WOODBRIDGE — Will Gong, a native of Woodbridge, launched his first sitcom, “Bunkheads.”

The show takes a comedic approach to the zombie apocalypse, as a teacher, actress, workout warrior, and wannabe rapper learn to live together as they take refuge in a bunker to save their lives.

Gong said he was inspired to create the show after watching the success of TV’s “The Walking Dead.”

“It’s so serious,” he said. “How could you take a zombie apocalypse and make it a sitcom?”

Gong said he had a bunker idea from a script he’d been working on and combined these ideas to create the concept for “Bunkheads.”

“What if four people were trapped in a bunker and they had to learn to live together? That would be really funny,” Gong said.

Gong said he didn’t want to play up the zombie apocalypse aspect, which is terrifying.

“My view on human nature is, we adapt, we evolve, and eventually, we get used to things,” says Gong. “How long would it take you to get used to the zombie apocalypse? You resort back to being grumpy about the people you’re living with. You kind of forget that there’s this horrific event going on outside.”

Gong said he began working on the script for “Bunkheads” during the presidential campaign of 2016.

“We’re all living in a world with people we don’t necessarily see eye to eye with and we have to find some common ground. Those are the things I wanted to explore,” Gong says.

Gong grew up in Woodbridge and graduated from C.D. Hylton High School in 1998. Gong said he’s loved film since he was a child. He said his high school drama teacher inspired him to go into film.

“My drama teacher, Ms. Clark was working on creating her own show. One was a short play that she’d developed and written herself and we were all learning how to perform it. I remember watching her and thinking, ‘she just made this up.’ I thought that was amazing and I want to do this on some level. I want to make stuff,” Gong said.

Gong said this was the first time he was able to see the process laid out so when he went to college, he had two ideas. “I was going to write film and make stuff or I was going to be a journalist,” he said.

Gong said he thought journalism would lead him into film, but later decided to devote himself fulltime to film.

Gong said that while “Bunkheads” is the first sitcom he has created, it is not his first time working in comedy. He said some of his favorite work has been producing comedy.

“When you’re stuck working on something for a year or two when it’s fun, it makes it go down a bit smoother. Comedy is a fun place to be,” says Gong.

Gong said the initial six episodes of “Bunkheads” were released on December 13. He said his vision is to build a fan base and grow the show bigger.

“This has been one of the most satisfying events of my life. It’s mine, and it’s oddly incredibly personal,” says Gong.

Gong said he has goals to one day create his own feature film and work on or develop a network show.

He said, for now, he’d love to make more “Bunkheads.”

“I’d like to keep expanding it, stretching its legs and getting more people to watch. That would be the best thing,” he said.

Gong said he loves Woodbridge and comes home every chance he gets. He said he has a comic book store that he loves and frequents when he’s in town where he knows all the guys.

“Every time I get a better phone, I drive around and take better pictures of where I used to live. This is my place, my people. That’s home to me. No matter where I go and all the places I travel to, that’s what I consider home,” he said.

DUMFRIES — James McCarty has been appointed the new police chief in Dumfries.

McCarty was already serving as interim chief after former chief Nicholas Esposito resigned in October after about a year and a half on the job.

McCarty was appointed at the conclusion of final interviews on November 13. Mayor Derrick Wood said candidates were screened over a period of two weeks. The town interviewed three finalists before making their decision.

“I am confident that the new chief will take Dumfries into the next dimension,” said Mayor Derrick Wood.

Wood said McCarty brings over 24 years of experience as a police officer, as well as the support of the community. McCarty has been with the Dumfries police department for one year. Wood said the remainder of his tenure as a police officer was at Caroline County.

“McCarty has the integrity and the know how to bring the department up to the standards the citizens of Dumfries expect,” says Wood.

Wood said the town can expect community policing, public safety and engagement in the community.

“The council stood in unity to make this decision,” says Wood.

Wood said McCarty will not only be able to grow the department but increase retention as well.

“We will continue to be big in the community and big in public relations,” says McCarty.” If you see us in the street, come up and speak to us. My door is always open.”

Wood says Dumfries’ police department patrols the streets 24 hours a day, with two squads that work nights and just as many that work days. The town relied on the Prince William County Police Department to patrol streets during the overnight hours prior to 24-hour staffing.

Wood said Dumfries residents still pay Prince William County taxes and its police department works hand in hand with county’s department but says the county is just a backup resource.

The 2018-19 Dumfries annual salary for the police chief is $80,000.

“I think we’re going to achieve a lot of goals here,” said McCarty.

DUMFRIES — Mayor Derrick Wood attended the National League of Cities Conference November 7 through 11 in Los Angeles.

“The NLC is a bipartisan organization focused on connecting officials to local government solutions,” said Wood.

This year’s event had officials from nearly all 50 states including Washington, D.C., Canada and Puerto Rico. Wood said this year’s event had over 3,800 elected officials and staff.

Wood said he enjoyed the event because it allowed him to do some “brain sharing” with other city mayors. Wood said he learned that “we all have similar problems no matter where we’re located.”

Wood said attending the event allows government officials to learn from each other and share ideas you can “utilize in your community so that your community can grow and thrive.”

Wood attended a roundtable session on how to engage the youth in your community.  He shared the importance of “slowing down to evaluate the quality of youth programs” and developing a vision for connecting with the youth in the community. Wood said the conference offered a variety of workshops ranging from economic & community development to race & equity.

Wood also shared one of the exhibits he visited during the conference on redlining. He said he learned about how policies shape our community.

“Policies impact the design of our community and how we can gentrify price and push people out of the community,” said Wood.

He said this was particularly important in Dumfries as they plan to undertake three to four development projects in the near future.

Wood said the council recently approved the Town Square project which will include the building of three apartment communities with over 200 units each. Wood said Councilwoman Selonia Miles asked about the affordable housing aspect of this project, which he thinks is a great point to consider moving forward.

Wood said he returned from this four-day conference with information to share with the council and implement in the town. Sessions that Wood said he attended that would be of great benefit to the town included:

• How to attract and retain a talented workforce
• Facebook for Local Government
• Transportation
• Infrastructure Services Committee meeting
• Advancing Local Efforts to Improve Outcomes for Boys and Men of Color
• Preparing to rebuild and reimagine local infrastructure
• How City Leaders can prepare for a New Economic Landscape
• What your City’s Budget says about your Local Priorities
• One of his key takeaways was simplifying their budget process and code enforcement.

Wood said his attendance at this conference “afforded our team access to top strategies and best practices that will help us reduce costs, increase efficiencies and build value in various areas for our community.”

Wood said he particularly learned a lot from a budget discussion led by Andrew Kleine, a nationally recognized leader in municipal finance and performance management. Wood said Kleine presented on how to take the town’s budget to one that is more outcome focused and long-term financial planning.

Wood said Kleine lives in Silver Spring, MD and is open to visiting Dumfries to share his presentation.

The mayor’s trip was covered in the Town’s training budget for Administration. The Town has a $16,000 training budget for Administration and a $10,000 training budget for the governing body. As the Mayor and Acting Town Manager, Woods education falls under the administration budget.

The cost of this trip was about $2,500, said Wood.

DUMFRIES — Voters in Dumfries will now head to the polls to elect Town Council members in November.

The Dumfries Town Council moved its municipal elections from May to the first Tuesday in November during its November 20 meeting, the first in the new town hall on Main Street. The town becomes the only one of the four in Prince William County, to include Haymarket, Occoquan, and Quantico, to hold municipal elections in November. 

The council discussed the decision and held a public hearing prior to the vote.

Councilman Charles Brewer, the lone vote against moving elections to the fall, said that moving the election to November would increase terms of current councilmembers to 18 months when the current budget was only passed for 12 months. Brewer said he was concerned over the ramifications of this change.

Vice Mayor Monae Nickerson said that the upcoming year would be the only time terms would be extended, and the budget affected.

Councilwoman Melva Willis suggested changing the fiscal year to match the calendar year, should elections be moved to November. Willis said newly elected officials would be inheriting a budget when taking office, so changing the fiscal year could address this.

Mayor Derrick Wood said that was unessecary.

“Anyone stepping into a municipal position is inheriting a budget when they walk into it,” said Wood.

After the council members discussed the election change, they opened up the meeting to the public.

The former town mayor, Nancy West approached the council with her petition on this proposed election move.

“I am opposed to moving the election to November. It diminishes the importance of town elections. Town elections are unique. Dumfries town elections are nonpartisan. Last May, the elections were the most partisan I’ve seen in my 50 years living in Dumfries. Moving the election would just make it more partisan. We do not need this. We do not want this,” said West.

Prince William NAACP President, Reverend Cozy Bailey expressed his position on the proposed election change. Bailey supports the change to move the elections and believes it will answer the challenge of voter suppression.

“It will end what has been an unintentional suppression of voters,” he said.

Keith Brown, a Dumfries resident said, “It is difficult for citizens to vote in May. Perhaps the time and season for May elections have come and gone. We have to learn to move forward if we are to succeed.”

Mayor Wood said moving the election would increase voter turnout.

“People are conditioned to vote in November. Schools don’t even close for elections in May. We want to go with what is naturally easy for constituents,” he said.

Prince William County Board Elections would pick up any additional cost of the date change, added Wood. The town currently pays to have a separate election in May.

Wood said the council has authority to change the date through resolution; it is written in the charter.

“Any charter changes must be approved by the General Assembly. Ultimately, it is on the council to make this decision,” says Wood.

Councilwoman Cydny Neville made the motion to move Dumfries elections from May to November.

HAYMARKET — Carried to Full Term, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping expectant mothers, will expand.  

The organization said its new program is geared toward helping low-income mothers get back on their feet. Founder Frances Robin said the goal is to break the cycle of poverty by adequately preparing expecting mothers for a life of independence and self-sufficiency.

Carried to Full Term provides housing and support to mothers to support this mission. Prior to starting Carried to Full Term in 2009, Robin said she volunteered at pregnancy crisis centers. She noticed that there was a big need for housing for expectant mothers.

So, she set out to create options to find programs to place these women.

Carried to Full Term, located in Haymarket has space for six expectant mothers in the first phase of their program. Two mothers will be welcomed in the new Phase II. 

The non-profit partners with local housing programs to place women. In 2016, she acquired her first home and began providing housing for moms. Since its inception, Robin says Carried to Full Term has helped 32 mothers, and housed 18.  

“It was always a goal to add another home, but we didn’t anticipate receiving it so soon,” said Robin. An anonymous donor gave the home to the nonprofit. The second home is also located in Haymarket within walking distance of their first home.

The non-profit’s program is still evolving, but with this Phase II expansion will come with less supervision than mothers enrolled in the first phase of the program, allowing moms-to-be to live more independently before transitioning into a life on their own.

The program takes about two years to complete. Expectant mothers are required to sign an agreement to enter the program. They’re required to follow a strict schedule around the goals set with their case manager.

Robin said each mother is required to meet with their resident lead four days a week to review their progress toward goals.

Their schedule includes:

• Completing house chores
• Volunteering
• Finding a job

Mothers are also required to attend classes focused on life skills that range from parenting and financial management to Bible study and completing vision boards.

Robin says most classes are held in the home, while a few require the moms to travel offsite. Transportation is arranged for moms in Phase I to attend work and/or classes via volunteer drivers and Uber cards.

They’ll be required to pay rent and take on more responsibility for childcare and transportation.=

During Phase I, the mothers operate on a 9 p.m. curfew and usually have some downtime when their schedule ends between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Robin says moms in Phase I are awarded one-weekend pass per month to engage in activities of their choice.

“Adherence to the program is the key determining factor to a mom staying at the home. It is completely dependent on her willingness to follow the program,” said Robin.

Phase II will also prepare mothers to exit the program to get them ready for the real world. In here, mothers will not operate on a curfew. In order to graduate to Phase II of the program, Robin says moms “have to demonstrate evidence that they have mastered the tools in Phase I”

The second phase of the program will help those mothers who have graduated the first but had trouble landing on their feet.

“With the cost of living in Northern Virginia, moms that complete the two years in Phase I are still susceptible to falling back into the cycle of poverty Robin,” says Robin.

The average age of program participants is 29 years old. Helping women change their thought process at this age can be very challenging, but those willing to do so see results, said Robin.

Carried to Full Term pre-screens all mothers before entering the program. Robin said those with felony records are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Those with a history of drug and/or alcohol abuse must provide evidence of completing or submit to completing a rehab program before being considered for the program. Robin said moms that are interested in working with Carried to Term simply need to call to begin the pre-screen process.

They will discuss the mother’s background to determine if they are a good fit for this program or more suited for another program. The next step would be a face-to-face meeting, following by an extensive application and background check.

DUMFRIES — Dumfries Police Chief Nicholas R. Esposito resigned, effective October 17.

Town officials gave no comment on the reason for Esposito’s resignation. Esposito was appointed police chief in April 2017. Esposito came to the Town from the Alexandria Police Department with experience in interviewing victims, witnesses, traffic law, arresting suspects and testifying in court.

Wood says Esposito initiated his resignation, and as a result, no severance package was offered by the town.

James McCarthy has been appointed acting police chief. Wood says McCarthy’s tenure of over 20 years as a police officer earned him this position.

The town is actively searching for a new police chief with the first interviews starting on November 13. Wood says they want to give all qualified people a chance to apply for this position. He says they are considering candidates in-house and through the chief of police network. McCarthy is being considered for the police chief role.

Wood did not give an anticipated date a new chief would be appointed. He said the timeline is, “as soon as we find a good fit to lead.”

Esposito’s resignation comes as the police department is in the process of rebuilding itself after a majority of officers left the department in 2017, following the demotion of former Chief Rebecca Edwards.

A plan by the town’s elected leaders and then-Mayor Jerry Foreman to have the town’s police department provide 24-hour coverage and to be less reliant on Prince William County police for support backfired when Edwards’ salary was diminished. Edwards quit and went to work as a deputy for the Prince William County Sheriff’s office and nearly every officer on the force followed her out the door.

Dumfries leaders are also searching for a new town manager after firing Robert Ritter in August. Officials cited difference in governance styles as the reason for Ritter’s dismissal.

Both Esposito and Ritter were hired under the former town council led by Foreman.

DUMFRIES — Mayor Derrick Wood took a tour of the archaeological dig in Dumfries ordered by Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).

Wood said VDOT ordered the dig to uncover any historical value in the town before proceeding with their major road project along Route 1.

The dig, performed by the third-party company, Commonwealth Heritage Group, is taking place along Route 1 and Main Street in the town of Dumfries.

Wood said artifacts discovered from the dig might need to be registered with the historical registry or might warrant some historical markers.

Wood toured the dig site with the principal investigator, Dr. Cynthia Goode. He says the dig is scheduled to conclude by October 30 and archaeologists have been onsite the last 2-3 weeks.

Wood said just this week archaeologists recovered the foundation of an old merchant house. He said the dig had discovered artifacts dating back to the 18th century.

During his tour of the dig site, Wood said a ring with a cross on it was discovered. “This shows the religious values of the community,” he said.

Wood said the historical artifacts will be analyzed, cataloged and dated and he hopes donated back to the town. He has not received a definitive answer on whether the town will receive back the artifacts. Wood said this dig will not affect local taxpayers. VDOT has ordered the dig and will absorb the cost.

“They know it’s a lot of history. We were once a major port. We rivaled Boston and Philadelphia. Dumfries was the place to go. The tobacco, the trading that we did here, the stuff we harvested here. There is great historical value here and that story hasn’t been told,” says Wood.

Wood said it’s important to perform due diligence before the road project comes through, “to preserve the history in Dumfries and not to bury it.”

The dig comes as transportation officials are set to spend $57 million to begin the process of relocating utility lines and buying property ahead of the widening and relocation of Route 1.

Southbound traffic will be shifted from Main Street over to a widened Frayley Boulevard when construction begins in 2023.

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY -- A new pathology lab, Transcendent Pathology, will call the Prince William Science Accelerator home.

Founder, Dr. Gerelyn Henry, BS Veterinary Medicine, MBA American College of Forensic Examiners, said she chose Prince William County because of its relationship with organizations in Innovation Park, its proximity to Washington, DC and their affiliation with George Mason University.

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DUMFRIES — Not one but two people will serve as grand marshals for the annual Dumfries Christmas Parade.

At its October 3 council town council meeting, Dumfries officials announced four nominees for the Christmas Parade Grand Marshall: Prince William County Potomac District Supervisor Maureen Caddigan, former town mayor Nancy West, President of Historic Dumfries Jeremiah Burns and Jimmy Vincent.

During the meeting, a motion was made to nominate a fifth candidate, former Dumfries Town Councilwoman Gwen Washington. The motion was seconded. Washington, who was present at the meeting, accepted the nomination.

After convening for a brief closed session, the council members returned with their verdict on the appointment of Grand Marshal. The motion was moved to appoint both Jeremiah Burns, of Jeremiah’s Kansas City Style Barbeque in Quantico, and Gwen Washington as the Grand Marshal’s for the 2018 Christmas parade. Washington has previous experience in the Grand Marshall role. This will be Burns first appointment. Mayor Derrick Wood said Burns’ active involvement in the community and respect as a retired Marine qualified him for this new role.

Wood said the town’s 44th annual Christmas parade will be held December 8 on Main Street. Wood says the parade route will begin at the Town Hall and proceed down Main Street, then onto Graham Park Road, past the Triangle Shopping Center and cross over northbound Route 1, through Dumfries Shopping Center where it will end.

Wood says the parade will offer music and lots of fun activities for the children from dance groups to various floats representing local businesses. Local elected officials and congressmen will also be present at the parade.

Wood said this year’s parade theme will be based on the Nutcracker.