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The Fredericksburg region celebrated the reopening of the Chatham Bridge. Work to rehabilitate the bridge began 16 months ago.

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Three Prince William County Racial and Social Justice Commission members held a town hall meeting at Patriot High School in Nokesville.

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Malawi's Pizza is celebrating its fourth anniversary by unveiling its new food truck as part of a new mission to help feed the community.

That mission known as "Feed FXBG" seeks to engage with local companies in the Fredericksburg area to meet the hunger needs of the local community. Malawi's mission as "Pizza with a Purpose" has been the driving force for the company since its opening in Fredericksburg four years ago.

Malawi's Pizza charitable efforts are known as its "Journey to a Million Meals" program. That goal was to donate one meal to a child in Malawi, Africa, for every meal purchased in their restaurant.

The Utah-based pizzeria recently announced the success of that program, having donated their one-millionth meal last year.

"Feed FXBG" takes the concept from the Journey program and brings it to a local level. Malawi Fredericksburg's owners Patrick and Rebecca Church have also been active in the local community by supporting the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank, an organization that brings meals to those in need in Fredericksburg, Stafford, Caroline, and other nearby counties.

The restaurant itself also serves as a drop-off location for non-perishable food items meant for donation. Malawi offers 10 percent off the total purchase of an order with that donation.

Like many other businesses, Malawi's struggled to stay afloat due to a lack of foot traffic at the Spotsylvania Town Center where they are located and worker and supply shortages during the Coronavirus pandemic.
"We are thrilled to make it through the difficulties presented by the pandemic," stated owner Patrick Church in a press release. "It truly was the local, loyal patrons that carried us through these difficult times."
Malawi's Pizza is located in Spotsylvania Town Center at 1 Towne Center Boulevard, Suite 2400.

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Originals

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors is set to make another decision about a mixed-use neighborhood, this time in the southern section of the county.

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The Stafford County School Board approved the purchase of 4,800 new Chromebooks for high school and elementary school students.

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The Stafford County Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend an application for a conditional use permit that would create a child care center for the Embrey Mill Town Center.

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The Manassas Park Governing Body approved a project to edge, mill, and overlay the Signal Hill Trail.

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Fredericksburg's longtime tradition of First Friday celebrations in the downtown area will see a few changes when it returns this week.

As part of the new rebranding of the First Friday events, a new component called "Sip and Stroll" will be added to the festivities. The concept will allow revelers to enjoy alcoholic beverages in a specially designated area of Downtown Fredericksburg.

The Sip and Stroll will occur on First Friday, between 5 and 9 p.m., when adults aged 21 or older can buy an alcoholic beverage from a participating restaurant. The restaurants will sell cups printed with their logos on them.
No outside beverages will be allowed.

  • Those with the cups will be able to walk within the boundaries of a specially designated area.
  • The roads include parts of Sophia, Caroline, Princess Anne, William, and Liberty streets.

The boundaries will be marked by black trash cans where those partaking can dispose of their cups once they're done or the time for the Sip and Stroll has ended.

During a presentation of the concept to the City Council on Tuesday, both Ward 1 Councilor Jason Graham and At-Large Councilor Kerry Devine asked if the trash cans could be replaced with recycling bins.

Graham also suggested coordinating with ridesharing companies to ensure a safe trip home for those participating in the event.

This new aspect of the event has been made possible due to a change in the laws set by Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Fredericksburg has also applied for a new event license known as an outdoor recreational event license in order to legally run the event. The city is also working with the Fredericksburg City Police to coordinate the Sip and Stroll.

The restaurants participating in the Sip and Stroll event include The Alpine Chef, Benny Vitali's, Billiken's Smokehouse, Capital Ale House, Curitiba's Art Cafe, Deutschland Downtown, FoodE, Orofino, Rebellion, Sammy T's, Soup and Taco, and Vivify.

The newly branded First Friday will return on October 1.

Manassas was the first city in the state to allow open containers of alcohol at city events in Summer 2019, following new legislation passed by General Assembly in Richmond.

Today, the city allows open containers of alcohol on city streets during each of its First Friday events and most special events like the annual railway and barbeque festivals. The same rules apply -- the alcohol must be in a plastic cup with the logo of the restaurant that sold the drink and must be consumed within a designated area. 

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Despite school bus transportation issues, students, teachers, and parents are happy to go back to in-person learning, Stafford County school officials say.

A presentation made to the Stafford County School Board outlined the status of local schools after the first four weeks of the 2021-22 school year. According to Robert Bingham, principal of H.H. Poole Middle School, student morale is higher than last year with virtual learning.

Bingham recounted how the students were more social and communicative with each other in person than they had been the previous year during the pandemic.

"It was a sad sight to see," said Bingham. "During the hybrid learning students wouldn't talk to each other. The halls were silent.

Bingham had received emails from parents telling him and other staff members about how exciting and happy their children were to return to in-person learning in the schools.

One issue that they're having, however, is the overflow of students wanting to participate in activities and after-school programs. As it stands, more students are trying out for more sports and activities currently being offered, a school spokeswoman said.

The school division did not cite which after-school sports were the most popular.

Bingham also reported on the social and emotional support that is being offered by having a full-time social worker with teachers in the classroom in both the middle and high schools. Part of the goal of the in-class social workers and the teaching staff is implementing restorative practices such as classroom circles, restorative trust, conflict resolution, and accountability.

Alexandria City Public Schools provides an outline of restorative practices:

  • Blame, shame, punishment, and exclusion are not working for our youth, our teachers, or our communities.
  • Pushing youth out of our spaces and communities is the opposite of what they need.
  • Misbehavior is an opportunity to learn needed skills that we aren't seizing enough.
  • Restorative practices are effective at addressing the disproportionality of discipline on students of color.

The return of the five-day school week was also trumpeted due to the ability of the teachers to monitor and intervene with the student's progress in learning. This is a change from the hybrid model, according to Bingham, which limited the ability of teachers to check in on student progress and students being unable to ask questions.

The schools have also been opening early to allow students to get breakfast and use the time to catch up on lessons by asking teachers for help before heading to class. Teachers are also continuing to teach students who are currently under quarantine so that those students don't miss any lesson time through the Chromebooks that were distributed last year.

Also addressed was the learning loss that the county schools had experienced during the pandemic. Part of that is a focus on teachers working with each other as well as hiring teacher's assistants to help with small group instruction.

Beyond the initial stage, there are also plans in the later stages to have screened in reading and math classes for support and interventions for students who may be struggling and developing strategies to help those students in need of personalized attention.

The School Board was also informed of the continued use of social distancing and other protocols to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, such as mask-wearing, hand washing, and disinfection of desks in between classes.

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Occoquan is looking within the town limits to set a historical marker commemorating the contributions made to the town by Valentine Peyton.

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