Two new career and technical programs are set to debut in Stafford County’s sixth high school, opening in 2025.
On Tuesday, the county’s School Board heard a recommendation to place aviation maintenance and advanced manufacturing programs at the new school, which will be located in Hartwood, in the southwestern portion of the county.
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Betsy P. Dennison, 46, of Woodbridge, died May 12, 2021 at Envoy Nursing Home.
She is survived by her parents, Charles and Maritza Dennison, Jr. and her siblings.
Starting next week, you’re going to once again be able to cozy up to your neighbor while riding an OmniRide bus.
The transit agency says:
Prince William County Public Schools has so much money, it doesn’t know yet what to do with it.
So, it’s asking the public for ideas on how to spend nearly $90 million in federal funds it just picked up in the latest round of stimulus funding. The school division will hold a public meeting Tuesday, June 15 at 6 p.m. at the Kelly Leadership Center, and virtually as an opportunity for residents’ input.
Parking spaces inside the Georgetown South neighborhood in Manassas are at a premium.
The city has distributed nearly 2,800 parking permits to neighborhood residents that have requested them. The problem: There are just 1,750 parking spaces in the neighborhood, located near the city’s downtown.
Stafford County has run into another stumbling block when it comes to its redistricting efforts this year.
The county’s Board of Supervisors was to vote on a resolution that would replace a series of committee meetings with a pre-redistricting public information session. The move was designed to make the mandatory political redistricting process more inclusive.
County residents face a major redistricting effort as officials look to redraw the seven political districts used to set voting precincts and to guarantee equal representation on the Board of Supervisors and School Board. In February, the county had planned to host a series of committee meetings with a select group of county residents to assist in the redistricting process.
However, the county has experienced unprecedented delays in receiving the data from the 2020 Census, which is used to not changes in population and demographics.
Multiple residents spoke on the matter and balked at the thought of opening up the process to the community in a town hall meeting format. Many asked the Board to reconsider, saying the change believing it to be a "backward step in transparency and inclusion."
Ironically, it's the exact opposite of what was intended by the resolution.
State law requires redistricting to occur every 10 years, where political districts are redrawn, taking into account changes in population. They were last redrawn in 2010, and the pandemic forced officials to delay the redistricting process to 2021.
In response, the board decided to defer the decision at the suggestion of Hartwood District Supervisor Gary Snellings. The Board decided to defer until the next meeting to make a further look into the resolution.
While the board members were open to the deferral, some took issue with implications made by residents during the public comment time.
Falmouth District Supervisor Meg Bohmke took exception to the idea that replacing the series of committee meetings with a town hall meeting is an attempt to close off transparency in the redistricting effort and keep it behind closed doors. Boehmke mentioned that the only meetings held behind closed doors were subjects that required the Board to have closed meetings.
In recent months, closed meeting topics have included the county’s recent legal, including the legal issues raised with a federal lawsuit involving the issues with the All-Muslim Association of America and a cemetery site in North Stafford. Personelle matters and bargaining positions are also regularly discussed behind closed doors, allowed by state law.
The delayed 2020 U.S. Census has hampered the redistricting effort in Stafford County. Data from the decennial census, also delayed by the pandemic, has yet to be passed down to the county, making any decisions based on hard data difficult, officials said.
The Board will question whether to keep the stakeholders or go with the public information session at their next meeting on June 15.
Publisher's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed a statement about the county's legal issues with the All-Muslim Association of America to Supervisor Meg Bohmke.
Commercial Burglary – On June 8 at 8:42 a.m., officers responded to the Glass City Tobacco Store located at 7600 Gardner Park Dr. in Gainesville (20155) to investigate a burglary. When the owner of a nearby business arrived in the area that morning, he observed the front glass door of the store was damaged and immediately contacted the police. The video surveillance footage revealed that two unknown individuals used an object to shatter the glass front door before entering the store. Vaporizers were reported missing.
Police did not release the video footage.
Helen W. Smith of Woodbridge, VA, beloved wife of the late Norman H. Smith and loving mother of Bruce, Maureen, Donna, Janice, Nancy, Patricia and Sharon as well as grandmother to many grandchildren and great grandchildren passed away peacefully at her home on April 29, 2021.
Helen was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and resided in Woodbridge, Virginia for the past 60 years. She was a devout Catholic and served multiple leadership roles throughout her life in addition to volunteering in her community which included logging in walkers at Potomac Mills Mall for over 30 years. We mourn the loss of your presence and we will carry your memory in our hearts forever.
