Since its founding in 1992, BEACON For Adult Literacy has grown to an organization that serves over 400 adult students while remaining true to its core mission of helping adults learn to read.
While the organization was preparing for its spring semester of classes, the coronavirus pandemic halted business as usual at the nonprofit organization. BEACON innovated and continued to deliver its classes online.
BEACON’s day-to-day operation relies heavily on its 130 volunteer instructors who teach in classrooms at one of the five locations in and around Manassas. BEACON classes primarily teach English but they also offer preparation for citizenship tests.
With their students coming from over 49 countries and a large variety of educational experiences, teachers have to be prepared to help students from a wide range of backgrounds.
In March as the coronavirus spread, BEACON stopped its class sign up and refunded any registration fees it had taken for its Spring semester. BEACON Executive Director Jen Mora Zuñiga and her staff came together and created an online class structure. Using the video conferencing system Zoom, BEACON volunteer teachers along with tech volunteers have been conducting classes during the quarantine.
“BEACON had never explored online programs before but we were very surprised by how smooth the transition was”, said Zuñiga.
With classes being online, attendance has been up to because students who may have had difficulty with transportation or getting child care don’t have to leave their homes and can access Zoom right on their phone.
“As we were facing the global pandemic, BEACON switched to remote learning; online learning helps to keep improving my educational skills because I don’t want to fall behind. My writing and vocabulary skills have significantly improved. Also, [BEACON] classes have provided me with effective communication skills that help me at work.” said Gunel Aydinova, is a BEACON student who is trying to improve her English skills so she can get certified in Information Technology.
Students with limited English language skills have felt even more negative impacts because they are not able to understand more written documents that have been put out to deal with the transition. Whether it be more e-mails from their children’s teachers, or reading health preventative measures, crucial information is harder to get if one can’t comprehend the language in which it’s written.
The organization has the vision to continue offering some online classes while going back to traditional classes at some point in time in order to serve more students. As with all non-profits, BEACON has been hit financially which makes offering these programs more challenging.
The organization was selected for the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington’s 2020-2021 class of nonprofits which increases its visibility, allows it to get more philanthropic donors, and get access to numerous professional development opportunities. The Catalogue is the region’s only locally-focused guide to giving and volunteering.
BEACON was founded by Benedictine Sister Eileen Heaps to teach a few illiterate adults to read. The organization has grown to serve over 400 adult students while remaining true to its core mission of helping adult learners reach their educational goals.
Donations for the program are accepted on the charity’s website.
Small business owners in Prince William County will have a second chance at a grant to help them recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Board of County Supervisors authorized the second round of grants for small businesses, this time with different eligibility requirements. Last month, the county allocated $5 million from its federal CARES Act grant signed by President Donald Trump to use as small business relief.
The county awarded $1.2 million in grants to about 150 county businesses. With the $3.8 million left over, the county has reopened the application process to sole proprietorships, mainly home-based businesses have one full-time employee but also use contracted help.
This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.
Prince William County’s largest concert venue will be having anything but a typical season.
All concerts at Jiffy Lube Live have been canceled, postponed, or rescheduled for the 2020 season due to concerns regarding the new coronavirus.
Popular performers, such as Rascal Flatts and Nickelback, have completely canceled their shows, while Earth, Wind & Fire has rescheduled to August 2021.
Those who purchased tickets for canceled shows will receive an automatic refund, and tickets for rescheduled shows will be automatically valid for the show’s new date(s), according to Live Nation, Jiffy Lube Live’s owner and operator.
The venue, which typically opens to concertgoers in May, will not be hosting an event until September 26. That event, as well as all others at the venue, cannot “exceed the lesser of 50% of the lowest occupancy load on the certificate of occupancy,” according to Gov. Ralph Northam’s phase two guidelines.
Additionally, ten feet of physical distance must be maintained between all performers, participants, and patrons who are not members of the same household, at the events until phase three is put into effect in Northern Virginia.
The venue’s updated season is as follows:
CANCELED:
- Zac Brown Band: Roar with the Lions Tour presented by Polaris
- Good Vibes Summer Tour 2020: Rebelution + Special Guests
- Breaking Benjamin
- Nickelback: All The Right Reasons Tour
- Sammy Hagar & The Circle w/special guest Night Ranger
- Journey with Pretenders
- Dead & Company
- Incubus With 311
- Impractical Jokes “The Scoopski Potatoes Tour”
- Foreigner: Juke Box Hero Tour 2020
- Korn & Faith No More
- Rascal Flatts Farewell: Life Is A Highway Tour 2020
- Sam Hunt: Southside Summer Tour 2020
- 2020 Jiffy Lube Live Country Megaticket
POSTPONED, DATE TBA:
- Kenny Chesney: Chillaxification Tour
- Megadeth and Lamb of God
- Disturbed: The Sickness 20th Anniversary Tour With Staind & Bad Wolves
RESCHEDULED:
- Backstreet Boys: DNA World Tour – Rescheduled to Jul. 20, 2021
- The Doobie Brothers-50th Anniversary Tour – Rescheduled to Jul. 30, 2021
- Jimmy Buffet – Rescheduled to Aug. 7, 2021
- Santana/ Earth, Wind & Fire: Miraculous Supernatural 2020 Tour – Rescheduled to Aug. 21, 2021
- Thomas Rett: The Center Point Road Tour 2021 – Rescheduled to Aug. 28, 2021
- WMZQ Fest starring Brooks & Dunn REBOOT 2020 Tour – Rescheduled to Sept. 26, 2020
Live Nation has declined to comment on the season’s changes.
Police in Prince William County arrested a driver who was wanted in connection with a fatal crash that occurred on an off-ramp in Gainesville.
Police tell us:
On June 16, investigators with the Crash Investigation Unit concluded the investigation into fatal crash which occurred in the area of Lee Highway and Interstate 66 in Gainesville (20155) on April 24.
During an inspection of the striking vehicle, a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado, multiple defects were noted which contributed to the crash. Following the investigation, investigators obtained arrest warrants for the driver of that vehicle, identified as Christopher James PRUITT, who turned himself in to police without incident on June 16.
Arrested on June 16: [No Photo Available]
Christopher James PRUITT, 39, of 7100 Rose Hill Dr in Rapidan.
Charged with reckless driving-bad brakes, counterfeit inspection and defective equipment
Court Date: October 9, 2020 | Status: Released on a Court Summons
The deceased passenger in the 2016 Toyota Corolla was identified as Phillip Dennis Sorrells, 20, of Germantown, Md.
They left the area. Now they’re back.
Police are now working to close a portion of U.S. Route 29 in Gainesville as protestors are filing down an exit ramp from Linton Hall Road and walking onto the six-lane thoroughfare that connects Interstate 66 and Charlottesville 81 miles to the south.
*UPDATE: Demonstrators are back in the roadway on Linton Hall Rd in the area of Virginia Gateway. Traffic being diverted. Use caution and follow police direction. https://t.co/1Q6nvlqBoU
— Prince William County Police (@PWCPolice) June 2, 2020
Those protestors are now headed toward Interstate 66. Virginia State Police have been called to the scene to assist Prince William police.
Prince William police have spent much of the afternoon escorting what it described as a peaceful protest that centered around Gainesville, and the intersection of Linton Hall Road and Route 29. The area is surrounded by homes and businesses, including the Virignia Gateway shopping center and a Regal Cinema.
Earlier, police were called to the cinema for a report of a fight between two rival groups, according to initial reports.
For the first time, the protests over the past four days have took place in the Virignia suburbs of Prince William County, located just over 30 miles from the urban core of Washington, D.C.
Today marked the third consecutive day of protests here in the 13th District.
It was powerful to join what seemed like 1,000 people who peacefully gathered to demand justice for the Black community and march together in solidarity along Linton Hall Road in Gainesville. https://t.co/ySVa6w2A4b— Danica Roem (@pwcdanica) June 2, 2020
Very powerful & peaceful protest in Gainesville Virginia ???? pic.twitter.com/Lmxx1RjwPm
— Yellow Bridge News (@stillgot6) June 2, 2020
More as we have it.
10 p.m.
Protestors marched from Linton Hall Road on U.S. Route 29 north to Interstate 66, turned around, and marched back to Linton Hall Road.
*UPDATE: Crowd now back at Lee Hwy and Linton Hall Rd. Traffic remains diverted. https://t.co/fxXkt984ZT
— Prince William County Police (@PWCPolice) June 2, 2020
11 p.m.
U.S. Route 29 in Gainesville has reopened.
*UPDATE: Roadway is clear and has reopened. https://t.co/x5XUJwS7vd
— Prince William County Police (@PWCPolice) June 2, 2020
Today it was announced via a press release that Delegate Danica Roem (D-13th) has been appointed to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA). The NVTA provides funding for road, mass transit, and multi-modal transportation projects in Northern Virginia.
The appointment was made official by Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn.
Now in her second term, Roem represents the City of Manassas Park and western Prince William County in the Virginia House of Delegates.
“Roem has been a tireless advocate for local transportation solutions for her constituents and has worked hard as a member of the House Transportation Committee to pass bills that will ease traffic congestion,” Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn stated in the press release. “Roem will be a valuable member of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, prioritizing smart, meaningful improvements to our transportation network that will allow Northern Virginians to spend less time in traffic and more time with their families.”
Roem requested the appointment to the NVTA to advocate for her top constituent service priority of fixing Route 28 while working collaboratively with representatives of all nine Northern
Virginia localities to improve transportation infrastructure throughout the region.
“I’m grateful to Speaker Filler-Corn for trusting me to improve the quality of life for our commuters throughout the Thirteenth District and all of Northern Virginia,”
Roem said in the press release. “On a normal workday, more than two-thirds of our local commuters leave Prince William County and Manassas Park, so we need to deliver solutions that work for everyone.”
During the 2020 General Assembly Session, Roem joined her colleagues in passing the largest transportation funding legislation since 1986, House Bill 1414 and Senate Bill 890, introduced
by Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn and Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw. This legislation will restore $50 million a year for the NVTA to fund key transportation infrastructure projects across Northern Virginia, including fixing Route 28.
“I welcome Roem’s appointment to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. It’s great to have her expertise about our regional transportation system on the NVTA and I’m eager for us to continue working together to improve our constituents’ commutes,” stated Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairwoman Ann Wheeler in a press release, who became a member of the NVTA earlier this year.
“It was a great pleasure to hear that Danica Roem was appointed to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, and that we will be working together on the NVTA to improve transportation,” Jeanette Rishell, Mayor of the City of Manassas Park and member of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority stated in a press release. “She has been a strong advocate and voice for improvements on Route 28, a corridor that is a huge concern to both of us and to our constituents.”
During her first term, Roem and her team worked with the Virginia Department of Transportation to develop the Centreville Road (Route 28) Operational Improvements Study between Blooms Quarry Lane at the Prince William County/City of Manassas Park line and the Bull Run bridge at the Prince William County/Fairfax County Line in the Yorkshire (Manassas) portion of Prince William County. The study is anticipated to wrap up this spring.
Roem’s term of service on the NVTA went into effect May 12 and coincides with her current term representing the Thirteenth District of the Virginia House of Delegates. She also serves on the House Transportation Committee.
A 20-year-old man has died after he was struck while sitting in a car on Interstate 66 in Gainesville.
Prince William police were called to the scene at 4:10 p.m. on Friday, April 24. A 2016 Toyota Corolla was disabled on the exit ramp from eastbound I-66 to southbound Lee Highway (Route 29).
Meanwhile, a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado was exiting from Interstate 66 to merge onto Lee Highway when it struck the rear of the Toyota Corolla, said Prince William police spokesman Adam Beard.
The passenger in the Toyota Corolla was flown to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries. He succumbed to his injuries today.
The driver of the Toyota Corolla was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the Chevrolet Silverado was not injured.
Alcohol is not a factor, and an investigation is ongoing, said Beard.
The deceased passenger is Phillip Dennis Sorrells, 20, of Germantown, Md. The driver of the 2016 Toyota Corolla was identified as a 61-year-old man of Germantown, Md.
The driver of the 2005 Chevrolet Silverado was identified as a 39-year-old man of Rapidan.
Virginia State Police tell us it is investigating a two-vehicle crash near Gainesville in Prince.
The crash occurred on February 19, 2020, at 9:15 a.m. on Route 29 (Lee Highway) at Route 215 (Vint Hill Road) in Fauquier County.
A 1996 Freightliner dump truck was traveling south on Route 29 when it attempted to avoid a stopped vehicle in the right lane. The Freightliner collided with a 2019 Subaru Forester, ran off the roadway left, collided with a guard rail, and traffic light pole.
The driver of the Freightliner, Wayne E. Piel Sr., 53, of Manassas, suffered minor injuries in the crash and was transported to Novant Health UVA Haymarket Medical Center. Piel was wearing a seatbelt.
The driver of the Subaru, a 63-year-old female, of Washington, DC., was uninjured in the crash. The female was wearing a seatbelt.
The crash blocked all lanes of Rt. 29, and caused traffic delays for hours.
Piel was charged with reckless driving.
The crash remains under investigation.
VSP was assisted by the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office, Fauquier County Emergency Services, VDOT, Dominion Power, and Verizon.
A popular shopping center in Gainesville has a new owner.
The Shops at Stonewall, a 322,000 square foot Wegman’s anchored shopping center in Gainesville, was purchased by the Fairfax County-based Petersen Companies for $82.6 million.
The center is currently 100% occupied and is co-anchored by several prominent national retailers including Bed Bath & Beyond, Ross Dress for Less, Michaels and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Other tenants include Novant Health, SunTrust bank, and Expedia CruiseShipCenters. There is also quick-serve and fast-casual dining options including Moe’s Southwest Grill, Dunkin’, Jersey Mike’s and The Bone BBQ, among others.
