By MICHAEL BODINE
Capital News Service
RICHMOND, Va. – Thomas Haynesworth spent 27 years in prison on three felony charges before DNA testing proved he was innocent. He was exonerated last December, and the General Assembly compensated Haynesworth this spring for his wrongful incarceration.
Higher expectations and new testing techniques are expected to generate lower scores and pass rates as new math Standards of Learning (SOL) results come out.
WOODBRIDGE, Va. — It’s estimated that one in five Americans watches birds. Now, a professional bird watcher is coming to Leesylvania State Park in Woodbridge to help those just starting out in the hobby as well as experienced watchers.
Joe LaFleur from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday, June 5, will guide a bird walk along Carriage Road in the park and along swamp trails, featuring hands-on identification of birds in habitats like woodland and marshy areas. Afterward, LaFleur will host an audiovisual program at the park’s visitor center that will help visitors identify birds by sights and sounds.
MANASSAS, Va. – The Hylton Performing Arts Center announced that it is pleased to renew its partnership with the Castleton Festival for the second year to present two Castleton Festival at the Hylton performances in Merchant Hall this summer. Each performance features world-renowned conductor and Castleton Festival founder Lorin Maazel conducting the Castleton Festival Orchestra.
The Castleton Festival, which is held every summer at Maazel’s bucolic farm estate in Rappahannock County, Va., has received international acclaim for its enormously successful residency program that fosters young artists, advanced students and emerging professionals. These two Castleton Festival at the Hylton performances are unique to the Hylton Center and complement the 2012 Castleton Festival performances that take place at the Castleton Farms estate this summer from June 22 to July 22.
House hunting has got to be one of the most exciting yet disappointing, fun yet stressful processes in the world.
DALE CITY, Va. — Neabsco District Supervisor John D. Jenkins donated $1,000 to Dale City Neighborhood Library for their Wi-Fi services. Supervisor Jenkins will be presenting the donation on Wednesday, May 30th at 1:30pm at the Dale City Neighborhood Library and the public is invited to attend this presentation.
The Wi-Fi, which is provided by Comcast, is a public service and is free of charge to all patrons. Since Dale City Neighborhood Library only has 3 public access computers, having Wi-Fi helps to free up the library’s computers for patrons that don’t have their own personal computers to work on. It also allows patrons to use their own computers for as long as they want, as the Dale City Neighborhood Library has a 30-minute policy when others are waiting to use the public computers.
FROM UNEDITED POLICE REPORTS
Strong Armed Robbery – On May 28th at 3:40PM, police responded to the 16600 block of Harwood Oaks Dr in Dumfries (22026) for a robbery. The victim, a 15 year old male of Dumfries, reported to police that he and a friend were walking on a trail in the area above when they were approached by two unknown males, one of which, was carrying a large stick and demanded the victim’s property. The males took the victim’s cell phone and an undisclosed amount of U.S. Currency before fleeing on foot. No property was reported missing from the victim’s friend. No injuries were reported.
NORTH STAFFORD, Va. — Five police officers from Aquia Harbour were resworn in as law enforcement officers in Stafford County.
While police officers in Virginia are required to be resworn in every four years, it’s a milestone for the Aquia Harbour Police Department since many officers usually do not stay with the force for long.
DUMFRIES, Va. — The General Heiser Boys and Girls Club Branch in Dumfries will hold a special open house event for the community on Saturday.
The event, which will promote the club’s “Send a Kid to Camp” program, will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will showcase a new kitchen and other improvements installed inside the club which have been donated by Ikea of Woodbridge.
WOODBRIDGE, Va. — New routing for the Woodbridge / Lake Ridge OmniLink local bus service will take effect on June 4, helping area residents to more easily reach destinations including the SkillSource Center, which is a partner of the Virginia Employment Commission. The new routing along Minnieville, Caton Hill and Telegraph roads also will ease access for those who need to reach the Woodbridge Department of Motor Vehicles, Strayer University, an area dialysis center and shopping destinations including Target.
The Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, PRTC, updates its schedules twice annually – in the spring and fall – to reflect current running times and make other changes such as updating routing and relocating bus stops as necessary. This year’s Spring Service Change is scheduled for June 4.
