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. 

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. 

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.

The trail cuts through the Historic Port of Falmouth Park, a popular swimming hole on the Rappahannock River. 

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OmniRide, in partnership with Commuter Connections, is asking residents to pledge to be car-free on September 22, 2021. On this day, the agency would like residents to forgo commuting alone by car and instead choose to either use public transportation, carpool or vanpool, bike, walk, or telework from home.

Car Free Day is a worldwide event that encourages greener methods of travel. Commuter Connections hosts Car Free Day in the Washington, D.C. region to bring awareness to the benefits of travel options such as transit, bicycling, and walking; and also telework for people who can work from home.


By Tyler Arnold | The Center Square

Virginia is the 10th most vaccinated state when considering vaccines for a variety of diseases, according to a report published by the financial website WalletHub.


You won’t be hearing your favorite band take the stage at a major concert venue, nor will you be boarding a flight. 

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More help for veterans could be coming to Prince William County.

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Virginia Civil Air Patrol’s Chaplain, Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Miner, a resident of Woodbridge, was recognized with the 2021 Senior Chaplain of the Year Award at CAP’s national conference last month.

Chaplain Miner serves as the Wing Chaplain for CAP in Virginia.  He is responsible to the commander for providing religious and spiritual support to over 2,000 adults and middle and high school-aged cadets that serve their communities.


The Stafford Education Foundation (SEF) will partner with the Stafford Museum and Cultural Center organization to celebrate and build community awareness of local history in Stafford County Public Schools (SCPS).

The collaborative partnership, formed in March 2021, brought together board members of SEF, members of the Stafford Museum and Cultural Center, SCPS administrators, and leadership from SCPS’s Office of Equity and Accountability and learning and Organizational Development Departments. The competitive historic mural grant program has provided more than $40,000 to fund mural projects that highlight Stafford County’s history.


Manassas leaders have promised to help find its youth baseball league a new home if it sells the 18-acre E.G. Smith Baseball Complex to the city’s largest employer, Micron Technologies. 

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