In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, Stafford County government offices, departments and facilities will be closed on Wednesday, November 25, Thursday, November 26, and Friday, November 27, 2020.

The Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court and the General District Court in Stafford will close at noon on Wednesday, November 25, and all day on Thursday, November 26, and Friday, November 27. The Circuit Court will be closed Wednesday, November 25, Thursday, November 26, and Friday, November 27, 2020.

The Regional Landfill and Belman Road Recycling Center in Fredericksburg will be closed only on Thursday, November 26. The landfill and recycling center will follow normal operating hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25, and Friday, November 27. They will be open during normal operating hours of 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on both Saturday, November 28, and Sunday, November 29, 2020.

All offices of the Rappahannock Area Health District will close at noon on Wednesday, November 25, and will be closed all day on Thursday, November 26, and Friday, November 27, 2020.

The following offices and facilities will remain open:

Fire and Rescue Information (540) 658-4400

Emergency 9-1-1

Sheriff’s Office Information (540) 658-4400

Emergency 9-1-1

Magistrate (540) 659-2968

All parks will be open for the regular winter operating hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

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Maria Bernabe Cortes De Rosales was born on June 13, 1929 and passed away on November 19, 2020. Maria was a resident of Manassas, Virginia.

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Thanks to a new program, Germanna Community College can provide up to $1.1 million or up to $3,000 in free tuition and training per student to local people who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

Virginia allocates $30 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act dollars to help Virginians whose employment has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic crisis pursue workforce training in a high-demand field.

The new Re-Employing Virginians, dubbed “REV” initiative, will provide scholarships to eligible individuals to enroll in a workforce or community college program in five essential industries, including health care, information technology, skilled trades, public safety, and early childhood education.

The initiative will provide one-time REV scholarships of $3,000 to register in a qualifying full-time workforce program and $1,500 to register part-time or in a short-term, noncredit training program. The Virginia Community College System and Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads Local Workforce Development Areas will administer the CARES Act funding for the REV initiative, with $27 million allocated to VCCS for statewide programs and $3 million the two workforce areas.

Together Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia have experienced nearly 50 percent of all the initial and continuing unemployment claims.

“Virginians who have been furloughed, had hours reduced, or lost a job because of the pandemic are struggling and wondering what the future holds,” said Gov. Ralph Northam. “Investing in programs that help people develop skills in high-demand fields is a win for workers, employers, and our economy. As we focus on recovering from the impacts of the global pandemic, the new REV initiative will give Virginians the resources they need to get back on their feet and help ensure that our Commonwealth emerges from this public health crisis even stronger than we were before.”

“Germanna is excited to offer new and current students the opportunity to have their spring semester tuition and fees fully covered from a one-time grant in high demand areas,” said Aaron Whitaker, Germanna’s director of financial aid

They include:

• Early Childhood Education
• Healthcare
• Information Technology
• Manufacturing
• Public Safety
• Skilled Trades

Information on eligibility, programs, and how to begin the process is available at Germanna.edu or by emailing Aaron Whitacre at [email protected] for certificate/degree programs, or Martha O’Keefe at [email protected] for trade/career training programs.

In terms of workforce development training, REV will not only help local students and their families, but it will also close skills gaps for local businesses and companies.

“The REV funding stream will help unemployed and underemployed individuals earn industry credentials that lead to good jobs in fields that are hiring,” said O’Keefe, associate vice president of Workforce & Professional Development at Germanna.

The funding will help pay for classes in skilled trades such as Electrical, HVAC, Plumbing, Welding, Heavy Equipment Operation, Machining, and others.  Certifications in these areas lead directly to in-demand jobs and help the individual recover from jobs lost or work hours reduced due to the coronavirus.

The Center for Workforce and Community Education will help students forge paths to good jobs and career advancement opportunities.  Also, several academic IT classes and programs are eligible for REV funding.  These include academic pathways in Cyber Security, Networking, and Information Systems Technology.

“Students in these programs can move toward jobs that pay well in the fast-growing IT field,” O’Keefe said.

There are three eligibility factors:

• Virginia citizenship
• Being un- or underemployed due to the pandemic
• Enrolling in a program in a high-demand career field

Unemployed individuals must have filed an unemployment benefits claim on or after Aug. 1. In this case, underemployment is when an individual lost a full-time job because the coronavirus caused their employer to close or reduced staffing, and they’re now working in a part-time job that pays less than $15 per hour.

Vouchers will be issued for students pursuing high-demand fields, which at Germanna are: Early Childhood Education, Healthcare, Information Technology, Manufacturing, Public Safety, Skilled Trades.

Individuals can receive up to $1,500 for short-term career training, $1,500 for part-time studies towards a certificate or degree program, or $3,000 for pursuing a full-time certificate or degree program.

If a student qualifies, or if they’re unsure if they qualify, they can visit germanna.edu.

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The Prince William County Fire & Rescue System has begun collecting toys for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Foundation. This year’s event will run through December 12, 2020.

Toys for Tots is a national charity program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve. Toys are collected and distributed to less fortunate children whose parents may be struggling financially and unable to purchase gifts during the traditional Christmas Holiday Season.

It is the only charitable endeavor associated with the Department of Defense that reaches out to local communities. The program was started in 1947, in California, by Major William L. Hendricks and was inspired by his wife, Diane, when she tried to donate a doll to a needy child but could not find an organization to do so. At Diane’s suggestion, Major Hendricks gathered a group of local Marine reservists who coordinated and collected 5,000 toys for local children.

Hendricks used his position as director of public relations at Warner Brothers Studio to enlist celebrity support and later asked his friend, Walt Disney, to design a poster for a national campaign. The result was the three-car, red train logo.

Please drop off your new and unwrapped toy at any Prince William County, City of Manassas Park or Manassas City fire station, Prince William County Public Safety Training Center in Nokesville as well as the lobby at the McCoart Government Center in Woodbridge. Please follow the drop off instructions listed below:

• Enclose the items in a white or clear trash bag. On the outside of the bag, mark the number of items enclosed.

• Due to COVID-19, visitors will not be granted access to enter the stations. Upon your arrival, please ring the doorbell and leave your bagged donations outside the door. Station personnel will retrieve the bags.

• Clothes and used toys cannot be accepted. Please consider donating used toys and clothing to churches and shelters in your neighborhood.

• If you prefer to make a monetary donation, in lieu of purchasing a toy, please visit our website.

All toys will be delivered to the Toys for Tots collection site for processing and delivery to pre-authorized organizations who have requested toys. Fire stations are not permitted to deliver toys directly to citizens.

A new, permanent ramp from Route 28 North to I-66 East will open on or about Friday morning, November 20. Drivers on Route 28 North will stay to the right to access I-66 East using the new ramp.

The new ramp is one of several major traffic pattern changes happening this year in the I-66 and Route 28 Interchange area as part of the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project.

Opening the new ramp will end use of the current, temporary ramp accessed from the left-most lanes of northbound Route 28. The temporary detour for Route 29 (Lee Highway) South drivers heading to I-66 East will also be lifted.

To implement this traffic pattern change, drivers should expect the following on Thursday night, November 19, weather permitting:

• Around 9 p.m. Thursday, November 19, northbound Route 28 between Old Centreville Road and I-66 will be reduced to one travel lane.
• Between midnight and 4 a.m. the ramp from Route 29 South to Route 28 North will be closed. To reach Route 28 North and/or I-66 East, traffic will be detoured farther south to the I-66/Route 29 Centreville
  Interchange, stay to the right and follow signs to I-66 East. Drivers heading to Route 28 North should stay to the right and follow signs to Route 28 North.

• Around midnight on Thursday night, November 19, the temporary ramp from the left side of Route 28 North to I-66 East will close. Traffic will continue north to Westfields Boulevard West, stay to the right for Route 28 South, then follow signs to I-66 East.

• Around 4 a.m. on Friday, November 20, the new, permanent ramp from Route 28 North to I-66 East will open. Drivers on northbound Route 28 will stay to the right to access the ramp to I-66 East. Drivers on southbound Route 29 traveling to I-66 East via Route 28 North will take the ramp to Route 28 North, and then stay to the right on the ramp/auxiliary lane to I-66 East.

Drivers should always use caution and pay attention to lane markings and roadway signs in construction work zones. All work is weather dependent and will be rescheduled if inclement conditions occur.

Over the next few weeks, drivers should expect additional changes at the interchange, including new ramps from I-66 West and Route 28 North to the new Braddock Road/Walney Road overpass, and the connecting of Walney Road and Braddock Road via the new overpass.

The new Route 28 and I-66 Interchange will improve traffic flow on I-66 and Route 28, and provide access to and from the future I-66 Express Lanes. The I-66 Outside the Beltway Express Lanes, which span from I-495 to Route 29 in Gainesville, are expected to open in December 2022.