STAFFORD, Va. -- Stafford Democrats have an opportunity to help nominate a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from the 1st Congressional District and President Barack Obama for re-election..

The filing deadline is approaching for those seeking election as a delegate to the First Congressional District Convention in Fredericksburg on Saturday, May 12 and to the State Democratic Convention on Sat., June 2 in Fairfax.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.

STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. -- A teenager was stabbed early Saturday morning in Stafford County.

Sheriff’s deputies were called to the area of Theodore Street and Lyons Boulevard in the England Run subdivision at 12:19 p.m. for a report of a large fight that involved 16 people. Deputies surrounded the area and found teenagers fleeing the scene, and then stopped them to learn more about the fight, said Stafford sheriff’s spokesman Bill Kennedy.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.

STAFFORD, Va. -- Authorities said a car drove right into the path of oncoming traffic on U.S. 1, and then it was time to pull over the driver and see what was up.

The driver turned right onto U.S. 1 north from Jason Lane in Stafford, about 6 a.m. Monday. A sheriff’s deputy happened to be in the area and began following the car once he saw the driver ignore a stop sign at U.S. 1 and Jason Lane. The driver continued north about a half mile to Coal Landing Road.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.

NORTH STAFFORD, Va. -- Two men from Portsmouth face drug charges in Stafford County.

Deputies were called to a McDonalds on Va. 610 at 2 a.m. Sunday for a report of a drunken driver. A deputy responded and found a car matching the description of that given by a 911 caller and then went to talk to the occupants, said Stafford sheriff’s spokesman Bill Kennedy.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.

By Stephanie Tipple

OCCOQUAN, Va. — The Mayor of Occoquan wants area families to get into the paddling business.

Town Mayor Earnie Porta announced “Mayor’s Paddles,” a yearly kayaking tour hosted by Occoquan Regional Park, will take place at the park on 9751 Ox Road just across the Occoquan River in Fairfax County, every first and third Saturday of the month.

The kayak tours, which run from April 7 until mid-fall, start at 11 a.m. and aim to provide families with a memorable tour of historic Occoquan, all from the perspective of the Occoquan River.

Those who are already well versed in the history of Occoquan also have the option to rent kayaks for $10, or you can bring your own kayak plus a launching fee, and then join in on any tours that are going on, or head out on your own and explore the river.

DALE CITY, Va. — Police in Prince William County arrested two people in connection to a string of robberies on April 4.

At 10:42 p.m. in the 14300 block of Wrangler Lane, off Darbydale Avenue at the Dale Forest Apartments in Dale City, a 15-year-old boy told police he was approached by two mn who threatened him and demanded in shoes and jacket valued at $120, and then fled in a dark SUV once they got them, according to police documents. The victim was not injured.

Later at 11:15 p.m. in the area of Savannah Drive and Prather Place in Dale City, about a mile from the first robbery, a 13 and 14-year-old boy told police they were walking in the area when three males walked up, threatened them and demanded their things, according to police. The suspects made off with a cell phone and then again fled in an SUV, according to police.

On Thursday, police made arrests of two of the three people suspect to be involved in the cases. Marcus Dequann McClurkin, 20, is charged with three counts of robbery. His court date was not released. Also arrested is a 16-year-old male of Woodbridge, charged with three counts of robbery. His court date was also not released by police.

Police are also investigating another unrelated strong arm robbery in the Dale City area.

Officers were called at 2:45 p.m. Thursday to the area of Minnieville Road and Heneford Drive where a man riding a bicycle was knocked off the bike and assaulted, according to police documents. The victim suffered minor injuries.

The attacker took the victim’s wallet containing cash and then fled the area. Police were not able to locate the attacker.

He’s described as black, between 20 and 30-years-old, 6 feet tall, 190 pounds, medium build, with short black hair, a goatee and a scar on the left side of his face, last seen wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt, police documents state.

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Transportation officials will close a portion of Interstate 95’s High Occupancy Vehicle lanes this weekend. It’ll be one of several total closures of the heavily-used transportation facility over the next six weeks.

The reversible HOV lanes between Va. 234 in Dumfries and the Franconia-Springfield Parkway will close at 11 p.m. Friday and will reopen by 10 a.m. Saturday. Drivers will be able to get onto the HOV lanes in the northbound direction at Franconia-Springfield Parkway and points north starting at 2 a.m. Saturday. The entire facility is expected to reopen in the northbound direction to all traffic by 11 a.m. Saturday.

“The closure allows crews to perform survey work, test boring, utility markings, and collect road condition data in preparation for final design of the future 95 Express Lanes Project. Message boards will be in place informing motorists of the closure,” according to a Virginia Department of Transportation press release.

Over the next four to six weeks beginning April 16, the entire HOV facility will close Monday through Thursday nights from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., and 10 p.m. to 11 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights for in connection with preliminary work on the 95 Express Lanes.

“Motorists should plan on adding 15-20 minutes to their travel during the late evening hours as the HOV gates close and traffic will use the general purpose lanes. For motorist safety State Police will be posted at HOV closure locations,” VDOT stated.

Specific information on HOV closures that will occur between April 16 and 20 is slated to be provided by the transportation agency on Wednesday.

The work is part of the 95 Express Lanes project which aims to convert the popular HOV lanes between Dumfries and Edsall Road in Alexandria to toll lanes. The converted lanes will requiring single drivers to pay a toll to use the facility at all times, but vehicles with three or more occupants free access to the lanes.

Right now, laws require three or more occupants to use the lanes between 6 and 9 a.m., and 3:30 to 6 p.m. weekdays. Additionally, there are no tolls to use the facility, which includes a portion of I-395 to the Washington, D.C. line.

STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. -- The ban on open fires in Stafford County has been extended through today as conditions remain ripe for wildfires.

The region has been under a red flag warning from the National Weather Service since the weekend, with high winds, humidity, and brush on the ground ready to burn elevating the fire threat, according to officials.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Once the Prince William Supervisor representing the Occoquan District turned County Board Chairman, Corey Stewart will announce Wednesday his run for Virginia Lt. Governor.

Stewart’s announcement will take place at 11 a.m. Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center in Woodbridge, according to an email from the Stewart campaign The announcement comes after Stewart told a Charlottesville radio station in February he would run for the office.

Stewart, a Republican, has become well-known locally in political circles after the 2007 illegal immigration debate in Prince William County that saw the eventual passage of an ordinance that allowed police to check the legal presence of anyone they suspected of being the county illegally. The ordinance was later amended and legal presence is checked at the time a suspect is arrested.

Stewart lives on Omisol Road in Woodbridge, and will join another Prince William County resident who is seeking higher office: Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli of Nokesville is running for Governor.

WOODBRIDGE, Va. –– On March 25, Prince William Conservation Alliance’s first session of the Stream Stewards program kicked off with an eye-opening tour of two badly damaged streams, one in Hylbrook Park in Woodbridge and the other half a mile away off U.S. 1. Both streams are high priority restoration candidates that illustrate the opportunities and challenges for Prince William County to protect local water quality and help save the Chesapeake Bay.

After remarks by Prince William Occoquan District Supervisor Mike May about the challenges the county faces in restoring already damaged water resources and working to prevent future damage, Prince William County environmental engineer Clay Morris pointed out the Hylbrook Park stream’s precarious location in a heavily developed section of Woodbridge.

Morris pointed out several factors that would hinder the restoration of the stream that may not be immediately obvious to the lay conservationist. For example, there is only a narrow strip of ground on either side of the stream in which to work, leaving no space for the necessary easements, or an area for staging the restoration work. Most importantly, there is no room for the engineering of the stream bed to allow it to properly channel the large volume of water that rushes between its banks during a storm.

Morris concluded that about the only thing that can be done with this stream is to riprap the bed and banks to prevent further erosion.

As we walked the banks of the stream, Morris explained the process of restoration, from planning and design, to the necessity of gaining landowners’ agreement, to the actual construction phase. The entire process usually takes several years.

In answer to a question by PWCA member Jeff Irwin, Morris pointed out that restoration doesn’t necessarily improve water quality for the animals living in and around the streams that his department, the Watershed Management Branch, repairs. The restoration doesn’t address what comes into the stream – nitrates, pollutants, particulates, etc. – only water flow and erosion control.

Although the little stream was a sad sight, there were tadpoles in the water and a phoebe was heard singing its song in the nearby treetops.

The group of almost 20 participants moved across U.S. 1 to the second stream, which was in even worse condition. What had once been a small narrow stream about 2-3 feet in depth has been enlarged by high velocity stormwater runoff to as much as 20 feet wide and 15 feet deep in some spots. And all this damage was done in only 30 or 40 years. The rapid and ugly expansion of this small stream puts the relationship between the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River in sharper perspective.

This stream backs to a residential area on the east side and at one spot along the stream, an open, unguarded I-beam, supporting a public sewer pipe, lay across the chasm creating a tempting stage for neighborhood children to confront their mortality.

Always the optimists, however, participants noted spring ephemerals, violets and May apple, lining the banks of the stream, and Morris had some good news about the restoration of this stream. Since there was more space for easements, construction, and the restoration design, this stream will be able to be restored to health (though not in the exact fashion that Mother Nature intended).

Morris also mentioned two recent restoration success stories in the county, one at Cow Branch and the other at Andrew Leitch Park.

A complete schedule can be found by clicking here or by calling 703-499-4954. All programs are free.

-Submitted by Kim Hosen, Prince William Conservation Alliance