The School Board in November directed division staff to develop a redistricting proposal related to the three developments. The division brought the proposal to the board at its Jan. 22 meeting.
The three developments – Bristow Corner, Bristow Crossing and Thomas Farm at Bristow Station – have already been approved by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors and would be districted to The Nokesville School.
“I’ve been doing the baby shower for about 24 years,” Baltuano-Post told InsideNoVa. “The goal … is to educate our moms and to make sure they know what to do when they need to come to the hospital.”
One of the school’s most notable achievements is reducing chronic absenteeism. In the 2022-2023 school year, Weems faced a concerning % chronic absence rate of 28%. This figure, which emerged after the pandemic, reflected the challenges many schools faced. However, the school has halved that number through dedication and hard work. “I am so happy to share with you that Weems’ current chronic absence rate, as reflected in the school quality profile, is half of that number, down to 14%. This is a school community that rose to the challenge,” said Sarah Brescia, a Manassas City school board member.
The improvement in attendance has had a direct impact on student achievement. Huppman explained, “Last year, we had a 24% increase in literacy pass rates for our students in kindergarten through second grade. For the Virginia Standards of Learning reading test, we had a 6% increase in pass rates for our students in third and fourth grade.” While math scores dropped slightly due to virtual instruction during the pandemic, Principal Huppman is optimistic about the future. “This year, we are fully staffed in all classrooms and in all instructional support positions without the need for virtual instructors,” she said.
Fredericksburg Police have launched automated speed enforcement cameras in school zones at Hugh Mercer Elementary and James Monroe High School to curb speeding and improve safety. The move is part of a partnership formed in November 2024 between the Fredericksburg Police Department and the city, aiming to reduce speeding near schools and protect students, staff, and families.
To ease drivers into the new system, the city implemented a 30-day warning period following the installation of the cameras. During this period, violators received warnings instead of citations, a step the city said was designed to “educate drivers and encourage compliance with speed limits.”
Stafford County spokeswoman Shannon Eubanks said one customer remains without water due to the break. The cause of the water main rupture is still under investigation.
There is no estimated completion time for the repairs, as crews must first identify the problem before calculating how long it will take to fix it. Howell emphasized that safety remains a priority and urged drivers to avoid the closed lanes where possible.
Among the most talked-about topics were the introduction of Saturday service, a crucial funding agreement for the Manassas Line, solutions for parking challenges at stations, and significant infrastructure projects, including the redevelopment of Seminary Yard and the Long Bridge upgrades. These initiatives are designed to improve the commuter experience and accommodate a growing ridership base.
Saturday Service: A Long-Awaited Step Forward
Stafford County’s Board of Supervisors will hold its next meeting today, Tuesday, January 28, 2025, at 5 p.m. The meeting will be streamed live, and the agenda will be posted online.
The board will review revisions to the Code of Performance for 2025. At the last meeting, on Jan. 7, the board learned that if they wished to add new language to the draft they worked on in 2024, they would have to re-review the entire draft Code of Performance and Ethical Standards which the By-laws Committee worked on over the summer of 2024 and consider it again for adoption.
A Manassas man who brought an Uzi to Manassas Mall got a lenient sentence after Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth offered him a sweetheart deal to close out two separate cases related to the mall shooting and a separate case where jail officials alleged he participated in a jailhouse beating with five other men who cornered and beat three members of a rival gang.
Daevon Russell, 19, of 9306 Taney Road in Manassas, who at the time, was on pre-trial probation for a 2023 Manassas City shooting that left another teen paralyzed from the neck down, went to the Manassas Mall on July 9, 2024, armed with the Uzi and got into an altercation with another group of teens in the food court.
Just weeks after former Rep. Abigail Spanberger left the U.S. House for good, she strolled onto the floor of a different political chamber: the Virginia House of Delegates, reports the Associated Press. The three-term congresswoman, now vying to be the state’s next governor, rubbed elbows with fellow Democrats and held someone’s baby at her hip, a not-so-subtle reminder that statewide elections are looming in the commonwealth this year.
But when Grace asked her family’s voice-activated Amazon Alexa to play her favorite song, her father said it did something else.
