Uriah Kiser, Author at Potomac Local News

Logmill Road Improvement Meeting Planned

Published July 25, 2013 at 9:32PM

Logmill Road in western Prince William County has been described as a scenic drive with the Bull Run Mountain in the backdrop.

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — Officials plan to improve a section of Logmill Road in Prince William County. The hilly two-lane road in recent years has been the site of several crashes, some that were fatal and involved teenagers.

Transportation officials say they want to a improve a portion of Logmill Road, between Parnell Court and Meander Creek Lane, to improve the sight distance to make it easier to see oncoming drivers, as well as improve the vertical lines of the roadway.

Business

Dumfries Business Leaders Address Organizational, Political Concerns

By Uriah Kiser

Published July 25, 2013 at 12:10PM | Updated December 10, 2013 at 7:37PM

DUMFRIES, Va. — Two weeks of strongly-worded emails among members of the Dumfries Business Association came to a head Wednesday night.

It started when Chris Caldwell, who runs a consulting firm in Dumfries, emailed a list of members of the Dumfries Business Association. In the emails, Caldwell questioned the number of meetings the organization holds, the effectiveness of the group’s leadership, and suggested the organization be a stronger voice in local politics.

News

Officials Back Manassas Battlefield Bypass

By Uriah Kiser

Published July 24, 2013 at 3:21PM

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — The plan for a Manassas Battlefield Bypass is simple: get the traffic out of the national park and off of hallowed ground.

The highway was approved in 1988 but is still awaiting funding. If it’s built, it would alleviate congestion on a 2-lane portion of U.S. 29 through the Manassas National Battlefield Park, taking cars out of the civil war battleground and routing them instead along a new limited-access highway that would run from the intersection of Va. 234 bypass (Prince William Parkway) and Interstate 66, and then north along the existing Pageland Lane to Va. 234 (Sudley Road) in Catharpin, and then along what would be a new portion of road along Bull Run Post Office Road to reconnect drivers with U.S. 29 in Fairfax County.

News

Elementary School Police Officer Plan Moves Ahead

By Uriah Kiser

Published July 23, 2013 at 7:47PM | Updated July 24, 2013 at 1:14PM

Dumfries Elementary School [Photo: Uriah Kiser / Potomac Local News]

DUMFRIES, Va. — Dumfries officials will vote on whether or not to install a Police School Resource Officer, or SRO, at Dumfries Elementary School.

Police Chief Rebecca Edwards on Tuesday asked town officials to place a memorandum of understanding with the town police department and Prince William County Public Schools on the consent agenda for the Aug. 7 meeting of the Dumfries Town Council. If it’s approved, Dumfries Elementary School will be the first and only elementary school in Prince William with a dedicated police officer offering protection to students and staff. The officer would be stationed at the school in time for the start of the upcoming school year.

News

Water Gushes from Ground after Car Hits Hydrant

By Uriah Kiser

Published July 18, 2013 at 8:57PM | Updated July 19, 2013 at 12:35PM

A fire hydrant on Barrett Heights Road in North Stafford was destroyed after his was hit by a sedan. [Uriah Kiser / Potomac Local News]

NORTH STAFFORD, Va. — The driver of a sedan took out a fire hydrant about 8 p.m. Thursday.

The crash happened on Barrett Heights Road near Center Street in North Stafford. No one was injured, but water from the broken hydrant gushed from pipes in the ground flooding Barrett Heights Road, several nearby yards, and a gas station parking lot.

News

U.S. 1 ‘Quad’ Intersection Part of Potomac Shores

By Uriah Kiser

Published July 18, 2013 at 12:42PM | Updated July 18, 2013 at 11:36PM

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — With an unanimous vote, Prince William officials approved the Potomac Shores development on the banks of the Potomac River.

The development will bring nearly 4,000 new homes, a central business district, a new Virginia Railway Express station which the developer will pay for, and hopes of a high-end hotel. While a rezoning of the overall property was approved Tuesday night, some of Potomac Shores’ first homes are already under construction and are slated to be on the market early next year.

Originals

No Signs of Voter Suppression, Report Finds

By Uriah Kiser

Published July 17, 2013 at 8:00AM | Updated July 17, 2013 at 8:32AM

Election officials inside Potomac Middle School check voter IDs.

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — It’s impossible to determine the one culprit that led to the long lines at polling places on Election Day in 2012, because there were many.

Unusually high voter turnout, malfunctioning voting equipment and the lack of extra voting machines, voters whose names did not properly appear on voter roll books, voting precincts that have too many residents and are too crowded, and too many problems during the voter check in process at the polls, led to long lines. Some polls closed about 11 p.m., according to a final report from the bipartisan Prince William County Election Task Force.

News

Options Sought on Dealing with Increased Ethanol Truck Traffic

By Uriah Kiser

Published July 16, 2013 at 8:00AM

[Photo: Uriah Kiser / Potomac Local News]

DUMFRIES, Va. — Increased truck traffic with tankers carrying ethanol has become an issue facing commuters, residents, and Dumfries town officials and residents.

The trucks would travel from U.S. 1 in Dumfries to the winding, 2-lane Possum Point Road to a Nustar Energy facility on the connecting Cockpit Point Road.

News