[Updated 4:30 p.m.] Dominion Energy held a virtual meeting to discuss the removal of a coal ash plant near the Possum Point Power Station near Dumfries.
The meeting was conducted by Dominion Projects Director Spencer Adkins, who made a presentation to discuss the possibility of creating a new landfill for coal ash that came from Possum Point during its time as a coal-powered plant, from the late 1940s to 2003.
This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.
Motomember Manassas, formerly Manassas Honda, is looking at a new location outside Manassas Mall.
The new location would be located on Rixlew Avenue, outside the mall. Motomember applied to Prince William County to build the store.
This article requires a paid Locals Only Membership to read. Please Sign In or Upgrade to a paid membership. Thank you.
Stafford County Public Schools will launch a cybersecurity program where students can earn an Associate's Degree.
The program will begin in the ninth grade and is designed to culminate in attaining four industry-recognized credentials, a high school diploma, and an associate's degree in up to five years.
This article requires a paid Locals Only Membership to read. Please Sign In or Upgrade to a paid membership. Thank you.
Occoquan will soon enact an amplified outdoor sound permit which will allow residents and businesses to play music for outdoor events. The licenses enable sound to be audible at 50 feet beyond a property.
The town will require businesses to renew permits annually. The cost of the license will be $100.
The town has set hours when amplified outdoor sound will be prohibited, between 10 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and between 8 p.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sunday to Thursday. The permit program is scheduled to launch in Spring 2022.
In other town news, officials want more information from the developer of The Mill at Occoquan. The building is designed to be a five-story building located on Mill Street on the waterfront.
The Mill would feature 52 apartments and 7,000 square feet of office space which includes space for a restaurant with a terrace overlooking the Occoquan River. If The Mill is built, it would be the tallest and most prominent building in Occoquan.
An application for The Mill had been presented to the Architecture Review Board at its meeting on Sept. 28, 2021. The September meeting resulted in the board asking for more information from the applicant on a range of different topics concerning the project such as who would be in charge of maintaining planters boxes, the style of door for residential use and fire safety, placement of retail signage, and copper downspouts that were mentioned but weren't in the design.
The next meeting of the Occoquan Town Council is February 1 at the Occoquan Town Hall, at 314 Mill Street. When the Occoquan Town Council meetings were supposed to take place in January, they were canceled due to the recent snowstorms.
Stafford County is participating in studies with the Virginia Department of Transportation dedicated to improving two major roadways.
As part of its update on its 2040 strategic plan, the agencies are studying Route 17 (Warrenton Road) to find safety gaps for commuters and pedestrians. The study is also looking for opportunities to provide additional bike paths, walkways, and other connections.
This article requires a paid Locals Only Membership to read. Please Sign In or Upgrade to a paid membership. Thank you.
The Federal Government began distributing 500 million home coronavirus tests kits Tuesday, January 18. The Biden administration ordered the kits to make testing more available and equitable, said Virginia Senator Tim Kaine.
Citizens may go to covidtests.org, where they can get to get up to four free tests per household. Users that provide their name and address will have the tests shipped.
This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.
The new brewery will be at Fredericksburg Square, a 19,000-square foot property on Caroline Street. The brewery will also be home to a new Hot Chikn Kitchn, a Nashville-style chicken restaurant in Woodbridge.
The owners of Water's End and Hot Chikn Kitchn, Zach Mote and Mike Sagaro, entered into a partnership that resulted in Fredericksburg Square's purchase. The duo had been working on this acquisition since Summer 2019, after dealing with setbacks such as the coronavirus pandemic and the passing of the building's owner Van Perroy they finally completed the sale in December 2021.
This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.
Recently hired Chief of Police Al Siebert spends his first 100 days making a full review of the Haymarket Police Department.
Siebert made his report to the Haymarket Town Council which consisted of a review of the department. The newly-appointed chief held audits and inventories of everything from making sure policies were up to date, to inventory of resources and equipment, and making changes to document filing which the chief had found to be problematic.
One of the main aspects of the report was a full review of the department policy to make sure they were up to date, conformed to current practices, and were accredited. Siebert reported that 80 policies were written generally but were hard to read and not easy to follow. The policies followed by the Haymarket Police Department were based on policies followed by police departments in Southwest Virginia which were adopted and accredited in 2016.
According to the chief, the department is currently updating the policies to make them current, easy to read and customized to Haymarket, a town located on Interstate 66 in Prince William County.
A full inventory of police personnel and equipment was also made, the results of which Siebert called "remarkable" in his report. Currently, the Haymarket Police Department has six full time officers and three part time officers that have an average of 15 years of experience which makes the department personnel one of the more experienced in the area. Siebert's assessment found that all of the officers have certifications in two or more fields of specialties.
The department also did an inventory of its equipment and found it all to be in good shape, Siebert announced that moving forward there would be semi-annual inspections of all police property to make sure that it all stays up to standards.
Siebert also held an inventory and audit of the department's evidence room as well as their procedures for documenting and labeling all items kept for evidence. The Chief's report found that all property and evidence were accounted for and standards are being met.
The department plans to procure a safe for extra security of valuables, drugs, and weapons, the department is also currently purging any property and evidence no longer needed.
One issue found by the audit was that the department's storage of internal documents was found to be problematic. Instead of keeping the documents on a central server, the department was found to instead use external hard drives to hold documents. Siebert reported that a new server would be installed and would be completed by the end of the month.
Siebert also reported that the department would also restart its Drone program, the Haymarket police does own a drone which could be used for assisting officers in search and rescue, traffic collision investigations, crime scene analysis, crowd monitoring, surveillance, town planning needs, structural issues, among other uses.
Siebert had wanted to get the program up and running in his first 100 days but complications such as a certification class officers needed for the program was canceled and damage to the drone itself delayed the program's relaunch.
Going forward Chief Siebert wants to have plans for department budgets that look towards the next five to ten years and create development plans for the officers for advancement. All these will help to provide quality service and engagement to the community according to the chief.
A Manassas City Council member whose also running for congress shined a light on human trafficking.
During a city council meeting on Monday, January 10, Councilmember Theresa Coates Ellis introduced a proclamation to end human trafficking and highlight efforts to promote awareness by local rotary clubs and the Manassas City Police Department.
Ellis' proclamation designated January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Ellis also specified January 11 as Human Trafficking Awareness day and #WearBlueDay, phrased for social media.
