Fredericksburg

Longtime FCPS educator Emma Brown slated to lead Hugh Mercer Elementary School

By PLN News
Emma Brown
Emma Brown. Photo: Fredericksburg City Public Schools.

Fredericksburg City Public Schools announced that longtime educator Emma Brown is slated to become the next principal of Hugh Mercer Elementary School, beginning Monday, November 30, 2026. Brown has served the division since 2012, starting as a teacher at Walker-Grant Middle School and later working as an instructional technology coach at Walker-Grant and Hugh Mercer.

She has also been an administrative intern at Hugh Mercer and Lafayette elementary schools and has served as assistant principal at Walker-Grant Middle School since 2022, including a stint as interim assistant principal at Hugh Mercer during the 2024-2025 school year. The Fredericksburg City School Board is expected to formalize the appointment at its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, December 7, 2026.

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Features

Fredericksburg resident and UMW alumna wins on Jeopardy!

By Mike Salmon

Betty Barnhardt Hume, University of Mary Washington Class of 1971, is a retired library reference assistant from Fredericksburg. She entered Final Jeopardy! in the Religion category trailing four-day champion Erica Doornek. The clue referenced John Calvin and the Holy Sudary. Hume answered correctly—“What is the Shroud of Turin?”—wagered $5,000, and finished with $21,000 to claim the win and end Doornek’s streak.

Hume joins other University of Mary Washington alumni who have competed on the show. This is her first appearance. She returned as champion on Friday and won again, bringing her two-day total to $27,800. She is scheduled to go for a third win on Monday.

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Police Blotter

Police Blotter: Indecent exposure reported in Woodbridge; missing teen Nevaeh Simpson located safe

By PLN News
Police file photo
Photo: Scott Rodgerson / Unsplash

Prince William County police reported an indecent exposure at a Woodbridge residence in Friday’s daily incident report and said missing endangered juvenile Nevaeh Hazel Mae Simpson has been located and is safe.

1000 block of River Mill Loop, Woodbridge (22191), Nov. 4, about 10 a.m. (reported in Nov. 6 daily report) — Police said a 32-year-old woman was in her residence when she looked out the window and saw an unknown man seated inside a vehicle, exposing himself and making obscene gestures, before he left the area in the vehicle. No suspect description was available.

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Event

StoryWorx Book Festival/ Meet the Authors at the Workhouse Arts Center

Event location

Workhouse Arts Center

9518 Workhouse Way

Lorton , Virginia 22079

Add to Calendar

StoryWorx: Workhouse's First Ever FREE Book Festival
Sat, Nov 14 | 11 a.m.–5 p.m. | Lorton, VA

Meet bestselling authors Angie Kim (Happiness Falls), 4× NFL Pro Bowler Ken Harvey (first-ever dramatic reading), and Emmy-winning WUSA9 anchor Wisdom Martin, plus Marcie Atkins, Omar Abed, Ellen R.B. Smith, and more for panels, signings, poetry, and workshops. Kids' Corner features author readings, crafts, and storytime. Browse the artisan market, catch a live Upstart Crow podcast, and explore the Workhouse galleries and artist studios—all part of Second Saturday.

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Prince William

Basement fire displaces family of five and their dog in Catharpin

By PLN News
Prince William County's Fire & Rescue System Engine 23. [Courtesy of PWCFRS]

A basement fire in a Catharpin home displaced a family of five and their dog Thursday morning, Prince William County Fire and Rescue said.

Crews were dispatched about 10:40 a.m. Nov. 5 to the 3700 block of Avonlea Way and found smoke showing from the front door of a two-story, single-family home with a walk-out basement. Firefighters knocked the fire down in the basement before it could spread to the floors above. No injuries were reported. The building inspector posted the home as unsafe to occupy. The cause remains undetermined.

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Prince William

From Woodbridge to a Navy warship: Sailor serves aboard USS Mahan

By PLN News
Seaman Apprentice Emmanuella Iggy aboard USS Mahan
Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Kaycee Alloggio, Fleet Public Affairs Center Norfolk

Seaman Apprentice Emmanuella Iggy, a 2021 graduate of Woodbridge High School, is serving as an operations specialist aboard the USS Mahan, a Navy destroyer based at Naval Station Norfolk.

Iggy, who joined the Navy two years ago seeking structure and productivity, recently completed a deployment that included Operation Epic Fury and identified more than 200 surface contacts. She credits her mother, Uchenna Grace Sheref, for raising her with strong values.

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Virginia

Judge halts Trump memorial arch for 14 days hours after commission approval

By PLN News
E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse exterior
E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse in Washington, D.C. (file photo; not the memorial arch). Photo: Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from beginning construction on the Trump memorial arch for 14 days, hours after commission approval, FOX 5 DC reported.

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Virginia

IRS announces increase in Child Tax Credit and deductions for 2027

By PLN News
Internal Revenue Service Building in Federal Triangle, Washington D.C.
Internal Revenue Service Building in the Federal Triangle, Washington, D.C. (file photo). Photo: Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress (public domain)

The standard deduction for married couples filing jointly will rise to $33,200 and the Child Tax Credit will increase for 2027, the IRS announced, NBC 4 Washington reported.

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