A $7 million new museum is coming to Prince William County.

Slated to be built on the site of Rippon Lodge at 15520 Blackburn Road in Woodbridge, the Prince William Museum at Rippon Lodge is meant to be a way for residents to learn more about the history of their community.

“Prince William County is very unique in that we believe our history is important – although there are many communities that do – but we’ve actually invested in our history, and we have a number of historic properties that are owned by the county,” said Prince William Historic Preservation Foundation board member Laurie Wieder.

According to Wieder, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors established the foundation to help preserve the county’s historic properties.

Rippon Lodge itself is an important piece of the county’s history, as it was built by Richard Blackburn – one of the men that helped to build George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

“We felt a need to have a museum that could tell the story of all of the properties [in the county]. And the reason we wanted to establish it at Rippon Lodge was that – first of all, it’s a very historic property – but secondly, it’s also a good place to welcome people from our community, and travelers to the area, to attract them to Prince William County,” said Wieder.

The museum is planned to be 14,000 square feet with space for lectures, historical interpretations and events, according to a said Prince William Historic Preservation Foundation presentation.

Wieder stated that $4 million of the $7 million needed for the project has already been funded, and that the foundation would like to break ground on the museum in the next year, with a 2018 completion date.

“We’ve raised funds for a number of projects, but we have really had an interest and have made it a priority project, to have a location that would introduce people to Prince William County history, and all of it’s sites and structures, and the people who have lived here,” said Wieder.

According to Wieder, the purpose of the museum is to feature exhibits on important individuals with ties to Prince William County including George Washington, Jennie Dean, Admiral Richard Byrd and Benita Fitzgerald.

Residents that want to donate can do so on their website, or by contacting the foundation directly.

A Woodbridge Catholic high school is starting their own radio station.

Saint John Paul the Great High School, located on 17700 Dominican Drive in Woodbridge, will be launching their FM radio channel – 106.3 JPN – November 1, according to the school’s spokeswoman Jennifer Cole.

 “A few years after we opened, we started to talk about ‘How can we take what we’re doing, and the mission of our school’…and give our students a chance to put that into action,” said Cole.

The idea to start the radio channel came in 2012 from a resident named Tom Vetter, who received a post card about a new program.

“This post card from the Catholic radio station caught his eye. It was basically saying that they needed help to help people start these low FM stations,” said Cole.

Vetter reached out to Saint John Paul the Great High School, and donated the money to get the project, said Cole.

“This was a good fit for us, because it got the conversation going on how our students can put into practice, some of the things that they’re learning. And how do we teach a mode of communication, and how would that be ethical and meaningful,” said Cole.

The project came to halt, when the school had difficulties securing a location for the radio antenna, until another local family stepped in and donated the funding to building lights on the school’s athletic field. The school was then able to add the antenna to the lights and continue the project, according to Cole.

When the station is initially launched, the school will be using free Catholic radio content, until the students begin creating content, as part of their curriculum.

“It will be anything, from a talk show format, or broadcasting our sports games live, or maybe broadcasting a class – like our bioethics class…the idea is that the content would speak to our mission as a Catholic school,” Cole said.

The channel will have a seven to ten mile reach, according to Cole.

“We’re excited that we’re going to be able to bring Catholic radio to the commuters on [Interstate] 95 and people in Dumfries, Montclair and Woodbridge…we want to help fill the airwaves with things that we think are good, that could be helpful to people,” said Cole.

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The owner of a sushi restaurant in Woodbridge wants to help you learn how to eat sushi correctly.

Bento Cafe Sushi & Roll, located at 13257 Worth Avenue in Woodbridge, has been open for 11 years – run by a woman who affectionately refers to herself as ‘Bento Mom’.

Bento Mom came to the country from South Korea as a child, without the ability to speak any English.

“I came to [Virginia] when I was 13 years old, through my father; because he was a correspondent through the Oriental Express…when I came, I didn’t know one word of English…I came from South Korea,” said Bento Mom.

According to Bento Mom, she became interested in healthy eating and living – which are important components in the food on her menu – after her father had a stroke.

“Unfortunately my father had a stroke at the age of 52, and I had to study, myself, what is happening to [his] body. This is why I went to school, to learn to do the acupuncture, and [the] tea,” said Bento Mom.

After her parents died, she became close with a Japanese woman whom she refers to as her ‘adopted’ mom, who taught about the Japanese culture and food.

And when she opened up her sushi restaurant, she decided to share her knowledge with her customers – including United States military members, who are going overseas, that need help understanding the food and culture.

“My father always said, ‘Knowledge is power. If you don’t it with someone, either you’re stupid or boring,’ and I don’t want to be either. The way I look at it – some people don’t know how to eat sushi correctly…I think if you eat it the right way, appreciating the miso and eating the wasabi and ginger in the right place, then I think your body will appreciate you more,” said Bento Mom.

In addition to her classes, she also offers a large menu including classics like the California Roll and the Veggie Roll, as well as some unique items like ‘potato-chip sushi’.

Bento Mom said that all of her classes are one-on-one, and interested customers just need to come to the restaurant and ask to speak with her.

Dead plants, faded shutters, and a lack of communication.

These are just a few of the things that residents in The Villages at Rippon Landing community are dealing with.

The housing development just off Route 1 in Woodbridge began construction in 2005, under D.R. Horton, according to Prince William County Director of Development Services Wade Hugh.

Traditionally, a community has a homeowner’s association (HOA) and a board made up of residents that can vote on what takes place in the community.

But according to the community’s governing documents, D.R. Horton still has control over the community, and the residents do not get an HOA or a say what happens in their own community until the developer has finished their bond agreements with the county.

And this means that the company tasked with managing the property – Sequoia Management Company – which many residents are dissatisfied with, cannot be removed, even if the community feels they are not taking care of the community.

“The board of directors is still under developer control. So that means that according to the governing documents, the developers are actually the board of directors,” said Angela Bernado, a community manager for Sequoia.

According to resident Avis Bracey, each homeowner pays $740 a year in fees that go to Sequoia Management Company – the company selected to oversee maintenance for the property. And while the community has been paying fees to Sequoia, Bracey asserts that the money isn’t being used to improve the property.

Bracey stated that she had been in consistent communication with Sequoia about various issues, including the property’s landscaping and the community clubhouse.

“I’ve been fighting about landscaping for years. [Why] can’t we have flowers at the entrance ways…Every year you’re budgeting this money, but we’re not seeing it…you’re fighting me to get furniture for the clubhouse – you’ve budgeted $15,000 – we don’t spend that,” said Bracey.

Bernado stated that the management company had put together a community board that could help make some decisions for the community, but the group had no assertive voting power, as D.R. Horton still has developer control. The community board disbanded, according to Bernado.

“We had that in place, and then about a year ago, a few of folks had transferred out of the community – they had moved – and the other folks, due to time commitments…they just said, ‘We can’t do this right now,’” said Bernado.

Documents from Sequoia stated that just recently 450 citations were sent to community residents for the appearance of their homes.

Bracey stated that this implies the management company isn’t doing their job. Bernado asserts that this is all a part of the bureaucratic process Sequoia is required to follow.

“We go out once a year and do an annual inspection, and that’s something you’ll probably see in a majority of homeowner’s associations. Those were done a month ago, and then the follow up is now occurring…we have to follow the laws of . Meaning we just can’t go right away, we can’t just go out and do something right away…we have to send a notice, then a second notice, we have to hold a hearing,” said Bernado.

Bracey said she has called Sequoia and volunteered to do several things in the community, but so far, the two have not been able to work together.

Bracey is not the only resident with concerns. Andre Taylor, a resident of The Villages at Rippon Landing for five years, has seen several things not being addressed by D.R. Horton and Sequoia in the community.

“There’s not been much outreach, in terms of giving information to us, and informing the residents of the community about things being done…Certain things haven’t been maintained the way they should…I don’t see the value [of my dues] at all. The streets haven’t been paved since I’ve lived here…there needs to be a presentation [of the community] that’s appealing. When it comes time to sell your home, the value is impacted,” said Taylor.

Why are these residents and the management company unable to work together, in a community still under “developer control?”

“Developers sign what’s called a performance agreement with the county…we know with a development it’s going to take at least two years…when the agreement is up or about to expire – usually six months before it expires – we send out notification out to them…then they either have finished the development…or they come back in and say ‘We’re still actively working on the site, we need to extend it’ and they’ll do a bond extension. Which is exactly what’s happened down at The Villages at Rippon [Landing],” said Hugh.

According to county documents, all of the bond agreements for The Villages at Rippon Landing are coming due early next year. Then, Hugh said they will work with D.R. Horton to push them to complete the work and release the community over to the residents. Then residents will be able to form a board under an HOA that could renegotiate or eliminate their contract with Sequoia, due to concerns about work not being done.

“The county’s not in the business of putting businesses out of business…we work with the developers. As long as you’re actively working, and you’re addressing citizen concerns,” said Hugh.

If D.R. Horton were to continue to be unable to complete the agreement, the county could have the bonds defaulted, according to Hugh.

People are struggling in Prince William County.

And in an effort to assist residents in need, the St. Vincent de Paul, Our Lady of Angels conference – a Catholic charitable organization – is hosting a ‘Walk for the Poor 5K’ race.

The race will be on September 19 at 8 a.m., starting in the parking lot of Saint John Paul the Great High School at 17700 Dominican Drive in Dumfries.

“It’s more a walk of awareness – it’s not so much a race. It’s not going to be a timed event,” said race organizer, Martha Larimore.

According to Larimore there is no fee to register for the 5K, but they are asking that everyone bring canned food donations, and make at least a $25 donation. The money is being used to assist residence in their coverage area – primarily Woodbridge, Dumfries and Triangle.

“We’re just trying to raise funds for the St. Vincent de Paul, Our Lady of Angels conference. We assist the poor in the community with food, utilities help, sometimes prescriptions, small bills,” said Larimore.

Larimore noted that while they are a Catholic organization, residents from any faith can seek their assistance.

“Believe it or not, in Prince William County, we have many people that are struggling. Rent’s really high, groceries are really high. We have a lot of people that come in and need help, and our funding is really low right now, and we’re really just trying to help as many people as we can,” said Larimore.

Registration is available online, and the morning of the race.

 

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A historic cemetery will be disinterred to build a new fire station at Independent Hill.

Following a unanimous vote from the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, after a public hearing at the McCoart Building on September 8, the graves will be moved to a different area on the property, in order to make way for the new Coles District Fire Station.

The current Coles fire station, on 13712 Dumfries Road, is now past it’s intended use date, and needed to be replaced, according to Prince William Fire and Rescue Chief Kevin McGee.

The public hearing was originally scheduled for earlier that afternoon, but was pushed to the 7:30 p.m. meeting by Chairman Corey Stewart.

McGee presented four options to the board of supervisors, supporting ‘Option A’ – which would involve moving the graves. The other three options did not require the cemetery to be moved, according to county documents.

Increased response times

According to McGee, moving the cemetery to build the fire station is necessary in order to complete the project on budget – $10.7 million – and to keep response times down.

“When I convened a task force of the Fire and Rescue Association to develop station design guidelines, the key objective of that design guideline project was to identify how we can reduce what is referred to as ‘action time’. That’s the time from dispatch to units moving out of the station…We need every second we can possibly save, in getting our firefighters and EMTs to their apparatus, and then safely on to their response route,” said McGee.

Bill Olson, a member of the Prince William Historical Commission challenged McGee’s statements on increased response time.

“The last six [fire and rescue] buildings built in Prince William County are two-story firehouses. The next planned fire house – Bacon Race fire house – is a two story building,” said Olson.

Following the vote, Olson resigned from his position on the Prince William Historical Commission and the Cemetery Committee.

Residents spoke up at the public hearing

Several residents came to the public hearing to express their thoughts about the county moving forward with moving the cemetery.

“It should not be as a last resort, and the descendants should approve of it…that’s where their family intended them to be buried,” said Fairfax County Cemetery Preservation Association member Mary Lipsey.

Dennis Van Derlaske, another member of the Prince William Historical Commission, stated it was the county’s duty to protect the cemetery as part of their ownership of the property.

“With any right or privilege, comes responsibility, including the privilege of land ownership. And that responsibility, if you happen to be the owner of a cemetery, is the proper custodianship of that plot of land,” said Van Derlaske.

Nohe to ‘lose sleep’, Candland blames the county

Prior to the unanimous vote to move the cemetery, and adopting ‘Option A’ as the construction plan for the new fire station, several supervisors commented on their feelings about the decision.

“No one wants to move a cemetery…the challenge I’m faced with on this issue is this – as a member of the board of supervisors, there are a lot of responsibilities that we are charged with, and we cannot ignore any of them…from my perspective, my responsibility as supervisor is first and foremost has to be the public safety of the people…I’m going to lose a lot of sleep tonight…knowing the board has been put in the position to have to make this decision…moving the cemetery isn’t something I believe is the ideal thing to do. But I do feel that the most important thing that this board always has to consider is how our decisions affect the safety of the community,” said Supervisor Martin Nohe.

According to Supervisor Peter Candland, the county is at fault for not looking at other options to build the fire station without disturbing the graves.

“I just think we missed out on opportunities to research other options. I think the county dropped the ball…I hate this decision – we are to blame here…and I think this is a sad day with this vote,” said Candland.

Need somewhere to get your smart device fixed in Manassas?

Starting this week, you’ll be able to drop off your cell phones, tablets, computers and other electronic devices to the newly opened uBreakiFix location at 9960 Liberia Avenue at the Davis Ford Crossing shopping center in Manassas.

“At uBreakiFix we essentially repair any electronics…that would be cell phones, laptops, tablets – they do hardware and software. Basically if you can plug it in, we can fix it,” said store owner Kris Williams.

Williams owns two locations with co-owner Eric Miller. The Manassas store will be their third location. Currently, there are 145 locations nationwide, according to Williams.

Williams and Miller decided to open the new store, after seeing a demand in the area.

“We actually look for where our customers are coming from. And we actually have, at our other location [in Dumfries]; people are driving from Manassas to have us do their repairs. So we looked for a location that would be centrally located,” said Williams.

According to Williams, almost anyone is their target market, and what makes uBreakiFix stand out amongst their competitors is their quick turnaround and service.

“Anybody that is carrying, or using a cell phone, or a tablet, or a computer is our customer…anybody who’s utilizing a smart device is our customer…The majority of what we do can be done quickly, in a short time frame. A majority of the cell phones can be [fixed] in a few hours or less, as opposed to Geek Squad and [others]. We keep a majority of our parts in stock…we’re very good at troubleshooting smaller problems that will help a customer with their unique needs…and we don’t send anything out. We fix it right there in the shop, at the store,” said Williams.

The store is slated to open September 10.