My name is Kaycee Emilienburg and I reside in Coles District in Prince William County. On Tuesday, September 8, 2020, I waited, via Zoom, in a green room prepared to offer the following remarks to the Prince William County Board of Supervisors during the citizen’s comment time.

Four hours and 29 minutes later, I was given my three minutes in the sun to speak. By then, without hearing one word from me or the many others who were on deck to speak since 2 p.m., Chair Wheeler and her Democrat colleagues had elevated betrayal to an Olympic-quality event virtually rendering moot most of our remarks.

Although my appreciation for their 8-0 vote on August 4 against the Godwin [Drive Extension/Route 28] Bypass seems ridiculous now, I offer my original remarks as the only voice of my outrage at their unprecedented manipulation of the system and an unconscionable disregard for the constituents most impacted by their reversal.

Chairman Wheeler and fellow supervisors – thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

Do you remember Jacob Marley? He, or rather his ghost, spoke these words to his business partner, Ebenezer Scrooge: “I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wear it.” Destined to wear his chains for all eternity he appears to warn Scrooge that he still has a chance and a hope of escaping the same fate.

You see, business was Jacob’s sole concern in life. What you want to bring back to the table today appears to be, primarily, a business decision. The truth is, it is more than that. And, although some of you who live in other parts of our county may believe what happens in Manassas will not affect you, both the human and environmental impact of your proposed revote will affect you no less than Marley’s chains.

I want to cite a couple of my concerns, focus on the hope found in the words of one of your members, and then encourage you.

I am concerned that the opinion of Manassas City seems to hold such sway over you. I find it curious that the jurisdiction that stands to gain the most from the Godwin Bypass has voted not to provide a cent for its construction.

I am concerned that my supervisor, Supervisor Vega, among others, has endured “immense pressure” from special interests in PWC and Northern Virginia, including the [Prince Wiliam] Chamber of Commerce to reconsider he vote of August 4 against the bypass. Two of her primary concerns were for the impact to the residents in her district as well as the significant environmental concerns the bypass would cause.

Supervisor Bailey, you voiced a concern that $89 million could be lost and you indicated that you don’t believe you and your fellow supervisors fully considered the ramifications of abandoning the bypass. I have hope that when whatever plan is finally accepted, monies will be allocated to underwrite said plan. That makes me wonder if your use of “ramification” is not simply a euphemism for $89 million.

On the other hand, you went on to say that you had 100% certainty that working with your planning and transportation departments will help you address the significant issues involved. Does that mean you will earnestly listen to men like Charlie Grymes who already has a wealth of documentation to support his advice against the bypass?

I was cheered by your further remarks, and I quote, “As leaders on that dais, we need to look beyond being fearful of making a grand decision like this and make a good, wholesome decision for the good of everyone.” I pray you mean that.

May I encourage you to take that fearlessly honest look at all of the BEST evidence. Please include updated assessments from the Army Corps of Engineers. Don’t buckle to those special interests whose “evidence” can be proven to be not only faulty but also downright deceptive. Don’t sell your soul to the highest bidder.

Years from now what we, your constituents, think of you will matter very little, to be honest. Whether we speak your names with respect and appreciation or lace our remarks with the loss and anguish you imposed upon us carry no real weight. But Someone Else, who, by the very nature of his character, cares deeply about the widows and the orphans – His opinion matters the most and His judgment lasts through all eternity. Have you asked yourself, “What would He have me do?”

And one final question: How will you forge your chains?

My name is Ebony Lofton and I am the President of South Cove HOA. We are located right next to Grace Church.

I read your article about the planned homeless shelter and hope you’d be willing to take a statement on our views. All of the residents I’ve talked to are not in support of this plan and we want to do all we can to share our views and to hopefully stop approval of this re-zoning plan.

Personally I believe an additional homeless shelter in the county would be wonderful for the homeless and those in desperate need of social services, but not so close to residential areas. I also know that this would be a huge win for Grace Church as they have begun plans for a new location.

However, I don’t have to tell you the adverse effect it will likely have on our property values. There is also the concern of excessive loitering, a rise in crime with an already diminished Dumfries Police Department, and the overall safety threat to our children and residents with such high foot traffic in close proximity to our community.

We simply don’t have the law enforcement personnel in Dumfries to deal with an increased population of shelter patrons who may suffer from substance abuse or severe mental health issues. Furthermore, it can be assumed that this planned location will potentially serve ALL of Prince William County and some shelter patrons could be “transferred” here from other parts of the County. This an even greater concern to us.

Moreover, we are disappointed in the way this has been handled and want to make sure that the Town Council does a better job at communicating directly with its community stakeholders moving forward. South Cove HOA submitted a FOIA request and received a copy of the Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) application; it indicated plans for 100 beds, additional showers and improvements for a warm kitchen.

We plan to mention the upcoming Public Hearing in our next newsletter and are encouraging our members to attend on September 15th and to contact our local officials directly.

On Tuesday, July 14, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors will vote whether or not to endorse the county transportation staff’s recommended Route 28 bypass project location – Alternative 2B.

Alternative 2B will extend Godwin Drive to existing Route 28 just south of Compton Road at the Fairfax County border and requires the condemnation of at least 50 single-family homes.  In addition to the $89 million in Northern Virginia Transportation Authority funding already allocated, this project will also require the Board of County Supervisors to commit $200 million in bond funding in the near future which will require the Board to pay off this bond with some form of increased tax.

The purpose and need developed for this project to support the recommended alternative 2B goes against the three strategic outcomes of the Prince William County Mobility Strategic Plan:

1. Decrease percentage of residents commuting out of the county
2. Decrease congestion and travel time
3. Increase the use of trains, buses, vanpools, slugging, telecommuting, and other single occupancy vehicle alternatives to get to work

Alternative 2B

1. Promotes SOV travel to jobs outside of the county
2. Includes zero transit service or transit infrastructure
3. Will bring in vehicles that currently use 234 Business/Sudley Rd and 234 Bypass to access I-66, thus increasing congestion.

An alternative recommendation is to work with the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority to reallocate the $89 million to fund the VDOT Centreville Road STARS study recommendations and invest in commuter bus transit and bike/pedestrian infrastructure in the corridor.

In addition, the county should start the Yorkshire Small Area Plan to gain a better understanding of the needs of the community in this area of the county.

The funded investments in the Route 28 Widening in Centreville and the transformation of I-66 that are set to complete in 2022 along with the alternative recommendation is enough to improve the corridor for all users. The newly-elected members of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors need to use this project to start the process of reevaluating the transportation policy in the county as it updates its strategic and comprehensive plans.

The Route 28 Bypass is a bad investment for Prince William County taxpayers.

Mark Scheufler
Prince William County resident

Potomac Local News has received multiple emails following a newsletter that we sent out yesterday morning.

Sharon Terrill, of Occoquan, writes:

Your email deeply concerns me. I had started a subscription to this paper last year as I thought it important to support local news, but your coverage appears to be biased, and yes, somewhat racist, which makes me question that decision.

You said, “A group of Black Lives Matter protestors marched into the Supervisors Chamber, with little regard or respect for the public body, or the service it has provided over the years to the more than a half-million people that live in the county, and hurled insults at all of our elected leaders.

If you’ve read our coverage, you know what I’m talking about.

I hope our leaders won’t be deterred after the way they were treated last night by speakers who clearly didn’t want to communicate in any meaningful way — as many appeared to just want to scream and to use profanity while calling for the abolishment of our police department and of the United States.”

I’m curious as to how you arrived at the belief that the public body has actually “served” the citizens it is supposed to serve. Considering the amount of anger from the protestors, it would indicate to me that there is an issue that needs to be addressed, and to discount their valid concerns because they allowed their anger to be seen is a disservice to them. They are angry, and rightly so. I’d very much appreciate you revisiting your words, and that you actually try and see things from their point of view. From your comments, you obviously are not.

Sharon,

Thank you for your letter. I think it’s quite clear the Prince William County Board of Supervisors has served the residents of the county, both new and old.

The county has a functioning road network. It routinely provides mass transit options for Its residents, including OmniRide, Virginia Railway Express, and funding for Metro. County residents have electricity and water. The landfill is open for public refuse disposal.

The county has a robust system of parks available for everyone to use. The county police department has a 93% citizen approval rating. The county funds the salaries of competent judges who work in a clean, efficient, and well-funded courthouse so that if and when you need the resources of the law, you can access them.

The county has a robust social services department that cares for the needs of its most vulnerable citizens. Most importantly, thanks to the Board of County Supervisors’ annual decision to automatically give 57% of the county’s total budget to the school system, schools are well funded and are able to provide for the education of our children.

Theses are “streetlight” issues that the Board of County Supervisors are charged with.

This service to the community has attracted many employers to the region, to include major medical providers like UVA Health System/Novant Health Prince Willaim and Haymarket medical centers, Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, as well as biomedical research companies to the Innovation at Prince William Business Park outside Manassas. The FBI has its Northern Virginia Headquarters at Innovation, and many logistics operations, including McLane, Martin Brower, FedEx, and US Foods all operate in Prince William County.

The county, in cooperation with Manassas City, funds the state’s largest and busiest municipal airport, Manassas Regional Airport, to further attract jobs and provide access to the region.

Overall, if the Board of County Supervisors wasn’t serving its residents, I would question why Prince William County is now the second most populated jurisdiction in Virginia. People know a good deal — and a good place to live, work, and raise a family — when they see one.

Terry Anderson, of Orange, writes:

As a professional journalist and journalism professor, I have to say you don’t sound at all objective or fair. You sound like a shill for the board. They are the ones you’re supposed to keep under a critical eye. Try [public relations.] Seems more your speed.

Also, hard to watch is unarmed, innocent young men being murdered, and peaceful protestors being beaten to the ground by club-wielding police. A meeting full of protestors exercising their right to petition their government, even if unruly, doesn’t come up to the standard of hard to watch.

The following was submitted to Potomac Local News as a letter to the editor:

Dear editor,

I read Mr. William Card’s letter and am in agreement with some parts of his rambling commentary. Apparently he was trying to call for DECORUM, the definition of which I have included below. It is from the Cambridge Dictionary.

decorum

noun [ U ] formal: behavior that is controlled, calm, and polite.

“As young ladies we were expected to act/behave with proper decorum.”

But he somehow got off track even blaming some famous, but unnamed, leftist for the expression, “You chickens have come home to roost”. Bill, if you look it up you’ll find the expression dates back to antiquity so you can put away your unnecessary slam at leftists.

I agree with Mr. Card that the moment the first F bomb was dropped, the speaker should have been told to refrain from such language and if it continued, the speaker should have been removed from the room. Subsequent speakers should have been advised to clean up their act or leave. If they refuse, then out the door.

So, Chair-at-Large Wheeler and members of the Board of County Supervisors, set the rules for decorum now and make certain folks adhere to them or have them escorted from the premises. Don’t concern yourself if they represent the right or left, decorum is the rule.

George S. Harris
Coles Magisterial District
Manassas, VA 20112

Letters to the editor that address local matters are always considered for publication here at Potomac Local News. You may send your letter to [email protected].

Potomac Local News received this letter to the editor from William “Bill” Card, the Prince William County Republican Party Chairman in response to our reporting on last night’s Board of County Supervisors meeting.

Congratulations, your baby is all grown up now and it came to the McCoart Building on Tuesday to terrorize us all. To be sure, any of those people who had any interest in legitimate political discourse voted for you in November. As a famous leftist once said – your “chickens have come home to roost!”

You cannot marinate a movement in the politics of envy, greed, lies, and racial division with the expectation that you will birth a legitimate and peaceful discourse. They think they are mad at us on the “right,” but as we have seen in Ferguson, Baltimore, Minneapolis, Atlanta, etc. etc. etc. when the burning and the violence start – they really don’t care.

As you experienced on Tuesday night – you all will be acceptable collateral damage.

You see, one loses a bit of the moral high ground in the profanity laced vitriol of Tuesday. The loss continues the minute you throw the first brick through the first window. That loss accelerates with the burning of businesses and residences, reaching its peak with the attacks on the community and its police.

Get a handle on this before it spins out of control.

Weigh the difference between the entirely peaceful (though admittedly loud) Second Amendment and Open Virginia protests with the violence, profanity, and anarchy that descended on Prince William County in this latest disgusting event. This is decidedly not what democracy looks like.

Appeasement will only breed more anarchy. You better put an end to this now. Do not surrender to the mob. Stand up and be strong.

Sincerely,
William Card
Dumfries, Virginia

Letters to the editor that address local matters are always considered for publication here at Potomac Local News. You may send your letter to [email protected].

By D.J. Jordan & Scott Martin

We join millions of people around the nation, and the world, in denouncing police brutality and injustice in America, and we grieve the senseless murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others.

Unfortunately, we have both experienced the scourge of racism as African American men, yet we are committed to a better America, where all people are treated equal, and where everyone can enjoy Life,

Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, no matter their ethnicity or socioeconomic status.

As the nation deals with racial unrest and the grief of these murders, many are understandably turning to ideas to keep injustices like this from occurring in the future. In years past, instances of police brutality have spurred intense dialogue in communities across America, but this moment feels different. Maybe it is the stress from health care disparities highlighted by the current COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe it is the string of fatal stories and traumatic video, back to back.

It’s important for Americans to have these conversations about change. While the overwhelming majority of police officers are good civil servants, the conversations must lead to real reform to stop the few bad people from abusing police power.

One of the latest proposals that has spread from activists is the #DefundThePolice movement. This idea stems from the belief that funding should be reallocated from police budgets to government programs and services that will reduce inequality and increase opportunity. While we support measures to reduce inequality and increase opportunity for all, defunding police is the wrong approach to addressing police brutality. For various reasons.

First of all, defunding the police reduces funding for vitally important training and ongoing professional development that needs to occur to address bad policing tactics. Police brutality usually occurs when overly aggressive policing tactics are implemented in dramatic fashion, or with evil intent. Although police abuse of power is rare overall, just one time is too many.

To reduce this type of violence, we should reevaluate policing tactics and make sure our police are trained in the most effective de-escalation skills and techniques possible. If the intense training that police must undergo gets cut back, we will see a sharp rise in bad use of force decisions and abuse of power. Good policing requires a commitment to robust training that must be ongoing. This requires funding.

Secondly, defunding the police will harm our force’s ability to recruit and retain good officers. Many activists and legislators have talked about the need to have a diverse police department that reflects the demographics of the communities they serve; if we want to recruit more minorities into policing, we must ensure a competitive living wage. Cutting the starting salary of about $52,000 in Prince William County, which is less than half of the County’s $107,925 medium income, will further intensify the problem for the recruitment of viable talent.

Police departments across the nation already have a problem recruiting minorities, especially from the African American community. According to a 2019 Police Executive Research Forum study, localities are not only having a difficult time recruiting officers, fewer young people today have an interest in policing, and in many cases, law enforcement officers are leaving the policing profession well before they reach retirement age. Defunding their budgets will only exasperate this problem.

Lastly, defunding the police could reduce employee benefits that address emotional resiliency and other mental health issues that can lead to Post Traumatic Stress. The need for professional therapy and counseling and a critical incident stress management system is vital to help maintain quality of life for both the officer and his or her family. Due to continued exposure to high risk, high stress, high volatile situations on a daily basis, the profession is considered hazardous. According to various rankings like CNBC and TIME Magazine, law enforcement is always ranked in the top five for most stressful jobs in America.

So, you may be asking. What do we do to stop police brutality and address the need for police reform? We need real criminal justice reform that is focused on improving public safety and making the system fairer. The law enforcement community, as a whole, must work with legislators to reevaluate tactics and training. Law enforcement captains and leaders should evaluate whether their officers have empathy for the community they are sworn to protect. Localities should also perform better oversight of police departments.

In 2015, a Federal Task Force on 21st Century Policing, created by President Barack Obama, issued various recommendations to improve policing, including the utilization of best practice methodology for police tactics and techniques. Defunding the police was not part of their recommendations.

Another important factor that must also be addressed is the legal doctrine known as qualified immunity, which has been used to shield police officers from allegations of misconduct. There are various bills at the federal and state level that would reform the use and standard for qualified immunity defense in a lawsuit; we believe these ideas deserve a vigorous debate in legislatures and communities across the nation.

Dialogue about this important topic must continue. The overwhelming majority of police are good and decent people who should not be stereotyped as bad cops. But lives lost at the hand of the government is a grave injustice that must end. One life is one too many.
There are many reforms that we must debate, study, and analyze. However, defunding the police should not be one of them.

D.J. Jordan is a former candidate for the 31st House of Delegates District, and former Chair of the Virginia State Board of Social Services. Scott Martin is a 26-year professional law enforcement officer. D.J. is a Republican while Scott is a Democrat and they both live in Prince William County.

From a reader:

Good morning. Hope this finds you all well during this continued tough time.

I was born and raised in [Prince William] County (actually born in Fredericksburg because Potomac Hospital wasn’t yet built) in 1968 and graduated from Potomac in 1986 (34 years ago today actually-eeks).

I live on the Eastern Shore of [Virginia] but come back to NOVA when I get the chance.

I was so happy to stumble upon potomaclocal.com and will definitely subscribe.

I was disappointed, however, that your pic of the state of [Virigina] doesn’t include the Eastern Shore. Hope you will google maps of [Virginia] and change the picture you have on there. We are just across the Chesapeake Bay and a little south of Prince William County. You have to go through [Maryland], or across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel to get to our little slice of paradise between the bay and the Atlantic Ocean.

Don’t worry, lots of folks don’t realize the ESVA exists. But thought I would mention it.

Thanks for creating this site! Looking forward to staying connected.

-Ann Beamer Williams
Onancock, Va.

Hello Ann,

And here I was thinking that I was the only one who cared about our logo. Interestingly, we adopted our current logo at the end of March after three years of contemplating new designs, options, looks, and feels. (Confession: My wife was tired of hearing me talk about it).

Some previous sample versions of the logo did include the Eastern Shore:

However, based on the advice of our graphic design team, we opted to go without. The decision made sense visually, for the most part, as well as because we don’t cover the Eastern Shore.

But hey, who knows what the future will bring?  We’re 10 years old and just getting started.