The Code of the Ninja requires focus, discipline, concentration. It can be a lot of fun if you're into coding languages.
Code Ninjas, a Houston, Texas-based franchise specializing in STEM training for children, has opened a new location off Garrisonville Road in North Stafford. The center teaches computer-literate kids about coding languages such as Javascript, C Sharp, and Python by building video games and teaching kids how to use other devices such as robotics and 3-D printers.
Jessica Massey, the franchise owner, is a native of Stafford County and met her husband, a Marine who was stationed at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico. The Masseys and Code Ninjas first came together when they were trying to find an activity for their son who wasn't interested in the typical athletics many of his age get into.
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The Stafford County School Board held a special meeting on Wednesday, November 10 to introduce its new superintendent, Dr. Thomas Taylor.
At the beginning of the special session, Dr. Taylor signed his contract, coming the county's new superintendent of schools. Afterward, Taylor made a speech that invoked the Marine Corps as a standard of service.
Taylor would mention service and education as essential to his life. The new superintendent said that his priorities would be to address the learning gap, ongoing transportation issues that left students without a ride to and from school at the beginning of the school year in August, and to provide more support the system's teachers.
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After a slow down due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Manassas Regional Airport is flying high once again.
The airport's director Juan Rivera updated The Manassas City Council on the annual progress report for the state's largest municipal airport. For Fiscal Year 202,1, Rivera said there's not just the number of flights coming in and out of the airport but also the number of businesses that have begun operating.
The airport currently has 410 aircraft based on its premises and recorded 92,784 flights which was the highest number of flights in over 10 years.
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Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) took a tour of the Walker-Grant Center in Downtown Fredericksburg, where pre-school age children learn, to promote the education and workforce portion of the White House's "Build Back Better" plan.
During the tour, Sen. Kaine informed members of the Fredericksburg City School Board and other assembled educators that out of the bills' funding of $1.7 trillion over 10 years, $400 billion of that funding will go toward early child care as well as preschool to 12th-grade education.
The education portion of the bill would be used to fund universal free preschool and access to early childcare for children between the ages of three and four. Kaine said 145,000 children in Virginia don't have access to early child care. The Senator also noted that early child care currently costs on average $8,300 a year per child, which some families would find difficult to afford.
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Good weather and a bald eagle flying overhead helped to make a pleasant experience for large crowds that gathered to watch the 12th Annual Northern Virginia Veterans Day Parade held in Downtown Manassas.
The parade began at 11 a.m. and proceeded down Center Street. The review stand was set near the Harris Pavilion at the corner of West and Center streets.
According to Mike Riley, a member of the Veterans Parade Board of Directors, this special parade was exceptional for the city because it honors the U.S. Marine Corps members, part of the Northern Virginia community.
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When Bill Edwards was about to leave the U.S. Army after a 12-year-career he never would have guessed that it would lead to operating a business where he'd chase geese away.
A former infantryman with a degree in Human Environmental Science, Edwards had many options that would allow him a good livelihood once he entered into civilian life. One option that caught his eye was entrepreneurship, a word that Edwards himself says he'd never heard until that moment.
As he looked into that option, Edwards learned that one path would be to open a franchise. This was a path that Edwards balked at since, to his knowledge, franchise equaled fast food which was a market which he had no interest in. But when he learned of the wider world that word encompassed Edwards found one franchise that caught his eye.
Geese Chasers has a simple business, to get rid of geese that are being a nuisance in a particular area. First opened in 1999, Geese Chasers has opened locations across the country in states like Alabama, Georgia, and New Jersey to name a few. The company has also been profiled on various national news media as well as shows like Animal Planet.
The method used by Geese Chasers is to use trained dogs, specifically border collies, to chase the geese away from beaches, lakes, and various public areas when they become a nuisance. According to Edwards, border collies are preferred because they can mimic the pattern of natural predators which the geese's natural sense of danger is attuned to. Border Collies are also herding dogs so they'll just chase the geese instead of hunting them down.
This method of dispersing the geese is considered safe and humane because they don't hunt the birds down to eliminate them, in spite of the fact of the potential issues they can cause.
Edwards has found enjoyment in his line of work after the military, he enjoys taking Anna-Liz, his three-year-old border collie, out to chase the geese The company purchased from a dog breeder and paired her with Edwards. Geese Chasers trained Anna-Liz and took to commands well. She's also a strong swimmer and is battle-tested, indicated by a small scar on her bottom lip.
Edwards takes the opportunity to engage with the public and explains the value of a company like his, especially when it comes to public health.
"Imagine that the geese are in the parking lot of a food processing plant, they mess up the area and people walk into work despite all that mess and now there's a potentially national health concern that's happening. We go in there and chase the geese off and make sure that won't happen."
Edwards and Anna-Liz currently cover the Northern Virginia area and can be hired to get rid of geese wherever they may be a nuisance. In addition to getting rid of the geese, Geese Chasers will also remove eggs from the area.
"When geese find a place that they haven't been shooed away from, they tend to nest in those areas," says Edwards. "Once we chase the geese out we find the eggs and remove them from the area so they don't come back."
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An institution in furniture delivery in Prince William County today celebrated its expansion by opening a new building.
Fidelitone, a national supply chain management firm, will open a new building near Gainesville to expand its abilities as a last-mile hub. The company specializes in delivering everything from beds to ottomans.
The company has had a presence in the city since it first opened the original last mile hub in 1999. Currently, the hub's workforce consists of over 40 percent of residents from the area.
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In addition to the races for the trifecta of the state governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general, residents also voted for their districts' representatives on the county board of supervisors and the school board.
Potomac Local went to Rocky Run Elementary School in Hartwood and the John Musante Porter Branch of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library in Garrisonville to find out how residents had voted.
In Hartwood, a small sample showed a majority of voters voting for Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin and voting straight down party lines. The Republican ticket appeared to save a slight advantage in Garrisonville, with voters voting straight down party lines.
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A plan to build 25 new homes in Hartwood did not get the blessing of the Stafford County Planning Commission.
On October 27, the seven-member Board with seats appointed by county supervisors voted to deny an application seeking to develop Orris Estates on nearly 13 acres of land near the Lake Mooney Reservoir, on Manorwood Drive.
Drees Homes, a Washington D.C.-based developer, had applied to the planning commission for a zoning change in the Hartwood district that would allow for the development. It also needs a Conditional Use Permit to allow for the density required in such a neighborhood. Drees Homes had submitted a completed application for both the rezoning request and the conditional use permit in May 2021.
