The Manassas City Council passed a tax rate, finally, bringing an end to weeks of delay brought on by a procedural quagmire.

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Lisamarie Kane will take over as principal of Osbourn Park High School, just outside Manassas, on July 1, 2020.

Kane replaces Neil Beech, who was previously named the principal of the “13th” High School, planned for an opening in Gainesville next year.

With more than 20 years of experience in education, Kane most recently served the past five years as an assistant principal at Gar-Field High School where she supervised special education, science, and mathematics. She previously taught science at Forest Park and Potomac High Schools.

“I am both honored and humbled to join this outstanding team to continue the tradition of excellence,” Kane said. “You can expect that I will work diligently to support our teachers to ensure our students continue to receive an outstanding education in whatever format the future holds for us.”

Kane earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in food science from the University of Florida, and a certificate in advanced graduate studies in the area of education leadership from the University of New England. Prior to entering the education field, Kane worked as a food scientist in Florida.

She said her greatest honor has been “being a mom to my three children,” and she loves to travel and read science fiction.

Potomac Local recently talked to Kane about her vision for Osbourn Park and what her goals are for the coming school year. Here are our questions and her answers:

Tell me a little about yourself. 

“Mr. Kane and I are both graduates of the University of Florida. My husband majored in building construction, and I majored in food science. We worked and lived in Orlando, Florida before relocating to Virginia in 1999. We have been residents of Woodbridge, Virginia since 2001. We have three children. Justin, age 23, recently graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in political science. Jared, age 20, is a current student at Virginia Tech and is studying business. Our daughter, Alyssa, is in the tenth grade and hopes to attend the University of Florida.”

What is your vision for Osbourn Park in the light of the coronavirus? Do you think school will be the same next year or different, and how so?

“As educators, our ‘why’ is to ensure every student receives a high quality education. We work to eliminate barriers and obstacles to learning and provide meaningful and relevant learning experiences that will prepare students for their next steps – college, career, military. How we do this, whether virtually, face to face, or a hybrid of the two, does not change our fundamental purpose, our ‘why.’ Our ‘why’ stays the same, the ‘how’ might be a bit different. Regardless of the ‘how,’ Osbourn Park teachers will work collaboratively to develop meaningful learning experiences. We are all preparing for whatever school will look like in the fall. All teachers in PWC are getting trained in Canvas and are working with their teams to create lessons should we continue with online learning.”

What brought you to Prince William County? 

“In 2003, I began my career with PWCS as a chemistry teacher at Potomac High School, and later I taught chemistry and biology at Forest Park High School for six years. In 2015, I joined Gar-Field High School as an assistant principal where I supervised math, science, and special education.”

How do you plan to support teachers and students in your new position?

“My priority is to develop positive relationships with students, staff, and families. I am a teacher at my core, and I never forget that teachers are on the front lines and need to have a voice in their craft. With this pandemic, we required teachers to shift to online learning overnight and “build the plane while flying it” and they did it! We will work together by listening and implementing the changes needed to ensure authentic learning happens for all students.”

What can students at Osbourn Park expect to see next year in regards to distance learning? Sanitation?

“All teachers at OPHS are in the process of getting trained in Canvas, the county’s online learning platform. Canvas is user friendly and will be a great tool for both teachers and students. The county has been forward thinking in trying to prepare staff and students for whatever the fall may bring. Ensuring students and staff have access to technology is the first step followed by ensuring staff is trained in the new platform.  Teachers will collaborate and design lessons that support the curriculum and engage students.

When schools reopen, OPHS will follow all guidelines for sanitation. Safety is always our number one priority.”

What is your vision for Osbourn Park five years from now?

“I have received many emails from staff and students welcoming me to OPHS over the last few days. Each email exudes their love and pride in attending or working at OPHS. OPHS is a school that values diversity and strives to have all students work to succeed at their highest potential. My vision is to continue to provide programs and services to all students that not only reduce any challenges or obstacles to learning, but prepare students for life after high school, whether that is college, career, or military.”

As Northern Virginia entered the first phase of a multi-tiered reopening plan following the coronavirus shutdown, riverside businesses are prepared for a different kind of summer.

Restaurants such as Tim’s Rivershore that sits on the Potomac River were closed for dining-in during the Governor’s Executive Temporary Stay at Home Order. Now, they’re starting to re-open.

“You want to make sure everyone’s safe,” said Tim Bauckman, owner and the titular “Tim” of Tim’s Rivershore near Dumfries.

Bauckman said they have “gallons” of hand sanitizer, and all his employees have masks, though they will not be able to provide masks for customers. Every time someone signs a credit card slip, the pen they use will be taken and put into a dirty bucket to be cleaned.

Customers will be fine without masks while eating and drinking, but they will need to be masked when entering the restaurant.

There are only 1o people allowed inside the restaurant at all times, so they need to rotate employees in and out to accomplish this. One man and one woman will be allowed in their respective bathrooms at one time.

The kitchen staff has the option to wear a mask, face shield, or both, according to Bauckman.

“It’s like a hospital,” Bauckman said.

When the stay at home orders set in, Bauckman didn’t think they would have much t0-go business, but that wasn’t the case.

“People have been really good,” Bauckman said.

While the to-go business was better than he expected, Bauckman said that they could not live off of just doing that.

Initially, the restaurant laid everyone off, but they are now in the process of bringing everyone back.

“It’s a task,” Bauckman said, as he began explaining that with the unemployment wages plus the federal stimulus of $600 a week, some of his employees are making more than they make in a week. “That makes me the bad guy,” Bauckman said, adding that his employees on average make around $500 a week, although some of his waitresses make that much in a day.

Bauckman also has two other “Tim’s” locations on the Potomac River — one at Fairview Beach in King George County, one at Coles Point, about an hour and 15 minutes from Fredericksburg. He also owns another “Tim’s” restaurant at Lake Anna in Virginia.

Bauckman explained that the staff he has working in Dumfries now had gone to work at the other restaurants in the interim.

The location at Lake Anna had been open for the last two weeks operating at 50% capacity outside. The Coles Point location has been open the entire time because it is located in rural Virginia, but the Fairview Beach location is opening this past weekend just like the Dumfries location.

In the middle of the summer, Bauckman typically has 100 people working for him. Right now, the staff is at 30-40 people.

Hope Springs Marina, in Stafford on the Aquia Creek, is also implementing changes 

According to new safety guidelines, boating must be limited to groups under 10 and only immediate family members. Patrons at the marina, located at 4 Hope Springs Lane in Stafford, are asked not to have “rafting up, beaching, or rendezvous events,” to “maintain 6-feet of the distance between yourself and others including fuel docks, pump out stations, and other high traffic areas,” and to wear masks within six feet of others.

As businesses along the river ready for the summer, so do the state’s beaches.

According to the State Department of Conservation and Recreation, tidal beaches at Mason Neck, Leesylvania, Widewater, Caledon, Westmoreland, Belle Isle, York River, Chippokes, Kiptopeke, First Landing and False Cape are all open to the public beginning on May 29. The Department says that:

“These tidal beaches will be available according to the following safety protocols:

• Beachgoers will be required to practice social distancing between non-related groups
• Groups of more than 10 beachgoers will be prohibited
• No entertainment or programming that generate mass gatherings
• No beach playsets, tents or grouping of umbrellas
• No team sports – i.e. soccer, volleyball, football

If the density of beachgoers increases on a beach, parking capacity may be reduced. In addition, park staff will initiate temporary beach closures if overcrowding occurs to ensure the safety of visitors and staff.”

The website went on to say that the “Lakefront beaches at Hungry Mother, Claytor Lake, Smith Mountain Lake, Fairystone, Douthat, Holliday Lake, Bear Creek Lake, Twin Lakes and Lake Anna will remain closed until adequate staffing is available and safety protocols have been developed.”

The City of Manassas will need to vote on the tax rate - again.

Mayor Hal Parrish II  on May 18 was asked to reconsider the tax vote after Councilwoman Theresa Coates Ellis voted yes on the second reading of the tax rate, despite the fact she voted no on May 11.

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