Today’s Take Me-Home-Tuesday pets post comes from the Prince William County Animal Shelter.

Ice – #5050, Male dog, 7 – 10 years old, house trained, loves walks “move-in” condition. Ice is the typical couch potato. He’s also calm with other dogs.

Ivy – #37124, Female cat, 9 years-old, Domestic Black and White short hair, Spayed.

If you want to apply or learn about either, go to the Prince William County Animal Shelter page at the top of this post. You can also call 703-792-6465, or email [email protected]

Animal shelters and non-profits should email us a description and photo to be featured on our “Take Me Home Tuesday” post.

Gas will be cheaper this week at Sheetz convenience stores in the region.

The fuel chain says it will slash the price of premium fuel to match its regular 87 fuel grade.

The price cut lasts through Friday, March 24, 2023, and is part of a St. Patrick’s Day promotion.

More in a press release:

Today Sheetz, a major Mid-Atlantic restaurant and convenience chain, is kicking off St. Patrick’s Day by reducing the price of its premium, mid-grade and ethanol free fuel grades (where available). The prices of these grades will now be dropped to match the regular 87 prices at all Sheetz locations that offer these fuel options.

Customers won’t need to wear green to enjoy this limited time promotion, which is effective immediately and lasts until March 24, 2023. Customers can check if their local Sheetz sells these fuel grades through the Sheetz mobile app or website.

If you plan on renewing your Virginia driver’s license at a DMV office tomorrow, Saturday, March 18, 2023, you could be out of luck.

Today, the DMV says a system outage could lead to no residents being able to review their licenses on that date.

A DMV spokeswoman says online services could be available during the outage. however, you won’t be able to apply for a new license, renew, or replace a lost or stolen license.

The outage will also affect commercial driver’s licenses, learner permits, and driver privilege cards.

More in a DMV press release:

Driver’s license services may be unavailable at Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) customer service centers statewide Saturday, March 18, as rescheduled Verizon network maintenance will impact access to an essential external licensing system, the National Driver Register (NDR).

By law, DMV is required to check the federal NDR database before issuing a driver’s license and without access to the system this Saturday, driver-related transactions are unavailable.
All DMV offices will be open for all other services, however, customers will be unable to apply for, renew or replace a driver’s license, learner’s permit, CDL, or driver privilege card. Transactions involving identification cards will not be affected.

Online renewal services may be available during the NDR outage, however, replacements of lost or stolen driver’s licenses may not be available. Most Virginians are eligible to renew online every other time they are required to update their license. You can renew online in seconds at dmv.virginia.gov/SkipTheTrip.

James L. “Jim” Caddigan, the husband of former Prince William County Supervisor Maureen Caddigan, has died. He was 86.

A service will be held at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 18825 Fuller Heights Road in Triangle, at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 28. More information is here.

Maureen Caddigan retired from the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, serving nearly 20 years. Before being elected to the Board of County Supervisors, she served on the county school board.

A rebuild of Hartwood Elementary School will take a backseat to constructing the 18th elementary school in Stafford County.

Stafford County’s Board of Supervisors voted to move the construction of Stafford County’s 18th elementary school to 2023 and delay rebuilding Hartwood Elementary School until 2027.

After voting to defer the unfinished business to the end of the closed session, the Board voted 6-1 to begin constructing the county’s newest elementary school in 2023.

Hartwood District Supervisor Darrell English was the dissenting vote. English supported a rebuild for the school in his district, one of the last in the county that uses a septic system.

The new school will sit in the southern section of the county, though the school division has not announced the site of the new school. The school division says a needed 19th elementary school would be built in the middle of the county, likely in the Embrey Mill area.

As supervisors work with the county school division to meet its need for $343 million in new funding for new schools, Anne E. Moncure Elementary School has sat vacant since the Summer of 2019.

After Moncure Elementary School was replaced by a newer building roughly a mile away, the property became mostly vacant except for occasional use by local law enforcement for training.

Today, the county is considering selling the land to a developer who would raze the school and build townhomes.

The Prince William County Government restored an online survey asking employees about their gender identity, sexual orientation, and whether or not they feel valued at work after Supervisor Yesli Vega shared the survey with her constituents.

We’ve welcomed our newest spring intern. Please meet Paris Goodman, 18, who comes to us from the Spotsylvania County Public Schools Work-based Learning Program.

She is a senior at Riverbend High School.

Q: Why do you think community journalism is essential?

Goodman: I feel community journalism is important because everyone deserves to be in the know. Whether it be about a missing dog or a police chase, staying informed helps people continue on throughout their daily lives.

Q: What’s your past professional experience? (work experience, school or civic clubs, education level, etc.)

Goodman: I have lots of general experience in various random jobs such as leadership, stage and technical theatre, graphic design, freelance design, and large-scale printing. I have been certified in a 10-hour OSHA course and Print-ED.

Jefferson: I am a Riverbend High School senior in Spotsylvania. I’ve had a few jobs since I was a junior, consisting of one amusement park and two retail stores.

Q: What do you like best about the community in which you live?

Goodman: I like the people in my community. Everyone is pretty friendly, and we all like to keep each other informed about what’s going on in our small area and around us as well. The residents are pretty welcoming and give good advice.

Q: What do you like to do for fun when not working?

Goodman: For fun, I love to hang out with family and friends. In a lot of my free time, I spend it practicing my viola, playing video games, and watching reality TV.

Q: When you leave PLN, what is one thing you hope to have accomplished?

Goodman: When I depart from PLN, I hope to have inherited the well-needed writing skills to prepare me for my future in journalism. Of course, I hope to leave my mark on the area since I will be moving somewhere different. I want others to enjoy the pieces I write and to stay informed.

PLN accepts interns who want to learn more about local journalism, media, and marketing. Apply here.

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears will be the headline speaker at the Prince William County Republican Committee’s annual fundraising dinner.

The county GOP will hold the dinner in Woodbridge.

More in a press release:

The Prince William County Republican Committee will hold its annual Lincoln-Reagan Dinner on April 1, at the Old Hickory Golf Course, 11921 Chanceford Drive, Woodbridge, VA, 6 PM to 9:30 PM. Tickets are $85 per person. The guest of honor will be the Republican Lt. Governor Winsome Sears.

Winsome Sears was elected Lt. Governor of Virginia in 2021. She is the first female Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the first Black female elected to statewide office. At age 6 Lt. Governor Sears immigrated with her family from Jamaica. She is a proud veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. A former program manager for the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and VISTA volunteer, she is also a trained electrician and successful businesswoman. She holds a B.A. in English with a minor in Economics, and an M.A. in Organizational Leadership.

Jacob Mosser, Vice Chair of the Prince William County Republican Committee noted that, “Winsome Sears’ election as Virginia’s second highest official was historic. We are very excited to have a bold leader like the lieutenant governor coming to prepare us for an election in?which control of the General Assembly and the future of Virginia is at stake.”

Stafford County announced a new citizens’ education class called Blu’s Academy.

The online class features videos with information about the function of each Stafford County Government Department. The course culminates with an in-person “graduation” at the Government Center.

The online class replaces the multi-week in-person “Citizens Academy” previously used to educate citizens about local government functions. The goal is to make the opportunity more accessible for more residents.

Perspective students can sign up for the class here. They will find multiple videos on that page detailing the functions of each department. They can download a worksheet asking brief questions about the information provided. They will have two months to view the videos and answer the questions but can join anytime before the graduation class.

Once students return the worksheet to Stafford County, they are registered for a special graduation party. Students will be recognized at the party, and there will be refreshments.

County government staff will be present to answer any questions.

Sign-ups for the class start on March 1, 2023, and graduation takes place on April 27, 2023, from 6  to 8 p.m. in Conference Room ABC of the George L. Gordon, Jr., Government Center, 1300 Courthouse Road in Stafford.