Prince William County's fire chief Kevin McGee has got his eyes on the door.
Thursday night, McGee was interviewed at a candidate meet and greet town hall in Austin, Texas, where's he's one of three finalists for that city’s fire chief job.
The panel discussion with city officials and residents was an opportunity where the public could meet and provide input for the candidates to include Chief Joel Baker from Atlanta, and Chief Steve Landin from Laredo, Texas.
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WOODBRIDGE -- The numbers used to project how many children will fill Prince William County classroom seats in the coming years are inaccurate.
The projections are supposed to align with the number of new planned housing developments. The inaccuracies come as the county is in talks to budget $143 million for new school buildings to get students out of classroom trailers which are commonly found throughout the school division.
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WOODBRIDGE -- Prince William County supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a special use permit for Virginia Solar- a  developer based in Henrico County – to begin construction of a solar farm in Nokesville.
Nokesville Solar will be located on 331 acres at what was previously known as Dixon Farm on 13204 Warrenton Road.
This is the first utility-scale solar plant of this size in Prince William County, according to Matthew Meares, the principal at Virginia Solar.
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MANASSAS -- The Shining Sol Candle Company announced plans to put candles in a major retailer and expand its candle-making operation in Manassas. The company struck a new deal with a home décor store Bed Bath & Beyond where customers will find Shining Sol candles at the company's Pentagon City and Fair Lakes stores. Shining Sol also announced plans to work with a yet-to-be-named “legendary and iconic” musician’s charitable foundation. The move would follow company collaborations with rock bands Def Leppard, KISS, and others. The candle company was founded by Bret Michaels Band guitarist Pete Evick. Co-owner Deron Blevins said that working with Bed Bath & Beyond was “one of the toughest things we’ve done, probably the toughest process we’ve been through since being in business.” The candle firm needed specialized software to deal with the big box store in order to implement a process known as EDI -- electronic data interchange -- and needed to use barcodes. Shining Sol's success means the company needs more space. The firm is now renting space in a warehouse in Manassas owned by Buchanan Partners to accommodate increased production – a total of 3,100 square feet. The warehouse is located on Kao Circle in Manassas near Tucked Away Brewing and Osbourn Park High School. Expanding into the bigger space “Jumps them into the realm of not just four pallets, but 22 pallets of materials,” Blevins said, a major increase from their old manufacturing hub in the back room of the company's small downtown shop at 9109 Center Street. The company prides itself on selling soy wax candles with wooden wicks. Since the company's downtown storefront opened in 2016, “business has been very good,” added Blevins. Shining Sol's retail business picked up, and the company began selling wholesale to other stores across the country. The company will also be hiring, with Blevins calling the expansion a “leap of faith, but we have a good team of people.” The expansion will also mean the company will no longer make candles the back room of its downtown shop.  When not on tour with his band, customers can find Evick, a Manassas native in his downtown shop. “It has been so amazing, I couldn’t be more grateful for the time and the acceptance – it’s been an incredibly unique experience. I’ve been all over the world, but there is truly nothing like Manassas. It makes me proud to be from Manassas,” he said.
MANASSAS -- Prince William – Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center has begun Phase 2 of its expansion, with a projected completion in February of 2020 and occupancy to begin in March of that year.
Right now, Jail Superintendent Col. Peter Meletis said that they’re at the stage of bringing in “massive pieces of concrete.”
“…we got a ways to go,” Meletis said.
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LORTON -- After a two-alarm fire shut down their facility in February of last year, Covanta Fairfax in Lorton has resumed operations.
The fire inside the waste-to-energy plant raged for nearly two weeks, and fire crews battled the blaze for just as long.
According to Covanta’s website, the Fairfax facility - which serves 900,000 Fairfax residents - processes more than 3,000 tons of waste a day and converts the waste into enough renewable energy to power 80,000 houses.
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The restaurant and game hub is a vision that owner John Hornberger has had for decades. His love for board games began when he was a child growing up in a small town in Illinois.
“I grew up playing games with my brothers and sister,” Hornberger explained.
Some of the family favorites included Balderdash and Pictionary.
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PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY --Â Heavy rain didn't stop parents, teachers, and students from attending a Prince William County School Board Chair Candidates Debate on Thursday.
Gainesville District School Board member Alyson Satterwhite sat next to the appointed Interim School Board Chairman At-large Dr. Babur Lateef inside Howsmon Hall at the Northern Virginia Community College Manassas Campus. Â
Both were grilled with 16 wide-ranging questions on topics in front of a crowd of about 100 people. The forum was moderated by Potomac Local Publisher Uriah Kiser.
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PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY -- The Pat White Center at Ben Lomond, affectionately known as “The Barn” to area residents, has been closed since January when a pipe burst, spewing water inside the building.
The Prince William County-owned and operated facility draws its customers from about a five-mile radius, according to Brent Heavner, the Communications Chief for the Prince William Department of Parks and Recreation.
Located near the intersection of Sudley Manor Drive and Copeland Drive in Manassas, the center sits in one of the less affluent areas in the Gainesville District, which boast half-million dollar homes in its Gainesville and Haymarket neighborhoods.
