Fredericksburg Regional Transit (FRED) announced via a press release that it will terminate its VQ1 route bus effective on August 17.
This route was an express feeder bus system for those traveling from Stafford up to the Quantico VRE station.
FRED sites low ridership of the service as the reason for its deactivation.
The route had been opened as a demonstration project to assess public interest in transit service to Quantico Office Park and the Quantico VRE station. The route ran Monday through Friday from 4:45 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. and 4:05 p.m. to 7:20 p.m.
“The route had not generated enough ridership to warrant continued funding by [Stafford] County and the investment of additional Federal Transit Administration project funds,” stated FRED Manager of Police, Planning, and Compliance R. Craig Reed.
Stafford County in coordination with FRED opened a written public comment period regarding the VQ1 route on July 16 and was scheduled to close it on August 7. After the comments that were received, the county decided to pursue the route’s termination.
Potomac Local News reported on this route’s opening back in May 2019. Comments made to PLN by then Stafford County Supervisor Jack Cavalier held hope for the route’s success.
“One of my constituents asked if these bus routes could be a possibility and I am delighted that we were able to work to make these bus routes a reality,” states Supervisor Jack Cavalier, Griffis-Widewater District in a press release. “I am grateful to all our partners for helping us to find ways to give our residents as well as those who commute to Stafford more flexibility.”
The G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge was once home to minor league baseball, but it will soon become a temporary drive-in theater.Â
The idea, called ‘Movies at the Pfitz,’ was conceived by Ben Hazekamp, a financial advisor, and Valerie Meale, a business development manager at Whitlock Wealth Management in Lake Ridge. They contacted Seth Hendler-Voss, Director of Prince William County Parks and Recreation, who supported the idea and aided in making it possible.
The event, which will span over four weeks, will serve as a fundraiser for the service budgets of the Woodbridge and Lake Ridge Rotary clubs. The clubs will be donating all profits gained from car pass sales, sponsorships, and advertising to local nonprofits in Prince William County. The two Rotary clubs also are providing 10 and 15 volunteers for the drive-thru.
“During these trying times for many in our community, we wanted to find a way to give back and support both our community as well as our local nonprofits. We came up with ‘Movies at the Pfitz’ to deliver some much needed entertainment for many stuck inside for months, while giving those same people an opportunity to support local nonprofits who are serving so many in our community. This four-night drive-in is our way of giving back to the community we love,” said Hazekamp.
The event secured a partnership with A2Z Entertainment, who will be both supplying and operating equipment for the drive-in show, as well as sponsorships from multiple companies. Comcast, for example, has given the event a $5,000 sponsorship.Â
To decide on the proper films, Hazekamp and Meale hosted an online survey asking the public to vote for the movies they want to watch. They currently have four movies lined up and are trying to get the rights to air them. The movies are:
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Grease
- Field of Dreams
The fourth movie has not yet been announced.
Car passes will cost $30 per vehicle and the stadium will have a limit of 115 vehicles, and there will be two food trucks and a restaurant on-site for patrons. To keep with social distancing guidelines, each vehicle will park in every other parking space and each patron is encouraged to wear a mask outside.Â
The films will be shown on July 25, August 1, August 15, and August 22.
The Fredericksburg City Council will petition the Virginia General Assembly to remove the name of Jefferson Davis Highway from the U.S. Route 1 statewide.
The council made their decision in a 6-1 vote at its online meeting Tuesday night to present their petition to the Virginia General Assembly at their August special session.
Fredericksburg is the only locality to petition the General Assembly in regard to the removal of the name Jefferson Davis thus far. The resolution for this petition was presented by Councilmember Kerry Devine.
The City may not wait too long for the General Assembly to make a decision as it was suggested by Ward 1 Councilmember Jason Graham that the council should set a deadline for the General Assembly to respond before Fredericksburg acts. According to Fredericksburg Public Relations Officer Sonja Cantu, the City has set a deadline for the end of the General Assembly’s 2021 session.
Regardless of whether the Assembly responds or not, Fredericksburg has made a commitment to change the name of the highway.
“If the General Assembly doesn’t make a move, we have the opportunity to make a move. We’re setting a trend, and I’m proud to be a part of this council. It’s a happy moment,” stated Councilmember Charlie Frye later in the meeting.
Councilmember At-Large Matt Kelly informed the Council that he had conferred with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and they assured him that the city has the authority to change the name of any road within their city limits and doesn’t need the permission of either VDOT or the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
Kelly was the sole dissenting vote in the motion. He offered a substitute motion to open the issue up to public discussions, but there were no takers.
“There needs to be a community discussion so everyone has their chance to say their piece. Let’s have a public comment on this subject before we go forward with this,” said Kelly.
Ward 3 Supervisor Tim Duffy offered his thoughts on the subject.
“The Confederates lost the war, but we’ve spent generations trying to win the peace..and this road that runs through our town with that name goes against the cause of freedom. People of color shouldn’t have to live in places that have monuments that celebrate their oppression and none that celebrate social justice”
If passed, it has been estimated that about 133 businesses may be affected by this change. To that end, the Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority decided to set aside $35,000 in assistance grants to businesses that will have to change their addresses when this event occurs.
Sue D. Martin, 66, of Woodbridge, VA passed away on Wednesday, July 8, 2020. Family visitation and the memorial service will be held on July 21, 2020 at Mountcastle Turch Funeral Home, 4143 Dale Blvd, Dale City, VA 22193. Family visitation will be from 12:00 to 1:00 pm and the memorial service will be 1:00 to 2:00 pm.
Sue was born in Great Falls, Montana, June 15th, 1954. She was the third of four children born to Jack E. DeLong and Marie R. DeLong. Sue earned an associate degree in computer science from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in Asheville, North Carolina. After moving to Northern Virginia, she went on to work as a computer programmer for the United States Department of Agriculture until her retirement. Sue raised three daughters of her own and welcomed two more children into her heart when she remarried in 2000. During her lifetime, Sue enjoyed many hobbies and interests including: cross stitching, sewing, quilting, jewelry making, and raising her parrot, Kokomo. Sue was a devoted mother, caring spouse, loving sister, and a good friend.
Sue is survived by her husband: Richard Martin; her children: Katrina Rhett and son-in- law, James Rhett; Leslie Smith; Melinda Smith; Toni Martin and her partner, Julie Treherne; and Aaron Martin and daughter-in-law, Robin Martin; siblings: Sharon DeLong; Gregory DeLong and sister-in-law, Jackie DeLong; and grandchildren: Madelyn Rhett, Abigail Rhett, Noah Winner, Aubree Winner, Eva Gray, Arianna Chinault, Zoe Chinault, Logan Chinault, Jackson Lane, and Harper Martin. Sue was preceded in death by her brother, Patrick DeLong.
Don’t miss our special Back to School Town Hall at 9 p.m. on YouTube.
As schools reopen — some virtually and some with a mix of online classes and in-person learning — parents, teachers, and students have questions. We’ve been reporting on the local school jurisdictions in our area and their plans for reopening.
Tonight, we’ll talk with Babur Lateef and Sanford Williams, Chairman of the Prince William County and Manassas City school boards, respectively. Also joining us is Kristina Kotlus, Publisher of PWC Moms, and Gianna Jirak, of our PLN reporting team, who has been leading our schools reporting on this issue.
We’ll take your questions during the live broadcast.
Prince William County Schools (PWCS) students won’t be headed back to the classroom to school in fall, but they will likely return later in the school year.
During its six-hour meeting on July 15, the county’s school board unanimously approved a return to learning plan in which students participate in solely virtual learning for the first quarter, starting on September 8 and ending October 30. A goal of transitioning into a hybrid of in-person and virtual learning later in the school year remains in place, with the option for students to stay virtual.
Certain special education and other vulnerable student groups, however, will receive “some in-person services” during the completely virtual first quarter, as feasible, according to a press release from the division.
The reopening plan was passed after the board denied PWCS Superintendant Dr. Steve Walt’s plan for a 50% hybrid model for the school year, in which students would attend school two days a week.
“We know that none of the plans perfectly meet the needs of all staff, students, and their families; however, the board and staff have done their best to balance critical health and learning needs as safely as possible,” stated a press release from PWCS.
The official school reopening resolution is as follows:
“That, in order to reopen schools this fall, while protecting the health, safety, and well-being of students and staff, the Prince William County School Board will plan
- to reopen schools for the 2020-2021 school year on September 8, 2020, with a 100 percent distance learning model for the first quarter. The Division will consider offering in-person services to special education students as determined appropriate by their IEP teams, and to the most vulnerable English Language Learners and students with interrupted learning, as determined to be instructionally appropriate and feasible. It is the goal of the Division to transition to a 50 percent Capacity In-Person and Distance Learning Model for the second quarter, with the option for students to remain virtual while maintaining flexibility throughout to adapt to public health guidelines as needed, and
- to adopt the proposed Return to Work and Health Plans, modified as needed to adapt to the Return to Learning Plan and public health guidelines, and
- to authorize the Superintendent to implement any additional mitigation measures as appropriate to accommodate these models.”
The new plan comes in the wake of #PWCSStudentVoice, a hashtag that students across the school division utilized to amplify their voices on the issue of reopening schools, due to feeling as though they were not being heard by the school board. Many of them voiced their opinion on the matter during the citizen comment portion of the school board meeting, and many were happy with the final resolution.
“This is my own opinion that doesn’t represent all students or anyone else but myself, but I am glad that the school board made the decision to keep schools closed for the first quarter. Student, staff, and community safety has to be the first priority. Students cannot be expected to learn in the same way during a pandemic, and learning and grading will have to be changed to reflect that,” said Caroline Silvera, one of the two student representatives to the Prince William County School Board.
Many, however, still had doubts about its effectiveness.
“I believe the current PWCS plan is the best they could devise. It’s good that they prioritized safety of stuents, but there are still many problems with virtual learning. I hope schools have a more uniform plan for teachers because in May it was a mess,” said Daniella Saforo, a recent PWCS gradute and rising freshman at Harvard College.
Due to the plan being created within the midst of the school board meeting, the school division has not yet outlined a plan for how it would be conducted. It is possible, however, that it would merely take its original plan for the virtual model and the hybrid in-person and online model and tack them together into something cohesive.
The original proposed 100% virtual model had students using the learning management platform Canvas, which allows teachers to conduct live and recorded lessons, create/grade assignments, and proctor tests completely virtually. The original plan was to also use MasteryConnect, a “unified assessment system for elementary, middle, and high school” that “allows for development and sharing of common assessments,” according to a presentation by Walts.
Each grade level would also have different schedules and daily amounts of screen time, in the original plan, with a general recommendation of 20-30 minutes of live instruction per class.
The original 50% hybrid model, which is planned to occur after the first virtual quarter, had alternating groups of students in school two days a week with staggered schedules and participating in virtual learning three days a week. Special education and other student groups with additional needs were scheduled to attend four days of in-person school.
In order to supplement both the virtual and hybrid models, the county ordered over 15,000 HP Touchscreen laptops that were distributed to students in May, an action that occurred to aid in putting a device in the hands of all the county’s high school students, and eventually all of its students.
Many parents, however, are concerned about the social-emotional needs of students and equity within virtual instruction, according to a parent survey conducted by PWCS completed by 16,708 parents. The most common concerns were about the social-emotional needs of students, 58.7%, and equity in instruction, 51%.
“My main concern is about the technology that they’re going to use, its effectiveness, and the access kids will have to it. Also for children under the age of 12 whose, parents are working […] they’re unsupervised. How are they going to be taken care of?” said Veronika Murrut, the parent of three PWCS students.
More information will be released by the school division as the school year draws closer. Additional information on the return to learning plan can be found here.
With jobs at a premium during the COVID-19 pandemic, you might consider hiring your children to help out in your business.
