Fairfax Water will test the Occoquan Dam Siren warning system on Wednesday, November 20, at 10 a.m. The sirens are intended to alert people near the Occoquan River to seek higher ground in case of a dam failure.

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Meet the Principal Series Continues: Manassas Local Editor Caitlyn Meisner launched this series at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year to introduce nearly two dozen new principals in Prince William County Schools. Now, we’re shifting focus to highlight the new and existing principals in Manassas City Public Schools. Each principal has answered the same questions (in bold), and their responses will be shared below. Stay tuned as we continue to profile the educational leaders shaping our community’s schools.

Choir Call Answered: We called for Christmas choir performances, and you delivered! The Gainesville Community Choir (GCC) submitted a video and press release about their upcoming shows. Keep those choir videos coming—I’m excited to feature them during the holiday season!

The Gainesville Community Choir will perform a winter collaborative concert titled *“From Darkness to Light.” The program includes Dan Forrest’s LUX: The Dawn from On High and other seasonal selections performed with the Fairfax Choral Society. Catch these performances:

• Friday, December 6 at Grace United Methodist Church in Manassas
• Saturday, December 7 at Annandale United Methodist Church

Stafford Schools Go Silent: We recently reported on Stafford County Public Schools hiring a new superintendent. Interestingly, no press release about the hiring was sent to us, though it was shared with other news organizations. We obtained the press release after filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

This follows an incident where the district’s public information officer asked us to leave the premises after we questioned the school board chair about the ongoing bus crisis. Since then, communication from Stafford Schools has been sparse.

According to the PIO, we’re “not supposed to be asking questions of school board members.” While disappointing, this lack of transparency won’t deter us from bringing you the important stories affecting our community.

Welcome (or welcome back) to a Potomac Local News series, “Meet the Principal.”

We started this series at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year with the nearly two dozen new principals in Prince William County Schools, but let's turn our attention to the new and existing Manassas City Public Schools principals. Potomac Local has asked each principal the same questions in bold, and their respective answers will be found below.

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Press Release:

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Press Release:

Gainesville Community Choir (GCC) will perform a collaborative concert this winter entitled “From Darkness to Light” featuring Dan Forrest's LUX: the Dawn from On High and other songs for the season with Fairfax Choral Society. Performances will take place at Grace United Methodist Church in Manassas on Friday, December 6, and Annandale United Methodist Church on Saturday, December 7, both concerts starting at 7:30 p.m. This highly anticipated concert will feature over 200 musicians, making it the largest group of singers ever amassed by the Gainesville-based group.

Since its formation in 2013, GCC has always been committed to its mission to enrich, educate, and entertain through intentional community-building and developing and supporting musical excellence. Gainesville Community Choir was honored to receive the Seefeldt Award for Outstanding Arts Organization in 2023. In addition to that distinction, conductor and co-founder Jacob Lash recently received the 2024 Seefeldt Award for Outstanding Arts Educator. GCC’s Board of Directors believes that both vocal technique and expression are essential to achieving this mission. Rehearsals incorporate lessons in vocal technique and music literacy, and the choir strives to thoughtfully impact the hearts and souls of audiences and the surrounding communities through their performances.

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On Monday, November 18, 2024, the Manassas City Council and School Board convened a joint meeting to discuss findings from a space needs study and the future of shared facilities for critical city and school operations. The study, presented by Assistant City Manager Steve Burke, identified a 40,000 to 52,000 square foot requirement to house the Department of Social Services, the voter registrar, and the School Board's central office.

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Public officials and real estate executives broke ground on the new Virginia Railway Express (VRE) station house at Potomac Shores on Saturday. Many community members met to both celebrate the completion of the $24 million, 350-spot parking garage and the beginning of the 20,000-square-foot station house project. Along with the station house will be two levels of retail space: restaurant space with indoor and outdoor dining and any number of retailers, such as ice cream or coffee shops. A press release stated that the station house is designed to feature an arch pass-through for station access, which leads to a paved boardwalk overlooking the Potomac River. The boardwalk has been designed to connect to the Potomac Shores Trail System. Located near the Potomac Shores Town Center, the hope is to spur further economic development and investment in the area, the real estate executives present and integral to the project stated. Biddle Real Estate Ventures (BREV), a New York City-based firm, was responsible for the building aspect of the project and spearheaded the building efforts of the site's parking garage.

"Today marks another step forward towards our dual goals of welcoming VRE service to Potomac Shores and bringing retail investment to the Marketplace within the Potomac Shores Town Center," Peter Chavkin, a managing member of BREV, said. "We’re grateful for the leadership of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors as we continue to advance these projects."

Many members of the Prince William County government were in attendance for the groundbreaking, including the Board of County Supervisors Chair At-Large DeShundra Jefferson. "New commercial investment here at Potomac Shores will spur economic development that benefits all of Prince William County. Our county will continue to bring all resources to bear to move this process forward to completion," Jefferson said. Potomac District Supervisor Andrea Bailey also spoke at the groundbreaking, stating this is an important step in the county's goals.

"The completion of the VRE garage and groundbreaking for the Station House at Potomac Shores brings us closer than ever to our long-held goals of VRE Service and commercial development within this community," Bailey said. "I intend to work closely with relevant agencies and with private sector partners to see these goals realized."

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Fredericksburg Police are investigating a pedestrian accident on November 18, 2024, where a 50-year-old man was struck by a vehicle on Fall Hill Avenue and critically injured. The driver remained at the scene, and the investigation is ongoing.

Press Release from Fredericksburg Police:

Fredericksburg Police are currently investigating a pedestrian accident that took place on the evening of November 18, 2024, at approximately 5:31 p.m.

The victim, Cesareo Jurado Coca, a 50-year-old man, of Fredericksburg, was crossing the travel lanes when he was struck by a vehicle traveling eastbound in the 3300 block of Fall Hill Avenue. He sustained critical injuries and was transported to the nearest hospital, where he is currently receiving medical care. His family has been notified.

The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene and cooperated with the preliminary investigation. There were no indicators of impairment, and the driver did not sustain any injuries in the crash.

The police department’s traffic reconstruction team is conducting an investigation. As more information becomes available, we will provide further updates.