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Here’s a list of 2016 Memorial Day closings

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A plumber helped Stafford fire crews rescue people from burning apartments

Apartment residents called Stafford fire and rescue crews when smoke trapped them inside their homes.

Fire crews were called at 8:20 a.m. Thursday to apartments at 202 Chesterfield Lane in the Stafford Meadows section of North Stafford. Crews used hoses to extinguish the blaze and ladders to the second and third floors to rescue the occupants, stated Stafford fire and rescue Battalion Chief Mark Doyle.

One person was taken to a hospital after he was injured while escaping the blaze. All other victims were evaluated my EMS crews but refused to be taken to a hospital.

One dog was pulled from the apartment building and was reunited with its owner, said Doyle. Building inspectors deemed eight apartments unsafe to occupy.

The fire was discovered by a plumber working in the area. The plumber stayed on the scene to help fire crews with their rescue efforts. Stafford fire officials did not release the name of the plumber or of the company.

The cause of the fire, and how much damage it did is still under investigation. The apartment building’s solid wall construction helped prevent the spread of fire, said Doyle.

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Updated: Allison Mott goes missing from Haymarket

Updated 

Police located Allison Mott. They report she is safe. Authorities said they could not disclose where she was found.

Original Post Friday, May 27

From police: 

*MISSING ENDANGERED ADULT: The Prince William County Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating a missing, endangered adult, Allison Elizabeth MOTT.  Family members reported to police that Allison was last seen leaving her residence located in the 15700 block of Ryder Cup Dr in Haymarket on May 12 around 1:20PM.  Allison left the residence voluntarily on foot and may be in need of assistance which qualifies her as being endangered.  Allison has not made any known contact with friends or family since she was last seen. Allison is also known to go by the name “Jules Rodriguez.” Anyone with information on Allison’s whereabouts is asked to call police at 703-792-6500.

Allison Elizabeth MOTT is described as a white female, 30 years of age, 5’07”, 135lbs with brown hair recently dyed jet black and hazel eyes.

Last seen wearing blue jeans and a dark grey jacket.

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Kyung Kim selected as Mother’s Day Makeover winner at Manassas Park Community Center

Mother’s Day is a special day set aside every May to celebrate the wonderful things our mother’s have done for us year round. Manassas Park Community Center selected one very special mother this year to win their Mother’s Day Makeover Contest.

The staff at the Manassas Park Community Center showered Kyung Kim, a 66-year-old mother of three with gifts. Kim received a makeover, jewelry, and food goods from area businesses, just to name a few prizes.

Kim’s daughters, Vivianne and Grace, now have children of their own that adore their Grandma Kyung. According to her daughter Vivianne Krol, she often tells her children about her mother being the head of their household and raising three young kids from the age of 31 in Korea.

Krol describes her mother as the most courageous and selfless woman she knows. She was able to provide for children without any higher education or prior job experience. Kyung would take any job available. She has worked as a housekeeper, delivery person, salesperson, seamstress, and cook. By working nights and weekends for many years, she was able to save enough money to open a restaurant.

According to Krol, her mother greatly encouraged her and her sister to pursue higher education because she was never given the chance. Kim’s father did not believe in sending girls to school because he thought of it to be a waste of money, she added.

“For her own daughters, she always emphasized the importance of a good education and supported us any way she could.  My mom was very proud when my sister and I graduated from college,” said Vivianne Krol.

Kim, 66. still believes in challenging herself. She has become a naturalized citizen and is taking line dancing classes. A recent knee surgery has limited Kim’s line dancing and her ability to play with her grandchildren. According to Krol, her mother has maintained a positive attitude as well as continuing to inspire her family.

To kickoff her Mother’s Day Makeover, Kim was taken to PR at Partners to get her hair and makeup done. She then received a pedicure and manicure from Pretty Nails in Manassas Park.

According to Krol, her mother received a lot of compliments on her new look from friends and family. Upon arrival to the Manassas Park Community Center, Kim was able to pick out a necklace from Deb Vaughan of Stella and Dot. She also received a spa basket and a basket of gourmet cookies from Bijou’s Sweet Treats.

The family was also served a gourmet lunch catered by Heart 2 Heart Catering.

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Barricade ends with trespassing charge

A barricade situation at a home in the 8400 block of Tomislav Street outside Manassas is over.

A family member came to the home and would not leave despite requests from those inside the house, according to Prince William police.

The barricade situation ended about 1 p.m., according to police. A massive police and fire and rescue had gathered on the residential street lined with single family homes.

Nearby Bennett Elementary School was placed in secure the building status as a precaution.

There were no weapons involved, and no injuries were reported. Police said the yet-to-be identified suspect is charged with trespassing.

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Manassas leaders float idea of downtown co-working space

Manassas City officials propose spending up to $200,000 to place a co-working space inside the newly acquired downtown Fiducial building.

The co-working space would serve entrepreneurs and start-up businesses in the market to rent personal workspaces, offices, and conference room space to hold client meetings. The move comes after the Mason Enterprise Center, which catered to small start-up businesses on the Science Technology Campus of George Mason University in Prince William County, was shuttered a year ago.

The vacant Fiducial building, once home to Fauquier Bank, was jointly purchased earlier this month by ECU Communications and Whitlock Wealth Managment. ECU will relocate its offices from Prince William County to the 2nd floor of the building. Whitlock also plans to open a second office there.

The $200,000 would be used to build out the 1st floor of the building for the co-working space, according to sources familiar with the project. The money would be a one-time investment on the city’s part, and funds could come from a pot of about $600,000 the Manassas City Economic Development Authority has in reserve — not taxpayer funds.

A group made up of city administrators, Historic Manassas, Inc. officials, and the new owners of the Fiducial building approached the EDA about acquiring the funds, according to sources.

The city’s EDA is funded by monies it receives from outstanding loans issued by private banks and backed by the city and state economic development authorities. The city’s EDA collects a tenth of one percent of each outstanding bond at the end of the year, said EDA Chairman Holmes Smith.

The city’s EDA also provides grants to help city businesses open and expand. Recently it gave $20,000 in grant money to help open Jirani Coffeehouse in downtown, and The New School on Liberia Avenue to open its doors, Smith added.

The one-time $200,000 for the co-working center would be a one-time, good-faith investment to spur new business in the city. Some cities, like Fairfax City, which provided $25,000 from its annual fiscal 2017 budget to fund its Mason Enterprise Center located off the university campus, can opt to fund incubators on a yearly basis.

Mason Enterprise Center business incubators in Woodbridge and Spotsylvania County have closed. A Mason Enterprise Center at the Science and Technology Campus of George Mason in Prince William is now the Serious Games Institute. Stafford County leaders this month voted to use $500,000 fund a new business incubator in that county.

If the Manassas co-working space fails within three years, the money must be paid back to the EDA, sources said.

Fredericksburg provide a $50,000 grant to Fredxchange so it could open its co-working space called “The Foundry” which opened in August 2015.

Neither the Manassas City Council or the EDA have held public discussions about the project. A straw poll during a closed session at the EDA’s last meeting May 17 ended with two Board members in support of the project, two who opposed it, and three others on the seven-member board seeking more information about the proposal, sources said.

Historic Manssas Inc., the city’s downtown promotional arm, would be tapped to staff the co-working center, promote it, and recruit new businesses to rent space the center, sources said. The organization is already charged with promoting the city’s downtown by holding events, and advertising empty storefronts.

New responsibilities at the co-work space would be an expansion of Historic Manassas Inc’s role in downtown. Any additional expenses incurred by the expansion of duties, to include new staff, would be paid for by the building’s owners, sources said.

ECU Communications Founder and President Jackie Krick and her company provide marketing and recruitment advertising for Federal Government agencies. She has received multiple calls from interested business owners about renting space in her new building, she said.

Krick said she started her business from her kitchen table and would have benefited from a co-working space early on. She declined to comment about the co-working space eyed for her building. 

“We want somebody to fill the space as soon as possible,” said Krick.

EDA Chairman Holmes Smith said he wanted to hold a public meeting on the matter “as soon as possible.” Smith suggested that he could call a meeting of the EDA in the conference room of the Prince William Chamber of Commerce at 7:30 p.m. June 16 to discuss the matter for the first time publicly.

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