the right area.

Although this region has the nation’s third-largest digital technology workforce, there are currently 43,200 vacant tech jobs waiting for workers in the DMV — the metropolitan area that includes the District of Columbia, parts of Maryland and all of Northern Virginia.

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MANASSAS — Workers who’ve been on strike for three weeks against Didlake Inc., including several with disabilities, took their grievances to the company’s Manassas headquarters Thursday morning with the support of local elected officials.

The workers voted in April to form a union, culminating a yearlong effort aimed at improving their pay and health-care benefits. But Didlake has refused to recognize those efforts while awaiting a ruling from the National Labor Relations Board, stemming from the company’s appeal of a decision that favored the workers.

The workers walked off their jobs May 25 at the Army National Guard Readiness Center in Arlington, where they clean the buildings under a federal contract. The workers previously protested outside the facility.

This week, a group of about 20 people gathered outside the corporate office of Didlake, a nonprofit agency that provides training and rehabilitative services for people with developmental and other disabilities in Virginia, Maryland and Washington. They wanted to talk with the company’s CEO, Donna Hollis.

“All you are asking for is respect,” said Virginia Diamond, president of the Northern Virginia chapter of the AFL-CIO.

“And this is how they treat us,” replied Samantha Ulloa, one of the striking workers who have been seeking union representation since 2015. “We should at least be able to talk to them.”

They were joined by local labor supporters as well as with a pair of elected officials — state Delegates Elizabeth Guzman Lee Carter, both Democrats who represent portions of Prince William County and Manassas.

The issue centers around the question of whether workers who are disabled — and whose jobs therefore are considered “rehabilitative” — are entitled to the same labor protections as nondisabled workers.

Didlake issued a statement citing previous NLRB decisions that found “collective bargaining could constitute a harmful intrusion on the rehabilitative purpose” of programs like theirs.

The current stalemate originated with an October 2016 NLRB ruling that Didlake’s program at the Arlington facility is essentially commercial rather than rehabilitative, so it doesn’t meet the standards of those previous decisions. That ruling allowed the union election to proceed. Didlake appealed, and the outcome is pending.

“Didlake is not anti-union,” Hollis said in a written statement. “We support the rights of people with disabilities to organize and join a union. We are highly concerned that unionization for people with disabilities participating in the AbilityOne program will threaten the rehabilitative services afforded to them under the program.”

The federal AbilityOne program is aimed at providing employment for people with disabilities.

The workers believe Didlake’s appeal to the NLRB amounts to a delay tactic because it could be weeks or months before the federal board, which has been mired in infighting and budget constraints, issues a ruling in the case. They pressed company officials to schedule a meeting where they could talk about their concerns.

“We’ve got right on our side, and we’ve got the law on our side,” said Carter. “The company is trying to delay, hoping the people will give up.”