The Manassas City Fire Marshal wants to know why foam filled a hangar at the Manassas Regional Airport.
According to the airport's operations manager Richard Allabaugh, about 11:25 p.m. on August 27, there was an accidental discharge of fire retardant foam at the Leidos Hangar facility on Frank Marshall Lane. There had been no fire in the hanger, which is when such a system would have gone off as designed.
Allabaugh recently briefed the Manassas Regional Airport Commission about the incident. The photos used in this post were taken from his presentation to the governing body.
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Stafford County Public School's search for a new permanent superintendent continues.
When asked about what strengths the new Superintendent should have, county residents said the candidate should have both teaching and administrative experience, excellent communication, and collaborative skills.Â
The new chief should also have savvy management ability and personal qualities such as integrity, transparency, and a long-term commitment to the community, said residents who responded to a community survey sent by the school division over the summer.Â
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The Stafford County School Board has voted to create an ad-hoc transportation advisory committee for one year.
On August 9, Stafford County was the first school division in the region to return students to the classroom for the 2021-21 school year. Shortly after that, the school division was taking heat from parents when buses failed to pick up children and take them to and from school.
Many parents were forced to drive their children to school. As surrounding school divisions returned to class during the following weeks, they, too, experienced bus-driver shortages that plagued Stafford schools.
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The Stafford County Board of Supervisors has passed a resolution regarding their stance on the teaching or usage of Critical Race Theory, The 1619 Project, and teachers asking students for their preferred personal pronouns.
They're against all of it.
Furthermore, the Board resolved to review all funding requests from the School Board and deny anything remotely linked to teaching CRT. The motion harkens back to when the Board of Supervisors -- the taxing authority that provides most of the school divisions' budget -- categorically fund items like new classrooms, which it deems essential.
"There's nothing on this resolution that says we are going to defund schools," said Hartwood District Supervisor Gary Snellings. "This resolution does not eliminate anything."Â
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It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a superhero with an accordion?
That satirical songwriting superhero Captain Ambivalent has left his fortress of nerditude in Valparaiso, Indiana to bring his brand of silly songs to Fredericksburg.
The good captain is coming off the release of his fourth album “Songs for Short Attention Spans” and will be playing at the Fredericksburg Recreation Center on William Street on September 28.
The captain, whose real name is, Dan Biemer, began his quest by trading in a 20-year career as a paralegal for a golden cape, a pair of sparkling boots, and an accordion which took him to such strange new worlds such as the Dr. Demento Radio Show, GenCon, and America’s Got Talent.
After receiving word about his upcoming appearance, Potomac Local News spoke with the good captain about his alter ego and what inspired him to be a comedy singing accordionist.
PLN: So what made you decide to go out on tour?
CA: This year I decided to branch out and do a tour, granted this was back in January when it was much safer but I’m still looking forward to it. It’s a great opportunity and there’s some risk associated but I think it’s worth it.
PLN: Like any good superhero you must have an origin story, could you tell us that story?
CA: I needed to deal with a load of childhood trauma and I enjoyed writing funny songs but I couldn’t get a band. I had an accordion that I got from my great aunt and not everyone was doing it. I took on the identity of Captain Ambivalent and became your everyday, average superhero with an accordion.
PLN: What attracted you to the world of comedy music?
CA: From a pretty young age, I have liked musical comedians like Spike Jones which I got from my parents. So I leaned in that direction. I’ve tried to write other songs but my talents lay in funny songs.
PLN: What is it about the accordion that is attractive to not just comedy music, but people who write happy songs as well?
CA: The accordion is very common in French music, it produces very melancholy music, it’s portable, it’s easy to sing with, and the structure lends itself to an upbeat feel. It sounds bouncy which to me means happy. I have some slow songs but when I play it's pretty upbeat.
PLN: With the recent pandemic many musicians had to adapt to the situation when it comes to their performances, did you have to go through anything similar at that time?
CA: I quickly found out that my internet service was not good for live-streaming so I went hog wild on a one-man recorded show. I will also perform at the Keybank Rochester Fringe Festival in New York which will be from September 14 to October 9. The festival has both live and virtual performances. Aside from that, I tried to increase my skills, I got some online coaching on booking, social media, and just leveled up just leveling up my abilities.
PLN: What should people expect to see when they come to see you play?
CA: Be prepared to see a very imposing figure in sparkling gold boots and a cape with a shiny gold accordion, unlike anything you’ve experienced. Be prepared to have fun, hear some over-the-top, nerdy songs, and forget what’s going on in the world for a few minutes.
Captain Ambivalent will perform at the Fredericksburg Recreation Center at 213 William Street in Downtown Fredericksburg on Sept. 28 from 7 pm to 9 pm.
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After serving on the Manassas City School Board since July 2010, Chairman Sanford S. Williams will resign when his term ends December 31.
Williams made his announcement during board comment time at the city school board's regular meeting. Williams thanked the Manassas community for allowing him to serve and stated that his decision comes from wanting to spend more time with family.
In retirement, he'll spend more time with his daughters who live in California.
"I'd like to thank the community for allowing me to serve. It's a pleasure and an honor to serve. It's not easy, but it's a pleasure to serve, so thank you for that," said Williams.
Williams's departure from the board comes soon after Scott Albrecht, who stepped down a year earlier after serving on the school board for 20 years.
As chairman, Williams oversaw the implementation of new anti-racism and diversity, equity, and inclusion policy which calls for hiring more teachers based on race, to not just narrow, but to eliminate the achievement gap between high and low achieving students and to create a new curriculum that incorporates "the contributions of diverse cultural groups."
According to school officials, the school division would spend three years working to achieve these goals.
While white students make up less than 20 percent of the student body in Manassas City, they do outperform other historically underrepresented groups such as Hispanics, African-Americans, Native Americans, and others on state assessments.
Members of the public were also critical of the board's new policies, such as the only metric used to study performance was by race and left out other metrics like zip codes or class.
While Williams plans to stay until the end of his term, he announced he wouldn't be present for the next school board meeting, tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, October 11.
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Stafford County leaders intend to send a message to its public school division: CRT won't be tolerated.Â
The Board of Supervisors will meet at 3 p.m. Tuesday to vote on a resolution that would allow it to withhold funding from the school division if it learns instructors are teaching Critical Race Theory -- a decades-old academic framework examining how race and racism influence politics, culture, and law.
CRT has become a hot-button issue at School Board meetings both locally and across the nation, where liberals and conservatives demand teachers across all subjects stop developing lesson plans focused on race. The practice divides children into ethnic groups, they say.
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The tennis courts at one area high school are looking better than they did six months ago.
This past spring, Potomac Local News told you about concerns parents and students at Forest Park High School near Dumfries had about the safety of the school's tennis courts.
The courts had been falling into disrepair for almost a decade. Large cracks appeared, and uneven surfaces formed, interfering with play and proving a hazard for players. At one point, the damage was so bad teams were playing at other schools.
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The Stafford County Board of Supervisors will consider creating an Economic Infrastructure Fund that will secure future funds for infrastructure improvements along Centreport Parkway, near the Stafford Regional Airport.
Conceptually, the fund would be used as a savings account that would use a portion of the county's tax revenue to support future growth and development in the area where a new 200,000 square foot Amazon fulfillment center will open.Â
The new center is expected to create at least 100 full and part-time associate jobs and potentially hundreds of driver opportunities.
The Centreport area has long been targeted by the county's Community and Economic Development Committee as an area with potential for both industrial and distribution businesses.Â
According to county documents, the fund model is based on the use of future tax revenues as opposed to other options such as Community Development Authorities, which raise funds through additional taxes.
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The Stafford County Infrastructure Committee has a choice to make regarding the Belmont-Ferry Farm Trail system's final phase.
Since 2019, the committee has been working towards completing the sixth and final phase of the project, which would add to the already two-and-a-half long trail from Route 3 at River Road and end at the Ferry Farm Shopping Center in the George Washington District.
However, the county has run into complications from topography issues, land acquisition, and the Virginia Department of Transportation approvals that may be difficult to achieve.
If the county decides to move forward with the construction of the trail segment, the expectation from VDOT would be to begin the effort by the end of 2020.Â
The first option would be to construct the trail and align it along Old Dairy Lane to the CSX railway tunnel along Naomi Road. The trail would cross Route 3 at Jett Drive from Naomi, running along the north side of Route 3 and ultimately ending at the Ferry Farm Shopping Center.
Should the county make this decision, it would require $775,340 in additional costs to the project, that funding is expected to come from the Federal Transportation Alternatives Program.Â
Known also as TAP, this program came about with the signing of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act by then-President Barack Obama in December 2015. The county's application for funding with the program is currently under review with the Federal Highway Administration.
The other option would be to cancel the project and repay $130,000 to the program.
The decision is expected to be taken up at the next Stafford County Board of Supervisors meeting as new business on September 21.
When complete, the Belmont-Ferry Farm trail, linking the historic Belmont Plantation with the President George Washington boyhood home, will provide residents and visitors with more than two miles of paved hiking trail through southern Stafford County.
